Development of Computer Devices

Computer did not exist in its present shape, model, architecture, and processing mechanism. There were a lot of devices evolved for the development of modern digital computer. The gradual study on early to present device regarding the development of computer is considered as history of computer. The brief history of computer can be discussed based on following calculating devices as well as development phases.

1. Pebbles period – In the ancient TIME, according to the common sense counting process was started from stones but the ancestors did not know about the number. The modern computer history was started from the counting device.
2. Abacus – At first, Chinese people developed ABACUS and it was made of wooden in rectangular shape. The Abacus has been divided into two parts by a mid bar. The part above the mid bar is called heaven and each bead has value equal to 5 and below part is called earth and each bead on the earth has value equal to 1. With the help of ABACUS changing the position of beads does addition and subtractions.
3. Natural number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 was developed Hindu in fifth century.
4. ‘0’ was developed by Iranian Mathematician Alkhwarizmi.
5. Napier’s Bone – In 1614, John Napier developed by William Oughtred in Germany to calculate on the principles of logarithms. Mainly engineers till 1970s used it and latter it was replaced by pocket calculators. This device consisted of numbers engraved on bones or slates (stones) and mainly used to find addition, subtraction and also multiplication.
6. Slide Rule – William Oughtred developed the slide rule, an analog device, which was based on the principle of Napier’s Bone, in 1620. This machine consists of two graduated scales in which one scale slides upon another. This machine is used to find product, quotient, etc with the movement of scales.
7. Pascal’s Machine – In 1942, French mathematician Blaise Pascal invented first mechanical calculator named Pascaline to help his father that could add and subtract the number by using the series of eight rotating wheels. It has the calculating capability 99, 99, 99, 999. A programming language “Pascal” was introduced in 1960 to honor Blaise Pascal for his great contribution.
8. Leibnitz’s Calculating Machine – In 1671, modifying the Pascaline machine, German Mathematician developed a device called Leibniz’s calculating machine. It could add, subtract, multiply, divide and calculate even square roots. Later, Leibnitz modified this machine using some cylinders in 1694 and Stepped Reckoner.
9. Jacquard’s loom – Around the same time Joseph Jacquard, a French textile engineer developed a system of punched cards to weave complicated patterns (Designs) on a fabric. Even today looms do exist in many textile mills in the world. It was based on binary operation.
10. Charles Babbage – Charles Babbage is known as the father of computer science. At first Binary system was imagined by Francis Bacon in 1623. Later this system was practically used by Charles Babbage in 1832 in his Analytical Engine. The concept of Analytical Engine has become the source of development and coded under the binary and computer only understands this code (0 or 1). There is no any other method to understand computer itself of binary code. He also gave the basic idea of Input, processing, and output. Therefore, he is known as the father of computer science.
11. Difference Engine – In 1822, Charles Babbage, a professor at Cambridge University, designed a machine called as “Difference Engine“. It was the first machine which could perform arithmetic operation and different tabular equations without any human intervention. He presented this machine to the Royal Family, and he was highly awarded for his great effort.
12. Analytical Engine – It was developed by Charles Babbage. This engine used Punched card as input device. i.e., data and instructions were fed through the punch card. It automatically printed the output. This Engine was thought that it could calculate up to 20 decimal places accurately, but this machine was never completed because of mechanical difficulties. Analytical Engine was based on binary system and had input, processing, output and storage capacity. Using the idea of this machine about 100 years, later in 1937 Mark-I was developed by Howard Aiken.
13. Lady Augusta Ada Lovelace – The first Computer programmer lady Augusta Ada Lovelace was the daughter of English poet Lard Byron and follower of Charles Babbage. She followed the Babbage’s ideas and used binary system to write programs for Analytical Engine.
14. Herman’s tabulating Machine – This machine was developed by U.S. statistician Dr. Harman Hollerith in 1896 A.D for data processing operation. Punched card consisted of tiny rectangular holes at hundreds of individual locations denoting numerical values and alphanumeric codes. A punched card has 12 rows and 80 columns.
15. Howard Mark I – Mark I is an electromechanically operated computer made by Professor Howard Aiken in 1937. This machine used punched cards which Charles Babbage also used for his Analytical Engine. This machine was 51 feet long, 3 feet wide and 8 feet height. It has 18000 vacuum tubes (i.e., first generation), 750, 000 parts and cable connection about 500 miles long. It took 1 second for 3 mathematical addition and 4.5 seconds for multiplication.
16. Atanasoff Berry computer (1939) – ABC is the first electronic digital computer built in 1939 by John Vincent Atanasoff and his assistance Clifford Berry. ABC was mainly used to solve simultaneous equations.
17. Dr. John Von Neumann (1945) – He gave a concept that the programs can be stored, and these stored programs can be used in future processing and instructions. The computers can work in two states 0 and 1 i.e., binary system.
18. ENIAC – ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator) was developed by Professor J.P. Eckert and John W. Mauchly. It had the storage concept developed in it. It is an electronic calculator. It is very huge machine (10 ft wide, 100 ft long and 10 ft high) it has various switch to feed the instruction. It can perform multiplication in 3000th of a second. It has 18, 000 vacuum tubes, 70, 000 registers, 10, 000 condensers, and 6, 000 switches, weight 30 tones and space needed 3, 000 cubes feet.
19. EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Computer) – M.V. Wilkes was the professor at Cambridge University invented EDSAC. According to the prior suggestion given by Hungarian mathematician, Dr. John Von Neumann this was the first effective, electronic computer, having stored program concept. This machine was however invented in 1949.
20. EDVAC – EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer) was developed by professor J. P. Eckert and John W. Mauchly in 1952. This computer operated electronically and used to store the data and instruction as well as the instruction.
21. UNIVAC-1 (Universal Automatic Computer) – After the invention of EDVAC, ENIAC etc. John W. Mauchly and J.P. Eckert got encouraged and opened own company and started to design UNIVAC-1, UNIVAC, UNIVAC-II was commercial purpose machine and used in Census Bureau Of Statistics. Later, IBM Company developed better and cheaper computers series in 1954-55. Since then, IBM is one of the leading computers manufacturing companies.