Electronic computers represent and process data through electronic signals and currents. These computers have evolved significantly over the past halfcentury. Today's computers are faster, smaller, more efficient, and more powerful than their room-sized predecessors.

Early Years

There are several opinions about the origin of the first electronic computer. Some believe the credit should go to the individual who provided the first written schematic for the electronic computer. Others credit the scientists who developed the first working model of a system. Many, however, credit the individuals who first patented the electronic computer.

The two earliest electronic computers were the ABC and the ENIAC. The Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC) was built at Iowa State University between 1937 and 1942 by John Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford Berry. The ABC—designed to produce solution sets for linear physics equations—performed parallel processing, separated memory and computing functions for calculations...