What is a computer and what is it now?

When the first computer appeared , no one can say for sure. Man has always tried to simplify and speed up the counting process, not guessing what a modern calculator will turn into. The wealth of the tribes grew, and the fingers on their hands were already insufficient for counting. In the course went pebbles and wands, with the help of which the initial mathematics, the decimal system of calculus , could have originated . Some time passed, and it was simply uncomfortable to wear so many stones and sticks. There was a question in improvement of calculations, and probably, also the "thought" about creation of the machine for counting was born. The ancient men puzzled over the way of calculating profits and accounting for goods, livestock, utensils.

So what is a computer? Of course, we need to get out of the modern computer's view and plunge into the depths of history and still consider what the calculator was in this or that era. After a decade, our children, perhaps, will name the last model of the "branded" laptop in 2012 - the "calculator" or "scores". Or even worse.

The first computing mechanism is "abacus", the grandparent of the Russian account. Usually, it was a board with lines, or grooves, on which pebbles were laid. There were special rules that allowed calculations to be made for addition and subtraction, and subsequently, multiplication.

Contribution to the development of this computer was introduced by the French scientist Gerber (950-1003). But, after the widespread prevalence of the decimal number system and the possibility of computing on a sheet of paper, the "abacus" has lost its former significance.

And again, returning to the question of what a computer is, the "abacus" somehow does not look much like the first computer. But he should not be taken away from accounts either - all the same, history.

The computational processes became more and more complicated and complicated. Banking developed, production required automation, the idea of creating a counting machine did not leave the minds of man. Around 1632, the German scientist Schickard assembled the first counting mechanism in history. Soon Blaise Pascal created an improved machine, which became the progenitor of an arithmometer.

So we came, probably, to the moment when the first computer appeared. Arithmometers were tightly fixed on the desks of accounting offices and various institutions, where they had to count a lot. He acted very simply. At the count inside the machine, two gears rotated, converting a dozen in any discharge to the next digit. Wilhelm Leibniz, the great philosopher and mathematician, who has made a great contribution to the development of science and the basics of computer technology, already "taught" to multiply and divide this machine.

The first computer can also be considered not as a mechanism for computing, but a loom, invented in 1804 by the French engineer Joseph Marie Jacquard. The mechanism was able to embroider complex patterns without human intervention, programming with special punched cards (the prototype of the first floppy disks), on which the necessary information is recorded.

But what is a computer, or what basic parameters should it have, probably, discovered to mankind by Charles Babbage, starting the assembly of a computer in 1834. Due to the requirements for accuracy and miniature details, the process did not progress very much, because in the courtyard the 19th century and technology are only at the development stage. In addition, Charles kept making changes and improvements, which, probably, prevented him from completing his offspring. He left behind detailed drawings and detailed comments, recorded by his collaborator, Ada Lovelace, which allowed to give a powerful impetus to the development of computers.

The Babbage computer had a data entry device, a storage device, like RAM, an arithmetic device for calculating, a control device, a device for outputting the result. And, most interestingly, all the downloaded programs for performing the actions of the Babbage computer performed from start to finish without the participation of a person and produced the final result in the form of a punched card encoded in a special language. Several programs were written by Ada, programming theory was born.

The modern computer has kept all the main parts of the Babbage computer. Only the use of transistors and semiconductors unlimitedly increased its productivity and ensured the convenience of use.

So the answer to the question "What is a computer?" Raises a huge layer of historical events and technical innovations that evolved from sea pebbles to superconductors.