5 ms·

Von Neumann's First Computer Program (1970)

81 points by ctoth 4y ago

082349872349872 4y ago
Nice to see some evidence for the hypothesis that (unlike Hoare with QuickSort) von Neumann wasn't trying to develop merge sort as a new sorting algorithm, but was merely trying to see if he could, in software, do the part of the job that had up until then been done, in hardware, on a separate unit record machine. > He never actually gets around to coding the entire sorting routine in this document; only the merging process is described. > He formulated the merging method as follows (based on a procedure then used with the IBM collator):
dang 4y ago
Related: Von Neumann’s First Computer Program (1970) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16975366 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16975366 - May 2018 (18 comments)
musicale 4y ago
No, I don't want to sign up for your newsletter - I want to read the #$@!$ PDF!
- nemoniac 4y ago
  The pdf is directly downloadable from here: https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/356580.356581 https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/356580.356581
  - tyingq 4y ago
    Also, clicking the close button works fine, though it is irritating. That is, it's a nag and not a register wall.
djmips 4y ago
Fun fact (to me at least) in the early computers the instructions were called 'orders'.
michaelrpeskin 4y ago
I was hoping that it would be 10 print "John is cool" 20 goto 10 because then he and I would have started off in the same place.
royalghost 4y ago
I highly recommend this book if you want to know more about John Von Neumann and his contribution to some of the most influencing topics of today's world including Game Theory, Quantum Physics, Electronic Computer, Hydrogen bombs etc. This book is also great for history lovers since it also delves into the period of post World War II when the best of the brains started migrating to US from Europe and influence major national defense and security projects. It's amazing to see how Von Neumann is able to move from one hard topic to another and make an impact. https://www.amazon.ca/Man-Future-Visionary-Life-Neumann/dp/1324003995/ https://www.amazon.ca/Man-Future-Visionary-Life-Neumann/dp/1...
slmkbh 4y ago
Written by Donald E. Knuth. Pretty interesting!

81 points by ctoth 4y ago

Nice to see some evidence for the hypothesis that (unlike Hoare with QuickSort) von Neumann wasn't trying to develop merge sort as a new sorting algorithm, but was merely trying to see if he could, in software, do the part of the job that had up until then been done, in hardware, on a separate unit record machine. > He never actually gets around to coding the entire sorting routine in this document; only the merging process is described. > He formulated the merging method as follows (based on a procedure then used with the IBM collator):

dang 4y ago

Related: Von Neumann’s First Computer Program (1970) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16975366 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16975366 - May 2018 (18 comments)

musicale 4y ago

No, I don't want to sign up for your newsletter - I want to read the #$@!$ PDF!

nemoniac 4y ago
The pdf is directly downloadable from here: https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/356580.356581 https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/356580.356581
- tyingq 4y ago
  Also, clicking the close button works fine, though it is irritating. That is, it's a nag and not a register wall.

djmips 4y ago

Fun fact (to me at least) in the early computers the instructions were called 'orders'.

michaelrpeskin 4y ago

I was hoping that it would be 10 print "John is cool" 20 goto 10 because then he and I would have started off in the same place.

royalghost 4y ago

I highly recommend this book if you want to know more about John Von Neumann and his contribution to some of the most influencing topics of today's world including Game Theory, Quantum Physics, Electronic Computer, Hydrogen bombs etc. This book is also great for history lovers since it also delves into the period of post World War II when the best of the brains started migrating to US from Europe and influence major national defense and security projects. It's amazing to see how Von Neumann is able to move from one hard topic to another and make an impact. https://www.amazon.ca/Man-Future-Visionary-Life-Neumann/dp/1324003995/ https://www.amazon.ca/Man-Future-Visionary-Life-Neumann/dp/1...

slmkbh 4y ago

Written by Donald E. Knuth. Pretty interesting!