Post machine
Quick Summary
Post machines, proposed by mathematician E.L. Post in 1936, are a type of automaton that, while structurally different from Turing machines, possess the same computational capabilities. A Post machine consists of a finite sequence of instructions. These instructions can direct the machine to move an associated tape one square left or right, print a symbol (including a blank) from a finite alphabet, or specify a jump to a different instruction based on whether the scanned square is marked or blank. For any partial recursive function, a corresponding Post machine can be found to compute it. These machines are considered prototypes for later program schemes developed by von Neumann and his associates.1
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