Quote: artifacts are regular and repetitive; reflect the purpose of their creator [»monoJ_1971]

Quote: Aristotle: could do without subordinates if inanimate instruments could do their own work by command or intelligent anticipation [»aris_322]

Quote: Pingala (before 200 B.C.) gives an algorithm for computing the total number of arrangements of two things in n places

Quote: computers are for manipulating symbols

Quote: computer programs are formal (syntactic); they manipulate symbols through precisely stated rules; abstract, manipulated without meaning [»searJR1_1990]

Quote: Leibniz developed the idea of a formal system as a means to knowledge, and the possibility of transforming a formal system into a real machine [»kramS2_1996]

Quote: Leibniz invented first calculating machine; for manipulating concepts

Quote: with symbolic logic, the process of inference is precise, almost mechanical

Quote: to interpret the semantics of computer behavior must see it as operating on symbols [»pylyZW_1986]

Quote: computing science may provide symbolic calculation that is better than human reasoning; Leibniz's dream [»dijkEW12_1989]

Quote: the essence of change in a computational system is the appearance and disappearance of tokens of external symbols [»kentW6_1991]

Quote: a computer is a universal medium in that it can simulate any other medium [»kayA3_1977]

Quote: computer hardware can execute almost any sequence of instructions; the secret of its power, flexibility, simplicity, and reliability

Quote: the Jacquard loom could weave any imaginable design; basis for Babbage's analytical engine

Quote: Babbage's analytical engine could compute any formula that consisted of operations on variables and conditional modifications [»babbC_1864, OK]

Quote: Babbage substituted unbounded time for unbounded space; allows a finite machine to make calculations of an unlimited extent [»babbC_1864, OK]

Quote: the cards for the Analytical Engine may contain errors; but once developed, they are valid for an infinite number of particular cases [»menaLF10_1842, OK]

Quote: with a universal Turing machine, you can program it for each different job [»turiAM9_1947]

Quote: the computable sequences are enumerable because of the many-one relationship between Turing machine numbers and computable sequences [»turiAM11_1936]

Quote: a program can be modified by computation; as long as this wire is not connected, the computer is easy to access and control [»zuseK_1984]

Quote: by modifying instructions; EDVAC-type machines can carry out processes that would otherwise require vast programs

Quote: instruction modification is more important than subsequences; allows a short program to carry out a very long sequence of instructions

Quote: logical computing machines can do anything described as 'rule of thumb' or 'purely mechanical'; other constructions are mathematically equivalent [»turiAM9_1947]

Quote: computing is forming new data from given data according to a rule [»zuseK_1984]

Quote: computers carry out any definite rule of thumb process that a human could do in a disciplined but unintelligent manner [»turiA3_1951]

Quote: computers are like a human with a desk calculator and paper obeying explicit instructions

Quote: if you can think of a method using pencil and paper, you can usually implement it by machine [»turiA3_1951]

Quote: computers don't follow rules, they only act as if they did [»searJR_1984]

Quote: programming is controlling the activity of a digital computer by expressing one's will on punched tapes and other input medium [»turiA3_1951]

Quote: the Analytical Engine can not originate anything. It can do whatever we know how to order it to perform. It can not anticipate analytical relations or truths [»menaLF10_1842, OK]

Quote: the transition function is 'obeying an instruction'

Quote: use check sheets to verify a routine experimentally; step through the routine, recording all details [»turiA3_1951]

Quote: the sequence control unit reads 24-bit commands (move A to B and start C) from a perforated paper tape [»compHU_1946]

Quote: the real mystique of computers is their elaborate behavior from limited capabilities [»kentW_1978]

Quote: a computer can perform only the basic operations of arithmetic

Quote: with a computer, the simplest mathematical calculation requires an extended sequence of orders [»wilkMV_1951]

Quote: computers have applications in matrix operations, differential equations, logical problems including chess and draughts, commercial and industrial subjects, fault diagnosis, programming, and pure mathematics [»ferr8_1952]

Quote: a computer program must be written in words of one microsyllable

Quote: we attach meaning to perceived structures in the meaningless bits of computer memory and the meaningless traces of computer programs [»dijkEW2_1971]

Quote: a computer is all purpose because it executes stored programs of instructions

Quote: the purpose of a computer is to execute our programs, not vice versa [»dijkEW3_1976]

Quote: use the same memory for both orders and numbers by expressing orders in a numerical code; from von Neumann's report [»wilkMV_1951]

Quote: memory is a characteristic feature of computers; the act of inserting an item erases whatever was there before [»straC8_1967]

Quote: a location or L-value is an area of the store that has a content or R-value; change the R-value with an updating operation [»straC8_1967]

Quote: the state of the machine at one prepulse is completely determined by its state at the previous one; consists of electronic store, accumulator, and instruction number [»turiA3_1951]

Quote: programming is not interested in the state of the machine at every moment; only at prepulses

Quote: need conventions to reduce uncertainty about a machine's state; computers have very great flexibility [»turiA3_1951]

Quote: a program is a sequence of orders for performing a calculation; unlike a human, every contingency must be foreseen [»wilkMV_1951]

Quote: a computer is a device that automatically executes exhaustively, detailed instructions for complex calculations [»vonnJ6_1945]

Quote: computers can only do tasks which people have broken into very small steps; people do not know how to turn many tasks into steps; e.g., recognition, common sense, solving a problem [»millHD9_1982]

Quote: a computer program must be written in words of one microsyllable

Quote: a program is an elaborate formulae for some formal system; made concrete by a computer [»dijkEW12_1989]

Quote: a vast amount of code is required to realize a programmer's intent, often concisely stated [»laruJR5_2004]

Quote: a computer must function faultlessly; humans may recognize and correct faults, or this may be done automatically [»vonnJ6_1945]

Quote: computers can perform arithmetic operations exceedingly rapidly, remember a great many numbers, and make decisions on intermediate results [»ferr8_1952]

Quote: Manchester "baby" computer correctly ran 3.5 million operations in 52 minutes

Quote: a computer consists of memory, an arithmetical unit, input and output mechanisms, and a control unit

Quote: the magnetic store is divided into tracks; each half-track is loaded into a page of memory; each page, a cathode ray tube, contains 64 lines of 20 binary digits each [»turiA3_1951]

Quote: practical computing machines dial the position of information in a store; delay of a few microseconds; most are universal [»turiAM9_1947]

Quote: EDVAC-type machines have internal memory, elementary instructions stored as data; stands for Electronic Discrete Variable Arithmetic Computer [»maucJW1_1947]

Quote: physical limitations bound the number of steps in a computation; about 10^20 steps and 10^20 memory elements [»turiAM9_1947]

Quote: computers do not guarantee absence of hardware faults; breaks proof of soundness of link-time type-checking; e.g., cosmic rays or heat-induced faults [»goviS5_2003]