第一臺存儲程序的計算開始出現(xiàn)于1950前后，它就是1949年夏天在劍橋大學，我們創(chuàng)造的延遲存儲自動電子計算機（EDSAC）。
最初實驗用的計算機是由象我一樣有著廣博知識的人構造的。我們在電子工程方面都有著豐富的經(jīng)驗，并且我們深信這些經(jīng)驗對我們大有裨益。后來，被證明是正確的，盡管我們也要學習很多新東西。最重要的是瞬態(tài)一定要小心應付，雖然它只會在電視機的熒幕上一起一個無害的閃光，但是在計算機上這將導致一系列的錯誤。
在電路的設計過程中，我們經(jīng)常陷入兩難的境地。舉例來說，我可以使用真空二級管做為門電路，就象在EDSAC中一樣，或者在兩個柵格之間用帶控制信號的五級管，這被廣泛用于其他系統(tǒng)設計，這類的選擇一直在持續(xù)著直到邏輯門電路開始應用。在計算機領域工作的人都應該記得TTL，ECL和CMOS，到目前為止，CMOS已經(jīng)占據(jù)了主導地位。
在最初的幾年，IEE（電子工程師協(xié)會）仍然由動力工程占據(jù)主導地位。為了讓IEE 認識到無線工程和快速發(fā)展的電子工程并行發(fā)展是它自己的一項權利，我們不得不面對一些障礙。由于動力工程師們做事的方式與我們不同，我們也遇到了許多困難。讓人有些憤怒的是，所有的IEE出版的論文都被期望以冗長的早期研究的陳述開頭，無非是些在早期階段由于沒有太多經(jīng)驗而遇到的困難之類的陳述。
60年代的鞏固階段
The first stored program computers began to work around 1950. The one we built in Cambridge, the EDSAC was first used in the summer of 1949.
These early experimental computers were built by people like myself with varying backgrounds. We all had extensive experience in electronic engineering and were confident that that experience would stand us in good stead. This proved true, although we had some new things to learn. The most important of these was that transients must be treated correctly; what would cause a harmless flash on the screen of a television set could lead to a serious error in a computer.
As far as computing circuits were concerned, we found ourselves with an embarass de richess. For example, we could use vacuum tube diodes for gates as we did in the EDSAC or pentodes with control signals on both grids, a system widely used elsewhere. This sort of choice persisted and the term families of logic came into use. Those who have worked in the computer field will remember TTL, ECL and CMOS. Of these, CMOS has now become dominant.
In those early years, the IEE was still dominated by power engineering and we had to fight a number of major battles in order to get radio engineering along with the rapidly developing subject of electronics.dubbed in the IEE light current electrical engineering.properly recognised as an activity in its own right. I remember that we had some difficulty in organising a conference because the power engineers’ ways of doing things were not our ways. A minor source of irritation was that all IEE published papers were expected to start with a lengthy statement of earlier practice, something difficult to do when there was no earlier practice
Consolidation in the 1960s