What was the first digital computer?

The identity of the first digital computer is the topic that has been discussed, both in terms of facts and by definition. The closest thing to the official response is Atanasoff-Berry or ABC, which was announced by the first electronic digital computer in 1973 court proceedings. It was not a programmable computer, which means it does not fall into the category of what most people would call a computer today.

To qualify as the first digital computer, the machine would have to meet two definitions. A computer is a machine that can perform a number of operations, whether mathematical or logical. A digital computer is a computer that uses numeric values ​​for its operations, usually through a binary code that expresses all data via 0 or 1. On the other hand, the analog computer uses a physical property. Examples include a slide rule or machine that uses water flow to simulate money flow in the economy.

from a legal point of view two machines have been entitled to Be the first digital computer. One of them was the electronic numerical integrator and computer, or ENIAC, which was built between 1943 and 1946. It was used to calculate the projectile missiles for the United States Army.

The second applicant was the computer atanasoff-Berry, built between 1937 and 1942 at Iowa State College. It was not widely promoted, which led to the common belief that Eniac was the first and enabled the creators of Enica to pull the patent. In 1973, this patent was considered an invalid US district court. This decision officially recorded ABC as the first electronic digital computer.

However, it can be said that ABC was not a real computer. This is because it was not programmable, which means that it could only perform one set of functions, rather like a pocket calculator. The first known programmable computer was Z3, produced by German engineer Konrad Zuse V1941. HoweverAgain, there was no digital computer; He used electromechanics in the form of magnetic switches.

The first digital computer, which was fundamentally the same in the concept as modern machines, was in 1948 an experimental machine in Manchester, which was completed in Manchester, England. It allowed users to enter a new program, albeit very slow. The Manchester machine was a purely experiment that showed this concept. A year later, the automatic electronic delay calculator in England became the first programmable computer used for commercial purposes.