History of Computer

Present day computer is a product of many improvement over a period of time.History of computer can be considered from arise of human culture as person known the calculation they used to something for this purpose like, pebbles stone etc. but as a  device Roman’ s abacus is first device  used in B. C for calculation. In A. D various mechanical devices were invented for the calculation like Pascaline by Blasé Pascal, Joseph Jacquard invented loom that is programmed using punched cards, and Charles Babbage invented two machine Analytical engine and Difference engine and Hollerith’s Census Machine (Tabulating machine). Atanasoff-berry computer (ABC) is a fully digital electronic device used for linear equation. Howard Aiken (IBM) had designed Mark I, the first operational general –purpose electro- mechanical computer. John Mauchley and Prosper Eckert make the electronic numerical integrator and calculator (ENIAC) First general purpose, digital electronic computer used to compute a ballistic firing. Universal Automatic Era (Before 1945) having mechanical devices and the Electronic Era (From 1945) having electronic processing technology. Electronic Era is divided into Four generations.

Early Calculating Device

Early man used stones, sticks, fingers, pebbles and cowries to count. Even today we learn calculation using our fingers.

Mechanical Counting Devices

After early counting devices, mechanical counting device were made. The limitation of human body’s ten fingers and ten tones apparently causes early man to construct tool to help him with calculations.

Abacus

Abacus was the first calculation machine invented in china to count large numbers. It was a wooden rack holding two horizontal wires with beads strung on them. The position of the beads was changed to enter a number. Simple calculations like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division were performed using an Abacus.  

(Abacus was the first calculating device used to add and subtract numbers. It was developed in 3000 BC in China. It is also known as “Sorbonne”. It was called a counting frame.)

Napier’s bones

In 1614, John Napier invented a calculating device called Napier’s bones. This device is a set of rectangular rods marked with numbers. It was meant for simple calculation such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of numbers. Later, it was improve to find the square root of numbers.

Electromechanical Counting Device

Pascaline Blaise Pascal invented the first mechanical calculator in 1642. It was named Pascaline. It had a box with eight movable wheels called dials. The number for calculations were entered with dials . It could ass, subtract, divide and multiply number as big as thousands.(Pascaline was the first gear-driven calculator.)

Leibniz Calculator

Mathematician Gottried Leibniz built a calculator in 1671 that could add, subtract, multipily and divide numbers. It could also find square roots.

Jacquard Loom

In 1801, J.M.Jacquard invented a powered loom that used punched wooden card to automatically weave incredibly detailed patterns including picture and text. This can be taken as the first read only memory device. 

Charles Babbage, a mathematics professor, designed an automatic calculating machine in 1822, he called it

Difference Engine

In 1823, he thought of a mechanical construction which was known as mechanical-digital computer. Babbage called this Analytical Engine. This provided a base for the development of modern Computer. Charles Babbage is rightly called the Father of Computer.(Which device is the first “Read Only Device)   

Boolean Logic

George Boole designed the Boolean Logic, which became the fundamental principle foe designing computer circuits.

Electronic Counting Device

In 1889, an American named Herman Hollerith invented a counting machine to count the population of USA. It was one of the main electronic counting devices. It was based on punch –cards. Herman Hollerith was the founder of the company that became famous as IBM.

Modern Calculating Devices or Computers

Major developments took place in the calculating devices in the 20^th and early 21^st centuries. Following are some important devices of these periods. (IBM (International Business Machines) is the world’s largest computer company.)

The First Digital Electronic Computer-ABC

The first computer prototype was built by John V. Atanasoff and Clifford E. Berry. It had vacuum tubes instead of mechanical switches. It was called Atansoff-Berry Computer (ABC). It used the binary number system like a modern computer.

Z3

Z3 was an electromechanical computer designed by konrad zuse. It was the world’s first working programmable, fully automatic computing machine. It was one of the first machines that could be considered a complete computing machine.

Harvard Mark I

Harvard Mark I computer was built in partnership between Harvard and IBM in 1944. This was the first programmable digital computer made in the US But it was not a purely electronic computer.

The machine weighed five tones and had 500 miles of wire. It was 8 feet in height and 51 feet in length.

ENIAC and UNIVAC

The first fully functional electronic digital computer to be built in the US was ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator). It was somewhat similar to the earlier computer, but was considerably larger and more flexible. UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer) was the first commercial computer produced in the United States.

1. Early man used stones, sticks, fingers, pebbles and cowries to count.
2. Abacus was the first calculating machine invented to count large numbers. It was developed in 3000 BC in China.
3. In 1614, john Napier invented a calculating device called Napier’s bones.
4. In 1642, Blasé Pascal invented the first mechanical calculator.
5. In1822, Charles Babbage, a mathematics professor, designed an automatic calculating machine, which, he called a Differenced Engine. He also designed a mechanical digital computer in 1823 which was called Analytical Engine.
6. Charles Babbage is called the father of computer.
7.  Z3 was and electromechanical computer designed by Conrad Zeus.
8. Harvard Mark I computer was built in partnership between Harvard and IBM in 1944.
9. ENIAC and UNIVAC was electronic digital computer built in USA.