Difference between revisions of "CSC103: DT's Notes 1"
| Line 12: | Line 12: | ||
One can argue that if von Neumann hadn't written this report, we may have followed somebody else's brilliant idea for putting together a machine working with electricity, where information is stored and operated on in binary form. | One can argue that if von Neumann hadn't written this report, we may have followed somebody else's brilliant idea for putting together a machine working with electricity, where information is stored and operated on in binary form. | ||
| − | [[Image:Antikythera.jpg|right|200px]]For computers were not always electrical machines. Initially they were mechanical machines. The abacus, which appeared several millennia B.C. was a counting machine made of wood. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism Antikythera] mechanism, currently regarded as the first mechanical machine for computing astronomical calculations. | + | [[Image:Antikythera.jpg|right|200px]]For computers were not always electrical machines. Initially they were mechanical machines. The abacus, which appeared several millennia B.C. was a counting machine made of wood. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism Antikythera] mechanism, is currently regarded as the first mechanical machine for computing astronomical calculations. Mechanical as well, the important machine in the history of computers is '''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Difference_engine Babbage's Difference Engine]'''. This one was made of gears and shafts, with a crank at the top, and was a ''general purpose'' machine. Interestingly, this machine has given us an expression we still use with modern electronic computers: we still hear programmers refer to "cranking out" the results, even though the crank is long gone. |
Revision as of 22:39, 29 January 2012
