History of computers(Abacus to MarkI)

1. History of Computers
Dr. Mirza Waseem Hussain 1

2. The first counting device was used by the primitive
people by using stones, sticks, bones and marking
on objects.
1. Abacus
 Abacus is believed to be the first computer.
Invented by Chinese around 4,000 years ago.
It was a wooden rack which has metal rods with
beads mounted on them.
Beads are moved according to some rule to perform arithmetic
calculations.
Still widely used in countries like Japan ,China and Russia.
Fig.1: Abacus
Dr. Mirza Waseem Hussain 2

3. 2. Napier's Bones
John Napier (1550-1617) invented a manually
Calculating device.
Use 9 ivory strips or bones marked with numbers to
perform multiply and division.
First machine to Perform calculation using decimal
points.
3. Pascaline(Arithmetic Machine or Adding Machine)
Invented by French mathematician-philosopher
Biaise Pascal(1642-1644),also known by name as
Arithmetic Machine or Adding Machine, to help his
father (tax accountant by profession).
Believed to be first mechanical and automatic
Calculator.
Fig.2: Napier’s Bones
Fig.3: PascalineDr. Mirza Waseem Hussain 3

4. Consists of wooden box with series of gears and wheels.
When a wheel is rotated one revolution, it rotates the neighboring
wheel.
Series of windows is given on the top of the wheels to read the totals.
4. Stepped Reckoner or Leibnitz wheel
Developed by a German mathematician-
philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz(1673) by
improving Pascal's invention.
It was a digital mechanical calculator where gears
were replaced by fluted drums.
Fig.4: Stepped Reckoner or Leibnitz
wheel
Dr. Mirza Waseem Hussain 4

5. 5. Difference Engine
Charles Babbage (1820s)designed mechanical
computer which could perform simple calculations.
Uses Steam driven calculating machine designed
to solve tables of numbers like logarithm tables.
6. Analytical Engine
This calculating machine was also developed by
Charles Babbage in 1830.
It was a mechanical computer that used
punch-cards as input
Capable of solving any mathematical problem and
storing information as a permanent memory.
Fig.6: Analytical Engine
Fig.5: Difference Engine
Dr. Mirza Waseem Hussain 5

6. 7. Tabulating Machine
Invented by an American statistician Herman
Hollerith(1890).
It was a mechanical tabulator based on punch
cards with capability to tabulate statistics and
record or sort data or information.
Used in the 1890 U.S. Census.
Hollerith also started the Hollerith’s Tabulating Machine Company
which later became International Business Machine (IBM) in 1924.
Fig.7: Tabulating Machine
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7. 8. Differential Analyzer
Analog device invented by Vannevar
Bush (1930)
It was the first electronic computer
introduced in the United States
Machine has vacuum tubes to switch
electrical signals to perform calculations
It could do 25 calculations in few
minutes.
Fig.8: Differential Analyzer
Dr. Mirza Waseem Hussain 7

8. 9. Mark I
The next major changes in the history
of computer began in 1937 when Howard
Aiken planned to develop a machine that
could perform calculations involving large
numbers.
In 1944, Mark I computer was built as a
partnership between IBM and Harvard.
It was the first programmable digital
computer.
Fig.9: Mark I
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9. Source
• https://www.javatpoint.com/history-of-computer
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer
• http://www.laits.utexas.edu/ghazal/Chap1/dsb/chapter1.html
• https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/computing-history/
• http://people.bu.edu/baws/brief%20computer%20history.html
• https://homepage.cs.uri.edu/faculty/wolfe/book/Readings/Reading0
3.htm
Dr. Mirza Waseem Hussain 9

10. Dr. Mirza Waseem Hussain 10