Computer

HistoryThe Calculating Years

Early Calculating Machines

Fingers & Toes

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Abacus

• Abacus is a Chinese Calculator consisting of little balls you can move up and down to calculate your mathematical addition or subtraction problem.

• Created by Cheng Dawei of the Ming Dynasty.

• The numbers on the bottom are 1-5 and the ones on top are place holders, they also signify if you going up to nine

Abacus

One of the earliest “man-made” calculating devices

Originated in China about 2600 BC

Still used in some parts of the world

Click on the link below for a demonstration on how the Abacus works:

http://www.ee.ryerson.ca:8080/~elf/abacus/intro.html

John Napier

• John Napier’s time period was 1550-1617.

• He was a mathematician.

• He was well known for popularizing decimal points.

Napier’s Bones

• 1617, Napier put Multiplication Tables on Ivory rods or bones

•Primitive form of the ‘Slide Rule’

To see how Napier’s Bones work click on the link below:http://ww2.gannon.edu/cetl/napier/

Edmund Gunter•1620

•Put logarithmic scales on 2 strips of wood and fashioned a device similar to the “Modern Slide Rule”

•Known as the “1st Analog computer”

Slide Rule• The slide rule is also known as slipstick.• It is used primarily for multiplication and Division, and also for "scientific" functions such as roots, logarithms and trigonometry, but is not normally used for addition or Subtraction.• In its most basic form, the slide rule uses two logarithmic scales to allow rapid multiplication and division of numbers.

Why the need for Mechanical Calculating Devices?

• Early Mathematical tables done by hand• Created by solving Long & Complex mathematical formulas• Many Mistakes!!!• Pi ()

Leonardo daVinci

•Made many drawings of calculating machines

•Never built a working model

Blaise Pascal

1623 - 1662

By Chris Woof

His earliest work was in helping construct the first mechanical calculators.

He also clarified the concepts of pressure and vacuums.

Mathematician, Physicist, and religious philosopher.

Also developed his Traité du triangle arithmétique (Tritise on the arithmetical Triangle.

His contribution to computing was recognized by a computer scientist named Nicklaus Wirth which he used to make a new computer language he called Pascal.

Pascaline

• 1642, age of 19, built 1st mechanical calculating machine that to “Carry over” numbers

• could add or subtract

• simple device, about the size of a shoe box, worked like a car’s odometer

• it was gear-driven and did not always work properly

• Built it to assist his father in his Tax office

Gottfried Liebniz

Gottfried Leibniz invented the infinitesimal calculus, with the help of Isaac Newton, and his notation has been used ever since. Gottfried also invented the binary system, foundation of virtually all modern computers architectures. He also invented the first mechanical adding machine that was called the stepped reckoner.

Leibniz’s Calculator

• in 1673, German mathematician, Gottfried Leibniz improved Pascal’s machine

• now could add, subtract, multiply and divide rapidly

• still unreliable

Charles Thomas

• He lived from 1785 to 1870.

• He was known for patenting the first mechanical calculator that actually worked.

Charles Xavier Thomas

• in 1820, Thomas improves Pascal and Leibniz’s machines

• he manufactures and sells the first successful mechanical calculator, “Arithometer”

• it is considered to be the predecessor to the “Modern Desktop calculator”

Charles Babbage

• was a Computer Pioneer and is considered the “Father of the Modern Computer”

• very frustrated with the inaccuracy of mathematical tables

• dreamed of machines that could compute and print out the mathematical tables

Difference Engine

• Babbage came up with the idea for this engine in 1822

• began building in 1823

• it was funded by the British government and himself

• never finished, abandoned the project, though a piece was built and it did work

Analytical Engine• It was first described in 1837, but

Babbage continued to work on the design until his death in 1871. Because of financial, political, and legal issues, the engine was never built. The analytical engine was Babbages 2nd attempt at making a machine of this type, the first was the difference engine, but he realized he could make something better, the Analytical Engine. This machine would have been able to Add, subtract, multiply, divide, and even find square roots, it would even be able to print out the results. With the input as a punch card that you would insert, this was the start to modern day computers.

Analytical Engine• 1833

• Babbage began a more ambitious project

• would have 4 Basic Units

1. Store – hold data & results (Memory)

2. Mill – performed the computations (CPU)

3. System of gears for transferring data between Store & Mill (Data Bus)

4. Separate devices for putting data in and getting results out (Input/Output)

• These 4 Basic units are found in every computer today!

Analytical Engine• It was to be programmable

• only 1 person to operate it

• would be Steam powered

• Never finished it

• lack of technology

• no real demand

• Would be built using Babbage’s plans in 1992 and proven to work

Lady Ada Lovelace• met Babbage at a party and became intrigued with his Engine designs

• corresponded with Babbage over his plans and communicate his ideas to others

• wrote a plan suggesting to Babbage how he might calculate numbers.

• this plan became known as the “First Computer Program”

• so now she is known as the First Computer programmer

Punch Cards• Definition:A punch card or punched card (or

punch card or Hollerith card or IBM card), is a piece of stiff paper that contains digital information represented by the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions.

• Punch Cards were started in the mid 1700s for a convenient way to store information.

• Charles Babbage perfected its use in the mechanical calculator .

• Soon after Herman Hollerith made it to be readable by machines.

Joseph Jacquard• 1804

• used punch cards to control the weaving process

• earliest use of punch cards to control the manufacturing process

• one person could do the work without help

1890 U.S. Federal Census

• The census of 1890 was taken, under the supervision of Robert P. Porter,1 according to an act of March 1, 1889, and modeled after that used for the 1880 Census. The enumeration began on June 2, 1890, because June 1 was a Sunday. The census employed 175 supervisors, with one or more appointed to each state or territory, exclusive of Alaska and Indian territory. 2

• A significant portion of the 1890 Federal Census was destroyed by a fire at the Commerce Department in Washington, DC on 10 January 1921. The records of only 6,160 of the 62,979,766 people enumerated survived the fire.3

1890 U.S. Census• 1st Data Processing use of punch cards

• Why?

• 1880 Census took 7 ½ years to complete

• population was growing even faster

• US Census Bureau had a contest to see if someone could “speed up” the process

Herman Hollerith• designed the 1890 Census machine

• developed a machine-readable card concept (Hollerith Code)

• tabulating time of the Census took 1/8th of the time (2 ½ years) & population had increased by over 3 million

• 1896, formed the “Tabulating Machine Company”

• this company would merge with one owned by Thomas Watson and be renamed “International Business Machines Corporation” (IBM)

Thomas J. Watson

1. Born Feb. 17 1874

2. In 1899 Watson was rewarded with the NCR agency for Rochester.

3. Watson joined the Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation on May 1, 1914.

4. 1914 Watson became general manager of IBM.

5. 1956 Watson died.

Punch Cards

• Punch cards would be used throughout the 1900s (even up to the 1980s) as many companies would adopt the Technology

• Several advancements would occur

• cards could hold more information without getting bigger

• machines could add, subtract, multiply & divide

• also develop machines to alphabetize

Disadvantages of Punch Cards• 5 machines needed to use

Punch cards

1. Card Punch to create cards

2. Sorter to put in order

3. Collator to match and merge cards

4. Calculator to calculate and/or tally

5. Tabulator to summarize and print results

• People handle trays of cards between each step

• Each machine started, fed cards & stopped

• Too MUCH human intervention!!!

The ending of Punch Cards

• With many different forms of memory the punch card slowly moved out of view then now disappeared.

History

• Punch cards have changed the history of storing information and is still today used in many unusual applications, like the University of Wisconsin's Research Building which is modeled after a punch card.

Citations

Truesdell, Leon E. (1965). The Development of Punch Card Tabulation in the Bureau of the Census: 1890-1940. US GPO.