History of computing: Difference between revisions
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==Early Methods of Counting== | ==Early Methods of Counting== | ||
Before the arrival of ''mechanical'' or ''analogue'' computing, ancient civilizations | Before the arrival of ''mechanical'' or ''analogue'' computing, ancient civilizations required methods to quantify properties of their livelihoods. Circa 300 B.C., the Slamis Tablet<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ee.ryerson.ca:8080/~elf/abacus/history.html|title=The Abacus:A Brief History|accessdate=2007-04-24}}</ref>, discovered on the island of Salamis in 1846, was used by the Babylonians to track numbers in their society. | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 12:53, 24 April 2007
The earliest reference of the term computer comes from the French word of the same in 1631, derived from the Latin word computare meaning "to count, to sum up". The word is formed from the two roots com- "with", +putare "to reckon"(originally "to prune")[1].
Early Methods of Counting
Before the arrival of mechanical or analogue computing, ancient civilizations required methods to quantify properties of their livelihoods. Circa 300 B.C., the Slamis Tablet[2], discovered on the island of Salamis in 1846, was used by the Babylonians to track numbers in their society.
References
- ↑ "compute", Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved on 2007-04-24.
- ↑ The Abacus:A Brief History. Retrieved on 2007-04-24.