<s>
Electronic	B-Application
data	I-Application
processing	I-Application
(	O
EDP	O
)	O
can	O
refer	O
to	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
automated	O
methods	O
to	O
process	O
commercial	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
modifier	O
"	O
electronic	O
"	O
or	O
"	O
automatic	O
"	O
was	O
used	O
with	O
"	O
data	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
"	O
(	O
DP	O
)	O
,	O
especially	O
c	O
.	O
1960	O
,	O
to	O
distinguish	O
human	O
clerical	O
data	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
from	O
that	O
done	O
by	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Herman	O
Hollerith	O
then	O
at	O
the	O
U.S.	O
Census	O
Bureau	O
devised	O
a	O
tabulating	O
system	O
that	O
included	O
cards	O
(	O
Hollerith	B-Architecture
card	I-Architecture
,	I-Architecture
later	I-Architecture
Punched	I-Architecture
card	I-Architecture
)	O
,	O
a	O
punch	O
for	O
holes	O
in	O
them	O
representing	O
data	O
,	O
a	O
tabulator	O
and	O
a	O
sorter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
first	O
commercial	O
electronic	B-Application
data	I-Application
processing	I-Application
Hollerith	O
machines	O
were	O
used	O
to	O
compile	O
the	O
data	O
accumulated	O
in	O
the	O
1890	O
U.S.	O
Census	O
of	O
population	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
punch-card	B-Architecture
and	O
tabulation	O
machine	O
business	O
remained	O
the	O
core	O
of	O
electronic	B-Application
data	I-Application
processing	I-Application
until	O
the	O
advent	O
of	O
electronic	O
computing	O
in	O
the	O
1950s	O
(	O
which	O
then	O
still	O
rested	O
on	O
punch	B-Architecture
cards	I-Architecture
for	O
storing	O
information	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
'	O
Lyons	B-Device
Electronic	I-Device
Office	I-Device
 '	O
–	O
or	O
LEO	B-Device
for	O
short	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
Lyons	O
formed	O
a	O
separate	O
company	O
to	O
develop	O
the	O
LEO	B-Device
computers	I-Device
and	O
this	O
subsequently	O
merged	O
to	O
form	O
English	B-Device
Electric	I-Device
Leo	I-Device
Marconi	I-Device
and	O
then	O
International	O
Computers	O
Limited	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
1950s	O
punched	B-Architecture
card	I-Architecture
manufacturers	O
,	O
Hollerith	O
,	O
Powers-Samas	O
,	O
IBM	O
and	O
others	O
,	O
were	O
also	O
marketing	O
an	O
array	O
of	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
High	O
hardware	O
costs	O
and	O
relatively	O
slow	O
processing	O
speeds	O
forced	O
developers	B-Application
to	O
use	O
resources	O
'	O
efficiently	O
 '	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Data	B-General_Concept
storage	I-General_Concept
formats	O
were	O
heavily	O
compacted	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
common	O
example	O
is	O
the	O
removal	O
of	O
the	O
century	O
from	O
dates	O
,	O
which	O
eventually	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
'	O
millennium	B-Error_Name
bug	I-Error_Name
 '	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Data	O
input	O
required	O
intermediate	O
processing	O
via	O
punched	O
paper	O
tape	O
or	O
punched	B-Architecture
card	I-Architecture
and	O
separate	O
input	O
to	O
a	O
repetitive	O
,	O
labor-intensive	O
task	O
,	O
removed	O
from	O
user	O
control	O
and	O
error-prone	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Data	B-General_Concept
storage	I-General_Concept
was	O
strictly	O
serial	O
on	O
paper	O
tape	O
,	O
and	O
then	O
later	O
to	O
magnetic	O
tape	O
:	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
data	B-General_Concept
storage	I-General_Concept
within	O
readily	O
accessible	O
memory	O
was	O
not	O
cost-effective	O
until	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drives	I-Device
were	O
first	O
invented	O
and	O
began	O
shipping	O
in	O
1957	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Significant	O
developments	O
took	O
place	O
in	O
1959	O
with	O
IBM	O
announcing	O
the	O
1401	B-Device
computer	I-Device
and	O
in	O
1962	O
with	O
ICT	O
(	O
International	O
Computers	O
&	O
Tabulators	O
)	O
making	O
delivery	O
of	O
the	O
ICT	B-Device
1301	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Often	O
parts	O
of	O
the	O
punched	B-Architecture
card	I-Architecture
installation	O
,	O
in	O
particular	O
sorters	O
,	O
were	O
retained	O
to	O
present	O
the	O
card	O
input	O
to	O
the	O
computer	O
in	O
a	O
pre-sort	O
form	O
that	O
reduced	O
the	O
processing	O
time	O
involved	O
in	O
sorting	O
large	O
amounts	O
of	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Data	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
facilities	O
became	O
available	O
to	O
smaller	O
organizations	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
the	O
computer	B-General_Concept
services	I-General_Concept
bureau	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Systems	O
analysts	O
produced	O
a	O
systems	O
specification	O
and	O
programmers	B-Application
translated	O
the	O
specification	O
into	O
machine	B-Language
language	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
UK	O
Accountancy	O
Body	O
now	O
named	O
The	O
Association	O
of	O
Chartered	O
Certified	O
Accountants	O
formed	O
an	O
Electronic	B-Application
Data	I-Application
Processing	I-Application
Committee	O
in	O
July	O
1958	O
with	O
the	O
purpose	O
of	O
informing	O
its	O
members	O
of	O
the	O
opportunities	O
created	O
by	O
the	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Progressive	O
organizations	O
attempted	O
to	O
go	O
beyond	O
the	O
straight	O
systems	O
transfer	O
from	O
punched	B-Architecture
card	I-Architecture
equipment	O
and	O
unit	O
accounting	O
machines	O
to	O
the	O
computer	O
,	O
to	O
producing	O
accounts	O
to	O
the	O
trial	O
balance	O
stage	O
and	O
integrated	O
management	O
information	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
LEO	B-Device
was	O
hardware	O
tailored	O
for	O
a	O
single	O
client	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Today	O
,	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
Pentium	I-General_Concept
and	O
compatible	O
chips	O
are	O
standard	O
and	O
become	O
parts	O
of	O
other	O
components	O
which	O
are	O
combined	O
as	O
needed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Apart	O
from	O
products	O
such	O
as	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Office	I-Application
and	O
IBM	O
Lotus	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
also	O
specialist	O
packages	O
for	O
payroll	O
and	O
personnel	O
management	O
,	O
account	O
maintenance	O
and	O
customer	O
management	O
,	O
to	O
name	O
a	O
few	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Data	B-General_Concept
storage	I-General_Concept
has	O
also	O
been	O
standardized	O
.	O
</s>
