Computer History

Beginning of the computer that is actually formed by a professor of English mathematician, Charles Babbage (1791-1871). In 1812, Babbage noticed the natural compatibility between machines and mathematics mechanical mechanical machine that is very good at doing the same tasks repeatedly without error, while the mathematics of a simple repitisi requires certain steps. Problem is then developed to put the machine mechanics as a tool to answer the mechanic. Babbage's first attempt to address this issue appeared in 1822 when he proposed a machine to perform the calculation of differential equations called Differential Engine. By using steam, the machine can store programs and can perform calculations and print the results automatically. After working with machinery during the 10th, Babbage was suddenly inspired to make a general-purpose computer, called the Analytical Engine. Babbage's assistant, Augusta Ada King (1815-1842) helped revise the plan, seek funding from the British government and communicated to the general specifications of the Analytical Engine.

In 1980, the U.S. Defense Department named a programming language with the name of the ADA as a tribute to him. Consists of about 50,000 components, the basic design of the Analytical Engine uses perforated cards containing operating instructions for the machine.

In 1889, Herman Hollerith (1860-1929) applied the perforation to perform calculations. His first task is to find a faster way to do the calculations for the U.S. Census Bureau. Hollerith uses perforated cards to enter census data are then processed by a mechanical device. A card can store up to 80 variables and the card serves as a data storage media. Hollerith then develop the tools and he founded the Tabulating Machine Company in 1896 which later became the International Bussines Machine (1924).


In the next period, Vannevar Bush (1890-1974) created a calculator to solve the differential equation d in 1931. The machine is very large and heavy as hundreds of teeth and the shaft needed to perform calculations. In 1903, John V. Atanasoff and Clifford Berry tried to apply an electric computer Boolean algebra in electrical circuits. This approach is based on the work Goorge Boole (1815-1864) in the form of a binary system of algebra, which states that any mathematical equation can be expressed as true or false. By applying the conditions are right one into the electrical circuits in the form of connected-disconnected, Atanasoff and Berry made the first electric computer in 1940.