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History of Computers

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23 views

History of Computers

Uploaded by

swadeshsharma0102
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT OF COMPUTER

Before computers were developed people used sticks, stones, and


bones as counting tools. As technology advanced and the human
mind improved with time more computing devices were developed
like Abacus, Napier’s Bones, etc. These devices were used as
computers for performing mathematical computations but not very
complex ones.
Some of the popular computing devices are described below, starting
from the oldest to the latest or most advanced technology developed:
Abacus
Around 4000 years ago, the Chinese invented the Abacus, and it is
believed to be the first computer. The history of computers begins
with the birth of the abacus.
Structure: Abacus is basically a wooden rack that has metal rods
with beads mounted on them.
Working of abacus: In the abacus, the beads were moved by the
abacus operator according to some rules to perform arithmetic
calculations. In some countries like China, Russia, and Japan, the
abacus is still used by their people.

Napier’s Bones
Napier’s Bones was a manually operated calculating device and as
the name indicates, it was invented by John Napier. In this device, he
used 9 different ivory strips (bones) marked with numbers to multiply
and divide for calculation. It was also the first machine to use the
decimal point system for calculation.

Pascaline
It is also called an Arithmetic Machine or Adding Machine. A French
mathematician-philosopher Blaise Pascal invented this between 1642
and 1644. It was the first mechanical and automatic calculator. It is
invented by Pascal to help his father, a tax accountant in his work or
calculation. It could perform addition and subtraction in quick time. It
was basically a wooden box with a series of gears and wheels. It is
worked by rotating wheel like when a wheel is rotated one revolution,
it rotates the neighbouring wheel and a series of windows is given on
the top of the wheels to read the totals.

Stepped Reckoner or Leibniz wheel


A German mathematician-philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz in
1673 developed this device by improving Pascal’s invention to
develop this machine. It was basically a digital mechanical calculator,
and it was called the stepped reckoner as it was made of fluted drums
instead of gears (used in the previous model of Pascaline).

Difference Engine

Charles Babbage who is also known as the “Father of Modern Computer”


designed the Difference Engine in the early 1820s. Difference Engine was a
mechanical computer which is capable of performing simple calculations. It
works with help of steam as it was a steam-driven calculating machine, and
it was designed to solve tables of numbers like logarithm tables.

Analytical Engine

Again in 1830 Charles Babbage developed another calculating machine


which was Analytical Engine. Analytical Engine was a mechanical computer
that used punch cards as input. It was capable of performing or solving any
mathematical problem and storing information as a permanent memory
(storage).

Tabulating Machine

Herman Hollerith, an American statistician invented this machine in the year


1890. Tabulating Machine was a mechanical tabulator that was based on
punch cards. It was capable of tabulating statistics and record or sort data or
information. This machine was used by U.S. Census in the year 1890.
Hollerith’s Tabulating Machine Company was started by Hollerith and this
company later became International Business Machine (IBM) in the year
1924.

Differential Analyzer

Differential Analyzer was the first electronic computer introduced in the year
1930 in the United States. It was basically an analog device that was
invented by Vannevar Bush. This machine consists of vacuum tubes to switch
electrical signals to perform calculations. It was capable of doing 25
calculations in a few minutes.

Mark I
In the year 1937, major changes began in the history of computers when
Howard Aiken planned to develop a machine that could perform large
calculations or calculations involving large numbers. In the year 1944, Mark I
computer was built as a partnership between IBM and Harvard. It was also
the first programmable digital computer marking a new era in the computer
world.

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