15 Feb
2021
15 Feb
'21
7:32 a.m.
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk <cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org> On Behalf Of Paul Koning via
cctalk
Sent: 15 February 2021 15:17
To: Paul Koning <paulkoning at comcast.net>; cctalk at classiccmp.org
Subject: Re: Programming in 1946 - ENIAC's Birthday
first
On Feb 15, 2021, at 10:13 AM, Paul Koning via
cctalk
<cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
> On Feb 15, 2021, at 7:23 AM, osi.superboard via cctalk
<cctalk at
classiccmp.org> wrote:
>
> 75 years ago, February 15, 1946
> The ENIAC, presented to the public in 1946, is - depending on the
definition -
the first programmable digital computer in the world. Its programmers were primarily women: so-called
refrigerator ladies (seen
here: Gloria Ruth Gordon and Ester Gerston) spent hours flipping switches
and swapping cable connections - the first computer input devices -
I think it corresponds more to the "Havard" architecture, but for a machine
with "unlimited" memory the two architectures can be shown to be equivalent,
in terms of computing capability.
Not so much input devices as rather program storage devices. ENIAC
wasn't a
stored-program machine.
That was confusing. I meant that ENIAC wasn't a Von Neumann machine --
the program isn't stored in its data read/write memory.
paul
Dave
G4UGM