Development of Computer

The ideas and inventions of many engineers, mathematicians and scientists led to the development of the computer. The development of the computer lead the people being faster in their work and accuracy also.Every computer supports some form of input, processing, and output. This is less obvious on a primitive device such as the abacus where input, output and processing are simply the act of moving the pebbles into new positions, seeing the changed positions, and counting. Regardless, this is what computing is all about, in a nutshell. We input information, the computer processes it according to its basic logic or the program currently running, and outputs the results. 

The first computer was developed in 1642 and consisted of gears and wheels. The first

wheel would count from 1 to 9, the second wheel would count from 10 to 99, the third wheel would count from 100 to 999, etc. The only problem with the first computer, was that it could only add and subtract. It’s inventor was a French Mathematician and Scientist by the name of Blaise Pascal.While abacus may have technically been the first computer most people today associate the word “computer” with electronic computers which were invented in the last century, and have evolved into modern computers we know of today.

In 1670, the German mathematician, Liebniz improved Blaise’s invention so that it could multiply and divide as well. Liebniz also found a system of counting other than decimal, called binary which made the machine easier to use. George Boole, in the 1800's, perfected binary mathematics and could logically work out complex binary calculations in his head which helped greatly to move the computer industry. The French textile weaver, Joseph Jacquard, made his contribution to the computer in 1801 with the loom. The loom was a machine that used punched cards to weave patterns. Holes would be punched in patterns on cards and then placed between the rising needle and thread creating the pattern punched. By changing cards and alternating patterns, Jacquard could create complex woven patterns. Charles Babbage was inspired by these punched hole cards and during the 1830's developed the idea of a mechanical computer. He worked on this idea for 40 years but, unfortunately, he did not have the technology to provide for the precision parts needed to build this computer. Hollerith, an American inventor, invented a punched hole computer called a Tabulator in 1888. His machine used electrically charged nails that, when passed through a hole punched in a card, created a circuit. The circuit would then register on another part where it was read and recorded. He founded the Tabulating Machine Company in 1896. Over the next few years, Hollerith continued to improve the machine. He then sold his shares in 1911 and the name was changed to The Computing Tabulating Recording Company. Then in 1924, the name was changed to International Business Machines Corporations or IBM. An American electrical engineer started work to develop a computer that would help scientists do long and complex calculations. Vannevar Bush built a differential analyser to solve equations like quantities of weight, voltage or speed. These computers became known as analog computers. These analog computers are not as accurate as normal computers. Examples are thermometers, thermostats, speedometers, simulators etc. Scientists saw greater potential in computer electronics. John Atanasoff built the first special purpose analog computer in 1939. This was inpoved in 1944 by using switching

devices called electromechanical relays. In 1946, the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer) computer was developed. Instead of electromechanical relays, it used 18000 electric valves. This computer weighed more then 27 metric tons, occupied more then 140 square metres of floor space and used 150 kilowatts of power during operation. It was able to do 5000 addition and 1000 multiplications per second. The only problem was that it took very long to program the computer to do the calculations as it could not store the information.First electronic computers used vacuum tubes, and they were huge and complex. The first general purpose electronic computer was the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer). It was digital, although it didn’t operate with binary code, and was reprogrammable to solve a complete range of computing problems. It was programmed using plugboards and switches, supporting input from an IBM card reader, and output to an IBM card punch.It used thousands of vacuum tubes, crystal diodes, relays, resistors, and capacitors. Stored programming techniques was worked on by an American team who developed the EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer) in 1951. At the same time, two of the team members worked on a more advanced computer that could use both numbers and the alphabet. This was called the UNIVAC 1 (UNIVersal Automatic Computer) and was the first computer available to be sold to people and businesses.The second generation of computers came about thanks to the invention of the transistor, which then started replacing vacuum tubes in computer design. Transistor computers consumed far less power, produced far less heat, and were much smaller compared to the first generation, albeit still big by today’s standards. The first transistor computer was created at the University of Manchester in 1953. The most popular of transistor computers was IBM 1401. IBM also created the first disk drive in 1956, the IBM 350 RAMAC. The invention of the transistor in 1947, meant that computers could be faster and more reliable. The first fully transistorized computer was introduced in 1958 by Control Data Corporation followed by IBM in 1959. Technology advancements in the 1960's saw the creation of the integrated circuit which contained thousands of transistors and other parts on a silicon chip. This meant that computers could become smaller. 

During the early 1970's, many different kinds of circuits were available some of which could even hold memory as well as computer logic. This resulted in smaller computers becoming available and the central chip that controlled the computer became known as the microprocessor.

Today, the technology has become so good that it is possible to hold a computer in the palm of your hand. There are many more forms of computers in the today's days. Destop, laptops, tablet pc are some for them. In the previous days the computers are as big as the room but now we can keep it in our pocket and bags. The all are due to the new and vast technologies that are developed for the seek of the mankind.