The Computer Programme
2. Just One Thing After Another
Clips from this programme
Chris Serle programs a washing machine - a program is a 'preset sequence of jobs': one thing after another'.
Duration: 00:39
Opening titles
Duration: 00:27
In a Vauxhall factory a production line operating a series of steps is compared to a computer programme. For example in the quality control section 'If the car leaks, then fix it'
Duration: 02:22
A computer is versatile machine capable of many different things - playing music or graphics or keeping track of telephone numbers using a 'program'. How does a computer carry out a program? By executing a series of small logical steps or instructions in order. Computers can for example compare numbers and then, depending on the result, do one thing or do another.
Duration: 00:41
The versatile machine: a computer can do a variety of things from playing music, keeping telephone numbers and drawing pictures
Duration: 03:40
Mac shows how a computer can sort weights into order by using a simple algorithm: if weights in a row are picked up in pairs in order, compare each pair and then see which is the lighter. Move the lighter weight to the left hand or leave them as they are and lower them. Move to the next pair and repeat the sequence until the weights are sorted.
Duration: 02:06
We see the computer putting names into alphabetical order using a similar algorithm - first slowly, then in 'real time'.
Duration: 02:06
A musical automaton (The Violano Virtuoso) playing violin uses holes in punched paper to hold its program
Duration: 01:31
The famous Jacquard loom (1801) used punched cards to change the designs of woven cloth. An early example of programming. Mac explains how it worked. The weaving machine is just one example of a binary system
Duration: 03:57
The London traffic light system is also binary - each light is either on or off. The very complex system run by the police uses computers to deal with differing traffic conditions during the day.
Duration: 03:19
Summary of the processes in a computer program. Making mayonnaise illustrates a computer algorithm by analogy - steps, loops or conditional 'if then' branches.
Duration: 02:00
Mac and Chris discuss a program to create a simple (Vatican) quiz and the sense of achievement in writing a simple program.
Duration: 05:34
The Computer Programme
1. It's Happening Now
First broadcast: 11th January 1982
Duration 24:51
"Don't expect the computer revolution to happen tomorrow, it's going on all around us." Chris Serle, Ian McNaught-Davis and Gill Nevill begin their exploration of the world of Information Science and ask: 'What can computers do for us? Who is using them now, and where is this technology likely to lead?' Director: FRANK ASH Director: MATT BONEY Producer: PAUL KRIWACZEK
2. Just One Thing After Another
First broadcast: 18th January 1982
Duration 24:53
CHRIS SERLE, IAN MCNAUGHT-DAVIS and Gill Nevill, continue their exploration of the world of information science. Even the most elaborate and sophisticated computer programs are made up of only a few types of relatively simple steps. The art of computer programming lies in combining these into ever more complex combinations. Directors FRANK ASH, MATT BONEY Producer PAUL KRIWACZEK
Now playing
3. Talking to a Machine
First broadcast: 25th January 1982
Duration 24:23
CHRIS SERLE, IAN MCNAUGHT-DAVIS and GILL NEVILL continue their exploration of the world of information science. The difficulty of communicating with computers is that they are machines and we are people. The common language we share can turn out to be a lot more like English than we might expect. Directors FRANK ASH, MATT BONEY Producer PAUL KRIWACZEK
4. It's on the Computer
First broadcast: 1st February 1982
Duration 24:39
CHRIS SERLE, IAN MCNAUGHT-DAVIS and GILL NEVILL continue their exploration of the world of information science. Storing information is what the great majority of computers are used for. But how much can they hold, and how can the stored information be easily retrieved? Director MATT BONEY Producer PAUL KRIWACZEK
5. The New Media
First broadcast: 8th February 1982
Duration 24:12
CHRIS SERLE, IAN MCNAUGHT-DAVIS and GILL NEVILL continue their exploration of the world of Information Science. 5: The New Media : The greatest public impact of information technology is likely to be in the provision of new means of communication. Directors FRANK ASH, MATT BONET Producer PAUL KRIWACZEK
6. Moving Pictures
First broadcast: 15th February 1982
Duration 24:37
CHRIS SERLE, IAN MCNAUGHT-DAVIS and GILL NEVILL continue their exploration of the world of information science. For many people games, with their elaborate visual displays, are the most commonly encountered aspect of computer technology. But generating sound and pictures from a computer is no different to manipulating text. Director: MATT BONEY Director: Frank Ash Producer: PAUL KRIWACZEK
7. Let's Pretend
First broadcast: 22nd February 1982
Duration 24:32
CHRIS SERLE, IAN MCNAUGHT-DAVIS and GILL NEVILL continue their exploration of the world of information science. 7: Let's Pretend: Training space-shuttle pilots, or testing bridges to destruction, is normally too costly or too dangerous to do on the real thing. But by giving a computer an exact description of how a complicated system behaves, it can mimic anything from the British economy to the world's weather. Directors FRANK ASH, MATT BONEY Producer PAUL KRIWACZEK
8. The Thinking Machine
First broadcast: 1st March 1982
Duration 24:30
CHRIS SERLE, IAN MCNAUGHT-DAVIS and GILL NEVILL continue their exploration of the world of information science 8: The Thinking Machine: In spite of years of investment in the development of intelligent machines, computer scientists are still a long way from equalling human thought, let alone surpassing it. The future, however, may yet present us with great surprises. Directors MATT BONEY, FRANK ASH Producer PAUL KRIWACZEK
9. In Control
First broadcast: 8th March 1982
Duration 24:34
CHRIS SERLE, IAN MCNAUGHT-DAVIS, GILL NEVILL 9: In Control: By far the greatest number of computers with which we will come into contact in the future will be invisible. They will be the microprocessors built into many of our domestic appliances, replacing many of the mechanical systems that we use today, with greatly improved reliability, flexibility, and at low cost. Directors FRANK ASH, MATT BONEY Producer PAUL KRIWACZEK
10. Things to Come
First broadcast: 15th March 1982
Duration 24:17
CHRIS SERLE, IAN MCNAUGHT-DAVIS and GILL NEVILL continue their exploration of the world of information science. Things to Come: Information technology has the power to change the face of our society completely by taking over the work of a large majority of the population. But will this be allowed to happen, and which aspects of our economic life are most likely to be affected? Directors MATT BONEY, FRANK ASH Producer PAUL KRIWACZEK