Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised May 30, 2026

Lilith (computer)

The DISER Lilith is a custom-built workstation computer based on the Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) 2901 bit-slicing processor, created by a group led by Niklaus Wirth at ETH Zurich. The project began in 1977, and by 1984 several hundred workstations were in use. It has a high-resolution full-page portrait oriented cathode-ray tube display, a mouse, a laser printer interface, and a computer networking interface. Its software is written fully in Modula-2 and includes a relational database program named Lidas.

Last revised
May 30, 2026
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≈ 3 min
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Citations
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DISER Lilith
DeveloperETH Zurich
ManufacturerModula Computer Systems
Product family
Wirth
Typeworkstation
Released1980 (1980)
Introductory price
$8000
DiscontinuedYes
Units sold1201
Units shipped120
MediaFloppy disk 5.25 in (13.3 cm) 140 K
Medos-2 (Modula-2)
CPUAMD 2901
Memory256 K (131,072 16-bit words)
Storage15 MB hard disk
Display12 in (30 cm) monochrome bitmapped
Dimensions15.5 in × 15 in × 14.5 in (39 cm × 38 cm × 37 cm)
Marketing target
Research
SuccessorCeres

The DISER Lilith is a custom-built workstation computer based on the Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) 2901 bit-slicing processor, created by a group led by Niklaus Wirth at ETH Zurich.23 The project began in 1977, and by 1984 several hundred workstations were in use. It has a high-resolution full-page portrait oriented cathode-ray tube display, a mouse, a laser printer interface, and a computer networking interface. Its software is written fully in Modula-2 and includes a relational database program named Lidas.

The Lilith processor architecture is a stack machine.2 Citing from Svend Erik Knudsen's contribution to "The Art of Simplicity": "Lilith's clock speed was around 7 MHz and enabled Lilith to execute between 1 and 2 million instructions (called M-code) per second. (...) Initially, the main memory was planned to have 65,536 16-bit words memory, but soon after its first version, it was enlarged to twice that capacity. For regular Modula-2 programs however, only the initial 65,536 words were usable for storage of variables."4

History

The development of Lilith was influenced by the Xerox Alto from the Xerox PARC (1973) where Niklaus Wirth spent a sabbatical from 1976 to 1977. Unable to bring back one of the Alto systems to Europe, Wirth decided to build a new system from scratch between 1978 and 1980, selling it under the company name DISER (Data Image Sound Processor and Emitter Receiver System).5 In 1985, he had a second sabbatical leave to PARC, which led to the design of the Oberon System. Ceres, the follow-up to Lilith, was released in 1987.

Operating system

Medos-2
DeveloperSvend Erik Knudsen
Written inModula-2
OS familyWirth
Working stateDiscontinued
Marketing targetResearch
Available inEnglish
Update methodCompile from source code
Package managerModula-2 modules
Supported platformsLilith (AMD 2901)
Kernel typeModular, object-oriented
Succeeded byOberon

The Lilith operating system, named Medos-2, was developed at ETH Zurich, by Svend Erik Knudsen with advice from Wirth. It is a single-user, object-oriented operating system built from modules of Modula-2.367

Its design influenced the design of the operating system Excelsior, developed for the Soviet Kronos workstation (see below), by the Kronos Research Group (KRG).8

Soviet variants

From 1986 into the early 1990s, Soviet Union technologists created and produced a line of printed circuit board systems, and workstations based on them, all named Kronos. The workstations were based on Lilith, and made in small numbers.9

Mouse

The computer mouse of the Lilith was custom designed, and later used with the Smaky computers. It then inspired the first mice produced by Logitech.

  • The vertical screen, keyboard and mouse of the Diser Lilith
    The vertical screen, keyboard and mouse of the Diser Lilith
  • Vertical tower central unit
    Vertical tower central unit
  • Internal view of the Lilith, showcasing the CPU boards
    Internal view of the Lilith, showcasing the CPU boards
  • Front view of the Lilith workstation
    Front view of the Lilith workstation
References

References

  1. ETH Zurich: Ready. YouTube (video). Zürich, Switzerland: ETH Zurich. 15 June 2017. Event occurs at 1:25–1:35. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  2. Ohran, Richard (August 1984). "Lilith and Modula-2: A case study of high-level-language processor design". Byte. pp. 181–192. Retrieved 6 March 2021. Reprint.
  3. Sand, Paul A. (September 1984). "The Lilith Personal Computer". Byte. pp. 300–311. Retrieved 6 March 2021. Reprint.
  4. Böszörményi, László; Gutknecht, Jürg; Pomberger, Gustav, eds. (25 October 2000). The School of Niklaus Wirth: The Art of Simplicity. Morgan Kaufmann. ISBN 978-1558607231. ISBN 1-55860-723-4 & dpunkt, ISBN 3-932588-85-1.
  5. Wirth, Niklaus (January 1995). "A Brief History of Modula and Lilith". The ModulaTor. 0.
  6. Knudsen, Svend Erik (1983). Medos-2: A Modula-2 Oriented Operating System for the Personal Computer Lilith (PhD). ETH Zurich. doi:10.3929/ethz-a-000300091. hdl:20.500.11850/137906.
  7. Knudsen, Svend Erik (25 October 2000). "Medos in Retrospect". In Böszörményi, László; Gutknecht, Jürg; Pomberger, Gustav (eds.). The School of Niklaus Wirth: The Art of Simplicity. Morgan Kaufmann. pp. 69–86. ISBN 978-1558607231. ISBN 1-55860-723-4 & dpunkt, ISBN 3-932588-85-1.
  8. Kuznetsov, D.N.; Nedorya, A.E.; Tarasov, E.V.; Filippov, V.E. "Kronos: a family of processors for high-level languages". Kronos: History of a Project (in Russian). xTech. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  9. "Kronos: History of a Project" (in Russian). xTech. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
External links