Introduction to Computers - History

8/6/2019 Introduction to Computers - History

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RefPage01 Chapter1:IntroductiontoComputers Slide2/17

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In this chapter you will learn about:

Computer Dataprocessing Characteristicfeaturesof computers Computersevolutiontotheirpresentform Computergenerations Characteristicfeaturesofeachcomputergeneration


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Thewordcomputercomesfromthewordcompute,whichmeans,tocalculate

Thereby,acomputerisanelectronicdevicethatcanperformarithmeticoperationsathighspeed

Acomputerisalsocalledadataprocessorbecauseitcanstore,process,andretrievedatawheneverdesired


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Theactivity of processing data using a computer is calleddataprocessing

Data

CaptureData

ManipulateData

OutputResults

Information

Data is raw material used as input and information isprocessed data obtained as output of data processing


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1)Automatic: Given ajob, computer can work on itautomaticallywithouthumaninterventions

2)Speed: Computer can perform data processingjobsvery fast, usuallymeasured in microseconds (10-6),nanoseconds(10-9),andpicoseconds(10-12)

3)Accuracy:Accuracyofacomputer isconsistentlyhighandthedegreeofitsaccuracydependsuponitsdesign.Computererrors causeddue to incorrect inputdataorunreliableprogramsareoften referred toasGarbage-In-Garbage-Out(GIGO)

(Continued on next slide)


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CChhaarraacctteerriissttiiccssooffCCoommppuutteerrss(Continued from previous slide..)

4)Diligence:Computer is free frommonotony, tiredness,and lackof concentration. It can continuouslywork forhourswithoutcreatinganyerrorandwithoutgrumbling

5)Versatility: Computer is capable of performing almostanytask, ifthetaskcanbereducedtoafiniteseriesoflogicalsteps

6)Power of Remembering: Computer can store andrecall any amount of information because of itssecondarystoragecapability.Itforgetsor loosescertaininformationonlywhenitisaskedtodoso



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CChhaarraacctteerriissttiiccssooffCCoommppuutteerrss(Continued from previous slide..)

7)NoI.Q.: Acomputerdoesonlywhatitisprogrammedtodo.Itcannottakeitsowndecisioninthisregard

8)NoFeelings:Computersaredevoidofemotions.Theirjudgementisbasedontheinstructionsgiventotheminthe form of programs that arewritten by us (humanbeings)



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BlaisePascalinventedthefirstmechanicaladdingmachinein1642

BaronGottfriedWilhelmvonLeibnizinventedthefirstcalculatorformultiplicationin1671

KeyboardmachinesoriginatedintheUnitedStatesaround1880

Around1880,HermanHollerithcameupwiththeconceptofpunchedcardsthatwereextensivelyusedasinputmediauntillate1970s


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EEvvoolluuttiioonnooffCCoommppuutteerrss(Continued from previous slide..)

Charles Babbage is considered to be the father ofmoderndigitalcomputers

HedesignedDifferenceEnginein1822Hedesigned a fully automatic analytical engine in1842forperformingbasicarithmeticfunctions

His effortsestablished a numberofprinciples thatare fundamental to the design of any digitalcomputer



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TheMarkIComputer(1937-44) TheAtanasoff-BerryComputer(1939-42) TheENIAC(1943-46) TheEDVAC(1946-52) TheEDSAC(1947-49) ManchesterMarkI(1948) TheUNIVACI(1951)


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Generationincomputertalkisastep intechnology. Itprovidesaframeworkforthegrowthofcomputerindustry

Originally it was used to distinguish between varioushardware technologies,butnow ithasbeenextended toincludebothhardwareandsoftware

Tilltoday,therearefivecomputergenerations



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(Continued from previous slide..)

Generation(Period) Key hardwaretechnologies

Key software

technologiesKey

characteristicsSome

representativesystems

First

(1942-1955)Vacuum tubesElectromagnetic

relay memory

Punched cardssecondary storage

Machine andassemblylanguages

Stored programconcept

Mostly scientificapplications

Bulky in sizeHighly unreliableLimited commercial

use and costly

Difficult commercialproduction

Difficult to use

ENIACEDVACEDSACUNIVAC IIBM 701

Second

(1955-1964)TransistorsMagnetic cores

memory

Magnetic tapesDisks for secondary

storage

Batch operatingsystem

High-levelprogramminglanguages

Scientific andcommercialapplications

Faster, smaller, morereliable and easier toprogram than previousgeneration systems

Commercial productionwas still difficult andcostly

Honeywell 400IBM 7030CDC 1604UNIVAC LARC



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Key software

technologiesKey

characteristics Some rep.systemsThird

(1964-1975)ICswithSSIandMSItechnologies

Largermagneticcoresmemory

Largercapacitydisksandmagnetictapessecondarystorage

Minicomputers;upward

compatiblefamilyofcomputers

Timesharingoperating

system

Standardizationofhigh-levelprogramminglanguages

Unbundlingofsoftware fromhardware

Faster,smaller,morereliable,easierand

cheapertoproduce

Commercially,easiertouse,andeasiertoupgradethanpreviousgenerationsystems

Scientific,commercialandinteractiveon-

lineapplications

IBM360/370PDP-8PDP-11CDC6600



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Generation(Period) Key hardwareTechnologies

Key software

technologiesKey

characteristics Some rep.systemsFourth

(1975-1989)ICs with VLSI

technology

Microprocessors;semiconductor memory

Larger capacity harddisks as in-builtsecondary storage

Magnetic tapes andfloppy disks as portablestorage media

Personal computersSupercomputers based

on parallel vectorprocessing and

symmetricmultiprocessingtechnologies

Spread of high-speedcomputer networks

Operating systems forPCs with GUI andmultiple windows on asingle terminal screen

Multiprocessing OSwith concurrentprogramming

languages

UNIX operating systemwith C programminglanguage

Object-oriented designand programming

PC, Network-based, and

supercomputingapplications

Small, affordable,reliable, and easyto use PCs

More powerfuland reliable

mainframesystems andsupercomputers

Totally generalpurpose machines

Easier to producecommercially

Easier to upgradeRapid software

developmentpossible

IBM PC andits clones

Apple IITRS-80VAX 9000CRAY-1CRAY-2CRAY-X/MP



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Key software

technologiesKey

characteristics Some rep.systemsFifth

(1989-

Present)ICs with ULSI

technology

Larger capacitymain memory,hard disks with

RAID supportOptical disks as

portable read-onlystorage media

Notebooks,powerful desktopPCs andworkstations

Powerful servers,supercomputers

InternetCluster computing

Micro-kernel based,multithreading,distributed OS

Parallelprogramming

libraries like MPI &PVM

JAVAWorld Wide WebMultimedia,

Internetapplications

More complexsupercomputing

applications

Portable computersPowerful, cheaper,

reliable, and easierto use desktopmachines

Powerfulsupercomputers

High uptime due tohot-pluggablecomponents

Totally generalpurpose machines

Easier to producecommercially,

easier to upgrade

Rapid softwaredevelopmentpossible

IBM notebooksPentium PCsSUN

Workstations

IBM SP/2SGI Origin 2000PARAM 10000


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(a) A Vacuum Tube (b) A Transistor (c) An IC Chip


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Computer Computer generations Computer Supported Cooperative

Working (CSCW)

Data Data processing Data processor First-generation computers Fourth-generation computers Garbage-in-garbage-out (GIGO) Graphical User Interface (GUI) Groupware Information

Integrated Circuit (IC) Large Scale Integration (VLSI) Medium Scale Integration (MSI) Microprocessor Personal Computer (PC) Second-generation computers Small Scale Integration (SSI) Stored program concept Third-generation computers Transistor Ultra Large Scale Integration

(ULSI)

Vacuum tubes

Introduction to Computers - History

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