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DASK
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<p>The DASK was the first <a href="/facts/Computer/SQe1aK05">computer</a> in <a href="/facts/Denmark/KVtykzsw">Denmark</a>. It was commissioned in 1955, designed and constructed by <a href="/facts/Regnecentralen/0tbTMur4">Regnecentralen</a>, and began operation in September 1957. DASK is an <a href="/facts/Acronym/nlHK7aRt">acronym</a> for Dansk Aritmetisk Sekvens Kalkulator or <i>Danish Arithmetic Sequence Calculator</i>. Regnecentralen almost did not allow the name, as the word <i>dask</i> means "slap" in Danish. In the end, however, it was named so as it fit the pattern of the name <a href="/facts/BESK/fhdXjGCu">BESK</a>, the <a href="/facts/Sweden/u3qC7lyj">Swedish</a> computer which provided the initial architecture for DASK. </p><p>DASK traces its origins to 1947 and a goal set by <i>Akademiet for de Tekniske Videnskaber</i> (<i>Academy for the Technical Sciences</i> or <i>Academy of Applied Sciences</i>), which was to follow the development of the modern <a href="/facts/Computer/SQe1aK05">computing devices</a>. Initial funding was obtained through the <a href="/facts/Ministry_of_Defence_(Denmark)/fLgx2YX2">Ministry of Defence (Denmark)</a> as the <a href="/facts/Military_of_Denmark/Fzu4do80">Danish Military</a> had been given a grant through the <a href="/facts/Marshall_Plan/tzYxovlM">Marshall Plan</a> for <a href="/facts/Encryption/16q29Fdv">cipher machines</a> for which the military saw no immediate need. </p><p>Originally conceived to be a copy of <a href="/facts/BESK/fhdXjGCu">BESK</a>, the rapid advancement in the field allowed improvements to be made during the development such that in the end, it was not a copy of BESK. The DASK was a one-off design that took place in a villa. The machine became so big that the floor had to be reinforced to support its mass of 3.5 metric tons. </p><p>DASK is notable for being the subject of one of the earliest <a href="/facts/ALGOL/wlFJGNEx">ALGOL</a> implementations, referred to as DASK ALGOL, which counted <a href="/facts/J%25C3%25B8rn_Jensen/J2pRYnJm">Jørn Jensen</a> and <a href="/facts/Peter_Naur/S1X7AHfj">Peter Naur</a> among its contributors. </p>