Wilkes, Maurice V. and Wheeler, David J. and Gill, Stanley, The Preparation of Programs for an Electronic Digital Computer, 1951 (1984 for reprint by The MIT Press) [˝ 1984 Tomash. All rights reserved, Original held in L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University].
EDSAC
The EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator), built at Cambridge University in 1949, was one of the first electronic computers. Programming required punching the source code onto paper tape, but unlike other early computers, it did not require rewiring the machine each time. For the first time, the EDSAC also automatically converted instructions from paper tape into a form the computer could execute, instead of requiring the programmer to write them in that format directly.
ABOUT CODE
This work shows how programming evolved from physically manipulating hardware to writing organized, reusable instructions – marking the beginning of modern computing.
Wilkes, Wheeler, and Gill’s Preparation of Programs for an Electronic Digital Computer was based on their experiences constructing and running the EDSAC. This book is the first textbook on programming. It was produced with clear explanations and well-presented examples – remarkably advanced for its time.
All the examples in the book explain how each program is executed step by step by the computer and how the calculations are built. The book includes the complete source code for a library of algorithms used on the EDSAC – the first complete collection of practical tools for mathematics, data input and output, number formatting, and error checking – developed to help researchers across Cambridge University use the EDSAC for their calculations. In this example, five small programs – called routines – are combined to solve a larger problem. Each routine performed a specific task, such as a mathematical operation or data handling.
By reusing these ready-made routines, programmers could focus on their research questions instead of writing everything from scratch.
BIOGRAPHY
Jeffrey Starr is a professional software developer turned computer historian. After graduating university, he worked as a developer in industrial research and product development positions. Today, he works as a consultant and writes about the history of computing at ztoz.blog with a focus on software and the software development process.
#EDSAC
#Early programming
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