The digital camera was invented in 1968, the first auto-focusing SLR is from 1978.
Auto-exposure came a few years before auto focus, but not by much as it still required not only light metering but also multiple mechanical couplings to the lens.
Such cameras (like the famous Canon A-1) were never refered to as "digital cameras", and SLR was used to distinguish from rangefinders primarily.
Funny you say that, as this is where the term originated.
Electronic (as opposed to mechanical) control of focus and controls were called ‘digital’ long before the advent of digital sensors.