DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT (LSM)

TERM PAPER
OF
ELEMENTS OF I.T

TOPIC: CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTERS

SUBMITTED TO : SUBMITTED BY :
MR. NANDAN SHUJA QAMMER
REG NO: 10904442
ROLL NO: 03
SECTION: S1906
MBA (I.T)
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The most precious moments are those when we get an opportunity to remember
and thank everyone who has in some way or the other motivated and facilitated
us to achieve our goals.

First of all I thank to GOD ALMIGHTY ALLAH for giving me power to pen
down the term paper in its present shape. I thank the entire teaching staff
especially Mr. NANDAN for sharing his valuable knowledge with us & for
providing his able guidance and support. I also thank to my classmate who
every time helped me out and encouraged me for carrying out the task.

I fall short of words to thank my family, who stood beside me while completion
of my task.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

 INTRODUCTION

 HISTORY OF COMPUTERS

 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

 GENERATION OF COMPUTERS

 COMPUTER TASK

 CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTERS

 CONCLUSION

 BIBLIOGRAPHY
 INTRODUCTION
We are living in an information age dependent upon  digital information. Digital
information is electronic information, the result of  computer processing. Every
type of job relies upon getting information, using it, managing it, and relaying
information to others. Computers enable the efficient processing and storage of
information.
 
Do not think of a computer merely as the machine with the keyboard and the
mouse, although that might be true for some types of
computers. Embedded computers may be inside your household appliances, the
VCR, the automobile, planes, trains, power plants, water purification plants,
calculators, and even inside a few toys. These embedded computers are very
small. They affect our lives each day. Why, even modern traffic lights operate
with computers. They are all around us. Think of additional ways in which
computers affect our lives each day.

Computers are machines that perform tasks or calculations according to a set of instructions,
or programs. The first fully electronic computers, introduced in the 1940s, were huge
machines that required teams of people to operate. Compared to those early machines, today's
computers are amazing. Not only are they thousands of times faster, they can fit on your
desk, in your lap, or even in your pocket.
 HISTORY OF COMPUTERS

The abacus was an important counting machine in ancient Babylon, China, and
throughout Europe where it was used until the late middle ages. It was followed by a
series of improvements in mechanical counting machines that led up to the
development of accurate mechanical adding machines in the 1930’s. These machines
used a complicated assortment of gears and levers to perform the calculations but they
were far to slow to be of much use to scientists. A machine capable of making
decisions is called a computer.
The real beginnings of computers as we know them today, however, lay with
an English mathematics professor, Charles Babbage (1791-1871).

The first computer like machine was the Mark I developed by a team from
IBM and Harvard University. It used mechanical telephone relays to store
information and it processed data entered on punch cards. This machine was not a
true computer since it could not make decisions.

In June 1943, work began on the world's first electronic computer. It was built
at the University of Pennsylvania as a secret military project during World War II and
was to be used to calculate the trajectory of artillery shells. It covered 1500 square
feet and weighed 30 tons. This machine was a vast improvement over the mechanical
calculating machines of the past because it used vacuum tubes instead of relay
switches. It contained over 17,000 of these tubes, which were the same type tubes
used in radios at that time.

The invention of the transistor made smaller and less expensive computers
possible. Although computers shrank in size, they were still huge by today’s
standards. Another innovation to computers in the 60’s was storing data on tape
instead of punch cards. This gave computers the ability to store and retrieve data
quickly and reliably.
 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

 To analysis different generation of computers

 To analysis classification of computers
 To analysis task of computer.

RESEARCH METODOLOGY

I have used secondary source of data in my said study that includes journals, research
papers, websites of computer sectors. More over I have searched websites of different private
computer industries.
 GENERATION OF COMPUTERS

First generation – Vacuum Tubes

ABACUS
The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and
were often enormous, taking up entire rooms. They were very expensive to operate and in
addition to using a great deal of electricity, generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause
of malfunctions. First generation computers relied on machine language to perform
operations, and they could only solve one problem at a time. Input was based on punched
cards and paper tape, and output was displayed on printouts.

The UNIVAC and ENIAC computers are examples of first-generation computing devices.
The UNIVAC was the first commercial computer delivered to a business client, the U.S.
Census Bureau in 1951.

Second Generation - 1956-1963: Transistors

 Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and ushered in the second generation of computers.
The transistor was invented in 1947 but did not see widespread use in computers until the late
50s. The transistor was far superior to the vacuum tube, allowing computers to become
smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient and more reliable than their first-generation
predecessors. Though the transistor still generated a great deal of heat that subjected the
computer to damage, it was a vast improvement over the vacuum tube. Second-generation
computers still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for output.

Second-generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine language to symbolic, or

assembly, languages, which allowed programmers to specify instructions in words. High-
level programming languages were also being developed at this time, such as early versions
of COBOL and FORTRAN. These were also the first computers that stored their instructions
in their memory, which moved from a magnetic drum to magnetic core technology.

Third Generation - 1964-1971: Integrated Circuits

 The development of the integrated circuit was the hallmark of the third generation
of computers. Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips, called
semiconductors, which drastically increased the speed and efficiency of computers.

Instead of punched cards and printouts, users interacted with third generation computers
through keyboards and monitors and interfaced with an operating system, which allowed the
device to run many different applications at one time with a central program that monitored
the memory. Computers for the first time became accessible to a mass audience because they
were smaller and cheaper than their predecessors.

Fourth Generation - 1971-Present: Microprocessors

The microprocessor brought the fourth generation of computers, as thousands of integrated
circuits were built onto a single silicon chip. What in the first generation filled an entire room
could now fit in the palm of the hand. The Intel 4004 chip, developed in 1971, located all the
components of the computer - from the central processing unit and memory to input/output
controls - on a single chip.

In 1981 IBM introduced its first computer for the home user, and in 1984 Apple introduced
the Macintosh. Microprocessors also moved out of the realm of desktop computers and into
many areas of life as more and more everyday products began to use microprocessors.

As these small computers became more powerful, they could be linked together to form
networks, which eventually led to the development of the Internet. Fourth generation
computers also saw the development of GUIs, the mouse and handheld devices.

Fifth Generation - Present and Beyond: Artificial Intelligence

Fifth generation computing devices, based on

artificial intelligence, are still in development, though there are some applications, such as
voice recognition, that are being used today. The use of parallel processing and
superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a reality. Quantum computation and
molecular and nanotechnology will radically change the face of computers in years to come.
The goal of fifth-generation computing is to develop devices that respond to natural language
input and are capable of learn The Fifth Generation Computer Systems project (FGCS) was
an initiative by Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry, begun in 1982, to create
a "fifth generation computer" (see history of computing hardware) which was supposed to
perform much calculation utilizing massive parallelism. It was to be the end result of a
massive government/industry research project in Japan during the 1980s. It aimed to create an
"epoch-making computer" with supercomputer-like performance and usable artificial
intelligence capabilities.

The term FIFTH GENERATION was intended to convey the system as being a leap beyond
existing machines. Computers using vacuum tubes were called the first generation; transistors
and diodes, the second; ICs, the third; and those using microprocessors, the fourth. Whereas
previous computer generations had focused on increasing the number of logic elements in a
single CPU, the fifth generation, it was widely believed at the time, would instead turn to
massive numbers of CPUs for added performance and self-organization.

Computer Tasks
Input

Storage

Processing

Output

When a computer is asked to do a job, it handles the task in a very special way.

1. It accepts the information from the user. This is called input.

2. It stored the information until it is ready for use. The computer has memory chips, which
are designed to hold information until it is needed.
3. It processes the information. The computer has an electronic brain called the Central
Processing Unit, which is responsible for processing all data and instructions given to the
computer.
4. It then returns the processed information to the user. This is called output.

Every computer has special parts to do each of the jobs listed above. Whether it is a
multimillion dollar mainframe or a thousand dollar personal computer, it has the following
four components, Input, Memory, Central Processing, and Output.

The central processing unit (CPU) is the electronic brain of the computer. The CPU in a
personal computer is usually a single chip. It organizes and carries out instructions that come
from either the user or from the software. The processor is made up of many components,
but two of them are worth mentioning at this point. These are the arithmetic and logic unit
and the control unit. The control unit controls the electronic flow of information around the
computer. The arithmetic and logic unit, ALU, is responsible for mathematical calculations
and logical comparisons.

The processor is plugged into the computer’s motherboard. The motherboard is a rigid
rectangular card containing the circuitry that connects the processor and all the other
components that make up your personal computer. In most personal computers, some of the
components are attached directly to the motherboard and some are housed on their own small
circuit boards that plug into the expansion slots built into the motherboard.
 CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTERS

 Micro computers
 Mini computers
 Mainframe Computers
 Super computers.

MICRO COMPUTERS

Microcomputers are the types of computers we are using in your classes at Floyd College.
These computers are usually divided into desktop models and laptop models. They are
terribly limited in what they can do when compared to the larger models like mini computers
etc. because they can only be used by one person at a time, they are much slower than the
larger computers, and they cannot store nearly as much information, but they are excellent
when used in small businesses, homes, and school classrooms. These computers are
inexpensive and easy to use. They have become an indispensable part of modern life. They
are as follows:

 PC - The personal computer (PC) defines a computer designed for general

use by a single person. While a Mac is a PC, most people relate the term
with systems that run the Windows operating system. PCs were first known
as microcomputers because they were a complete computer but built on a
smaller scale than the huge systems in use by most businesses.
 Desktop - A PC that is not designed for portability. The expectations with
desktop systems are that you will set the computer up in a permanent
location. Most desktops offer more power, storage and versatility for less
cost than their portable brethren.
 Laptop - Also called notebooks, laptops are portable computers that
integrate the display, keyboard, a pointing device or trackball, processor,
memory and hard drive all in a battery-operated package slightly larger than
an average hardcover book.

 Palmtop - More commonly known as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs),

palmtops are tightly integrated computers that often use flash memory
instead of a hard drive for storage. These computers usually do not have
keyboards but rely on touch screen technology for user input. Palmtops are
typically smaller than a paperback novel, very lightweight with a reasonable
 battery life. A slightly larger and heavier version of the palmtop is the
handheld computer.

MINI COMPUTERS

Minicomputers are much smaller than mainframe computers and they are also much less
expensive. The cost of these computers can vary from a few thousand dollars to several
hundred thousand dollars. They possess most of the features found on mainframe computers,
but on a more limited scale. They can still have many terminals, but not as many as the
mainframes. They can store a tremendous amount of information, but again usually not as
much as the mainframe. Medium and small businesses typically use these computers.
Minicomputers are introduced in the early 1960s and announced a new era in computing.
They are relatively low cost and small. This setup allowed more people to have access to
computers and as a result a splurt of new applications in universities, industry, and commerce
are created. Digital Equipment Corporation developed the PDP-1 minicomputer in 1960.
MAINFRMAE COMPUTERS
Mainframe computers are very large, often filling an entire room. They can store enormous
of information, can perform many tasks at the same time, can communicate with many users
at the same time, and are very expensive. . The price of a mainframe computer frequently
runs into the millions of dollars. Mainframe computers usually have many terminals
connected to them. These terminals look like small computers but they are only devices used
to send and receive information from the actual computer using wires. Terminals can be
located in the same room with the mainframe computer, but they can also be in different
rooms, buildings, or cities. Large businesses, government agencies, and universities usually
use this type of computer. Another term rarely used anymore, minicomputers fall in between
microcomputers (PCs) and mainframes (enterprise servers). Minicomputers are normally
referred to as mid-range servers now.
SUPER COMOUTERS

Supercomputers, just like any other typical computer, have two basic parts. The first one is
the CPU which executes the commands it needs to do. The other one is the memory
which stores data. The only difference between an ordinary computer and supercomputers is
that supercomputers have their CPUs opened at faster speeds than standard computers. This
certain length of time determines the exact speed that a CPU can work. By using complex
and state-of-the-art materials being connected as circuits,supercomputer
designers optimize the functions of the machine. They also try to have smaller length of
circuits connected as possible in order for the information from the memory reach the CPU at
a lesser time.

Supercomputers have been designed to do complex calculations at faster speeds than other
computers. Its designers make use of 2 processes for the enhancement of its performance.The
first method is called pipelining.It does complex operations at the same time by grouping
numbers which have the same order that it calculates and these are passed to the CPU in an
orderly manner. The circuits in the CPU continuously perform the operations while data is
being entered into it.

Another method used is called parallelism. It does calculations in a similar than orderly way.
This is where it performs various data’s at the same time and moves ahead step by step. A
usual way to do it is connecting together various CPUs which does calculations together.
Each of these CPUs do the commands it needs to carry out on every piece of information.

All supercomputers make use of parallelism or pipelining separately or even combine them to
enhance its processing speed. However, an increased demand for calculation machines
brought upon the creation of the (MPP)massively-parallel processing supercomputers. It
consists of various machines connected together to attain a high level of parallelism.The best
known supercomputers are built by Cray Supercomputers.

IBM’S ROADRUNNER is the latest supercomputer.

CRAY SUPERCOMPUTER

IBM’S ROADRUNNER SUPER COMPUTER

 CONCLUSION

Computers are an essential feature of most instrumentation systems because of their ability to
supervise the collection of data and allow information to be processed, stored, and displayed.
Many modern instruments are capable of providing a remote user with access to
measurement information via standard Computer networks.
Each generation of computer is characterized by a major technological development that
fundamentally changed the way computers operate, resulting in increasingly smaller, cheaper,
more powerful and more efficient and reliable devices.
Nothing epitomizes modern life better than the computer. For better or worse, computers
have infiltrated every aspect of our society. Today computers do much more than simply
compute: supermarket scanners calculate our grocery bill while keeping store inventory;
computerized telephone switching centres play traffic cop to millions of calls and keep lines
of communication untangled; and automatic teller machines (ATM) let us conduct banking
transactions from virtually anywhere in the world.
 BIBLOGRAPHY

PEARSON’S INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

http://echelonathome.com/craymuseum.

http://www.computersciencelab.com/ComputerHistory/HtmlHelp

http://www.essortment.com/all/supercomputersw_ppk.htm

http://www.thocp.net/hardware/mini_computers.htm

http://www.hitmill.com/computers/intro.html

http://www.computerdepot-online.com/acatalog/AP23-B5KLW-BK.jpg

http://ezinearticles.com/?id=16128

http://www.free-computer-tips.info/tutorials/computer-hardware

http://www.crews.org/curriculum/ex/compsci/articles/generations.htm

http://inventors.about.com/library/blcoindex.htm

http://www.couponsaver.or/get-the-best-value-on-laptop-and-desktop-computers-with-lenovo-
ecoupon-codes-35.jpg