CHAPTER 1

lritrQduction
' 4*:;PS S;fSt.t;.< " ,, 5 :T': :c 'Ii

The word "computer" comes from ' the word "compute", which means, "to calculate". Hence, people usually
consider a computer to be a calculating device that can perform arithmetic operations at high speed. Although the
original objective of inventing-a computer was to create a fast calculating device, we now define a computer as a
device that operates upon data because more than 80% of work done by today's computers is data processing.
Data can be anything like bio-data_of applicants when computer is used for short listing candidates for recruiting;
marks obtained by students in vario1:1s subjects when used for preparing results; details (name, age, sex, etc.) of
passengers when used for making airline or railway reservations; or'number of different parameters when used for
solving sci~ntific _research problems, etc. Notice from the examples that data can be either numerical, non-
numerical, or a mixture of both.
'
A computer is often referred to as a data processor because it can store, process, and retrieve data whenever
desired. The name data processor is more inclusive because modern computers not only compute in the usual
sense but also perform other functions with data that flows to and from them. For ex.ample, data processors may
gather. data from various if\coming sources, merge (process of mixing or putting together) them all, sort (process
of arranging in some sequence - ascending or descending) them in the desired order, and finally print them in
desired format. Notice that none of tbese ·operations i_nvolves arithmetic computations in the usual sense but a
1computer is the most suitable device. for performing tl\em. · .

The activity of processing data using a computer is C!llled data pro_cessing. Data processing consists of three sutl-
activities: capturing input data, manipulating the"data,_and managing output ~~ul~. As used in d~ta processing,
information is data arranged in an order and form t~at 1s useful to people r~ce1vmg it. Hence, data 1s raw material
used as input to data processing and inforlnation 1s processed data obtamed as output of data processing (see
Figure 1.1).
 CT7 Chapter 1: Introduction

Data Input Computer Output Information

(Finished product)
(Haw material) (Data processor)

Figure 1.1. A computer (also known as data processor) converts data into information.

CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPUTERS
Increasing popularity of computers has proved that it is a ve~ ~owerful and useful tool. The power a nd usefulness
-
of this popular tool are mainly due to its following charactens11cs:

I. Autom~tic. An automatic machine works by itself without human intervent!on. Computers are au_tomatic
machines because once started on a job, they carry out the job (normally without any human assistance)
until it is finished. However, computers being machines cannot start themsel_ves and ca~ot go_ out and
find their own problems and solutions. We need to instruct a computer u~1~g coded mstruct1ons that
specify exactly how it will do a particular job. Some of the other characteristics of ~omputers (such as
speed and accuracy) are because they are automatic and -:vork on a problem without any human
intervention.
2. Speed. A computer is a very fist device. It chn perform in a few s~onds, the amou?t of work that a
human being can do in an entire year - if he/she worked day and mght and did nothmg else. In other
words, a computer can do in a few minutes what would take a man his entire lifetime.
While talking about the speed of a computer we do not talk in terms of seconds or even 12 milliseconds ,
(10. ) but in terms of microseconds (10-6), nan_osecon~s (10·'1), ~n? even gico~econds ~10· ): A pow~rful
3

.computer is capable of performmg several billion (10 ), even tnl11on (10 ), simple anthrnet1c operations
per second. ·

1
). Accuracy. In a~dition to being very fast, computers are very accurate. Accuracy of a computer is
consisteptly high and the degree of its accuracy depends upon its design. A computer performs every
calculation with the ,same accuracy. ·
However, errors c/n occur in a computer. These errors are mainly due to human rather than technological
weaknesses. For example, errors may occur due to imprecise thinking by a programmer (a person who
writes instructions for a computer to solve a particular problem) or incorrect iriput data. We often refer to -
computer errors caused due to incorrect input data or unreliable prograi as garbage-in-garbage-out
(GIGO). .
4. Djligence. Unlike human beJngs, a comput~r is free from monotony, tiredness, and lack of concentration.
fa:
It can continuously w~rk hou:s witho~t creatin'.l an~ error and without grumbling. Hence, computers
score over human bemgs m do1.ng routme type of Jobs that require great accuracy. If ten· million
calculations have to be performed, a computer wi)I perform the last one with exactly the same accuracy
and spe':,d as the first one . .
5. Versatility.( Versatility is one of the most wonderful things about a computer. One moment it is preparing
results of an examination, next moment it is busy prepar;ng electricity bills, and in between, it may be
helping an office secretary to trace an important letter in seconds. All that is required to change its talent
is to slip in a new program (a sequence of instructions for the computer) into it. In brief, a computer is
capable of performing almost any task, if the task can be reduced to a finite series of logical steps.
6. Power of rememl>ering. As a human being acquires new knowledge, his/her brain subconsciously select~
what it feels, to be important and worth retaining in meinory. The brain relegates unimportant details to ,
 back of mind or just forgets them. This is not the case with computers. A computer can store and recall
any amount of informatim;:1 because of its secondary storage (a type of detachable memory) capability. It 1
can retain a piece of information as long as a user desires and the user can recall the information
whenever required. Even after several years, a user can recall exactly the same information that.he/she
had stored in the computer several years ago. A computer forgets or looses certain information only when
a user asks it to do so. Hence, it is entirely up to the user to make a computer retain or forget some
information.
7. No I. Q. A computer is not a magical device. It possesses no intelligence of its own. Its I. Q . is zero, at
least until today. It has to be told what to do and in what sequence. H_ence, only a user detennines what
tasks a computer will perform. A computer cannot take its own decision in this regard.
8. No feelings. Computers are devoid of emotions. They have no feelings and no instincts because they are
machines. Although men have succeeded in building a memory for computer, but no computer possesses
the equivalent of a human heart and soul. Based on our feelings, taste, knowledge, and experience we
often rriake certain judgements in our day-to-day life whereas, computers cannot make such judgements
on their own. They make judgements based on the instructions .given to them in the form of programs that
are ·written by us. (human beings).

Figure 1.2 provides a SUlllillil!Y of characteristics of computers.

- Description
Sr..No. Characteristics

I Automatic It carries out a job normally without any hurna'n intervention

It can perform several billion (IO"). even trillion (!0'2), simple arithmetic
2 Speed operations per second

3 Accuracy It performs every calculation with the same accuracy

4 Diligence It is free from monotony, tiredness, and lack of concentration

'
5 Versatility It can perform a wide variety of tasks
It can store huge amount of information and can recall any piece of this information
6 Memory whenever required
ft cannot take its own decisions, and has to be instructed ' what to do and in what
7 No I. Q. sequence
(
No feelings It cannot make judgments based on feelings and instincts
8

Figure 1.2. Characteristics of computers.

EVOLUTION OF COMPUT~RS
I
Necessity is the mother of invention. The ,saying holds true_ for computers too. Researchers invented computers
because of man's search for fast and accuratt; <;jilc ulatmg devices.

,Blaise Pascal invented the first

/ mechanical hadding
fi machine
I in 1642.
. Later, in the year 1671 ' Baro n Gott,n
,, .ed.
Wilhelm von Leibniz of Germany
/. invented t he irst ca culator
d for multiplication · Keyboard mach·mes ongmated
..

to::;:~~n
in the United States around
7
1880 and we use
h I em even to ay. Around
. the same period , Herm H II .
an o enth came
up with th_e concepyf punched cards t at computers used extensively as input mediu .
Business machino/ and calculators mad~ their appe¥ance in Europe and America late 1970s.
nineteenyrcentury. _ e end of the
, [ -Ll_lChaptcr I: Introduction
---~- --

~-h~rles Babbage, Ji nineteenth century Professor al Cambridge University, is considered the father of m d
1~;tal programmable computers. He had employed a group of clerks for preparing mathematical and stai° t_em
ta es. Babbage had to spend several hours checking these tables because even utmost care and precautions IS ical
not
re eliminate h uma~ e~ors. Soo~ he became dissatisfied and exasperated wit· h t h"1s type o f m6notonous job.oouJct
As
suit, he started thm~ng ~bo.ut building a machine that could compute tables guaranteed t~ be error-free. In tht5
process, Babbage designed a "Difference Engine" in the year 1822 that could produce relJable tables. In 1842
Babb~ge came out wit~ his new idea of a completely aulomatic Analytical Engine for performing basic arithm . '
funcl!ons for any mathematical problem at an average speed of 60 additions per minute. Unfortunately, he :ic
unabl~ to produce a working model of this machine because the precision engineering required to manufacture lhas
machine was not available during that period. However, his efforts established a number of principles that ar:
fundamental to the design of any digital programmable computer.

A maj?r ~rawback of the early automatic calculating machines was that their programs :;ere wired on boards that
made 11 d1f~~ to cha?ge prograi:ns, In 1940s, Qr. John Von Neumann intr?duce? the stored program" concept
~hat helped m overcoming hard-wired program problem. The basic idea behmd this concept 1s that a sequence of
instructions and da(ll can be stored in memory of a computer for automatically directi!lg flow of operations. This
'feature considerably influenced development of1modem digital computers because of ease with which different
programs can be loaded and executed' on a single computer. Due to this feature, we often refer to modem digital
computers as stored program digital computers.

Figure 1.3 provides basic information about some of the well-known e;irly computers.

COMPUTER GENERATIONS
"Generation" in computer talk. provides a framework for the growth of computer industry based on ke)
tec!jnologies developed. Originally, it was used to distinguish between hardware technologies but was later
extt,ided to include both hardware and software technologies.

The custom of referring to computer era in terms of generations came into wide use only after 1964. There are
totally five computer generations known until today. B~low we describe each generation along with its identifying
characteristics. Although there is some overlap between different generations, the approximate period shown
against each is normally accepted.
In the description below, you will come across several new terminologies. Subsequent chapters will deal with
these terminologies in detai~ Tl)e idea here is to provide an overview of the major developments and technologies
during the five generations of 'computers and not to explain them in detail. Hence, this section provides an
overview of what all you are going to learn in this entire book. '

First Generation (1942-1955)

The early compute_!$ of Figure 1.3 and others of their time were manufactured using vacuum tu_!?ef as electronic
switching device. A vacuum tube [see Figure l .4(a)] was a fragile glass device using filaments a~ a so~ce_1of
clcc_tronics . and could control and amplify electronic signals. It was the only high-speed ~lectr?~c sw1tch :~
device available in those days. These vacuum tube computers could perform computatwns m m1lhseconds a
were lrnown as first-generation computers.
I
Syste_m name
Approximate
Built by Key features -
period .
The Mark I 1937-44 Howard A. Aiken of It was an electro-mechanical device; it used over 3000 electrically actuated
Cdmputer Harvar~ University in switches; it was about 50 feet long and 8 feet high; it could perform addition,
collaboration with IRM subtraction, multiplication, division and table reference on numbers as large as 23
decimal digits; it took about 0.3 second to add two numbers and 4.5 seconds t<'
multiply_two numbers
John Atanasoff and his It used vacuum tubes for internal logic and capacitors for storage; it could solve
The Atanasoff Berry 1939-42
assistant Clifford Berry certain mathematical equations
Computer (ABC)
It was the first all electronic computer; it used about 18,000 vacuum tubes; it took
1943-46 A group of scientists
The Electronic up wall space in a 20x40 square feet room; it could add two numbers in 200
Numerical Integrator\ headed by J. Presper
microseconds and multiply them in 2000 microseconds; it was used to solve
Eckert and John Maulchy
-And Calculator ballistic problems
of Moore School of
(ENIAC)
Engineering, University
of Pennsylvania, USA
It was the first computer based on stored program concept; it could also store
1946-52 John von Neumann botn instructions and data in binary form instead of decimal numbers or human
The Electronic
Discrete Variable readable words
Automatic Computer -
(EDVAC) It could add two numhers in I500 microseconds ·and multiply them in 4000
1947-49 A group of scientists
The Electronic Delay microseconds
headed by ¥auri:e
Storage Automatic Wilkes of,Cambndge
Calculator (EDSAC) University Mathematical
Labo_ratory It was the first aigital computer that was not "one of a ~nd"; its fir~t installation
UNIVAC Corporation was in the Census Bureau, which was used for 10 years; its _first business usnvas
1951
The Universal by General Electric Corporation 1954; it m~rke_d the arn~al of commercially
Automatic Computer - available digital computers for business and sc1en11fic apphca.mns
One (UNIV AC I)
It was another commercially available digital computer for business and scientific
International Business
1952 applications
IBM-701 Machines (IBM)
Corporation . .. d model of IBM-700 series machines; its more than 1000 units
It was an improve , . .
International Business were sold for use in-business and scientific apphcatmns
1953
IBM-650 Machines (IBM)
Corporation
' ·- ...... ..iu rnmouters.
I Figure 1.3. Basic information, about som~ o .
r
CT] Chapter 1: lntrod~ction

rinci le of storing program instructions alon .

Most of the fir..t-generntion computers workell on th e Ph c~uld automatically execute a program w~ wh Ith da~ .
-,nemory of computer (stored program concept) so that t ey . lays and users fed all data and . t out hu.,, in
· te.rvennon.
m · Memory of these computers use d electromagnellc . re in machine
' and assembly langu·instrucr1ons·••an
i
the systiem using punched cards. Programmers wrote inst~~uons iacbine and assembly languages°ges becauSeOto
II
lac.k'of high-level programming languages in those days. m~e arly computers. are difficult or
work with, only a few specialists understood how to program t ese e . to

Characteristic features of first-generation computers are as follows:

I. They were the·fastest calculating devices of their time.

\ 2. ' They were too bulky in size, requinng large rooms for installation.
\ 3. They used thousands of vacuum tubes that emitted large amount of heat an~ burnt_ ~ut freq\lentJy, Ben
\ the rooms/areas in which chese computers were located had to be properl~ air-conditioned. ce,
4. Each yacuum tube consumed abou~ half a watt of power. Since a compu~r typically used more than ten
thousand vacuum tubes, power conkµmption of these computers was very high.
3. As vacuum tubes used filaments , •hey
"I'
had a limited life. Because
,
a computer used thousa6cts
/
of vac uurn
tubes, these comp11ters were prone to frequent hardware failures. / ·
6. 1fe to l~w mean time between failures, these computers required constant maintenance.
7. 0these computers, thousands of individual component~ were.ass~Iilbled manually by hand into electronic
circ'uits. Hence, commercial prod1,1ction of these computers was difficult a~d costly.
. \ these computers were d~ffic~lt
8. Smce \ to \program and, use, they had Ii rrute
. d commerc1a
' . I µse.

\ \ \ /

Second Generation \(1955-1964)

I . ..

, John Bardeen, ,Willian Shockley, ~ d Walter Brattain inven~ a new electronic switching device·called transistor
[see Figure l.4(b)] at }}ell Labo~tories in 1947. 'Transistors oon proved to'-be a better electronic switching device
than vacuum tubes due to their fdllowing properties: . · ' , ·

I. They were more rugged and easier to handle thf tubes. sinae they were made of gennaniurn
semiconductor material rather than glass. \ 1•

2. They were highly reliabl~ as coJI)pared to tube/ since they had no parts like a filament that could burn out.
3. They could switch much faster (almost ten µmes fa~ter) ~ an tubes. H~nce, switching circuits made of
transistors could operate much faster than their counterparts made of tubes. \
4. They consumed almost one-tenth the power consumed by a tube.
l ,
5. They were much smaller than a tube.
6. They were less expensive to produce.
7. They dissipated much less heat as compared to vacuum tubes.

Second-generation computers wer~ manufactured using transistors. They were more powerful, more reliable, less
expensive, small<:r, and cooler to operate than the first-generation computers.

The seconq generation a_lso experienced a change in storage technology. Memory of secO!ld-genera\ion computers
was composed of ~gnetic cores. Magnetic cores are small rings made of ferrite that can be magnetized in eit/Jer
---- - Computer Generations [J'7

clock.vise or anti-clockwise direction. Large random access memory (having storage capacity of .few tens of
1
kilobytes) had several magnetic cores strung on a mesh of wires. /.

In 19$7, researchers intr~duced magnetic tape as a faster and more convenient secondary storage medi~. Later
magnetic disk storage was also developed, and magnetic disk and magnetic tape were the main secondary storage
media used in second-generation computers. Users still used punched cards widely for prepaqng and feeding
programs and data to a computer. - ·

On software gont, high-level programming languages (like FORTRAN, COBOL, ALGOL, and SNOBOL) fond
batch operating system emerged during second generation. High-level programming languages made sey1ond-
generation com~uters easier to program and use than first-genera\ion computers. lnt,roduction.qf batch operating '
system helped m reducing human intervention while processing,_ multiple jobs resulting in faster processing, .
enhanced throughput, and easier operation of second-generation computers. '

In addition to scientific computations, business and industry users u·sed second~generation computers increasingly
for commercial data processing applications like payroll, inventory control, marketing, and production planning.

Ease of use of second-generation computers gave birth to a new profession of programmers and systems analysts
in computing that is more oriented towards usage rather than design 'of computers. This triggered introduction of.
computer science related courses in several colleges and universities. -.

Characteristic features of second-generation computers are,as follows:

I
I
1. They were more than ten times faster than the first-generation computers.
2. They were smaller than first-generation computers and required smaller space.
3. They consumed less power and dissipated less heat than ~he firs~-generation comput~rs. Th~ _rooms/areas
in which the second-generation computers were located still requrred to be properly air-conditioned.
4. They were more reliable and less prone to'hardware failures than the first-generation computers.
s. They had faster and larger primary and secondary storage as compared to first-generation computers.
6. They were easier to program and use than the first-generation computers. Hence, they had wider
commercial use. ,
7. In these computers, thousan~s of individual transistors had to be ~ssembled manually by hand into
electronic circuits making commercial production of these computers difficult and cost1y.

(a) A vacuum tube (b) A transi~tor1 (c)-An IC chip

-Figure 1.4. flectr,onics devices used for ma[lufaotl)/!l'n9 computers of different generations.
 8-J ·~ hapter 1: Introduction

Third Generation (1964-1975)

In 1958, Jack St. Clair Kilby and Robert Noyce invented th~ firSI in~egrated c~rcuit. Integrate~ circuits
/ ~s) are c ircuits consisting of several electronic components hke transiS tors, resiS tors, and capacitors grov.,(called
~m? le chip of silicon eliminating wired intercon.n.ectio? betw~en co~ponents. IC technolo_gy ~as also kno:on a
nucroelectronics" technology because it made 11 possible to mtegrate larger_ number of crrcu1t cornpon n as
v~ry small (less than 5 mm square) surface of silicon, known a~ "chip" [see Figure l.4(c)]. Initially the i:i~ts Into
circuits contained only about ten to twenty components. This t~hnolog~ was named s~ll-sc<:le integ~/Cd
(SSI). Later with the advancement in technology for manufactunng ICs, 11 b~came pos_sible to_integrate u 10n
about hundred _components on a single chip. This technolo~y was known as medium scale mtegratwn (MSI). P to

Third generation computers were manufactured using ICs. Earlier ones used S_SI technology and later one
MSI technology. ICs were smaller, less expensive to produce, more ru~?ed and reli_able, faster in ope~~Sed
di ssipated less heat, and consumed Jess power than circuits built . by ·wmng electr~mc components manu:~n,
Hence, third-generation computers were more powerful, more rehable, less expensive, smaller, and cooler
operate tha~ second-generation computers. 1
'

Parallel advancements in storage technologies allowed construction of_ larger ma~netic core based 1:3ndom access
memory as· well as larger capacity magnetic disks and tapes. Hence, _th1rd-generat10n co_mputers typically had few
megabytes_(less than 5 Megabytes) of main memory and magnetic disks capable of stonng few tens of megabytes
of data per disk drive.

On software front, standardization of high-le~el programming languages, timesharing operating systems

unbundling of software from hardware, and creation of an independent software industry happened during third
generation. FORTRAN and COBOL were the most popular high-level programming languages in those days.
American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standardized them in 1966 and 1968 respectively, and the
standardized versions were called ANSI FORTRAN and ANSI COBOL. The idea was that as long as a
programmer follows these standards in program writing, he/she could TQ_n his/her program on any computer with
an ANSI FORTRAN or ANSI COBOL compiler (see Chapter 12 for details). Some more high-level programming
languages were 'introduced during the third-generation period. Notable among these were PU l , PASCAL, and
BASIC. . .

Second-generation computers used batch operating system. In those systems, users had,to prepare their data and
programs and then submit them to a computer centre for processing. The operator at the computer centre collected
these user jobs and fed them to a computer in batches at scheduled intervals. The .respective users then collected
their job's output from the computer centre. The inevitable delay resulting from this batch processing approach
was very frustrating to some users, especially progranirneri;, because often they had to wait for days to locate and
correct a few program errors. To rectify this situation, John Kemeny and Ti1omas Kurtz of Dartmouth College
introduced the concept of timesharing operating ·system. Timesharing operating system enables multiple users to
directly accass and share a computer's resources simultaneously in a manner that each user feels that no one else
is using the computer. This is accomplished by using a large· number of independent, relatively low-speed, on-line
terminals connected to the computer simultaneously. A separate user uses each termnaJ to gain direct aecess_to
the computer. Timesharing operating system allocates CPU time in such a way that all user programs have a 'b?ef
share (known as a time slice) of CPU time in tum. Processing speed of CPU allows it to switch from one user JOb
to another in rapid succession and execute a small portion of each job in allocated time slice until the job is
completed. Each user gets the.illusion' th11t he/she alone is using the computer. Introduction of timesharing conce~t
'i elped in drastic~lly_imp~ovin? ~e product~vity of prog~arnmers and made on-line systems feasible, resulting ,n
new on-lme apphcat10ns hkF a1rhne reservat10n systems, mteractive query systems, etc.
 Computer Generations CT]

Until 1965, computer manufacturers sold their hardware along with all associated software without separately
charging for software. For example, buyers received language translators for all languages supported on a
computer they purchased. From user's standpoint, software was free. However, the situation changed in 1969
when IBM and other computer man~facturers began to price their hardware and software products separately.
This unbundling of software from hardware gave users an opportunity to invest only in software of their need and
value. For example, now buyers could purchase only the language translators they needed and not all language
translators supported on the purchased computer. This led to the creation of many new software houses and the
beginning of an independent software industry.

Another important concept introduced during third-generation was that of backward compatible family of
computers. During this period, IBM introduced its System 360 as a family of computers ·with backward
compatibility as they were different sizes of mainframe systems based on the same machine language. This
enabled businesses to upgrade their computers without incurring-costs of replacing peripheral equipment and
modifying programs to run on new systems.

Development and introduction of minicomputers also took place during third-generation. Computers built until
early 1960s were mainframe systems that only very large companies could afford to purchase and use. Clearly, a
need existed for low-cost smaller computers to fill the gaps left by the -bigger, faster, and costlier mainframe
systems. Several innovators recognized this need and formed new firms in 1960s to produce smaller computers.
Digital Equipment .Corporation (DEC) introduced the first commercially available minicomputer, the PDP-8
(Programmed Data Processor), in 1965. It could easily fit in the comer of a room and did not require attention of a
.full-time computer operator. It used timesharing operating system and a number of users could access it
simultaneously from different locations in the same building. Its cost was about one-fourth the cost of a traditional
mainframe system making it possible for smaller companies to afford computers. It confirmed the tremendous
demand for small computers for business and scientific applications, and by 1971, there were more than 25
computer manufacturers in minicomputer market. ·

Characteristic features of third-generation computers are as follows:

l. They were more powerful than second-generation computers. They were capable of performing about 1 .
million instructions per second.
2. They were smaller than second-generation computers requiring smaller space.
3. They consumed less power and ~issipated less heat than second-generation computers. The rooms/areas in
which third-generation computers were located still required to be properly air-conditioned.
4. 1 They were more reliable and less prone to hardware failures than second-generation computers requiring
lower maintenance cost. ·
s. They had faster and larger primary and secondary storage as compared to second-generation computers.
6. They were general-purpose machines suitable for both scientific and commercial applications.
7. Their manufacturing did not require manual assembly of individual components into electronic circuits
resulting in reduced human labor and cost involved at assembly stage. Hence, commercial production of
these systel!}s was easier and cheaper. However, highly sophisticated technology and expensive setup was
required for the manufacture of IC_chips.
s. Standardization of high-level programming languages allowed programs written for one computer to be
easily ported to and executed on another computer.
9. Timesharing operating ~ystem allowed interactive usage and simultaneous use of these systems by
multiple users.
 L-:J'o7 Chnpter 1: introductio n

10 . Timesharing operating system helped in drastically improving the productivity of programmers cutr
do wn lhe time and cost of program development by several fold. , 1ng
11 . Timesharing operating system also made on-line i;ystems feasible resulting in usage of these syste
ne w on-line appiications. ms for
12. Unbundling of software from hardware gave users of these systems an opportunity to invest ont .
software of their need and value. Y 1n
13. Minicomputers of third-generation made computers affordable even by smaller companies.

Fourth Gener,;ition (1975-1989)

Average number of electronic compbnents packed on a silicon chip doubled each year after 1965. This pro
soon led to the era of large-scale integration (LSI) when it was possible to integrate over 30,000 elec:~s
components on a ' single chip, foUowed by very-large-scale integration (VLSI) when it was possible to inte onic
about one million electronic components on a single chip. This progress led to a dramatic development_ cre!:te
of a _microprocessor. A microprocessor contains all circuits needed to_ perform arit~etic logic and con~~
functions, the core activities of all computers, on a single chip. Hence, 1t became possible to build a comp!
compute~ with a microprocessor, a few additional primary storage chips, and other support circuitry. It stane:te
new social revolution - personal computer- (PC) revolution. Overnight computers became incredibly CO!):lpa ; -
They became inexpensive to ma!<e, and suddenly it became possible for many to own a computer. -- c ·

By 1978, Apple 'II from 1pple .Computer Inc. and the TRS-80 model fr_QITLthe-Radio Shack Division of Tandy
Corporation were dominant personal computers. By 1980, IBM realized that the personal computer market was
too promising to ignore and came out with its own PC in 1981, popularly known as IBM PC. Several other
manufacturers used IBM 1~ specification and designed their own PCs, popularly known as IBM compatible PCs or
clones. The IBM PC and its clones became a p<?pular standard for the PC industry during the fourth generation.

During fourth generation, ·semiconductor memories replaced magnetic C{)re memories resulting in large random
- access memories with v_e ry fast access time. Hard disks became cheaper, smaller, and larger in capacity. In
addition to magnetic tapes, floppy disks became popular as a portable medium for porting programs and data from
· one computer system to another.

Significant advancements also took place during fourth generation in the area of large-scale computer systems. In
addition to improved processing and storage <;:apabilities of mainframe systems, the fourth-generation saw lhe
advent of supercomputers based on pamUel vector 1 processing and symmetric multiprocessing technologies. A
supercomputer based on parallel vector processing technology contains a small number of custom-designed vector
processors which are connected to a number of high-speed data access shared memory modules through a custom-
designed, high-bandwidth crossbar switch network. -On the other hand, a supercpmputer based on symmetric
multiprocessing technology uses commodity microprocessors connected to a shared memory through a high-speed
bus or a crossbar· switch network. Pijrnary builders of supercomputers of the former category included _C~y
Research and ETA Systems, wJ:iereas of the latter category included IBM , Silicon Graphics, and D1g1Ial
Equipment Corporation.

High-speed computer networking also developed during fourth-generation. This enabled interconnection of
multiple computers for communication and sharing of data among them. Local area networks (LANs) ~ame
oopular for connecting computers within . an organization or within a campus. Similarly, wide area networks
(WANs) b~ame popular for connecting- computers, locate.d at larger distances. This ~ave rise to networkiof
computers and distributed systems. ·
 Computer Generations ['"ijJ
I
I '11
•-· ,. , .
11• :• , ( '
g- )

\ ' ,, t(S, /
-.....: ' ' _.,,,. '
I "'-...._ . --- -
On software front, several new developments enrerged-Wmatch the new technologies of fourth generation. For
example, vendors developed several new operating systems for PCs. Notable ones among thes~ were MS-DOS,
MS-Windows, and Apple's propriety Mac OS. Since PCs were for individuiJ]s who were not computer
professionals, companies developed graphical user interfaces for making computers more user friendly (easier to
use). A graphical user interface (GUI) provides icons (pictures) an4 menus (list of.choiaes) that users can select
with a mouse. PC manufacturers and .application software developers developed seve~;tl new PC-based
applications to make PCs a powerful tool. Notable among these were powerful word processing packages that
allowed easy development of documents, spreadsheet package that allowed easy manipulation and analysis of data
organized in columns and rows, and graphics packages 'that allowed easy .drawing of pictures and diagrams..
Another very useful concept that became popular during fourth-generation was that of multiple windows on a
single tenninal screen. This feature-allowed users to see the status -of several applications simultaneously in
separate windows on same tenninal screen. ·

In the area -of software for large-scale c9mputers, key technologies that became popular included multiprocessing
operating systems and concurrent programming languages. With multiprocessing operating systems, a mainframe
system could use multiple processors (a main processoi:_and several-subordinate processors) in such a manner that
the subordinate processors could manage the user tenninals and peripheral devices, allowing the main processor to
concentrate on processing the main program, improving the ,overall performance. Supercomputers also used
m~iprocessing operating system to extract the best performance from the large number of processors used in
these systems. Concurrent programming languages further helped in effectively using the multiprocessing
capabilities of these systems by allowing programmers to write their applications in such a way that different
processors could execute parts of the application in parallel. The most ambitious language of this type w!'s ADA.
\
During fourth-generation, ~e UNIX operating system also became very popular for use on large-scale systems.
Additionally, due to proliferation of computer networks, several new features were included in existing operating
systems to allow multiple computers on the same network to communicate with each other and share resources.

Some other _software technologies that became popular during fourth-generation are C programming language,
object-oriented software design, and object-oriented programming. C language combines features of high-level
progrnmajng languages with- efficiency of an assembly language. The primary objectives of object-oriented
software design are-to-rpak~ ~ ~enera~ ~d to build software.systems by co~bini~g reusable pieces_ of
program codes called obj~ts. Tofacihtate obJect-onented software design, several obJect-onented programmmg
languages were introduceci Out of these, C++ emerged as the most popular object-oriented language.

Characteristic features of fourth-generation computers are as foltpws:

1. PCs were smaller and cheaper than mainframes or minicomputers of third generation.
2. Although the fourth-generation mainframes and supercomputers required proper air-conditioning of the
rooms/areas in which they were located, no air-conditioning was required for PCs.
/
3. They consumed/less power than third-generation computers.
4. They were ·mo~e reliable and less prone to hardware failures than third-generation computers requiring
negligible mai~tenance cost. · · --.. . ._ '
5_ They had faster. and l~ger pllffillry and secondary storage as compared to third-generation computers. ·
6. They were general.purppse machines.
· ·1. Their manufacturing did not require manual assembly of individual components into electronic circuits
' ,resulting in \educed hurna~ lab~r and cost involv~d at asse~b(y stage. Hence, commercial ~rodugtion of
'these systems w.as-easierand cheaper. However, highly soph1st1cated technology and expensive setup was
'required\for manufactudng-LSI and VLSI chips.
'
 12
l ' C hnpt e..!: .I : Int roductio n

8. Use_ of standard high -level programming languages allowed programs written for one com PLIier to ._ _
eas il y ported to and executed on another computer. ue

9. Graphical use r interface (GUI) enabled new users to quickly learn how to use computers.
I G PC-based applications made PCs a powerful tool for both office and home usage.
I 11. Network of computers enabled sharing of resources like disks, printers, etc . .among multiple co
and their ·
users . They also enabled several new types of app 1·icatwns
· ·
mvo Ivmg
· ·
mteraction rnput
a ers
computer users at geographically distant locations. Computer Support~d Coope~ative Working (Csrnong
or g roupware is one such application in which multiple members working on a smgle project and I C'Wi,
.
at d istant ·
locat10ns - a network o f compu ters.
cooperate with each other by usmg - OCatP~
'""
12. In addition to unbundled software these systems also used add-on hardware feature that allowed u
· ' ' · d I
mvest only in the hardware configuration and software of therr need an va ue. Sers t0
13. PCs of fourth generation made computers affordable even by individuals for their personal use at horne.
14. Supercomputers of fourth generation enabled parallel processing of different parts of an applicatio
Iarg~ n~mb er of processors used in these systems. This,
· m · turn, ena bl e d runnmg
. o f trrne-consurnin
· n on
applications much faster. g

Fifth Gene".ation (1989-Present)

The trend of further miniaturization of electronic components, dramatic increase in power of microprocesso
- chips, and increase in capacity of main memory and hard disk continued during fifth generation. VLSI technolo r
b~ame VLSI (Ultra-Large-Scale Integration) technology in fifth generation re_sulting in production :
rmcro~rocessor chips having ten million electronic components. In _fact, the speed of microprocessors and the size
of mam,memory and hard disk doubled almost every eighteen months. As a result, many features found in the
CPUs of large mainframe systems of third- ,and fourth-generation systems became ~art of microprocessor
archit~ture in fifth generation. This ultimately resnlted in availability of very powerful and compact computers ,
_becoming available at cheaper rates and deat;, of traditional large mainframe systems. Recently, processor
manufacturers started building multicore processor chips instead of increasingly powerful (faster) single-core
processor chips. The multicore chips improve overall performance by handling more work in parallel.

. Due to this fast pace of advancement in computer technology, we see more compact and more powerful
computers being introduced almost every year at more or less the same price or even cheaper. Notable among
these are portable notebook computers t!:Jat give the power of a PC to their users even while traveling, powerful
desktop PCs and workstations, powerful servers, powerful supercomputers, and handheld computers. (see Chapter
20 for a detailed description of these types of computers) .

Storage technology_ also advanced making larger main memory and disk storage available in newly introduced
systems. Currently, PCs having few Gigabytes (GB) of main memory and 80 to 320 Gigabytes (GB) of hard disk
capacity are common. Similarly, .workstations having 4 to 64 Gigabytes of main memory and few hundreds of
Gigabytes of hard disk capacity are common. RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) technology enables
configuration of a bunch of disks as a single large disk. It, thus, supports larger hard di sk space with better in-built
reliability. During fifth generation, optical disks (popularly known as Compact Disks or CDs) emerged as a
popular portable mass storage media.

In the area of large-scale systems, fifth-generation saw the emergence of more powerful supercomputers based on
parallel processing technology. They used multiple processors and were of two types - shared memory and
1
distributed memory parallel computers. In a shared memory parallel computer, 'a hi gh-speed bus or
communication network interconnects a number of processors to a common main memory, whereas in a
 Computer Generations []37

distributed memory parallel computer, a communication network interconnects a number of processors, each with
its own memory. These systems use parallel programming technique to break a problem into smaller problems
and execute them in parallel on multiple processors of the system. Processors of a s,hared memory parallel
computer use memory access mechanism for communication, whereas those of a distributed memory parallel
computer use message-passing mechanism for communication. Distributed memory parallel computers have
better scalability (can grow larger in capability) than shared memory parallel computers, and are now built by
clustering together powerful commodity workstations by using a high-speed commodity switched network. This is
known as clustering technology.

During fifth generation, the Internet emerged with associated techpologies and applications. It made it possible f~r
compu!er users sitting across the globe to communicate with each other within minutes by use of electronic mail
(known as e-mail) facility. A vast ocean of information became readily available to computer users through the
World Wide Web (known as WWW). Moreover, several new types of exciting applications like electronic
commerce, virtual libraries, virtual classrooms, distance education, etc. emerged during the period.

The tremendous processing power and the massive storage capacity of fifth-generation computers also made them
a very useful and popular tool for a wide range of multimedia applications dealing with information containing
text, graphics, animation, audio, and video data. In general, data size for multimedia information is much larger
than plain text information because representation of graphics,. animation, audio, or video media in digitaf form
requires much larger numblsr of bits than that required for representation of plain text. Because of this, multimedia
computer systems require faster processor, larger storage devices, larger main memory, good graphics terminal,
and input/output devices required to play any audio or video associated with a multimedia application program.
The availability of multimedia computer systems resulted in a tremendous growth of multimedia applications
during fifth-generation . .

1n the area of operating systems, some new concepts that gained popularity . d~ring fifth-generation include
microkernels, multithreading, and multicore operating systems. Microkemel technology enabled designers to
model and design operating systems in a n1odular fashion. This makes operating systems easier to design and
implement, easier to modify or add new services, and allows users to implement and use their own service.
Multithreading technology is · a popular
1
way to improve application performance. through parallelism. In
traditional operating systems, basic unit of CPU scheduling is a process but in multithreading operating systems,
basic unit of CPU scheduling is a thread. In such operating systems, a process consists of an address space
containing its instructions and data, and one or more threads sharing same address space. Hence, these systems
can create a new thread, switch CPU between threads, and share resources between threads of same process more
efficiently than between processes, resulting in faster execution and better overall system performance. A
multicore operating system can run multiple programs at the same time on a multiocre chip with each core
handling a separate program.

In the area of programming languages, concepts that gained popularity during fifth generation are JAVA
programming language, and parallel programming libraries like MPI (Message Passing Interface) and PYM
(Parallel Virtual Machine). JAY A is used primarily on the World Wide Web. It supports Java-based applets
allowing web pages to have dynamic information and more interactivity with users of web information. MPI and
PYM libraries enable development of standardized parallel programs, so that a programmer can easily port and
execute a parallel program developed for one parallel computer on other parallel t:omputers. MPI is used for
distributed memory parallel computers and PYM is used for shared memory parallel computers.

Characteristic features of fifth-generation computers are as follows:

1... Portable PCs (called notebook computers) are much smaller and handy than PCs of fourth generation
allowing users to use computing facility even while travelling,
 ~ / Chapter I: Introduction

2· Fifth-generation desktop PCs and workstations are several times more powerful th an PCs of t
generation. · ourth
J. Although fifth-generation mainframes and supe_ r~o•~put~rs require prope~ :ir-cond itioning of
rooms/areas in which they are located, no air-cond1uomng is norma . y require or notebook coinPut the
des ktop PCs, and workstations. ers,
4. They consume less power than their predecessors do.
5 . They are more reliable and less prone to hardware failures than their predecessors were, requ· .
negligible maintenance cost. · · •nng
6. Many of the large-scale fifth-generation systems have hot-plug feature that enables a_ failed component t
be replaced with a new one without the need to shutdown the syS tem. Hence, the uptime of these syste 0
is very high. rns
7. They have faster ·and larger primary and secondary storage as compared to their predecessors.
8. They are general-purpose machines.
9. Their manufacturing does not require mapual assembly of i_ndividual components into electronic circ .
. . bl H . ) Ults
resultmg m reduced human labor and cost involved at assem Y stage. ence, commercia production f
these systems is easier and cheaper. However, highly sophisticated technology anq 'expensive seti
(affordable only by a few organizations in the world) is required for manufacturing ULSI chips. p
10. Use of standard high-level programming languages allows programs written for one computer to be ~sily
ported to and executed on another computer.
l I. More u~er-fri~nd.ly ~nterfaces with multimedia features make the systems easier to- learn and nse by
anyone, mcluding children. · ·
12. Newer and more powerful applications, includirtg multimedia applications, make the systems.more useful
in every occupation.
13. Explosion in the size of the Internet coupled with Internet-based tools and applications have made these
systems influence the life .Q.f even common people.
14. These systems also use the concept of unbundled software and add-on hardware allowing the users to
invest only in the hardware configuration and software of their need and value.
15. With so many types of computers in all price ranges today, we have a computer for almost any type of
user whether the user is a child or a world-fame scientist.

Figure 1.5 summarizes the key technologies and features of the five computer generations discussed above.

Description of history of computing divided into five generations shows how quickly things have changed in the
last few decades. Technological progress in this area is continuing. In fact, the fastest-growth period in the history
of computing may be still ahead. ·
 ,
' , \
t · ·:· 'Some i:epresentati_ve
Key software Key , 1
Generation Key hardware .· ' systems
characteri~pi
(Period) technologies technologies . '
\''
' ' '
Machine and assembly languages; Bulky in size; ENIAC, EDY AC,
First Vac~um tubes; electromagnetic relay
stored program concept; mostly highly unreliable; EDSAC, UNIV AC I, IBM
memory; punched cards secondary
(1942-1955) scientific applications limited commercial use; commercial 701
storage
production difficultandcostly;
difficult to use

Transistors; magnetic core memory; Batch operating system; high-level Faster, smaller, more reliable and easier to Ho?eywell 400, IBM
Second
magnetic tapes and disks secondary programming languages; program than previous generation systems; ~i;><; 1604,
(1955-1964) commercial production was still difficult and' , ' , ACLARC
storage scientific and commercial
applications costly I

!Cs with SSI and MSI technologies ; Timesharing operating system; Faster, smaller, more reliable, easier and IBM 360/370, PDP-8 ,
Third
larger magnetic core memory; larger standardization of ,_high-h;vel cheaper to produce commercially, easier to PDP-I I , CDC 6600
( 1964-1975)
capacity magnetic disks and tapes programming langua ges; use, and easier to upgrade than previous
secondary storage; minicomputers unbundling of software from generation systems; scientific, commercial
hardware and interactive ondine_applications

Fourth ICs with VLSI technology; Operating systems for PCs; GUI; Small, affordable, reliable, and easy to use IBM PC and its clones,
mic_!Oprocessors; semiconductor multiple windows on it single PCs; Apple II, TRS-80, VAX
(I 975-1989) .
memory; larger capacity hard disks as terminal screen; multiprocess~>r more powerful
' and reliable mainframe 9000, CRAY-I, CRAY-7, I
in-built secondary storage; magnetic operating systems and concuiTeht systems; CRAY-X/MP
tapes and floppy disks as portable programming languages; UNIX general purpose machines; easier to produce
storage media; personal computers; operating system; _£ommerl?ially '
spread of high-speed-computer C and C++ programming languages;
networks PC-based applications; network-
\
based applications; object-oriented
software design
Fifth ICs with VLSI technology; multicore World Wide Web; multimedia Portable computers; IBM notebooks, Pentium
( 1989-Present) processor chips; larger capacity main applications; Internet-based more powerful, cheaper, reliable, and easier PCs, SUN Workstations,
memory; larger capacity hard disks; applications; Microkemel, to use desktop machines; IBM SP/2, SGI Origin
optical disks as portable read-only multithreading, and multicore very powerful mainframes; very high uptime 2000,PARAM
storage media; notebook computers; operating systems; JAVA due to hot-pluggable components; general supercomputers
powerful desktop ·PCs and programming language; MPI and purpose machines; easier to produce
workstations; PYM libraries for parallel commercially
very powerful rnainfra!)1es; programming -
supercomputers based on parallel
processing;
the Internet
' I

Figure 1.5. Computer Qeneratlons - A summary. ·

 0 6 l Cha P t er l.. Introduction
.

Points to Remember
John Von Neumann introduced the • '
I. A computer is · a "1as1 calculatm
· . device.
· · aIso 6. Dr. ram" concept th at cons1"dera bl y influenc stored
d
kn It 1s prog d d" . I e th
own as a data processor ~ause it can store, development of mo ern 1g1ta computers. Due 1:
process, and re~eve data whenever desired. . feature, we often refer to modem d" .
th JS d" . I lg]taJ
2. The ac t"1v1ty
· ct,f
• processing data, usirig a computer 1s
· computers as stored program 1g1ta computers.
called data processing-. Data is raw material used as · "Gen·eration" in computer talk provides a frame
, mput to data processing and information is processed 7. f I . d Work
for the growth o compu e~ ~n ustry_ based on key
data obtained as output of data processing. technologies developed. Ongmally, 1t ~as Used 10
3. Key characteristics of computers are: automatic, distinguish between hardware technolog1es but was
s~d, ~ccuracy, diligence, versatility, memory, lack later extended to include both hardware and software
of mtelhgence, and lack of feelings. technologies.
4. Charles Babbage is considered the father of modem _ Till date, there are five computer generations _ first
8
digital programmable computers. second, third, fourth, and fifth . '
- 5. Some of the well-known early computers are: : 9. Figure 1.5 summarizes the key hardware and
MARK I (1937-44), ABC'(l939-42), ENIAC (1943- software technologies and key characteristics of
46), EDY AC (1946-52), . EDSAC (1947-49), computers of five computer generations.
UNIVAC I (1951), IBM-701 (1952), and IBM-650
(1953). ·

Questions
. ' .

I I. List key hardware technologies used in building

I. What is a computer? Why it is also known as a
computers of each of the five generations.
data processor? · /.f}:'/4
12. List key software technologies used in building
2. What is data processing? Dif~ iate between
data and information. Whicl)/is more useful to computers of each of the five generations.
people and-why? . 13. What are the advantages of transistors over vacuum
List and explain somf important characteristics of a tubes? ·
3.
computer. 14. What is an IC? How it helps in reducing the size of
What is garbage-in-garbage-out? computers?
4.
Who is known as the father of modern digital 15. List the advantages of IC technology over transistor
5.
programmable computers and why? technology.
Who invented the concept of stored program? Why 16. Write full form of following abbreviations used in
6. computer terminology: GIGO, IC, SSI, MSI, LSI,
is tJ:iis concept so important?
VLSI, VLSI.
Why are modem digital computers often referred to
7.
as stored program digital computers? . 17. Why were first- and second-generation computers
more difficult and costlier to produce commercially
Which was the first commercially produced
8. than computers of subsequent generations?
computer? When and where was it first installed?
18. Name the technologies used for constructing main
.Write;full form of following abbreviations used in
9. memory in first-, second-, third-, and fourth·
computer terminology: IBM, ENIAC, EDV..AC,
generation computers.
~EDSAC, UNIV AC: .
19'. Name the secondary storage media popularly used
.What is "generation" in computer terrninology? List
JO. arious computer generauons . along with key m first-, second-, third-, fourth-, and fifth·
:haracteristics of computers of each ·generation. generation computers.
 Questions [ti]

20. In what ways did the concept of unbundling of

23. What is a microprocessor? How it revolutionized
software from hardware affect computer , the computer industry?
manufacturers and users of computers?
24. Name some applications that emerged due to
2I. What new types of computer applications emerged emergence of computer networks.
dunng thtrd; fourth, and fifth computer generations
and what were the main driving technologies 25. Name some applications that emerged due to
behind each? emergence of the Internet.
22. . What is meant by backward compatible family of 26 . Name some representative computer systems of
computers? How is this concept useful for computer each of the five computer generations.
users?

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 CHAPTER
2

Basic Computer Orgarlizatio~.·=

It "! '"" "'., f:F""' , • 4» , , ,. . .. " ; • .. ,:: • g" · S: ¥ ' · £ s.f 1'J!!I
11

Even though th~ size, shape, performance, reliability, and cost of computers have been changing over the last
several years, the basic logical structure (based on the stored program concept), as proposed by Von Neumann,
has not changed. No matter what shape and size
of computer we are talking about, all computer systems perform
the following five basic functions for con~erting raw input data into useful information and presenting it to a user:

I. Inputting. It is the pr~es~ of entering data and instructions into a computer system.
2. Storing. It is the process of saving data and . Instructions to make them readily available for ini tial or
additional processing as and when required.
3. Processing. Performing arithmetic operations (add, subtract, multiply, divide, etc.), or logical operations
(comparisons like equal to, less than, greater than, etc.) on data to convert them into useful information is
known as processing. / ·
4. Outputtin~~ ~ the process of producing useful information or results for a use~, such as printed report
or visual display. ' •
5. Controlling. Directing the manner and sequence in which the above operations are performed is known
as controlling. ,
I . . ,
The/gcial of this c~~pter is to 'f~liarize you with the units of a computer system that perform these functions. It

-
r rot i1es an overv1e~ of computer systems as cqmputer system architects view them. -
.
Internal architecture
" of computers differs
. from
• one sy
· stem model to' anoth er. H owever, b as1c
· organtza
· 0· on remains
'the samt;_ ,or a 11 computer systems. Figure 2.1 shows
· a block diagr
. am_9 f basif • computer orgaruzauon.
• · In [his
 lnputUnit CJ::fJ

figure, solid lines indicate flow of instruction and data, and dotted lines represent control exercised by cont~ol
unit. It displays the five major building blocks (functional units) of a digital computer system. These five umts
correspond to the five basic operations performed by all computer systems. Functions of each of these units are
described below.

Storage unit

Program and data Input

unit Information (Results)

I
1
~ Indicates flow of
instructions and data
Arithmetic ;
Logic Unit Ind1cates the control
exercised by the
control unit_
Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Figure 2.t)Basic organization of a comp.uter system.

~NPUT UNIT
. \
Data and instructions must enter a computer system before the computer can perform any computation on the
supplied data. The input unit that links a computer with its external environment performs this task. Data and
instructions enter a computer through an input unit in a form that depends upon the input device used. For
example, data can be entered using a keyboard i11_a manner similar to typing and this differs from the way in
which data is ente_red through a scanner, another type of input device. However, a computer's memory is designed
to accept input in binary code and hence, all input devices must transform input signals to binary codes. Units
called input interfaces accomplish this transformation. Input interfaces match the unique physical or electrical
characteristicg of input devices to the requirements of a computer system.

In short, an input unit perfprms followi~g functions:

l. It accepts (or reads) instructions and data from outside world.

2. It converts these instructi~n~ and data in computer acceptable form, Units called ·input interfaces
accomplish this task.
. I
3. It.supplies the converted instructions
,· and data to the storage unit for storage and further processing.

OUTPUT UNIT

An output unit performs the reverse operati9n of that of. an input unit. It supplies information obtained from data
processing to outside y.1orld. Hence, it links a computer with i~s external environmenUAs computers work with
binary co~ result! produced are also in binary form. Therefore, before supplying the results to outside world, the
'--
[ -3._0- :::J -Chapter 2: Bas ic Computer -Org~ ------ .

Units called output interfaces accorn .

bl (readable) t orrn- h teristics of output devic Phs0
systennnust co nve rt th em to human accepta e . electrical c arac es (terr,., this
· phys1ca 1 or ··•una1
Lask. Out put incerfaces mat" h the unique
. r
. ment
al environ ·
s'
printers, etc.) to the requi rements of an extern
, · f t'10 ns·
In sho rt , an o utput unit perfonns following unc · d t d the c d d
' We cannot un ers an o e results .
. h in coded form. . easily
I. It accepts the produced results, wh ic are ( dable) fonn. Umts called output . ·
table rea _ -- 1nre..r
results to, human acceP ·Jaces
2. It converts these coded
accomplish this task.
. I tside world.
3. It supplies the copverted resu ts to ou .

STORAGE UNIT --.

. h input units have to be stored ins'ide the com
Data and instructions entered into a computer syS tem tbrou! b a computer after processing have to be Ptter
befor~ actual processing starts. Similarly, resul~s prods~eon t~ an output unit. Moreover, a computer must 1
somewhere inside the computer system before be~ng pas it of a computer system caters to all these n so
?
preserve intennediate results for ongoing processing. S~or;~e un suits and results for output. eeds.
It provides space for storing data and instructions, interme iate re '

In short, a storage unit holds (stores):

. • ( eceived from input units).
1. The data and instructions reqmred for processing r
2. Intermediate results of processing.
3. Final results of processing, before the system releases them to an output unit/

Storage unit of all computers is comprised of following two types of storage:

I

1. Prima~y storage. Primary storage of a computer system, also known as main memory,' stores pieces of
program instructions and data, intermediate results of processing, and recently produced results of those
job(L, on which the computer system is currently working. The central process ing unit can access these
pieces of information directly at a very fast speed because they are represented electronically in the main
memory chip's circuitry. However, primary storage is volatile, and it loses the information in it as soon
as the computer system switches off or resets. Moreover, primary storage norma lly has limited storage
car,ac;ty hecause it is very expensive. Primary storage of modem computer systems is made up of
semiconductor devices.
2. Seconda~y ~to~age. Secon_dary storage of a computer system, also known as aux iliary storage, talces care
of the l~tat10ns_ of pnmary st~rage. It supplements the limited storage ca pacity and volatile
charactenst1c of pnmary storage. This is because secondary storag · h h h · torage
and it can retain information even when the computer syste _e ihs mucff c eaper t an prunary s t m
d m sw1tc es o or resets A computer sys e
uses secon ary storage to store program instructions data and • Ii . · . h· h the
computer system is currently not wo ki b ' ' m ormat10n of those Jobs on w ic
, r ng ut needs to hold th .- · I The most
commor ly used secondary storage med· . . .- em ,or processmg ater.
, . mm 1s magnetic disk.
 \ I

Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) , [½fil

-- ------------- -------------------~~-----:--

ARITHMETIC LOGIC UNIT (~~U'L

) - - -- - - - - - - - - - : - -
A computer performs all calculation and c~mparis_on (decisio~-~akin~) operations in the ALU. During P~°:~
of a job, the computer transfers data anci mstrucllons stored m its pnmary storage to ALU as and whe k
ALU does the processing and the computer temporarily transfers the intermediate results generated_there bac
st to
primary storage until needed later. Hence, data may move' back and forth several times b_etween pnmary orage
and ALU before processing of the job is over. ·

The engineering design of a computer's ALU determine-s the type and number of arithmetic and log~c o~ratio~s
that a computer can perform. However, almost all ALUs are designed to perform the four baste anthmettc
o~rations (add, subtract, multiply, and divide) and logic operations or comparisons such as, less than, equal to,
and greater than.

CONTROL UNIT (CU)

How does an input device of a computer system know that it is time foi it to feed data to storage unit? How does
its ALU know what should be done with the data once it receives them. Moreover, how it is that the corp.puter
.s~nds only the results for output to an output device and not the intermediate results? All this is possible due to the
control unit of the computer system. -

A computer's control unit does not perform any actual processing of jobs, but acts as the central nervous system
for other components of the computer system. It manages and coordinates the operations of all other components.
It obtains instructions from a pr0gram stored in main memory, interprets the instructions, and issue~ signals

--
causing other units of the system to execute them.

CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU)

Con4:ol unit (CU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) of a computer system are together known as the Central
Processing !]nit (CPU). lt is the brain of a computer system. ln a human body, the brain takes all major decisions
and other parts of the body function as directed by the brain. Similarly, in a computer system, ·the CPU performs
all major calculations and compari\ons, and also activates and controls the operations of other units of the
computer system.

THE SYSTEM CONCEPT

You might have _obseryed tha~ we hav~ ·been re~erring to a computer as a system (computer system). This is
because a system 1s a group of mtegrate9 parts havmg a comrrion purpose of achieving some objective(s) Hence a
system has following three characterist~cs: · '

·I. It ha,s more than one element.

;. All its elements are related logically. -,
3 All its elements are controlled in a manner to achi1we t)le system goal.
 -------·

. tput u· nit storage unit, and CPU), which work t

. t unit ou ' .., ,, · og
Since a computer has integrated components ( mpu '. . ystem. Input and output umts cannot fun . ether
' . . rogram it is a s . f U f Chon
to perform the ste ps ca lled for m an executing P ' . r CPU alone 1s o no use. se ulness of Until
. ·1 I storage unit O each
th ey receive signal s from the CPU. S 1m1 ar Y, . t grate all units to form a system. Hence we t· Unit
de pe nds o n other units and is realizable only when we me ' re er to a
compute r as a sy stem (computer system).

Points to Remember
output results of processing. "Iwo types of stora2e •~
_ primary and second ary storage. As compa~-c
I. All computer systems perform the following ~ve rimary storage, secondary storage is slo to
, basic functions for converting raw input data into P . . h Werin
useful information - inputting, storing, processing, operation, larfiger in_capacity, ch eaper in price, and
can retain m ormatton even w en computer st
outputting, and controlling. switches off or resets. sy em
2. Figure 2.1 shows the main components of a computer
8. Du~ing data processing, actual executio
system. ·
I
instruct10ns ta kes p Iace in
. th e A n~. h metic Logicn Uniof
1
3. Input unit enables feeding of data and instructions to (ALU) of a computer system.
a computer system from outside world in computer
acceptable form. 9. Control Unit (CU) of a computer system manag
and _coordinates the operations of all oth:!
4. Input interfaces transform input data and instructions components of the computer system.
(fed to a computer through its input devices) into
binary codes that are acceptable to the computer. io. Control unit and arithmetic logic unit of a computer
system together form the Central Processing Unit
5. Output unit enables a computer system to supply (CPU), which serves as the brain of the com~uter
information (obtained from data processing) to system an4 is responsible for controlling the
outside world in human acceptable (readable) form. operations of all other units of the system.
6. Output interfaces transform information (obtained
,from data processing) from binary form to human II. We often refer ~o a co?1puter as a compo/er system
because 11 consists of integrated components (input
acceptable (readable) form. unit, output unit, storage unit, and CPU) that work
7. Storage unit of a computer system holds data and together to perform the steps called for in a program.
instructions to be processed and intermediate and

Questions

What are the five ba•ic functions performed by a 5. Differentiate between the characteristics of primary
I.
and secondary storage of a computer system.
computer system?
Draw a block diagram to illustrate basic 6. What are the two main components of CPU of a
2.
organization of a computer system and explain the computer system? List the main functions of each
functions of various units. component.
What is an input interface? How it <liffers from an 7. Write the logical steps taken by a computer system
3.
output interface? - along with the roles 6f its main units in each step
while transformi~g input data to useful information
4. How many types of storage a computer system for presentation to a user.
normally uses? Justify the need for each storage
type. 8. What is a system? Why do we often refer to a
computer as a -computer system?