9/4/2023

Introduction and History of the Computer

Lecture # 01
Session 2023-2027
Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)

Dr. Shahzad Ashraf

What is a Computer...
 A computer as a data processor, it acts as a black box that accepts input data,
processes the data, and creates output data.
 A computer is an electronic device, converts the raw data into meaningful
information.
 9/4/2023

What is a Computer program….?

 A program is a set of instructions written in a computer language that tells the
computer what to do with data.
 In the new model, the output data depend on the combination of two factors: the
input data and the program.
 Every computer is based on the von Neumann model.
 The model defines a computer as four subsystems
Memory, Arithmetic logic unit, Control unit, input/output.

What is a Computer program Cont…

• Memory
Memory is the storage area. It is where programs and data are stored during
processing.
• Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
The ALU is where calculation and logical operations take place.
• Control Unit
The control unit controls the operations of the memory, ALU, and the
input/output subsystem.
• Input/ Output
The input subsystem accepts input data and the program from outside the
computer; the output subsystem sends the result of processing to the outside.
 9/4/2023

Characteristics of Computers
Speed
 Computers work at an incredible speed. A powerful computer is capable
of performing about 3-4 million simple instructions per second.
 The speed of computer is calculated in MHz, that is one million
instructions per second.
Accuracy
 the degree of accuracy of a particular computer depends on the
instructions and the type of processor
 the computer accurately give the result of division of any number up to
10 decimal points.
Diligence
 A computer is free from tiredness, lack of concentration, fatigue, etc.
 It can work for hours without creating any error.
 If millions of calculations are to be performed, a computer will perform
every calculation with the same accuracy.

Characteristics of Computers Cont…

Versatility
 The capacity to perform completely different type of work.
 Multi-processing features of computer makes it quiet versatile in nature.
 The presence of computers can be seen in almost every sphere
Railway/Air reservation, Banks, Hotels, Weather forecasting etc.
Power of Remembering
 A computer can store and recall any amount of information because of its
secondary storage capability.
 Every piece of information can be retain as long as desired by the user and
it can be recalled information almost instantaneously.

No IQ
 Computer is a dumb machine and it cannot do any work without
instruction from the user.
 It performs the instructions at tremendous speed and with accuracy.
 9/4/2023

Computer Components (Hardware and Software)

 Hardware
• Any physical tangible pieces that we can see and touch including
machinery, wires, transistors, and circuits … etc.

 I/O Components
• The process of getting information into and out of the computer.
Input: The parts of the computer receiving information to programs.
Output: The parts of the computer that provide results of computation to the
person using the computer.
 Input Devices
• The devices that directly involves to feed the data or information such as
Keyboard
Mouse
Voice recognition hardware
Scanner
Digital camera
CD, DVD

Computer Components (Hardware and Software)

 Output Devices
• These devices are liable to display the data, it encompasses the
following devices

• Floppy disk drives and Hard disk drives.

• Display monitors: Hi-resolution monitors come in two types:
• Cathode ray tube (CRT
• Liquid crystal display (LCD
• Speaker
• Printer
• Plotter
 9/4/2023

Computer Components (Hardware and Software)

 Software
• The set of instructions, data or programs used to operate computers and
execute specific tasks.
• Software is a generic term used to refer to applications, scripts and
programs that run on a device.
• It directs all the peripheral devices on the computer system – what to do
and how to perform a task.
• Software plays the role of mediator between the user and computer
hardware.
• Without software, a user can’t perform any task on a digital computer.
• Often broken into two major categories

System software
Application software

Computer Components (Hardware and Software)

 Software
System software
- Known as Operating System
- responsible for controlling, integrating, and managing the
individual hardware components of a computer system such as

1) Microsoft Windows
2) Linux
3) Unix
4) Mac OSX
5) DOS
 9/4/2023

Computer Components (Hardware and Software)

 Software
Application software
- Used to accomplish specific tasks other than just running the
computer system.

- May consist of a single program, such as an image viewer;

- A small collection of programs (often called a software package)

that work closely together to accomplish a task, such as a
spreadsheet or text processing system;

- A larger collection (often called a software suite) of related but

independent programs and packages that have a common user
interface or shared data format, such as Microsoft Office

Unit of Measurements (storage)

• Digitizing: The process of taking a visual image, or audio recording
and converting it to a binary form for the computer.
– Used as data for programs to display, play or manipulate the
digitized data.
• Peripheral device: A piece of hardware like a printer or disk drive,
that is outside the main computer.
• Device driver: Software addition to the operating system that will allow
the computer to communicate with a particular device.

• Capacity: The amount of information that can be stored on the medium.

 9/4/2023

Unit of Measurements (storage)

Unit Description Approximate Size

1 bit 1 binary digit
1 nibble 4 bits
1 byte 8 bits 1 character
1 kilobyte 1,024 bytes 1/2 page, double spaced
1 megabyte 1,024 k bytes (1,048,576 bytes) 500,000 pages
1 million bytes
1 gigabyte 1,024 M bytes (1,073,741,824 bytes) 5 million pages
1 billion bytes
1 terabyte 1 trillion bytes 5 billion pages

Unit of Measurements (speed)

• The speed of CPU measured by unit called Hertz (Hz)
• 1 Hz represent 1 cycle per second.
• The speed of CPU is known as Computer Speed.

• 1 hertz or Hz = 1 cycle per second

• 1 MHz = 1 million cycles per second or 1000 Hz
• 1 GHz = 1 billion cycles per second or 1000 MHz
 9/4/2023

History of Computer...
ABACUS 4th Century B.C
 The abacus, a simple counting aid, might be invented in Babylonia (now Iraq)
in the fourth century B.C.
 This device allows users to make computations using a system of sliding
beads arranged on a rack.
 Beads on rods to count and calculate

History of Computer Cont…

CHARLES BABBAGE (1791 - 1871)

 Born in 1791, Charles Babbage was an English mathematician and professor.

 In 1822, he persuaded the British government to finance his design to build a
machine that would calculate tables for logarithms.
 With Charles Babbage's creation of the Analytical Engine, (1833) computers
took the form of a general purpose machine.
 9/4/2023

History of Computer Cont…

FIRST GENERATION, (1940 – 1956)
The Vacuum Tube
 The first generation of computers, characterized by vacuum tubes, started in
1951 with the creation of UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer)
 a tabulating machine which won the contest for the fastest machine which
could count the US 1890 census.

 VACUUM TUBES electronic tubes about the size of light bulbs.

History of Computer Cont…

SECOND GENERATION (1956 – 1963)
The Transistor
 The year 1959 marked the invention of transistors, which characterized the
second generation of computers.

TRANSISTOR
a three-legged component which shrunk the size of the first generation computers.
It occupied only 1/100th of the space occupied by a vacuum tube.

 More reliable, had greater computational speed, required no warm-up time and
consumed far less electricity.
 9/4/2023

History of Computer Cont…

THIRD GENERATION (1964 – 1971)
The Integrated Circuit
 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, which drastically increased the speed and efficiency of
computers.
 Instead of punched cards and printouts, users interacted with third generation
computers through keyboards and monitors and interfaced with an operating
system, which allowed the device to run many different applications at one time
with a central program that monitored the memory.

History of Computer Cont…

FOURTH GENERATION (1971 – present)
The Microprocessor
 Marked by the use of microprocessor.
 As thousands of integrated circuits were built onto a single silicon chip
where all processing takes place.
 The Intel 4004 chip, developed in 1971, located all the components of the
computer from the central processing unit and memory to input/output
controls on a single chip.
 In 1981 IBM introduced its first computer for the home user, and in 1984
Apple introduced the Macintosh.
 Microprocessors also moved out of the realm of desktop computers and into
many areas of life as more and more everyday products began to use
microprocessors.
 9/4/2023

History of Computer Cont…

FIFTH GENERATION (present and beyond)
Artificial Intelligence

 Computer devices with artificial intelligence are still in development, but

some of these technologies are beginning to emerge and be used such as
voice recognition.
 AI is a reality made possible by using parallel processing and
superconductors.
 computers will be radically transformed again by quantum computation,
molecular and nano technology.

Classification of Computer
 Computers are classified in different ways according to shapes, sizes and
weights, due to these different shapes and sizes they perform different
sorts of jobs from one another.

Type of computer

Digital computer Analog computer Hybrid Computer

Main frame
Micro Computer Super Computer Mini Computer
Computer

Home PC
 9/4/2023

Classification of Computer Cont…

Analog computer
 An analogue computer uses the continuous physical phenomena such as
electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic quantities to model the problem being
solved.
 Analog computer measures and answer the questions by the method of
HOW MUCH. The input data is not a number infect a physical quantity
like tem, pressure, speed, velocity.
 Signals are continuous of (0 to 10 V)
 Accuracy 1% Approximately
 Output is continuous
 Time is wasted in transmission time
 It can perform multiple calculations at once and can cope with infinite
fractions of numbers.
 The characteristics of an analog computer mean it can be better than a
digital computer at particular tasks.

Classification of Computer Cont…

Analog computer
 9/4/2023

Classification of Computer Cont…

Digital computer
 A computer that stores data in terms of digits (numbers) and proceeds
in discrete steps from one state to the next.
 It counts and answer the questions by the method of HOW MANY
 Used for the logical and arithmetic operations.
 Signals are two level of (0 V or 5 V)
 Accuracy unlimited
 low speed sequential as well as parallel processing
 Output is continuous but obtain when computation is completed.

Classification of Computer Cont…

Micro computer
 The term microcomputer is generally synonymous with personal
computer (PC), or a computer that depends on a microprocessor.
 Also known as Grand child Computer
 It contains a central processing unit (CPU) on a microchip (the
microprocessor), a memory system (typically read-only memory and
random access memory), a bus system and I/O ports, typically housed in
a motherboard.
 Designed to be used by individuals, whether in the form of PCs,
workstations or notebook computers.
 Application : - personal computer, Multi user system, offices
 9/4/2023

Classification of Computer Cont…

Mini computer
 The small general purpose system, less expensive, and less powerful
than a mainframe or supercomputer, but more expensive and more
powerful than a personal computer and most useful as compared to
micro computer.
 They are used for scientific and engineering computations, business-
transaction processing, file handling, and database management, and are
often now referred to as small or midsize servers.

Classification of Computer Cont…

Main Frame computer
 A very large and expensive computer capable of supporting hundreds,
or even thousands, of users simultaneously.
 Offer faster processing and grater storage area, process millions of
instruction per second and capable of accessing billions of data.
 Use proprietary operating systems, most of which are based on Unix.
 Used mainly by large organizations for critical applications, typically
bulk data processing such as census, industry and consumer statistics,
enterprise resource planning, and financial transaction processing.
 9/4/2023

Classification of Computer Cont…

Super computer
 A Super computer performs at or near the currently highest operational
rate for computers. they are very expensive and are employed for
specialized applications that require immense amounts of mathematical
calculations.
 It is typically used for scientific and engineering applications that must
handle very large databases or do a great amount of computation.
 A super computer contains a number of CPU which operate in parallel to
make it faster. It also known as grand father computer.
 It uses for weather forecasting, graphics, fluid dynamic calculations,
nuclear energy research, petroleum exploration weapons research and
development.
 The chief difference between a supercomputer and a mainframe is that a
supercomputer channels all its power into executing a few programs as
fast as possible, whereas a mainframe uses its power to execute many
programs concurrently.

Classification of Computer Cont…

Super computer
 9/4/2023

Classification of Computer Cont…

Hybrid computer
 Hybrid computers are computers that are designed to provide functions
and features that are found with both analog computers and digital
computers.
 Hybrid computer is a digital computer that accepts analog signals,
converts them to digital and processes them in digital form.
 It use or produce analog data or digital data.
 The idea behind this combined or hybrid computer model is to create a
working unit that offers the best of both types of computers.
 It is extremely fast when it comes to manage equations, even when those
calculations are extremely complicated. This advantage is made possible
by the presence of the analog components inherented within the design of
the equipment.
 The main example are central national defense and passenger flight radar
system. They are also used to control robots.

Classification of Computer Cont…

Hybrid computer
 9/4/2023

Classification of Digital Computer

Desktop computer/ Workstation

Server Computer

Laptop/ Notebook
Smart Phone

Tablet PC

Handheld computer

Classification of Digital Computer Cont…

Dumb Terminal
 9/4/2023

The End