Evolution of Computing Hardware

Computing hardware is a platform for Information processing. In this blog, let us discuss on how the modern computers have been evolved. It's quite interesting, when we read the history of computing hardware. Software performance and capability increases exponentially. In order to compensate the growth of Software, hardware need to be improved for every 60 days. This statement is suggested by Moore.

Let us walk through the detailed evolution of computing hardware from time to time in this blog

I. FINGER COUNTING

The Greco-Roman author Plutarch, in his lives, mentions finger counting as being used in Persia in the 1st century AD, so the source of the system ma lie in Iran. Thr practice was later used widely in medieval Islamic lands.

II. TALLY STICK

A tally stick was an ancient memory aid device used to record and document numbers, quantities or even messages. 

There are two kinds of Tally Stick. They are

1. Single Tally: The single tally stick was an elongated piece of bone, ivory, wood or stone which is marked with Tally marks.
2. Split Tally: A stick was marked with a system of tally marks and then split lengthwise. This way the to halves both record the same tally marks and each party to the transaction received one half of the 

Tally Sticks

Tally Marks

III. ABACUS

The Abacus (counting frame) is a calculating tool before Hindu-Arabic numeral system. They are constructed as a bamboo frame with beads sliding on wires. The bead frame in abacus consists of beads divided into tens. Abacus is used to teach arithmetic in Russia and China.

IV. CASTLE CLOCK

The Castle clock, invented by Ismail al-Jazari in 1206 was the first programmable analog computer, It is a hydropowered mechanical astronomical clock designed using Automata concepts.

It was about 11 feet high and includes zodiac display along solar and lunar orbits.. A ppinter in the shape of crescent moon which traveled across the top of a gateway and automatically plays music when moved by levers operated by a hidden camshaft attached to a water wheel.

V. NAPIER BONES

Napier's bones is a manually operated calculating device created by John Napier which was based on Arab Mathematics. The technique is also called as Rabdology.

Using the multiplication tables embedded in the rods, multiplication can be reduced to additions and division to subtraction operations. It also estimated the square roots of the numbers. 

This device consists of a base board with a rim. The user places Napier's rods inside the rim to perform multiplications and divisions. The board's left edge is divided into 9 squares, holding the numbers from 1 to 9.  Napier's rods consists of strips of wood. Napier's bones are three dimensional, square in cross section, with four different rods engraved on each one.

VI. SLIDE RULE

The slide rule is a mechanical analog computer which is primarily used for multiplication, division, exponents, roots, logarithms and trigonometry but not for addition and sutraction. The slide rule in contrary to its name, is not used for measuring length or drawing straight lines. 

Each number to be multiplied is represented by a length on a sliding ruler. As the rulers have a logarithmic scale, align them to read the sum of the logarithms and hence calculate the product of the two numbers.

VII. PASCAL'S CALCULATOR (ARITHMETIC MACHINE)

Pascal's Calculator is a mechanical calculator invennted by Blaise Pascal in the early 17th Century. He designed the machine to add and subtract two numbers directly and to perform multiplication and division through repeated addition and subtraction respectively.

This is based on carry mechanism which adds 1 to 9 on one dial, and when it changes from 9 to 0, carries 1 to the next dial. The main feature is to make each digit independent of the state of the others. 

VIII. PUNCHED CARD DATA PROCESSING

In 1804, Joseph Marie Jacquard developed a loom in which the pattern being woven was controlled by a paper tape constructed from punched cards. The paper tape could be changed without changing the mechanical design of the loom.

A punched card is a piece of paper that can be used to contain digital information represented by the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions. Many early computers used punched cards as the primary medium for input of both computer programs and data.

IX. VACUUM TUBE

Invented in 1904 by Fleming, vacuum tube is the basic component for electronics which saw the diffusio of analog and digital computers. In 1940s the invention of semiconductor devices made it possible to produce solid state devics which are smaller, more reliable and durable and cheaper than tubes. 

The world's first electronic desktop calculator was the Bell Punch ANITA, released in 1961. It used vacuum tubes, cold cathode tubes and Dekatrons in its circuits with 12 cathode Niixie tubes for its display.

Hence, I have given the basics of history of computing hardware during early days. In the next blog, let us discuss the evolution of analog and digital computers.