Computing in the 20th Century Late 19th and early 20th century • Mechanical, electromechanical counting machines • Cash registers, “business machines” National security demands, WW2 Early Computing History • Ballistics for artillery • Cryptanaly sis • Weapons design ECE/CS 252, Fall 2010 • Etc. Prof. Mikko Lipasti Coincidental trends Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering • Emergence of electronics for switching University of Wisconsin – Madison • Development of computing theory • Adoption of binary/boolean approach Led to global emergence of computing devices
Atanasoff-Berry Computer Zuse Z3 John Atanasoff (UW Konrad Zuse PhD) & Clifford Berry Germany 1943 Iowa State 1937-1942 Featured: Featured: • Floating point • Binary numbers • Electromechanical • Electronic switching relays • Solved systems of • No conditional branch linear equations Not fully programmable Not fully programmable, but close Abandoned when Atanosoff recruited to work on Destroyed in Allied bombing in 1943 (picture is a other war-related activities replica)
Colossus IBM ASCC/Harvard Mark I Tommy Flowers Howard Aiken designed Bletchley Park 1943 IBM built in 1943 Featured: Featured: • Binary numbers • Decimal (not binary) • Electronic switching • Electromechanical: • Cryptanalysis of German shafts, clutches, gears codes • Programmed with paper • Eleven were built & used tape: idea of loops Not fully programmable Not fully programmable Destroyed after WW2 to maintain secrecy Aiken failed to credit IBM’s contributions • Not publicly known until 1970s
1 ENIAC Early Computing Devices [Source: Wikipedia] Universal John Mauchly, Presper Computing Device Shown working Binary Electronic Programmable Computing Eckert Device? Zuse Z3 (Germany) May 1941 Yes No By punched film stock Yes Atanasoff–Berry Univ. of Penn. 1944-46 Summer 1941 Yes Yes No No Computer (Iowa State) December 1943 Featured: Colossus (UK) Yes Yes Partially, by rewiring No / January 1944 • Decimal (not binary) Harvard Mark I – IBM 1944 No No By punched paper tape Yes • Electrical switching ASCC 1944 No Yes Partially, by rewiring Yes ENIAC (Penn) • Programmed via control 1948 No Yes By Function Table ROM Yes panel Not fully programmable Many early programmers were women . ENIAC: Kay McNulty, Betty Jennings, Betty Snyder, Marlyn Wescoff, Fran Bilas, Widely considered first electronic computer Ruth Lichterman . Harvard: Grace Hopper
Why call it a von Neumann Machine? Legal Repercussions ENIAC 1944-1946 Mauchly&Eckert filed for a patent in 1946, granted in 1964 • Developed in secrecy, Army funded, at Univ. of Penn. • Patents and copyrights established in U.S. constitution • Intended for ballistic tables, used for hydrogen bomb • Balance rights of the inventor (exclusivity) vs. public good • Designed by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly (limited time to expiration) • Hard-wired program -- settings of dials and switches. M&E Started a company, led to UNIVAC system John von Neumann • Well-known Princeton mathematician • Eventually Sperry, later became Unisys (still around today) • Invited to review ENIAC design documents + EDVAC follow-on in 1945 Honeywell sued Sperry to invalidate ENIAC patent • Wrote a report on the stored program concept, known as the First Draft • Evidence that Mauchly exposed to Atanasoff-Berry design of a Report on EDVAC • Concepts published before patented (von Neumann report) • Report failed to credit designers, ironically von Neumann still gets credit • Judge ultimately invalidated patent in 1973 The basic structure proposed in the draft became known as the “von Neumann machine” (or model). Opened up dynamic computing marketplace • a memory, containing instructions and data • Minicomputers, departmental computing • a processing unit, for performing arithmetic and logical operations • Microprocessors (Intel) • a control unit, for interpreting instructions • Personal computers (Altair, Apple ][, IBM PC, …)
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