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Sketch of the Analytical Engine Invented by Charles Babbage
About the translator / author of notes, Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (1815 – 1852), born Augusta Ada Byron and now commonly known as Ada Lovelace, was an English mathematician and writer chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's early mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. Her notes on the engine include what is recognised as the first algorithm intended to be carried out by a machine. Because of this, she is often described as the world's first computer programmer. This book published in 1842 has been reformatted for the Kindle and may contain an occasional defect from the original publication or from the reformatting.
- GenresScienceComputer Science
83 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 4, 2014
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January 16, 2017
Totally fascinating. And once you get used to the early 19th century language it's a joy to read.
The notes are, of course, the main draw. That's where Ada (if you'll excuse the informality) really takes off. Yes, Mr. Menabrea wrote a workman's description of Babbage's Analytical Engine and history owes him a debt of gratitude. But Ada really gives the engine life, expanding on it's inner workings and explaining what Mr. Menabrea leaves to our assumptions.
And the real jewels are her observations in what the engine *can* do. (not that it was ever built) Her insight into the fact that it's not all about numbers is pure genius. We take this for granted today. We're told that computers are only about numbers but we see it playing games, mediating our communications, making moving pictures, and on an on. Intuitively we know it's more than numbers. Ada saw beyond that. A favorite quote: "We may say most aptly that the Analytical Engine weaves algebraic patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves." This was her insight, that it was more than just numbers, that "the engine might compose elaborate and scientific pieces of music of any degree of complexity or extent."
Be sure to print out her diagram of the computation of the Bernoulli Numbers. That's what eventually took me so long to finish (besides reading it in the background. I must read it again someday soon as my main reading), printing the thing and finally sitting down to analyze it. As a programmer of modern day computers it was quite clear and no surprise but gave me a great insight into the workings of the Analytical Engine.
The notes are, of course, the main draw. That's where Ada (if you'll excuse the informality) really takes off. Yes, Mr. Menabrea wrote a workman's description of Babbage's Analytical Engine and history owes him a debt of gratitude. But Ada really gives the engine life, expanding on it's inner workings and explaining what Mr. Menabrea leaves to our assumptions.
And the real jewels are her observations in what the engine *can* do. (not that it was ever built) Her insight into the fact that it's not all about numbers is pure genius. We take this for granted today. We're told that computers are only about numbers but we see it playing games, mediating our communications, making moving pictures, and on an on. Intuitively we know it's more than numbers. Ada saw beyond that. A favorite quote: "We may say most aptly that the Analytical Engine weaves algebraic patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves." This was her insight, that it was more than just numbers, that "the engine might compose elaborate and scientific pieces of music of any degree of complexity or extent."
Be sure to print out her diagram of the computation of the Bernoulli Numbers. That's what eventually took me so long to finish (besides reading it in the background. I must read it again someday soon as my main reading), printing the thing and finally sitting down to analyze it. As a programmer of modern day computers it was quite clear and no surprise but gave me a great insight into the workings of the Analytical Engine.
Displaying 1 of 1 review