Introduction to Computing

Definition
An electronic device for storing and processing data typically in binary form according to
instructions given to it in a variable program
An Electronic device which Converts data into information
• Modern computers are digital
• Older computers were analog
History of Computers
The first ever computer was invented in the 1820s by Charles Babbage. They were
gigantic, originally the size of a large room, and also need to be supply a large amount of power source
which is equivalent as several hundred modern personal computers
Computer Components/Parts
The basic parts of a computer system are:
 Monitor.
 CPU (Central Processing Unit)
 Keyboard.
 Mouse.
 Speakers.
 Printer

There are following advantages and disadvantage of the computer:

Advantages
Following the advantages of the computer in daily use.

High Speed
 Computer is very Fast Device
 It is capable of performing very large amount of data.
 The computer has units in microseconds, nanoseconds and even the picoseconds.
 It can perform millions of calculation in a few seconds as compared to man who will spend many days for
doing the one task.

Accuracy
 In addition to being fast, computers are very accurate.
 The calculation are 100% error free.
 Computers perform all jobs with 100% accuracy provided that correct input has been given.
Storage Capability
 Memory is very important characteristics of the computers.
 A computer has store much more than human beings .
 It can store large amount of the data.
 It can store any type of the data such as image, videos, text, audio and many others.
Diligence
 Unlike human beings, a computer is free from monotony, tiredness and lack of concentration.
 It can work continuously without any error and boredom.
 It can do repeated work with same speed and accuracy.

Versatility
 A computer is a very versatile machine.
 A computer is very flexible in performing the jobs to be done.
 This machine can be used to solve the problems related to various fields.
 At one instance, it may be solving a complex scientific problems and the very next moments it may be
playing a card game.

Reliability
 A computer is a reliable machine.
 Modern electronics components have long lives.
 Computers are designed to make maintenance easy.

Automation
 Computers is an automatic machine.
 Automations means ability to perform the given task automatically.
 Once a program is given to computer i.e. stored in computer memory, the program and instruction can
control the program execution without human interaction.

Reduction in Paper Work & Cost

 The use of computers for data processing in an organization leads to reduction in paper work and result in
speeding up a process.
 As data in electronic files can be retrieved as and when required, the problems of maintenance of large
number of paper files gets reduced.
 Though the initials investment for installing a computer is high but it substantially reduces the cost of
each of its transaction.

Disadvantages
There are the followings disadvantages of computers.

No I.Q
 A computer is a machine that has no intelligence to perform any task.
 Each instruction has to be given to computer
 A computer cannot take any decisions on its own.

Dependency
 It functions as per a user’s instructions, so it is fully dependent on human beings.
Environment
 The operating environment of computer should be dust free and suitable.

No Feeling
 Computer have no feelings or emotions
 It cannot make judgment based on feeling, taste, experience, and knowledge unlike a human beings.
Computer Generations
The computer as we know it today had its beginning with a 19th century English mathematics professor name
Charles Babbage. He Designed the Analytical Engine and it was this design that the basic framework of the
computers of today are based on.
Generation in computer terminology is a change in technology a computer is/was being used. Initially, the
generation term was used to distinguish varying hardware technologies. But nowadays, generation includes both
hardware and software, which together makeup an entire computer system. There are five computer generations
known till date. Following are the main generations of computers
First Generation
The period of First Generation was 1946-1959. The Computers of First Generations used vacuum tubes as the
basic components for memory and circuitry for CPU. These tubes, like electric bulbs, produced a lot of heat and
were prone to frequent fusing of the installation, therefore, were very expensive and could be afforded only by
vary large organizations. In this generations mainly batch processing operating system were used.
Punched cards, paper tape, and magnetic tape were used as input and output devices. The computers in this
generations used machine code as programming language.
The main features of First Generations are:
 Vacuum tube technology
 Unreliable
 Supported machine language only
 Very Costly
 Generated lot of heat
 Slow input and output devices
 Huge Size
 Need of A.C.
 Non-portable
 Consumed a lot of electricity
Some computers of this generations are:
 ENIAC(Electronic Numerical Integrator And
Calculator)
 EDVAC(– Electronic Delay Storage Automatic
Calculator)
 UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer
 IBM-701
 IBM-650

Second
Generation
The period of second generation was 1959-1965. In this
generation transistors were used that were cheaper,
consumed less power, more compact in size, more reliable and
faster than the first generation machines made of
vacuum 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 languages
like FORTRAN, COBOL were used. The computers
used batch processing and multiprogramming operating
system.
The main features of second generation are:
 Use of transistors
  Reliable in comparison to first generation computers
 Smaller size as compared to first generation computers
 Generated 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
 Supported machine and assembly languages
Some computers of this generation were:
 IBM 1620
 IBM 7094
 CDC 1604
 CDC 3600

Third Generation
The period of third generation was 1965-1971. The
computers of third generation used integrated circuits
(IC's) in place of transistors. A single IC has many
transistors, resistors and capacitors along with the
associated circuitry.
The IC was invented by Jack Kilby. This development
made computers smaller in size, reliable and efficient. In
this
generation remote processing, time-sharing, multi-
programming operating system were used. High-level
languages (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 in comparison to previous two generations
 Smaller size
 Generated less heat
 Faster
 Lesser maintenance
 Still costly
 A.C needed
 Consumed lesser electricity
 Supported high-level language
Some computers 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 1971-1980. The
computers of fourth generation used 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 high-level languages like C,
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 computers 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 1980-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 high-level languages like C and C++, Java, .Net etc. are used in this generation.

Artificial Intelligence 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