IBM 602

The IBM 602 Calculating Punch, introduced in 1946, was an electromechanical calculating punch manufactured by IBM. It was a significant step in the transition from purely mechanical calculators to electronic computers. The 602 was capable of performing arithmetic operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division by using wired control panels. It read data from punched cards, performed calculations based on the wiring of the control panel, and then punched the results onto the same or a different card. The 602's programmable nature, achieved through the control panel, allowed it to perform a variety of calculations, making it a valuable tool for business and scientific applications before the widespread adoption of electronic computers. It was an improvement over earlier calculating punches by offering greater flexibility and speed, contributing to the mechanization and automation of data processing tasks. While not a computer in the modern sense, the IBM 602 foreshadowed the development of programmable computing devices.