C:\Games\DarkAges\Calc_Machines
The „first programmable computer“ in history
You have already met Charles Babbage as the spiritual forefather of the difference engine. Since 1833, he had also been working on a completely different machine, on which his reputation as a computer pioneer is actually based, namely the analytical engine. This machine already has similarities with a modern computer. Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division can be performed in any order. The memory (here called: Store) and the arithmetic unit (here: Mill) are two independent components, which is also the case in a modern computer with the main memory and the processor.
The machine was to be programmed with punched cards, as used by the French inventor Joseph-Marie Jacquard to control his looms. Babbage had also considered conditional branching in his concept. Thus, it should be possible to take different paths depending on the intermediate result
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Table of contents
| Yr | Name | Link |
|---|---|---|
| — | Introduction |  |
| 1623 | Schickard calculating machine |  |
| 1642 | Pascaline |  |
| 1671 | Four-Species Relay Roll |  |
| 1805 | Jacquard weaving loom |  |
| 1837 | Difference engine |  |
| 1843 | Analytical Engine | |
| 1890 | Hollerithmachine |  |
| 1936 | Turing machine |  |