The Outline of a Computer Development from Mechanics to Electronics

Abstract

The main concern of this paper is the development of program-controlled computers suitable for use in the field of science and engineering. The survey of this development indicating the step by step progress from mechanics to electronics is presented from the perspective of the author, whose original idea of constructing program-controlled computers goes back to 1934. The models Z1 to Z4, built by the author during World War II, about which few details are known so far, are briefly discussed. The further progress which this computer development has undergone to this day is seen to be the necessary result of a realistic appraisal of the possibilities which were presented to computer constructors in Germany after 1945. We see that the experience the author gained in both the theoretical design and the practical construction of computers as well as his original ideas pointed the way to further developments.