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Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) ENIAC Technical Manual (Paperback)
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Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) ENIAC Technical Manual (Paperback)
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Total price: R955
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Created in 1946 as part of a 1,000 page Report on the Electronic
Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), this ENIAC Technical
Manual provides a fascinating glimpse into the technology behind
the world's first electronic, general-purpose computer. Designed
and built during WWII at the University of Pennsylvania, ENIAC was
conceived by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert. It was financed by
the Ordnance Department of the U.S. Army. The Army's intent was to
use it to calculate artillery firing tables but ENIAC's digital,
Turing-complete design meant that it could solve a wide range of
problems. Eventually it was even used to compute data for the
design of the hydrogen bomb. ENIAC represented a remarkable advance
in technology. Its speed was 1000x faster than the
electro-mechanical machines that preceded it, and it relied on no
moving parts to produce calculations. Famously, the ENIAC contained
almost 17,500 vacuum tubes, 7,200 crystal diodes, 1,500 relays,
70,000 resistors and 10,000 capacitors, and took up nearly 1800
square feet while consuming 150 kW of power. While vacuum tube
technology was not the most reliable owing to frequent burn-outs,
the ENIAC operated roughly 50% of the time it was in service. ENIAC
was composed of individual panels that performed different
functions, with numbers passed between the units by buses. It could
be programmed to perform a variety of now-familiar operations
including loops, branches and subroutines, and could hold a
ten-digit decimal number in memory. It even had the ability to
branch - triggering different operations depending on the sign of a
computed result - and could print results to an IBM punch card.
Programming the ENIAC was not easy and often took weeks of work,
some of it spent mapping out the problem and much of it spent
settingup the computer's numerous switches and cables. That task
fell to several female programmers including the author of this
book, Adele K. Goldstine. Created by the University of Pennsylvania
in fulfillment of their contract, this ENIAC Technical Manual was
originally restricted, and its publication limited to just 25
copies. Within its pages you'll find a complete explanation of the
circuits of the machine. This text provides a unique and
fascinating look into ENIAC, and is a must have for any student of
computing theory and history. Please note: this book was made from
an original mimeograph copy of the master typescript manuscript
prepared in 1946. As a result some pages lack legibility.
General
Imprint: |
Periscope Film
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
November 2012 |
First published: |
November 2012 |
Authors: |
Adele K. Goldstine
|
Dimensions: |
254 x 203 x 24mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
Pages: |
472 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-937684-66-2 |
Categories: |
Books >
Computing & IT >
General theory of computing >
General
|
LSN: |
1-937684-66-0 |
Barcode: |
9781937684662 |
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