Introduction To Computers

• Definition:
• Its an electronic Device that is used for information
Processing.
• Computer.. Latin word.. compute
• Calculation Machine
• A computer system includes a computer,
peripheral devices, and software
 Introduction To Computers
• Accepts input, processes data, stores data, and produces output
• Input refers to whatever is sent to a Computer system
• Data refers to the symbols that represent facts, objects, and ideas
• Processing is the way that a computer manipulates data
• A computer processes data in a device called the central
processing unit (CPU)
 Introduction To Computers
• Memory is an area of a computer that holds data that is waiting to
be processed, stored, or output
• Storage is the area where data can be left on a permanent basis
• Computer output is the result produced by the computer
• An output device displays, prints or transmits the results of
processing
Introduction To Computers
 Introduction To Computers
Computer
Performs computations and makes logical decisions
Millions / billions times faster than human beings
Computer programs
Sets of instructions for which computer processes data
Hardware
Physical devices of computer system
Software
Programs that run on computers
• Definition:

• Introduction To Computer Software

• Operating system
• Problem solving Techniques
• Computer Prog ramming languages
• Computer Threats
 Introduction To Computers
• Capabilities of Computers
• Huge Data Storage
• Input and Output
• Processing
 Introduction To Computers
• Characteristics of Computers
• High Processing Speed
• Accuracy
• Reliability
• Versatility
Introduction To Computers

History Of Computers
•Before the 1500s, in Europe, calculations were made
with an abacus
Invented around 500BC, available in many
cultures (China, Mesopotamia, Japan, Greece,
Rome, etc.)

•In 1642, Blaise Pascal (French mathematician,

physicist, philosopher) invented a mechanical
calculator called the Pascaline

•In 1671, Gottfried von Leibniz (German

mathematician, philosopher) extended the Pascaline to
do multiplications, divisions, square roots: the Stepped
Reckoner

None of these machines had memory, and they

required human intervention at each step
• In 1822 Charles Babbage (English
mathematician, philosopher), sometimes called
the “father of computing” built the Difference
Engine

• Machine designed to automate the computation

(tabulation) of polynomial functions (which
are known to be good approximations of many
useful functions)
– Based on the “method of finite difference”
– Implements some storage

• In 1833 Babbage designed the Analytical

Engine, but he died before he could build it
– It was built after his death, powered by
steam
Introduction To Computers

Generations of Computers
 Introduction To Computers
History of Modern Computer
 Introduction To Computers
First Generation Computers
Time: 1946 - 1957
based on vacuum tube
 Introduction To Computers
First Generation Computers
Example: ENIAC
Characteristics
enormous, expensive, unreliable
generate a large amount of heat
magnetic drums for memory
relied on machine language
 Introduction To Computers
Advantages: (1) Fastest computing devices of their time; (2)
These computers were able to execute complex
mathematical problems in an efficient manner.
Disadvantages:
(1) The functioning of these computers depended on the machine
language.
(2) There were generally designed as special-purpose computers.
(3) The use of vacuum tube technology make these computers very large
and bulky.
(4) They were not easily transferable from one place to another due to
their huge size and also required to be placed in cool places.
(5) They were single tasking because they could execute only one
program at a time.
(6) The generated huge amount of heat and hence were prone to
hardware faults.
 Introduction To Computers
Second Generation Computers
Time: 1958 - 1964
based on transistor
 Introduction To Computers
Second Generation Computers
Generate a great deal of heat
Early supercomputers were developed
using transistors.
handle enormous amount of data
expensive for commercial organisations
Characteristics
use assembly language
consisted of all components associated with
modern computers
 Introduction To Computers
Advantages: (1) Fastest computing devices of their time; (2) Easy to
program because of the use assembly language; (3) Could be transferred
from one place to other very easily because they were small and light; (4)
Require very less power in carrying out their operations; (5) More reliable,
did not require maintenance at regular intervals of time.
Disadvantages:
(1)The input and output media were not improved to a
considerable extent
(2) Required to be placed in air-conditioned places
(3) The cost of these computers was very high and they were
beyond the reach of home users
(4) Special-purpose computers and could execute only specific
applications
 Introduction To Computers
Third Generation Computers
Time: 1958 - 1964
based on small-scale
Integrated Circuit (IC)
miniaturised transistors placed
on semiconductor
greatly increase the
computational power, efficiency IC chip
and reliability
 Introduction To Computers
Third Generation Computers
Characteristics
Smaller and cheaper than predecessors
Operating systems are used to run different
programs simultaneously
 Introduction To Computers
Advantages: (1) Fastest computing devices; (2) Very productive; (3) Easily
transportable from one place to another because of their small size; (4) Use
high-level languages; (5) Could be installed very easily and required less
space; (6) Can execute any type of application. (7) More reliable and
require less frequent maintenance schedules.

Disadvantages:
(1)The storage capacity of these computers was still very small;
(2) The performance of these computers degraded while executing large
applications, involving complex computations because of the small
storage capacity;
(3) The cost of these computers was very high;
(4) They were still required to be placed in air-conditioned places.
 Introduction To Computers
Fourth Generation
Computers
Time: 1971 - Present
Large-Scale Integration
(LSI):
hundreds of components
could be fit onto a chip VLSI chip
Very Large-Scale
Integration (VLSI):
hundreds of thousands of
components are squeezed
onto a chip
 Introduction To Computers
Fourth Generation Computers
microprocessor
released by Intel in 1971
incorporated CPU, memory, I/O controls on a
single chip
low cost
used in many everyday household items
 Introduction To Computers
Fourth Generation Computers
Development
IBM introduced Personal Computer (PC) in
1981
Macintosh offered an operating system with
Graphical User Interface (GUI)
Direct wiring (Local Area Network) and
communication data lines
Internet: Users can exchange information
throughout networked terminals
 Introduction To Computers
Advantages:
(1) Very powerful in terms of their processing speed and access time;
(2) Storage capacity was very large and faster;
(3) Highly reliable and required very less maintenance;
(4) User-friendly environment;
(5) Programs written on these computers were highly portable;
(6) Versatile and suitable for every type of applications;
(7) Require very less power to operate.

Disadvantages:
(1) The soldering of LSI and VLSI chips on the wiring board was not
an easy task and required complicated technologies to bind these
chips on the wiring board;
(2) The working of these computers is still dependent on the
instructions given by the programmer.
 Introduction To Computers
Fifth Generation Computers
based on Artificial Intelligence (AI)
making computer think and behave like
humans
applications: voice recognition
Parallel processing: increase the
computational power
Superconductor technology: improve the
speed of data flow
Generation 1 : ENIAC
The ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was unveiled in 1946:
the first all-electronic, general-purpose digital computer
The use of binary
In the 30s Claude Shannon (the father of “information theory”) had
proposed that the use of binary arithmetic and boolean logic should
be used with electronic circuits

The Von-Neumann architecture

CPU Memory

I/O
System
Generation 2: IBM7094
Generation 3: Integrated Circuits

Seymour Cray created the Cray Research

Corporation
Cray-1: $8.8 million, 160 million
instructions per seconds and 8 Mbytes of
memory
Generation 4: VLSI Improvements to IC technology made it
possible to integrate more and more transistors
in a single chip
SSI (Small Scale Integration): 10-100
MSI (Medium Scale Integration): 100-
1,000
LSI (Large Scale Integration): 1,000-
10,000
VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration):
Microprocessors >10,000
Generation 5?

The term “Generation 5” is used sometimes to refer to all

more or less “sci fi” future developments
Voice recognition
Artificial intelligence
Quantum computing
Bio computing
Nano technology
Learning
Natural languages