Ambitious project to bring world's first general purpose computer to life
Babbage's Difference Engine was completed from original designs in 1991... the task of building the Analytical Engine is even more complex (Photo: Carsten Ullrich – Creative Commons)
Article Summary
Charles Babbage was the quintessential "man ahead of his time". In the mid 19th century the English mathematician and inventor developed the concept of a programmable computer and designed complex, steam-powered calculating engines that were never completed during his lifetime. One of these machines – the Difference Engine – was successfully constructed using Babbage's original plans in 1991 and now programmer John Graham-Cumming is on a mission to build a working replica of a second, more complex computing machine known as the Analytical Engine.
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