Scribd
Upload
25 views2 pages

History of Computers

The document discusses the history and development of computers from early mechanical devices through modern digital computers. It describes how computers have evolved from specialized machines for calculations to general purpose devices that power the internet and are integrated into many consumer and industrial products. The etymology section discusses the original meaning of computer as a human who performs calculations and how the definition has changed over time.

Uploaded by

rosed97012
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
25 views2 pages

History of Computers

The document discusses the history and development of computers from early mechanical devices through modern digital computers. It describes how computers have evolved from specialized machines for calculations to general purpose devices that power the internet and are integrated into many consumer and industrial products. The etymology section discusses the original meaning of computer as a human who performs calculations and how the definition has changed over time.

Uploaded by

rosed97012
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

A computer is a machine that can be programmed to automatically carry out sequences

of arithmetic or logical operations (computation). Modern digital electronic


computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These programs
enable computers to perform a wide range of tasks. The term computer system may
refer to a nominally complete computer that includes the hardware, operating
system, software, and peripheral equipment needed and used for full operation; or
to a group of computers that are linked and function together, such as a computer
network or computer cluster.

A broad range of industrial and consumer products use computers as control systems,
including simple special-purpose devices like microwave ovens and remote controls,
and factory devices like industrial robots. Computers are at the core of general-
purpose devices such as personal computers and mobile devices such as smartphones.
Computers power the Internet, which links billions of computers and users.

Early computers were meant to be used only for calculations. Simple manual
instruments like the abacus have aided people in doing calculations since ancient
times. Early in the Industrial Revolution, some mechanical devices were built to
automate long, tedious tasks, such as guiding patterns for looms. More
sophisticated electrical machines did specialized analog calculations in the early
20th century. The first digital electronic calculating machines were developed
during World War II, both electromechanical and using thermionic valves. The first
semiconductor transistors in the late 1940s were followed by the silicon-based
MOSFET (MOS transistor) and monolithic integrated circuit chip technologies in the
late 1950s, leading to the microprocessor and the microcomputer revolution in the
1970s. The speed, power and versatility of computers have been increasing
dramatically ever since then, with transistor counts increasing at a rapid pace
(Moore's law noted that counts doubled every two years), leading to the Digital
Revolution during the late 20th to early 21st centuries.

Conventionally, a modern computer consists of at least one processing element,


typically a central processing unit (CPU) in the form of a microprocessor, together
with some type of computer memory, typically semiconductor memory chips. The
processing element carries out arithmetic and logical operations, and a sequencing
and control unit can change the order of operations in response to stored
information. Peripheral devices include input devices (keyboards, mice, joystick,
etc.), output devices (monitor screens, printers, etc.), and input/output devices
that perform both functions (e.g., the 2000s-era touchscreen). Peripheral devices
allow information to be retrieved from an external source and they enable the
result of operations to be saved and retrieved.

Etymology
A human computer.
A human computer, with microscope and calculator, 1952
It was not until the mid-20th century that the word acquired its modern definition;
according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known use of the word
computer was in a different sense, in a 1613 book called The Yong Mans Gleanings by
the English writer Richard Brathwait: "I haue [sic] read the truest computer of
Times, and the best Arithmetician that euer [sic] breathed, and he reduceth thy
dayes into a short number." This usage of the term referred to a human computer, a
person who carried out calculations or computations. The word continued with the
same meaning until the middle of the 20th century. During the latter part of this
period women were often hired as computers because they could be paid less than
their male counterparts.[1] By 1943, most human computers were women.[2]

The Online Etymology Dictionary gives the first attested use of computer in the
1640s, meaning 'one who calculates'; this is an "agent noun from compute (v.)". The
Online Etymology Dictionary states that the use of the term to mean "'calculating
machine' (of any type) is from 1897." The Online Etymology Dictionary indicates
that the "modern use" of the term, to mean 'programmable digital electronic
computer' dates from "1945 under this name; [in a] theoretical [sense] from 1937,
as Turing machine".[3] The name has remained, although modern computers are capable
of many higher-level functions.

You might also like