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Z4 Und Ermeth Z4 UND ERMETH: MASCHINEN IM DIENSTE DES Z4 ET ERMETH: DES MACHINES AU SERVICE WISSENSCHAFTLICHEN RECHNENS DU CALCUL SCIENTIFIQUE Ayant déjà abordé des calculs complexes en tant qu’officier durant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, Beatrice Tobler Eduard Stiefel avait compris que ce domaine recelait un immense potentiel pour la Suisse. Il Interview avec Ambros Speiser et Carl décida alors de construire un calculateur en col- August Zehnder laboration avec son assistant, le mathématicien Ambros Speiser (*1922), après des études Heinz Rutishauser (1918–1970), et l’électroin- d’électrotechnique, obtient son doctorat en 1950 génieur Ambros Speiser. En 1948, afin de se auprès du professeur Eduard Stiefel, à l’Ecole rendre compte de l’état des recherches, tous les polytechnique fédérale de Zurich (EPFZ). trois effectuèrent un long voyage d’études aux Chargé de cours en 1952, il est nommé profes- Etats-Unis. Ambros Speiser et Heinz Rustis- seur en 1962. En 1955, il quitte l’EPFZ pour hauser passèrent d’abord quelques mois à prendre la direction du laboratoire de recherches l’Université de Harvard à Boston, où Howard IBM à Rüschlikon. Plus tard, il dirige le centre Aiken (tableau chronologique, 1944) travaillait de recherches chez Brown Boveri à Baden, tout sur la série des Mark, puis à l’Institute for en continuant à enseigner à l’EPFZ. De 1987 à Advanced Study à Princeton, où travaillait John 1993, il préside l’Académie suisse des sciences von Neumann (tableau chronologique, 1945).1 1 Gutknecht, 1987, p. 1–4 techniques. Ambros Speiser a en synthèse vécu Dès son retour, Eduard Stiefel prit conscience et marqué de son empreinte les débuts de l’in- que la construction d’une machine allait durer formatique suisse. des années. Apprenant que le calculateur à relais Z4 de Konrad Zuse avait passé la guerre sans Carl August Zehnder (*1937) a fait des études encombre, il se tourna vers une solution inter- de mathématiques à l’Ecole polytechnique fédé- médiaire: contre un montant de 30’000 francs rale de Zurich où il passe son doctorat en 1965. suisses, il loua le Z4 pour une durée de cinq ans. Depuis 1973 il est professeur d’informatique à La machine, équipée de 2’200 relais provenant l’EPFZ où il créa, entre autres, le domaine de d’anciennes installations de télécommunication, recherches des banques de données. Etudiant, il avait été construite entre 1942 et 1945. Une a appris la programmation sur la machine multiplication durait trois secondes, une divi- Beatrice Tobler Carl August Zehnder (geb. 1937) studierte an ERMETH. sion six. De vieilles bobines de films servaient der ETH Zürich Mathematik, doktorierte 1965 de ruban perforé pour les programmes.2 2 Gutknecht, 1987, p. 6 Interview mit Ambros Speiser und und ist seit 1973 Professor für Informatik an der L’histoire de l’informatique suisse commence En 1945, peu avant la chute de Berlin, Konrad Carl August Zehnder ETH Zürich, wo er u.a. das Forschungsgebiet en janvier 1948 avec la création de l’Institut de Zuse et sa famille réussirent, au cours d’une Ambros Speiser (geb. 1922) studierte Elektro- Datenbanken aufbaute. Er lernte 1958 als mathématiques appliquées à l’EPFZ. Le but de action de sauvetage spectaculaire, à transporter technik und doktorierte 1950 an der ETH Zürich Student das Programmieren auf der ERMETH. son directeur, le mathématicien zurichois la machine à Hopferau, au sud de l’Allemagne. bei Eduard Stiefel, wurde 1952 Privatdozent Die Computergeschichte der Schweiz beginnt Eduard Stiefel (1909–78), est d’introduire le Cependant, même après la guerre, personne ne und 1962 Professor. 1955 verliess er die ETH im Januar 1948 mit der Gründung des Instituts calcul contrôlé par programme en Suisse. A la marqua un véritable intérêt pour le Z4 en und wurde Direktor des IBM Forschungslabors für angewandte Mathematik an der ETH Zürich. même époque, quelques ordinateurs en état de Allemagne. Eduard Stiefel, en revanche, s’inté- in Rüschlikon, später Chef der Konzern- Sein Vorsteher, der Zürcher Mathematiker marche existaient déjà ailleurs, tels Colossus en ressait aux anciennes technologies: forschung bei Brown Boveri in Baden, hielt Eduard Stiefel (1909–1978), hatte es sich zum Angleterre, Mark I et l’ENIAC aux Etats-Unis, jedoch weiterhin Vorlesungen an der ETH. Von Ziel gesetzt, das programmgesteuerte Rechnen ainsi que le Z4 de Konrad Zuse en Allemagne. A. Speiser: «Nous étions tous conscients que les 1987 bis 1993 war er Präsident der Schweiz- in der Schweiz einzuführen. Zu dieser Zeit exis- Ce dernier allait plus particulièrement marquer calculateurs à relais appartenaient à une techno- erischen Akademie für Technische Wissen- tierten andernorts bereits einige funktionsfähige l’histoire de l’institut récemment créé de logie dépassée. Le Z4 devait permettre au pro- schaften (SATW). Ambros Speiser hat die Früh- Computer, unter ihnen Colossus in England, l’EPFZ. fesseur Stiefel d’effectuer des calculs scientifi- zeit der Schweizer Informatik miterlebt und mit- ques le plus rapidement possible, ce dont la machine s’acquitta avec succès. geprägt. fabriqué jusqu’en 1870. Sciences de Paris. Il sera l’arithmomètre à l’Académie des Charles Xavier Thomas présente produziert wird. Arithmometer vor, das bis 1870 Arithmometer vor, Académie des Sciences sein Paris der französischen Charles Xavier Thomas führt in 1820 tisser. pour le pilotage d’un métier à employer des cartes perforées (1752–1834) est le premier à Joseph-Marie Jacquard Webstuhls ein. Webstuhls Lochkarten zur Steuerung eines (1752–1834) setzt erstmals Joseph-Marie Jacquard 1801 binaire. invente le système arithmétique Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz et das duale Zahlensystem. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz erfind- 1679 à Londres. Leibniz» à la Royal Society dispositif appelé «la Roue de machine à calculer dotée d’un (1646–1716) présente sa Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Staffelwalze vor. nische Rechenmaschine mit Society in London seine mecha- (1646–1716) führt vor der Royal Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz 1673 (Pascaline) à Paris. présente sa machine à calculer Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) Rechenmaschine (Pascaline) vor. in Paris seine mechanische Blaise Pascal (1623–1666) führt 1643 document. mécanique mentionnée dans un invente la première calculatrice Wilhelm Schickard (1592–1635) Rechenmaschine. erwähnte mechanische erfindet die erste urkundlich Wilhelm Schikard (1592–1635) 1623 Mark I und ENIAC in den USA und Konrad calculs de statistique. D’autres utilisateurs pro- Zuses Z4 in Deutschland. Letzterer sollte die venaient de l’industrie aéronautique et des ent- Geschichte des frisch gegründeten Instituts an A. Speiser: «Wir wussten alle, dass Relaisma- Voyant les performances du Z4 en Suisse, les reprises d’optique. L’utilisation du Z4 était fac- der ETH prägen. schinen eine veraltete Technologie darstellten. Allemands commencèrent à réagir en se deman- turée un centime par opération ou dix francs Professor Stiefel hat die Z4 erworben, um mög- dant pourquoi ils avaient laissé partir la machi- suisses de l’heure aux personnes extérieures au Stiefel hatte sich als Offizier während des lichst schnell wissenschaftliche Berechnungen ne en Suisse, au lieu de la garder en projet. Zweiten Weltkriegs schon mit komplexen machen zu können. Dafür wurde sie mit gros- Allemagne.» Les étudiants de divers instituts profitèrent évi- Berechnungen auseinandergesetzt und das sem Erfolg eingesetzt. demment aussi de la machine pour leurs travaux Potential für die Schweiz auf diesem Gebiet A Zurich, les capacités de calcul du Z4 et leurs thèses. La plupart du temps cependant la erkannt. Er beschloss, zusammen mit seinen Erst als man sah, wie erfolgreich die Z4 in der étaient aussi mises à disposition de tiers : machine était utilisée pour le calcul scientifique Assistenten, dem Mathematiker Heinz Rutis- Schweiz eingesetzt wurde, wachten die Deut- A. Speiser: «Recherches et prestations de ser- d’Eduard Stiefel et de Heinz Rutishauser avec hauser (1918-1970) und dem Elektroingenieur schen auf und fragten sich, wieso sie die vice se développaient en parallèle, occupant un succès qui rendit l’institut célèbre dans le Ambros Speiser, eine eigene Rechenmaschine Maschine hatten in die Schweiz gehen lassen, chacune environ 50% du temps de calcul. monde entier en quelques années. Le Z4 en était zu bauen. Um sich über den aktuellen Forsch- statt sie in Deutschland zu behalten.» La majorité des utilisateurs externes étaient des la base.» ungsstand zu informieren, unternahmen die drei ingénieurs du génie civil qui venaient faire des 1948 eine ausgedehnte Forschungsreise in die USA. Speiser und Rutishauser verbrachten eini- ge Monate an der Harvard University in Boston, wo Howard Aiken (Timeline 1944) an der Mark-Serie arbeitet und am Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, wo John von 1 Gutknecht 1987, S.1-4 Neumann (Timeline 1945) tätig war.1 Nach ihrer Rückkehr wurde Stiefel bald klar, dass das Bauen einer eigenen Maschine Jahre dauern würde. Als er erfuhr, dass Konrad Zuses Relaisrechner Z4 den Krieg unbeschadet über- standen hatte, entschied er sich für eine Über- gangslösung: Er mietete die Z4 für fünf Jahre zu einem Preis von 30’000 Franken. Die Maschine wurde zwischen 1942 und 1945 gebaut und war mit 2200 Relais ausgestattet, die von alten Fernmeldeanlagen stammten. Eine Multiplika- tion dauerte drei, eine Division sechs Sekunden. Das Programm wurde in alte Filmrollen ge- 2 Gutknecht 1987, S. 6 stanzt, die als Lochstreifen dienten.2 1945 konn- te die Maschine kurz vor dem Fall Berlins in einer abenteuerlichen Rettungsaktion von Zuse und seiner Familie ins süddeutsche Hopferau gebracht werden. Auch nach dem Krieg interes- sierte sich in Deutschland niemand für die Z4. Stiefel hingegen ging es nicht darum, die neues- te Technologie zu haben: Die Rechenleistung der Z4 wurde in Zürich auch Dritten zur Verfügung gestellt: A. Speiser: «Forschung und Dienstleistung lie- die Automation in der Verwaltung und im L’équipe était tout à fait consciente de son fen parallel nebeneinander und beanspruchten je Bürobereich bei ganz bestimmten Routine- rôle de pionnier: etwa 50% der Rechenzeit. Die auswärtigen sachen etabliert, z.B.
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