History of computers

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History of computers

History of Computers

Introduction:

The electronic computer has now been used commercially for less than 25 years. It grew out of a search lasting centuries for a more accurate, faster way to perform calculations.

Primitive and ancient man used his fingers, shells, beads, sticks, and other objects to keep track of numbers and sums. The development of paper and writing instrumentsmade it easier to record data, but gave little aid in manipulating it.

Manual Devices:

A computer is sometimes defined as a system that mechanizes the processing of information. Even a manual device may fall under this definition if they are constructed in such a way that moving them by hand can produce the desired answer. Example:

Abacus:

The abacus is the oldest-known mechanical computing aid. Its origin is uncertain. Many countries claim to have invented it. It was used in China as early as the sixth century B.C. and in the mediterranean areain ancient Greek and Roman times. It is still used in many parts of the world.

The abacus consists of beads strung on rows of wires suspended within a rectangular frame. A common form has a piece of wood dividing the beads, with five beads on one side, and two on the other side of the wood on each wire.

Calculating Machines and their Inventors:

Through the centuries, several mathematical geniuses invented machinesto aid them in their calculations. The machines were never widely used and generally had no direct path to the later development of electronic computers. Example:

Pascal:

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) a French matematician, invented the first mechanical adding machine at age 19 in 1642. He became tired of adding long columns of figures while helping his father, who had been appointed administrator of Rouen by Cardenal Richelieu. His device had teen toothed wheels and many gears. Rotating wheels developed sums. A carry lever advanced the next wheel to the left one position when a sum exceeded 10.

Punched Card Development:

Many of us are surprised to learn that the punched card industry is almost 200 years old. Furthermore, the first use of punched cards wasn't for data processing, but rather for process control. Example:

Jacquard:

Joseph Marie Jacquard (1752-1834), a French Weaver, in 1804 developed the first completly automatic loom, controlled by punched cards. Fearing that the machine would produce unemployment, workers attacked and destroyed his machine at Lyon. Aided by Napoleon, Jacquard rebuilt his machine, which os credited with promoting a thriving textile industry in France through the 1800s.

Electromechanical Computers:

The 1920s and 1930s saw ghreat pioneering work inthe continuive research for more effective computers. Several attempts were made to combine existing punched card machineswith more extensive computing devices. Example:

Bush:

Dr. Vannevar Bush (1890- ) built a large-scale computer called a differential analyzer at the Massachusets Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1930. Unlike the Babbage machine, the Bush analyzer was analog. It mechanical torque-amplifiers to generate the power necessary to move long trains of mechanical gears. The principle is similar to that used on cargo hoists.

Two copies of Dr. Bush's analyzer were later produced under the WPA. One was used for ballistic calculations at the army's Aberdeen Proving Gounds, and the other went to the Moore School of Engineering at the University of ...

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