On Sat, Apr 2, 2016 at 9:00 AM, Fred Lunnon <fred.lunnon@gmail.com> wrote:
As I understand it, Babbage's "analytical engine" failed because it pushed engineering techniques beyond their contemporary limits.
Even the difference engine pushed engineering past its limits; the analytical engine was never even attempted.
But in any case, I don't regard that as a "true" computer;
It would have been programmable, in much the same sense as an FPGA is.
The essential extra component is the "stored program", a development which had to await the concept of a universal Turing machine.
I think, had the analytical engine ever been built and employed, that the stored program would have followed shortly thereafter. -- Mike Stay - metaweta@gmail.com http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~mike http://reperiendi.wordpress.com