Computing in the Modern World Mr. Van Nus Colquitt County High School

Why Study Computing in the Modern world? Broaden your experience with/knowlege of with computers Pursuing a career in the very profitable area of computing (Job Preparation) Just curious and want to know what all the fuss/hype is about

The History of Computers Mr. Van Nus Colquitt County High School

Introduction Difficult to imagine life w/o computers Computers as we know them are relatively new devices Electronic comp. date back to 1940 In 60 years, technology has advanced at an astounding rate Capacity and speed doubling every 12-18 months Moore’s Law Pocket calculators of now contain more memory and speed than the monster computers of old

Introduction Trace the progression from primitive mechanical calculators to modern PC’s Development of computers has been rapid, but far from steady Several key inventions have revolutionized computing, resulting in improved: computer design, efficiency, ease of use, and capability.

Generations 1 - 5

Generation 0 1642 – 1945 Know as period of “Scientific Achievement” or the “Century of Genius” Scientific Pioneers Galileo & Kepler Mathematicians Fermat and Leibniz Physicsts Boyle and Newton Naturalism - universe believed to be a complex machine Understood by observation & experiments Increased interest in science & math + advanced mechanics = first computing devices

Timeline Wilhelm Schickard Blaise Pascal – French scientist Credited with first working calculator in 1623 Details of design lost in fire, historians know little about it’s workings Blaise Pascal – French scientist Earliest surviving prototype of mechanical calculator, 1642, only 19 yrs. Old Used gears and dials, powered by hand 8 digit capacity Only add/subtract

Timeline Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz 1672 expanded Pascal’s design to build a calculator that could multiply and divide Pascal and Leibniz designs were very complicated making mass production next to impossible. Early 1800, manufacturing improved and mechanical calculators became common in business 1820 - Thomas de Colmar’s calculator widely used throughout 19th century

Timeline Programmable devices Joseph-Marie Jacquard First programmable machine not a calculator, but a loom Joseph-Marie Jacquard 1801 – used removable punch cards to represent patterns Laid foundation for programmable devices Significant impact on economy Task were previously complex and tedious making rugs and fabrics very expensive Now mass produced, decreasing the price

Timeline Jacquard’s punch card design was used by Charles Babbage in 1821 to design the “Difference Engine” Steam powered mechanical calculator used for solving math equations Never able to construct a fully-working model A prototype was used by Navy to aid navigation

Timeline Charles Babbage using the same concept then designed the “Analytical Engine” Accepted input from punch cards Printed output on paper Included a readable/writable memory Used for holding data and programs Called the “store” Included a control unit Retrieving and executing instructions Called the “Mill”

Timeline Although the “analytical engine” was never finished, Augusta Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace, wrote down extensive, step-by-step instructions This led to her being know as the world’s first computer programmer

Timeline Punch cards resurfaced yet again in the late 19th century, when Herman Hollerith created the tabulating machine Used to sort and categorize data for the 1890 US census Each hole represented specific data Metal pegs passed through the holes onto an electrical plate completing a circuit The machine sensed the electrical connection and used it to sort the data Eg. Men, 30-40, from Maryland Using the tabulating machine: 1890 census = 6 weeks 1880 censuc = 7 years

International Business Machines or Timeline Hollerith founded a company to market this machine, which under the leadership of Thomas J. Watson, became: International Business Machines or IBM

Timeline Electromagnetic Relays Introduced in the 1930’s A mechanical switch that can be used to control the flow of electricity Konrad Zuse, 1930’s First relay-powered computer Work was classified by the German govt. and destroyed during WWII Same time John Atanasoff (Iowa St.) and George Stibitz (Bell Labs) independently designed their own relay-powered comp.

Timeline Howard Aiken, Harvard Mark 1 computer in 1944 Perform math operations Limited to add, subtract, multiply, and divide Could store up to 72 # in memory 1/10 of a sec for add, subtract 6 sec to perform multiplication 12 seconds to perform a division 100 faster than anything at that time