From Looms to Tabulating Machines: Evolution of Early Computational Devices

This chapter traces the historical progression of computational devices from Basile Bichon's loom in 1725 to the Holworth electrical tabulating machine of the 1890 US Census, illustrating how punch cards were used as rudimentary program storage systems. It explores the development of complex patterns with the Jacquard loom and the significance of Holworth cards in the history of punch cards, detailing their data layout and the limited computing power of tabulating machines.