The years 1945–55 saw the emergence of a radically new kind of device: the high-speed stored-program digital computer. Secret wartime projects in areas such as code-breaking, radar and ballistics had produced a wealth of ideas and technologies that kick-started this first decade of the Information Age. The brilliant mathematician and code-breaker Alan Turing was just one of several British pioneers whose prototype machines led the way. Turning theory into practice proved tricky, but by 1948 five UK research groups had begun to build practical stored-program computers. This book tells the story of the people and projects that flourished during the.
