Manchester Mark 1 - First Programs

First Programs

The first realistic program to be run on the Mark 1 was a search for Mersenne primes, in early April 1949, which ran error free for nine hours on the night of 16/17 June 1949. The algorithm was specified by Max Newman, head of the Mathematics Department at the University of Manchester, and the program was written by Kilburn and Tootill. Turing later wrote an optimised version of the program, dubbed the Mersenne Express.

The Manchester Mark 1 continued to do useful mathematical work between 1949 and 1950, including an investigation of the Riemann hypothesis and calculations in optics.

Read more about this topic:  Manchester Mark 1

Famous quotes containing the word programs:

    “Short of a wholesale reform of college athletics—a complete breakdown of the whole system that is now focused on money and power—the women’s programs are just as doomed as the men’s are to move further and further away from the academic mission of their colleges.... We have to decide if that’s the kind of success for women’s sports that we want.”
    —Christine H. B. Grant, U.S. university athletic director. As quoted in the Chronicle of Higher Education, p. A42 (May 12, 1993)

    “There is a delicate balance of putting yourself last and not being a doormat and thinking of yourself first and not coming off as selfish, arrogant, or bossy. We spend the majority of our lives attempting to perfect this balance. When we are successful, we have many close, healthy relationships. When we are unsuccessful, we suffer the natural consequences of damaged and sometimes broken relationships. Children are just beginning their journey on this important life lesson.”
    —Cindy L. Teachey. “Building Lifelong Relationships—School Age Programs at Work,” Child Care Exchange (January 1994)