HISTORY OF COMPUTER

COMPUTER - an electronic device, operating under the control of

instructions stored in its own memory, that can accept data (input),
process the data according to specified rules, produce information
(output), and store the information for future use.
 HISTORY OF COMPUTER: BASIC
COMPUTING PERIODS
• Earliest Computers originally calculations were computed by humans,
whose job title was computers.
• These human computers were typically engaged in the calculation of a
mathematical expression.
• The calculations of this period were specialized and expensive, requiring
years of training in mathematics.
• The first use of the word "computer" was recorded in 1613, referring to a
person who carried out calculations, or computations, and the word
continued to be used in that sense until the middle of the 20th century.
 HISTORY OF COMPUTER: BASIC
COMPUTING PERIODS

a.Tally sticks - a tally stick was an ancient memory aid

device to record and document numbers, quantities, or even
messages.
b. Abacus- An abacus is a mechanical device used to aid an
individual in performing mathematical calculations.
• The abacus was invented in Babylonia in 2400 B.C.
• The abacus in the form we are most familiar with was
first used in China in around 500 B.C.
• It used to perform basic arithmetic operations.
c. Napier’s Bones
• Invented by John Napier in 1614.
• Allowed the operator to multiply, divide and calculate
square and cube roots by moving the rods around and
placing them in specially constructed boards.
d. Slide Rule – used by placing two scales side by side and
sliding them to read the distance relationships.
• Invented by William Oughtred in 1622.
• Is based on Napier's ideas about logarithms.
• Used primarily for – multiplication – division – roots –
logarithms – Trigonometry
• Not normally used for addition or subtraction.
e. Pascaline
• Invented by Blaise Pascal in 1642.
• It was its limitation to addition and subtraction.
• It is too expensive.
f. Stepped Reckoner
• Invented by Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz in 1672.
• The machine that can add, subtract, multiply and divide
automatically.
g. Jacquard Loom
• The Jacquard loom is a mechanical loom, invented by
Joseph-Marie Jacquard in 1801.
• It is an automatic loom controlled by punched cards.
h. Arithmometer
• A mechanical calculator invented by Thomas de Colmar
in 1820.
• The first reliable, useful and commercially successful
calculating machine.
• The machine could perform the four basic mathematic
functions.
• The first mass-produced calculating machine.
i. Difference Engine & Analytical Engine
• Invented by Charles Babbage in 1822 and 1834.
• It is an automatic, mechanical calculator designed to
tabulate polynomial functions.
• The first mechanical computer.
j. First Computer Programmer
• In 1840, Augusta Ada Byron speculated the idea of the
machine that could manipulate symbols in accordance
with rules and that number could represent entities other
than quantity.
• She had written programs for Analytical Engine of
Babbage.
k. Scheutzian Calculation Engine
• Invented by Per Georg Scheutz in 1843.
• Based on Charles Babbage's difference engine.
• The first printing calculator.
l. Tabulating Machine
• Invented by Herman Hollerith in 1890.
• To assist in summarizing information and accounting
m.Harvard Mark 1
• Also known as IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled
Calculator (ASCC).
• Invented by Howard H. Aiken in 1943
• The first electro-mechanical computer.
n. Z1
• The first programmable computer.
• Created by Konrad Zuse in Germany from 1936 to
1938.
• To program the Z1 it is required that the user inserts
punch tape into a punch tape reader and all output was
also generated through punch tape.
o. Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC)
• It was the first electronic digital computing device.
• Invented by Professor John Atanasoff and graduate
student Clifford Berry at Iowa State University
between 1939 and 1942.
p. ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and
Computer)
• It was the first large-scale electronic general-purpose
computer and was completed in 1946.
• Developed by John Presper Eckert and John Mauchly.
q. UNIVAC 1 (UNIVersal Automatic Computer)
• The first commercial computer.
• Designed by John Presper Eckert and John Mauchly in
1951.
r. EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic
Computer)
• The first stored program computer.
• Designed by Von Neumann in 1952.
• It has a memory to hold both a stored program as well as
data.
r. Osborne 1
• The first portable computer.
• Released in 1981 by the Osborne Computer Corporation.
r. Electronic Controls Company
• The first computer company.
• Founded in 1949 by John Presper Eckert and John
Mauchly.
BASIC COMPUTING PERIODS: AGES

a. Premechanical
b. Mechanical
c. Electromechanical
d. Electronic
a. Premechanical
• The premechanical age is the earliest age of
information technology. It can be defined as the time
between 3000B.C. and 1450A.D. When humans first
started communicating, they would try to use
language or simple picture drawings known as
petroglyphs which were usually carved in rock. Early
alphabets were developed such as the Phoenician
alphabet.
• First book and libraries are developed (Egyptian
scrolls).
• First 1-9 system was created by people from India and
775 years later, the number 0 was invented.
• Created Calculators in the form of Abacus.
Petroglyphs
b. Mechanical
• Time between 1450 and 1840.
• A lot of technologies were developed. Like the slide
rule (an analog computer used for multiplying and
dividing) were invented. Blaise Pascal invented the
Pascaline which was a very popular mechanical
computer. Charles Babbage developed the difference
engine which tabulated polynomial equations using
the method of finite differences.
• All inventions were HUGE.
Difference Engine
c. Electromechanical
• Time between 1840 and 1940.
• Beginnings of telecommunication.
• The telegraph was created in the early 1800s. Morse
code was created by Samuel Morse in 1835. The
telephone (one of the most popular forms of
communication ever) was created by Alexander Graham
Bell in 1876. The first radio developed by Guglielmo
Marconi in 1894. All of these were extremely crucial
emerging technologies that led to big advances in the
information technology field.
• The first large-scale automatic digital computer in the
United States was the Mark 1 created by Harvard
University around 1940. This computer was 8ft high, 50ft
Harvard Mark 1
c. Electronic
• Time between 1940 and present.
• ENIAC was created.
Four Main Sections of Digital Computing
1. The first era was of vacuum tubes and punch cards (like the
ENIAC and Mark 1). Rotating magnetic drums were used for internal
storage.

2. The second generation replaced vacuum tubes with

transistors, punch cards were replaced with magnetic tape,
and rotating magnetic drums were replaced by magnetic
cores for internal storage. Also during this time high-level
programming languages were created such as FORTRAN and
 Four Main Sections of Digital Computing
3. The third generation replaced transistors with integrated
circuits, magnetic tape was used throughout all computers,
and magnetic core turned into metal oxide semiconductors.
An actual operating system showed up around this time
along with the advanced programming language.

4. The fourth and latest generation brought in CPUs (central

processing units) which contained memory, logic, and
control circuits all on a single chip. The personal computer
was developed (Apple II). The graphical user interface (GUI)
was developed.
HISTORY OF COMPUTER: GENERATIONS OF
COMPUTER
Five Generations of Computer:
1. First Generation – 1946 to 1958
2. Second Generation – 1959 to 1964
3. Third Generation – 1965 to 1970
4. Fourth Generation – 1971 to Today
5. Fifth Generation – Today to Future
 Prepared by:

VALLEREMIE A. MITRA
Instructor I