In 1839, an Englishman Charles Babbage designed and developed the first true mechanical digital computer, described as a “difference engine,” for solving mathematical problems including simple differential equations.
This machine, which was never built, encompassed many principles of computer operation that have been rediscovered with newer machines a century later.
This formed the basis for the first general purpose electronic computer, Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC). ENIAC spanned 150 feet in width and the results of its computations were displayed using twenty banks of flashing lights.
previews.123rf.com
ADVERTISEMENTS:
It was capable of adding 5,000 numbers or does fourteen 10-digit multiplications in a second. By demonstrating that electronic computing circuitry could actually work, ENIAC paved the way for the modern computing industry that stands as its great legacy.
Despite its many innovations, ENIAC lacked certain features considered essential to modern computing systems. It lacked what is conventionally known as the stored program Concept. Without the ability to store a program in its own memory ENIAC had to be manually wired to execute a particular program.
An important point that would surprise the programmers of the current generation is that neither ENIAC nor its successor, the EDVAC, had indexed memory and random access memory, which are essential ingredients of modern computer design.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
A crucial step in the subsequent progression of technological advances was provided by the advent of the World War and the resultant enthusiasm of the military scientists and technical experts.
This was compounded by the progression of the Cold War. The usage of electronic computers in the development of the hydrogen bomb laid the foundations for the subsequent computing and information processing industry that has transformed the world since World War II.
Although the initial impetus for the computer’s construction was its function to serve the ballistic needs of the Army, the military later foresaw even- greater number of applications than anticipated. The first public demonstration of ENIAC in February 1946 truly marked the beginning of the postwar revolution in digital electronic computation.