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2022-08-26
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Mechnical computation - calculating
values using some automatic or semi-
automatic device - dates back to pre-
history with the development of the
abacus. Pascal invented a wheeled
adding device, and Leibniz designed a
simular machine that could perform
multiplication and division.
But the "Father of Computers" was
Charles Babbage, who designed what
would have been the first programmable
calculating machine.
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Babbage's first mechanical
calculator was the "Differential
Engine," designed to create tables of
computations. Differential math uses a
constant to determine the next value
of a series. For example:
Value Difference Constant
1
3
4 2
5
9 2
7
16 2
9
Add the Constant to the previous
Differnce, then add the result to the
previous Value to get the next square.
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His "Analytical Engine" was a much
more ambitious project, capable of
reading programs off cards (like the
Jacquard loom), keeping values in
memory, processing them in the "mill",
and outputting results to a linotype
machine.
Unfortunately, neither "engine" was
ever completed by Babbage. Until
recently, the Analytical Engine was
thought to be too complex for 19th
Century technology, but a recent
construction of the machine -- using
only materials and tools available in
1835 -- proved that the design was
sound. Among other problems,
labor disputes arose, putting the
project way over time and budget.
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1791 - 1871
Press Key to go to next story
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In 1880, the US Census hit a snag.
The population, augmented by massive
immigration, had become so large that
tabulating the collected information
took nearly 8 years. And the outlook
for 1890 did not look any brighter.
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Enter Herman Hollerith, a Census
Bureau employee, who contemplated the
problem. A friend told him about how
train conductors recorded information
about passengers (sex, age, etc) by
punching certain areas on their
tickets.
This method of coding data was not
unlike the metal cards used on the
Jacquard looms, which directed the
weaving of patterns in cloth. Jacquard
took his cue from paper rolled around
music box drums to show where to put
the pins that played each note.
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