Ages of Computer

Ages of Computer Points : Ans: Describe the Ages of Computer Ages of Computer There are three ages during which man developed and invented different types of machines to make calculation simplest. Dark Ages (3000 B.C to 1890 A.D.) In the dark ages of computer data processing equipment were all manual machine devices. The following manual machines were used for data processing in the dark ages of computer. Abacus The ABACUS is thousands of years old and used worldwide is most ancient of digital computer. The ABACUS was the first instrument that was used for helping men making calculations. ABACUS was developed in China around 3000 B.C and it was called “SWAN PAN”. Napier’s Bones (1617) John Napier, a. Scottish mathematician, designed a device called “NAPIER’S BONES” his “BONES” were a set of eleven rods with numbers marked on them in such a way that by simply placing rods side by side the products and quotients of large numbers could be obtained easily. Blaise Pascal Blaise Pascal, developed the first mechanical calculator in 1642 and the result could be obtained up to eight digits. G.W. Leibnitz In 1671 Grottfried W. Von Leibnitz invented a better calculating device as compared to Pascal device which only Added and Subtracted, but Leibnitz device could also multiply, divide and find square root. Difference Engines The most deserving name in the list of such pioneers is of Charles Babbage (1792-1871), a great English mathematician. Now he is known as the “Father of Computer” because he was the first man who gave the concept of true computer only a part of this engine was ever constructed. It was based on the principle of difference of the square of numbers, that for certain formula the difference between certain volumes will remain constant, which consists of three basic parts.
1 Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU)
2. Memory Unit (MU)
3. Control Unit (CU)
In 1834 he proposed a general purpose computation machine called analytical engine. Middle Ages (1860 A.D. – 1929 A.D.) In 1890, the US census bureau asked Dr. Herman Hollerith (1860-1929) (a statistician with the US bureau of the Census) to find a way to speed up the processing of census data. The middle ages of data processing are said to have begun when he created “Punch Cards”. Mark-1 Computer Beginning in 1937, the first electromechanical computer was developed at Harvard University. Professor Howard Aiken with assistance from his students and engineers of IBM completed the project in 1944 and known as MARK-1. It was the realization of Babbage’s dream. Modern Ages The efforts to improve the computing machine continued in 1948, a success came in the field when Howard Aiken developed an electromechanical computer and named it Mark-1. Mark-1 is considered to be one of the first true computer because it could store information and instruction. In 1946, John W. Mauchly and J. P. Eckert developed an electronic numerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC). ENIAC improved version was developed by John Von Newman in 1950 and named as EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer) EDVAC was the first computer that could store both the program as well as data. By 1950’s computer with automatic data processing capabilities were developed one such computer was Univac-I.