Specifically, these include the separation of processor and memory, the ability to compute with floating-point numbers, a hardware architecture based on microprogramming of the instruction set, and a layered design with a high-level programming language on top. In fact, Zuse's early computers are closer to modern computers than the Harvard Mark I or ENIAC, two other contenders for the title of "world's first computer." The theoretical program first conceived by Zuse in 1936/37 was fulfilled with a series of machines built before and during World War II: the Z1, Z2, Z3, and Z4. Separate chapters deal with the architecture of each computer, culminating in the description of Plankalkül, the first proposal for a high-level programming language. weiterlesen