Advent of Computing

In 1947 Raytheon signed a contract to make their first computer. It would be their last... at least for many many years. The fruits of this contract was RAYDAC. Early digital computers were odd, to say the least. And RAYDAC distinguishes itself. From zig-zag delay lines to hunting tapes to freon cooling, it truly is a unique machine.
Selected Sources:
https://ed-thelen.org/McGee_Book-4.2.2.pdf - McGee on his experience programming RAYDAC
https://sci-hub.st/10.1109/JRPROC.1948.232626 - A Digital Computer for Scientific Applications
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2002859 - The Logical Design of RAYDAC
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The image of a mainframe is almost always accompanied by it's companion: the magnetic tape drive. For decades magnetic tape served as the medium of choice for computing. It was faster than punch cards, and more available than hard drives. But where did it come from? Is it a borrowed technology like the vacuum tube?
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In which we discuss GPSS: the General Purpose Simulation Language. As for as languages go, this is a unique one. It's designed for certain types of simulations. It's code is just a handy way to feed a flowchart into a computer. It's design is closer to an analog computer than it is to a programming language. Yet GPSS is Turing Complete. Step inside and prepare to be... confused!
The big source of the show:
https://dl.acm.org/doi/epdf/10.1145/960118.808382 - The Development of GPSS
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The Olivetti Programma 101 isn't quite like any other machine. On first glance it looks like a big desktop calculator. Inside, it's a purebred computer... but strange one. It uses twisted spring steel for memory, has no addresses, and it's machine code looks more like a spell than a program. It's existence is due, in no small part, to a man being very mean to GE engineers.
Like Advent of Computing? Then check out the after show! Adjunct of Computing is now LIVE: YouTube Spotify Apple Podcasts

Dan Temkin has been a long time friend of the show. I finally got the chance to sit down and talk with him about one of his latest projects. Forty-Four Esolangs is a "The first artist's monograph of programming languages". During this interview we keep circling around one very crucial question: what really is a programming language?
Get the book and learn more about esolangs here:
https://danieltemkin.com/Esolangs