A Brief History of Computers

">became obsolete after the development of the
The word ‘computer’ originallydigital computer.
implied a person, who, under instructions from aThe first digital computer was the Atanasoff
mathematician, performed mechanical calculations.Berry Computer . It used a binary system of
Mechanical calculating devices such as the abacusarithmetic, parallel processing, a separation of
were often put to use to aid this process.memory and computing functions and
At the end of the Middle Ages, mathematics andregenerative memory. Binary math and electronic
engineering in Europe received a considerablecircuits – both of which are used in
boost, thus leading to the invention of numeroustoday’s computers – were first used
mechanical calculating devices. The technology forin the Atanasoff Berry Computer.
clockwork was developed by the early 17thIn the 1930’s and 1940’s, newer and
century. The period between the early 19thmore efficient computers were continuously
century and early 20th century saw thedeveloped. Gradually, they came to possess the
development of a number of technologies whichkey features which are present in modern day
would be vital for the development of the digitalcomputers – digital electronics and flexibility
computer later on. Some examples are theof programming.
punched card and the valve. Charles Babbage wasAmong the more important machines to be
the first person to design a fully programmabledeveloped during this time, the American ENIAC
computer as early as 1837. However, he waswas prominent. It was a general purpose machine,
unable to actually construct his computer due to abut had an inflexible architecture. Later a far
variety of reasons.superior technique known as the stored program
Analog computers were increasingly used in thearchitecture was developed. It is the foundation
first half of the 20th century for a number offrom which all modern computers are derived.
scientific computing needs. However, they