Re:There were no ancient computers and it's fine
by denton-scratch on Monday April 01, 2024 @08:55AM
(#39893660)
> A better definition of a computer would include not just the words “designed for calculation” but also “programmable.”
That would be a "programmable computer", or a "stored-program computer". The earliest digital computers[0] couldn't store a program; you had to re-wire them. Wikipedia says that ENIAC was "programmable", but programming it was a matter of jump-cables and plugboards, which I call re-wiring. In its earliest version, it had no main memory, just a set of registers/accumulators. You could use card-decks for persistent storage, but you couldmn't load a program from a card-deck, they were just for data.
Re:There were no ancient computers and it's fine
by relaxing on Monday April 01, 2024 @09:34AM
(#39894030)
It’s fascinating to note the ability to have stored programs was planned but not completed due to time and budget, so the extra memory and interface was added as an upgrade in ‘48.
That would be a "programmable computer", or a "stored-program computer". The earliest digital computers[0] couldn't store a program; you had to re-wire them. Wikipedia says that ENIAC was "programmable", but programming it was a matter of jump-cables and plugboards, which I call re-wiring. In its earliest version, it had no main memory, just a set of registers/accumulators. You could use card-decks for persistent storage, but you couldmn't load a program from a card-deck, they were just for data.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ENIAC