Dev tools · September 17, 2023
A reference implementation of Turing's paper “On Computable Numbers”
Hey HN! I've been curious about the history of computer science and decided to try to read Turing's 1936 paper where he conceptualizes the Turing Machine, etc. I had trouble understanding the paper, read The Annotated Turing by Charles Petzold (which is wonderful), but felt that reading a reference implementation would help formalize my understanding. When I couldn't find an open source implementation, I decided to write my own. The implementation includes: - Abbreviated tables (m-functions) - Conversions to Standard Descriptions and Description Numbers - A working universal machine - A…
In plain words
This is a reference implementation of Alan Turing's 1936 paper "On Computable Numbers," designed to help developers understand the theoretical foundations of computing. It includes abbreviated tables, conversions to standard descriptions, a working universal machine, and a section-by-section walkthrough connecting the paper's concepts to code. The project is aimed at computer science enthusiasts and students seeking to deepen their understanding of Turing machines through practical implementation alongside historical theory.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
In the maker’s words, at launch
Hey HN! I've been curious about the history of computer science and decided to try to read Turing's 1936 paper where he conceptualizes the Turing Machine, etc. I had trouble understanding the paper, read The Annotated Turing by Charles Petzold (which is wonderful), but felt that reading a reference implementation would help formalize my understanding. When I couldn't find an open source implementation, I decided to write my own. The implementation includes: - Abbreviated tables (m-functions) - Conversions to Standard Descriptions and Description Numbers - A working universal machine - A walkthrough of the paper section-by-section in the context of the codebase I'm still working on sections 8-11 (the math/logic is a bit difficult for me) - if you understand these sections well enough to explain, I'd love to talk to you! In general I am interested in new mediums for learning source material (web annotations, walkthroughs, reference implementations, etc.), and was inspired by Karpathy's Zero to Hero course in particular for this project.
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