The earliest programmable machine (that is a machine whose behavior can be controlled by changes to a "program") was Al-Jazari's programmable humanoid robot in 1206. Al-Jazari's robot was originally a boat with four automatic musicians that floated on a lake to entertain guests at royal drinking parties.
In the 17 Century, the first calculating machines were invented by Wilhelm Schickard and Blaise Pascal (who created the "Pascaline" in 1642). These mechanical devices were remarkable creations but they could only perform specific calculations.
The Jacquard Loom, developed in 1801 invented by Joseph Marie Jacquard, is often quoted as a source of prior art. Herman Hollerith refined the machine and invented the Hollerith punched card, the card reader, and the key punch machine. In 1946, Konrad Zues, a German engineer, develops the world’s first programming language Plankalkul, while hiding in the Bavarian Alps waiting for the war end. The language has even tables and data structures. The language is however buried in some German archive.
In the US, a team of Harvard and IBM scientists led by Howard Aiken were also working on a programmable computer. This computer, called Mark I, was completed in 1944. The person who is credited with fully harnessing the power of this programmable computer is Captain Grace Murray Hopper.
In 1954 IBM begins the development of FORTRAN based on A-O. The root of this language is still used with mathematic expressions. The invention of the Von Neumann architecture allowed computer programs to be stored in computer memory.
In 1975, Bill Gates and Paul Allen write a version of BASIC which they sell to MITS. MITS produces 8080-based Altair-microcomputers.
Computer programming –the history
