In 1890, Herman Hollerith invented a "tabulating machine," which recorded data on punch cards.

In 1890, Herman Hollerith invented a "tabulating machine," which recorded data on punch cards.

In order to use the card you needed a punch, a tabulating machine and a sorting machine; there was no use of an actual computer.

The batch processing method was first used in the 19th century by Herman Hollerith, an American inventor who created the first tabulating machine.

In the image of the tabulator (see left), note the patch panel, which is visible on the right side of the tabulator.

Tabulator Bull BS 120 (electrical accounting machine) opened during its maintenace – BNP Paribas Historical Collections

At first, each tabulator was custom-built for a specific purpose (census, freight auditing, etc).

I used the arrow keys and the tabulator but I do not see the focus moving.

To process these punched cards he invented the tabulator, and the keypunch machines.