Chapter -2

CHAPTER 2

DEVELOPMENT OF COMPUTER

2.1 HISTORY OF COMPUTER

History of computer could be traced back to the effort of man to count large numbers. This process
of counting of large numbers generated various systems of numeration like Babylonian system of
numeration, Greek system of numeration, Roman system of numeration and Indian system of
numeration. Out of these the Indian system of numeration has been accepted universally. It is the
basis of modern decimal system of numeration (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9). Later you will know how
the computer solves all calculations based on decimal system.

But you will be surprised to know that the computer does not understand the decimal system and
uses binary system of numeration for processing.

We will briefly discuss some of the path-breaking inventions in the field of computing devices.

1. Calculating Machines: It took over generations for early man to build mechanical devices for
counting large numbers. The first calculating device called ABACUS was developed by the
Egyptian and Chinese people.

It consisted of sticks in horizontal positions on which were inserted sets of pebbles. A modern form
of ABACUS is given in Fig. 2. It has a number of horizontal bars each having ten beads. Horizontal
bars represent units, tens, hundreds, etc.

Fig.2.2: Abacus Computer

2. Napier’s bones: English mathematician John Napier built a mechanical device for the purpose of
multiplication in 1614 A D. The device was known as Napier’s bones.It is used to perform
multiplication in the faster manner.It was give an important impact to develop logarithm.

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3. Slide Rule: English mathematician Edmund Gunter developed the slide rule. This machine could
perform operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. It was widely used in
Europe in 16th century. It perform based on the principle of actual distance of the starting point of the
ruler is directly proportional to logarithm of the number printed on the ruler.

4. Pascal's Adding and subtracting Machine: You might have heard the name of Blaise Pascal. He
developed a machine at the age of 19 that could add and subtract. The machine consisted of wheels,
gears and cylinders.

5. Leibniz’s Multiplication and Dividing Machine (stepped reckoner) The German philosopher and
mathematician Gottfried Leibniz built around 1673 a mechanical device that could both multiply,
divide and squire root. Example: To multiply use repetitive addition like
3*5=3+3+3+3+3=5+5+5=15

Draw back: - It was not reliable and precision.

6. Babbage’s Difference Engine and Analytical Engine

It was in the year 1823 that a famous English man Charles Babbage built a mechanical machine to
do complex mathematical calculations. It was called difference engine. This machine could
automatically compute and print results (mathematical tables) without human intervention. It was
accurate to five significant digits. Later he developed a general-purpose calculating machine called
analytical engine. This machine could have memory unit, arithmetic unit and punched card for input.
Unfortunately it was not functional. Charles Babbage is called the father of computer.

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7. Mechanical and Electrical Calculator

In the beginning of 19th century the mechanical calculator was developed to perform all sorts of
mathematical calculations. Up to the 1960s it was widely used. Later the rotating part of mechanical
calculator was replaced by electric motor. So it was called the electrical calculator.

8. Modern Electronic Calculator: The electronic calculator used in 1960 s was run with electron
tubes, which was quite bulky. Later it was replaced with transistors and as a result the size of
calculators became too small.

The modern electronic calculator can compute all kinds of mathematical computations and
mathematical functions. It can also be used to store some data permanently. Some calculators have
in-built programs to perform some complicated calculations.

Fig. 2.3: Vacuum tube, transistor, IC

2.2 COMPUTER GENERATIONS

The evolution of computer started from 16th century and resulted in the form that we see today. The
present day computer, however, has also undergone rapid change during the last fifty years. This
period, during which the evolution of computer took place, can be divided into five distinct phases
known as Generations of Computers. Each phase is distinguished from others on the basis of the
type of switching circuits used.

2.2.1 First Generation Computers

First generation computers used Thermion valves (vacuum tubes). These computers were large in
size and writing programs on them was difficult since they use low level languages (machine
languages and assembly languages). They used punched card as a major secondary storage media.

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The memory access time of these computers was in milliseconds. Some of the computers of this
generation were:

ENIAC: It was the first electronic computer built in 1946 at University of Pennsylvania, USA by
John Eckert and John Mauchy. It was named Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator
(ENIAC). The ENIAC was 30 50 feet long, weighed 30 tons, contained 18,000 vacuum tubes,
70,000 registers, 10,000 capacitors and required 150,000 watts of electricity. Today any computer is
many times as powerful as ENIAC, still size is very small.

EDVAC: It stands for Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer and was developed in 1950.
The concept of storing data and instructions inside the computer was introduced here. This allowed
much faster operation since the computer had rapid access to both data and instructions. The other
advantage of storing instruction was that computer could do logical decision internally.

Limitations of First Generation Computer

Followings are the major drawbacks of First generation computers.

 The operating speed was quite slow.

 It required large space for installation.

 The programming capability was quite low.

 The tubes produced a lot of heat and so they require ventilation

 They were unreliable because when the vacuum tubes get hot they would corrupt.

2.2.2 Second Generation Computers

Around 1955 a device called Transistor replaced the bulky electric tubes in the first generation
computer. Transistors are smaller than electric tubes and have higher operating speed. They have no
filament and require no heating. Manufacturing cost was also very low. Thus the size of the
computer got reduced considerably.

It is in the second generation that the concept of Central Processing Unit (CPU), memory,
programming language and input and output units were developed. The dominant memory media
was magnetic tape. The operating system used was batch operating system. The programming
languages such as COBOL, FORTRAN were developed during this period. Second generation
computers were faster than the first generation computers (the memory access time was in micro
seconds). Some of the computers of the Second Generation were

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1. IBM 1620: Its size was smaller as compared to First Generation computers and mostly used
for scientific purpose.
2. IBM 1401: Its size was small to medium and used for business applications.
3. CDC 3600: Its size was large and is used for scientific purposes.

2.2.3 Third Generation Computers

The third generation computers were introduced in 1964. They used Integrated Circuits (ICs).
These ICs are popularly known as Chips. A single IC has many transistors, registers and capacitors
built on a single chip (thin slice of silicon). The dominant storage media was magnetic disc. The
operating system of these generation computers is interactive operating system. The memory access
time was in nanoseconds. So it is quite obvious that the size of the computer got further reduced.
Some of the computers developed during this period were IBM-360, ICL-1900, IBM-370, and VAX-
750. Higher level language such as BASIC (Beginners All purpose Symbolic Instruction Code)
was developed during this period.

Computers of this generation were small in size, low cost, large memory and processing speed is
very high.

2.2.4 Fourth Generation Computers

The present day computers are the fourth generation computers that started around 1975. It uses
large scale Integrated Circuits (LSIC) built on a single silicon chip called microprocessors.
Due to the development of microprocessor it is possible to place computer’s central processing unit
(CPU) on single chip. These computers are called microcomputers. Later very large scale Integrated
Circuits (VLSIC) replaced LSICs.

Thus the computer which was occupying a very large room in earlier days can now be placed on a
table.

2.2.5 Fifth Generation Computer

The computers of 1990s are said to be Fifth Generation computers. The speed is extremely high in
fifth generation computer. Apart from this it can perform parallel processing. The concept of
Artificial intelligence has been introduced to allow the computer to take its own decision. It is still in
a developmental stage.

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