Precursors of programming

Inputting information into machines in binary form (on or off) is not new. In the late 14th century, in what is now Belgium and the Netherlands, the first mechanisms were made for church bells to play simple tunes automatically. Large, spring-loaded cylinders were studded with pegs.

When released, the cylinder turned and as each peg met a lever, it caused a particular bell to be struck. The pegs could be moved to different positions on the cylinder to produce different tunes; in other words, the system was «programmable».

Jacques de Vaucanson
(1709–1782)    

Ultimately, this pegged-cylinder system led to musical boxes, and a similar mechanism was used in sophisticated devices that could control not just sounds but also complex movements. One of the foremost designers of these «automata» was Frenchman Jacques de Vaucanson (1709–1782). His machines were meant to faithfully reproduce — and thus scientifically illustrate — aspects of living creatures. Some were dolls that «breathed» to play musical instruments. Another, constructed in 1739, was a model of a duck that went through the motions of drinking and eating, then evacuating its apparently «digested» meal.

In answer to the question in last month’s Pioneers’ page, it was Vaucanson’s «Digesting Duck» that formed part of the history of modern computers.

The «Digesting Duck»

The bird’s sequence of movements was controlled with a pin-studded cylinder. The process was completely automated, based on coding each movement according to the position of the pins. People flocked to see the amazingly lifelike, though artificial, creature.

Vaucanson achieved great skill in creating intricate machinery and tools, and in using new materials. The duck, for example, had as its «intestines» the first ever tubing made of rubber. Because of his talents, in 1741, Vaucanson was appointed to overhaul France’s manufacturing of silk. He took on the challenge of raising production through mechanizing silk weaving, at the centre of the industry in Lyon.

The pegged cylinder system was used by Vaucanson in his design for a loom that could be programmed to make the complex movements necessary to create intricate patterns in silk cloth. It would also remove the need for a weaver’s assistant and could be powered by a water mill, for instance. However, it was a highly complex machine and was not adopted by the industry. Nevertheless, Vaucanson’s idea was rediscovered and refined by the next notable person in the history of programming: Joseph-Marie Jacquard (1752–1834).

Weaving information

Son of a silk weaver in Lyon, as a boy Jacquard is said to have worked as the assistant who had to draw up the warp threads on a loom as a woven pattern was created — the job that Vaucanson’s system had attempted to make obsolete. This tedious task inspired Jacquard to also investigate ways to automate the process. Examining Vaucanson’s design, he produced a practical version that was demonstrated at the Paris Industrial Exhibition in 1801. Then, in 1804, Jacquard invented an attachment that converted the machine into what, ever afterwards, became known as the «Jacquard Loom».

Jacquard’s innovation was a device that automatically connected the loom to a continuous roll of punched cards. These passed over a bank of rods, each of which pulled a warp thread. A rod would move (and raise the thread) only when a hole in a card passed over its end. The weaving of an element of a pattern was programmed by one card, and any series of cards could be combined on a roll to make a particular overall design. The cards could then be re-arranged to make a new design.

Crucial steps had already been taken in this direction by Basile Bouchon, a textile worker in Lyon who, in 1725, used a perforated paper tape to control the raising of warp threads in a loom. His assistant, Jean-Baptiste Falcon, adapted this to a perforated card system in 1726. The Bouchon-Falcon loom was programmable; however, the instructions on cards still had to be fed in manually.

With Jacquard’s more sophisticated and automated device, extremely intricate brocades, and even pictures, could be produced far more quickly than by the traditional technology. Manufacturers soon adopted the machine, and the idea of punched-card instructions was widely disseminated. The system was later used in early forms of programmable calculating machines — and ultimately, computers.

A lasting revolution

Jacquard’s story also provides an example of the possible social effects of a new technology. When he introduced his labour-saving loom, he was attacked by silk workers in Lyon. For them, it simply represented a loss of jobs and skills. But because of the national economic importance of the silk industry, Jacquard himself received a state pension from Emperor Napoleon, as well as a number of awards.

Perhaps the ultimate honour was that his name became synonymous with the kind of fabric produced on an invention that continues in use to this day.

 

 

Предшественники программирования

Колокола, автоматы и шелк

В конце концов, на основе такой системы с пружинным цилиндром была создана музыкальная шкатулка, а похожий механизм применялся в сложных устройствах, управляя не только проигрывнием мелодий, но и более сложными движениями. Одним из наиболее выдающихся авторов таких «автоматов» был француз Жак де Вокансон (1709–1782). Его машины должны были достоверно воспроизводить – и таким образом научно иллюстрировать – поведение живых существ. Некоторые его куклы «дышали», чтобы играть на музыкальных инструментах. Другой, собранной в 1739 году, была модель утки, которая повторяла движения пьющей и кормящейся утки, а затем срыгивала эту несомненно «переваренную» еду.Не правда ли, все эти изобретения кажутся по-детски наивными и нмного нелепыми. Но это только для нас сегодняшних, которые с утра до ночи проводят в интернете.

«Переваривающая утка»