WHAT WAS THE FIRST COMPUTER PROGRAM?

For many, the computer age was born in 1945 with the first modern electronic computer, ENIAC. But the first computer program predates this by a decade. The first program was written in 1936 by British mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing.

Turing’s program was designed to solve the problem of determining the most efficient route for a paper tape reader to follow when reading a sequence of symbols. By using a series of simple instructions, Turing created a program that could break down the symbols into their component parts and then take the appropriate action. Although Turing’s program wasn’t particularly useful, it demonstrated the potential of computers to solve complex problems. This early program was the beginning of the modern computer revolution and paved the way for the development of more sophisticated software.

Today, computers are used to solve a variety of problems, from playing games to helping scientists make groundbreaking discoveries. But it all started with Turing’s program and the birth of the computer age.