Chapter 1:

Introduction to Computer

-Rachana Nyaichyai(RN)
 Definition
 The word “computer” is derived from the
Latin word “computare” which means to
calculate.
 It was used basically for fast and accurate
computing in the past but nowadays it is
used for doing various kind of task.
 “Computer is an electronic machine that can
accept data; process it according to a set of
predefined instructions and then gives the
results.”
 “A computer is an electronic device capable
of processing, manipulating and storing the
raw data supplied by the user as input and
giving meaningful information as output to
the user as a result of processing’
 In simpler terms, computer is electronic
device which takes raw data as input
processes it and gives useful information as
output.
 The two main characteristics of computer
are:
1. It responds to specific set of instructions in
a well-defined manner.
2. It can execute a prerecorded list of
instructions (called program)
 Modern computers are electronic and digital
 The actual machinery-wires, transistors and
circuits- is called hardware.
 The instructions and data are called
software
 Input : input is data and instructions
entered into computer for processing
 Data : it is the known facts and figures
about a person, place, thing etc. that can
be recorded in the form of text, number,
sound, image etc. Data itself is not very
meaningful as it is the raw information.
Example: Ram, A, Bhaktapur etc.
 Instruction / Command : Command is the
instruction given to the computer to
perform specific task.
 Process : Processing is the manipulation of
data within a computer system under the
control of instruction given by the users and
system. It is a vital step between receiving
input and providing output. Processing is the
actual task of the computer for which it has
been designed.
 Output : it is the processed data which we
get from the computer after processing in the
form we desire so it is very meaningful and
useful to us. It is also called result or
information.
All the general purpose computer require following
components:
❑ Input device: the device which is used to give input
to the computer. Eg: mouse, keyboard, mike etc.
❑ Output device: The device which is used to give
output to the computer. Eg. Monitor, speaker,
printer, etc.
❑ Memory device: the semiconductor device which is
used to store data, instruction and information is
called memory device. Eg: RAM, ROM.
❑ Processing unit: The device used to process data is
known as processing unit. Eg: microprocessor.
❑ Storage device: the device which is used to
permanently store the large volume of program and
information. Eg. Dvd, hard disk, pendrive etc.
Characteristic of a Computer
1. Speed: A computer works with much higher speed and
accuracy compared to humans while performing
mathematical calculations. Computers can process millions
(1,000,000) of instructions per second. The time taken by
computers for their operations is microseconds and
nanoseconds.
2. Vast storage capacity: A modern computer can store large
amount of data, information and program in it. Any data or
information can be retrieved at any time. Storage capacity in
computer is measured in following terms:
0 or 1 = 1 Bit(Binary DigiT)
4 bits = 1 Nibble
8 Bits = 1 Byte
1024 Bytes = 1 Kilo Byte(KB)
1024 KB = 1 Mega Byte
1024 MB = 1 Giga Byte
1024 GB = 1 Tera Byte
1024 TB = 1 Peta Byte
3. Accuracy: Computers perform calculations with 100%
accuracy. Errors may occur due to data inconsistency or
inaccuracy.
4. Diligence: A computer can perform millions of tasks or
calculations with the same consistency and accuracy. It
doesn’t feel any fatigue or lack of concentration. Its memory
also makes it superior to that of human beings
5. Versatility: Versatility refers to the capability of a
computer to perform different kinds of works with same
accuracy and efficiency.
6. Reliability: A computer is reliable as it gives consistent
result for similar set of data i.e., if we give same set of input
any number of times, we will get the same result
7. Automatic: Computer performs all the tasks automatically
i.e. it performs tasks without manual intervention.
8. Electronic: Modern computer works on the basis
of electricity only and most of its parts are electronic
devices and they are made of semiconductor chips.
9. Wordlength: Wordlength or word size refers to
the numbers of bits that the CPU can process in
parallel in one time. Currently used Wordlength are
32, 64 or higher bits. Wordlength is the measure of
computing power of a computer. The longer the
word length, the more powerful computer becomes.
10. Non-intelligence: It does not have commonsense
and intelligence on its own. Computer cannot think
and decide like human beings. Many man-made
programs have to be installed in computer to do
various kind of tasks. Hence, this device is a non-
intelligent machine.
Application of computers
1. Education
2. Offices
3. Health and medical field
4. Home
5. Bank
6. Industries
7. Science and technology
8. Entertainment
9. Weather forecasting
10. Military
11. Communication
12. Reservation
13. Library
14. Desktop publishing house
History of Computer
The first counting device was used by the primitive people. They used
sticks, stones and bones as counting tools. As human mind and
technology improved with time more computing devices were developed.
1. Age of mechanical calculating era
The calculator of this era was developed by using mechanical
components like wood, stone, metal, bones etc. It was used for simple
mathematical calculation.
a. Abacus
b. Napier’s Bone
c. The slide rule
d. Pascaline
e. Stepped Reckoner
f. Difference and Analytical Engine
g. Jacquard’s Loom and Punch card
h. Lady Augusta Ada
i. Tabulating Machine
 Abacus
 Abacus is one of the earliest calculating devices
invented by man.
 There is no concrete fact in history as whom and
when this device was made.
 It was invented around 3000 BC.
 It is generally seen in China, Japan, Egypt etc.
 An abacus consists of rectangular frames containing
number of rods or wire which is divided into two
unequal parts called earth and heaven.
 The lower part contains 5 beads and upper part
contains 2 beads in each wire.
 By moving the beads, it is used for counting as well
as to find addition and subtraction.
Napier’s Bone

 John Napier, a Scottish mathematician

invented “Principle of Logarithm” in the
year 1614 AD.
 Based on his own principle, he invented
small device containing 10 rods engraved
with numbers called Napier’s Bone in the
year 1617 AD.
 With the invention of Napier’s Bone
people can perform multiplication faster.
Slide Rule
 Invented by William Oughtred in1622
 Is based on Napier's ideas about logarithms.
 It had multiple rulers marked with numbers in one pack
 Used primarily for
❑ multiplication
❑ division
❑ roots
❑ logarithms
❑ Trigonometry
 Not normally used for addition or subtraction.
 It was still in used in the 1960’s by the NASA engineers of
the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs which landed men
on the moon.
Pascaline
 Invented by Blaise Pascal in 1642 AD when he was
19 years old.
 He invented Pascaline to help his father who was a tax
collector.
 It consisted of eight dials, gears and wheels. The
numbers were entered by dialing series of numbered
wheels, where the movement of wheels started at 9
and moved to 0.
 An automatic carry over system was accomplished by
rotating the adjacent wheel by one digit.
 It can do addition and subtraction up to 8 digits and
multiplication and division were done by repeated
addition and subtraction.
Stepped Reckoner
 Invented by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz in
1672 on the basis of Pascaline.
 The machine that can add, subtract, multiply
and divide automatically.
 Consist of fluted drums having ten flutes
arranged around their circumference in a
stair-step fashion instead of gear.
 Used to find square root.
 Leibnitz was first one to advocate the use of
binary number system, which is fundamental
to the operation of modern computers.
Difference and Analytical Engine
 Charles Babbage was a professor of
mathematics at Cambridge University.
 He invented Difference engine and it used to
work with steam in the year 1822 AD.
 Then in the year 1833 AD he invented
Analytical engine, it was interconnected
maze of gears, cams.
 But he was unable to complete due to lack of
technology.
 Analytical engine used to work in IPO (Input
Process and Output) So, he is called as father
of computer science.
Jacquard’s Loom and Punch card

 Invented by Joseph Marie Jacquard and

demonstrated in 1801 AD, the Jacquard Loom is
an attachment for powered fabric looms.
 The machine was used to automatically control
weaving looms to facilitate the production of
weaving cloth with complex pattern.
 The pattern were automatically read from
punched wooden cards held together in a long row
by rope.
 Later on same punch card technology was used
for computer programming
Lady Augusta Ada

 Lady Augusta Ada is said to be First

Computer Programmer as she developed
first program for Analytical engine
developed by Charles Babbage.
 She suggested Charles Babbage to use
Binary System fir programs and data to be
fed in the Analytical Engine
Tabulating Machine
 Dr. Herman Hollerith and American
census statistician invented Tabulating
Machine in 1886.
 It was the first machine to make practical
use of punched card in data processing.
 Herman Hollerith established the
Tabulating Machine Company and later it
was merged with other companies and
formed International Business Company
(IBM).
Electro-Mechanical Era
The calculator in this age was developed by using mechanical and
electronic component vacuum tube. Successful general purpose
mechanical computers were built, in the 1930s. Konrad Zuse
developed mechanical computer, the n, in LOBS in Germany.
Mark I
 In 1937, Howard Aiken, a professor of Harvard University
developed an Electro-Mechanical Computer called Mark-I.
 This computer was originally called ASCC(Automatic Sequence
Controlled Calculator) later it was named as Mark-I.
 The operational mode of this machine was based on the principle of
Charles Babbage.
 This was the first computer programmable digital computer.
 It was constructed by using switches, relays, rotating shafts, and
clutches.
 It had complex design as it contained about 750,000 parts and it
was 51 feet tall, 8 feet high and 2 feet wide with 500 miles of wire ,
32 tons of weight.
 It consumed a lot of heat and electricity.
Mark II
 It was constructed with high speed electromagnetic relays
instead of electro-mechanical.
 It had built in hard for several functions such as reciprocal,
square roots, logarithm , exponential and some trigonometric
functions.
ABC(Atanasoff Berry Computer)
 It was first electronic digital computer.
 This computer was designed by Dr. John Vincent Atanasoff and
Clifford Berry in 1942 AD.
 It used 18000 valves as main memory.
 It used punch cards as input and output operation i.e. secondary.
 It is considered as the first computing machine which introduced
the idea of binary arithmetic, regenerative memory and logic
circuits.
 This machine was first to store data as a charge on a capacitor,
which is how today’s computers store their main memory
(RAM).
Electronic Computers Era
ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And
Calculator)
 It was the first general purpose electronic
computer developed by John William Mauchly
and John Presper Eckert in 1946 AD.
 It was 10 feet high and occupied about 1000 sq
feet, weight to 30 tons, it used 18000 vacuum
tubes. It consumed a lot of heat and electricity.
John Von Neumann
 He was the mathematician. He discovered stored
program technology. In 1945 AD. He also
discovered that Binary number system should be
used in computer processing.
EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage
Automatic Computer)
 It was developed by Maurice Wilkes and his
team in 1949 A.D. by applying the Neumann
stored program technique. It also used
vacuum tubes.
 It used 3000 vacuum tubes. Input was given
by paper tapes and output by the teleprinter.
 EDSAC ran its first program on May 6,
1949.
 This machine was used to calculate a table
of squares and a list of prime numbers
EDVAC (Electronic Discrete
Variable Automatic Computer)
 It was the first stored program computer designed by J.W.
Mauchly and J.P. Eckert in the year 1952 AD.
 It also had vacuum tube and some internal storage.
 It was binary serial computer with automatic addition,
subtraction, multiplication programmed division.
 Magnetic tapes was used to store data and instruction.
 It was built for US Army’s Ballistics Research Laboratory by
University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School of Electrical
Engineering.
 The computer had almost 6000 vacuum tubes, 12000 diodes
and consumed 56KW of power. It covered 490 square foot
space and weighted 7850 KG.
 The machine required 30 personnel to operate and was used
until 1961 at a research laboratory.
UNIVAC-1 (Universal Automatic
Computer)
 It was first general purpose electronic digital
computer made for commercial use developed by
J.W. Mauchly and J.P. Eckert which was 8 feet
high, 15 feet long and its weight was about 15
tons.
 Power consumption was about 120 KVA. It’s
reported processing speed was 0.525 millisecond
for arithmetic functions, 2.15 milliseconds for
multiplication and3.9 milliseconds for division.
 It was also the first computer to come equipped
with a magnetic tape unit and was the first
computer to use buffer memory.
History Of Computer in Nepal
 History of computer in Nepal is not much old. An electronic
calculator called ‘Facit’ was used to prepare the census in 2018 BS,
it took long time to complete calculation (about 6 years).
 In the year 2028 BS Government of Nepal brought IBM 1401
(Second Generation Computer) on rent to do the census calculation,
it also took 1 year 7 months and 15 days to do the calculation.
 Another computer was also brought in Nepal ICL 2950/10 (fourth
Generation computer) in 2038 BS to do census calculation. It tool 1
year and 3 months to do calculation and its kept in the museum of
National Computer Centre(NCC) Singh Durbar.
 In the year 2031 BS EDP(Electronic Data Processing) centre was
formed later it was renamed to National Computer centre.
Government of Nepal formed High Level Commission for
Information Technology under chairman ship of Prime minister. IT
policy was formed in 2057 BS. IT park with all infrastructure for IT
companies is constructed. Also Government issued Electronic
Transaction Act-2061 was formed. It is Cyber Law of Nepal.
Computer Association of Nepal (CAN) was established in 1992.
Von Neumann Architecture
 The Von-Neumann Architecture or Von-
Neumann model is also known as
“Princeton Architecture”.
 This architecture was published by the
Mathematician John Von Neumann in
1945
 The basic structure is like,
 It is a design model for modern computers
which has a Central Processing Unit(CPU)
and the concept of Memory which is used for
storing both data and instructions.
 This architecture implemented the stored
program concept in which the data and
instructions are stored in the same memory.
 This architecture consists of a Control Unit,
CPU, Arithmetic and logic unit(ALU),
Register, I/O(Input Output Devices), and
Memory unit.
COMPONENTS OF VON-
NEUMANN ARCHITECTURE are:
 The Central Processing Unit (CPU)
 The Input/output Device
 Memory Unit
The Central Processing Unit (CPU)
 Control Unit –
A control unit (CU) handles all processor
control signals. It directs all input and output
flow, fetches code for instructions, and controls
how data moves around the system.
 Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU) –
The arithmetic logic unit is that part of the
CPU that handles all the calculations the CPU
may need, e.g. Addition, Subtraction,
Comparisons. It performs Logical Operations,
Bit Shifting Operations, and Arithmetic
operations.
Main Memory Unit (Registers) –
 Accumulator: Stores the results of calculations made by
ALU.
 Program Counter (PC): Keeps track of the memory
location of the next instructions to be dealt with. The PC
then passes this next address to Memory Address
Register (MAR).
 Memory Address Register (MAR): It stores the
memory locations of instructions that need to be fetched
from memory or stored into memory.
 Memory Data Register (MDR): It stores instructions
fetched from memory or any data that is to be
transferred to, and stored in, memory.
 Current Instruction Register (CIR): It stores the most
recently fetched instructions while it is waiting to be
coded and executed.
 Instruction Buffer Register (IBR): The instruction that
is not to be executed immediately is placed in the
instruction buffer register IBR
Input/Output Devices –
 Program or data is read into main memory from the
input device or secondary storage under the control of
CPU input instruction.
 Output devices are used to output the information from a
computer.
Buses –
 Data is transmitted from one part of a computer to
another, connecting all major internal components to the
CPU and memory, by the means of Buses. Types:
 Data Bus: It carries data among the memory unit, the
I/O devices, and the processor.
 Address Bus: It carries the address of data (not the
actual data) between memory and processor.
 Control Bus: It carries control commands from the
CPU (and status signals from other devices) in order to
control and coordinate all the activities within the
computer
Memory Unit
 A memory unit is a collection of storage cells
together with associated circuits needed to
transfer information in and out of the storage.
 The memory stores binary information in
groups of bits called words.
 The internal structure of a memory unit is
specified by the number of words it contains
and the number of bits in each word.
 Two major types of memories are used in
computer systems:
 RAM (Random Access Memory)
 ROM (Read-Only Memory
 Generation of Computer-
Introduction
 The development of computers in the different time
periods is known as Generation of computer.
 Computer generation is described as stage of
technological development or innovation.
 The advancement of in technology occurred in each
generation, the computers in each generation
became smaller, cheaper , more reliable then the
previous generation of computer.
 It is classified in to five different generations.
1. First Generation Computer
2. Second Generation Computer
3. Third Generation Computer
4. Fourth Generation Computer
5. Fifth Generation (AI) Computer
First Generation Computer (1940-
1956)
 All the computers which made during the
first generation had vacuum tubes as their
memory and processing devices
 Vacuum tube was developed by Lee De
Forest in 1908 A.D. and used later
computer system.
 The first generation computer has
following features:
1. Technology:
2. Processing speed:
3. Input/output devices:
4. Computer type:
5. Memory:
6. Storage device:
7. Operation mode:
8. Size and cost:
9. Reliability and accuracy:
10. Programming language:
11. Availability:
12. Power consumption and heat emission:
13. Portability:
14. Examples: MARK I, ABC ENIAC
1. Technology: VACCUM TUBES
2. Processing speed: MILLISECOND
3. Input/output devices: PUNCH CARD
4. Computer type: ELECTRO-MECHANICAL
5. Memory: VACCUM TUBES & MAGNETIC RELAY
6. Storage device: Magnetic Drum
7. Operation mode: MANUALLY SET UP
8. Size and cost: VERY LARGE & VERY EXPENSIVE
9. Reliability and accuracy: NOT FULLY
10. Programming language: MACHINE LEVEL
LANGUAGE
11. Availability: MILLITARY PURPOSE &
UNIVERSITY RESEARCH
12. Power consumption and heat emission: VERY HIGH
13. Portability: NOT
14. Examples: MARK I, ABC, ENIAC
Second Generation Computer(1955-1964)
1. Technology:
2. Processing speed:
3. Input/output devices:
4. Computer type:
5. Memory:
6. Storage device:
7. Operation mode:
8. Size and cost:
9. Reliability and accuracy:
10. Programming language:
11. Availability:
12. Power consumption and heat emission:
13. Portability:
14. Examples:IBM1401
 Second Generation Computers (1955-
1.
1964)
Technology: TRANSISTORS
2. Processing speed: MICROSECOND
3. Input/output devices: PUNCH CARD
4. Computer type: ELECTRO-MECHANICAL
5. Memory: MAGNETIC CORE
6. Storage device: MAGNETIC TAPE
7. Operation mode: MANUALLY SETUP
8. Size and cost: SMALLER AND LESS EXPENSIVE THAN FGC
9. Reliability and accuracy: MORE THAN FGC
10. Programming language: ASSEMBLY AND HLL such as
FORTAN, ALGOL, COBOL etc
11. Availability: GENERAL PURPOSE
12. Power consumption and heat emission: LESS THAN FGC
13. Portability:NOT
14. Examples: IBM1401,ICL2950/10,IBM1620 etc.
Third Generation Computer (1964-
1975)
1. Technology:
2. Processing speed:
3. Input/output devices:
4. Computer type:
5. Memory:
6. Storage device:
7. Operation mode:
8. Size and cost:
9. Reliability and accuracy:
10. Programming language:
11. Availability:
12. Power consumption and heat emission:
13. Portability:
14. Examples: IBM360 series, ICL1900 etc
Third Generation Computers(1964-
1975)
1. Technology: INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
2. Processing speed: NANOSECOND
3. Input/output devices: KEYBOARD AND MONITORS
4. Computer type: ELECTRONIC
5. Memory: SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY
6. Storage device: MAGNETIC DISK
7. Operation mode: OS WAS INTRODUCED
8. Size and cost: LESS THAN
9. Reliability and accuracy: MORE THAN
10. Programming language: HIGH LEVEL LANGUAGE
11. Availability: GENERAL AS WELL AS PERSONAL
12. Power consumption and heat emission: LESS THAN
13. Portability: PORTABLE
14. Examples: IBM360 SERIES, ICL900 ETC
Fourth Generation Computer (1975-
present)
1. Technology: Microprocessor with VLSI & ULSI technology
2. Processing speed: Picosecond
3. Input/output devices: scanner printer touchscreen etc
4. Computer type: electronic
5. Memory: semiconductor memory RAM with higher capacity
6. Storage device: magnetic and optical disk
7. Operation mode: multiprogramming, multitasking,
multiprocessing, distributed OS
8. Size and cost: small and cheap
9. Reliability and accuracy: highly reliable accurate
10. Programming language: HLL & 4GL
11. Availability: GENERAL purpose
12. Power consumption and heat emission: very less
13. Portability: YES
14. Examples: Macbook, dell ,hp etc
Fifth Generation Computer
 AI, BIO-CHIPS,
Classification of computer
Fourth Generation Computers(1975-
present)
1. Technology:
2. Processing speed:
3. Input/output devices:
4. Computer type:
5. Memory:
6. Storage device:
7. Operation mode:
8. Size and cost:
9. Reliability and accuracy:
10. Programming language:
11. Availability:
12. Power consumption and heat emission:
13. Portability:
14. Examples: ACER, DELL, HP
Super, Mainframe, Mini and
Microcomputers
Super computer
 Super computer is one of the most powerful computers which is used
to perform the complex calculations.
 They are the fastest computer which works in nanosecond even in a
picosecond too.
 This computer is used for a special purpose. Usually. such computer
uses parallel processors.
 Nowadays. the computing capability of a super computer is equal to
that of 40,000 micro computers.
 Mostly super computers are used by government agencies. These
computers are used in research and other operations where there is a
huge numerical calculation. Different industries also use this huge
computer for designing their products. It is also used in Hollywood
movies for animation purposes.
 It requires large space and temperature control room.
 CRAY X-NIF24, NEC-500, F'ARAM, etc are some of the examples
of a super computer.
 Today super computer are designed by companies such as HP. IBM,
Cray Inc.
Mainframe computers
 Mainframe computers are powerful multi-user computers capable of
supporting many hundreds of users simultaneously.
 It is also large in size. This computer has slower processing speed than a
super computer but faster than a mini and micro computer. It is designed
for large-scale data processing and a huge amount of data storage.
 They are used in a big organization such as bank, insurance companies,
airlines, railway reservation system. e-mail service providers, web hosting,
etc.
 Their processing speed varies from computers to computers ranging to
million bytes per second.
 It needs a large area approximately 1000 sq., it supports a large number of
I/O terminals, more than 100 terminals.
 In a mainframe, each user accesses the mainframe's resources through a
device called a terminal. Their terminals are attached to the mainframes to
perform the different types of task in FIFO.
 IBM 1401, ICL 2950/10,043ER 170, etc. are some of the examples of
mainframe computers.
Mini computers
 Mini computers are very popular among medium sized
companies.
 Mini computers offer facilities for faster processing of
voluminous information.
 Mini computers, of course, are bigger than microcomputers
but smaller than most of their elders called mainframes.
 They can process information at the rate of 4 millions byte
per second.
 They are not as powerful as mainframe computers
 Generally, applied to perform smaller work in commercial
and government organisation.
 The mini computers like VAX 8000 series from Digital
Equipment Corporation (DEC) and AS/400 series from IBM
have been quite popular in computer aided manufacturing, as
well as departmental computers.
Application
 E-mail
 Web browsing
 Messaging
 Scheduling
 Contact management
 Streamlining of Business Processes
 Entertainment
 Presentation and many more.
Micro Computers
 The smallest among them are micro computers. They
are small in physical size (most of them are desktop
system; however, notebook micro computers that can
fit into a briefcase are also available).
 They are economical in terms of costs and are friendly
in use. Personal computers (PCs) fall into this
category.
 They contain a small CPU normally called
microprocessor.
 Microcomputers are being manufactured in large scale
as compared to other types of computers

 These computers can be used for small data

processing jobs of bigger companies or serve as
complete computer systems for small firms.