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1、ABriefHistoryofComputersandNetworksWebster'sDictionarydefines"computer"asanyprogrammableelectronicdevicethatcanstore,retrieve,andprocessdata.Thebasicideaofcomputingdevelopsinthe1200'swhenaMoslemclericproposessolvingproblemswithaseriesofwrittenprocedures.Asearlyasthe1640'
2、smechanicalcalculatorsaremanufacturedforsale.Recordsexistofearliermachines,butBlaisePascalinventsthefirstcommercialcalculator,ahandpoweredaddingmachine.AlthoughattemptstomultiplymechanicallyweremadebyGottfriedLiebnitzinthe1670sthefirsttruemultiplyingcalculatorappearsinGe
3、rmanyshortlybeforetheAmericanRevolution.In1801aFrenchman,Joseph-MarieJacquardbuildsaloomthatweavesbyreadingpunchedholesstoredonsmallsheetsofhardwood.Theseplatesaretheninsertedintotheloomwhichreads(retrieves)thepatternandcreates(process)theweave.Poweredbywater,this"machin
4、e"came140yearsbeforethedevelopmentofthemoderncomputer.AdaLovelaceShortlyafterthefirstmass-producedcalculator(1820),CharlesBabbagebeginshislifelongquestforaprogrammablemachine.AlthoughBabbagewasapoorcommunicatorandrecord-keeper,hisdifferenceengineissufficientlydevelopedby
5、1842thatAdaLovelaceusesittomechanicallytranslateashortwrittenwork.Sheisgenerallyregardedasthefirstprogrammer.TwelveyearslaterGeorgeBoole,whileprofessorofMathematicsatCorkUniversity,writesAnInvestigationoftheLawsofThought(1854),andisgenerallyrecognizedasthefatherofcompute
6、rscience.The1890censusistabulatedonpunchcardssimilartotheonesused90yearsearliertocreateweaves.DevelopedbyHermanHollerithofMIT,thesystemuseselectricpower(non-mechanical).TheHollerithTabulatingCompanyisaforerunneroftoday'sIBM.JustpriortotheintroductionofHollerith'smachinet
7、hefirstprintingcalculatorisintroduced.In1892WilliamBurroughs,asicklyex-teller,introducesacommerciallysuccessfulprintingcalculator.Althoughhand-powered,Burroughsquicklyintroducesanelectronicmodel.In1925,unawareoftheworkofCharlesBabbage,VannevarBushofMITbuildsamachinehecal
8、lsthedifferentialanalyzer.Usingasetofgearsandshafts,muchlikeBabbage,themachinecanhandlesimplecalculuspr
