History Of Computers
The
history of computers is in fact an astonishing one. The existence of
personal computers on tables throughout households along with corporations may be a new idea, getting
just flowered during the past 25 years, even so the thought of a
device that performs calculations is really a old one. Within this section we’ll investigate a number of the most
important facts inside the historical past of computers and the computer science
world.
Z1
Computer

Year |
Inventions |
Description of Event |
1936 - 1938
|
Z1
Computer |
The Z1 was the first freely programmable computer in the world
which used Boolean logic and binary floating point numbers. |
1943
|
ABC
Computer |
The Atanasoff–Berry Computer (ABC) was the first
electronic digital computing device. |
1944
|
Harvard Mark I
Computer |
The IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator
(ASCC), called the Mark I by Harvard University, was an electro-mechanical computer
history timeline. |
1947
|
ENIAC 1
Computer |
Electronic Numerical Integrator And
Computer)[was the first general-purpose electronic
computer. |
19489
|
Manchester Baby Computer & The
Williams Tube |
The Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine
(SSEM), nicknamed Baby, was the world's first stored-program computer. |
1949/49
|
The
Transistor |
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to
amplify and switch electronic signals. |
1951
|
UNIVAC
Computer |
The UNIVAC I (UNIVersal Automatic
Computer I) was the first commercial computer produced in the United
States. |
1952
|
IBM 701 EDPM
Computer |
IBM enters into 'The History of
Computers'. |
1953
|
FORTRAN Computer Programming
Language |
For these reasons, FORTRAN is considered to be the
first widely used programming language supported across a variety of computer
architectures.. |
1956
|
ERMA and MICR |
The first production ERMA system, known as the GE-100, was installed in
1959. |
1958
|
The Integrated
Circuit |
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated
circuit (also referred to as IC, chip, and microchip) is an electronic circuit
manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements. |
1961
|
Spacewar Computer
Game |
Between 1959 and 1961, a collection of interactive graphical
programs had been created on the TX-0 experimental computer at MIT. |
1964
|
Computer Mouse &
Windows |
Douglas Engelbart changed the way computers worked, from
specialized machinery that only a trained scientist could use, to a user-friendly tool that almost
anyone can use. |
1968
|
ARPAnet |
The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network
(ARPANET), was the world's first operational packet switching network and the core network of a
set that came to compose the global Internet. |
1970
|
Intel 1103 Computer
Memory |
In 1970, the newly formed Intel company publicly released the
1103, the first DRAM (Dynamic Random AccessMemory) chip. |
1970
|
Intel 4004 Computer
Microprocessor |
(Gift of Federico Faggin to the Computer History
Museum, Mountain View, CA). |
1972
|
The "Floppy"
Disk |
A floppy disk is a data storage medium that is
composed of a disk of thin, flexible ("floppy") magnetic storage medium sealed in a square or
rectangular. |
1974
|
The Ethernet Computer
Networking |
Ethernet is a physical and data link layer technology
for local area networks (LANs). Ethernet was invented by engineer Robert
Metcalfe. |
1975/76
|
Scelbi & Mark-8 Altair & IBM
5100 Computers |
The First Hobby and Home Computers: Scelbi,
Mark-8, Altair, IBM 5100. |
1977/78
|
Apple I, II & TRS-80 &
Commodore Pet Computers |
The personal computer became established as a
consumer appliance rather than a hobbyist. |
1979
|
VisiCalc Spreadsheet
Software |
VisiCalc was the first spreadsheet program
available for personal computers. |
1979
|
WordStar
Software |
WordStar was a text-based word processing
program, meaning that it worked with files that were essentially text, with markup
language-like formatting. |
1980
|
The IBM PC - Home
Computer |
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the
IBM PC, is the original version. |
1980
|
Pacman is Released |
Pacman is one of the most popular games and is considered as an icon of the 80's popular colture. |
1981
|
MS-DOS Computer Operating
System |
The "Microsoft Disk Operating System" or
MS-DOS was based on QDOS, the "Quick and Dirty Operating
System" |
1982
|
Apple Lisa
Computer |
The Apple Lisa was an amazing advancement in a
user-friendly computer system, but Apple didn't invent the idea of the GUI. |
1983
|
Apple Macintosh
Computer |
Apple has positioned the Mac as a higher-end
personal computer. |
1985
|
Microsoft
Windows |
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems
produced by Microsoft. |
SERIES
|
TO BE
|
CONTINUED
|
Enigma
The Abacus
The primary attempts towards mechanised assistance helped in
counting, not really computation. The abacus is a mechanised gadget using beads sliding upon rods, which is often
used for a counting machine. The item goes to at the very least the Roman Times, as well as its ancestor, the
particular counting table, was about as way back as 500 B. C. The actual abacus is recognized as a counting system
for the reason that all of the calculation continues to be carried out by the individual using the unit. The abacus
does show, nevertheless, that a device may be utilized to store figures.
History Of Computers
Jacquard’s Mechanised Loom
A loom is a device intended for weaving a style into fabric. Earlier loom patterns
had been managed manually. For every “line” inside the style and design, selected strings was “pulled” by a skilled
weaver (or a poor staff member underneath the direction of the weaver) for getting the actual completed style. As
you may have thought, this method had been slow and mind-numbing.
Around 1801, French man Joseph Jacquard created a kinetic loom through which strings
needed to be pulled during every single step inside a style which was recorded inside a number of punch cards. The
punch card encodes files having holes in unique spots. In the matter of weaving, each thread that may be pulled had
a place within the cards. Whenever there is a hole in this position, the thread is pulled. Jacquard’s loom employed
a number of these kind of punch cards using a belt. The actual loom could weave the line formed with the present
card, and then automatically move forward towards the following card. the history of the internet.
Jacurd’s loom is not really actually a computer system, since it really does simply
no numerical calculations, however it created the key thought of a programmable device. The actual loom is really a
“universal weaver” which processes numerous sets of punch cards to create various weaved fabric.
Babbage’s Counting Device
Sooner or later somebody constructed a device which could count and could carry out
an application, along with thought about whether a device might be built to calculate figures. Charles Babbage, a
great English specialist, used much of the actual 1800s looking to build this kind of machine.
Among Babbage’s first designs had been a machine he referred to as the “Difference
Engine, ” that created effective terminology inside a numerical sequence though a operator flipped a crank. This
could not really seem to be a remarkable progression, nevertheless back then, mathematicians counted on platforms
of mathematical capabilities through which every value was painstakingly worked out by hand. As a result, the
actual Difference Engine was groundbreaking.
Their accomplishment brought Babbage into a much more impressive design: the
Analytical Engine. As opposed to staying stuck just using a certain process just like the Difference Engine, the
Analytical Engine had been assembled as a general-purpose processing machine. Numerous programs could be given into
the device with a string of punch cards, just like in Jacquard’s loom.
The actua Analytical Engine ended up being never built, simply because Babbage ran
out of cash. Similar to countless analysts nowadays, he had been relying on government grants to carry on their
work. Additionally, their design might not have been achievable to carry out with the technology in his time. This
individual was unquestionably a guy well before his time.
Hollerith’s Punch Cards
With its Constitution, the actual U. S. federal government is required every 10 years
to count the amount of people are living in every state, a procedure generally known as the census. All these
figures are used to find out the amount of officials every single state will get within the House of
Representatives.
Initially, this method had been performed completely manually. Census takers would
fill in forms for every home, after which the results of those forms will be tabulated by state. Using this method
had been so tedious of which through the late 1800s the 1880 census required in excess of 10 years to finish, that
meant the upcoming census were commencing ahead of the outcome of the preceding one had been known. Evidently,
something needed to be performed.
The federal government developed a tournament to search for the best answer for the
issue in the computer history timeline. Around 1890 it had been won by the census agent named William Hollerith.
Within his pattern, every census form had been encoded right into a punch card. Devices known as “tabulators” can
quickly process heaps of those cards.
Using this method wasn't simply significantly quicker compared to manual tabulation,
but additionally permitted the government to monitor demographics as by no means prior to, request additional
queries of every resident, along with split up information alongside numerous categories. Such as, as opposed to
keeping track of men that had been above a certain age or even were veterans, the tabulators may count the men that
had been in both lists, which in turn helped the government to better predict the finances that is going to be
required for veterans’ pensions.
The actual program had been a booming accomplishment and also resulted in Hollerith’s
founding with the Tabulating Device Organization, which, numerous mergers afterwards, grew to become International
Business Machines, or IBM, a business that would later on master the globe of computers for many
years.
ABC
Within the time period from 1939 to 1942, John Atanasoff, a professor at Iowa State
Collage, as well as Clifford Berries, a graduate university student at the very same university, designed which is
now viewed as the very first modern personal computer. Their particular device, which they named the
Atanasoff-Berry Computer, or ABC, weighed around 700 lbs, as a result needed to be housed inside the cellar in the
physics division. Through present standards it had been a really slow machine, apparently capable of just a single
calculation just about every 15 seconds. In comparison, a computer system these days is able to do billions of
calculations in a second.
Atanasoff along with Berry never finished the patent procedure with their work, as
well as the machine itself ended up being dismantled a couple of years after it had been developed, once the
physics division required its cellar area back again. It was unfortunate since their groundbreaking work inside the
industry was underappreciated and never went down in the history of computers. Credit with the very first modern
computer system was alternatively bestowed with a much more well-known project: ENIAC.

ENIAC
Just like William Hollerith’s punched cards, the actual ENIAC history is powered
through governmental need. As soon as World War II begun, the United States had been woefully underprepared for
armed service operations. The actual military required to create as well as test out a lot of weaponry within a
limited time frame. Specifically, it needed to carry out several ballistics assessments to produce artillery
tables—in essence, a guide displaying what lengths an artillery shell could fly coming from a certain gun, provided
wind conditions, the position of the gun barrel, and so forth.
Much like the mathematical tables of Babbage’s period, these kinds of artillery
tables were developed manually, however by now the military witout a doubt had a few gadgets for helping in
calculation. who invented the internet labld differential analyzers, they were operated on mechanical concepts
(similar to Babbage’s machines), not really on electronics. Some thing greater was required, in assistance that the
military hired J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, computer researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. Inside
1946, the device that they created had been named ENIAC, that means Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer.
Just like the ABC, ıt had been definitely a modern computer system.
The concept of a “modern” may appear too powerful if you in fact seen this kind of
machine. Computer systems of this time counted on the vacuum tube, a machine of which resembled some sort of
lightbulb by which a single electric current may command another. This particular controlling feature had been
helpful to create logical circuits, simply because on it's own one vacuum tube doesn’t perform a lot. In fact,
ENIAC needed about 19, 000 vacuum tubes to complete its job, filled up a whole room, weighed 30 tons, as well as
drew around 200 kilowatts (which is actually, 200, 000 watts) of electrical power. Compared to a pc computer bought
these days will attract around 400 watts of electricity, meaning ENIAC drew around five hundred times more current,
although the real capacity to compute is dwarfed with the most low-priced pc computers of today.
What tends to make ENIAC so essential is it's reliance on consumer electronics to
solve a real-world issue. There was very few mechanical components as possible, however a few mechanics had been
unavoidable. For instance, ENIAC nevertheless utilized punch cards for output and input, as well as the components
that examine along with developed these types of cards were mechanised. The actual vacuum tubes had been
constructed into minicircuits of which conducted elementary logical capabilities and had been constructed into much
larger circuits. These circuits were then constructed into even larger circuits, a pattern concept which is even
now made use of today.
For many years the ENIAC was regarded as the very first computer, however inside the
1970s a judge in a patent infringement case established that ENIAC had been based on the design belonging to the
ABC. Some other claims had been additionally made, which includes the ones from Konrad Zuse, of which whose work
during wartime Germany wasn’t recognised by the remaining portion of the world for many years; as well as Mark I, a
computer system designed about the very same time frame at Harvard and the start of the history of the internet.
The actual issue of just what was the very first modern computer system might in no way be settled.
Knuth’s Study
To this stage computer systems were viewed as significantly helpful resources,
although computer science had not been regarded as a significant discipline, independent by mathematics. Among the
top figures who transformed this was Donald Knuth.
Being an undergraduate learning physics as well as math along at the Case Institute
of Technologies in Cleveland within the 1950s, Knuth experienced his very first contact while using the school’s
IBM computer system. After that, programs and computers had been his infatuation. He had written programs for the
IBM computer system to evaluate the college’s basketball figures, along with released research documents while he
was still an undergraduate. the history of the internet hen he finished the project regarding his bachelor’s
degree, the school had been so fascinated with his computer system work that he had been granted a master’s as
well. His most well known achievement would be the Art of Computer system Programming, a suggested masterwork of 7
volumes, that three are finished along with the history of the internet. It’s no exaggeration to state that Donald
Knuth’s writings are the computer science what those of Albert Einstein are to physics, huge points in the
history of computers.
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