INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SYSTEM

1.0 OBJECTIVES

After studying this chapter you will be able to:

 Learn the concept of a system in general and the computer system in specific.
 Learn and understand how the computers have evolved dramatically within a very short
span, from very huge machines of the past, to very compact designs of the present with
tremendous advances in technology.
 Understand the general classifications of computers.
 Study computer applications.
 Understand the typical characteristics of computers which are speed, accuracy,
efficiency, storage capacity, versatility.
 Understand limitations of the computer.
 Discuss the similarities and differences between the human and the computer.
 Understand the Component of the computer.

1.1 INTRODUCTION- Computer

Today, almost all of us in the world make use of computers in one way or the other. It
finds applications in various fields of engineering, medicine, commercial, research and others.
Not only in these sophisticated areas, but also in our daily lives, computers have become
indispensable. They are present everywhere, in all the dev ices that we use daily like cars,
games, washing machines, microwaves etc. and in day to day computations like banking,
reservations, electronic mails, internet and many more.

The word computer is derived from the word compute. Compute means to
calculate. The computer was originally defined as a super fast calculator. It had the capacity to
solve complex arithmetic and scientific problems at very high speed. But nowadays in addition
to handling complex arithmetic computations, computers perform many other tasks like
accepting, sorting, selecting, moving, comparing various types of information. They also perform
arithmetic and logical operations on alphabetic, numeric and other types of information. This
information provided by the user to the computer is data. The information in one form which is
presented to the computer is the input information or input data.

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Information in another form is presented by the computer after performing a process on it. This
information is the output information or output data.

The set of instructions given to the computer to perform various operations is called as
the computer program. The process of converting the input data into the required output
form with the help of the computer program is called as data processing. The computers are
therefore also referred to as data processors

Therefore a computer can now be defined as a fast and accurate data processing
system that accepts data, performs various operations on the data, has the capability to store the
data and produce the results on the basis of detailed step by step instructions given to it..

The terms hardware and software are almost always used in connection with the computer.

• The Hardware:
The hardware is the machinery itself. It is made up of the physical
parts or devices of the computer system like the electronic Integrated Circuits (ICs), magnetic
storage media and other mechanical devices like input devices, output devices etc. All these
various hardware are linked together to form an effective functional unit. The various types of
hardware used in the computers, has evolved from vacuum tubes of the first generation to Ultra
Large Scale Integrated Circuits of the present generation.

• The Software:

The computer hardware itself is not capable of doing anything on its own.
It has to be given explicit instructions to perform the specific task. The computer program is the
one which controls the processing activities of the computer. The computer thus functions
according to the instructions written in the program. Software mainly consists of these computer
programs, procedures and other documentation used in the operation of a computer system.
Software is a collection of programs which utilize and enhance the capability of the hardware
.

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 1. 2 EVOLUTION OF COMPUTERS

The computers of today are vastly different in appearance and performance as

compared to the computers of earlier days. But where did this technology come from and Where
is it heading? To fully understand the impact of computers on today’s world and the promises
they hold for the future, it is important to understand the evolution of computers.

1.2.1. The First Generation:

The first generation computers made use of:
 Vacuum tube technology,
 Punched cards for data input,
 Punched cards and paper tape for output,
 Machine Language for writing programs,
 Magnetic tapes and drums for external storage.
The computers of the first generation were very bulky and emitted large amount of
heat which required air conditioning. They were large in size and cumbersome to handle. They
had to be manually assembled and had limited commercial use. The concept of operating
systems was not known at that time. Each computer had a different binary coded program called
a machine language that told it how to operate.

Punched cards Paper tape Vacuum tube

Fig. 1.1 The first Generation Computer technology

The Abacus, which emerged about 5000 years ago in Asia Minor and is still in use
today, allows users to make computations using a system of sliding beads arranged on a rack.
Early merchants used Abacus to keep trading transactions.

Abacus Pascaline
Fig. 1.2 the first Generation Computers

Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician invented the first mechanical machine, a

rectangular brass box, called Pascaline which could perform addition and subtraction on
whole numbers. This was in the seventeenth century. Colmar, a Frenchman invented a
machine that could perform the four basic arithmetic functions of addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division. Colmar’s mechanical calculator, “Arithmometer”, presented a
more practical approach to computing. With its enhanced versatility, the “Arithmometer” was
widely used until the First World War, although later inventors refined Colmar’s calculator,
together with fellow inventors, Pascal and Leibniz, he helped define the age of mechanical
computation.

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 Charles Babbage a British mathematician at Cambridge University invented the
first analytical engine or difference engine. This machine could be programmed by
instructions coded on punch cards and had mechanical memory to store the results. For his
contributions in this field Charles Babbage is known as ‘the father of modern digital
computer.
Some of the early computers included:
Mark I –
This was the first fully automatic calculating machine. It was designed by Howard
Aiken of Harvard University in collaboration with IBM. This machine was an electronic relay
computer. Electromagnetic signals were used for the movement of mechanical parts. Mark I
could perform the basic arithmetic and complex equations. Although this machine was
extremely reliable, it was very slow (it took about 3-5 seconds per calculation) and was complex
in design and large in size.

Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC) –

This computer developed by John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry was the world’s first
general purpose electronic digital computer. It made use of vacuum tubes for internal logic and
capacitors for storage.
ENIAC (Electronic Numeric Integrator and Calculator) –
The first all electronic computer was produced by a partnership between the US
Government and the University of Pennsylvania. It was built using 18,000 vacuum tubes, 70,000
resistors and 1,500 relays and consumed 160 kilowatts of electrical power. The ENIAC
computed at speed about thousand times faster than Mark I. However, it could store and
manipulate only a limited amount of data. Program modifications and detecting errors were also
difficult.

Fig. 1.3 ENIAC

EDVAC –
In the mid 1940’s Dr. John von Neumann designed the Electronic Discrete
Variable Automatic Computer with a memory to store both program and data. This was the
first machine which used the stored program concept. It had five distinct units - arithmetic,
central control, memory, input and output. The key element was the central control. All the
functions of the computer were co-ordinate through this single source, the central control. The
programming of the computers was done in machine language UNIVAC • I –
Remington Rand designed this computer specifically for business data processing
applications. The Universal Automatic Computer was the first general purpose
commercially available computer.

Fig 1.4 UNIVAC

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1.2.2 The Second Generation:
In the second generation computers:
 Vacuum tube technology was replaced by transistorized technology,
 Size of the computers started reducing,
 Assembly language started being used in place of machine language,
 Concept of stored program emerged,
 High level languages were invented.

This was the generation of Transistorized Computers. Vacuum tubes were

replaced by transistors. As a result, the size of the machines started shrinking. These computers
were smaller, faster, more reliable and more energy efficient. The first transistorized computer
was TX-0. The first large scale machines that took advantage of the transistor technology were
the early supercomputers, Stretch by IBM and LARC by Sperry Rand. These machines were
mainly developed for atomic energy laboratories. Typical computers of the second generation
were the IBM 1400 and 7000 series, Honeywell 200 and General Electric.

Fig 1.5 Transistors

IBM 1401 was universally accepted throughout the industry and most large
businesses routinely processed financial information using second generation computers. The
machine language was replaced by assembly language. Thus the long and difficult binary code
was replaced with abbreviated programming code which was relatively easy to understand.
The stored program concept and programming languages gave the computers
flexi bility to finally be cost effective and productive for business use. The stored program
concept implied that the instructions to run a computer for a specific task were held inside the
computer’s memory and could quickly be modified or replaced by a different set of instructions
for a different function. High level languages like COBOL, FORTRAN and AL- GOL were dev
eloped. Computers started finding vast and varied applications. The entire software industry
began with the second generation computers.

1.2.3. The Third Generation:

The third generation computers were characterized by:

 Use of Integrated circuits,
 Phenomenal increase in computation speed,
 Substantial reduction in size and power consumption of the machines,
 Use of magnetic tapes and drums for external storage,
 Design-of Operating systems and new higher level languages,
 Commercial production of computers.

This generation was characterized by the invention of Integrated Circuits (ICs).

The 1C combined electronic components onto a small chip which was made from quartz.

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Fig 1.6 i) Integrated Circuit ii) Integrated Circuit

Later, even more components were fitted onto a single chip, called a
semiconductor. This reduced the size even further. The weight and power consumption of
computers decreased and the speed increased tremendously. Heavy emphasis was given to the
development of software. Operating systems were designed which allowed the machine to run
many different programs at once. A central program monitored and co-ordinate the computer s
memory. Multiprogramming was made possible, whereby the machine could perform several
jobs at the same time. Computers achieved speeds of executing millions of instructions per
second. Commercial production became easier and cheaper. Higher level languages like Pascal
and Report Program Generator (RPG) were introduced and applications oriented languages like
FORTRAN, COBOL, and PL/1 were developed.

1.2.4. The Fourth Generation:

The general features of the fourth generation computers were:
 Use of Very Large Scale Integration,
 Invention of microcomputers,
 Introduction of Personal Computers,
 Networking,
 Fourth Generation Languages.

Fig. 1.7 VLSI

The third generation computers made use of ‘Integrated Circuits that had 10- 20
components on each chip, this was Small Scale Integration (SSI).
The Fourth Generation realized Large Scale Integration (LSI) which could fit
hundreds of components on one chip and Very Large Scale integration (VLSI) which
squeezed thousand of components on one chip. The Intel 4004 chip, located all the components
of a computer (central processing unit, memory, input and output controls) on a single chip and
microcomputers were introduced. Higher capacity storage media like magnetic disks were
developed. Fourth generation languages emerged and applications software’s started becoming
popular.
Computer production became inexpensive and the era of Personal

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 Computers (PCs) commenced. In 1981, IBM introduced its personal computer for
use in office, home and schools. In direct competition, the Macintosh was introduced
by Apple in 1984. Shared interactive systems and user friendly environments were
the features of these computers.
As the computers started becoming more and more powerful, they could
be linked together or networked to share not only data but also memory space and
software. The networks could reach enormous proportions with local area networks. A
global web of computer circuitry, the Internet, links the computers worldwide into a
single network of information.

1.2.5 The Fifth Generation:

Defining the fifth generation computers is somewhat difficult because the
field is still in its infancy. The computers of tomorrow would be characterized by
Artificial Intelligence (At). An example of Al is Expert Systems. Computers could
be developed which could think and reason in much the same way as humans.
Computers would be able to accept spoken words as input (voice recognition).

Many advances in the science of computer design and technology are

coming together to enable the creation of fifth generation computers. Two such
advances are parallel processing where many CPUs work as one and advance in
superconductor technology which allows the flow of electricity with little or
no resistance, greatly improving the speed of information flow.

Check your Progress -

1.2
1. Match the following. B
A I) Second Generation
a) Very Large scale Integration
II) Fifth Generation
b) Vacuum Tube Technology III) Fourth Generation
c) Stored Program IV) First Generation
d) Superconductor Technology v) Third Generation
e) Semiconductor Technology

2. Write True or False

A. Expert system is an example of artificial Intelligence.
B. The world’s first general purposes electronic digital computer was the Abacus.
C. The first generation computers used machine language for programming.
D. Charles Babbage designed the Analytical Engine .
E. Personal Computer (PC) was developed in the first generations.

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