In 1834, Babbage proposed a more complex machine, his âanalytical engineâ. It used 50 digit numbers (50 cog wheels per number) on 2.5m diameter ring gears. Unlike his earlier designs it also had a memory system which could hold up to 1,000 numbers and, if constructed, would have been 150m long. Unlike his more limited âdifference engineâ, it could solve any computation problem.
Inspired by the patterns programmable by punched cards in Jacquardâs fabric loom of 1801, Babbage used punched cards to direct his machine. Ada Lovelace, now recognised as the worldâs first computer programmer, wrote of Babbageâs machine: âWe may say most aptly that the analytical engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard loom weaves flowers and leavesâ. He spent the rest of his life trying to raise funds for his invention, building a number of partial prototypes.