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Well, it was still more than a calculator, since it was programmable: a calculator can add or subtract, but can't be instructed to do one and then the other wit
by commandlinefan 7y ago
Well, it was still more than a calculator, since it was programmable: a calculator can add or subtract, but can't be instructed to do one and then the other without human intervention.
- sandworm101 7y agoYes and no. It is a programmable calculator, but it cannot run an unending program. It doesn't have the "go to X" functionality to bounce back and forth along a long tape of instructions. It can run a sequence of tasks, much like a player piano can, but eventually gets to the end of the program and is therefore limited. A proper computer can calculate anything. It might take trillions of years to complete some tasks, but a proper "computer" can run programs with no defined end. Calculators can only run sequences.