I wonder if computation makes the most sense in the context of a compiler. Like for the adders, you start with an interest in adding some numbers, and then you compile that into a logic circuit using an engineer’s understanding of addition, and then you further compile this logic circuit into either an electrical circuit or a marble machine, which then performs the originally intended computation. When you have a compiler, you end up with clear answers to which algorithm is being computed (whatever is upstream of the compiler) and which system is doing the computation (whatever is downstream of the compiler).
Embarrassingly, I’ve never actually thought of how compilers fit into this set of questions/thoughts. Very interesting, I’ll definitely give it some thought now. I like the idea of a compiler as some kind of overseer/organizer of computation.
I wonder if computation makes the most sense in the context of a compiler. Like for the adders, you start with an interest in adding some numbers, and then you compile that into a logic circuit using an engineer’s understanding of addition, and then you further compile this logic circuit into either an electrical circuit or a marble machine, which then performs the originally intended computation. When you have a compiler, you end up with clear answers to which algorithm is being computed (whatever is upstream of the compiler) and which system is doing the computation (whatever is downstream of the compiler).
Embarrassingly, I’ve never actually thought of how compilers fit into this set of questions/thoughts. Very interesting, I’ll definitely give it some thought now. I like the idea of a compiler as some kind of overseer/organizer of computation.