When electronic computers caught the attention of artists and art theorists in the 1960ies, the idea of a ``rational'', ``scientific'' or ``programmable'' art was in the focus of interest. The technology seemed to offer a way out of the much criticized arbitrariness of post war abstract art and its alleged social irrelevance. This paper explores the use of the concept of ``programming'' both on the base of historical theoretical texts as well as of the actual handling of computers by the artists. The consideration of the use of self-built analog or hybrid devices to which artists referred to as ``computers'' not only allows for deepening the discussion of the idea ``programming'' in the artistic context, but for adressing the methodological problem of approaching so called ``computer art''.