History of the Computer

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION

‘The word ‘computer’ COMPUTER – According to Douglas R. Harper’s, Online Etymology Dictionary, the word computer is taught to come from the Latin word computator; computist (Around the (1400s) which meant “one skilled in calendrical or chronological reckoning.”

Around the 1640s the word computer evolved to, “one who calculates, a reckoner, one whose occupation is to make arithmetical calculations,” agent noun from compute (v.). Today, the word computer refers to computing devices, whether or not they are electronic, programmable, or capable of ‘storing and retrieving’ data.

Modern computers are electronic devices used for a variety of purposes ranging from browsing the web, writing documents, editing videos, creating applications, playing video games, etc.

They are designed to execute applications and provide a variety of solutions by combining integrated hardware and software components.

Wikipedia.org defines computers as A computer is a digital electronic machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These programs enable computers to perform a wide range of tasks. A computer system is a nominally complete computer that includes the hardware, operating system (main software), and peripheral equipment needed and used for full operation. This term may also refer to a group of computers that are linked and function together, such as a computer network or computer cluster.

HISTORY

The term ‘history’ as defined by the Cambridge Dictionary means (the study of or a record of) past events considered together, especially events of a particular period, country, or subject. means past events. The encyclopedia Britannica defines history as history, the discipline that studies the chronological record of events (as affecting a nation or people), based on a critical examination of source materials and usually presenting an explanation of their causes. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary simply defines history as “The past events connected with the development of a particular place, subject, etc.”

In this article we will be discussing the ten types of computers, the supercomputers, mainframes, servers, workstations, desktops, laptops, tablets, hand-held computers, and wearable computers.

PIONEERS IN THE HISTORY OF THE MACHINE – “COMPUTER” TO 1945

Ismail al-Jazari (1206) Invented programmable machines, including programmable humanoid robots,^[33] and the castle clock, an astronomical clock considered the first programmable analog computer.^[34]

Ramon Llull, (1300) Designed multiple symbolic representations machines, and pioneered notions of symbolic representation and manipulation to produce knowledge—both of which were major influences on Leibniz.

Blaise Pascal (1642) while still a teenager, he started some pioneering work on calculating machines (called Pascal’s calculators and later Pascalines), establishing him as one of the first two inventors of the mechanical calculator.

Charles Babbage (1822, 1837) Originated the concept of a programmable general-purpose computer; designed the Analytical Engine and built a prototype for a less powerful mechanical calculator.

Ada Lovelace (1852) An English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage’s proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. She was the first to recognize that the machine had applications beyond pure calculation, and created the first algorithm intended to be carried out by such a machine. As a result, she is often regarded as the first to recognize the full potential of a “computing machine” and the first computer programmer.

Leonardo Torres y Quevedo (1912, 1914) In 1912, Leonardo Torres Quevedo built El Ajedrecista (the chess player), one of the first autonomous machines capable of playing chess. As opposed to the human-operated The Turk and Ajeeb, El Ajedrecista was a true automaton built to play chess without human guidance. It played an endgame with three chess pieces, automatically moving a white king and a rook to checkmate the black king moved by a human opponent. In his work Essays on Automatics, published in 1914, Torres Quevedo formulates what will be a new branch of engineering: automation and designed an electromechanical version of Babbage’s Analytical machine which included floating-point arithmetic.

William Eccles,  and Frank Wilfred Jordan, (1918) Patented the Eccles–Jordan trigger circuit,^[23] the so-called “bistable flip-flop“, a building block of all digital memory cells. Built from vacuum tubes, their concept was essential for the success of the Colossus codebreaking computer.

Akira Nakashima (1934, 1938) NEC engineer introduced switching circuit theory in papers from 1934 to 1936, laying the foundations for digital circuit design, in digital computers and other areas of modern technology.

Konrad Ernst Otto Zuse (1938, 1945) Built the first digital freely programmable computer, the Z1. Built the first functional program-controlled computer, the Z3 in 1941.^[54] The Z3 already used what later became known as Reverse Polish Notation, and it was proven to be Turing-complete in 1998. Produced the world’s first commercial computer, the Z4. Designed the first high-level programming language, Plankalkül.

Click here for a the most complete list of Pioneers of Computer Science.