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The identity of the first digital computer is debated. The Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC) was declared the first electronic digital computer in a 1973 court case, but it was not programmable. The ENIAC and ABC both claimed to be the first digital computer, but the ABC was officially designated as such. The Z3 was the earliest known programmable computer, while the Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine was the first digital computer that was similar in concept to modern machines.
The identity of the first digital computer is a debated topic, both in fact and in definition. The closest thing to an official answer is the Atanasoff-Berry Computer, or ABC, which was declared the first electronic digital computer in a 1973 court case. It was not a programmable computer, which means it doesn’t fall into the category of what most people would call a computer today.
To qualify as the first digital computer, a machine would have to meet two definitions. A computer is a machine capable of performing a series of operations, both mathematical and logical. A digital computer is one that uses numeric values for its operations, usually through a binary code that expresses all data as a 0 or a 1. In contrast, an analog computer uses a physical property. Examples include a slide rule or a machine that uses the flow of water to simulate the flow of money in an economy.
From a legal point of view, two machines claimed to be the first digital computer. One was the Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer, or ENIAC, which was built between 1943 and 1946. It was used to calculate projectile missile flight paths for the United States military.
The second applicant was the Atanasoff-Berry Computer, built between 1937 and 1942 at Iowa State College. It was not widely publicized, leading to a common belief that the ENIAC was the first and allowed the ENIAC’s creators to obtain a patent. In 1973 this patent was declared invalid by a United States District Court. This ruling officially designated the ABC as the first electronic digital computer.
However, it can be argued that ABC was not a real computer. That’s because it wasn’t programmable, meaning it could only perform one set of functions, kind of like a pocket calculator. The earliest known programmable computer was the Z3, manufactured by German engineer Konrad Zuse in 1941. This was probably not a digital computer; used electromechanics in the form of magnetic switches.
The first digital computer that was basically the same in concept as modern machines was the Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine, completed in Manchester, England in 1948. It allowed users to enter a new program, albeit very slowly. The Manchester machine was purely an experiment to prove the concept. A year later, the Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator in Cambridge, England became the first programmable computer used for commercial purposes.
