CSE1100

Introduction to
Computing 1
LECTURE ONE
History of computing

Learning Outcome:
Trace the development of computers and computing
What does a computer today look like?
What does “computing” mean?

• The term ‘computer’ is derived

from the word ‘compute’.
• ‘Compute’ means to calculate.
• A modern computer is an
electronic machine devised for
performing calculations and
controlling operations that can
be expressed in logical or
numerical terms.
At what point in history were human beings referred to as,
“computers”?
• Could you describe the first ‘computers’ ?

• The women of Nasa’s Jet Propulsion

Laboratory, circa 1953 (ref. “Hidden Figures”)
 The First Computers

• "Computer" was originally a job title used to

describe those human beings (predominantly
women) whose job it was to perform the repetitive
calculations required to compute such things as
navigational tables, tide charts, and planetary
positions for astronomical almanacs.
• Electronic computers (and the earlier mechanical
computers) were given this name because they
performed the work that had previously been
assigned to people.
 Why did we need computers?
• Imagine you had a job where hour after hour, day after day, you were to
do nothing but compute multiplications:

• Boredom would quickly set in, leading to carelessness, leading to

mistakes.

• Even on your best days you wouldn't be producing answers very fast.

• Therefore, inventors have been searching for hundreds of years for a

way to mechanize (that is, find a mechanism that can perform) this
task.
Ancient Computing

The Ishango Bone

• A bone tool was discovered in the

Congo during 1960.

• Estimated as > 20,000 years old .

• It is believed that this tool assisted with

multiplication, division, prime numbers
and base arithmetic .

• CNN Report:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CQ
a6CrKyYs
Counting
Tables
• Picture of ancient counting table -->
• Used in Europe up to the 16th century.
• Tables etched with lines and counters
were used for calculations (like the
Abacus).

• See
https://maa.org/press/periodicals/conver
gence/counting-boards-a-counting-board-
in-a-strasbourg-museum
The Abacus

• The abacus was an early aid for

mathematical computations. Its
only value is that it aids the
memory of the human performing
the calculation.
• A skilled abacus operator can work
on addition and subtraction
problems at the speed of a person
equipped with a hand calculator
(multiplication and division are
slower).
The Abacus
• The abacus is often wrongly attributed
to China.
• In fact, the oldest surviving abacus was
used in 300 B.C. by the Babylonians.
• The abacus is still used today,
principally in the far East. See
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m6s
-ulE6LY
John Napier • In 1617 an eccentric (some say mad) Scotsman
named John Napier invented logarithms, which
are a technology that allows multiplication to
be performed via addition.
Napier’s Bones

• Napier also invented an alternative to tables, where

the logarithm values were carved on ivory sticks
which are now called Napier's Bones.
 • Napier's invention led directly to the slide rule, first built in
England in 1632 and still in use in the 1960's by the NASA
Slide Rule engineers of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs
which landed men on the moon.
Leonardo
da Vinci’s
calculating
machine
• Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) made drawings of gear-
driven calculating machines but apparently never built
any.
Calculating Clock

• The first gear-driven calculating machine to

actually be built was probably the
calculating clock, so named by its inventor,
the German professor Wilhelm Schickard in
1623.

• This device got little publicity because

Schickard died soon afterward in the
bubonic plague.
6-digit Pascaline

• In 1642 Blaise Pascal, at age 19, invented

the Pascaline as an aid for his father who
was a tax collector.

• Pascal built 50 of this gear-driven one-

function calculator (it could only add) but
couldn't sell many because of their
exorbitant cost and because they really
weren't that accurate (at that time it was
not possible to fabricate gears with the
required precision).
Inside the Pascaline
 • Up until the present age when car dashboards went digital,
8-digit the odometer portion of a car's speedometer used the very
same mechanism as the Pascaline to increment the next wheel
Pascaline after each full revolution of the prior wheel.
Stepped reckoner

• Just a few years after Pascal, the German Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (co-inventor with
Newton of calculus) managed to build a four-function (addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and division) calculator that he called the stepped reckoner/ stepped
drum because, instead of gears, it employed fluted drums having ten flutes arranged
around their circumference in a stair-step fashion.

• Although the stepped reckoner employed the decimal number system (each drum
had 10 flutes), Leibniz was the first to advocate use of the binary number system
which is fundamental to the operation of modern computers. Leibniz is considered
one of the greatest philosophers, but he died poor and alone.
 Jacquard’s
Punched cards
• In 1801 the Frenchman Joseph Marie
Jacquard invented a power loom that could
base its weave (and hence the design on the
fabric) upon a pattern automatically read
from punched wooden cards, held together in
a long row by rope.

• Descendants of these punched cards have

been in use ever since
 Jacquard’s
Loom
By selecting certain cards for
Jacquard's loom a woven pattern
was defined.

See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwozgRPLVC8
Close up of
wooden
punched
cards
 Close-up of a tapestry woven by the
Jacquard’s Loom loom. See the loom in action here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzYucg3Tmho
 Jacquard's technology was a real boon to
mill owners but put many loom operators
out of work.

Issue:
Technology Angry mobs smashed Jacquard looms and
once attacked Jacquard himself.

-vs- Jobs
History is full of examples of labor unrest
following technological innovation, yet
most studies show that, overall, technology
has actually increased the number of jobs.
Charles Babbage

• By 1822 the English

mathematician Charles Babbage
was proposing a steam driven
calculating machine the size of a
room, which he called the
Difference Engine.
 This machine would be able to compute tables of
numbers, such as logarithm tables.

He obtained government funding for this project due

Difference
to the importance of numeric tables in ocean
navigation.

Engine Construction of Babbage's Difference Engine proved

exceedingly difficult and the project soon became the
most expensive government funded project up to
that point in English history.
Ten years later the device was still nowhere near
complete, acrimony abounded between all involved,
and funding dried up. The device was never finished.
 • Babbage was not deterred, and by then was on to
his next brainstorm, which he called the Analytic
Engine.

• This device, large as a house and powered by 6

Babbage’s steam engines.

Analytic • It was programmable, thanks to the punched card

Engine technology of Jacquard.

• Babbage saw that the pattern of holes in a punch

card could be used to represent an abstract idea
such as a problem statement or the raw data
required for that problem's solution.
 Babbage realized that punched paper could be
employed as a storage mechanism, holding
computed numbers for future reference.

Babbage’s Because of the connection to the Jacquard loom,

Babbage called the two main parts of his Analytic
Engine the "Store" and the "Mill", as both terms are

Analytic used in the weaving industry.

The Store was where numbers were held and the Mill
was where they were "woven" into new results.

Engine
In a modern computer these same parts are called
the memory unit and the central processing unit
(CPU).
 Babbage’s Analytic Engine

• The Analytic Engine also had a key function that distinguishes computers from calculators: the
conditional statement.
• A conditional statement allows a program to achieve different results each time it is run.
• Based on the conditional statement, the path of the program can be determined based upon a
situation that is detected at the very moment the program is running.
• Charles Babbage is considered the father of modern-day computing after his invention and
concept of the Analytical Engine in 1837. The Analytical Engine contained an Arithmetic Logic
Unit (ALU), basic flow control, and integrated memory; hailed as the first general-purpose
computer concept.
Ada Lovelace & Babbage’s
Analytic Engine

• Ada Lovelace: Considered to be the

first programmer. Worked on
Analytical Engine with Babbage
• She described an algorithm for the Analytical
Engine to compute Bernoulli Numbers. It was
the first algorithm specifically tailored for a
computer.
• She also developed a vision of the capability of
computers to go beyond mere calculating or
number-crunching, while many others,
including Babbage himself, focused only on
those capabilities.
The 1890 US Census

• The next breakthrough occurred in America. The U.S. Constitution states that a
census should be taken of all U.S. citizens every 10 years in order to determine
the representation of the states in Congress.

• While the very first census of 1790 had only required 9 months, by 1880 the
U.S. population had grown so much that the count for the 1880 census took
7.5 years. Automation was clearly needed for the next census.

• The census bureau offered a prize for an inventor to help tabulate the 1890
census and this prize was won by Herman Hollerith.
 The Hollerith desk

• The Hollerith desk, consisted of:

• a card reader which sensed the holes in the cards,
• a gear driven mechanism which could count (similar to
Pascal’s)
• a large wall of dial indicators to display the results of the
count.
For further info see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HXjLW7v-II
Hollerith Desk
Hollerith Desk

• Hollerith's technique
was successful and the
1890 census was
completed in only 3
years at a savings of US
$5 million dollars.
Examples of Punched Cards used in
Hollerith’s desk
IBM
• Hollerith built a company, the Tabulating Machine
Company which, after a few buyouts, eventually
became International Business Machines, known
today as IBM.
 US Military
• The U.S. military desired a mechanical calculator more optimized for scientific
computation.

• By World War II the U.S. had battleships that could lob shells weighing as much as a
small car, over distances up to 25 miles.

• Physicists could write the equations that described how atmospheric drag, wind,
gravity, muzzle velocity, etc. would determine the trajectory of the shell, but solving
such equations was extremely laborious.
 • Human computers would compute results of these
equations and publish them in ballistic "firing
tables"
• During World War II the U.S. military scoured the
country looking for (generally female) math majors
to hire for the job of computing these tables, but
not enough humans could be found to keep up with
US Military the need for new tables.
• Sometimes artillery pieces had to be delivered to
the battlefield without the necessary firing tables
and this meant they were close to useless because
they couldn't be aimed properly.
• Faced with this situation, the U.S. military was
willing to invest in even hair-brained schemes to
automate this type of computation.
Modern Computers
Harvard Mark I

• One early success was the Harvard Mark I

computer which was built as a partnership
between Harvard and IBM in 1944.
• This was the first programmable digital
computer made in the U.S.
• But it was not a purely electronic computer.
Instead, the Mark I was constructed out of
switches, relays, rotating shafts, and clutches.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN7AdQ
md8So
 Mark I
• The machine weighed 5 tons,
incorporated 500 miles of wire, was 8
feet tall and 51 feet long, and had a 50 ft
rotating shaft running its length, turned
by a 5-horsepower electric motor.

• The Mark I ran non-stop for 15 years,

sounding like a roomful of ladies
knitting.
 Mark I
• The Mark I was used to run recurring (repeating) calculations of:
• mathematical tables,
• ballistics (science of mechanics that deals with the launching, flight, behavior, and
effects of projectiles, especially bullets, gravity bombs, rockets, or the like; the
science or art of designing and accelerating projectiles so as to achieve a desired
performance)
• and gunnery tables for the US Navy.
HARVARD Mark I
The First Computer Bug

• One of the primary programmers

for the Mark I was a woman,
Admiral Grace Hopper.
• Hopper found the first computer
"bug": a dead moth that had gotten
into the Mark I
• The word "bug" had been used to
describe a defect since at least 1889
but Hopper is credited with coining
the word "debugging" to describe
the work to eliminate program
faults.
 A Tidbit

• On a humorous note, the principal designer of the

Mark I, Howard Aiken of Harvard, estimated in 1947
that six electronic digital computers would be
sufficient to satisfy the computing needs of the
entire United States.
The Future of
Computers?

• Aiken's prediction wasn't so bad as there were very few

institutions (principally, the government and military)
that could afford the cost of what was called a
computer in 1947.
• He just didn't foresee the micro-electronics revolution
which would allow something like an IBM Stretch
computer of 1959.
 IBM Stretch -
1959
• In 1956, a group of ambitious computer
scientists set out to build the fastest super-
computer the world had ever seen. It took
them 5 years and a lot of man-hours, but they
eventually produced the IBM 7030
affectionately known as ‘Stretch’.
• Stretch was the fastest super-computer in the
world and held on to this title all the way to
1964. IBM stretch could handle half a
million instructions per second.
IBM Stretch
- 1959
COMPUTER GENERATIONS

https://btob.co.nz/business-news/five-generations-computers/
 Instructions
This group activity will be conducted during lecture session conducted Wednesday 11th September 2024. It is worth 20
marks: 15mks for content and 5 marks for presentation.
Please note the following instructions and requirements:
1.During the breakout session, each group is expected to elect a group leader, a timekeeper, at least one scribe and at least
one presenter.
2.At the end of 30 mins, breakout rooms will be closed and all groups beginning from group 1 will present their work in 3
mins.
3.Each slide in your presentation must contain the following;
1. Title slide: This slide must contain the name of the course and the name of the activity and the group #
2. Group info slide: Name of group members who contributed to the content of the slides
3. Content Slides: 2 to 3 content slides.
4. Reference slide: A list of references used for content development
4. At the end of the lecture session, the group leader is expected to submit a copy of the groups work to a google drive
folder. The file must be named: GP_#
5.Each student is required to submit a copy of the activity to the moodle portal. The deadline for submission is 16th October
2024.
 Additional information
on
“Computer Generations”

To be discussed as part of
Tutorial session #1
 First Generation Computers
(1940 – 1956)

• The first computers used vacuum tubes (a sealed glass tube

containing a near- vacuum which allows the free passage of
electric current) for circuitry and magnetic drums for
memory.
• They were often enormous and taking up entire room.
• First generation computers relied on machine language.
• They were very expensive to operate and in addition to using
a great deal of electricity, generated a lot of heat, which was
often the cause of malfunctions(defect or breakdown).
• The UNIVAC and ENIAC computers are examples of first-
generation computing devices.
Atanasoff – Berry Computer
• One of the earliest attempts to build an all-electronic (that is, no
gears, cams, belts, shafts, etc.) digital computer occurred in
1937 by J. V. Atanasoff.
• This machine was the first to store data as a charge on a
capacitor which is how today's computers store information in
their main memory (DRAM or dynamic RAM). As far as its
inventors were aware, it was also the first to employ binary
arithmetic.
• However, it was not programmable making it debatable as a
computer technology.
• Regardless, its unique contribution was making computing
faster by being the first to use vacuum tubes to do the
arithmetic calculations. The ABC would be considered the first
electronic ALU (arithmetic logic unit) – which is integrated into
every modern processor's design.
Atanasoff – Berry
Computer
• It was designed to solve linear equations.

• The Atanasoff-Berry Computer used the binary system(1’s and

0’s).

• Contained vacuum tubes and stored numbers for calculations

by burning holes in paper. See it in operation here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=YyxGIbtMS
9E
Colussus
• The Colossus, built during World War II by
Britain for the purpose of breaking the
cryptographic codes used by Germany.
• Britain led the world in designing and
building electronic machines dedicated to
codebreaking and was routinely able to
read coded Germany radio transmissions.
• Regarded as the world’s first programmable,
electronic, digital computer, although it was
programmed by switches and plugs and not
by a stored program.
Colussus

• Located at Bletchley Park

• Based on work done by Alan Turing
• Data was stored on paper tape, and the processing was aided via vacuum tubes
• Ten Colossi were in use by the end of the war. They allowed the Allies to obtain a vast
amount of high-level military intelligence from intercepted radiotelegraphy messages
between the German High Command (OKW) and their army commands throughout
occupied Europe.
Colossusat BletchleyPark– video
ComputerHeritage– TheColossus(video)
 Alan Turing
• British mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, computer scientist
• Considered to be the father of Computer Science
• He formalised the concept of the algorithms and computations with
one of his inventions, the Turing Machine.
• Hero during WW2 for his work in breaking Nazi codes.
• Designed a specification for stored-program computers.
• Pioneer in field of Artificial Intelligence. Turing Test is named after him
• Convicted and discredited for “indecency” when his sexual orientation
became known and committed suicide soon after
• 60 years later posthumously pardoned and is recognized as one of the
greatest contributors to modern computing.
Eniac

• The title of forefather of today's all-electronic digital computers is usually awarded to ENIAC,
which stood for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator.
• ENIAC was built at the University of Pennsylvania between 1943 and 1945 by two professors,
John Mauchly and the 24-year-old J. Presper Eckert, who got funding from the war
department after promising they could build a machine that would replace all the
"computers”
• ENIAC filled a 20 by 40-foot room, weighed 30 tons, and used more than 18,000 vacuum
tubes.
ENIAC
Programming the ENIAC

• To reprogram the ENIAC you had to rearrange the patch cords that you can observe on the left
in the prior photo, and the settings of 3000 switches that you can observe on the right.
• To program a modern computer, you type out a program with statements like:

• Circumference = 3.14 * diameter

• To perform this computation on ENIAC you had to rearrange a large number of patch cords and
then locate three particular knobs on that vast wall of knobs and set them to 3, 1, and 4.
 • The ENIAC used 18,000 vacuum
Problems tubes to hold a charge
• Vacuum tubes were so
with the notoriously unreliable that even
twenty years later many
ENIAC neighborhood drug stores
provided a "tube tester”.
Replacing a vacuum tube on the ENIAC
The Stored Program Computer

• In 1945 John Von Neumann

presented his idea of a computer
that would store computer
instructions in a CPU.
• The CPU(Central Processing Unit)
consisted of elements that would
control the computer
electronically
The Stored Program Computer
• The EDVAC, EDSAC and UNIVAC
were the first computers to use the
stored program concept.
• They used vacuum tubes so they
were too expensive and too large
for households to own and afford.
• The UNIVAC is the first ever
commercial computer which was
purchased in 1951 by a business –
the US Census Bureau.
Edvac
• It took days to change ENIAC's
program.
• Eckert and Mauchly's next teamed
up with the mathematician John von
Neumann to design EDVAC, which
pioneered the stored program.
• After ENIAC and EDVAC came other
computers with humorous names
such as ILLIAC, JOHNNIAC, and, of
course, MANIAC
Univac
• The UNIVAC computer was the first
commercial (mass produced)
computer.
• In the 50's, UNIVAC (a contraction of
"Universal Automatic Computer")
was the household word for
"computer" just as "Kleenex" is for
"tissue".
• UNIVAC was also the first computer
to employ magnetic tape.
Manchester “Baby” and UNIVAC 1

1st Stored-program Computer 1st Commercial Computer

Built at University of Manchester Built by Remington-Rand in 1951
First successful run in 1948 • Sold to US Census Bureau, US
Military and Insurance Companies
• 46 sold at US $1M each
Summary: First Generation Computers
Advantages :
• All electronic device
• First device to hold memory

Disadvantages :
• Too bulky i.e., large in size
• Vacuum tubes burn frequently
• They were producing a lot of heat
• Maintenance problems
1st Generation
Languages
• Used from the beginning of the computing era
• Programmed in the language of computers – Machine
Language
• Based on binary as early electromechanical computers
had switches and plugs which could be set to an “on” (1)
or “off” (0) position.
• Were used to solve one problem at a time
• Issues:
• Machine Dependent: “programs” were specific to the
particular computer
• Extremely difficult to locate errors or track code changes
 • Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and
ushered in the second generation of
Second computers.
• Second-generation computers moved
Generation from cryptic binary machine language
to symbolic languages.
Computers • High-level programming
languages were also being developed at
(1956 – this time, such as early versions
of COBOL and FORTRAN.
1963) • These were also the first computers
that stored their instructions in their
memory.
Second Generation
Computers
• In 1947, the transistor
was invented.
• The transistor made
computers smaller, less
expensive and increased
calculating speeds.
Second Generation Computers

• Second generation
computers also saw
a new way data was
stored.
• Punch cards were
replaced with
magnetic tapes and
reel to reel machines
Summary: Second
Generation
Computers
Advantages :
• Size reduced considerably
• They were very fast
• Very much reliable

Disadvantages :
• They overheated quickly
• Maintenance problems
 • Assembly Language: symbolic representation of low-level machine code that
could be used for electronic computers (didn’t need to pull plugs/flick
2nd Generation switches anymore)

Languages • Used from the late 1940s

• Easier to code than machine language due to symbolic nature
• Still machine dependent
 Third Generation
Computers (1964 – 1971)

• 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.
• Instead of punched cards and printouts, users
interacted with third generation computers
through keyboards and monitors and interfaced with
an operating system.
• Allowed the device to run many
different applications at one time.
Third Generation Computers

One IC could replace hundreds of

transistors.

This made computers even smaller

and faster.

Led to updates in graphics

and Human Computer
Interaction (HCI)
 Interactive Graphics

• Sketchpad – Developed by Ivan Sutherland at MIT in 1963

• Direct image manipulation
• Demonstrated first screen window with icons & copying
• Could have multiple images and embedded images
• Had a light pen (stylus) as an input device

Ivan Sutherland Sketchpad Demo

Doug Engelbart
o Founded the Augmentation research Center (ARC) at the Stanford
Research Institute (SRI)
o Invented the computer mouse
o Oversaw the development of hypertext, networked computers and
graphical user interfaces
o These concepts were demonstrated in what is now called “The
Mother of all Demos” in 1968
o A 90-minute presentation which demonstrated almost all the
fundamental elements of modern personal computing:
windows, hypertext, graphics, efficient navigation and command
input, video conferencing, the computer mouse, word
processing, dynamic file linking, revision control, and a
collaborative real-time editor
o Doug Engelbart Institute Website
 • High level Languages including procedural languages,
functional languages, object-oriented languages
3rd Generation
• First versions were from 1950s
Languages
• First High-Level Language designed by “mother of computing”
Adm. Grace Hopper. She designed the first high-level
programming languages: MATH-MATIC and FLOW-MATIC which
helped define COBOL in 1959
 3rd Generation Languages

• High level: were closer to natural languages

• Structured: well defined syntax

• Were machine independent: Once written, the code could

be reused on a variety of computers with little to no
modifications

• Much more abstracted: programmer didn’t have to deal

with a lot of low-level details

• Much easier to debug and maintain that previous

generations
 Dennis Ritchie
• Invented the C programming language (1969-1973)
• Created Unix(along with Ken Thompson)(1973)
• Hisdeath was overshadowed by Steve Jobs who passed the week before
• C was used to write Unix,DOS,Windows and the Internet
• Linux,MacOS and Android are all based on Unix
• Received National Medal of Technology for C and Unixwith the citation:

• “led to enormous advances in computer hardware, software, and networking

systemsand stimulated growth of an entire industry,thereby enhancing
American leadership in the Information Age"

• “Ritchie was under the radar. Hisname was not a household name at all, but... if
you had a microscope and could look in a computer, you'd see hiswork
everywhere inside”
• ---Paul Ceruzzi (ComputerHistorian)
Fourth Generation Computers (1972 – 2010)

• The microprocessor ushered in the

fourth generation of computers, as
thousands of integrated circuits were
built onto a single silicon chip.
• From the central processing unit and
memory to input/output controls—
on a single chip.
• Fourth generation computers also
saw the development of GUIs,
the mouse and handheld devices.
 Microprocessor
• A microprocessor (uP) is a computer
that is fabricated on an integrated
circuit (IC).
• The “micro” in the name
microprocessor refers to the physical
size of the processor.
• It is the central processing unit or the
brain of a computer inside a
single Integrated circuit.
• Made up of millions of
semiconductor transistors, diodes &
resistors and it is responsible for any
arithmetic or logical operation.
Microprocessor

• Intel didn't invent the

electronic computer, but they
were the first to succeed in
cramming an entire computer
on a single chip (IC) .
• Computers had been around
for 20 years before the first
microprocessor was developed
at Intel in 1971.
Personal Computing:
Thedawn of the PC and GUI
 Prof. Marc Dean

• Holds three of nine patents for the original IBM PC

• Designed the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus
• This allowed add-on devices to be connected to the motherboard
• This invention put him in National Inventors Hall of Fame
• Designed the Color Graphics Adapter (CGA) for the original IBM PC
• Was chief engineer for development of the modern PC
• IBM PC/AT, IBM PS/2
• PCs today still use almost the same configuration as the PS/2
Personal Computing: Triumph of the Nerds
Here’s a 3-part documentary on the rise of the personal
computer:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
 Adele Goldberg

• Head of PARC Systems Concepts Lab

• Her team developed the GUI and Smalltalk
• One of primary developers of Smalltalk
• Smalltalk-80 was first popular OO language and first with GUI
programming
• Directly influenced Java, JavaScript, C#, Python, PHP and others
• Adele presents Smalltalk-80
Xerox PARC
• Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center) founded in 1970
• Responsible for the prototypes of many of the developments that make up the Personal
Computing era:
• laser printing (1971)
• Ethernet (1973)
• the graphical user interface/desktop (1973)
• PC workstation – The Alto (1973)
• Object Oriented Programming (OOP) – Smalltalk (1972)
• Goal: “The Paperless Office”
• Alan Kay (PARC Researcher): “The best way to predict the future is to invent it”
• Alan Kay video
XeroxAlto

o One of the first personal computers

o Released in 1973
o 1st computer to use a desktop metaphor
o One of first to have a mouse-driven GUI
o One of first with Ethernet connections for LAN
o Inspiration for Apple Macintosh and MS Windows
o Alto ad in 1972
Early Personal Computers

Apple II (1977) IBM XT/AT (1981)

The Apple tour of Xerox PARC

• The Apple II was under pressure from competition

• Steve Jobs got a tour of PARC (with dissent from Adele Goldberg) in
exchange for discounted shares of Apple
• From the tour Apple got access to all of PARCs new technology
• Jobs was especially impressed with the GUI and mouse combination
• Read “The Creation Myth” by Malcolm Gladwell
• Dramatization of the visit from movie “Pirates of Silicon Valley”
Apple Lisa
(1982)

• Based on the ideas they saw at Xerox

• 2nd PC to be sold that used a GUI(XeroxStarwas first)
• Lisawas a commercial failure partly due to cost (~USD10,000)
• And partly due to the Macintosh which was released 2years later
• Apple Lisaad featuring a future movie star
 Apple Macintosh (1984)

• Priced much more aggressively

(~USD2500)
• Upgraded GUI
• Better graphics
• More 3rd party applications
 Apple vs. Microsoft

• Microsoft licensed parts of early MacOS to create Windows 1.0

• Apple complained that MShad used more of MacOS than was agreed to
• Apple sued all the way to USSupreme Court
• Microsoft won
• Justices decided that look and feel of software could not be patented or
copyrighted
• http://www.freibrun.com/articles/articl12.htm
4th Generation Languages
• Very High-level languages more abstracted than
3GLs
• Machine independent
• Focus was on Rapid Development and Application
Generation
• Goal was to enable programming for the wider
population

• Paradigms include:
• General Programming eg. IBM Rational (Rose), Ruby,
Python, Perl
• Database eg. SQL, Ingres, Informix
• Report Generators eg. Oracle Reports, RPG-II,
NATURAL
• Data Manipulation/Analysis eg. R, SPSS, SAS, PL/SQL
• GUI/Screen Builders eg. Oracle Forms, SB+
Fifth Generation Computers
(2010-present)

• Rise of the Machines

• Fifth generation computing devices are
based on artificial intelligence.
• The use of parallel processing and
superconductors is helping to make artificial
intelligence a reality.
• The goal of fifth-generation computing is to
develop devices that respond to natural
language input (i.e., voice commands) and
are capable of learning and self-
organization.
5th Generation
Languages

• Used primarily for Artificial Intelligence

• Very High Level: Greater use of natural language
• Machine Independent
• Constraint driven: Attempts to mimic human thought
• Logic driven - use of logic to express information and
make inferences
• Eg. Prolog, OPS5, CLIPS, WolframAlpha
Siri

• Intelligent Personal Assistant for Apple devices

• Developed at SRI (Remember them?)
• Uses speech recognition engine developed by Nuance
Communications (also an SRI spin-off)
• Recognizes speech and then uses multiple data sources to provide
results:
• Uses Bing and Yahoo for web search
• Uses Bing Answers and Wolfram Alpha to answer factual queries
• Is tied into other data sources such as Maps, Yelp, weather, etc
• Main competition: Alexa, Google Assistant and Microsoft Cortana
Sophia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5t6K9iwcdw
Examples of
Ameca Fifth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGWVKkYEHBE Generation
Technologies
Neo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ze2N7seOKbk
Evolution of programming languages
What’s next…?