HISTORY OF

COMPUTER

BS(CS) ; SEMESTER-01
 HISTORY OF COMPUTER

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
….3
TYPES OF
COMPUTER…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…4
ABACUS................................................................................................................................ 5
NAPIER'S BONES ..................................................................................................................... 5
PASCALINE ............................................................................................................................ 6
DIFFERENCE ENGINE ................................................................................................................ 7
ANALYTICAL ENGINE ................................................................................................................ 8
TABULATING MACHINE ............................................................................................................. 8
DIFFERENTIAL ANALYZER ........................................................................................................... 8
MARK I ................................................................................................................................ 9
FIRST GENERATION COMPUTER (1942-1955) ................................................................................ 9
ENIAC: ................................................................................................................................ 9
UNIVAC: ........................................................................................................................... 10
SECOND GENERATION COMPUTER (1955-1965) ........................................................................... 10
THIRD GENERATION COMPUTER (1965-1975) ............................................................................. 11
FOURTH GENERATION COMPUTER (1975-PRESENT) ....................................................................... 12
MOOR’S LAW .................................................................................................................. 13
FIFTH GENERATION COMPUTER (PRESENT-BEYOND) ....................................................................... 13
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INCLUDES ........................................................................................ 14
THE MAIN FEATURES OF FIFTH GENERATION ARE − ...................................................................... 14
INDEX
PAGE………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..20

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HISTORY OF COMPUTER

INTRODUCTION

DEFINITION:
A computer is a programmable electronic device that accepts raw data as input and
processes it with a set of instructions (a program) to produce the result as output. It renders
output just after performing mathematical and logical operations and can save the output
for future use. It can process numerical as well as non-numerical calculations. The term
"computer" is derived from the Latin word "compute" which means to calculate.

A computer is designed to execute applications and provides a variety of solutions through

integrated hardware and software components. It works with the help of programs and
represents the decimal numbers through a string of binary digits. It also has a memory
that stores the data, programs, and result of processing. The components of a computer
such as machinery that includes wires, transistors, circuits, hard disk are called hardware.
Whereas, the programs and data are called software.

It is believed that the Analytical Engine was the first computer which was
invented by Charles Babbage in 1837. It used punch cards as read-only memory.
Charles Babbage is also known as the father of the computer.

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TYPES OF COMPUTER

We can categorize computer in two ways: on the basis of data handling capabilities
and size.

On the basis of data handling capabilities, the computer is of three types:

o Analogue Computer

o Digital Computer

o Hybrid Computer

 Analogue Computer

Analogue computers are designed to process analogue data. Analogue data is continuous
data that changes continuously and cannot have discrete values.

 Digital Computer

Digital computer is designed to perform calculations and logical operations at high

speed.

 Hybrid computer

Hybrid computers are computers that exhibit features of analog computers and digital
computers.

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HISTORY OF COMPUTER

HISTOTY 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. Some of the popular computing devices
starting with the first to recent ones are described below;

Abacus
The history of computer begins with the birth of abacus which is believed to be the
first computer. It is said that Chinese invented Abacus around 4,000 years ago.

It was a wooden rack which has metal rods with beads mounted on them. The beads
were moved by the abacus operator according to some rules to perform arithmetic
calculations. Abacus is still used in some countries like China, Russia and Japan. An
image of this tool is shown below;

Napier's Bones
It was a manually-operated calculating device which was invented by John Napier
(1550-1617) of Merchiston. In this calculating tool, he used 9 different ivory strips or
bones marked with numbers to multiply and divide. So, the tool became known as
"Napier's Bones. It was also the first machine to use the decimal point.

HOW DID IT WORK?

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By placing "bones" corresponding to the multiplier

on the left side and the bones corresponding to the
digits of the multiplicand next to it to the right, and
product can be read off simply by adding pairs of
numbers (with appropriate carries as needed) in
the row determined by the multiplier.

Pascaline
Pascaline is also known as Arithmetic Machine or Adding Machine. It was invented
between 1642 and 1644 by a French mathematician-philosopher Biaise Pascal. It is
believed that it was the first mechanical and automatic calculator.

Pascal invented this machine to help his father, a tax accountant. It could only
perform addition and subtraction. It was a wooden box with a series of gears and
wheels. When a wheel is rotated one revolution, it rotates the neighboring wheel. A
series of windows is given on the top of the wheels to read the totals. An image of
this tool is shown below;

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How did it work?

By moving a display bar, the operator

can see either the number stored in
the calculator or the complement of
its value.

Stepped Reckoner or Leibnitz wheel

It was developed by a German
mathematician-philosopher Gottfried
Wilhelm Leibnitz in 1673. He improved
Pascal's invention to develop this
machine. It was a digital mechanical
calculator which was called the stepped
reckoner as instead of gears it was made
of fluted drums.

In the early 1820s, it was designed by

Charles Babbage who is known as
"Father of Modern Computer". It was a
mechanical computer which could
perform simple calculations. It was a
steam driven calculating machine
designed to solve tables of numbers like
logarithm tables

Difference Engine
In the early 1820s, it was designed by
Charles Babbage who is known as
"Father of Modern Computer". It was
a mechanical computer which could
perform simple calculations. It was a
steam driven calculating machine
designed to solve tables of numbers
like logarithm tables.

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Analytical Engine
This calculating machine was also developed by Charles Babbage in 1830. It was a
mechanical computer that used punch-cards as input. It was capable of solving any
mathematical problem and storing information as a permanent memory.

Tabulating Machine
It was invented in 1890, by Herman Hollerith, an American statistician. It was a
mechanical tabulator based on punch cards. It could tabulate statistics and record or
sort data or information. This machine was used in the 1890 U.S. Census. Hollerith
also started the Holleriths. Tabulating Machine Company which later became
International Business Machine (IBM) in 1924.

What is the function of tabulating machine?

The tabulating machine was an
electromechanical machine designed
to assist in summarizing information
stored on punched cards. Invented by
Herman Hollerith, the machine was
developed to help process data for the
1890 U.S. Census.

Differential Analyzer
It was the first electronic computer introduced in the United States in 1930. It was an
analog device invented by Vannevar Bush. This machine has vacuum tubes to switch
electrical signals to perform calculations. It could do 25 calculations in few minutes.

How does a digital differential analyzer work?

The Digital Difference Analyzer (DDA)
algorithm is used to draw lines on a screen
in an incrementally. The algorithm is
called the Digital Difference Analyzer
because it interpolates points based on
the difference between the start and end
points. The algorithm itself is very easy to
understand and implement.

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Mark I
The next major changes in the history of
computer began in 1937 when Howard
Aiken planned to develop a machine that
could perform calculations involving large
numbers. In 1944, Mark I computer was
built as a partnership between IBM and
Harvard. It was the first programmable
digital computer.

GENERATIONS OF COMPUTER

First Generation Computer (1942-1955)

 The first electronic computers emerged

during World War II to solve complex
calculations for military purposes. In 1st
generation computers vacuum tubes were
used, the vacuum tube needs wires, metal
plates, a glass capsule, and a vacuum.
 ENIAC (1945) was one of the earliest
general-purpose electronic computers,
using vacuum tubes for processing.
 UNIVAC I (1951) became the first
commercially available computer.

(i) ENIAC:
The ENIAC (Electronic Numerical measuring instrument And Computer), designed and made
at the University of Pennsylvania, was the world’s 1st general purpose electronic computing device.

The project was a response to U.S desires throughout war II. The Army’s Ballistics work (BRL), an
agency to blame for developing vary and mechanical phenomenon tables for brand spanking new
weapons.

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The BRL utilized quite two hundred people that, victimization desktop calculators, resolved the
required ballistics equations. Preparation of the tables for one weapon would take one person
several hours, even days.

The ensuing machine was huge

 Weighing thirty tons

 Occupying 1500 sq. feet of floor house
 Containing quite eighteen,1000 vacuum tubes
 Consumed one hundred forty kilowatts of power
 Capable of 5000 additions per second.
 The ENIAC was a decimal instead of a binary machine.

(ii) UNIVAC:

In 1947, Eckert and Mauchly fashioned the Eckert-Mauchly computer Corporation to manufacture

computers commercially. Their 1st successful machine was the UNIVAC I (Universal Automatic

Computer). The UNIVAC is used to be the primary successful industrial computer.

It had been supposed for both scientific and industrial applications. The primary paper describing

the system listed matrix pure mathematics computations, applied mathematics issues, premium

billings for an insurance company, and logistic issues as a sample of the tasks it may perform.

Punch cards were introduced for input and support low level languages.

Second Generation Computer (1955-1965)

The first major modification within the machine came with the replacement of the vacuum
tube by the transistor.

The transistor is smaller, cheaper, and dissipates less heat than a vacuum tube however are
often employed in an equivalent means as a vacuum tube to construct computers.

The transistor could be a solid-state device, made up of silicon. The transistor was invented
at Bell Labs in 1947 associated by the 1950's had launched an electronic revolution.

The second generation saw the introduction of more complex arithmetic and logic units and
control units, the use of high level programming languages, and the provision of system software.

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Second Generation Computer

Configuration for an IBM 7094 machine, which is representative of second-

generation computers. The most vital thing in these is the use of data channels.

A data channel is an independent I/O module which have its own processor instruction set.
In a computing system with such devices, the CPU does not execute detailed I/O instructions.

Such instructions are stored in main memory to be executed by a special-purpose

processor in the data channel itself. Multiplexer is another new feature which is the termination
point (central) for data channels, CPU and the memory.

It schedules the access to the memory from the CPU and data channels and permit these
devices to act independently.

Third Generation Computer (1965-1975)

The first major modification within the third generation PC came with the replacement of
the electronic transistor by the integrated circuit (IC).

Following additional functions are introduced in third generation computer:

 The basic elements of a computer like must perform storage, movement, processing, and
control functions.
 Gates and memory cells were introduced.
 Fan for heat discharge was introduced.
 I/O devices were used in third generation first time.
 Support all low level and High level languages.
 Number of I\O ports were introduced.
 The size of main memory increases in going from lower to higher family members.

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Third Generation Computer

Fourth Generation Computer (1975-Present)

The first major modification within the fourth generation computer came with the

replacement of the semiconductor unit by the integrated circuits (IC).

The primary application of integrated circuit technology to computers was construction of

the processor (the control unit and also the arithmetic and logic unit) out of integrated circuit chips.

However it absolutely was additionally found that this same technology could be used to construct

memories.

Fourth Generation Computer

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With the introduction of large-scale integration (LSI), over one thousand components can be

placed on one integrated circuit chip. Very-large-scale integration (VLSI) achieved

over 10,000 components per chip, whereas current ultra-large-scale integration (ULSI) chips will

contain over one million elements.

Today fourth generation PC are terribly high speed and have capability to process no of

instruction. Brunch prediction and information flow analysis are introduced and support all high and

low level languages.

MOORE’s Law
Moore discovered that the amount of transistors that might be placed on one chip
was doubling per year and properly expected that this pace would continue into the near future.
To the surprise of the many, as well as Moore, the pace continued year after year and
decade after decade. The pace slowed to a doubling each eighteen months within the 1970's
however has sustained that rate ever since.
The results of Moore’s law are profound:

 cost of a chip has remained virtually unchanged during this period of rapid growth in
density.This means that the cost of computer logic and memory circuitry has fallen at
a dramatic rate.
 Because logic and memory elements are placed closer together on more densely
packed chips, the electrical path length is shortened, increasing operating speed.
 The computer becomes smaller, making it more convenient to place in a variety of
environments.
 There is a reduction in power and cooling requirements.
 The interconnections on the integrated circuit are much more reliable than solder
connections.With more circuitry on each chip, there are fewer inter chip connections.

Fifth Generation Computer (Present-Beyond)

This Fifth generation relies on parallel processing hardware and AI (Artificial Intelligence)
software. AI is an rising branch in computer science, that interprets the means and method of
creating computers think like human beings. All the high-level languages like C and C++, Java,
.Net etc., are utilized in this generation.

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Fifth Generation of Computer

Artificial Intelligence includes

 Robotics
 Neural Networks
 Game Playing
 Development of expert systems to make decisions in real-life situations
 Natural language understanding and generation

The main features of fifth generation are −

 ULSI technology
 Development of true artificial intelligence
 Development of Natural language processing
 Advancement in Parallel Processing
 Advancement in Superconductor technology
 More user-friendly interfaces with multimedia features

Future of Computing:
Quantum computers and neuromorphic computing hold the potential for
the future of computing, promising even greater processing power and
capabilities.

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Summary:
The history of computers can be summarized as follows:

i. Pre-Mechanical Era: Humans used simple tools like the abacus for calculations.
ii. Mechanical Era: Mechanical calculators like the Pascaline and Leibniz Wheel were
developed.
iii. Electromechanical Era: Punched cards and tabulating machines were used for data
processing.
iv. First Generation Computers: Electronic computers like ENIAC and UNIVAC I were
built using vacuum tubes.
v. Second Generation Computers: Transistors replaced vacuum tubes, leading to more
reliable and smaller computers like IBM 7090.
vi. Third Generation Computers: Integrated circuits increased computing power and
reliability, as seen in IBM System/360.
vii. Fourth Generation Computers: Microprocessors enabled the rise of personal computers
and mini-computers, exemplified by Apple II and IBM PC.
viii. Fifth Generation Computers: Current computers focus on parallel processing and AI,
including modern PCs, laptops, and smartphones.
ix. Future of Computing: Quantum computers and neuromorphic computing hold great
potential for the future of computing.

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