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1、ProgressinComputersPrestigeLecturedeliveredtoIEE,Cambridge,on5February2004MauriceWilkesComputerLaboratoryUniversityofCambridgeThefirststoredprogramcomputersbegantoworkaround1950.TheonewebuiltinCambridge,theEDSACwasfirstusedinthesummerof1949.Theseearlyexperimentalcomputerswerebuiltbypeoplelikemyse
2、lfwithvaryingbackgrounds.Weallhadextensiveexperienceinelectronicengineeringandwereconfidentthatthatexperiencewouldstandusingoodstead.Thisprovedtrue,althoughwehadsomenewthingstolearn.Themostimportantofthesewasthattransientsmustbetreatedcorrectly;whatwouldcauseaharmlessflashonthescreenofatelevision
3、setcouldleadtoaseriouserrorinacomputer.Asfarascomputingcircuitswereconcerned,wefoundourselveswithanembarassderichess.Forexample,wecouldusevacuumtubediodesforgatesaswedidintheEDSACorpentodeswithcontrolsignalsonbothgrids,asystemwidelyusedelsewhere.Thissortofchoicepersistedandthetermfamiliesoflogicc
4、ameintouse.ThosewhohaveworkedinthecomputerfieldwillrememberTTL,ECLandCMOS.Ofthese,CMOShasnowbecomedominant.Inthoseearlyyears,theIEEwasstilldominatedbypowerengineeringandwehadtofightanumberofmajorbattlesinordertogetradioengineeringalongwiththerapidlydevelopingsubjectofelectronics.dubbedintheIEElig
5、htcurrentelectricalengineering.properlyrecognisedasanactivityinitsownright.Irememberthatwehadsomedifficultyinorganisingaconferencebecausethepowerengineers’waysofdoingthingswerenotourways.AminorsourceofirritationwasthatallIEEpublishedpaperswereexpectedtostartwithalengthystatementofearlierpractice,
6、somethingdifficulttodowhentherewasnoearlierpracticeConsolidationinthe1960sBythelate50sorearly1960s,theheroicpioneeringstagewasoverandthecomputerfieldwasstartingupinrealearnest.Thenumberofcomputersintheworldhadincreasedandtheyweremuchmorereliablethantheveryearlyones.Tothoseyearswecanascribethefirs
7、tstepsinhighlevellanguagesandthefirstoperatingsystems.Experimentaltime-sharingwasbeginning,andultimatelycomputergraphicswastocomealong.Aboveall,transistorsbegantoreplacevacuumtubes.Thischangepresentedaformidablechallen