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Abacus—First Calculating Device

                  The first step towards computing was the invention of the Abacus
                  around 3000 years ago in China. It is a wooden frame with beads
                  on parallel wires which can do simple calculations like addition and
                  subtraction. This device is used to calculate numbers at a fast speed.


                                                                                                          Abacus


                      Info Byte

                      Abacus is also used in schools as an aid in teaching the number system.




                  Pascaline Adding Machine

                  In  1642,  a  mathematician,  Blaise  Pascal
                  invented  the  calculating  machine  called
                  the  Pascaline adding machine.  The

                  numbers were  fed into the machine by
                  dialling them  on the wheels. This  device
                  is  believed to be the  first  mechanical
                  calculator in the world. This machine was
                  capable of performing only addition and                        Pascaline             Blaise Pascal
                  subtraction.



                  Leibniz Step Reckoner
                  In 1672, a mathematician, Gottfried Wilhelm

                  Leibniz invented  the digital mechanical
                  calculator  called ‘Step  Reckoner’. It was the
                  first calculator that  could  perform  all four
                  arithmetic operations, i.e., addition, subtraction,
                  multiplication and division.                                        Leibniz Step Reckoner



                  Difference Engine and Analytical Engine

                  In 1822,  Charles  Babbage, a mathematician, developed a
                  steam-driven calculating machine called the  Difference

                  Engine. It was so enormous that it was the size of a room. But
                  even after working on this project for 10 years, this machine
                  never became a reality.
                                                                                              Charles Babbage




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