Tuesday 6 September 2011

What name did Charles Babbage give to his first computer ?

Answer:  Analytical engine


The Analytical engine the first name for computer given by the Charles Babbage in 19 century. He was an English mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer .The analytical engine is not a single physical machine but a succession of designs that he tinkered with until his death in 1871. The Analytical Engine has many essential features found in the modern digital computer. It was programmable using punched cards, an idea borrowed from the Jacquard loom used for weaving complex patterns in textiles. The Engine had a 'Store' where numbers and intermediate results could be held, and a separate 'Mill' where the arithmetic processing was performed. It had an internal repertoire of the four arithmetical functions and could perform direct multiplication and division. It was also capable of functions for which we have modern names: conditional branching, looping (iteration), microprogramming, parallel processing, iteration, latching, polling, and pulse-shaping, amongst others, though Babbage nowhere used these terms. It had a variety of outputs including hardcopy printout, punched cards, graph plotting and the automatic production of stereotypes - trays of soft material into which results were impressed that could be used as molds for making printing plates.


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