Re: [OT] Antikythera mechanism [was Re: Do have programs have poor documentation?]

[deloptes <deloptes@gmail.com>]

Lisi Reisz wrote:

> So something that can't be programmed with anything that looks like a full
> C compiler is not a computer???  So Colossus was not a computer?? :-)
> 
> C itself, of course, is MUCH later than Colossus,
> 
> <quote> C was originally developed by Dennis Ritchie between 1969 and 1973
> at Bell Labs, </quote>
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C_(programming_language)
> 
> <quote>
> Colossus was a set of computers developed by British codebreakers in
> 1943-1945 .... The prototype, Colossus Mark 1, was shown to be working in
> December 1943
> </quote>
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus_computer
> 
> but I don't think that Colossus could compile with anything.  It had to be
> directly programmed.
> 
> Lisi

I agree with you Lisi. Originally my point was about this tradition in
(christian) philosophy and mathematics that made this possible. Of course
in the beginning it was not like today (semiconductors), but still it is
about the idea. The idea (vision) was developed here and later came the
implementations. There are still nostalgic discussions about analog
computers. To me it is all part of a historic paradigm. 

regards