History of computing

   A defining feature of the "universal machine" - is programmability, which allows a computer to emulate any other calculating system just substitute the stored sequence of instructions.

   In 1835 Charles Babbage described his analytical engine. It was a draft general-purpose computer, using punched cards as a carrier of the input data and programs, as well as the steam engine as an energy source. One of the key ideas was to use gears to perform mathematical functions.

   His initial idea was to use punch cards for the machine calculates and prints the logarithmic tables with high accuracy (ie, for a specialized machine). Later these ideas were developed before the general-purpose machine - his "analytical engine".

   While plans were announced and the project seems, was real, or at least check when creating machines some difficulties. Babbage was a man with whom it was hard work, he argued with everyone who is not paying homage to his ideas. All the parts had to be created manually. Small errors in every detail, for the machine, consisting of thousands of parts, could result in significant deviations, so when creating parts required accuracy, unusual for that time. As a result, the project is awash with disagreements with the performer, creating parts, and ended with the termination of public funding.

   Ada Lovelace, daughter of Lord Byron, translated and added comments work «Sketch of the Analytical Engine». Her name is often associated with the name of Babbage. It is also alleged that she was the first computer programmer, although this assertion and the importance of its contribution to many contested.

   Reconstruction of the 2 nd option Difference Engine - the early, more limited project works in the London Science Museum since 1991. It works exactly as it was designed by Babbage, with only minor modifications trivial, and it shows that Babbage was right in theory. To create the necessary parts, the museum used a machine with computer control, adhering to the tolerance, which could reach a mechanic at the time. Some believe that the technology of that time did not allow to create parts with the required accuracy, but this assumption proved incorrect. The failure of Babbage in the design of machines, mostly attributed to difficulties not only the political and financial, but also his desire to create a very sophisticated and complicated computer.

   In the footsteps of Babbage, though not unaware of his earlier works, was Percy Ludgate, an accountant from Dublin (Ireland). He independently designed a programmable mechanical computer, which he described in a paper published in 1909.