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History and Development of the Digital Computer

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History and Development of the Digital Computer
Prior to the advent of digital computing, human clerks who calculated in accordance with effective methods we referred to as “computers.” Human computing has evolved greatly since that time; giving the need for computing and the advancement of technology an entirely new growth opportunity. A digital computer is “a device that processes numerical information; more generally, any device that manipulates symbolic information according to specified computational processes” (Digital Computer). Each computer is programmed with a basic set of instructions that are the identifiers of what capability that system has to perform functions. Computers are devices used to carry out a myriad of logical operations, and most often consist of at least one processing element. A computer most often contains a memory bank for information storage. Though the idea of computing has been around for a long while, it wasn’t until the mid-1900’s that “computers” came alive. The dinosaurs of the mid-1900 were mammoth machines housed in large buildings and warehouses and consumed more energy for one operating system than hundreds of today’s mini machine’s do. Today’s computers are miniscule in size in comparison to that of their ancestors and have the capability of far more computing power. As technology has evolved, the computer has taken the shape of laptops, music players, gaming systems and automobiles; each of these tangible items relies on some sort of computing capability.
The first recorded digital computer was developed by Professor John Vincent Atanasoff and graduate student Cliff Berry in 1937. The electric computer, labeled the Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC), used vacuum tubing for its computing capabilities. The system’s storage capability wasn’t sufficient so its use was discontinued. The ABC was considered a pioneer in the arena

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