In this "virtual laboratory" you will research a bit of the history of computer science. Your answers will be automatically delivered to me when you click the "Submit Answers" button below.

A helpful tip: if you're using a PC, your mouse probably has (at least) 2 buttons on it. When you click on a link using the left button, the new page opens up, and the page you were looking at before disappears. If you use the right button, though, the new page will open up in its own "window", so you can view the new page and the old page simultaneously. If you're using a Mac, you can do the same thing -- your mouse only has one button, though, so what you have to do is instead of just clicking, hold the button down for a second; a short menu should pop up and you can select "Open in New Window" (or something like that). You may find this helpful in looking for answers and typing them in to the spaces provided.

Another helpful tip: The information you type into the boxes will not be saved if you work on this at different times (and you may find that some sites are very busy at some times, so you may well be forced to work on this in a couple sessions). You have two options for dealing with this: you can work on it all at once, or you can write down your answers somewhere else as you get them, then, when you have all the answers, fill in the boxes and submit the form. PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT MORE THAN ONCE! I will only grade the FIRST submission I receive from each person.

Pre World War I

1. Blaise Pascal is considered one of the forerunners of computer science because of his invention of a machine called the Pascaline. (see picture).
   1. When did Pascal live?
   2. What was the purpose of the Pascaline?
      
      

2. In the early nineteenth century, Jacquard invented a special type of loom. What was special about Jacquard's loom?
   
   

3. Charles Babbage is known as the "Father of the Computer" for his development of the Difference Engine and his ideas for creating an Analytical Engine. How did Babbage envision the Analytical Engine?
   
   

4. Lady Ada Lovelace is known as the "first computer programmer".
   1. What type of programs did Lady Lovelace write?
      
      
      
   2. What was named after Lady Lovelace?
      
      

5. In 1884, Hollerith developed a punched card reader. For what purpose did Hollerith design his punched cards?
   
   

Towards Computers as we Know Them

1. Here you will find a very brief synopsis of Alan Turing's contributions. And at this site you will be able to read a short biography of him.
   1. Who introduced the idea of a stored-program digital computer (like the ones we use today?

   2. Who built the first operational computer?

   3. Who founded the field of Artificial Intellgience?

   4. How did Turing die?
      
      
      
      
   5. What factors in his personal life help explain this?
      
      

2. Most people (who are interested in the question) believe that the ENIAC (more on this shortly) was the first computer. Here is a discussion of why that may or not be true.
   1. Why might we argue that Turing had the first computer?
      
      
      
      
   2. So why, then, does von Neumann (with the ENIAC) get most of the popular credit?
      
      

3. Here is a "virtual exhibit" on the ENIAC.
   1. What motivated work on the ENIAC?
      
      
      
      
   2. How many vacuum tubes did the ENIAC contain?
      
      
   3. How much faster was the ENIAC than other devices that existed then?
      
      

4. At the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers timeline you will find answers to all these questions . . . and so much more.
   1. In 1945, the term "debugging" was first used. By whom?
      What did it mean?
      
      
      
      
   2. In 1954, John Backus began to develop a programming language that would allow uses to express the problems they were interested in solving in terms of commonly understood mathematical formulae. What was the name of this programming language?
      
      
   3. In 1957, IBM introduced a new memory system in the IBM 305 RAMAC. What was this new type of memory?
      
      
   4. In the early 1960's, the COBOL programming language was developed. What was the purpose of this language?
      
      
   5. In the late 1960's Ritchie and Thompson of Bell Laboratories developed an operating system. What was it called?
      
      
   6. The first commercially available microprocessor was developed in 1971 by which company?
      
      
   7. How large were the first floppy disks?
      
      
   8. The first mass produced personal computer was the MITS Altair 8800. How much did it cost?
      How much memory did it have?
      
      
   9. Which computer was developed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976?
      
      
   10. What was the name of the first spreadsheet program?
       
       
   11. When was the Winchester hard drive developed? By whom? What effect did it have?
       
       
   12. In 1981, IBM came out with the IBM PC. Which operating system did it use?

"The Modern Era"

1. The Intel Corporation, whatever we may think of them, has been crucially involved in the development of modern high-speed computing. Go to their Intel Hall of Fame site and surf around to answer these questions.
   1. When was the first microprocessor produced by Intel?
      
      
   2. What is the basic building block of a microprocessor?
      
      
   3. How many of these basic components were in Intel's first microprocessor?
      
      
   4. How many are in the Pentium 4 micro-processor (introduced in 2000)?
      
      
   5. We talked in class about how to measure the speed of a microprocessor. How many times faster (in terms of "clock speed" is the Pentium 4 than the first microprocessor?
      
      
   6. What does "Moore's Law" say? In what sense is it a "Law"?