ORACLE (computer) computers; it used paper tape for input and breakage of the tape was a frequent problem. ORACLE (computer) The ORACLE or "Oak Ridge Automatic Computer and Logical Engine", an early computer built by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was based on the IAS architecture developed by John von Neumann. The "Oak Ridge National Laboratory Review" states: [Oak Ridge National] Laboratory engineers assisted Argonne [National Laboratory] during the early 1950s in design and fabrication of the Oak Ridge Automatic Computer and Logical Engine. Its name was selected with reference to a lyrical acronym from Greek mythology—ORACLE, defined as 'a shrine in which
Recursive acronym existing ordinary acronym is given a new explanation of what the letters stand for, or a name is turned into an acronym by giving the letters an explanation of what they stand for, in each case with the first letter standing recursively for the whole acronym. In computing, an early tradition in the hacker community (especially at MIT) was to choose acronyms and abbreviations that referred humorously to themselves or to other abbreviations. Perhaps the earliest example in this context, from 1960 the backronym "Mash Until No Good" was created to describe Mung, and a while after it was revised