Overview

The mathematical genius Alan Turing, now well known for his crucial wartime role in breaking the ENIGMA code, 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 text is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of the computer and the history of mathematics. It contains first hand accounts by Turing and by the pioneers of computing who worked with him. As well as relating the story of the invention of the computer, the book clearly describes the hardware and software of the ACE-including the very first computer programs. The book is intended to be accessible to everyone with an interest in computing, and contains numerous diagrams and illustrations as well as original photographs. The book contains chapters describing Turing's path-breaking research in the fields of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Artificial Life (A-Life). The book has an extensive system of hyperlinks to The Turing Archive for the History of Computing, an on-line library of digital facsimiles of typewritten documents by Turing and the other scientists who pioneered the electronic computer.

Full Product Details

Author:   B. Jack Copeland (Professor of Philosophy at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand) ,  others
Publisher:   Oxford University Press
Imprint:   Oxford University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 3.00cm , Length: 23.30cm
Weight:   0.864kg
ISBN:  

9780199609154

ISBN 10:   0199609152
Pages:   581
Publication Date:   24 May 2012
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

Table of Contents

"Donald W. Davies: Foreword B. Jack Copeland: Introduction to the Centenary Edition Part I: The National Physical Laboratory and the ACE Project Eileen Magnello: A Century of Measurement and Computation at the National Physical Laboratory, 1900-2000 Mary Croarken: The Creation of the NPL Mathematics Division B. Jack Copeland: The Origins and Development of the ACE Project James H. Wilkinson: The Pilot ACE at the National Physical Laboratory Part II: Turing and the History of Computing Martin Campbell-Kelly: The ACE and the Shaping of British Computing Robert Doran: Computer Architecture and the ACE Computers B. Jack Copeland and Diane Proudfoot: Turing and the Computer Teresa Numerico: From Turing Machine to ""Electronic Brain"" Part III: The ACE Computers Henry John Norton: The Pilot ACE Instruction Format J.G. Hayes: Programming the Pilot ACE Robin A. Vowels: The Pilot ACE: from Concept to Reality Robin A. Vowels: The DEUCE-a User's View Tom Vickers: Applications of the Pilot ACE and the DEUCE Harry D. Huskey: The ACE Test Assembly, the Pilot ACE, the Big ACE, and the Bendix G15 Michael Woodger: The ACE Simulator and the Cybernetic Model Benjamin Wells: The Pilot Model and the Big ACE on the Web Part IV: Electronics David O. Clayden: How Valves Work Maurice Wilkes: Recollections of Early Vacuum Tube Circuits David O. Clayden: Circuit Design of the Pilot ACE and the Big ACE Part V: Technical Reports and Lectures on the ACE and the Pilot ACE, 1945-1951 Alan M. Turing: Proposed Electronic Calculator (1945) Alan M. Turing: Notes on Memory (1945) Alan M. Turing and James H. Wilkinson: The Turing-Wilkinson Lecture Series (1946-1947) Harry D. Huskey: The State of the Art in Electronic Digital Computing in Britain and the United States (1947)"

Reviews

Review from previous edition The amount of information collected by the editor is huge and it offers interesting reading for anybody with a deep interest in computer history. EMS Newsletter This book (and the related website of the Turing Archive) will be an invaluable reference for anyone seeking to understand the early history of British computers. P. Aldrich Kidwell, Technology and Culture vol. 47, pp. 460-462 An excellent documentary of Alan Turing's work ... The book provides rare insights ... The presentation is not technical but historical and inspirational ... Summing up: Recommended for general readers. CHOICE This is a provocative book. A Booth, Mathematical Reviews

`Review from previous edition The amount of information collected by the editor is huge and it offers interesting reading for anybody with a deep interest in computer history.' EMS Newsletter `This book (and the related website of the Turing Archive) will be an invaluable reference for anyone seeking to understand the early history of British computers.' P. Aldrich Kidwell, Technology and Culture vol. 47, pp. 460-462 `An excellent documentary of Alan Turing's work ... The book provides rare insights ... The presentation is not technical but historical and inspirational ... Summing up: Recommended for general readers.' CHOICE `This is a provocative book.' A Booth, Mathematical Reviews

Author Information

Jack Copeland is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, where he is Director of the Turing Archive for the History of Computing. His books include The Essential Turing, Colossus: The Secrets of Bletchley Park's Codebreaking Computers, Alan Turing's Automatic Computing Engine, Logic and Reality: Essays on the Legacy of Arthur Prior (all with Oxford University Press), and he has published more than 100 articles on the philosophy and history of computing, and mathematical and philosophical logic.

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