Ben Franchuk wrote:
> Hans B Pufal wrote:
>>Since the manchester machine is considered (by some) to be the first
>>electronic stored program digital computer, then the first program to
>>run on it must, by definition, be the oldest - no?
> I think there was a few algorithmic notes , almost a program for
> babbage's mill.
Ah but this was never run and th ehardware never built, admittedly a
pedantic point.
> Since one has a Babbage emulator (
> http://www.fourmilab.ch/babbage/contents.html )
This is new to me, thanks for the reference and link.
> and some hardware built in the 1990's is the mill the first or last?
> historical computer built?
I think you might be confusing Babbage's difference engine and
analytical engine. A working version of the difference engine was built
by the Londoen Science Musuem in the 90's. An excellent description is
provided by Doron Swade in his book The Cogwheel Brain (ISBN
0316648477). It was the anlytical engine which resembles a modern
computer and, to my knowledge, no one has attempted to construct one of
those (yet ;-).
-- hbp
Received on Sat Apr 06 2002 - 14:00:37 BST