History of Early Computing Devices

Computers and Their Inventions

• The first programmable, electronic, general-purpose digital computer was invented by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly.
• The UNIVAC 1, launched in 1951, was the first commercial computer, also invented by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly.
• The EDVAC, launched in 1952, was the first stored program computer, capable of holding both a stored program and data, invented by Von Neumann.

Classification of Generations of Computers

• First Generation (1940s-1950s)
  • Main electronic component: Vacuum tube
  • Main memory: Magnetic drums and magnetic tapes
  • Programming language: Machine language
  • Power: Consumed a lot of electricity and generated a lot of heat
  • Speed and size: Very slow and very large in size (often taking up entire room)
  • Input/output devices: Punched cards and paper tape
  • Examples: ENIAC, UNIVAC 1, IBM 650, IBM 701
  • Quantity: Around 100 different vacuum tube computers produced between 1942 and 1963
• Second Generation (1950s-1960s)
  • Main electronic component: Transistor
  • Memory: Magnetic core and magnetic tape/disk
  • Programming language: Assembly language
  • Power and size: Low power consumption, generated less heat, and smaller in size
  • Speed: Improved speed and reliability compared to the first generation
  • Input/output devices: Punched cards and magnetic tape
  • Examples: IBM 1401, IBM 7090 and 7094, UNIVAC 1107
• Third Generation (1960s-1970s)
  • Main electronic component: Integrated circuits (ICs)
  • Memory: Large magnetic core, magnetic tape/disk
  • Programming language: High-level language (FORTRAN, BASIC, Pascal, COBOL, C, etc.)
  • Size: Smaller, cheaper, and more efficient than second generation computers (minicomputers)
  • Speed: Improved speed and reliability compared to the second generation
  • Input/output devices: Magnetic tape, keyboard, monitor, printer, etc.
  • Examples: IBM 360, IBM 370, PDP-11, UNIVAC 1108
• Fourth Generation (1970s-present)
  • Main electronic component: Very large scale integration (VLSI) and Microprocessor
  • Memory: Semiconductor memory (RAM, ROM, etc.)
  • Programming language: High-level language (Python, C#, Java, JavaScript, Rust, Kotlin, etc.)
  • Size: Smaller, cheaper, and more efficient than third generation computers
  • Speed: Improved speed, accuracy, and reliability compared to the third generation

Early Computing Devices

• The Jacquard Loom (1802)
  • A device fitted to a power loom that simplifies the process of manufacturing textiles
  • Controlled by a “chain of cards”, a number of punch cards laced together into a continuous sequence
  • Invented by Joseph Marie Jacquard
• The Difference Engine (1822)
  • A device that calculates numbers to 20th place and prints them at 4 digits per minute
  • Huge calculator, never finished
  • Invented by Charles Babbage
• The Analytical Engine (1833)
  • Used to perform a variety of calculations by following a set of instructions or programs stored on punch cards
  • Powered by steam
  • Invented by Charles Babbage
• The Harvard Mark 1 (1937)
  • Originally called the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator
  • Solves advanced mathematical physics problems
  • The computer had mechanical relays (switches) that flip-flopped back and forth to represent mathematical data
  • Invented by Howard Aiken
• Grace Murray Hopper
  • One of the first computer programmers to work on the Harvard Mark I
  • Also a United States Navy rear admiral
  • Helped develop COBOL – one of the first high-level programming languages
  • Invented the first compiler, a program that translates programming code to machine language
  • Coined the terms “bug” and “de-bug” as related to computer errors