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Computers in France During World War II
The rapid collapse of France during World War II interfered with many kinds of
scientific studies, including computation. However, the French company Groupe
Bull would in later years become a major manufacturer of computers and a rival
to IBM. This company was founded in 1931 with the name H. W. Egli-Bull (Egli
was a Swiss company).
The Bull company had acquired the patents of the late Norwegian inventor Fre-
drik Rosing Bull, a famous pioneer in punch-card tabulating machines. Bull died
of cancer at age 42 in 1925, leaving a rich legacy of patents and intellectual prop-
erty. Equipment and tabulating machines using punched cards based on the Bull
patents were produced in both Norway and France.
In 1933, the Bull company reorganized under new owners and took the name
Compagnie des Machines Bull. The Bull company operated during World War II
and remained a major producer of punch-card tabulating equipment.
The original Bull punch card had 45 columns and round holes. When IBM
began its rapid expansion with tabulating machines, the IBM punch card had 80
columns and rectangular holes.
Civil litigation such as patent suits continued during World War II, even in oc-
cupied countries such as France. In the early war years, Bull switched from round
to rectangular holes, which triggered a patent lawsuit between Bull and IBM. In
December 1941, IBM France won the patent litigation against Bull. Bull also lost
an appeal that was decided in June 1942.
In the postwar years, Bull became a major competitor to IBM and operated in
more than 100 countries.
Computers in Australia During World War II
The Australian government sponsored an organization called the Council for
Scientific and Industrial Research Automatic Computer (CSIRAC). Although the
design of an indigenous Australian computer started near the end of World War II,
the first computer produced in Australia was tested in November 1949. The team
was headed by Trevor Pearcey and Malcom Beard.
Inputs to the CSIRAC Mark I computer were paper tape and outputs were on
a standard teleprinter. Versions of this machine operated from 1949 through 1960,
and they eventually featured a programming language called INTERPROGRAM
that resembled BASIC.
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