What is an analytical engine?

Analytical engine was a mechanical computer created by an English inventor and mathematician Charles Babbage in the mid -30s. Although Babbage has never created the whole machine, the analytical engine is generally considered to be the forerunner of a modern computer. He used stock card programming and had a processing unit for calculations and a short -term memory bank for storing work data.

Babbage was a professor of mathematics in Cambridge. When working with mathematical tables in 1812, Babbage came up with the idea of ​​a machine that could automatically make calculations. He first invented a differential module, which is now known as Different Engine No. 1.

The different engine was very specialized. It was designed to work only with polynomials. When the project stopped, Babbage decided to expand its focus and create a multi -purpose machine.

In 1839, he began to devote all his scientific idea to the development of an analytical engine. Babbage imagined from brass and afterHandled steam engine. The data was brought to the analytical engine using punch cards. Babbit borrowed the idea of ​​stocking cards from the textile industry, where they were used to program mechanical states. One type of mathematical operations entered by card, the other directed to the load and storage of actions and the third fed the numeric constants of the machine. The programming language was similar to the languages ​​of the assembly used a century later.

As soon as the data was entered, the analytical engine could solve equations by adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing and performing other computer functions. In the calculation, the analytical engine was able to use the scratchpad memory. It could store 1,000 numbers, each of which could be 50 digits at the top. After completing the calculations, the analytical engine could issue answers in a printed, stock card or graph. Could also create tanks that could be used laterfor the production of printing plates.

Modern computer scientists acknowledge that Babbage was preceded by its time. All parts of its analytical engine are reflected in modern computers. Like many visionaries, Babbage had trouble getting others to recognize their genius. The complete prototype was never built because Babbage could not raise funds. He created parts of the machine that will survive in museums. It took almost 100 years after the death of Babbage in 1871 before computers were built comparable to the analytical engine.