Inside the World of Computing

1From the Calculator to the Supercomputer

1.1. Introduction

As noted in the Preface of this book, almost everyone uses computers, often unknowingly, in both professional and personal activities. The first computers weighed tons and took up a lot of space, while consuming a lot of energy. Today, our mobile phones have several tiny, energy-efficient computers built into them.

The history of these machines, known to us as computers, is marked by a few major steps that we present in this chapter. Let us first look at the evolution of hardware; we will deal with computer networks and software in the chapters that follow.

1.2. Some important concepts

Before describing the main steps that precede the construction of the first computers, let us clarify a few concepts that are important in this history.

1.2.1. Information and data

The word “information” covers a wide variety of fields. For example, our five senses (sight, smell, taste, hearing and touch) transmit information to our brains that is essential to our lives and even our survival.

Native Americans exchanged more structured information (e.g. as a way of inviting people to a tribal gathering) by means of smoke signals. These signals were coded and communicated, but they could not be stored.

Today, the word “information” is predominantly used to refer to events such as those presented in journalism (written or digital press, television news, radio, etc.). For our purposes, we will use a narrower definition: information is ...