Editing EDSAC (section)

{{Short description|1940s–1950s British computer}}
{{distinguish|EDSA|ESDAC}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2016}}
{{Infobox information appliance
| name = Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator (EDSAC)
| title =
| logo =
| image = EDSAC (19).jpg
| caption = EDSAC I in June 1948
| developer = [[Maurice Wilkes]] and his team at the [[University of Cambridge Mathematical Laboratory]]
| manufacturer = [[University of Cambridge]]
| family =
| type =
| generation = 1
| releasedate = {{Start date and age|1949|05|06|df=yes}}<!-- {{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| lifespan = 1949–1958
| price =
| discontinued = yes
| unitssold =
| unitsshipped = 1
| media =
| os = None
| power = 11 [[Kilowatt|kW]]
| soc =
| cpu = [[derating|Derated]] [[vacuum tube|thermionic valves]]
| memory = 512 17-bit words, upgraded in 1952 to 1024 17-bit words
| RAMtype = [[Delay-line memory|temperature-stabilized mercury delay lines]]
| storage =
| memory card =
| display = [[Teleprinter]]
| graphics =
| sound =
| input = five-hole [[punched tape]]
| controllers =
| camera =
| touchpad =
| connectivity =
| currentfw =
| platform =
| service =
| dimensions =
| weight =
| topgame =
| compatibility = None
| predecessor =
| successor = [[EDSAC 2]] and [[LEO (computer)|LEO I]]
| related = [[EDVAC]]
| website =
}}
The '''Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator''' ('''EDSAC''') was an early British computer.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Wilkes, W. V. |author-link=Maurice Wilkes |author2=Renwick, W. |title=The EDSAC (Electronic delay storage automatic calculator) |journal=Math. Comp. |year=1950 |volume=4 |issue=30 |pages=61–65 |url=https://www.ams.org/journals/mcom/1950-04-030/S0025-5718-1950-0037589-7/ |doi=10.1090/s0025-5718-1950-0037589-7 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Inspired by [[John von Neumann]]'s seminal ''[[First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC]]'', the machine was constructed by [[Maurice Wilkes]] and his team at the [[University of Cambridge Mathematical Laboratory]] in England to provide a service to the university. EDSAC was the second electronic digital [[stored-program computer]], after the [[Manchester Mark 1]], to go into regular service.<ref>The 1948 [[Manchester Baby]] computer predated EDSAC as a [[stored-program computer]], but was built largely as a test bed for the [[Williams tube]] and not as a machine for general use. See [http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/conference/EDSAC99/history.html "A brief informal history of the Computer Laboratory"]. However, the Baby was developed into a practically useful successor, the [[Manchester Mark&nbsp;1]] of 1949, which was available for general use by other university departments and Ferranti in April 1949, despite still being under development; EDSAC first ran in May 1949, while also still being under development. {{cite web |url=http://www.computer50.org/mark1/MM1.html |title=50th Anniversary of the Manchester Baby computer |access-date=2014-01-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209155638/http://www.computer50.org/mark1/MM1.html |archive-date=9 February 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Later the project was supported by [[J. Lyons and Co.|J. Lyons & Co. Ltd.]], intending to develop a commercially applied computer and resulting in Lyons' development of the [[LEO (computer)|LEO&nbsp;I]], based on the EDSAC design. Work on EDSAC started during 1947,<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/560726 |author=Wilkes, M. V. |title=Arithmetic on the EDSAC |journal= IEEE Annals of the History of Computing|volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=13–15 |year=1997 |doi=10.1109/85.560726|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and it ran its first programs on 6&nbsp;May 1949, when it calculated a table of [[square number]]s<ref>{{cite journal |title=Pioneer computer to be rebuilt |journal=Cam |volume=62 |date=2011 |page=5}} To be precise, EDSAC's first program printed a list of the [[square number|squares]] of the [[integer (computer science)|integers]] from 0 to 99 inclusive.</ref> and a list of [[prime number]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AoWrCAAAQBAJ&q=EDSAC%201948&pg=PA29 |title=Dependable and Historic Computing: Essays Dedicated to Brian Randell on the Occasion of his 75th Birthday |last1=Jones |first1=Cliff B. |last2=Lloyd |first2=John L. |date=2012-01-24 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9783642245411 |pages=29 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |date=1950-01-01 |others=Other early computational problems run on EDSAC; some specifications of the computer |title=9. The EDSAC, Cambridge University, England |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/AD0694596 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311004157/http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0694596 |url-status=live |archive-date=11 March 2021 |journal=Digital Computer Newsletter |language=en |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=3}}</ref> EDSAC was finally shut down on 11&nbsp;July 1958, having been superseded by [[EDSAC&nbsp;2]], which remained in use until 1965.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/events/EDSAC99/booklet.pdf |title=EDSAC 99: 15–16 April 1999 |publisher=University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory |date=6 May 1999 |access-date=2013-06-29 |pages=68, 69}}.</ref>