BBA-5

Computer Application
[BBA-N506]

Unit – 1

Dr. Aditya Kumar Gupta

Associate Professor

Important Questions
1. What are the properties of Computer, Describe the basic Block Diagram of Computer with the
help of Figure?
2. What do you mean by Generation of Computer, Explain the Advancement of Computer in
each Generation?
3. What are the base criteria to categorized Computer? Explain the Types of computer
depending on these Criteria.
4. What are the Working of Input devices: Mouse, Keyword, Scanner and Output devices:
Printer and Monitor?
5. What are the types of computer? Explain on the basis of Purpose, size and the Technology.
 Introduction to Computers
The term 'computer' is derived from the word 'compute', which means to calculate. A computer is an
electronic, device for performing calculations and controlling operations that can be expressed either
in logical or numerical terms. In simple words, a computer is an electronic device that performs
mathematical and non-mathematical operations with the help of instructions to process the
information in order to achieve desired results. Therefore, we may define computer as a device that
receive data as input and produce information as output, after processing on data. Data can be
anything like marks obtained by you in various subjects. It can also be name, age, sex, weight,
height, etc.

Functions of Computers
i) The computers can store data,
ii) The computers can process data as desired,
iii) The computers can retrieve the stored data as and when required

Characteristics of Computers
Let us discuss some of the characteristics of a computer, which make them an essential part of every
emerging technology and such a desirable tool in human development.

 Speed: The computers process data at an extremely fast rate, that is, to the tune of million
instructions per second. In a few seconds, computers can perform such a huge task that a normal
human being may take days or even years to complete. The speed of a computer is calculated in
Megahertz, that is, one million instructions per second. At present, a powerful computer can
perform billions of operations in just one second.

 Accuracy: Besides the efficiency, the computers are also very accurate. The level of accuracy
depends on the instructions and the type of machines being used. Since we know that the
computer is capable of doing only what it is instructed to do, faulty instructions for processing
the data automatically lead to faulty results. Errors may occur in the results, but due to increased
efficiency of error-detecting techniques, they can be minimized. Thus, the probability of errors in
a computer is negligible.

 Reliability: Generally, reliability is the measurement of the performance of a computer, which is

measured against some predetermined standard for operation without any failure. The major
reason behind the reliability of the computers is that, at hardware level, it does not require any
human intervention between its processing operations. Moreover, computers have the built-in,
diagnostic capabilities, which help in continuous monitoring of the system.

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 Storage Capability: Computers can store large amounts of data and it can recall the required
information almost instantaneously. The memory of the computer is relatively small and it can
hold only a certain amount of information, therefore, the data is stored on storage devices such as
magnetic tape or disks. Small sections of the data can be accessed very quickly and bought into
the storage devices, as and when required, for processing. In order to explain the idea of storage
capacity, we can take an example of CD-ROM and a hard disk. A single CD-ROM can store up
to 700 MB of data while a hard disk can have a capacity of around 80 GB (1 GB=1024 MB).

 Versatility: Computers are quite versatile in nature. They can perform multiple tasks
simultaneously with equal ease. For example, at one moment it can be used to prepare a letter, the
other moment. It can be used to play music and in between you can print a document as well. All
this work is possible by changing the program (sequence of instructions for computers). In brief,
we can say that a computer can perform various tasks by reducing the task to a series of logical
steps.

 Diligence: Computer, being a machine, does not suffer from the human traits of tiredness and
lack of concentration. If four million calculations have to be performed, then the computer will
perform the last four-millionth calculation with the same accuracy and speed.

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 The Computer System
A computer can be viewed as a system that comprises several units. The term 'computer system'
refers to the whole of computer hardware, components, peripherals, and data communication
equipment. It consists of a number of interrelated components that work together with the aim of
converting data into information. In a computer system, processing is carried out electronically,
usually with little or no intervention from a human user. A computer system essentially has three
important components:
1. Central Processing Unit (CPU): This unit performs processing of instructions and data inside
the computer.
2. Input Unit: This component of the computer accepts instructions and data.
3. Output Unit: This unit communicates the results to the user.

1. Central Processing Unit (CPU): The Central Processing Unit, or CPU, is the 'administrative'
section of the computer system. It interprets, coordinates the operations, and supervises the
instructions. In essence, the CPU contains the circuits that decode and execute instructions. CPU
works with data in discrete, that is, either 1 or 0. It counts, lists, compares, and rearranges the binary
digits of data in accordance with the detailed program instructions stored within its memory.
Eventually, the results of these operations are translated into characters, numbers, and symbols that
can be understood by the user. The circuits necessary to create a CPU for a personal computer are
fabricated on a microprocessor. The central processing unit (CPU) itself has three parts:

 Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU): This unit performs the arithmetical (add, subtract) and
logical operations (and, or) on the stored numbers. The data is transferred from the memory
unit to the arithmetic logic section, processed, and returned to internal storage. Before the
completion of the processing, data may be transferred back and forth between these two
sections, several times. Subsequently, the results are transferred from internal storage to an
output device.
 Control Unit: This unit checks the correctness of sequence of operations. It fetches the
program instruction from the primary storage unit, interprets them, and ensures correct
execution of the program. It also controls the input/output devices and directs the overall
functioning of the other units of the computer.
 Memory Unit: This unit holds the intermediate results during the course of calculations
and provides the data as and when required. It stores the program instructions and data on
which the processor is currently working. This internal storage section is also called as
primary memory or main memory. The storage section takes the data from an input device
and stores it until the computer is ready to process it. It also stores processed data and
intermediate results. When the processing is finished, it transfers the final results to an output
device.

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2. Input Unit: A computer system also incorporates input and output devices, which are a
communication medium between a human and the computer. An input unit accepts instruction and
data from the user in the form that the computer can understand. Some of the input devices are
keyboard, mouse, light pen, and so on.

Input Devices: An input device can be defined as an electromechanical device that allows the
user to feed information (data) into the computer for analysis, storage, and to give commands to the
computer. Data and instructions are entered into the computer's main memory through an input
device. Input device captures information and translates it into a form that can be processed and used
by other parts of the computer. A computer processes the input data to produce some form of useful
output. To do this, it requires some data to be fed into it - this is the INPUT.

The Keyboard: The process of communicating with computers involves converting signals that
are understandable to the outside world into signals that can be read and "understood" by the
computer. One important set of symbols used by the computer is the ASCII code set. There are many
ways that ASCII characters can be entered into a computer. The most common in use today is the
keyboard. We are used to using a keyboard that has the name "QWERTY" for the characters that are
on the upper left positions of the alphabetic keys. The QWERTY keyboard was originally designed
for teletypes (used for telegrams) over a century ago. Since those were mechanical devices, they had
a number of restrictions that have carried over to today's keyboards. Keys had to be linked by direct
bars to a printing mechanism; hence the keys on a QWERTY keyboard are offset slightly from each
other in vertical alignment to permit such bars to be attached.

The Mouse: Another input device that you will become familiar with is a mouse. A mouse is a
device that allows you to move a cursor around the screen. In addition, it has one or more buttons on
the top that you can use to "click" (or double click) in a given area to indicate that you wish the
computer to take some action. The Macintosh mouse has one button; many IBM PC mice have two,
and most associated with large workstations have three buttons. Each button causes a different action
to take place. Mouse is good for input when no characters (letters or numbers) need to be typed.
When there is a mixture of typing and moving the cursor, it becomes significantly less useful.
Although the most common forms of input to personal computers are keyboard and mouse, there are
many other ways to convert data to machine-readable form.

Bar Code Readers: A widespread form of input device is based on using bar codes. There have
been several different forms of bar codes developed, but the one used for Universal Product Code is
probably the most widespread. As a result of international standardization, there is now product
codes assigned to most goods sold in stores of all kinds. An international registry of these codes is
maintained, and a manufacturer wishing to introduce a new product must apply for a code number
before it is printed on the product package. Bar codes can be used to code alphabetic information as
well as numeric. There are now hand-held as well as table-mounted bar code readers, they can be
used in many areas to improve input speed.

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Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR): Another widely standardized form of data
entry is used in the banking industry. The cheques that you write are pre-coded on the bottom left of
each check to provide the bank number, your account number, and the last three digits of your check
number. The bottom right of the check is used to input (manually) the amount of the check. The ink
used to print this part of the cheques contains little specks of ferric oxide (much like a magnetic
tape), and these specks are magnetized just before the cheques goes through the reader (which can
accept many different sizes of checks).

Optical Character Reader: OCR is the electronic or mechanical conversion of images of

typed, handwritten or printed text into machine-encoded text, whether from a scanned document, a
photo of a document, a scene-photo or from subtitle text superimposed on an image. It is a common
method of digitizing printed texts so that they can be electronically edited, searched, stored more
compactly, displayed on-line. CR is a field of research in pattern recognition, artificial
intelligence and computer vision.

Optical Mark Reader: OMR (also called Optical Mark Recognition) is the process of reading
information that people mark on surveys, tests and other paper documents. OMR is used to
read questionnaires, multiple choice examination papers in the form of shaded areas. OMR
devices have a scanner that shines a light onto a form. The device then looks at the
contrasting reflectivity of the light at certain positions on the form. It will detect the black marks
because they reflect less light than the blank areas on the form.
In contrast to the dedicated OMR device, desktop OMR software allows a user to create their own
forms in a word processor or computer and print them on a laser printer. The OMR software then
works with a common desktop image scanner with a document feeder to process the forms once
filled out.

Plotter: A plotter is a printer that interprets commands from a computer to make line drawings on
paper with one or more automated pens. Unlike a regular printer, a plotter can draw continuous
point-to-point lines directly from vector graphic files or commands.
Plotters are also referred to as large-format printers and wide-format printers. They were the first
type of output device that could print high-resolution continuous lines, text and images with color
and generate graphics and full-sized engineering drawings. Plotters are more expensive than
traditional printers. They are frequently used for computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) and
computer-aided engineering (CAE) applications, such as computer-aided design or CAD drawings.
Plotter uses also include generating blueprints, graphs, technical drawings and architectural
drawings.

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Microfilm: It is a 35mm film on which printed materials are photographed at greatly reduced size
for ease of storage. The digital lens on the microfilm reader enlarges the image, allowing you to read
the contents. Microfilm is used to retain records and data in a format that is easy to store, easy to
access, and can last for a long time. In the second half of the 20th century, microfilm was created en
masse because it was, at that time, the best method of storing and accessing loads of information.
Instead of keeping warehouses full of paper and hard copy records, those documents were
microfilmed.

Microfiche: It is a card made of transparent film used to store printed information in miniaturized
form. To read the card, one places it under the lens of a microfiche reader machine, which magnifies
it. Microfiche is like microfilm but comes on little sheets and has fewer images. There are a number
of different types of microfiche, but the most common type (jacket fiche) can hold up to about 60
images. On a microfiche sheet there’s a title strip that contains information related to the individual
images. For example, if the fiche are from a registrar’s office and they’re of student records, the fiche
will likely have the student name, maybe a graduation year or date of birth, and possibly a student
number. The individual images on the fiche will be of grade reports, attendance information, and so
on.

3.Output Unit: Like input units, output units are instruments off interpretation and
communication between humans and computers. These devices take the machine coded output
results from the processor and convert them into a form that can be used by the people (X~ as a
machine input in another processing cycle. Some of the commonly used output devices are printers,
monitor, and plotters. The most common output devices are monitors (screens) and printers. Other
output devices produce sound (voice or music) and graphics.

Monitors (VDU): Monitors contain "dots" called pixels (short for picture elements) and are
described by their resolution (number of dots vertically and number of dots horizontally), the variety
of colors each pixel can represent, and the dot pitch (closeness of the dots on the screen). The early
IBM PCs with color monitors had a 320 by 200 pixel resolution monitor that was called CGA (color
graphics adapter).

Printers: Common printers include impact printers and non-impact printers. Dot-matrix printers
are common impact printers. They use a group of pins that hits a ribbon in a specific pattern to
transfer ink to the paper (similar to a typewriter with a ribbon). Non-impact printers include laser
printers and ink-jet printers. Laser printers have very good resolution (600 or more dpi or dots per
inch). Color laser printers are still quite expensive. In contrast, color ink-jet printers of reasonable
quality are much cheaper.

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Sound and Graphics: Sound output can be digitized sounds, music CDs, or speech. Sound and
graphics take up much more space than text. CD-ROMs are now commonly used for multi-media
software because of their portability and large storage capacity.

Voice Recognition System: Voice recognition is a computer software program or hardware

device with the ability to decode the human voice. Voice recognition is commonly used to operate a
device, perform commands, or write without having to use a keyboard, mouse, or press any buttons.
Voice Recognition is also called Speaker Recognition. At the time of enrollment, the user needs to
speak a word or phrase into a microphone. This is necessary to acquire speech sample of a candidate.

Speaker dependent voice recognition relies on the knowledge of candidate's particular voice
characteristics. This system learns those characteristics through voice training (or enrollment).
Speaker independent systems are able to recognize the speech from different users by restricting the
contexts of the speech such as words and phrases.

The Response Devices: A voice response system (VRS) is a computer interface which responds
to voice commands, instead of responding to inputs from a mouse or a keystroke. It is a type of
speech synthesis where sentences are organized by concatenating pre-recorded words saved in a
database. A response device is a electronic interface which responds to commands of an
experimental subject. Response devices can attend to motor inputs (like a mouse or a keyboard) or to
voice commands (like a microphone).

3. Memory Unit
Primary Memory: Random Access Memory (RAM) and Read Only Memory (ROM) fall in the
category of the primary memory, also known as main memory. Every computer comes with a small
amount of ROM, which contains the boot firmware (called BIOS). This holds just enough
information so that the computer can check its hardware and load its operating system into RAM.
RAM is the place where the computer temporarily stores its operating system, application programs,
and current data, so that the computer's processor can reach them quickly and easily, is volatile in
nature, that is, when the power is switched off, the data in this memory is lost. Unlike RAM, ROM is
non-volatile. Even when the computer is switched off, the contents of the ROM remain available.

Random Access Memory (RAM): Random access memory is like the computer's scratch pad. It
allows the computer to store data for immediate manipulation and to keep track of what is currently
being processed. It is the place in a computer where the operating system, application programs, and
data in current use are kept so that they can be accessed quickly by the computer's processor. RAM is
much faster to read from and write to than the other kinds of storage in a computer like the hard disk
or floppy disk. However, the data in RAM stays there only as long as the computer is running. When
the computer is turned off, RAM loses its data.
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When the computer is turned on again, the operating system and other files are once again loaded
into RAM, usually from the hard disk. When a software program is started, the computer copies it to
the RAM and does all the work there. This allows the computer to run the software faster. RAM
needs power (electricity) to work; however, when the computer's power is turned off, the RAM is
erased. The software program is still on the system because the computer copied the working parts of
it to RAM, any new information that is created is kept in RAM until it is saved. That is why you need
to continuously save the information to the hard disk.

Types of RAM Random access memory is of two types:

1. Static RAM: This RAM retains the data as long as power is provided to the memory chips. It
does not need to be 'refreshed' (pulse of current through all the memory cells) periodically.
SRAM is very fast but much more expensive than DRAM. RAM is often used as cache memory
due to its high speed. .

2. Dynamic RAM: DRAM, unlike SRAM, must be continually 'refreshed' in order for it to
maintain the data. This is done by placing the memory on a refresh circuit that rewrites the data
several hundred times per second. DRAM is used for most system memory because it is cheap
and small.

Types of ROM Memories in the ROM family are distinguished by the methods used to write
new data to them and the number of times they can be rewritten. This classification reflects
the evolution of ROM devices from 'hard-wired' to programmable to erasable-and-
programmable. A common feature of all these devices is their ability to retain data and
programs forever, even during a power failure. ROMs come in following varieties:

1. Masked ROM: The very first ROMs were hard-wired devices that contained a pre-
programmed set of data or instructions. These kinds of ROMs are known as masked ROMs.
The contents of such ROMs have to be specified before chip production, so the actual data
could be used to arrange the transistors inside the chip.

2. Programmable ROM (PROM): Creating a ROM chip from scratch is a time-consuming

and expensive process. For this reason, developers created a type of ROM known as
Programmable Read-only Memory (PROM), which can be programmed. Blank PROM chips
can be bought economically and coded by anyone with a special tool such as PROM-
programmers. However, once a PROM has been programmed, its contents can never be
changed. If the code or data stored in the PROM has to be changed, the current device must
be discarded. As a result, PROM is also known as one-time programmable (OTP) device.

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3. Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM): An EPROM is programmed in exactly the
same manner as a PROM. However, unlike PROMs, EPROMs can be erased and
reprogrammed repeatedly. An EPROM can be erased by simply exposing the device to a
strong source of ultraviolet light for a certain amount of time. A window on the top of the
device allows the light to reach the silicon. Essentially this process reset the entire chip to its
initial un-programmed state. Precaution should be taken that EPROM should not be over-
exposed under the Ultra Voile light.

4. Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM): This type of ROM can be

erased by an electrical charge and then written to by using slightly higher-than-normal
voltage. EEPROM can be erased one byte at a time, rather than erasing the entire chip with
UV light. Hence, the process of re-programming is flexible, but slow. Note that, the chip
does not have to be removed for rewrite and neither the entire chip has to be completely
erased to change a specific portion of it. In addition, changing the contents does not require
additional committed equipment. Because these chips can be changed without opening a
casing, they are often used to store programmable instructions in devices, such as printers
and other peripherals.

Secondary Memory:
Also known as auxiliary memory, secondary memory provides backup storage for instructions
(software programs) and data. Most commonly used secondary memory devices are hard disk,
magnetic disk, and magnetic tapes. These are the least expensive among all the memories. However,
they have much larger storage capacity than primary memory. Instructions and data stored on such
storage devices are permanent in nature. It can only be removed if the user wants it so or the device
is destroyed. Secondary memory can also be used as 'overflow memory' (also known as virtual
memory) when the capacity of main memory is surpassed. Note that unlike processor memory and
main memory, secondary memory is not directly accessible by the processor. Firstly, the information
from secondary memory has to be shifted to main memory and then to the processor.

Secondary (Auxiliary) Storage Devices

The benefits of secondary (auxiliary) storage include space, reliability, convenience, and economy.
When you turn off a computer, everything in main memory is erased. The only ways to save the
results of your work are either to print out the results or else to store them on an auxiliary storage
device. These devices can store information in a form that can be read automatically by machine, and
usually they can retain the information for long periods of time. There are many forms of auxiliary
storage, and we will only consider a very few of them in this class. However, the most common
technologies for auxiliary storage involve either magnetic storage media (disks, magnetic tape) or
optical storage devices.

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Magnetic Tapes: There are many forms that magnetic media can take. Most of them involve a
Mylar material in which some ferric oxide particles have been embedded. In the case of magnetic
tape, the oxide particles are on one side only (disks are coated on both sides). A magnetic tape is
divided into tracks; each one used to store a single bit of a byte of data.

Magnetic Disks: A magnetic disk uses the same basic surfaces principles: Mylar medium coated
with ferric oxide, and read/write heads positioned very close to the surfaces (top and bottom) to read
the 0s and 1s of each data element. Each disk must be formatted before it can be used. Formatting a
disk consists of dividing the disk into sectors, pie-shaped wedges of data separated by very small
empty spaces. Within each sector are a series of tracks, concentric rings of data that can be read one
at a time. An important point to remember is that, unlike magnetic tapes, the tracks on a disk can be
accessed directly; in other words, one can skip to inner tracks without reading intermediate tacks. For
this reason, disks are referred to as direct access, or random access devices.

Optical Disks: Optical data disks come in three basic types: read only, non-erasable write-once, and
erasable read/write. The read-only disks are currently distributed in the same basic format as
Compact Disks (CDs) used to record music. A CD can hold very large amounts of information,
around 660 MB, but often they are distributed with far less information because it is hard to put
together single collections of data requiring that much storage. Since CD devices are relatively
cheap.

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 Generations of Computers
The history of computer development is often referred to in reference to the different
generations of computing devices. In computer terminology, the word 'generation' is
described as a stage of technological development or innovation. A major technological
development that fundamentally changed the way computers operate, resulting in
increasingly smaller, cheaper, more powerful and more efficient and reliable devices
characterize each generation of computer. According to the kind of 'processor' installed in a
machine, there are five generations of computers.

1. First Generation (1940-56): Vacuum Tubes

First generation computers were vacuum tubes/thermionic valves based machines. These
computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory. A magnetic
drum is a metal cylinder coated with magnetic iron-oxide material on which data and
programs can be stored. Input was based on punched cards and paper tape, and output was
displayed on printouts. First generation computers relied on binary-coded language (language
of 0s and 1s) to perform operations and were able to solve only one problem at a time. Each
machine was fed with different binary codes and hence were difficult to program. This
resulted in lack of versatility and speed. In addition, to run on different types of computers,
instructions must be rewritten or recompiled. Examples are: ENIAC, EDVAC, and UNIVAC
were some of the computers of this generation.

Characteristics of first Generation Computers

 These computers were based on the vacuum tube technology.
 Since thousands of vacuum tubes were used, they generated a large amount of heat.
Therefore, air conditioning was essential.
 These were non-portable and very slow equipment. They lacked in speed.
 They were very expensive to operate and used a large amount of electricity.
 These machines were unreliable and prone to frequent hardware failures. Hence constant
maintenance was required.
 Since machine language was used, these computers were difficult to program and use.

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2 Second Generation (1956-63): Transistors
Second generation computers used transistors instead of vacuum tubes, which were superior
to vacuum tubes. A transistor is made up of semiconductor material like germanium and
silicon. Since transistor is a small device, the physical size of computers was greatly reduced.
Computers became smaller, faster, cheaper, energy-efficient and more reliable than their
predecessors. In second-generation computers, magnetic cores were used as primary memory and
magnetic disks as secondary storage devices. However, they still relied on punched cards for input
and printouts for output. Examples are: PDP-8, IBM 1401, and IBM 7090.

Characteristics of Second Generation Computers

 These machines were based on the transistor technology.
 They were smaller as compared to first generation computers.
 The computational time of these computers was reduced to microseconds from milliseconds.
 More reliable and less prone to hardware failure. Required less frequent maintenance.
 They had better portability and generated less amount of heat.
 Assembly language was used to program computers. Hence, programming became more time-
efficient and less cumbersome.
 Second generation computers still required air conditioning.

3 Third Generation (1964-Early1970s): Integrated Circuits

The development of the integrated circuit was the trait of the third generation computers. Also called
an IC, an integrated circuit consists of a single chip (usually silicon) with many components such as
transistors and resistors fabricated on it. Integrated circuits replaced several individually wired
transistors. This development made computers smaller in size, reliable and efficient. Examples are :
NCR 395 and B6500.

Characteristics of third Generation Computers

 These computers were based on integrated circuit (IC) technology.
 They were able to reduce computational time from microseconds to nanoseconds.
 They were easily portable and more reliable than the second generation.
 These devices consumed less power and generated less heat.
 The size of these computers was smaller as compared to previous computers.
 Since, failing of hardware occurred very rarely, its maintenance cost was very low.
 Extensive use of high-level languages became possible.
 Commercial production became easier and cheaper.

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4. Fourth Generation (Early 1970s – till date): Microprocessors
The fourth generation is an extension of third generation technology. Although, the technology of
this generation was still based on the integrated circuit, these have been made readily available to us
because of the development of the microprocessor (circuits containing millions of transistors). The
Intel 4004(10) chip, which was developed in 1971, took the integrated circuit one step further by
locating all the components of a computer (central processing unit, memory, and input and output
controls) on a minuscule chip. The fourth generation computers led to an era of large-scale
integration (LSI) and very large scale integration (VLSI) technology. LSI technology allowed
thousands of transistors to be constructed on one small slice of silicon material whereas VLSI
squeezed hundreds of thousands of components on to a single chip. Examples are: Apple II, Altair
8800 and CRAY

Characteristics of fourth Generation Computers

 Fourth generation computers are microprocessor-based systems. :
 These computers are very small in size.
 Fourth generation computers are the cheapest among all the other generations.
 They are portable and very reliable.
 These machines generate negligible amount of heat, hence they do not require air conditioning.
 Hardware failure is negligible so minimum maintenance required.
 The production cost was very less.
 Graphical user interface and pointing devices enable users to learn to use the computer quickly.
Interconnection of computers leads to better communication and resource sharing.

5 Fifth Generation (Present and Beyond): Artificial Intelligence

The fifth generation computers are still in the development stage. These computers will use 'Super
Large Scale Integrated' chips, which will result in production of microprocessor having millions of
electronic components on a single chip. The goal of fifth-generation computing is to develop devices
that respond to natural language input, and will have the capability of learning and self-organization.
These computers will use intelligent programming (artificial intelligence or AI) and knowledge-
based problem solving techniques. The intelligent program will tell the computer what to do and not
how to do. The conventional data processing is based on processing information whereas artificial
intelligence deals with processing ideas and knowledge.

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 History of Computing
Computers were preceded by many devices which mankind developed for their computing
requirements. However, many centuries elapsed before technology was adequately advanced to
develop computers.

1. Abacus: Abacus emerged around 5000 years ago in Asia Minor and in some parts of the world it
is still in use. The word 'abacus' was derived from Arabic word 'abaq' which means 'dust'. The
first abacus was simply a portable sand table; a board with dust strung across it. An abacus
consists of a wooden frame, which has two parts: upper and lower. The upper part contains two
beads and lower part contains five beads per wire. This device allows users to do computations
using a system of sliding beads arranged on a rack. Manipulating the beads on the wires carry out
arithmetic operations.

2. Napier bones: In 1614, a Scottish mathematician, John Napier, made a more sophisticated
computing machine called Napier bones. This was a small instrument made of 10 rods, on which
the multiplication table was engraved. It was made of the strips of ivory bones, and so the name
Napier bones. Incidentally, Napier also played a key role in the development of logarithms,
which stimulated the invention of 'slide rule', which substituted the addition of logarithms for
multiplication. This was a remarkable invention as it enabled the transformation of multiplication
and division into simple addition and subtraction.

3. Slide rule: The invention of logarithms influenced the development of another famous invention
known as slide rule. In AD 1620, the first slide rule came into existence. It was jointly devised by
two British mathematicians, Edmund Gunter and William Oughtred. It was based on the principle
that actual distances from the starting point of the 'rule is directly proportional to the logarithm of
the numbers printed on the rule. The suitable scales enabled the slide rule to perform
multiplication and division by method of addition and subtraction.

4. Pascaline : In 1623, Wilhelm Schickard invented the 'calculating clock', which could add and
subtract, and indicated the overflow by ringing a bell. Subsequently, it helped in the evolution of
Pascaline. In AD 1642, French mathematician, scientist, and philosopher, Blaise Pascal, invented
the first functional automatic calculator. It had a complex arrangement of wheels, gears, and
windows for the display of numbers. It was operated by a series of dials attached to wheels that
had the numbers zero to nine on their circumference. When a wheel made a complete turn, it
advanced to the wheel to the left of it.

5. Difference engine: Charles Babbage, a professor of mathematics, devised a calculating machine

known as the difference engine in 1822, which could be used to mechanically generate
mathematical tables. The difference engine can be viewed as a hugely complex abacus. It was
intended to solve differential equations as well. However, Babbage never quite made a fully
functional difference engine and in 1833, he quit working on this machine to concentrate on the
analytical engine.

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6. Analytical engine: Analytical engine is considered to be the first general-purpose programmable
Computer. Babbage's innovation in the design of the analytical engine made it possible to test the
sign of a computed number and take one course of action if the sign was positive, and another if
the sign was negative. Babbage also designed this device to advance or reverse the flow of
punched cards to permit branching to any desired instruction within a program. This was the
fundamental difference between the analytical engine and the difference engine. Lady Ada
Lovelace helped him in the development of the analytical engine. She not only helped Babbage
with financial aid but also being a good mathematician, wrote articles, and programs for the
proposed machine. Due to her contributions, she is known as the 'first programmer'.

Some Early Commercial Computers

MARK-I computer: From the year 1937 to 1944, an American mathematician, Howard Aiken,
under the sponsorship of IBM, developed MARK-I. It was essentially a serial collection of
electromechanical calculators and had many similarities to Babbage's analytical machine. This
electronic calculating machine used relays and electromagnetic computers to relate mechanical
components. MARK-I was capable of performing addition, subtraction, division, multiplication, and
table reference

ENIAC: In 1946, John Eckert and John Mauchly of the Moore School of Engineering at the
University of Pennsylvania developed ENIAC or Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator.
Like the ABC, this computer used electronic vacuum tubes to make the internal parts of the
computer. It embodied almost all the components and concepts of today's high-speed, electronic
digital computers. This machine could discriminate the sign of a number, compare quantities for
equality, add, subtract, multiply, divide, and extract square roots. ENIAC consisted of 18000 vacuum
tubes, required around 160 KW of electricity and weighed nearly 30 tons. It could compute at speeds
1000 times that of Mark-I but had a limited amount of space to store and manipulate information.

EDVAC: John Eckert and John MaucWy also proposed the development of Electronic Discrete
Variable Automatic Computer (EDVAC). Although, the conceptual design for EDVAC was
completed by 1946, it came into existence in 1949. The EDVAC was the first electronic computer to
use the stored programs concept introduced by John Von Neumann. It also had the capability of
conditional transfer of control, that is, the computer could stop any time and then resumed again.
EDVAC contained approximately 4000 vacuum tubes and 10000 crystal diodes.

UNIVAC: UNIVAC, or Universal Automatic Computer, was the first commercially available
electronic computer. It was also the first general-purpose computer, which was designed to handle
both numeric and textual information. The Eckert-Mauchly Corporation manufactured it in 1951 and
its implementation marked the real beginning of the computer era. UNIVAC could compute at a
speed of 120-3600 microseconds. The UNIVAC was used for general-purpose computing with large
amounts of input and output.

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 Types of Computers
These days, computers are available in many sizes and types. You can have a computer that can fit in
the palm of your hand to those that can occupy the entire room; single user computers can be used by
hundreds of users simultaneously. Computers also differ based on their data processing abilities.
Hence, computers can be classified according to purpose, data handling, and functionality.

Classification According to Purpose

Computers are designed for different purposes. They can be used either for general purposes or for
specific purposes.

1. General-purpose computers: A general-purpose computer, as the name suggests, is

designed to perform a range of tasks. These computers have the ability to store numerous
programs. These machines can be used for various applications, ranging from scientific as
well as business purpose applications. Even though such computers are versatile, they
generally lack in speed and efficiency. The computer that you use in your schools and homes
are general-purpose computers.

2. Specific purpose computers: These computers are designed to handle a specific problem or
to perform a single specific task. A set of instructions for the specific task is built into the
machine. Hence, they cannot be used for other applications unless their circuits are
redesigned, that is, they lacked versatility. However, being designed for specific tasks, they
can provide the result very quickly and efficiently. These computers are used for airline
reservations, satellite tracking, and air traffic control.

Classification According to Data-Handled Techniques

Different types of computers process the data in a different manner. According to the basic data
handling principle, computers can be classified into three categories: analog, digital, and hybrid.

1. Analog computers: A computing machine that works on the principle of measuring, in

which the measurements obtained are translated into desired data is known as analog
computer. Modern analog computers usually employ electrical parameters, such as voltages,
resistances or currents, to represent the quantities being manipulated. Such computers do not
deal directly with the numbers. They measure continuous physical magnitudes (such as
temperature, pressure, and voltage), which are analogous, the numbers under consideration.
Analog computers are used for scientific and engineering purposes. One of the characteristics
of the computers is that they give approximate results since they deal with quantities that vary
continuous.

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 2. Digital computers: A computer that operates with information, numerical or otherwise,
represent in a digital form is known as digital computer. Such computers process data
(including text, sow graphics, and video) into a digital value (in Os and 1s). In digital
computers, analog quantities must convert into digital quantity before processing. In this case,
the output will also be digital. If analog output is desired, the digital output has to be
converted into analog quantity. The components, which are performing these conversions, are
the essential parts or peripherals of the digital computer. Digital computers can give the
results with more accuracy and at a faster rate. The accuracy of such computers is limited
only by the size of their registers and memory. The desktop PC at your home is a classic
example of digital computer.

3. Hybrid computers: Hybrid computer incorporated the measuring feature of an analog

computer and counting feature of a digital computer. For computational purposes, these
computers use the analog components and for the storage of intermediate results, digital
memories are used. In order to bind the powers of analog and digital techniques, analog to
digital and digital to analog, the hybrid computers comprehensively use converters. Such
computers are broadly used for scientific applications, various fields of engineering and in
industrial control processes.

Classification According to Functionality:

Based on physical size, performance and application areas, we can divide computers generally into
four major categories: micro, mini, mainframe, and super computers.

Micro Computers: A microcomputer is a small, low cost digital computer, which usually
consists of a microprocessor, a storage unit, an input channel, and an output channel, all of which
may be on one chip inserted into one or several PC boards. The addition of a power supply and
connecting cables, appropriate peripherals (keyboard, monitor, printer, disk drives, etc.), an operating
system and other software programs can provide a complete microcomputer system. The
microcomputer is generally the smallest of the computer family. Originally, they were designed for
individual users only, but nowadays they have become powerful tools for many businesses that,
when networked together, can serve more than one user. IBM-PC Pentium 100, IBM-PC Pentium
200, and Apple Macintosh are some of the examples of microcomputers. It includes desktop, laptop
and PDAs.

Mini Computers: In the early 1960s, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) started shipping its
POP series computer, which the press described and referred as mini computers. A mini computer is
a small digital computer, which normally is able to process and store less data than a mainframe but
more than a micro computer, while doing so less rapidly than a mainframe but more rapidly than a
micro computer. They are about the size of a two-drawer filing cabinet. Generally, they are used as
desktop devices that are often connected to a mainframe in order to perform the auxiliary operations.
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Mainframe Computers: A mainframe is an ultra-high performance computer made for high-
volume, processor-intensive computing. It consists of a high-end computer processor, capable of
supporting large volumes of data processing, high performance on-line transaction processing
systems, and extensive data storage and retrieval. Normally, it is able to process and store more data
than a mini computer and far more than a microcomputer. Mainframe allows its user to maintain
large information storage at a centralized location and be able to access and process this data from
different computers located at different locations. They are typically used by large businesses and for
scientific purposes. Examples of mainframe computers are IBM's ESOOO, VAX 8000 and CDC
6600.

Super Computers: Supercomputers are the special purpose machines, which are specially
designed to maximize the numbers of FLOPS (Floating Point Operation per Second). Any computer
below one gigaflop/sec is not considered a super computer. A super computer has the highest
processing speed at a given time for solving scientific and engineering problems. It basically contains
a number of CPUs that operate in parallel to make it faster. Its processing speed lies in the range of
400-10,000 Million of Floating Point Operation per Second. Due to this feature, super computers
help in many applications such as information retrieval computer-aided design.

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 Application Areas of Computers
For the last few decades, computer technology has revolutionized the businesses and other aspects
of human life all over the world. Practically, every company, large or small, is now directly or
indirectly dependent on computers for information processing. Computer systems also help in the
efficient operations of railway and airway reservation, hospital records, accounts, electronic
banking, and so on. Computers not only save time, but also save paper work. Some of the areas
where computers are being used are listed below.
 Science: Scientists have been using computers to develop theories, to analyze, and test the data.
The fast speed and the accuracy of the computer allow different scientific analyses to be carried
out. They can be used to generate detailed studies of how earthquakes affect buildings or
pollution affects weather pattern. Satellite-based applications have not been possible without the
use of computers. It would also not be possible to get the information of our solar system and the
cosmos without computers.

 Education: Computers have also revolutionized the whole process of education. Currently, the
classrooms, libraries, and museums are efficiently utilizing computers to make the education
much more interesting. Unlike recorded television shows, computer-aided education (CAE) and
Computer Based Training (CBT) packages are making learning much more interactive.

 Medicine and Health Care: There has been an increasing use of computers in the field of
medicine. Now, doctors are using computers right from diagnosing the illness to monitoring a
patient's status during complex surgery. By using automated imaging techniques, doctors are able
to look inside a person's body and can study each organ in detail (such as CAT scans or MRI
scans), which was not possible few years ago.

 Engineering/Architecture/Manufacturing: The architects and engineers are extensively

using computers in designing and drawings. Computers can create objects that can be viewed
from all the three dimensions. By using the techniques like virtual reality, architects can explore
houses that have been designed but not built. The manufacturing factories are using computerized
robotic anus in order to perform hazardous jobs. Besides, Computer Aided Manufacturing
(CAM) can be used in designing the product, ordering the parts, and planning production. Thus,
computers help in co-coordinating the entire manufacturing processes.

 Entertainment: Computers are finding greater use in entertainment industry. Computers are
used to control the images and sounds. The special effects, which mesmerize the audience, would
not have been possible without the computers. In addition, computerized animation and colorful
graphics have modernized the film industry.

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 Communication: E-Mail or Electronic Mail is one of the communication media in which
computer is used. Through e-mail the messages and reports are passed from one person to one or
more persons by the aid of computer and the telephone line. The advantage of this service is that
while transferring the messages it saves time; avoids wastage of paper, and so on. Moreover, the
person who is receiving the messages can read the messages whenever he is free and can save it,
reply it, forward it or delete it from the computer.

 Business Application: This is one of the important uses of the computer. Initially computers
were used for batch processing jobs, where one does not require the immediate response from the
computer. Currently computers are mainly used for real time applications (like at the sales
counter) that require immediate response from the computer. There are various concerns for
which computers are used such as in business forecasting, to prepare pay bills and personal
records, in banking operations and data storage, in the various types of Life Insurance Business,
and as an aid to management. Businesses are also using the networking of computers, where a
number of computers are connected together to share the data and the information. Use of E-mail
and Internet has changed the ways of business.

 Banking: In the field of banking and finance, computers are extensively used. People can use
the ATM (Automated Teller Machine) services 24 hours of the day in order to deposit and
withdraw cash. When the different branches of the bank are connected through the computer
networks, then the inter branch transaction such as cheques and draft can be done by the
computers without any delay.

Computer Applications in Business

The computer can be applied to almost every area of management. Its benefits will, however, depend
on the importance of the area of application to the company, how conducive it is to computerization
and how well the system has been designed and implemented. The following sections will describe
popular computer applications in various areas of management.

Cost and budgetary Control: A costing system should be, and usually is, high in the list of
computer application priorities in most companies. General Motors claims that it knows where its
last five cents go. Most sizable companies with manual systems do not even know where their first
hundred went. Indeed, an imprecise idea of costs is said to be the most important factor in the demise
of companies.

Stock Control and Sales: Stock control, the processing of sales orders and sales accounting,
sales analysis, market research, forecasting and subsequent production planning are additional areas
in which the computer assists in business and commercial organizations. In all these cases the
company can benefit from the immediate availability of information, which the computer provides.
When handling sales orders by computer, the present volume of sales is known and this information,

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together with past records and perhaps statistics obtained from market research, forms some of the
data needed for sales forecasting, which in turn influences stock control bill. Basic information for-
billing (including discounts, shipping, postage costs, VAT, etc.) is obtained from sales orders and the
computer can be used to maintain customer accounts and to print invoices. All these various
applications make effective use of the machine's abilities to store large quantities of information and
to retrieve items at speed, and they rely on program inventiveness to ensure that information is
updated promptly, accurately and usefully.

Distribution: This is the age of the large company; the company with many factories, selling
across vast areas. The geographical spread of production and demand gives rise to the problem of
distribution: what markets should be fed from which factory, and in what quantities should the
products be produced in each factory. Often, the factories produce identical products at somewhat
different costs, each factory having its own capacity and individual limitations. In addition, the
transportation cost varies for each factory-market pair depending on the distance between them and
the structure of transportation costs. To find a solution to this problem is not difficult, but as the
possible solutions may run into many millions it is impossible, without a computer, to find the
solution that minimizes the sum of the transportation and variable production cost for the company as
a whole.

An aid to management: It has been seen that the computer is able to provide useful
information. Let us consider what this means to people in managerial positions whose task is
essentially to translate information into action. The immediate benefit is that the information
provided is comprehensive and up-to-date. This means that decisions taken can be more reliable, and
they can often be made in advance of a crisis rather than after it has occurred. The computer can also
be used as a management tool to assist in solving business problems. In operational (or operations)
research, which is the name given to the application of scientific procedures to decision-making,
certain techniques are used which require the calculating and storage abilities which the computer
can provide. Critical path analysis and linear programming are two methods of analysis which are
used. These are applied in situations where a good deal of information is known concerning a
number of variable factors, and where the task is to arrive at a solution which indicates the best
possible relationship between the variables, taking into account whatever constraints there are. The
simulation method is used where decisions have to be made on the basis of probability and where
some of the information used in the analysis is it predicted, and where past events have to be taken
into consideration before arriving at a decision. In assisting in the decision-making process the
computer uses rather than provides information.

End of the Unit-1

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