INTRODUCTION

Computers are seen everywhere around us, in all spheres of life. May it be the field of education and
research and research, travel and tourism, weather forecasting, social networking, e-commerce pr any
other, computer have now become an indispensable part of our lives. The manner in which computers
have now become an indispensable part of our lives. The manner, in which computers have
revolutionized our lives because of their accuracy and speed of performing a job, is truly remarkable.
Today no organization can function without a computer. In fact various organizations are trying to
become paper free owing to benefits of computers. But the computers of today have evolved over the
years from a simple calculating device to the portable high speed computers that we see today.

EVOLUTION OF COMPUTERS

The growth of computer industry started with the need for performing fast calculations. The manual
method of computing was slow and prone to errors. So attempts were made to develop faster calculating
devices. The journey that started from the first calculating device i.e. Abacus has led us today to
extremely high speed calculating device. Let us first have a look at some early calculating devices and
then we will explore various generation of computer.

Abacus

Abacus was discovered by the Mesopotamians in around 3000 BC. An abacus consisted of beads on rods
divided into two parts. (Fig-1) Addition and multiplication of numbers was done by using the place value
of digits of the numbers and position of beads in an abacus.

The Chinese further improved on the abacus so that calculations could be done more easily. Even today
abacus is considered as an apt tool for young children to do calculations. In an abacus, each row is
thought of as a ten’s place. From right to left, row no-1 represents the one’s column and the second
column represents ten’s place. The third column represent the hundred’s place and so on. The starting
position of the top beads (representing the value of five) is always towards the top wall of the abacus
while the lower beads (representing the value of one) will always be pushed towards the lower wall as a
starting position.
Napier’s Logs Bones

The idea of logarithm was developed by john Napier in 1617. He devised a set of numbering rods known
as Napier’s bones through which both multiplication and division could be performed. These were
numbered rods which could perform multiplication of any number by a number in the range of 2-9. There
are 10 bones corresponding to the digits 0-9 and there is also a special eleventh bone that is used to
represent the multiplier. By placing bones corresponding to the multiplier on the right, the product of two
numbers can be easily obtained.

Pascaline

Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician invented an adding machine in 1642 that was made up of gears
and was used for adding numbers quickly. This machin was also called Pascaline and was capable of
addition and substraction along with carry- transfer capability. It worked on clock work mechanism
principle. It consisted of various numbered toothed wheels having unique position values. The addition
and subtraction operations was performed by controlled rotation of these wheels.

Leibnitz’s Calculator

In 1673 Gottfried Leibnitz, a German mathematician extended the capabilities of the adding machine
invented by Pascal to perform multiplication and division as well. The multiplication was done through
repeated addition of numbers using a stepped cylinder each with nine teeth of varying lengths.
Jacquard’s Loom

In order to make the cotton weaving process automatic, Joseph Jaquard devised punch cards and used
them to control looms in 1801. The entire operation was under a program’s control. Through this historic
invention, the concept of storing and retrieving information started.

Difference engine and Analytical Engine

Charles Babage, an English mathematician developed a machine called Difference Engine in 1822 which
could calculate various mathematical functions, do plolynominal evalution by finite difference and
theoreticallly could also solve differential equations.

Thereafter in 1833 he designed the Analytical Engine which later on proved to be the basis of modern
computer. This machine could perform all the four arithmetic operations as well as comparison. It
included the concept of central processor, memory storage and input-output devices. Even the stored
information could be modified. Although the analytical engine was never built that time but Babbage
established the basic principles on which today’s modern computers work.

Both these great inventions earned him the title of ‘Father of Modern Computer’.
Mark 1

In 1944 Prof Howard Aiken in collaboration with IBM constructed an electromechanical computer named
Mark 1 which could multiply two 10 digit numbers in 5 seconds. This machine was based on the concepts
of Babbage’s Analytical engine and was the first operational general purpose computer which could
execute preprogrammed instructions automatically without any human intervention.

In 1945, Dr. John Von Neumann proposed the cencept of a stored program computer. As per this concept
the program and data could be stored in the same memory unit. The basic architechture of the Von
Neumann computer is shown in the figure below

Program
+
Data
Communication

Channel

Processor

Storage (Memory)

Fig – Von Neumann Computer

According to Von Neumann architechure, the processor executes instructions stored in the memory of the
computer. Since there is only one comminication channel, the processor at a time can either fetch data or
an instruction. That means at one point of time either the data or an instruction can be picked (fetched)
from the storage unit for execution by the processor. Hence execution takes place in sequential manner.
This limitation of Von Neumann Computer is known as Von Neumann bottleneck. EDVAC (Electronic
Discrete Variable Automatic Computer) was the first stored program computer developed in 1952. After
the invention of first electronic computer ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Calculator) in
1946, the computer technology improved tremendously and at very fast pace.
Generation of Computers
Growth in the computer industry is determined by the development in technology. Each phase generation
of computer development is characterized by one or more hardware/ software developments that
distinctly improved the performance of the computers of that generation. Based on various stages of
development, computers can be divided into different generations.

First generation (1940 - 1956)

First generation of computer started with using vacuum tubes as the basic components for memory and
circuitry for CPU(Central Processing Unit). These tubes like electric bulbs produced a lot of heat and
were prone to frequent fusing of the installations, therefore, were very expensive and could be afforded
only by very large organisations. In this generation mainly batch processing operating system were used.
In this generation Punched cards, Paper tape, Magnetic tape Input & Output device were used. There
were Machine code and electric wired board languages used.

The main features of First Generation are:

 Vacuum tube technology

 Unreliable
 Supported Machine language only
 Very costly
 Generate lot of heat
 Slow Input/Output device
 Huge size
 Need of A.C.
 Non portable
 Consumed lot of electricity

Some computer of this generation were:

 ENIAC
 EDVAC
 UNIVAC
 IBM-701
 IBM-650
Second Generation

The period of second generation was 1952-1964.

This generation using the transistor were cheaper, consumed less power, more compact in size, more
reliable and faster than the first generation machines made of vaccum tubes.In this generation,
magnetic cores were used as primary memory and magnetic tape and magnetic disks as secondary
storage devices.

In this generation assembly language and high level programming language like FORTRAN, COBOL were
used.

There were Batch processing and Multiprogramming Operating system used.

The main features of Second Generation are:

 Use of transistors
 Reliable as compared to First generation computers
 Smaller size as compared to First generation computers
 Generate less heat as compared to First generation computers
 Consumed less electricity as compared to First generation computers
 Faster than first generation computers
 Still very costly
 A.C. needed
 Support machine and assmebly languages

Some computer of this generation were:

 IBM 1620
 IBM 7094
 CDC 1604
 CDC 3600
 UNIVAC 1108

Third Generation
The period of third generation was 1964-1972.

The third generation of computer is marked by the use of Integrated Circuits (IC's) in place of
transistors.A single I.C has many transistors, resistors and capacitors along with the associated
circuitry.The I.C was invented by Jack Kilby. This development made computers smaller in size, reliable
and efficient.

In this generation Remote processing, Time-sharing, Real-time, Multi-programming Operating System

were used.

High level language (FORTRAN-II TO IV, COBOL, PASCAL PL/1, BASIC, ALGOL-68 etc.) were used during
this generation.

The main features of Third Generation are:

 IC used
 More reliable
 Smaller size
 Generate less heat
 Faster
 Lesser maintenance
 Still costly
 A.C needed
 Consumed lesser electricity
 Support high level language

Some computer of this generation were:

 IBM-360 series
 Honeywell-6000 series
 PDP(Personal Data Processor)
 IBM-370/168
 TDC-316

Fourth Generation
The period of Fourth Generation was 1972-1990.
The fourth generation of computers is marked by the use of Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI)
circuits.VLSI circuits having about 5000 transistors and other circuit elements and their associated
circuits on a single chip made it possible to have microcomputers of fourth generation. Fourth
Generation computers became more powerful, compact, reliable, and affordable. As a result, it gave rise
to personal computer (PC) revolution.

In this generation Time sharing, Real time, Networks, Distributed Operating System were used.

All the Higher level languages like C and C++, DBASE etc. were used in this generation.

The main features of Fourth Generation are:

 VLSI technology used

 Very cheap
 Portable and reliable
 Use of PC's
 Very small size
 Pipeline processing
 No A.C. needed
 Concept of internet was introduced
 Great developments in the fields of networks
 Computers became easily available

Some computer of this generation were:

 DEC 10
 STAR 1000
 PDP 11
 CRAY-1(Super Computer)
 CRAY-X-MP(Super Computer)

Fifth Generation

The period of Fifth Generation is 1990-till date.

In the fifth generation, the VLSI technology became ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration) technology,
resulting in the production of microprocessor chips having ten million electronic components.

This generation is based on parallel processing hardware and AI (Artificial Intelligence) software.

AI is an emerging branch in computer science, which interprets means and method of making computers
think like human beings.

All the Higher level languages like C and C++, Java, .Net etc. are used in this generation.
AI includes:

 Robotics
 Neural networks
 Game Playing
 Development of expert systems to make decisions in real life situations.
 Natural language understanding and generation.

The main features of Fifth Generation are:

 ULSI technology
 Development of true artificial intelligence
 Development of Natural language processing
 Advancement in Parallel Processing
 Advancement in Superconductor technology
 More user friendly interfaces with multimedia features
 Availability of very powerful and compact computers at cheaper rates

Some computer types of this generation are:

 Desktop
 Laptop
 NoteBook
 UltraBook

Computer – Data and Information

We all know what a computer is? It is an electronic device that processes the input according to the set of
instructions provided to it and gives the desired output at a very fast rate. Computer are very versatile as
they do lot of different tasks such as storing data, weather forecasting, booking airline, railway or movie
tickets and even playing games.

Data : It is the term used for raw facts and figures. For example, 134, +9, ‘Raju’, ‘C’ are data. Definition
of information should start from next line as given in the word file. In composed file it is starting from the
same line immediately after the definition of data.

Information : Data represented in useful and meaningful form is information. In simple words we can
say that data is the raw material that is processed to give meaningful, ordered or structured information.
For example Raju is 9 years old. This is information about Raju and conveys some meaning. This
conversion of data to information is called data processing.

Functional Components of a Computer

The computer is the combination of hardware and software. Hardware are the physical components of a
computer like motherboard, memory devices, monitor, keyboard etc. while software is the set of
programs or instructions. Both hardware and software together make the computer system function. Let
us first have a look at the functional components of a computer.

Every task given to a computer follows an Input – Process – Output Cycle (IPO cycle). It needs certain
input, processes that input and produces the desired output. The input unit takes the input, the central
processing unit does the processing of data and the output unit produces the output. The memory unit
holds the data and instructions during the processing.