Editing History of computing

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{{Further|Timeline of computing}}
{{History of computing}}
The '''history of computing''' is longer than the [[history of computing hardware]] and [[computer|modern computing technology]] and includes the history of methods intended for pen and paper or for chalk and slate, with or without the aid of tables.

==Concrete devices==
Digital [[computing]] is intimately tied to the representation of [[number]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/computing/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/digital-computing|title=Digital Computing - Dictionary definition of Digital Computing {{!}} Encyclopedia.com: FREE online dictionary|website=www.encyclopedia.com|language=en|access-date=2017-09-11}}</ref> But long before [[abstraction]]s like ''the number'' arose, there were mathematical concepts to serve the purposes of civilization. These concepts are implicit in concrete practices such as:
*''[[Bijection|One-to-one correspondence]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/maths/continuum/Pages/onetoone.aspx |title = One-to-One Correspondence: 0.5|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121120235142/https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/maths/continuum/Pages/onetoone.aspx|archive-date = 20 November 2012|website = Victoria Department of Education and Early Childhood Development}}</ref> a rule to [[counting|count]] ''how many'' items, e.g. on a [[tally stick]], eventually abstracted into ''numbers''.
*''Comparison to a standard'',<ref>{{Citation | last = Ifrah | first = Georges | author-link = Georges Ifrah | title = The Universal History of Numbers: From prehistory to the invention of the computer. | publisher = [[John Wiley and Sons]] | year= 2000 | page = 48 | isbn = 0-471-39340-1 }}</ref> a method for assuming ''[[reproducibility]]'' in a [[measurement]], for example, the number of [[coin]]s.
*The ''3-4-5'' right triangle was a device for assuring a ''right angle'', using [[rope]]s with 12 evenly spaced [[knot]]s, for example.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mathworld.wolfram.com/345Triangle.html|title=3, 4, 5 Triangle|last=W.|first=Weisstein, Eric|website=mathworld.wolfram.com|language=en|access-date=2017-09-11}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=December 2021|reason=Source only discusses 3-4-5 triangle in mathematics, and does not mention it as a physical device for computing.}}

==Numbers==
Eventually, the concept of numbers became concrete and familiar enough for counting to arise, at times with sing-song [[mnemonic]]s to teach [[sequence]]s to others. All known human languages, except the [[Piraha language]], have words for at least the [[numeral (linguistics)|numerals]] "one" and "two", and even some animals like the [[common blackbird|blackbird]] can distinguish a surprising number of items.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Konrad|last1=Lorenz|author-link1=Konrad Lorenz|year=1961|title=King Solomon's Ring|translator1=Marjorie Kerr Wilson|publisher=Methuen|location=London|isbn=0-416-53860-6}}</ref>

Advances in the [[numeral system]] and [[mathematical notation]] eventually led to the discovery of mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, squaring, square root, and so forth. Eventually, the operations were formalized, and concepts about the operations became understood well enough to be [[theorem|stated formally]], and even [[mathematical proof|proven]]. See, for example, [[Euclidean algorithm|Euclid's algorithm]] for finding the greatest common divisor of two numbers.

By the High Middle Ages, the [[positional notation|positional]] [[Hindu–Arabic numeral system]] had reached [[Europe]], which allowed for the systematic computation of numbers. During this period, the representation of a calculation on [[paper]] allowed the calculation of [[mathematical expression]]s, and the tabulation of [[mathematical function]]s such as the [[square root]] and the [[common logarithm]] (for use in multiplication and division), and the [[trigonometric function]]s. By the time of [[Isaac Newton]]'s research, paper or vellum was an important [[computing resource]], and even in our present time, researchers like [[Enrico Fermi]] would cover random scraps of paper with calculation, to satisfy their curiosity about an equation.<ref>{{cite web|title=DIY: Enrico Fermi's Back of the Envelope Calculations|url=http://www.knowqout.com/science-technology/diy-enrico-fermis-back-of-the-envelope-calculations/}}</ref> Even into the period of programmable calculators, [[Richard Feynman]] would unhesitatingly compute any steps that overflowed the [[Computer memory|memory]] of the calculators, by hand, just to learn the answer; by 1976 Feynman had purchased an [[HP-25]] calculator with a 49 program-step capacity; if a differential equation required more than 49 steps to solve, he could just continue his computation by hand.<ref>"Try numbers" was one of Feynman's problem solving techniques.</ref>

==Early computation==
{{For timeline|Timeline of computing hardware before 1950}}
{{See also|History of computing hardware}}
Mathematical statements need not be abstract only; when a statement can be illustrated with actual numbers, the numbers can be communicated and a community can arise. This allows the repeatable, verifiable statements which are the hallmark of mathematics and science. These kinds of statements have existed for thousands of years, and across multiple civilizations, as shown below:

The earliest known tool for use in computation is the [[Sumer]]ian [[abacus]], and it was thought to have been invented in [[Babylon]] {{Circa|2700}}–2300 BC. Its original style of usage was by lines drawn in sand with pebbles.{{Citation needed|reason=Jagged 85 cleanup|date=March 2024}}

In {{Circa|1050}}–771 BC, the [[south-pointing chariot]] was invented in [[History of China#Ancient China|ancient China]]. It was the first known [[gear]]ed mechanism to use a [[differential gear]], which was later used in [[analog computer]]s. The [[China|Chinese]] also invented a more sophisticated abacus from around the 2nd century BC known as the [[Chinese abacus]].{{Citation needed|reason=Jagged 85 cleanup|date=March 2024}}

In the 3rd century BC, [[Archimedes]] used the mechanical principle of balance (see {{section link|Archimedes Palimpsest|The Method of Mechanical Theorems}}) to calculate mathematical problems, such as the number of grains of sand in the universe (''[[The sand reckoner]]''), which also required a recursive notation for numbers (e.g., the [[myriad]] [[myriad]]).

The [[Antikythera mechanism]] is believed to be the earliest known geared computing device. It was designed to calculate astronomical positions. It was discovered in 1901 in the [[Antikythera]] wreck off the Greek island of Antikythera, between Kythera and [[Crete]], and has been dated to ''circa'' 100 BC.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/03/scientists-solve-another-piece-of-the-puzzling-antikythera-mechanism/|title=Scientists solve another piece of the puzzling Antikythera mechanism|publisher=Ars Technica|first=Jennifer|last=Ouellette|date=12 March 2021 }}</ref>

According to [[Simon Singh]], [[Islamic mathematics|Muslim mathematicians]] also made important advances in [[cryptography]], such as the development of [[cryptanalysis]] and [[frequency analysis]] by [[Al-Kindi|Alkindus]].<ref>[[Simon Singh]], ''[[The Code Book]]'', pp. 14-20</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://muslimheritage.com/al-kindi-cryptography/ |title= Al-Kindi, Cryptgraphy, Codebreaking and Ciphers |date= 9 June 2003 |access-date=2022-07-03}}</ref> [[Program (machine)|Programmable]] machines were also invented by [[Inventions in medieval Islam|Muslim engineers]], such as the automatic [[flute]] player by the [[Banū Mūsā brothers]].<ref name=Koetsier>{{Citation |last1=Koetsier |first1=Teun |year=2001 |title=On the prehistory of programmable machines: musical automata, looms, calculators |journal=Mechanism and Machine Theory |volume=36 |issue=5 |pages=589–603 |publisher=Elsevier |doi=10.1016/S0094-114X(01)00005-2 |postscript=.}}</ref>

During the Middle Ages, several European philosophers made attempts to produce analog computer devices. Influenced by the Arabs and [[Scholasticism]], Majorcan philosopher [[Ramon Llull]] (1232–1315) devoted a great part of his life to defining and designing several ''logical machines'' that, by combining simple and undeniable philosophical truths, could produce all possible knowledge. These machines were never actually built, as they were more of a [[thought experiment]] to produce new knowledge in systematic ways; although they could make simple logical operations, they still needed a human being for the interpretation of results. Moreover, they lacked a versatile architecture, each machine serving only very concrete purposes. Despite this, Llull's work had a strong influence on [[Gottfried Leibniz]] (early 18th century), who developed his ideas further and built several calculating tools using them.

The apex of this early era of mechanical computing can be seen in the [[Difference engine|Difference Engine]] and its successor the [[Analytical engine|Analytical Engine]]  both by [[Charles Babbage]]. Babbage never completed constructing either engine, but in 2002 [[Doron Swade]] and a group of other engineers at the [[Science Museum, London|Science Museum in London]] completed Babbage's Difference Engine using only materials that would have been available in the 1840s.<ref>{{Cite news |title=A 19th-Century Mathematician Finally Proves Himself |language=en |work=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121206408 |access-date=2022-10-24}}</ref>  By following Babbage's detailed design they were able to build a functioning engine, allowing historians to say, with some confidence, that if Babbage had been able to complete his Difference Engine it would have worked.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Modern Sequel {{!}} Babbage Engine {{!}} Computer History Museum |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/babbage/modernsequel/ |access-date=2022-10-24 |website=www.computerhistory.org}}</ref> The additionally advanced Analytical Engine combined concepts from his previous work and that of others to create a device that, if constructed as designed, would have possessed many properties of a modern electronic computer, such as an internal "scratch memory" equivalent to [[random-access memory|RAM]], multiple forms of output including a bell, a graph-plotter, and simple printer, and a programmable input-output "hard" memory of [[punch cards]] which it could modify as well as read.  The key advancement that Babbage's devices possessed beyond those created before him was that each component of the device was independent of the rest of the machine, much like the components of a modern electronic computer. This was a fundamental shift in thought; previous computational devices served only a single purpose but had to be at best disassembled and reconfigured to solve a new problem.  Babbage's devices could be reprogrammed to solve new problems by the entry of new data and act upon previous calculations within the same series of instructions. [[Ada Lovelace]] took this concept one step further, by creating a program for the Analytical Engine to calculate [[Bernoulli numbers]], a complex calculation requiring a recursive algorithm.  This is considered to be the first example of a true computer program, a series of instructions that act upon data not known in full until the program is run.

Following Babbage, although unaware of his earlier work, [[Percy Ludgate]]{{sfn|Randell|1982|pp=4–5}}<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.fano.co.uk/ludgate/|title=Percy Ludgate's Analytical Machine|website=fano.co.uk|access-date=29 October 2018}}</ref> in 1909 published the 2nd of the only two designs for mechanical analytical engines in history.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.scss.tcd.ie/SCSSTreasuresCatalog/miscellany/TCD-SCSS-X.20121208.002/TCD-SCSS-X.20121208.002.pdf |title=Percy E. Ludgate Prize in Computer Science |work=The John Gabriel Byrne Computer Science Collection |access-date=2020-01-15}}</ref> Two other inventors, [[Leonardo Torres Quevedo]]{{Sfn|Randell|1982|pp=6, 11–13}} and [[Vannevar Bush]],{{sfn|Randell|1982|pp=13, 16-17}} also did follow-on research based on Babbage's work. In his ''Essays on Automatics'' (1914) Torres presented the design of an electromechanical calculating machine and introduced the idea of [[Floating-point arithmetic]].<ref name="LTQ1914es">{{cite journal |author=L. Torres Quevedo |title=Ensayos sobre Automática – Su definicion. Extension teórica de sus aplicaciones |journal=Revista de la Academia de Ciencias Exacta, Revista 12 |pages=391–418 |date=1914}}</ref><ref name="LTQ1915fr">{{cite journal |last=Torres Quevedo |first=L. |date=1915 |url=https://diccan.com/dicoport/Torres.htm |title=Essais sur l'Automatique - Sa définition. Etendue théorique de ses applications |journal=Revue Génerale des Sciences Pures et Appliquées |volume=2 |pages=601–611}}</ref> In 1920, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the invention of the [[arithmometer]], Torres presented in Paris the [[Leonardo Torres y Quevedo#Analytical machines|Electromechanical Arithmometer]], an arithmetic unit connected to a remote typewriter, on which commands could be typed and the results printed automatically.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=3 February 2018|title=Computer Pioneers by J.A.N. Lee - Leonardo Torres Y Quevedo|url=http://history.computer.org/pioneers/torres.html}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>{{sfn|Bromley|1990}} Bush's paper ''Instrumental Analysis'' (1936) discussed using existing IBM punch card machines to implement Babbage's design. In the same year, he started the Rapid Arithmetical Machine project to investigate the problems of constructing an electronic digital computer.

Several examples of analog computation survived into recent times.  A [[planimeter]] is a device that does integrals, using [[distance]] as the analog quantity. Until the 1980s, [[HVAC]] systems used [[air]] both as the analog quantity and the controlling element. Unlike modern digital computers, analog computers are not very flexible and need to be reconfigured (i.e., reprogrammed) manually to switch them from working on one problem to another. Analog computers had an advantage over early digital computers in that they could be used to solve complex problems using behavioral analogues while the earliest attempts at digital computers were quite limited.

[[Image:Visual Smith Chart.png|thumb|A [[Smith Chart]] is a well-known [[nomogram]].]]
Since computers were rare in this era, the solutions were often ''hard-coded'' into paper forms such as [[nomogram]]s,<ref>
{{Cite book | last = Steinhaus | first =  H. | title = Mathematical Snapshots | edition= 3rd | publisher = Dover | year= 1999 | location = New York | pages = 92–95, 301}}
</ref> which could then produce analog solutions to these problems, such as the distribution of pressures and temperatures in a heating system.

==Digital electronic computers==

{{Main|Computer#Modern computers|l1=Modern computers|History of computing hardware|History of computing hardware (1960s–present)}}

{{Blockquote|The "brain" [computer] may one day come down to our level [of the common people] and help with our income-tax and book-keeping calculations. But this is speculation and there is no sign of it so far.|British newspaper ''The Star'' in a June 1949 news article about the [[EDSAC]] computer, long before the era of the personal computers.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/~edsac/Software/EdsacTG.pdf |title=Tutorial Guide to the EDSAC Simulator |access-date=2020-01-15}}</ref>}}

In an 1886 letter, [[Charles Sanders Peirce]] described how logical operations could be carried out by electrical switching circuits.<ref name=P2M>Peirce, C. S., "Letter, Peirce to [[Allan Marquand|A. Marquand]]", dated 1886, ''[[Charles Sanders Peirce bibliography#W|Writings of Charles S. Peirce]]'', v. 5, 1993, pp. 421–423. See {{cite journal |author-link=Arthur W. Burks |last=Burks |first=Arthur W. |title=Review: Charles S. Peirce, ''The new elements of mathematics'' |journal=Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society |volume=84 |issue=5 |date=September 1978 |page=917  |doi=10.1090/S0002-9904-1978-14533-9 |url=https://projecteuclid.org/journals/bulletin-of-the-american-mathematical-society-new-series/volume-84/issue-5/Review-Charles-S-Peirce-The-new-elements-of-mathematics/bams/1183541145.full|doi-access=free }}</ref> During 1880-81 he showed that [[NOR logic|NOR gates alone]] (or [[NAND logic|NAND gates alone]]) can be used to reproduce the functions of all the other [[logic gate]]s, but this work on it was unpublished until 1933.<ref>Peirce, C. S. (manuscript winter of 1880–81), "A Boolian Algebra with One Constant", published 1933 in ''[[Charles Sanders Peirce bibliography#CP|Collected Papers]]'' v. 4, paragraphs 12–20. Reprinted 1989 in ''[[Charles Sanders Peirce bibliography#W|Writings of Charles S. Peirce]]'' v. 4, [https://archive.org/details/writingsofcharle0004peir/page/218 pp. 218–212]. See Roberts, Don D. (2009), ''The Existential Graphs of Charles S. Peirce'', p. 131.</ref> The first published proof was by [[Henry M. Sheffer]] in 1913, so the NAND logical operation is sometimes called [[Sheffer stroke]]; the [[logical NOR]] is sometimes called ''Peirce's arrow''.<ref name="BüningLettmann1999">{{cite book|first1=Hans Kleine|last1=Büning|first2=Theodor|last2=Lettmann|title=Propositional logic: deduction and algorithms|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3oJE9yczr3EC&pg=PA2|year=1999|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-63017-7|page=2}}</ref> Consequently, these gates are sometimes called ''universal logic gates''.<ref name="Bird2007">{{cite book|first=John|last=Bird|title=Engineering mathematics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1-fBmsEBNUoC&pg=PA532|year=2007|publisher=Newnes|isbn=978-0-7506-8555-9|page=532}}</ref>

Eventually, [[vacuum tube]]s replaced relays for logic operations. [[Lee De Forest]]'s modification, in 1907, of the [[Fleming valve]] can be used as a logic gate. [[Ludwig Wittgenstein]] introduced a version of the 16-row [[truth table]] as proposition 5.101 of ''[[Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus]]'' (1921). [[Walther Bothe]], inventor of the [[coincidence circuit]], got part of the 1954 [[Nobel Prize]] in physics, for the first modern electronic AND gate in 1924. [[Konrad Zuse]] designed and built electromechanical logic gates for his computer [[Z1 (computer)|Z1]] (from 1935 to 1938).

The first recorded idea of using [[digital electronics]] for computing was the 1931 paper "The Use of Thyratrons for High Speed Automatic Counting of Physical Phenomena" by [[C. E. Wynn-Williams]].<ref>{{Citation | last = Wynn-Williams | first = C. E. | author-link = C. E. Wynn-Williams | title = The Use of Thyratrons for High Speed Automatic Counting of Physical Phenomena | journal = [[Proceedings of the Royal Society A]] | volume = 132 | issue = 819 | pages = 295–310 | date = July 2, 1931 | doi = 10.1098/rspa.1931.0102 |bibcode = 1931RSPSA.132..295W | doi-access = free }}</ref> From 1934 to 1936, [[NEC]] engineer [[Akira Nakashima]], [[Claude Shannon]], and [[Victor Shestakov]] published papers introducing [[switching circuit theory]], using digital electronics for [[Boolean algebra]]ic operations.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ieejfms/124/8/124_8_720/_article |title=History of Research on Switching Theory in Japan |journal=IEEJ Transactions on Fundamentals and Materials |volume=124 |issue=8 |date=2004 |pages=720–726 |publisher=[[Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan]]|doi=10.1541/ieejfms.124.720 |bibcode=2004IJTFM.124..720Y |last1=Yamada |first1=Akihiko |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/computer/dawn/0002.html |title=Switching Theory/Relay Circuit Network Theory/Theory of Logical Mathematics |website=IPSJ Computer Museum, [[Information Processing Society of Japan]]}}</ref><ref name="Stanković-Astola_2008">{{cite book |editor-first1=Radomir S.<!-- Stanislav? --> |editor-last1=Stanković |editor-link1=:de:Radomir S. Stanković |editor-first2=Jaakko Tapio |editor-last2=Astola |editor-link2=:fi:Jaakko Tapio Astola |date=2008 |isbn=978-952-15-1980-2 |issn=1456-2774 |volume=40 |issue=2 |url=http://ticsp.cs.tut.fi/reports/reprint-nakashima-rr.pdf |title=Reprints from the Early Days of Information Sciences: TICSP Series On the Contributions of Akira Nakashima to Switching Theory |series=Tampere International Center for Signal Processing (TICSP) Series |location=[[Tampere University of Technology]], Tampere, Finland |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308002559/http://ticsp.cs.tut.fi/reports/reprint-nakashima-rr.pdf |archive-date=2021-03-08}} (3+207+1 pages) [https://web.archive.org/web/20221026175726/http://ciitlab.elfak.ni.ac.rs/predavanja/09_Nakashima.mp4 10:00 min]</ref><ref>{{cite web|first1=Radomir S.|last1= Stanković |first2= Jaakko T.|last2= Astola |first3= Mark G.|last3= Karpovsky |title= Some Historical Remarks on Switching Theory|citeseerx= 10.1.1.66.1248|url = http://ticsp.cs.tut.fi/images/8/8b/Cr1032.pdf|publisher =Tampere International Center for Signal Processing, [[Tampere University of Technology]]| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705103440/http://ticsp.cs.tut.fi/images/8/8b/Cr1032.pdf |archive-date=5 July 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1936 [[Alan Turing]] published his seminal paper [[Turing's proof|On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem]]<ref>* {{Citation |author-last=Turing |author-first=Alan M. |author-link=Alan M. Turing |publication-date=1937 |date=1936 |title=On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem |periodical=Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society |series=2 |volume=42 |pages=230–265 |doi=10.1112/plms/s2-42.1.230|s2cid=73712 }} (and {{Citation |author-last=Turing |author-first=Alan M. |author-link=Alan M. Turing |publication-date=1937 |title=On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem. A correction |periodical=Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society |series=2 |volume=43 |pages=544–546 |doi=10.1112/plms/s2-43.6.544 |date=1938 |issue=6}})</ref> in which he modeled computation in terms of a one-dimensional storage tape, leading to the idea of the [[Universal Turing machine]] and [[Turing-complete]] systems.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

The first digital electronic computer was developed in the period April 1936 - June 1939, in the IBM Patent Department, Endicott, New York by Arthur Halsey Dickinson.<ref name="Dickinson">Dickinson, A.H., "Accounting Apparatus", {{US patent|src=uspto|2580740}}, filed Jan. 20, 1940, granted Jan. 1, 1952,</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Building IBM: Shaping an Industry and its Technology|first=Emerson W.|last=Pugh|publisher=[[The MIT Press]]|year=1996}}</ref><ref name="IBM100">{{cite web |work=IBM100 |title=Patents and Inventions |date=7 March 2012 |url=https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/ibm100/us/en/icons/patents/}}</ref> In this computer IBM introduced, a calculating device with a keyboard, processor and electronic output (display). The competitor to IBM was the digital electronic computer NCR3566, developed in NCR, Dayton, Ohio by Joseph Desch and Robert Mumma in the period April 1939 - August 1939.<ref name="Desch">Desch, J.R., "Calculating Machine", {{US patent|src=uspto|2595045}}, filed March 20, 1940, granted Apr. 29, 1952,</ref><ref name="Aspray">{{cite interview |interviewer=William Aspray |title=Interview with Robert E. Mumma |date=19 April 1984 |location=Dayton, OH, Charles Babbage Institute, Center for the History of Information Processing |url=https://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/107540}}</ref> The IBM and NCR machines were decimal, executing addition and subtraction in binary position code.

In December 1939 [[John Vincent Atanasoff|John Atanasoff]] and [[Clifford Berry]] completed their experimental model to prove the concept of the [[Atanasoff–Berry computer|Atanasoff–Berry computer (ABC)]] which began development in 1937.<ref name="Larson">Larson E.,  "Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Order for Judgement",  US District Court, District of Minnesota, Fourth Division, 19 Oct. 1973, ushistory.org/more/eniac/index.htm, ushistory.org/more/eniac/intro.htm</ref> This experimental model is binary, executed addition and subtraction in octal binary code and is the first binary digital [[electronics|electronic]] computing device. The [[Atanasoff–Berry computer]] was intended to solve systems of linear equations, though it was not programmable. The computer was never truly completed due to Atanasoff's departure from [[Iowa State University]] in 1942 to work for the United States Navy.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://jva.cs.iastate.edu/operation.php | title=Atanasoff-Berry Computer Operation/Purpose }}</ref><ref name="Tropp">{{cite interview |url=https://amhistory.si.edu/archives/AC0196_atan720511.pdf |interviewer=Tropp H.S |title=interview with John V. Atanasoff |date=May 11, 1972 |publisher=Computer Oral History Collection, 1969-1973, 1979, Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation |access-date=January 9, 2022 |archive-date=January 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129125408/https://amhistory.si.edu/archives/AC0196_atan720511.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Many people credit ABC with many of the ideas used in later developments during the age of early electronic computing. <ref>{{cite web | url=https://jva.cs.iastate.edu/courtcase.php | title=Atanasoff-Berry Computer Court Case }}</ref>

The [[Z3 (computer)|Z3 computer]], built by [[Germany|German]] inventor [[Konrad Zuse]] in 1941, was the first programmable, fully automatic computing machine, but it was not electronic.

During World War II, ballistics computing was done by women, who were hired as "computers." The term computer remained one that referred to mostly women (now seen as "operator") until 1945, after which it took on the modern definition of machinery it presently holds.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Light|first=Jennifer S.|date=July 1999|title=When Computers Were Women|journal=Technology and Culture|volume=40|issue=3|pages=455–483|doi=10.1353/tech.1999.0128|s2cid=108407884}}</ref>

The [[ENIAC]] (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer) was the first electronic general-purpose computer, announced to the public in 1946. It was Turing-complete,<ref>{{Cite web |last=rudd |title=Early Turing-complete Computers {{!}} Rudd Canaday |url=https://www.ruddcanaday.com/post-ww2-computers/ |access-date=2024-04-17 |language=en-US}}</ref> digital, and capable of being reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing problems. Women implemented the programming for machines like the ENIAC, and men created the hardware.<ref name=":0" />

The [[Manchester Baby]] was the first electronic [[stored-program computer]]. It was built at the [[Victoria University of Manchester]] by [[Frederic Calland Williams|Frederic C. Williams]], [[Tom Kilburn]] and [[Geoff Tootill]], and ran its first program on 21 June 1948.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Enticknap |first=Nicholas |title=Computing's Golden Jubilee |journal=Resurrection |issue=20 |publisher=The Computer Conservation Society |date=Summer 1998 |url=http://www.computerconservationsociety.org/resurrection/res20.htm#d |issn=0958-7403}}</ref>

[[William Shockley]], [[John Bardeen]] and [[Walter Brattain]] at [[Bell Labs]] invented the first working [[transistor]], the [[point-contact transistor]], in 1947, followed by the [[bipolar junction transistor]] in 1948.<ref name="Lee">{{cite book |last1=Lee |first1=Thomas H. |title=The Design of CMOS Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuits |date=2003 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=9781139643771 |url=https://web.stanford.edu/class/archive/ee/ee214/ee214.1032/Handouts/HO2.pdf |access-date=2019-09-16 |archive-date=2019-12-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209032130/https://web.stanford.edu/class/archive/ee/ee214/ee214.1032/Handouts/HO2.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Puers">{{cite book |last1=Puers |first1=Robert |last2=Baldi |first2=Livio |last3=Voorde |first3=Marcel Van de |last4=Nooten |first4=Sebastiaan E. van |title=Nanoelectronics: Materials, Devices, Applications, 2 Volumes |date=2017 |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |isbn=9783527340538 |page=14 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JOqVDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA14}}</ref> At the [[University of Manchester]] in 1953, a team under the leadership of [[Tom Kilburn]] designed and built the first [[transistorized computer]], called the [[Manchester computers|Transistor Computer]], a machine using the newly developed transistors instead of valves.<ref>{{Citation|last=Lavington|first=Simon|title=A History of Manchester Computers|year=1998|edition=2|publisher=The British Computer Society|location=Swindon|pages=34–35}}</ref> The first stored-program transistor computer was the ETL Mark III, developed by Japan's Electrotechnical Laboratory<ref>{{cite web |url=http://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/computer/dawn/index.html |title=Early Computers |publisher=[[Information Processing Society of Japan]]}}</ref><ref name="etl3">{{cite web |url=http://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/computer/dawn/0011.html |title=Electrotechnical Laboratory ETL Mark III Transistor-Based Computer |publisher=[[Information Processing Society of Japan]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/computer/dawn/history.html |title=Early Computers: Brief History |publisher=[[Information Processing Society of Japan]]}}</ref> from 1954<ref name="fransman">{{cite book |first=Martin |last=Fransman |date=1993 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_6DMnS1Y12cC&pg=PA19 |title=The Market and Beyond: Cooperation and Competition in Information Technology |page=19 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=9780521435253 }}</ref> to 1956.<ref name="etl3"/> However, early junction transistors were relatively bulky devices that were difficult to manufacture on a [[mass-production]] basis, which limited them to a number of specialized applications.<ref name="Moskowitz">{{cite book |last1=Moskowitz |first1=Sanford L. |title=Advanced Materials Innovation: Managing Global Technology in the 21st century |date=2016 |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |isbn=9780470508923 |pages=165–167 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2STRDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA165}}</ref>

In 1954, 95% of computers in service were being used for engineering and scientific purposes.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ensmenger|first=Nathan|year=2010|title=The Computer Boys Take Over|isbn=978-0-262-05093-7|page=58|publisher=MIT Press }}</ref>

===Personal computers===
The [[MOSFET|metal–oxide–silicon field-effect transistor]] (MOSFET), also known as the MOS transistor, was invented at Bell Labs between 1955 and 1960,<ref>{{Cite patent|number=US2802760A|title=Oxidation of semiconductive surfaces for controlled diffusion|gdate=1957-08-13|invent1=Lincoln|invent2=Frosch|inventor1-first=Derick|inventor2-first=Carl J.|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US2802760A}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last1=Huff |first1=Howard |last2=Riordan |first2=Michael |date=2007-09-01 |title=Frosch and Derick: Fifty Years Later (Foreword) |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1149/2.F02073IF |journal=The Electrochemical Society Interface |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=29 |doi=10.1149/2.F02073IF |issn=1064-8208}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Frosch |first1=C. J. |last2=Derick |first2=L |date=1957 |title=Surface Protection and Selective Masking during Diffusion in Silicon |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1149/1.2428650 |journal=Journal of the Electrochemical Society |language=en |volume=104 |issue=9 |pages=547 |doi=10.1149/1.2428650}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=KAHNG |first=D. |date=1961 |title=Silicon-Silicon Dioxide Surface Device |url=https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814503464_0076 |journal=Technical Memorandum of Bell Laboratories |pages=583–596 |doi=10.1142/9789814503464_0076 |isbn=978-981-02-0209-5}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lojek |first=Bo |title=History of Semiconductor Engineering |date=2007 |publisher=Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg |isbn=978-3-540-34258-8 |location=Berlin, Heidelberg |page=321}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ligenza |first1=J.R. |last2=Spitzer |first2=W.G. |date=1960 |title=The mechanisms for silicon oxidation in steam and oxygen |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/0022369760902195 |journal=Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids |language=en |volume=14 |pages=131–136 |bibcode=1960JPCS...14..131L |doi=10.1016/0022-3697(60)90219-5}}</ref><ref name="Lojek1202">{{cite book |last1=Lojek |first1=Bo |title=History of Semiconductor Engineering |date=2007 |publisher=[[Springer Science & Business Media]] |isbn=9783540342588 |page=120}}</ref> It was the first truly compact transistor that could be [[MOSFET scaling|miniaturised]] and [[Moore's law|mass-produced]] for a wide range of uses.<ref name="Moskowitz"/> The MOSFET made it possible to build [[very large-scale integration|high-density]] [[integrated circuit]] chips.<ref name="computerhistory-transistor">{{cite web |title=Who Invented the Transistor? |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/who-invented-the-transistor/ |website=[[Computer History Museum]] |date=4 December 2013 |access-date=20 July 2019}}</ref><ref name="Hittinger">{{cite journal |last1=Hittinger |first1=William C. |title=Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Technology |journal=Scientific American |date=1973 |volume=229 |issue=2 |pages=48–59 |issn=0036-8733|jstor=24923169 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0873-48 |bibcode=1973SciAm.229b..48H }}</ref> The MOSFET is the most widely used transistor in computers,<ref name="kahng">{{cite web |title=Dawon Kahng |url=https://www.invent.org/inductees/dawon-kahng |website=[[National Inventors Hall of Fame]] |access-date=27 June 2019}}</ref><ref name="atalla">{{cite web|title=Martin Atalla in Inventors Hall of Fame, 2009|url=https://www.invent.org/inductees/martin-john-m-atalla|access-date=21 June 2013}}</ref> and is the fundamental building block of [[digital electronics]].<ref name="triumph">{{cite web |title=Triumph of the MOS Transistor |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6fBEjf9WPw  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/q6fBEjf9WPw |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|website=[[YouTube]] |publisher=[[Computer History Museum]] |access-date=21 July 2019 |date=6 August 2010}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The [[silicon-gate]] MOS integrated circuit was developed by [[Federico Faggin]] at [[Fairchild Semiconductor]] in 1968.<ref>{{cite web |title=1968: Silicon Gate Technology Developed for ICs |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/siliconengine/silicon-gate-technology-developed-for-ics/ |website=[[Computer History Museum]] |access-date=22 July 2019}}</ref> This led to the development of the first single-chip [[microprocessor]], the [[Intel 4004]].<ref name="computerhistory1971">{{cite web|title=1971: Microprocessor Integrates CPU Function onto a Single Chip|url=https://www.computerhistory.org/siliconengine/microprocessor-integrates-cpu-function-onto-a-single-chip/|access-date=22 July 2019|website=[[Computer History Museum]]}}</ref> The Intel 4004 was developed as a single-chip microprocessor from 1969 to 1970, led by Intel's Federico Faggin, [[Marcian Hoff]], and [[Stanley Mazor]], and Busicom's Masatoshi Shima.<ref name="ieee">{{cite journal |first=Federico |last=Faggin |author-link=Federico Faggin |title=The Making of the First Microprocessor |journal=IEEE Solid-State Circuits Magazine |date=Winter 2009 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=8–21 |doi=10.1109/MSSC.2008.930938 |s2cid=46218043|doi-access= }}</ref> The chip was mainly designed and realized by Faggin, with his silicon-gate MOS technology.<ref name="computerhistory1971"/> The microprocessor led to the microcomputer revolution, with the development of the [[microcomputer]], which would later be called the [[personal computer]] (PC).

Most early microprocessors, such as the [[Intel 8008]] and [[Intel 8080]], were [[8-bit]]. Texas Instruments released the first fully [[16-bit]] microprocessor, the [[Texas Instruments TMS9900|TMS9900]] processor, in June 1976.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stuartconner.me.uk/tm990/tm990.htm|title=Stuart's TM 990 Series 16-bit Microcomputer Modules|last=Conner|first=Stuart|website=www.stuartconner.me.uk|access-date=2017-09-05}}</ref> They used the microprocessor in the TI-99/4 and [[TI-99/4A]] computers.

The 1980s brought about significant advances with microprocessors that greatly impacted the fields of engineering and other sciences. The [[Motorola 68000]] microprocessor had a processing speed that was far superior to the other microprocessors being used at the time. Because of this, having a newer, faster microprocessor allowed for the newer [[microcomputer]]s that came along after to be more efficient in the amount of computing they were able to do. This was evident in the 1983 release of the [[Apple Lisa]]. The Lisa was one of the first personal computers with a [[Graphical user interface|graphical user interface (GUI)]] that was sold commercially. It ran on the Motorola 68000 CPU and used both dual floppy disk drives and a 5 MB hard drive for storage. The machine also had 1MB of [[Random-access memory|RAM]] used for running software from disk without rereading the disk persistently.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/computers/#169ebbe2ad45559efbc6eb3572083fb7|title=Computers {{!}} Timeline of Computer History {{!}} Computer History Museum|website=www.computerhistory.org|language=en|access-date=2022-12-26}}</ref> After the failure of the Lisa in terms of sales, Apple released its [[Macintosh 128K|first Macintosh]] computer, still running on the Motorola 68000 microprocessor, but with only 128KB of RAM, one floppy drive, and no hard drive to lower the price.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, computers became more useful for personal and work purposes, such as [[word processing]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=A brave new world: the 1980s home computer boom |url=https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/a-brave-new-world-the-1980s-home-computer-boom/ |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=HistoryExtra |language=en}}</ref> In 1989, Apple released the [[Macintosh Portable]], it weighed {{cvt|7.3|kg|lb}} and was extremely expensive, costing US$7,300. At launch, it was one of the most powerful laptops available, but due to the price and weight, it was not met with great success and was discontinued only two years later.  That same year Intel introduced the Touchstone Delta [[supercomputer]], which had 512 microprocessors. This technological advancement was very significant, as it was used as a model for some of the fastest multi-processor systems in the world. It was even used as a prototype for Caltech researchers, who used the model for projects like real-time processing of satellite images and simulating molecular models for various fields of research.

=== Supercomputers ===
In terms of supercomputing, the first widely acknowledged supercomputer was the [[Control Data Corporation]] (CDC) [[CDC 6600|6600]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hpe.com/us/en/insights/articles/a-super-fast-history-of-supercomputers-from-the-cdc-6600-to-the-sunway-taihulight-1711.html|title=A super-fast history of supercomputers: From the CDC 6600 to the Sunway TaihuLight|first=Steven|last=Vaughan-Nichols|date=November 27, 2017}}</ref> built in 1964 by [[Seymour Cray]]. Its maximum speed was 40&nbsp; MHz or 3 million floating point operations per second ([[FLOPS]]). The CDC 6600 was replaced by the [[CDC 7600]] in 1969;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gordonbell.azurewebsites.net/craytalk/tsld052.htm|title=CDC 7600}}</ref> although its normal clock speed was not faster than the 6600, the 7600 was still faster due to its peak clock speed, which was approximately 30 times faster than that of the 6600. Although CDC was a leader in supercomputers, their relationship with Seymour Cray (which had already been deteriorating) completely collapsed. In 1972, Cray left CDC and began his own company, [[Cray Research|Cray Research Inc]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Seymour-R-Cray|title=Seymour R. Cray|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref> With support from investors in Wall Street, an industry fueled by the Cold War, and without the restrictions he had within CDC, he created the [[Cray-1]] supercomputer. With a clock speed of 80&nbsp; MHz or 136 megaFLOPS, Cray developed a name for himself in the computing world. By 1982, Cray Research produced the [[Cray X-MP]] equipped with multiprocessing and in 1985 released the [[Cray-2]], which continued with the trend of multiprocessing and clocked at 1.9 gigaFLOPS. Cray Research developed the [[Cray Y-MP]] in 1988, however afterward struggled to continue to produce supercomputers. This was largely because the Cold War had ended, and the demand for cutting-edge computing by colleges and the government declined drastically and the demand for microprocessing units increased.

In 1998, [[David A. Bader|David Bader]] developed the first [[Linux]] supercomputer using commodity parts.<ref name=fernbach>{{cite web| url= https://www.computer.org/press-room/2021-news/david-bader-to-receive-2021-ieee-cs-sidney-fernbach-award | title=David Bader Selected to Receive the 2021 IEEE Computer Society Sidney Fernbach Award|publisher=IEEE Computer Society|date=September 22, 2021 |accessdate= 2023-10-12}}</ref> While at the University of New Mexico, Bader sought to build a supercomputer running Linux using consumer off-the-shelf parts and a high-speed low-latency interconnection network. The prototype utilized an Alta Technologies "AltaCluster" of eight dual, 333&nbsp; MHz, Intel Pentium II computers running a modified Linux kernel. Bader ported a significant amount of software to provide Linux support for necessary components as well as code from members of the National Computational Science Alliance (NCSA) to ensure interoperability, as none of it had been run on Linux previously.<ref name=IEEEhistory>{{cite journal|last=Bader|first=David A.|journal=IEEE Annals of the History of Computing|title=Linux and Supercomputing: How My Passion for Building COTS Systems Led to an HPC Revolution|date=2021|volume=43|issue=3|pages=73–80|doi=10.1109/MAHC.2021.3101415|s2cid=237318907 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Using the successful prototype design, he led the development of "RoadRunner," the first Linux supercomputer for open use by the national science and engineering community via the National Science Foundation's National Technology Grid. RoadRunner was put into production use in April 1999. At the time of its deployment, it was considered one of the 100 fastest supercomputers in the world.<ref name=IEEEhistory/><ref name="AJRoadRunner">{{cite news|last=Fleck|first=John|title=UNM to crank up $400,000 supercomputer today|newspaper=[[Albuquerque Journal]]|date=April 8, 1999|page=D1}}</ref>  Though Linux-based clusters using consumer-grade parts, such as [[Beowulf cluster|Beowulf]], existed before the development of Bader's prototype and RoadRunner, they lacked the scalability, bandwidth, and [[parallel computing]] capabilities to be considered "true" supercomputers.<ref name=IEEEhistory/>

Today, supercomputers are still used by the governments of the world and educational institutions for computations such as simulations of natural disasters, genetic variant searches within a population relating to disease, and more. {{As of|2024|November}}, the fastest supercomputer is [[El Capitan (supercomputer)|El Capitan]].

==Navigation and astronomy==

Starting with known special cases, the calculation of logarithms and trigonometric functions can be performed by looking up numbers in a [[mathematical table]], and [[interpolation|interpolating]] between known cases.  For small enough differences, this linear operation was accurate enough for use in [[navigation]] and [[astronomy]] in the [[Age of Exploration]]. The uses of interpolation have thrived in the past 500 years: by the twentieth century [[Leslie Comrie]] and [[W.J. Eckert]] systematized the use of interpolation in tables of numbers for punch card calculation.

==Weather prediction==

The numerical solution of differential equations, notably the [[Navier-Stokes equations]] was an important stimulus to computing,
with [[Lewis Fry Richardson]]'s numerical approach to solving differential equations. The first computerized weather forecast was performed in 1950 by a team composed of American meteorologists [[Jule Charney]], [[Philip Duncan Thompson]], Larry Gates, and Norwegian meteorologist [[Ragnar Fjørtoft]], applied mathematician [[John von Neumann]], and [[ENIAC]] programmer [[Klara Dan von Neumann]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Charney |first1=J.G. |author-link1=Jule Gregory Charney |last2=Fjörtoft |first2=R. |author-link2=Ragnar Fjørtoft |last3=von Neumann |first3=J. |author-link3=John von Neumann |date=November 1950 |title=Numerical Integration of the Barotropic Vorticity Equation |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312394119 |journal=[[Tellus A|Tellus]] |volume=2 |issue=4 |pages=237–254|doi=10.3402/tellusa.v2i4.8607 |bibcode=1950Tell....2..237C |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Witman|first1=Sarah|title=Meet the Computer Scientist You Should Thank For Your Smartphone's Weather App|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/meet-computer-scientist-you-should-thank-your-phone-weather-app-180963716/|website=Smithsonian|access-date=22 July 2017|language=en|date=16 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Edwards|first=Paul N.|title=A Vast Machine: Computer Models, Climate Data, and the Politics of Global Warming|year=2010|publisher=The MIT Press|isbn=978-0262013925|url=https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/vast-machine|access-date=2020-01-15}}</ref> To this day, some of the most powerful computer systems on Earth are used for [[weather forecast]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=US Department of Commerce |first=NOAA |title=About Supercomputers |url=https://www.weather.gov/about/supercomputers |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=www.weather.gov |language=EN-US}}</ref>

==Symbolic computations==
{{Main|Computer algebra}}
By the late 1960s, computer systems could perform [[computer algebra|symbolic algebraic manipulation]]s well enough to pass college-level [[calculus]] courses.{{citation needed|date=February 2015}}

== Important women and their contributions ==

Women are often underrepresented in [[STEM fields]] when compared to their male counterparts.<ref>{{cite magazine
| first = Blanca
| last = Myers
| date = March 3, 2018
| url = https://www.wired.com/story/computer-science-graduates-diversity/
| title = Women and Minorities in Tech, By the Numbers
| magazine = [[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] }}</ref> In the modern era before the 1960s, computing was widely seen as "women's work" since it was associated with the operation of [[tabulating machines]] and other mechanical office work.<ref>
{{Cite book|first=Nathan|last=Ensmenger|year=2012|title=The Computer Boys Take Over|isbn=978-0-262-51796-6|page=38|publisher=MIT Press }}
</ref><ref>{{Cite book|first=Mar|last=Hicks|year=2017|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1089728009|title=Programmed inequality: how Britain discarded women technologists and lost its edge in computing|isbn=978-0-262-53518-2|oclc=1089728009|page=1|publisher=MIT Press }}
</ref> The accuracy of this association varied from place to place. In America, [[Margaret Hamilton (software engineer)|Margaret Hamilton]] recalled an environment dominated by men,<ref>{{cite web
| first = Jolene
| last = Creighton
| date = July 7, 2016
| url = https://futurism.com/margaret-hamilton-the-untold-story-of-the-woman-who-took-us-to-the-moon
| title = Margaret Hamilton: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Took Us to the Moon
| publisher = Futurism.com }}
</ref> while [[Elsie Shutt]] recalled surprise at seeing even half of the computer operators at Raytheon were men.<ref>{{cite web
| first = Clive
| last = Thompson
| date = February 13, 2019
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/13/magazine/women-coding-computer-programming.html
| title = The Secret History of Women in Coding
| work = [[New York Times]] }}
</ref> Machine operators in Britain were mostly women into the early 1970s.<ref>
{{harvnb|Hicks|2017|pp=215–216}}: "The Civil Service's computing workforce continued to bifurcate along both gendered and class lines, even though among machine operators in industry and government there were still more than 6.5 times as many women as men in 1971."
</ref> As these perceptions changed and computing became a high-status career, the field became more dominated by men.<ref>{{cite web
| first = Rhaina
| last = Cohen
| date = September 7, 2016
| url = https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/09/what-programmings-past-reveals-about-todays-gender-pay-gap/498797/
| title = What Programming's Past Reveals About Today's Gender Pay Gap
| publisher = [[The Atlantic]] }}
</ref><ref>
{{harvnb|Hicks|2017|pp=1–9}}: "In the 1940s, computer operation and programming was viewed as women's work—but by the 1960s, as computing gained prominence and influence, men displaced the thousands of women who had been pioneers in a feminized field of endeavor, and the field acquired a distinctly masculine image ... Soon, women became synonymous with office machine operators and their work became tied to typewriters, desktop accounting machines, and room-sized punched card equipment installations ... Their alignment with machine work in offices persisted through waves of equipment upgrades and eventually through the changeover from electromechanical to electronic systems."
</ref><ref>
{{harvnb|Ensmenger|2012|p=239}}: "Over the 1960s, developments in the computing professions were creating new barriers to female participation. An activity originally intended to be performed by low-status, clerical—and more often than not, female—computer programming was gradually and deliberately transformed into a high-status, scientific, and masculine discipline .... In 1965, for example, the Association for Computing Machinery imposed a four-year degree requirement for membership that, in an era when there were almost twice as many male as there were female college undergraduates, excluded significantly more women than men ... Similarly, certification programs or licensing requirements erected barriers to entry that disproportionately affected women."
</ref> Professor [[Janet Abbate]], in her book ''Recoding Gender'', writes:<blockquote>Yet women were a significant presence in the early decades of computing. They made up the majority of the first computer programmers during World War II; they held positions of responsibility and influence in the early computer industry; and they were employed in numbers that, while a small minority of the total, compared favorably with women's representation in many other areas of science and engineering. Some female programmers of the 1950s and 1960s would have scoffed at the notion that programming would ever be considered a masculine occupation, yet these women’s experiences and contributions were forgotten all too quickly.<ref>
{{Cite book|last=Abbate|first=Janet|author-link=Janet Abbate|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/813929041|title=Recoding gender : women's changing participation in computing|date=2012|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0-262-30546-4|location=Cambridge, Mass.|oclc=813929041|page=1}}
</ref></blockquote>

Some notable examples of women in the history of computing are:
* [[Ada Lovelace]]: wrote the addendum to Babbage's Analytical Machine. Detailing, in poetic style, the first computer algorithm; a description of exactly how The Analytical Machine should have worked based on its design.
* [[Grace Hopper|Grace Murray Hopper]]: a pioneer of computing. She worked alongside [[Howard H. Aiken]] on IBM's Mark I. Hopper and also came up with the term "[[debugging]]."
* [[Hedy Lamarr]]: invented a "[[frequency-hopping spread spectrum|frequency hopping]]" technology that the Navy used during World War II to control torpedoes via radio signals. This same technology is also used today in creating [[Bluetooth]] and [[Wi-Fi]] signals.
* [[Betty Holberton|Frances Elizabeth "Betty" Holberton]]: invented "[[breakpoint]]s" which are mini pauses<!--"mini pauses"? this should be rewritten--> put into lines of computer code to help programmers easily detect, troubleshoot, and solve problems.
*The women who originally programmed the [[ENIAC]]: [[Kathleen Antonelli|Kay McNulty]], [[Jean Bartik|Betty Jennings]], [[Marlyn Wescoff|Marlyn Meltzer]], [[Frances Spence|Fran Bilas]], [[Ruth Teitelbaum|Ruth Lichterman]], and Betty Holberton (see above.)
* [[Jean E. Sammet]]: co-designed [[COBOL]], a widely used programming language.
* [[Frances Allen]]: [[computer scientist]] and pioneer in the field of [[optimizing compiler]]s, first woman to win the [[Turing Award]].
* [[Karen Spärck Jones]]: responsible for "[[Tf–idf|inverse document frequency]]" - a concept that is most commonly used by search engines.
* [[Dana Angluin]]: made fundamental contributions to [[computational learning theory]].
* [[Margaret Hamilton (scientist)|Margaret Hamilton]]: the director of the Software Engineering Division at MIT, which developed on-board flight software for the [[Apollo space program|Apollo's]] Missions to Space.
* [[Barbara Liskov]]: developed the "[[Liskov substitution principle]]."
* [[Radia Perlman]]: invented the "[[Spanning Tree Protocol]]", a key network protocol used in [[Ethernet network]]s.
*[[Steve Shirley|Stephanie "Steve" Shirley]]: started [[F International]], a highly successful freelance software company.
*[[Sophie Wilson]]: helped design [[ARM architecture|ARM processor architecture]] widely used in many products such as smartphones and video games.
*[[Ann Hardy]]: pioneered computer [[time-sharing]] systems.
*[[Lynn Conway]]: revolutionised microchip design and production by co-introducing [[Very Large Scale Integration#Structured design|structured VLSI design]] among other inventions.
*The [[Women in Bletchley Park|women at Bletchley Park]]: around 8,000 women who worked in numerous capacities with British [[cryptanalysis]] during World War II. Many came from the [[Women's Royal Naval Service]] (who were called "wrens") as well as the [[Women's Auxiliary Air Force]] ("WAAFs.") They were instrumental in cracking the [[Cryptanalysis of the Enigma|"Enigma" cipher]] and helping the Allies win the war.

==See also==
* [[Algorithm]]
* [[Moore's law]]
* [[FLOPS#Hardware costs|Timeline of computing hardware costs]]
* [[Charles Babbage Institute]] - research center for history of computing at University of Minnesota
* [[:Category:Computing timelines|Computing timelines]] category
* [[History of computing in the Soviet Union]]
* [[History of computing in Poland]]
* [[History of computer hardware in Yugoslavia]]
* [[History of software]]
* [[IT History Society]]
* [[Lists of mathematicians]]
* [[List of pioneers in computer science]]
* [[Timeline of quantum computing and communication]]
* [[Timeline of computing 2020–present]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Works cited===
* {{cite journal| last = Randell| first = Brian| author-link = Brian Randell| title = From Analytical Engine to Electronic Digital Computer: The Contributions of Ludgate, Torres, and Bush| doi = 10.1109/MAHC.1982.10042| journal = [[Annals of the History of Computing]]| volume = 4| issue = 4| pages = 327–341| date = October–December 1982| s2cid = 1737953| url = https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=17c19ac9957e226649e8a465b36037270027aebf| access-date = 19 June 2023}}
* {{cite book |last=Bromley |first=Allan G. |contribution=Difference and Analytical Engines |title=Computing Before Computers |editor-first=William |editor-last=Aspray |publisher=Iowa State University Press |location=Ames |pages=59–98 |url=http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/CBC-Ch-02.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/CBC-Ch-02.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |date=1990 |isbn=978-0-8138-0047-9}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Yeo |first=ShinJoung |date=2023 |title=Behind the Search Box: Google and the Global Internet Industry |publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]] |isbn=978-0-252-05417-4 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/jj.4116455}}

==External links==
*[http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/ The History of Computing] by J.A.N. Lee
*[http://things-that-count.net/ "Things that Count: the rise and fall of calculators"]
*[http://www.thocp.net/ The History of Computing Project]
*[http://www.sigcis.org SIG on Computers, Information and Society of the Society for the History of Technology]
*[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/computing-history/ The Modern History of Computing]
*[http://www.davros.org/misc/chronology.html A Chronology of Digital Computing Machines (to 1952)] by Mark Brader
* [http://www.bitsavers.org/ Bitsavers], an effort to capture, salvage, and archive historical computer software and manuals from minicomputers and mainframes of the 1950s, 60s, 70s, and 80s
*{{cite web|url=https://www.sri.com/hoi/all-magnetic-logic-computer/|work=History of innovation|title=All-Magnetic Logic Computer|date=16 November 2021 |publisher=[[SRI International]]}} Developed at [[SRI International]] in 1961
*[https://trillian.randomstuff.org.uk/~stephen/history/ Stephen White's excellent computer history site] (the above article is a modified version of his work, [[WP:History of computing/Permission|used with permission]])
*[http://www.leningrad.su/museum/main.php Soviet Digital Electronics Museum] - a big collection of Soviet calculators, computers, computer mice and other devices
*[http://www.idsia.ch/~juergen/computerhistory.html Logarithmic timeline of greatest breakthroughs since start of computing era in 1623] by [[Jürgen Schmidhuber]], from "The New AI: General & Sound & Relevant for Physics, In B. Goertzel and C. Pennachin, eds.: ''Artificial General Intelligence'', p. 175-198, 2006."
*[https://history.computer.org/pubs/timeline.pdf IEEE Computer Society Timeline of Computing History]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090405054226/http://www.trailing-edge.com/~bobbemer/HISTORY.HTM Computer History] - a collection of articles by [[Bob Bemer]]
* [http://www.computerhistories.org/ Computer Histories] - An introductory course on the history of computing

===British history links===

*''[http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/CCS/res/res_home.htm Resurrection]'' Bulletin of the [[Computer Conservation Society]] (UK) 1990–2006
*[http://www.computer50.org/ ''The story of the Manchester Mark I''] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20120504133240/http://www.computer50.org/ archive]), 50th Anniversary website at the [[University of Manchester]]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170519075946/http://rahoc.com/ Richmond Arabian History of Computing Group] Linking the Gulf and Europe
*[https://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/search-resources/special-collections/guide-to-special-collections/a-to-z/collection/?match=History+of+Computing+Collection History of Computing Collection]; University of Manchester Library

{{History of technology}}

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[[Category:History of computing| ]]
[[Category:History of mathematics|Computing]]

[[bs:Historija računarstva]]
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