Editing History of computing hardware (section)

==Early digital computer characteristics==
{{Further|Analytical Engine#Comparison to other early computers}}
{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;"
|+Defining characteristics of some early digital computers of the 1940s {{Small|(In the history of computing hardware)}}
|-
! Name !! First operational !! Numeral system !! Computing mechanism !! [[Computer program|Programming]] !! [[Turing completeness|Turing-complete]]
|-
|{{rh}}| Arthur H. Dickinson [[IBM]] {{small|(US)}} ||style="text-align:right;" | Jan 1940 || [[Decimal]]|| [[Electronics|Electronic]] || {{No2|Not}} programmable || {{No}}
|-
|{{rh}}| [[Joseph Desch]] [[NCR Corporation|NCR]] {{small|(US)}} ||style="text-align:right;" | March 1940 || [[Decimal]] || [[Electronics|Electronic]] || {{No2|Not}} programmable || {{No}}
|-
|{{rh}}| [[Konrad Zuse|Zuse]] [[Z3 (computer)|Z3]] {{small|(Germany)}} ||style="text-align:right;" | May 1941 || [[Binary number|Binary]] [[floating-point arithmetic|floating point]] || [[Electromechanics|Electro-mechanical]] || Program-controlled by punched {{val|35|u=mm}} [[film stock]] (but no conditional branch) || In theory {{small|([[Z3 (computer)#Z3 as a universal Turing machine|1998]])}}
|-
|{{rh}}| [[Atanasoff–Berry Computer]] {{small|(US)}} ||style="text-align:right;" | 1942|| Binary || [[Electronics|Electronic]] || {{No2|Not}} programmable — single purpose || {{No}}
|-
|{{rh}}| [[Colossus computer|Colossus]] Mark 1 {{small|(UK)}} ||style="text-align:right;" | Feb 1944 || Binary || Electronic || Program-controlled by patch cables and switches || {{No|[[Colossus computer#Influence and fate|No]]}}
|-
|{{rh}}| [[Harvard Mark I|Harvard Mark I – IBM ASCC]] {{small|(US)}} || style="text-align:right;" |May 1944 || [[Decimal]] || Electro-mechanical || Program-controlled by 24-channel [[punched tape|punched paper tape]] (but no conditional branch) || Debatable
|-
|{{rh}}| [[Colossus computer|Colossus]] Mark 2 {{small|(UK)}} || style="text-align:right;" |June 1944 || Binary || Electronic || Program-controlled by patch cables and switches || Conjectured<ref name="Wells pp. 1383–1405">{{cite journal | last=Wells | first=Benjamin | title=Unwinding performance and power on Colossus, an unconventional computer | journal=Natural Computing | publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC | volume=10 | issue=4 | date=2010-11-18 | issn=1567-7818 | doi=10.1007/s11047-010-9225-x | pages=1383–1405| s2cid=7492074 }}</ref>
|-
|{{rh}}| Zuse [[Z4 (computer)|Z4]] {{small|(Germany)}} ||style="text-align:right;" | March 1945 || Binary floating point <!-- for sure? "Numbers were entered and output as decimal floating-point even though the internal working was in binary" --> || Electro-mechanical || Program-controlled by punched {{val|35|u=mm}} film stock || [[Z4 (computer)#Construction|In 1950]]
|-
|{{rh}}| [[ENIAC]] {{small|(US)}} || style="text-align:right;" | <!-- "Feb 1946", no? "completed in 1945 and first put to work for practical purposes on December 10, 1945" --> December 1945 || Decimal || Electronic || Program-controlled by patch cables and switches || {{Yes}}
|-
|{{rh}}| [[ENIAC|Modified ENIAC]] {{small|(US)}} ||style="text-align:right;white-space:nowrap;" | April 1948 || Decimal || Electronic || Read-only stored-programming mechanism using the Function Tables as program [[read-only memory|ROM]] || {{Yes}}
|-
|{{rh}}| [[APEXC|ARC2 (SEC)]] {{small|(UK)}} ||style="text-align:right;" | May 1948 || Binary || Electronic || [[Stored-program computer|Stored-program]] in [[drum memory|rotating drum memory]] || {{Yes}}
|-
|{{rh}}| [[Manchester Baby]] {{small|(UK)}} ||style="text-align:right;" | June 1948 || Binary || Electronic || [[Stored-program computer|Stored-program]] in [[Williams tube|Williams cathode-ray tube memory]] || {{Yes}}
|-
|{{rh}}| [[Manchester Mark 1]] {{small|(UK)}} || style="text-align:right;" |April 1949 || Binary || Electronic || Stored-program in Williams cathode-ray tube memory and [[Drum memory|magnetic drum]] memory|| {{Yes}}
|-
|{{rh}}| [[EDSAC]] {{small|(UK)}} ||style="text-align:right;" | May 1949 ||Binary || Electronic || Stored-program in mercury [[delay-line memory]] || {{Yes}}
|-
|{{rh}}| [[CSIRAC]] {{small|(Australia)}} || style="text-align:right;" | Nov 1949 || Binary || Electronic || Stored-program in mercury delay-line memory || {{Yes}}
|}