Computer History

"Who invented the computer and what year?" The answer to the first part of the question is Charles Babbage. Interestingly, the implementation of the design of what should have been the first computer was actually completed in 1989. But, if the question is "Who invented the computer first and electronically?" then it is John Presper Eckert & John W. Mauchly. They built the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer). Then why is Charles Babbage given the credit of inventing the computer? Charles Babbage was the first person to introduce the idea of "programmable machines". Charles Babbage hardly imagined that his distaste for human errors would one day result in inventions such as desktop computers and laptop computers.

To reach today's era of artificial intelligence, natural language processing and high power processing, computer inventions had to go through various generations. This all started with Charles Babbage's difference engine in 1822. The difference engines and analytical engines (if completed) would be heavily mechanical. Their weight would be in tons (although analytical and difference engine are not considered to be of any generation, let us consider them to be of zeroth generation for the sake of reference). The main feature of first generation (1940 - 1956) computers was vacuum tubes. The architecture of second generation (1956 - 1963) computers was based on transistors. Third generation computers (1964 - 1971) saw the introduction of integrated circuits. And fourth generation (1971 - present) computers are based on microprocessors. And now we are in the fifth generation (present - henceforth) of computers, where artificial intelligence takes precedence. Following is the story of the man who invented the computer, and when he did that, little did the world know that Charles Babbage had managed to alter the course of history .

Early Years

Charles' father, Benjamin Babbage, was a businessman. Therefore, money wasn't a hindrance for young Charles' education. Young Charles went to many schools and was home tutored before he went to Helmond Academy in Baker street. This is where his romance with mathematics began. Later he went to Cambridge for further studies. He was subsequently transferred to Peterhouse Cambridge where he studied analytical philosophy and computer science. However, he never really graduated with honors. Charles Babbage was later conferred with an honorary degree in mathematics.

Since Charles Babbage was a profound mathematician, he soon started researching on various mathematical subjects. While doing so, he had to encounter a lot of logarithmic calculations. The only way to perform these calculations was through the use of logarithmic tables. Since there were no mechanical calculators in those times, the use of logarithmic tables became very tedious and erroneous. This experience was very hampering to the study of mathematics. Also, the accurate results would take forever to be calculated, hence, Charles decided to design a machine, which not only would save time but (more importantly) be accurate as well.

Design of Charles' Computer

In the early nineteenth century, mathematical tables were calculated by 'computers'. These were people who were assigned the task of computing, and hence were called computers. Due to this, there was a high rate of errors. Having studied computer science and being an acclaimed mathematician, it was obvious to him that he should build a calculating machine. Babbage started working on the design of an engine which would analyze input and give appropriate output.

Since his design was meant to eliminate differential errors involving mathematical tables, it was called 'difference engine'. Difference engine was to calculate the finite differences, and thereby avoid the need for multiplication and division. But unfortunately, due to the huge size and the complexity of the design, Charles Babbage couldn't complete it. But this did not deter him from designing difference engine 2, which was an improved version of the original difference engine.

After his failure to implement his designs of difference engine, Charles Babbage came to the conclusion that his engine designs needed improvement. He then started to design engines that were better in analysis than their predecessors. The successive designs were more efficient and complex than the previous ones. These complex machines were called analytical engines. Due to continuous work in the design, any one machine couldn't be called an analytical engine. His final design of the analytical engine was implemented only in 1989, which is far more accurate than today's electronic calculator.

One of the biggest drawback is best illustrated by the expression garbage in - garbage out, meaning that errors are sometimes much harder to detect when using an electronic computer than when computing manually.

Another drawback is that work on a computer can be lost if the machine crashes or somehow loses data that has not yet been saved.

training can be expensive and if staff leave new staff will nead to be trained

in need to know

• ABC had 60 binary 50 bit words of capacitor drum memory
• ENIAC had 20 decimal 10 digit words of vacuum tube accumulators but later had 100 decimal 10 digit words of ferrite core memory added
• Manchester Baby (the first functional stored program computer: 1948) had 32 binary 32 bit words of CRT DRAM when it ran its first program: a factoring program that took 52 minutes to run. The memory was expanded several times later as the CRT DRAM technology was perfected
• Von Neuman's IAS machine had 256 binary 40 bit words of RCA Selectron tube memory but was later upgraded to 4096 binary 40 bit words of ferrite core memory
• Whirlwind at MIT had 512 binary 16 bit words of CRT DRAM but was later upgraded to 4096 binary 16 bit words of ferrite core memory
• UNIVAC I had 1000 decimal/character 12 character words of acoustic mercury delay line memory
• IBM 701 had 1024 binary 36 bit words of CRT DRAM when delivered, was quickly upgraded to 2048 words, then eventually the CRT DRAM was upgraded to 4096 binary 36 bit words of ferrite core memory
• IBM 702 had 4000 decimal/characters of CRT DRAM plus two 512 decimal/character variable length accumulators of CRT DRAM
• IBM 650 had 1000 decimal 10 digit words of magnetic drum memory, later this could be upgraded to 2000 words. Later a small 60 word ferrite core memory buffer was added as a magnetic tape/magnetic disk block/sector buffer for I/O.

Most machines after this used ferrite core memory, although for a long time inexpensive machines used either magnetic drum or magnetostrictive wire delay line memory.

I have left out many early machines to try to catch most of the "firsts" also I don't have all the memory stats on some of the machines.

Lord Byron's daughter, Augusta Ada Byron, (Countess of Lovelace) was Charles Babbage's collaborator on the 'difference engine'. She wrote the first computer program to calculate Bernoulli numbers. The programming language ADA is named for her. She was a longtime collaborator after 1833.

Betty O'Toole has written a biography called Ada, the Enchantress of Numbers.