LESSON 2 & 3: HISTORY OF COMPUTER: BASIC

COMPUTING PERIODS AND GENERATIONS OF

COMPUTER

OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
 Gain familiarity of the different discoveries during the different periods.
 Learn different inventions and discoveries during electro-mechanical age.
 Identify different technologies and their improvements during the different generations.

WHAT IS COMPUTER?
 Computer is an electronic device that can follow instructions to accept input from the
users, process that input, and produce information.
 Computer is a machine that manipulates data according to a list of instructions (program).
 Computer is any device which aids humans in performing various kinds of computations
or calculations.
Three principal characteristics of computer:
 It responds to a specific set of instructions in a well-defined manner.
 It can execute a pre-recorded list of instructions.
 It can quickly store and retrieve large amount of data.

FOUR TYPES OF COMPUTERS:

 Supercomputers: Supercomputers are high-capacity computers that cost millions of
dollars, occupy special air-conditioned rooms, and are often used for research.
 Mainframe computers: less powerful than supercomputers, mainframe computers are
fast, large-capacity computers occupying specially wired, air-conditioned rooms.
 Midrange computers: Midrange computers referred as servers. These are computers
with processing capabilities less powerful than a mainframe computer, but more powerful
than a personal computer.
 Microcomputers: Microcomputers are small computers that can fit on a desktop or in
your briefcase.
Two Types of Microcomputers:

Prepared By:
Rae Angelo A. Masangcay
(ELIE – Living in the IT Era)
  Personal Computers (PCs) – are desktop or portable computers that can run
easy-to-use programs, such as word processing or spreadsheets.
 Workstations – are expensive, powerful desktop machines used mainly by
engineers and scientists for sophisticated purposes.

EVOLUTION OF TECHNOLOGY

Originally, calculations were done by humans whose job title were computer. These human
computers were typically engaged in the calculation of mathematical expression. The
calculations of this period were specialized and expensive requiring years of training in
mathematics.
The first use of the word “computer” was recorded in 1613, referring to a person who carried out
calculations or computations and the word continued to be used in that sense until the middle of
the 20th century.

a. Tally sticks –
messages.

b. Abacus - is a mathematical device used to aid an individual

in performing mathematical calculations. The abacus was
invented in Babylonia in 2400 B.C. The Abacus in the form
we are most familiar with was first used in China in around
500 B.C. and is used to perform basic arithmetic operations.

c. Napier’s Bones - was invented by John Napier in 1614. This

allowed the operator to multiply, divide and calculate square
roots by moving the rods around and placing them in specially
constructed board.

d. Slide Rule - was invented by William Oughtred in

1622 based on Napier’s idea about logarithms.

Prepared By:
Rae Angelo A. Masangcay
(ELIE – Living in the IT Era)
 e. Pascaline - was invented by Blaise Pascal in 1642. It was
its limitation to addition and subtraction and is too
expensive.

f. Stepped Reckoner - invented by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

in 1672. The machine that can add, subtract, multiply and
divide automatically.

g. Jacquard Loom - is a mechanical loom which was

invented by Joseph Marie Jacquard in 1881. It is an
automatic loom controlled by punched cards.

h. Arithmometer - is a mechanical calculator invented by

Thomas de Colmar in 1820. This was the first reliable,
useful, and commercially successful calculating machine. It
could perform the four basic mathematical functions and it is
the first mass-produced calculating machine.

i. Difference Engine and Analytical Engine - were

both automatic, mechanical calculator that is
designed to tabulate polynomial functions and was
invented by Charles Babbage who also is the
father of the computer in
1822 and 1834. This is the
first mechanical computer.

j. First programmer - was known in 1840 named as Augusta Ada

Byron who suggests to Babbage to use the Binary System. She
writes programs for the Analytical Engine.

Prepared By:
Rae Angelo A. Masangcay
(ELIE – Living in the IT Era)
 k. Scheutzian Calculation Engine - was invented by
Per Georg Scheutz in 1843. This was based on
Charles Babbage’s difference engine. This was first
printing calculator.

l. Tabulating Machine - was invented by Herman

Hollerith in 1890 which is utilized to assist in
summarizing information and accounting.

m. Harvard Mark 1 or otherwise known as IBM

Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator
(ASCC) - was invented by Howard H. Aiken in
1943 and was
known as the first
electro-
mechanical computer.

n. Z1 - is the first programmable computer that was

created by Konrad Zuse in Germany from 1936 to 1938.
In order to program the Z1, the user is required that the user inserts punch tape into the
reader and all output is generated then.

o. Atanasoff-Berry Computer - was the first electronic digital

computing device that was invented by Professor John
Atanasoff who was a Graduate student in Clifford Berry at
Iowa State University between 1939 and 1942.

p. ENIAC stands for Electronic Numerical Integrator

and Computer - This was the first electronic general-

Prepared By:
Rae Angelo A. Masangcay
(ELIE – Living in the IT Era)
 purpose computer that was completed in 1946. This was also developed by John Presper
Eckert and John Mauchly.

q. UNIVAC 1 (Universal Automatic Computer

1) - was the first commercial computer that was
designed by J. Presper Eckert and John
Mauchly.

r. Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer (EDVAC) -

was the first stored program computer that was designed by Von
Neumann in 1952 and it has a memory to hold both a stored program
as well as data.

s. Osborne 1 - is the first portable computer that

was released in 1981 by the Osborne Computer
Corporation.

t. First Computer Company - was the Electronic Controls

Company which was founded in 1949 by J. Presper Eckert
and John Mauchly.

Prepared By:
Rae Angelo A. Masangcay
(ELIE – Living in the IT Era)
HISTORY OF COMPUTER: GENERATIONS OF COMPUTER
There are five (5) generations of computer:
 First Generation – 1946 to 1958
 Second Generation – 1959 to 1964
 Third Generation – 1965 to 1970
 Fourth Generation – 1971 to Today
 Fifth Generation – Today to Future

A. First Generation
- The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for
memory, and were often enormous, taking up entire rooms.
- First generation computers relied on machine language, the lowest-level
programming language understood by computers, 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.
Examples: ENIAC EDSAC UNIVAC I, UNIVAC II, UNIVAC 1101

B. Second Generation
- Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and ushered in the second generation of
computers. One transistor replaced the equivalent of 40 vacuum tubes.
- Allowing computers to become smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient and
more reliable. Still generated a great deal of heat that can damage the computer.
- Second-generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine language to
symbolic, or assembly, languages, which allowed programmers to specify
instructions in words.
- Second generation computers still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for
output.
Examples: UNIVAC III, RCA 501, Philco Transact S-2000, NCR 300 series, IBM
7030 Stretch, IBM 7070, 7080, 7090 series

C. Third Generation
- 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.
- It could carry out instructions in billionths of a second. Much smaller and cheaper
compared to the second-generation computers.

D. Fourth Generation
- The microprocessor brought the fourth generation of computers, as thousands of
integrated circuits were built onto a single silicon chip.

Prepared By:
Rae Angelo A. Masangcay
(ELIE – Living in the IT Era)
 - 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.

E. Fifth Generation
- Based on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Still in development. The use of parallel
processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a reality.
- The goal is to develop devices that respond to natural language input and are capable
of learning and self-organization.
- There are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today.

Prepared By:
Rae Angelo A. Masangcay
(ELIE – Living in the IT Era)