FUNDAMENTALS OF COMPUTERS AND

NETWORKS

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 Syllabus:

Introduction to Computers:
General features of a computer, Generation of Computers,
History of computers, Personal Computer, Workstation,
Mainframe computer and super computers. Computer
applications.

CHAPTER -1: COMPUTER ORGANISATION

1.1 Introduction to Computer

• Computer is an electronic device that operates (works) under the control of programs
stored in its own memory unit.
• A computer is an electronic machine that processes raw data to give information as
output.
• An electronic device that accepts data as input, and transforms it under the influence
of a set of special instructions called Programs, to produce the desired output (referred
to as Information).

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 Explanations:
• A computer is described as an electronic device because; it is made up of electronic
components and uses electric energy (such as electricity) to operate.
• A computer has an internal memory, which stores data & instructions temporarily
awaiting processing, and even holds the intermediate result (information) before it is
communicated to the recipients through the Output devices.
• It works on the data using the instructions issued, means that, the computer cannot do
any useful job on its own. It can only work as per the set of instructions issued.
• A computer will accept data in one form and produce it in another form. The data is
normally held within the computer as it is being processed.

Program:
• A computer Program is a set of related instructions written in the language of the
computer & is used to make the computer perform a specific task (or, to direct the
computer on what to do).
• A set of related instructions which specify how the data is to be processed.
• A set of instructions used to guide a computer through a process.
Data:

• Data is a collection of raw facts, figures or instructions that do not have much meaning
to the user.
• Data may be in form of numbers, alphabets/letters or symbols, and can be processed
to produce information.

1.2 Evolution of Computers

Computer evolution refers to the change in computer technology right from the time
computers were first used to the present. As computing evolves to higher system levels, so its
design also changes, from technical to socio-technical design.
The series of the evolution of computers are given below.
✓ Abacus
✓ Pascaline
✓ Difference engine
✓ Punched card equipment
✓ ABC
✓ UNIVAC - I

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Abacus

• The present day computers are a result of an evolutionary process which started way
back in 500 B.C. when Egyptian used a machine which is an early form of Abacus.
• However the present form of Abacus is attributed to the Chinese and Japanese.
• This is a machine, which was used for addition, subtraction, multiplication and
divisionoperation.

Pascaline

• In 1645 a device known as Pascaline was invented by French mathematician Blaise

Pascal.
• The machine was also used per addition and subtraction purpose.
• The device was operated by dialing a set of wheels.
• In 1671 Leibniz improved on Pascal's adding machine and invented the Leibniz's
Calculator.

Difference engine

• In 1822 Charles Babbage invented a Difference Engine.

• The purpose of this device was to calculate the roots of polynomial equations
andprepare astronomy table for the British Navy.
• He upgraded this to, invent an Analytical engine, which could store program
instructions initially coded on punched cards and subsequently shared internally.
• Therefore Charles Babbage is known as the father of computers.

Punched card equipment

• In 1890 Dr. H. Hollerith developed punched card equipment.

• This equipment read the holes punched in the card and mechanically performed the
statistical analysis.

ABC (Atanasoff-Berry Computer )

• The first pure electronic computer was invented by J. V. Atanasoff and C. Berry which
is known as Atanasoff-Berry Computer or ABC.
• It used vacuum tubes for both data storage and data computation.
• Subsequently Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC) was designed
and accepted as the general purpose computer.

UNIVAC

• In 1945 John Von Neumann first gave the idea of sharing the same internal memory
for storing both data and instruction, which was subsequently adopted in every
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 computer organization.
• On this principle subsequently Universal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC-1) was invented

1.3 Generation of Computers

Computers are devices that accomplish tasks or calculations in accordance to a set of
directions, or programs. The first fully electronic computers, introduced in the 1940s, were
voluminous devices that required teams of people to handle. In comparison to those new
machines, today‘s computers are astounding. They are not only thousands of times more
expeditious, but also they can fit on your desk, on your lap, or even in your pocket. Computers
are such an integral part of our everyday life now most people take them for granted.

Computers work through an interaction of hardware and software. The whole picture of
the computer goes back to decades. However there are five apparent generations of
computers. Each generation is defined by a paramount technological development that
changes necessarily how computers operate – leading to more compressed, inexpensive, but
more dynamic, efficient and booming machines.

First Generation – Vacuum Tubes (1940 – 1956)

These ancient computers utilized vacuum tubes as circuitry and magnetic drums for
recollection. As a result they were huge, actually taking up entire rooms and costing resources
to run. These were ineffective materials which produce a huge amount of heat, sucked
enormous electricity and subsequently engendered an abundance of heat which caused
perpetual breakdowns.

These first generation computers relied on ‗machine language‘ (which is the most
fundamental programming language that can be understood by computers). Thesecomputers
were limited to solving one problem at a time. Input was predicated on punched cards and
paper tape. Output emerged on print-outs. The two eminent machines of this era were the
UNIVAC and ENIAC machines – the UNIVAC is the first ever commercial computer which was
purchased in 1951 by a business named as the US Census Bureau.

The main features of first generation are:

• Vacuum tube technology

• Unreliable

• Supported machine language only

• Very costly

• Generated lot of heat

• Slow input and output devices

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• Huge size

• Need of A.C.

• Non-portable

• Consumed lot of electricity

Some computers of this generation were:

• ENIAC

• EDVAC

• UNIVAC

• IBM-701

• IBM-650

Second Generation – Transistors (1956 – 1963)

The supersession of vacuum tubes by transistors, visualized the onset of the second generation
of computing. Although first invented in 1947, transistors weren‘t used considerably in
computers until the cessation of the 1950s. They were a huge development over the vacuum
tube, despite the fact still subjecting computers to destroying different levels of heat. However
they were extremely superior to the vacuum tubes, making computers smaller, more
expeditious, inexpensive and less burdensome on electricity use. They still count on punched
card for input/printouts.

The language emerged from strange binary language to symbolic (‗assembly‘) languages.
These meant programmers could discover instructions in words. Meanwhile during the same
time high caliber programming languages were being developed (early versions of COBOL and
FORTRAN). Transistor-driven machines were the first computers to store instructions into their
recollections, peregrinating from magnetic drum to magnetic core ‗technology‘. The
anticipatory versions of these machines were created for the atomic energy industry.

The main features of second generation are:

• Use of transistors
• Reliable in comparison to first generation computers
• Smaller size as compared to first generation computers
• Generated less heat as compared to first generation computers
• Consumed less electricity as compared to first generation computers
• Faster than first generation computers
• Still very costly
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 • A.C. needed
• Supported machine and assembly languages

Some computers of this generation were:

• IBM 1620
• IBM 7094
• CDC 1604
• CDC 3600
• UNIVAC 1108

Third Generation – Integrated Circuits (1964 – 1971)

By this phase, transistors were now being miniaturized and put on silicon chips. This led to a
huge improvement in speed and effectiveness of these machines. These were the first
computers where users interacted utilizing keyboards and monitors who interfaced with an
operating system, a consequential leap up from the punch cards and printouts. This facilitated
these machines to run various applications at once utilizing a central program which functioned
to monitor memory.
As a result of these advances which again made machines more reasonable and more tiny,
a brand new group of users emerged during the ‗60s.

The main features of third generation are:

• IC used
• More reliable in comparison to previous two generations
• Smaller size
• Generated less heat
• Faster
• Lesser maintenance
• Still costly
• A.C needed
• Consumed lesser electricity
• Supported high-level language like FORTRAN-II TO IV, COBOL, PASCAL PL/1, BASIC, ALGOL-
68 etc.

Some computers of this generation were:

• IBM-360 series
• Honeywell-6000 series
• PDP(Personal Data Processor)
• IBM-370/168
• TDC-316

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Fourth Generation – Microprocessors (1972 – 2010)

This innovation can be defined in one word: Intel. The chip-maker accomplished the Intel
4004 chip in 1971, which located all components of computer such as CPU, recollection,
input/output controls onto a single chip. What overcrowded a room in the 1940s now gets fit
in the palm of the hand. The Intel chip contained thousands of unified circuits. The year 1981
saw the first ever computer (IBM) categorically designed for home use and 1984 saw the
Macintosh introduced by Apple. Microprocessors even transformed beyond the realm of
computers and into an incrementing number of everyday products.

The incremented power of these small computers denoted they could be linked, establishing
networks. Which eventually led to the expansion, birth and rapid evolution of the Internet? Other
primary advances during this period have been the Graphical user interface (GUI), the mouse
and more of late the startling advances in laptop capability and hand-held contrivances.

The main features of fourth generation are:

• VLSI technology used
• Very cheap
• Portable and reliable
• Use of PC's
• Very small size
• Pipeline processing
• No A.C. needed
• Concept of internet was introduced
• Great developments in the fields of networks
• Computers became easily available

Some computers of this generation were:

• DEC 10
• STAR 1000
• PDP 11
• CRAY-1(Super Computer)
• CRAY-X-MP(Super Computer)

Fifth Generation – Artificial Intelligence (2010 Onwards)

Computer devices with artificial potentiality are still in development, but some of these
technologies are commencing to emerge and be used such as voice recognition. AI is an
authenticity, made possible by adopting parallel processing and superconductors. Inclining to
the future, computers will be thoroughly revolutionized again by quantum computation,
molecular and nano technology. The essence of fifth generation will be utilizing these
technologies to ultimately engender machines which can proceed and acknowledge natural
language, and have efficiency to determine and organize themselves.

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 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
• Availability of very powerful and compact computers at cheaper rates

Some computer types of this generation are:

• Desktop
• Laptop
• NoteBook
• UltraBook

Summary of Generation of computers

1st 2nd Generation 3rd 4th Generation

Features
Generation Computer Generation Computer
Computer Computer

Integrated Large Scale

Main Switching
VacuumTube Transistor Integration(LSI)
Device Circuit(IC)
& VLSI

6000 Circuits / 10000 10 millions Over 500

ComponentSize cubic foot circuits/ circuits/ cubic billion circuits/
cubic foot foot cubic
foot
Number of
instructions /sec. 250 30,000 2,00,000 80 Millions

Meantime
between Hour Days Weeks Months
failure
Internal 4000 30000 5,12,000 Over 4 million
characters characters characters characters
memory capacity

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1.4 Classification of Computers
All the modern computers are broadly classified into the following three categories.
a) Analog Computer.

b) Digital Computer and

c) Hybrid Computer.

Analog computers

• Are mostly used in industries in process control activities.

• These computers work on analog data such as variation in temperature, pressure,
speed, voltage etc.
• They are not general purpose computers; rather they are specific to a particular
application area. Therefore the cost of such computer varies from application to
application depending on the complexity.
• The uses of such computers are very limited.

Digital computers

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 • These computers are general purpose computers, which work on digital / binary data.
• The speed and accuracy with which these computers work are very high.
• Digital computers are also having several ranges from super computers to
personalcomputers.

Hybrid computers

• Practically Hybrid computer are used to control the entire process.

• The analog feature of such computer enables it to measure the physical quantities
such a temperature, pressure, voltage level etc. and convert them to digital data.
• These data are then processed by the computer by using its digital data processing
capability.
• The output from this computer may be taken in a paper as hardcopy, may be seen
ona display device or may be converted into analog form to automatically control
various processes.

Digital computers

Digital computers are classified into the following four categories:

o Super Computers.
o Mainframe Computers.
o Mini Computers.
o Micro Computer

Personal Computer

• A PC-XT or Personal Computer with extended technology is an Up gradation of the

PC. It is having all the features discussed above. Apart from these the concept of
secondary memory / mass storage in the form of hard disk drive, was introduced
for the first time.
• The present days PC are PC-AT or personal computer with advanced technology.

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Features of PC-AT

• Processor –I 80386 / 80486 / Pentium.

• Memory – 2 MB to 512 MB.
• Floppy disk drive 1.44 MB
• Hard disk drive 1.2 MB to 80 GB.
• System bus–32 bit to 64 bit.
• Clock speed–Up to 3 GHz
• Operating System –MS-DOS, Windows, UNIX, Linux etc.

Super computers

• These computers are specifically designed to maximize the processing of floating

pointinstructions.
• This is possible because of parallel processing technique which implements
multipleprocessors to work in parallel manner.
• Such computers are very expensive and used in very high-end numerical
processing,geographical information system, etc.
• Some of the popular super computers are Cray, Param, Anupam etc.
• The speed of processing of super computers are measured in GFLOPS i.e.,
GigaFloating Point Operations Per Second.
• These computers used their own operating system and programming language
andhence vary from computer to computer.

Mainframe computers

These computers are intended for substantial high volume data processing.

These computers are characterized by–

• Large primary memory.

• Substantial processing capabilities. (MIPS)
• Substantial amount of peripheral devices that can be attached.
• A high data communication capability i.e. ability to connect thousands of terminals.
• Wide variety of memory size and terminal support option.
• Ability to handle large type computer application.

Application of Mainframe Computer

• space research,
• university connectivity,
• Wide area network (WAN) implementation etc.

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Specification of mainframe computers.

• Processing speed – 30 to 100 million instruction per second (MIPS)

• Word length – More than 64 bits.
• I/O device –Wide range of peripheral devices.
• Internal Storage – More than 1 GB.

Mini Computers

• Fairly large primary memory.

• Medium scale processing capability i.e., lesser than mainframe but higher than
personal computers.
• Can connect up to 500 terminals on LAN.
• Supports wide range of application areas.
• Affordable, unlike mainframe computers by small business organization.

Computers Applications
Computers play a role in every field of life. They are used in homes, business, educational
institutions, research organizations, medical field, government offices, entertainment, etc.
• Home
Computers are used at homes for several purposes like online bill payment, watching
movies or shows at home, home tutoring, social media access, playing games, internet
access, etc. They provide communication through electronic mail. They help to avail
work from home facility for corporate employees. Computers help the student
community to avail online educational support.

• Medical Field
Computers are used in hospitals to maintain a database of patients’ history, diagnosis,
X-rays, live monitoring of patients, etc. Surgeons nowadays use robotic surgical devices
to perform delicate operations, and conduct surgeries remotely. Virtual reality
technologies are also used for training purposes. It also helps to monitor the fetus inside
the mother’s womb.

• Entertainment
Computers help to watch movies online, play games online; act as a virtual entertainer
in playing games, listening to music, etc. MIDI instruments greatly help people in the
entertainment industry in recording music with artificial instruments. Videos can be fed
from computers to full screen televisions. Photo editors are available with fabulous
features.

Industry
Computers are used to perform several tasks in industries like managing inventory,
designing purpose, creating virtual sample products, interior designing, video
conferencing, etc. Online marketing has seen a great revolution in its ability to sell
various products to inaccessible corners like interior or rural areas. Stock markets have
seen phenomenal participation from different levels of people through the use of
computers.
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• Education
Computers are used in education sector through online classes, online examinations,
referring e-books, online tutoring, etc. They help in increased use of audio-visual aids in
the education field.

• Government
In government sectors, computers are used in data processing, maintaining a database
of citizens and supporting a paperless environment. The country’s defense
organizations have greatly benefitted from computers in their use for missile
development, satellites, rocket launches, etc.

• Banking
In the banking sector, computers are used to store details of customers and conduct
transactions, such as withdrawal and deposit of money through ATMs. Banks have
reduced manual errors and expenses to a great extent through extensive use of
computers.

• Business
Nowadays, computers are totally integrated into business. The main objective of
business is transaction processing, which involves transactions with suppliers,
employees or customers. Computers can make these transactions easy and accurate.
People can analyze investments, sales, expenses, markets and other aspects of
business using computers.

• Training
Many organizations use computer-based training to train their employees, to save
money and improve performance. Video conferencing through computers allows saving
of time and travelling costs by being able to connect people in various locations.

• Arts
Computers are extensively used in dance, photography, arts and culture. The fluid
movement of dance can be shown live via animation. Photos can be digitized using
computers.

• Science and Engineering

Computers with high performance are used to stimulate dynamic process in Science
and Engineering. Supercomputers have numerous applications in area of Research and
Development (R&D). Topographic images can be created through computers. Scientists
use computers to plot and analyze data to have a better understanding of earthquakes.

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