Samar Colleges Inc.

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
A.Y. 2016 2017
2nd Semester

IT 103

What is a computer?
a programmable usually electronic device that can
store, retrieve, and process data
Acomputeris not an acronym and sometimes
abbreviated ascompor'puter. The term "computer"
was originally given to humans (human computers) who
performed numerical calculations using mechanical
calculators, such as theabacusand slide rule. The term
was later given to a mechanical device as they began
replacing the human computers. Today's computers are
electronic devices that accept data (input),processthat
data, produceoutput, and then store (storage) the
results

Thefirst digital computerand what most people think

of as a computer was called theENIAC, built during World
War II (1943-1946). Early computers like the ENIAC used
vacuum tubesand were large (sometimes room size) and
only found in businesses, Universities, or governments.
Later, computers began utilizingtransistorsas well as
smaller and cheaper parts that allowed the common
person to own a computer.


When was the first computer invented?

There is no easy answer to this question due to the

many different classifications ofcomputers. The first
mechanical computer, created byCharles Babbagein
1822, doesn't really resemble what most would consider
a computer today. Therefore, this document has been
created with a listing of each of the computer firsts,
starting with the Difference Engine and leading up to
the computers we use today.
Note:Early inventions which helped lead up to the
computer, such as theabacus,calculator, and tablet
machines, are not accounted for in this document.

The word "computer" was first used

The word "computer" was first recorded as being used in
1613and originally was used to describe a human who
performed calculations or computations. The definition of
a computer remained the same until the end of the 19th
century, when the industrial revolution gave rise to
machines whose primary purpose was calculating.

First mechanical computer or

automatic computing engine concept
In1822,Charles Babbageconceptualized and began developing the
Difference Engine, considered to be the first automatic computing
machine. The Difference Engine was capable of computing several
sets of numbers and makinghard copiesof the results. Babbage
received some help with development of the Difference Engine from
Ada Lovelace, considered by many to be the first computer
programmer for her work and notes on the Difference Engine.
Unfortunately, because of funding, Babbage was never able to
complete a full-scale functional version of this machine. In June of
1991, the London Science Museum completed the Difference Engine
No 2 for the bicentennial year of Babbage's birth and later completed
the printing mechanism in 2000.

In1837, Charles Babbage proposed the first general

mechanical computer, theAnalytical Engine. The
Analytical Engine contained an
Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), basicflow control,punch
cards(inspired by theJacquard Loom), and integrated
memoryand is the first general-purpose computer
concept. Unfortunately, because of funding issues, this
computer was also never built while Charles Babbage
was alive. In1910, Henry Babbage, Charles Babbage's
youngest son, was able to complete a portion of this
machine and was able to perform basic calculations.

First programmable computer

TheZ1was created by GermanKonrad Zusein his
parents' living room between1936and 1938. It is
considered to be the first electro-mechanicalbinary
programmable computer, and the first really functional
modern computer.

First concepts of what we consider

a modern computer
TheTuring machinewas first proposed byAlan Turingin
1936and became the foundation for theories about
computing and computers. The machine was a device
that printed symbols on paper tape in a manner that
emulated a person following a series of logical
instructions. Without these fundamentals, we wouldn't
have the computers we use today.

The first electric programmable

computer
TheColossuswas the first electric programmable
computer, developed by Tommy Flowers, and first
demonstrated in December1943. The Colossus was
created to help the British code breakers read encrypted
German messages.

The first digital computer

Short forAtanasoff-Berry Computer, theABCbegan
development by ProfessorJohn Vincent Atanasoffand
graduate student Cliff Berry in1937. Its development
continued until 1942 at the Iowa State College (now Iowa
State University)
The ABC was an electrical computer that used
vacuum tubesfor digital computation, including binary
math andBooleanlogic and had noCPU. On October 19,
1973, the US Federal Judge Earl R. Larson signed his
decision that the ENIAC patent by J. Presper Eckert and
John Mauchly was invalid and named Atanasoff the

ABC COMPUTER

TheENIACwas invented byJ. Presper EckertandJohn

Mauchlyat the University of Pennsylvania and began
construction in1943and was not completed until1946. It
occupied about 1,800 square feet and used about 18,000
vacuum tubes, weighing almost 50 tons. Although the
Judge ruled that the ABC computer was the first digital
computer, many still consider the ENIAC to be the first
digital computer because it was fully functional.

The first stored program

computer
The early British computer known as theEDSACis
considered to be the first stored program electronic
computer. The computer performed its first calculation on
May 6,1949and was the computer that ran the first
graphical computer game, nicknamed "Baby"

Around the same time, theManchester Mark 1was

another computer that could run stored programs. Built
at the Victoria University of Manchester, the first version
of the Mark 1 computer became operational in April1949
. Mark 1 was used to run a program to search for
Mersenne primes for nine hours without error on June 16
and 17 that same year.

The first computer company

The first computer company was theElectronic
Controls Companyand was founded in1949by J.
Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, the same individuals
who helped create the ENIAC computer. The company
was later renamed to EMCC or Eckert-Mauchly Computer
Corporation and released a series of mainframe
computers under theUNIVACname.

First stored program computer

First delivered to the United States government in1950,
theUNIVAC 1101orERA 1101is considered to be the
first computer that was capable of storing and running a
program from memory.

First commercial computer