THE SECOND CONTROVERSY
THE EDVAC-
ELECTRIC DISCRETE VARIABLE AUTOMATIC COMPUTER
![Picture](/uploads/8/4/1/4/8414026/550467.jpg?282)
The fact that the ENIAC was such a revolutionary machine contributed to the second controversy that has marked its history--the development of the "stored program concept." By no means did the ENIAC have all of the architectural features of a modern computer: it was a wartime project, and the exigencies of doing something quickly justified a straight-forward design. But this contingency meant that all of the groups who subsequently took an interest in the ENIAC could propose improvements to the machine, thereby fueling priority disputes over who first came up with a particular concept.