The computer as we know it today had its beginning with a 19th-century English mathematics professor name Charles Babbage. He designed the Analytical Engine and it was this design that the basic framework of the computers of today is based on. Generally speaking, computers can be classified into three generations. Each generation lasted for a certain period of time and each gave us either a new and improved computer or an improvement to the existing computer.
Definition of Computer
• A computer is a programmable machine.
• The computer is an electronic device that manipulates information or data. It has the ability to store, retrieve, and process data.
• A computer is a machine that manipulates data according to a list of instructions (program).
• The computer is any device that aids humans in performing various kinds of computations or calculations.
Three principles characteristic of computer:
• It responds to a specific set of instructions in a well-defined manner.
• It can execute a prerecorded list of instructions.
• It can quickly store and retrieve large amounts of data.
History of Computers
The first counting device was used by primitive people. They used sticks, stones, and bones as counting tools. As the human mind and technology improved with time more computing devices were developed. Some of the popular computing devices starting with the first to recent ones are described below;
Abacus
The history of the computer begins with the birth of abacus which is believed to be the first computer. It is said that the Chinese invented Abacus around 4,000 years ago.
It was a wooden rack that has metal rods with beads mounted on them. The beads were moved by the abacus operator according to some rules to perform arithmetic calculations. Abacus is still used in some countries like China, Russia, and Japan. An image of this tool is shown below;
Napier's Bones
It was a manually-operated calculating device that was invented by John Napier (1550-1617) of Merchiston. In this calculating tool, he used 9 different ivory strips or bones marked with numbers to multiply and divide. So, the tool became known as "Napier's Bones. It was also the first machine to use the decimal point.
Pascaline
Pascaline is also known as Arithmetic Machine or Adding Machine. It was invented between 1642 and 1644 by a French mathematician-philosopher Biaise Pascal. It is believed that it was the first mechanical and automatic calculator.
Pascal invented this machine to help his father, a tax accountant. It could only perform addition and subtraction. It was a wooden box with a series of gears and wheels. When a wheel is rotated one revolution, it rotates the neighboring wheel. A series of windows is given on the top of the wheels to read the totals. An image of this tool is shown below;
Stepped Reckoner or Leibnitz wheel
It was developed by a German mathematician-philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz in 1673. He improved Pascal's invention to develop this machine. It was a digital mechanical calculator which was called the stepped reckoner as instead of gears it was made of fluted drums. See the following image;
Difference Engine
In the early 1820s, it was designed by Charles Babbage who is known as "Father of Modern Computer". It was a mechanical computer that could perform simple calculations. It was a steam-driven calculating machine designed to solve tables of numbers like logarithm tables.
Analytical Engine
This calculating machine was also developed by Charles Babbage in 1830. It was a mechanical computer that used punch-cards as input. It was capable of solving any mathematical problem and storing information as a permanent memory.
Tabulating Machine
It was invented in 1890, by Herman Hollerith, an American statistician. It was a mechanical tabulator based on punch cards. It could tabulate statistics and record or sort data or information. This machine was used in the 1890 U.S. Census. Hollerith also started the Hollerith?s Tabulating Machine Company which later became International Business Machine (IBM) in 1924.
Differential Analyzer
It was the first electronic computer introduced in the United States in 1930. It was an analog device invented by Vannevar Bush. This machine has vacuum tubes to switch electrical signals to perform calculations. It could do 25 calculations in few minutes.
Mark I
The next major changes in the history of computers began in 1937 when Howard Aiken planned to develop a machine that could perform calculations involving large numbers. In 1944, Mark I computer was built as a partnership between IBM and Harvard. It was the first programmable digital computer.
For your references:
Review Questions(Submit it as Class Assignment ):
1. Define a Computer.
2. Differentiate between data and information.
3. Explain some of the popular computing devices(images are not needed).
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