Computer

Significant Events in Computer Programming History

By JGivan

  • First Mechanical Computer

    First Mechanical Computer
    Charles Babbage conceptualizes he first mechanical computer and creates a small scale prototype. Unfortunately, due to a combination of lack of interest and understand, the device is never created full-scale. Source

  • Birth of the Modern Computer

    Birth of the Modern Computer
    Unlike its predecessors (or current competition, the Z1) the Turing Machine (created by Alan Turing) functioned by following a long series of logical instructions, the same way modern computers do. This served as the inspiration for the way modern computers work. Like the Z1, the exact date of the Turing Machine's creation is unclear. a href='https://www.wolframscience.com/prizes/tm23/turingmachine.html' >Source</a>

  • First Programmable Computer

    First Programmable Computer
    Konrad Zuse creates the Z1, a computer of monstrous size that had the ability to take input from a punched tape. It was binary electrically driven and very limited in use, but it was still a revolutionary step forward in computer history. The exact date the Z1 was constructed is unknown, but it is sometime within 1938. Source

  • Computers Used for War

    The Colossus, created by Tommy Flowers, was first demonstrated as being functional in December 1943 and first used on the fifth of February, 1944. It was the world's first programmable electric computer and its purpose was to assist in cracking encrypted German messages. Source

  • IBM 701

    The IBM 701 is first released and a total of 19 are sold to the public. Source

  • Emergence of COBOL

    COBOL, an immensely popular programming language that is still common today, is released and used for the first time. Source

  • The First Computer Game

    The first (debatable) computer game is released: Spacewar Computer Game. Source

  • Word Processors

    The first word processor is released by IBM. Source

  • Floppy Disks Emerge

    The first floppy disk is created by IBM. Source

  • The First Commercial Video Game

    The first commercial video game, named Pong, is released by Atari. Source

  • Portable Computers

    At some point in 1975, Altair released the first portable computer, a drastic change from the massive groundlocked computers of the past. Source

  • WordPerfect

    WordPerfect Corporation releases their own word processing software known as WordPerfect 1.0. Source

  • The World Wide Web

    Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Caillaiu together propose a new hypertext system, starting the modern internet. Source

  • WWW Consortium

    The World Wide Web Consortium is established to help with the development of common protocols. Source

  • Java

    Java, a powerhouse programming language, makes its debut. Source