History of computer

BRIEF HISTORY OF COMPUTER

In the hold days, pebbles and stones were used for counting items, and marking on the well was the convection for storing the counts.

The discovery of zero by Indian mathematicians laid the foundation of the number system.

Abacus, the first manual calculating device was developed in and around 3000 BC and used in many countries particularly as toys for learning while playing. It uses beads to represent decimal numbers. The Japanese call it SOROBAN.

In early seventeenth century, john Napier, a Scottish scientist who practiced mathematics as a hobby, developed another calculating device known as 'Napier's Bones'. He used a set of eleven rods called 'bones' with numbers carved on them. Napier is also well known for development of logarithms in 1614. This idea of logarithm (combination of two Greek words: LOGOS means ratios and ARITHMOS means numbers) by Napier, gave birth to a calculating device called 'SLIDE RULE' which was used till the 1970s in engineering collages. The slide rule was invented in 1620'by an English mathematician, William Ought red. 

Abacus

In 1642 French physicist Blaise Pascal (1623-62)  at the age of 18 designed and developed the first mechanical calculator known as 'Arithmetic  machine' mean while, another Frenchman  Joseph Jacquard  was a  perfecting a system of hundred cards to automatically control individual threads  in a loom ,so that complicated complicated design and patterns could be woven  on the cloth.

Pascline

In 1671, Leibnitz, the German mathematician invented the first calculator for multiplication. It performed all the four basic arithmetic operation- addition, subtraction multiplication and division.

Punch Card

In 1820 Charles Xavier Thomas of France developed a key driven calculator.

In 1823, Charles Babbage, an English professor of mathematics, in Cambridge University, developed a mechanical computer called difference Engine.Later, in 1833 Babbage designed an Analytical engine, but it could not be completed for want of developed the technology. But he paved the way for modern digital computers, because his Analytical Engine was built around the same five components (input, output, control, storage, memory, ALU) used in modern digital computer. Hence he know as the 'father of modem computer science'. His discipline a brilliant mathematician lady Ada Lovelace, the daughter of The Famous English poet Lord Byron, developed the binary number system for Babbage's machine. She is widely considered as the first programmer in the world, and the programming language ADA is named after her.

Difference Engine

Analytical Engine

In 1854, an English mathematician - George Boole, developed two- state algebra called Boolean algebra, binary in nature. Claude Shannon, an electrical engineer camp of wills its application to switching circuits that led to the simplification circuits. It was George Boole who provided a missing link between mathematics tricks and logic and it is log that is used in present day computers.

In 1880, keyboard machines works originated in USA, and are in use, even today.

In 1880, Dr Herman Hollerith was the first to put the punched card technique to use in computation in 1890; he designed a punch card device known as the census machine to process census data. The card machine processed punch cards at the rate of 50 to 75 per minute.  In 1896, he set up the tube lighting   Machine Company which later becomes IBM, after a series of murgers.

Herman Hollerith

In 1887, D.E felt designed a four Function calculator knows as compote meter. The first keyboard calculator was introduced in 1911, by R monrol. But the devices developed needed manual intervention, were slow, lacked reliability and accuracy.

The first electro - mechanical calculator was designed in 1937 by Dr. Howard Aiken Harvard University, and produced by IBM in 1944, known as Howard mark-I. It us more than 3000 relays, was 50 feet long and 8 feet height. It took 0.3 seconds to numbers, and 4.5 seconds to multiply 2 numbers.

Dr. JohnV. Atanasoff, a physicist at IOWA state college, USA, in 1939 built the first electro digital computer, called as ABC or Atansoff Berry computer. It used vacuum tubes and the first entirely electronic computer.

ENIAC stands for Electronic Numerical integrator and computer, and who was developed john Mauchly and John presper at University of Pennsylvania   USA in 1943.  It was electronic computer and was developed to cater to military needs.  It contained more than 18,000 vacuum tubes and needed huge electric power to run. It was much more powerful lit mark I. ENIAC had two shortcomings: (I) its storage capacity was very much limited, and its programs were Weed on board. The operating programs could not be stored internally.

The EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer) was designed during 1946 - 52 on stored program concept to overcome short comings of ENIAC by Hungarian born mathematician John Von Neumann. He also introduced idea of storing both instruction and data and binary form (0's and 1’s).

Almost simultaneously with EDVAC, the Britishers developed electronic Delay stored automatic calculator (EDSAC).  Prof. Maurice at the Cambridge University in 1949 developed this computer this machine named mark -I was faster than EDVAC.

ENIAC ( The First Electronic Computer ) 

Prof. Newman, at Manchester University, in 1948 developed a small experimental machine based on stored program concept. This was limited only to store data and instructions.

The UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer was developed by Remington Rand Corporation, US, was delivered to the U.S. census Bureau in 1951 and was used for 10 year. The first commercial use of a computer, a UNIVAC was by General Electric Corporation in 1954.

In 1952, the IBM - 701 Commercial Computer was developed by International Business Machines (IBM). Other series were introduced in 1953 by IBM who produced the IBM - 650.

After 1952 the development of electronic computer geared up and many developments are being reported in this field. Some of the important milestones are presented in the following table:

1953	International  Business Machines introduced IBM 701 EDPM Computer
1954	John Backus & IBM developed the first successful high level programming language FORTAN.
1955	Stanford Research Institute, Bank of America, and General Electric developed the technology MICR (Magnetic ink character recognition) for reading checks in banks.
1958	Jack Kilby & Robert Noyce developed the integrated Circuit known as IC or the Chip
1962	The first computer game invented by Steve Russell & MIT.
1964	Douglas Engelbart developed the device Mouse.
1969	The US Defense developed the  ‘ARPAnet’ The original Internet.
1970	The world’s first dynamic RAM chip “INTEL 1103”developed by Intel.
1971	Faggin, Hoff & Mazor developed the first microprocessor ‘Intel 4004’ for computer.
1971	Alan Shugart & IBM introduced the “Flopy”  Disk
1973	Robert Metcalfe & Xerox developed the Ethernet  Computer Networking.
1974/75	The first consumer computers developed by Scelbi & Marks-8 Altair & IBM 5100 Computers
1976/77	More first consumer computers developed by like Apple I,II & Trs-80 & Commodore Pet Computers
1978	Dan Bricklin & Bob  Frankston developed the first Spreadsheet Software for PC named “VisiCalc”
1979	Seymour Rubenstein & Rob Barnaby developed the word. Processing software “WordStar”
1981	IBM introduced The IBM PC the first Desktop Home Computer.
1981	Microsoft introduced The MS-DOS Computer Operating  System software for PC
1983	Apple introduced Lisa Computer – The first home computer with a GUI, graphical user interface.
1984	Apple introduced Macintosh Computer – The more affordable home compouter with a GUI.
1985	Microsoft introduced Windows.