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    What Is A Computer

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    Ardy Bellosillo
    A computer is an electronic device that collects, stores, and processes information according to instructions provided by the user. Early computing devices included the abacus, Napier's Bones, the Pascaline calculator, and the Difference Engine, which were all mechanical devices used to perform calculations. Charles Babbage created the Analytical Engine in the 1830s, which was a mechanical computer capable of solving mathematical problems and storing data in memory.

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    What Is A Computer

    Uploaded by

    Ardy Bellosillo
    62 views4 pages
    A computer is an electronic device that collects, stores, and processes information according to instructions provided by the user. Early computing devices included the abacus, Napier's Bones, the Pascaline calculator, and the Difference Engine, which were all mechanical devices used to perform calculations. Charles Babbage created the Analytical Engine in the 1830s, which was a mechanical computer capable of solving mathematical problems and storing data in memory.

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    What is a Computer

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    A computer is an electronic device that collects, stores, and processes information according to instructions provided by the user. Early computing devices included the abacus, Napier's Bones, the Pascaline calculator, and the Difference Engine, which were all mechanical devices used to perform calculations. Charles Babbage created the Analytical Engine in the 1830s, which was a mechanical computer capable of solving mathematical problems and storing data in memory.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    62 views4 pages

    What Is A Computer

    Uploaded by

    Ardy Bellosillo
    A computer is an electronic device that collects, stores, and processes information according to instructions provided by the user. Early computing devices included the abacus, Napier's Bones, the Pascaline calculator, and the Difference Engine, which were all mechanical devices used to perform calculations. Charles Babbage created the Analytical Engine in the 1830s, which was a mechanical computer capable of solving mathematical problems and storing data in memory.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 4

    What is a Computer?

    A computer is an electronic machine that collects information, stores it,


    processes it according to user instructions, and then returns the result.

    A computer is a programmable electronic device that performs


    arithmetic and logical operations automatically using a set of instructions
    provided by the user.

    Early Computing Devices


    People used sticks, stones, and bones as counting tools before computers
    were invented. More computing devices were produced as technology
    advanced and the human intellect improved over time. Let us look at a
    few of the early-age computing devices used by mankind.

    1. Abacus
    Abacus was invented by the Chinese around 4000 years ago. It’s a wooden
    rack with metal rods with beads attached to them. The abacus operator
    moves the beads according to certain guidelines to complete arithmetic
    computations.

    2. Napier’s Bone
    John Napier devised Napier’s Bones, a manually operated calculating
    apparatus. For calculating, this instrument used 9 separate ivory strips
    (bones) marked with numerals to multiply and divide. It was also the first
    machine to calculate using the decimal point system.

    3. Pascaline
    Pascaline was invented in 1642 by Biaise Pascal, a French mathematician
    and philosopher. It is thought to be the first mechanical and automated
    calculator. It was a wooden box with gears and wheels inside.

    4. Stepped Reckoner or Leibniz wheel


    In 1673, a German mathematician-philosopher named Gottfried
    Wilhelm Leibniz improved on Pascal’s invention to create this apparatus.
    It was a digital mechanical calculator known as the stepped reckoner
    because it used fluted drums instead of gears.

    5. Difference Engine
    In the early 1820s, Charles Babbage created the Difference Engine. It was
    a mechanical computer that could do basic computations. It was a steam-
    powered calculating machine used to solve numerical tables such as
    logarithmic tables.

    6. Analytical Engine
    Charles Babbage created another calculating machine, the Analytical
    Engine, in 1830. It was a mechanical computer that took input from
    punch cards. It was capable of solving any mathematical problem and
    storing data in an indefinite memory.

    7. Tabulating machine
    An American Statistician – Herman Hollerith invented this machine in
    the year 1890. Tabulating Machine was a punch card-based mechanical
    tabulator. It could compute statistics and record or sort data or
    information. Hollerith began manufacturing these machines in his
    company, which ultimately became International Business Machines
    (IBM) in 1924.

    8. Differential Analyzer
    Vannevar Bush introduced the first electrical computer, the Differential
    Analyzer, in 1930. This machine is made up of vacuum tubes that switch
    electrical impulses in order to do calculations. It was capable of
    performing 25 calculations in a matter of minutes.

    9. Mark I
    Howard Aiken planned to build a machine in 1937 that could conduct
    massive calculations or calculations using enormous numbers. The Mark
    I computer was constructed in 1944 as a collaboration between IBM and
    Harvard.

    History of Computers Generation


    The word ‘computer’ has a very interesting origin. It was first used in the
    16th century for a person who used to compute, i.e. do calculations. The
    word was used in the same sense as a noun until the 20th century.
    Women were hired as human computers to carry out all forms of
    calculations and computations.

    By the last part of the 19th century, the word was also used to describe
    machines that did calculations. The modern-day use of the word is
    generally to describe programmable digital devices that run on electricity.

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