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There is no question that there were many other scientists who made great contributions to the development of the computer. We now will consider Konrad Zuse's ideas related to the stored program computer. It is correct, that Konrad Zuse's computers Z1, Z2, Z3, and Z4 were not stored program computers. This also holds for the computers ABC, Mark I, COLOSSUS and the ENIAC.
However, from our point of view it is very questionable to say that John von Neumann and his colleagues introduced the concept of the stored program computer [BURK46]. We will not discuss whether it was John von Neumann himself of his colleagues who were more involved in this idea [BAUE98], but we want to carefully examine Konrad Zuse's articles and statements related to the stored program computer.
Konrad Zuse did not create or use the term stored program computer per se. However, we can find some strong indicators for the concept of the stored program computer in his work. In [ZUSE99a] we summarize all of Konrad Zuse's arguments and statements related to the concept of the stored program computer. We now will cite one of his articles of from 1936 [ZUSE36], in which he wrote:
Man verbindet die Rechenvorrichtung über ein Wählwerk mit einem Speicherwerk, das je Zelle eine Zahl aufnehmen kann. Das Wählwerk hat den Zweck, die erforderliche Speicherzelle mit der Rechenvorrichtung zu verbinden. sei es auf elektrischen oder mechanischen Wege, um entweder die gespeicherte Zahl zu einer Rechenoperation zu verwenden, oder um in der Zelle eine Zahl zu speichern. Das Speicherwerk dient zur Aufnahme der Ausgangswerte und der im Verlauf der Rechnung auftretenden Zahlen.
Translation: The arithmetic unit has to be connected by a selection unit with the memory, which can store a number for every cell. The purpose of the selection unit is to connect the required cell of the memory with the arithmetic unit in an electrical or mechanical way, in order to use the stored number of a calculating operation or to store the number in a cell. The memory stores the initial numbers of the calculation and the created numbers during the calculation.
Auch der Rechenplan läßt sich speichern, wobei die Befehle im Takt der Rechnung den Steuervorrichtungen zugeführt werden. Die Rechenpläne lassen sich entsprechend in fester Form speichern, falls die Maschine oft dieselbe Rechnung ausführen soll. Alle diese Abwandlungen fallen unter das Grundprinzip.
Translation: The program itself can be stored too, where the instructions are delivered to the control unit by the impulse generator of the machine. The programs can be stored in a rigid form, if the machine has to calculate the same program very often. All modifications are based on the basic principle.
The most important of Konrad Zuse's statements related to storing programs in the machine's memory can be found in [ZUSE36]:
Bei der vorliegenden Erfindung werden diese Schaltglieder zu einem Speicherwerk zusammengesetzt, mit dem beliebige Angaben, z.B. Zahlen, gespeichert werden können. Solche Vorrichtungen spielen besonders bei Rechenmaschinen eine Rolle. Sie können aber auch zur Speicherung anderer Angaben, z.B. von Befehlen an Arbeitsmaschinen (Schaltspeicherung, von Buchstabenkombinationen (z.B. Telegrammspeicherung), von Buchstabenverschlüsselungen (Chiffriermaschinen) od. dgl. benutzt werden.
Translation: In the presented invention these (author: mechanical) switches are combined to a sequential logical system, where arbitrary specifications (Angaben), for example numbers can be stored. Such features especially in computing machines play a role. They also can be used for the storage of other specifications, for example of instructions for working machines (switch storage), of combinations of letters (telegraphic storage), of alphabetic coding (cipher machines), or similar things.
We agree with Randall [RAND73], p 350, where we find the following quote in the introduction to the chapter titled: The Stored Program Electronic Computers:
In fact the idea of a stored program has little attraction when a machine has only a slow mechanical internal memory. Thus it is not surprising that Zuse, whose 1936 [ZUSE36] paper, reprinted earlier, contains a comparatively clear reference to the possibility of a stored program, does not seem to have persuaded the idea any further.
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