Introduction and History


A Computer is an electronic device that performs calculations and operations based on instructions provided by a software or hardware program.


Computer - ‘Common Operating Machine Purposely used for Technological and Education Research’


Characteristics of Computer


  • Speed

  • Accuracy

  • Diligence

  • Versatility

  • Storage

  • Reliability

  • No Feelings or IQ

  • Consistency

  • Automation

  • Power of Remembering

  • Multi-tasking


History of Computers


  • Abacus

  • First Counting Device

  • Developed in China

  • 4000 years ago

  • Rectangular wooden frame and beads

  • Perform simple addition and Subtraction


  • Napier’s Bones

  • Set of rods made of bones

  • Developed by John Napier (Scottish Mathematician)

  • Perform Multiplication and Division

  • Manually Operated

  • 9 separated calculating strips


  • Pascaline 

  • First Mechanical and Automated calculator

  • Developed in 1642

  • Perform additions and Subtractions on whole numbers

  • Developed by Blaise Pascal (French Mathematician)


  • Stepped Reckoner or Leibniz wheel

  • Improved version of Pascal Instrument

  • Developed in 1673

  • Developed by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (German Mathematicians)

  • Used fluted drums instead of gear


  • Difference Engine

  • Tabulate Polynomial functions

  • Developed by Charles Babbage in Early 1820s

  • Mechanical computer



  • Analytic Engine

  • Developed by Charles Babbage in 1830s

  • Calculate the value of Trigonometric Functions

  • Took input from users in the form of Punch cards

  • Mechanical Device


  • Tabulating Machine 

  • Developed by Herman Hollerith in 1890s

  • Punch cards Based Mechanical Tabulator

  • Recording and Sorting Data along with computing statistics.


  • Differential Analyser 

  • Mechanical analogue computer

  • Developed by Vannevar Bush in 1930s

  • Switches electrical Impulses to do calculations.


  • Mark I 

  • First electro-mechanical computing device

  • Developed by Howard Hathaway Aiken and IBM

  • Massive calculations using enormous numbers

  • Developed in 1944



Generation of Computers



Gen. Years

Detail

Memory

Input/Output

Examples

1st Generation


(1940-56)

  • Vacuum tubes

  • Batch operating System

  • Size - Very large, taking up the entire room

  • Produced a lot of heat

  • Poor storage

  • Supported machine language

  • Very Expensive

  • 4000 Bits

  • Magnetic Drums

  • Hard wired programs

  • Punch cards

  • Paper Tape

  • Magnetic Tape

  • ENIAC

  • UNIVAC- I

  • EDVAC

  • EDSAC

  • IBM-701

  • IBM - 702

  • IBM - 650

2nd Gen.


(1959 - 65)

  • Replacement of Vacuum tubes by Transistors

  • Assembly languages

  • Batch operating system

  • Smaller, faster, cheaper and less heavy on electricity use (compare to 1st generation)

  • Language evolved from cryptic Binary to Assembly Languages

  • High level programming languages were being developed - COBOL & FORTRAN (early versions)

  • Early versions of these machines were developed for the atomic energy industry

  • 32000 Bits

  • Punch Cards

  • Magnetic Tapes

  • Honeywell 400

  • IBM 1620

  • IBM 7094

  • CDC 1604

  • CDC 3600

  • UNIVAC 1107

3rd Generation

 

(1965 - 1971)

  • Introducing Integrated Circuit (ICs) - a single silicon chip (semiconductors) made up of many Transistors

  • High Level Programming languages - FORTRAN - II to IV, COBOL and PASCAL PL/I

  • Large Capacity disk

  • Supports time-sharing Operating System - allowed the device to run many different applications at one time.

  • 128000 bits

  • Keyboard

  • Monitor

  • Magnetic tape

  • IBM 360

  • IBM 370

  • IBM 168

  • PDP 8/11

  • Honeywell 6000

4th Generation


(1971-1980)

  • Very Large scale Integrated Circuits (VLSI) Technology

  • Microprocessors

  • Development of Graphical User interfaces (GUIs)

  • Programming languages - C, c++, Java

  • Semiconductor Memory

  • Multiprocessing and Distributed Operating System

  • Object - Oriented high level programs supported

  • Development of networks and Internet

  • Personal Computers (PCs) were born

  • Arrival of Supercomputers


  • 100 millions bits

  • Mouse and handheld devices

  • Floppy Disk

  • Magnetic tape

  • Apple - II

  • IBM PC

  • CRAY - I

  • CRAY-X-MP

  • PDP 11

  • DEC 10

  • STAR 1000

5th Generation


(1980 - present)

  • Artificial Intelligence

  • Use of Parallel Processing

  • Semiconductors

  • Ultra Large Scale Integrated Circuits (ULSI) Technology

  • Programing Languages - C, C++, Java, .Net, etc

  • Large Capacity Hard Disk with RAID Support

  • Powerful Servers, Cluster Computing, Internet

  • Natural language processing (NLP)

  • Unlimited

  • CD ROM

  • Optical Disk

  • Touch and Voice Sensitive Input Devices

  • IBM

  • Pentium

  • Desktop

  • Laptop

  • Smartphones

  • Notebook

  • Ultrabook


6th Generation


(Futuristic)

  • Quantum Computer

  • Augmented Reality (AR)

  • Virtual Reality (VR)

  • Nanotechnology