UNIVERSITY OF ANTIQUE GEE22

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & ARCHITECTURE 1

Sibalom, Antique .

CHAPTER 2
EVOLUTION OF COMPUTNG

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
After successful completion of this module, the student can be able to:
1. Explain the progressive evolution of the concepts that computers are based on.
2. Classify computers based on type and generation.
3. Explain the importance of computers today.
4. Differentiate among types, sizes, and functions of computers in each of these categories:
personal computers (desktop), mobile computers and mobile devices, game consoles,
servers, mainframes, supercomputers, and embedded computers.

INTRODUCTION
Back in high school, we learned about the six fundamental machines—wheel and axle,
lever, pulley, inclined plane, wedge, and screw. These age-old devices simplified physical
tasks, with illustrations often showing people putting in significant effort.
In an era without energy sources beyond human and horsepower, these simple machines
proved ingenious, forming wagons, catapults, irrigation systems, roads, bridges, and even the
grand pyramids. Combining cogs with a wheel creates gears, while gears with levers and
pulleys result in clocks.
The ingenuity of combining simple machines into complex mechanisms evolved over
centuries, driven by engines fueled by water, steam, air, and chemicals. These innovations,
grounded in fundamental physics principles, have brought us closer to understanding the
universe.

LESSON 2.1 HISTORY OF COMPUTERS

Earliest Computers originally calculations were computed by humans, whose job title was
computers.

These human computers were typically engaged in the calculation of a mathematical

expression.
The calculations of this period were specialized and expensive, requiring years of
training in mathematics.
The first use of the word "computer" was recorded in 1613, referring to a person who
carried out calculations, or computations, and the word continued to be used in that
sense until the middle of the 20th century.

ABACUS
The word Abacus derived from the Greek word ‘abax’ which means ‘tabular form’.
It was said to be invented from ancient Babylon in between 300 to 500 bc.
It comprised several rings or beads that could be moved along rods enclosed by a
wooden frame.
Used only for addition and subtraction.
The abacus was so successful that its use spread from China to many other countries.

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THE SUANPAN ABACUS (CALCULATING TRAY)

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THE EARLY PIONEERS

NAPIER'S LOGS AND BONES
• Invented by John Napier. The method was based on lattice multiplication and called
rabdology and published in 1617.
• Napier established that multiplication and division could be achieved by adding and
subtracting, respectively, the logarithm of the numbers.
• Napier derived set of numbering rods known as Napier's bones.
• He used ‘logs’ to transform multiplication problems to addition problems.
• Napier’s logs later became the basis for a well-known invention-computer machine
known as ‘slide rule’.
• Slide Rule used by engineers and scientists right up to the 1960s. NASA scientists used
slide rules to land men on the moon and bring them back to earth.

NAPIER’S LOGS AND BONES

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FIGURE 2.3 THE SLIDE RULE

PASCAL'S ADDING MACHINE

• In 17th century is the start of the emergence of the gear-based digital mechanical
calculator. Blaise Pascal was the first to create one, but it could perform only addition
and subtraction.
• The machine was invented in 1642 made up of gears which was used for adding
numbers quickly.
• It worked on clock time mechanism principle

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FIGURE 2.4 PASCAL'S ADDING MACHINE FIGURE 2.5 LEIBNITZ'S CALCULATOR/

STEPPED RECKONER

LEIBNITZ'S CALCULATOR
• The stepped reckoner developed by Gottfried Leibniz improved upon Pascal’s creation
by adding the features of multiplication and division.
• The gear-based calculator of Blaise Pascal and the step reckoner were based
on the decimal system, but Leibniz recommended the use of the binary system, which
was to be adopted centuries later.

JACQUARD'S LOOM
• The Jacquard loom was the first to use a program to control a sequence of operations
in the early 19th century.
• The improved textile loom was invented by Joseph Marie Jacquard.
• This textile loom used a set of punched cards to weave complex patterns in the cloth.
To weave a different design, one simply had to change the card set.
• The Jacquard loom was the first machine to use punched card.
• Jacquard's loom mechanism is controlled by recorded patterns of holes in a string of
cards, and allows, what is now known as, the Jacquard weaving of intricate patterns.

FIGURE 2.6 MODEL OF JACQUARD LOOM

THE PROGRAMMABLE COMPUTER

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BABBAGE'S DIFFERENCE ENGINE

• Charles Babbage developed a machine called difference engine in 1822.

• This machine was expected to calculate logarithm tables to a high degree of precision.
• Babbage's first attempt at a mechanical computing device was the difference engine, a
special-purpose calculator designed to tabulate logarithms and trigonometric
functions by evaluating finite differences to create approximating polynomials.

FIGURE 2.7 DIFFERENCE ENGINE FIGURE 2.8 ANALYTICAL ENGINE

BABBAGE'S ANALYTICAL ENGINE

• Charles Babbage (father of the computer) developed this mechanical general-purpose
computer in 1873.
• It had a processing unit and memory—two essential components of any programmable
device.
• Apart from loops which allowed a set of statements to be repeated, the analytical
engine featured a conditional statement which would permit disruption of the normal
sequence of operations.
• The service of Ada Lovelace (first programmer) was utilized by Babbage to designed a
few algorithms for the engine.
• The analytical engine was fully automatic and designed to run on steam power.

HOLLERITH'S MACHINE
• When electric motors became available, Herman Hollerith used the technology in the
late 19th century to design the Hollerith desk.
• The machine featured a card reader, writer and gear-driven counter.
• The machine could count and sort data and display the output on a set of dials.
• Hollerith employed the Hollerith Desk to complete the 1890 census in the USA and his
Tabulating Machine Company, after consolidation, was renamed International Business
Machines (IBM). In fact, IBM continued to make and sell these machines well into the
1960s before they were driven out by magnetic media.

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FIGURE 2.9 HOLLERITH 1890 CENSUS TABULATOR

THE PROGRAMMABLE ELECTRONIC COMPUTER

Z3
• Designed by German engineer Konrad Zuse in 1935 and completed in 1941, uses
2600 relays.
• Z3 is the world’s first programmable and automatic digital computer.
• It was also the first computer to be based on the binary system, and program control
was achieved by punched film.
• Z3 was used for aerodynamic calculations but was destroyed in a bombing raid on
Berlin in late 1943.

FIGURE 2.10 THE ZUSE Z3 COMPUTER FIGURE 2.11 THE ATANASOFF- BERRY
COMPUTER

ABC – ATANASOFF BERRY COMPUTER

• The machine was designed and built by John Vincent Atanasoff and graduate student
Clifford Berry between 1937 and tested in 1942.
• The ABC was at the center of a patent dispute related to the invention of the computer,
which was resolved in 1973 when it was shown that ENIAC co-designer John Mauchly
had seen the ABC shortly after it became functional.
• Uses punched cards for input and output, vacuum tube electronics to process data in
binary format, and rotating drums of capacitors to store data
• Performs single task, built to solve large systems of simultaneous equations

MARK – 1
• The original concept was presented to IBM by Howard Aiken in November 1937.

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• After a feasibility study by IBM engineers, the company chairman Thomas Watson
Sr. personally approved the project and its funding in February 1939.
• Also known as Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (ASCC)
• Harvard Mark 1 is a room-sized, relay-based calculator.
• Fifty-foot-long camshaft running the length of machine that synchronized the
machine’s thousands of component parts and used 3,500 relays.
• The ASCC was developed and built by IBM at their Endicott plant and shipped
to Harvard in February 1944.

FIGURE 2.12 COMPLETED HARVARD MARK FIGURE 2.13 COLOSSUS AT BLETCHLEY

1 PARK

COLOSSUS
• Colossus was a set of computers developed by British codebreakers in the years 1943 -
1945 to help in the cryptanalysis of the Lorenz cipher.
• Used thermionic valves (vacuum tubes) to perform Boolean and counting operations.
• Colossus was designed by General Post Office (GPO) research telephone
engineer Tommy Flowers to solve a problem posed by mathematician Max Newman at
the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park.

ENIAC – Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator

• The first programmable, electronic, general-purpose digital computer made in 1945.
• ENIAC was completed in 1945 and first put to work for practical purposes on
December 10, 1945.
• Designed by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert of the University of Pennsylvania, U.S.
• ENIAC was a large, modular computer, composed of individual panels to perform
different functions.
• Weighing 30 tons, used 18,000 vacuum tubes and used 200 kilowatts of electrical
power
• Can be programmed (given different sets of instructions to follow) by the cumbersome
procedure of reconnecting cable and flipping switches

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FIGURE 2.14 ENIAC – ELECTRONIC FIGURE 2.15 EDVAC – ELECTRONIC

NUMERICAL INTEGRATOR AND DISCRETE VARIABLE AUTOMATIC
CALCULATOR COMPUTER

EDVAC – Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer

• One of the earliest electronic computers.
• Unlike its predecessor the ENIAC, it was binary rather than decimal, and was designed
to be a stored-program computer.
• The EDVAC was a binary serial computer with automatic addition, subtraction,
multiplication, programmed division and automatic checking with an ultrasonic serial
memory capacity
• John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert, proposed the EDVAC's construction in August
1944 joined by John von Neumann in a consulting role.

EDSAC – Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator

• Constructed by Maurice Wilkes at University of Cambridge, England
• Inspired by John von Neumann's seminal First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC.
• Second electronic digital stored-program computer to go into regular service.
• It used mercury delay lines for memory, and derated vacuum tubes for logic.

FIGURE 2.16 EDSAC – ELECTRONIC DELAY FIGURE 2.17 UNIVAC I – UNIVERSAL

STORAGE AUTOMATIC CALCULATOR AUTOMATIC COMPUTER

UNIVAC I – Universal Automatic Computer 1

• The first general-purpose electronic digital computer design for business application
• It was designed principally by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, the inventors of
the ENIAC.
• Design work was started by their company, Eckert–Mauchly Computer
Corporation (EMCC), and was completed after the company had been acquired
by Remington Rand (which later became part of Sperry, now Unisys)

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LESSON 2.2 GENERATION OF COMPUTER

The previous lesson outlined 4000 years of history by identifying three major phases of
computer (mechanical, electro-mechanical, and electronic), the third of which has the shortest
lifespan. A closer examination of this period reveals a number of technological advancements
that can be divided into generations. Each generation's computer is quicker, smaller, and
more powerful than the previous generation's counterpart. As a result of these advancements
in hardware, powerful and user-friendly programming languages have emerged.

1940 – 1956: First Generation – Vacuum Tubes

• These computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, were
often enormous (taking up entire rooms), expensive to operate and in addition to using a
great deal of electricity, generated a lot of heat.
• It relied on machine language, the lowest-level programming language understood by
computers, and they could only solve one problem at a time.
• Input was based on punched cards and paper tape. Output came out on print-outs. The
two notable machines of this era were the UNIVAC and ENIAC machines – the UNIVAC is
the first every commercial computer which was purchased in 1951 by a business – the US
Census Bureau.

FIGURE 2.18 VACUUM TUBES FIGURE 2.19 VACUUM TUBES COMPUTER

1956 – 1963: Second Generation – Transistors (Solid State & Magnetic Core)

• The world would see transistors replace vacuum tubes in the second generation of
computers. The transistor was invented at Bell Labs in 1947 but did not see widespread
use in computers until the late 1950s.
• The transistor allowed computers to become smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy-
efficient and more reliable than their first-generation predecessors.
• Though it still generated a great deal of heat, it was a vast improvement over the vacuum
tube.
• These computers moved from binary machine language to symbolic or assembly
languages, which allowed programmers to specify instructions in words.
• These were also the first computers that stored their instructions in their memory, which
moved from a magnetic drum to magnetic core technology.
• High-level programming languages were also being developed at this time, such as early
versions of COBOL and FORTRAN.

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FIGURE 2.20 DIFFERENT TYPES OF FIGURE 2.21 TRANSISTOR COMPUTER

TRANSISTORS

1964 – 1971: Third Generation – Integrated Circuits

• Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips, called semiconductors, which
drastically increased the speed and efficiency of computers.
• 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.

An integrated circuit (IC) is a small electronic device made from a semiconductor

material. The first integrated circuit was developed in the 1950s by Jack Kilby of Texas
Instruments and Robert Noyce of Fairchild Semiconductor.

FIGURE 2.22 INTEGRATED CIRCUIT (IC) FIGURE 2.23 IC COMPUTER

1972 – 2010: Fourth Generation – Microprocessors (Large Scale Integration, LSI)

• The microprocessor brought the fourth generation of computers, as thousands of
integrated circuits were built onto a single silicon chip.
• 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.
• They could be linked together to form networks, which eventually led to the development
of the Internet. Fourth generation computers also saw the development of GUIs, the
mouse and handheld devices.

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FIGURE 2.24 MICROPROCESSOR FIGURE 2.25 THE 4TH GENERATION

COMPUTER

2010- : Fifth Generation – Artificial Intelligence (Very Large Scale Integration, VLSI)
• The fifth generation represents a vision of the computers of the future. Artificial
Intelligence (AI) and use of natural languages are the main features of this generation.
• Fifth-generation systems should be capable of producing human-like behavior. These
systems are expected to interact with users in natural language and learn from experience.
Speech recognition and speech output should also be possible with these systems.
• Artificial Intelligence is the branch of computer science concerned with making computers
behave like humans. The term was coined in 1956 by John McCarthy at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology.
Artificial intelligence includes:
✓ Games Playing: programming computers to play games such as chess and
checkers
✓ Expert Systems: programming computers to make decisions in real-life situations
(for example, some expert systems help doctors diagnose diseases based on
symptoms)
✓ Natural Language: programming computers to understand natural human
languages
✓ Neural Networks: Systems that simulate intelligence by attempting to reproduce
the types of physical connections that occur in animal brains
✓ Robotics: programming computers to see and hear and react to other sensory
stimuli

FIGURES 2.26-27 APPLICATIONS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

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FIGURE 2.28 SUMMARY OF COMPUTER GENERATION

LESSON 2.3 TYPES OF COMPUTERS

Aside from being divided into generations, computers can also be divided by sizes. A
computer's size is often an illustrative sign of its capabilities and the application domains in
which it is used. There would be some overlap due to continually changing technology;
today's mainframe may be tomorrow's minicomputer.
Personal computers (desktop), mobile computers and mobile devices, game consoles,
servers, mainframes, supercomputers, and embedded computers are the seven classifications
used by industry experts. The size, speed, processing power, and price of a computer decide
which category it belongs to. However, because of quickly evolving technology, the line
between groups is not always clear. This trend of computers and devices with technologies
that overlap, called convergence, leads to computer manufacturers continually releasing
newer models that include similar functionality and features.

PURPOSE
1. General Purpose Computers
a. a machine that is capable of carrying out some general data processing under
program control.
b. computers that follow instructions, thus virtually all computers from micro to
mainframe are general purpose. Even computers in toys, games and single-function
devices follow instructions in their built-in program
2. Special Purpose Computers
a. A computer that is designed to operate on a restricted class of problems.
b. Use special purpose computer equipment to obtain patient diagnostic information

TYPE OF DATA HANDLED

1. Analog Computers - computers that recognize data as a continuous measurement of a
physical property (voltage, pressure, speed and temperature). Example: Automobile
speedometer

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2. Digital Computers - high speed programmable electronic devices that perform

mathematical calculations compare values and store results. They recognize data by
counting discrete signal representing either a high or low voltage state of electricity
3. Hybrid Computers - A computer that processes both analog and digital data

COMPUTER CATEGORIES

1. MOBILE DEVICES (also known as a portable computer) is a computer that is small enough
to be held in one's hand and operated. Any handheld computer device will typically have
an LCD or OLED flatscreen interface with a touchscreen, digital buttons, and keyboard, or
physical buttons and a physical keyboard. Many of these gadgets can connect to the
Internet and communicate with other devices like car entertainment systems or
headphones using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular networks, or near-field communication (NFC).
Integrated cameras, the capacity to make and receive audio and video phone calls, video
games, and GPS capabilities are all typical features. A lithium-ion battery is commonly
used to provide power. Mobile devices may run mobile operating systems that enable the
installation and use of third-party apps with certain capabilities.

POPULAR TYPES OF MOBILE DEVICES

A. SMART PHONES/ MOBILE PHONES combine a mobile phone and a handheld

computer into a single device. offering the convenience of one-handed operation.
Have keypads that contain both numbers and letters and others have built in mini
keyboard, and some have touch screen. Smartphones allow users to access and store
information (e.g. e-mail) and install programs (applications) while also being able to
use a mobile phone in one device it also allows you to send and receive e-mail
messages.

FIGURE 2.29 SMARTHPHONE/ MOBILE FIGURE 2.30 PERSONAL DIGITAL

PHONE ASSISTANT

B. PDA OR PERSONAL DIGITAL ASSISTANT sometimes called pocket computers. It

provides personal information management function such as calendar, an
appointment book, address book, calculator, and a notepad. Unlike portable
computers, most PDAs began as pen-based, using a stylus rather than a keyboard for
input. This means that they also incorporated handwriting recognition features.
C. TABLET PC are an evolution of the notebook computer with touchscreen LCD screens
that can be utilized with your fingertips or with a stylus. The handwriting with a stylus is

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digitized and can be converted to standard text through handwriting recognition, or it

can remain as handwritten text. Tablet PCs may also offer a removable keyboard as an
additional input option.

FIGURE 2.31 TABLET PC FIGURE 2.32 PORTBALE MEDIA PLAYER

ULTRA SLIM HIFI STEREO MP4

D. PORTABLE MEDIA PLAYER mobile device on which you can store, organize and play
digital media.
Example: Listen to music, watch videos, movies, and television shows, view photos.
Usually include a set of ear buds.

E. DIGITAL CAMERAS a camera that captures photographs in digital memory. Most

cameras produced today are digital largely replacing those that capture images
on photographic film. Usually, images stores on small storage media such as memory
cards. Allows users to review, and sometimes modify, images while they are in the
camera.

FIGURE 2.33 DIGITAL CAMERA FIGURE 2.34 DIFFERENT TYPES OF

WEARABLE COMPUTER

F. WEARABLE COMPUTER, also known as a wearable or body-borne computer, is a

computing device worn on the body. Wearable computers have been used for;
General-purpose computing (e.g. smartphones and smartwatches), sensory
integration, e.g. to help people see better or understand the world better (whether in
task-specific applications like camera-based welding helmets] or for everyday use
like Google Glass, behavioral modeling, health care monitoring systems, service
management, electronic textiles and fashion design.

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2. PERSONAL COMPUTERS PC can perform all its input, processing, output, and storage
activities. Small enough to fit on a desktop, inside a briefcase, or even inside a shirt
pocket. A small computer designed for use by a single user at a time. A PC or
microcomputer uses a single chip (microprocessor) for its central processing unit (CPU).

VARIETY OF PERSONAL COMPUTERS

A. DESKTOP PC’s it is a complete computer system (system unit, keyboard, monitor, and
mouse) fits on or next to a desk.
2 styles of desktop PC
• Tower case
• Desktop case

FIGURE 2.35 TOWER CASE STYLE FIGURE 2.36 DESKTOP CASE/

DESKTOP PC HORIZONTAL STYLE DESKTOP PC

PC COMPATIBLE COMPUTERS, run by the Microsoft Windows Operating System

• Dell
• Hewlett Packard
• NEC
• Acer
• Fujitsu
• ASUS

MACINTOSH COMPUTERS, run by MAC Operating System

• Apple Computers

B. PORTABLE PC’s easily carried. Essential for many workers, such as salespeople who
need to make presentations or take orders from clients off- site, agents who need to
collect data remote locations, and managers who need computing and
communications resources as they travel.

TWO TYPES OF PORTABLE PC’S

a. Notebook Computers also called laptop computer, designed to fit on your

lap. Traditional clamshell design. The monitor is on the side top half the PC,
and the keyboard and touchpad are on the inside bottom half. Thin and
lightweight

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Netbook _ it is a type of notebook computer, smaller, lighter than and often

not as powerful as a traditional notebook computer.
Tablet PC’s special type of notebook computer. Allows you to write or draw
on the screen using digital pen.

FIGURE 1.37 NETBOOK VS. LAPTOP

b. Handheld Computers sometimes called Pocket Computers, about the size

of a paperback book or pocket calculator. Have built- in keyboard or a
thumb pad.

3. MIDRANGE SERVERS also called midrange computers, or midrange systems, was a class
of computer systems which fall in between mainframe computers and microcomputers.
Used to host programs and data for a small network. Can serve many users at one time
and often used in small- to medium sized businesses. Some are consisted of individual
circuit boards called blades.
Ex: Medical or dental offices, school computer labs

FIGURE 2.38 EXAMPLE OF MIDRANGE FIGURE 2.39 EXAMPLE OF MAINFRAME

SERVER COMPUTERS

4. MAINFRAME COMPUTERS more expensive, powerful computer that can handle hundreds
or thousands of connected users simultaneously. It can store huge amounts of data,
instructions and information and a standard choice for large organization. High- end
servers or enterprise class servers.

MAINFRAME COMPUTERS ARE PRIMARILY MAINFRAME COMPUTERS ARE USEFUL

USED IN: FOR TASKS RELATED TO:

• Institutions • Census taking

• Research • Industry and consumer statistics

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• Academics • Enterprise resource planning

• Health care • Transaction processing
• Libraries • e-business and e-commerce
• Large businesses
• Financial institutions
• Stock brokerage firms
• Insurance agencies

5. SUPERCOMPUTERS fastest and most powerful and most expensive and capable of
processing more than one quadrillion instructions in a single second. Applications
requiring complex, sophisticated mathematical calculations use supercomputers.
Supercomputers are useful for applications involving very large databases or that require a
great amount of computation.

SUPERCOMPUTERS ARE USED FOR AREAS SUPERCOMPUTERS ARE USED FOR

RELATED TO: COMPLEX TASKS, SUCH AS:

• Science • Weather forecasting

• Engineering • Climate research
• Education • Scientific simulation
• Defense • Oil and gas exploration
• Aerospace • Quantum mechanics
• Cryptanalysis

FIGURE 2.40 MICROSOFT MASSIVE FIGURE 2.41 EXAMPLES OF EMBEDDED

SUPERCOMPUTER COMPUTERS

6. EMBEDDED COMPUTERS is a computer system that performs a specific function within a

larger mechanical or electronic system. It consists of a computer processor, computer
memory, and input/output peripheral devices. It is generally found as part of a larger
gadget that includes electrical or electronic technology as well as mechanical components.
Because an embedded system often controls the actual processes of the machine it is
embedded in, it is frequently constrained by real-time computing. Many modern devices
are controlled by embedded systems.

A variety of everyday products contain embedded computers:

• House hold appliances (microwave oven, washing machines and dishwashers)
• Home Automation,

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• Automobiles
• Process controllers and robotics

NUMBER OF
CATEGORY PHYSICAL SIZE SIMULTANEOUSLY
CONNECTED USERS
Personal Computers Fits on desk Usually one (can be more if
(desktop) networked)
Mobile Computers and Fits on your lap or in Usually, one
Mobile Devices your hand
Midrange Servers Small cabinet Two to thousands
Mainframes Partial room to a full Hundreds to thousands
room equipment
Supercomputers Full room of equipment Hundreds to thousands
Embedded Computers Miniature Usually, one
TABLE 1.1 SUMMARY OF COMPUTER TYPES

E N D

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