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Title: Lesson 2.2 History of Computers
Description: This is a brief and concise but informative lecture notes about the history of computers.
Description: This is a brief and concise but informative lecture notes about the history of computers.
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History of computers
Abacus
– Ultimate ancestors of
today’s computer
– About 4,000 years ago,
the Chinese invented the
abacus
– Became the arithmetic
tool of early merchants
– It helped people add and
subtract numbers
Abacus
– Merchant – person who buys
and sell goods in large
quantities
– The only relation that can be
claimed between abacus and
computers is that they are both
used to aid handling
numerical/logical computations
– It was made up of beads that
could move back and forth on
rods (straight slender or bar)
Difference Engine
– Conceived to perform
quick tabular
calculations, the
workings of which were
based on the Method of
Differences, an
algorithm that lent itself
to the easy creation of a
wide range of
mathematical tables
– Was powered by steam
Difference Engine
• Embodied the
basic concepts
and elements of
a modern
general-purpose
computer
Charles Babbage
• Called the “Father of
Computing”
• Also known as “Father
of Modern Computer”
• Born on December 26,
1791 in Teignmouth,
Devonshire in the UK
Charles Babbage
• Interest in various fields
(Statistics, philosophy,
religion, machines)
• His conceptualization of
his engines began with
an analysis of the
calculations of tables of
Greenwich star positions
Analytical Engine
• Utilized I/O
media called
Jacquard’s punch
cards, originally
used to lay down
thread
arrangement in
weaving
Analytical Engine
• Used punch cards for
storing operating
instructions (programs)
and would have been
able to store around
1000 numbers of up to
50 decimal places
...
• Relied on machine language to perform operations
...
• Output display only through printouts
Generation of Computers
• First Generation – Vacuum Tubes (1940 –
1956)
– Very big and expensive to operate
– Lot of electricity
– Produced so much heat, they often malfunctioned
– Prone to failure
Generation of Computers
• First Generation – Vacuum Tubes (1940 –
1956)
Generation of Computers
• First Generation – Vacuum Tubes (1940 –
1956)
• Examples of first-generation computing
devices
– Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer
(ENIAC)
– Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer
(EDVAC)
Generation of Computers
• Electronic Numerical
Integrator and
Computer
• Hulk of machinery
consist of 18,000
vacuum tubes, 70,000
resistors and 5 million
soldered joints
• Occupied a space equal
to a small warehouse
Generation of Computers
• Electronic Discrete
Variable Automatic
Computer
• Neumann’s Architecture
• Key to which Central
Processing Unit, which
allowed all computer
functions to be
coordinated through a
single source
Generation of Computers
• Second Generation – Transistors (1956 –
1963)
• Transistors were 200 times smaller than
vacuum tubes but more long lasting
• Improvement over vacuum tubes (cost, heat,
energy)
• Storage capacity was greatly increased with
the introduction of magnetic disk storage and
the use of magnetic cores for main storage
Generation of Computers
• Second Generation –
Transistors (1956 – 1963)
• High speed card readers and
printers were also introduced
• Internal processing speed
increased
• Software was also improved
• Assembly language –
abbreviated programming
codes
Generation of Computers
• Third Generation (1964 – 1971) Integrated
Circuits
• Integration, is a process in which numerous
electronic components are brought together to
compose as system unit (Integrated circuit) that
combines in a dynamic, coordinate manner
• Printer circuit board – chips placed on electronic
boards
...
• Keyboard and monitors instead of
punch cards and printouts
...
Many applications can run
at the same time
...
• Cheaper, smaller but more
powerful
...
• Artificial Intelligence – Term used to describe
any computer that can think or act like a
human
Generation of Computers
• Fifth Generation (Present and
Beyond) Artificial Intelligence
• Expert Systems – programming
computers to make decisions in
real-life situations, such as helping
doctors diagnose diseases based
on symptoms
...
• Robotics – programming
computers to have human like
abilities
Title: Lesson 2.2 History of Computers
Description: This is a brief and concise but informative lecture notes about the history of computers.
Description: This is a brief and concise but informative lecture notes about the history of computers.