Computer was initially a term applied to a person who performed mechanical and mathematical calculations. Soon enough, mechanical devices that made calculations easier were developed. Engineering and mathematics saw a significant rise in popularity in Europe by the Middle Ages when clockwork was first invented in the seventeenth century.
This advancement in technology also gave rise to valves and punched cards that went on to be used in the first model of the computer. Designed by Charles Babbage in 1837, this programmable computer was later developed and used in the early twentieth century for complex and scientific computing processes.
With the introduction of digital computers, analog computers soon became obsolete. Atanasoff Berry was the first digital computer model that used a binary system for processing. This computer included features like parallel processing, regenerative memory, and separate components for computing and memory. The model also made use of electronic circuits and binary mathematics and both are used in modern computers.
Efficient and more advanced computers were developed continuously over the next few decades. By the 1940's computers possessed the main features that are still present in modern computers i.e. flexible programming and the use of digital electronics.
ENIAC is one of the most revolutionary machines that adopted advanced techniques and is considered to be the foundation for all derivative modern computers today. However, the size of the machine was too large to be moved easily. The remaining advancements through the 1950s mainly focused on building faster computers that were compact and portable. By the 1970s, personal computers were made faster, more accessible and affordable. | 
