Alan Turing's Automatic Computing Engine

B. Jack Copeland

554 pages, parution le 10/05/2005

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Résumé

The mathematical genius Alan Turing (1912-1954) was one of the greatest scientists and thinkers of the 20^th century. Now well known for his crucial wartime role in breaking the ENIGMA code, he was the first to conceive of the fundamental principle of the modern computer-the idea of controlling a computing machine's operations by means of a program of coded instructions, stored in the machine's 'memory'. In 1945 Turing drew up his revolutionary design for an electronic computing machine-his Automatic Computing Engine (ACE). A pilot model of the ACE ran its first program in 1950 and the production version, the 'DEUCE', went on to become a cornerstone of the fledgling British computer industry. The first 'personal' computer was based on Turing's ACE.

Alan Turing's Automatic Computing Engine describes Turing's struggle to build the modern computer. The first detailed history of Turing's contributions to computer science, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of the computer. It contains first-hand accounts by Turing and by the pioneers of computing who worked with him. In addition to relating the story of the invention of the computer, the book describes in simple terms the hardware and software of the ACE-including the very first computer programs. The book is accessible to everyone with an interest in computing, and contains numerous diagrams and illustrations as well as original photographs.

The book includes some previously unpublished work by Turing, and chapters describing Turing's path-breaking research in the fields of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Artificial Life (A-Life). The book makes use of an extensive system of hyperlinks to The Turing Archive for the History of Computing, an on-line library of digital facsimiles of original documents by Turing and the other scientists who pioneered the electronic computer.

Sommaire

List of Photographs
Contributors
Introduction
The National Physical Laboratory and the ACE Project
Turing and the History of Computing
The ACE Computers
Electronics
Technical Reports and Lectures on the ACE 1945-47
Index

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Caractéristiques techniques

	PAPIER
Éditeur(s)	Oxford University Press
Auteur(s)	B. Jack Copeland
Parution	10/05/2005
Nb. de pages	554
Format	16 x 24
Couverture	Relié
Poids	1158g
Intérieur	Noir et Blanc
EAN13	9780198565932
ISBN13	978-0-19-856593-2