Introduction to computers

1.1 COMPUTER
• A computer, in simple terms, can be defined as an electronic
device that is designed to accept data, perform the required
mathematical and logical operations at high speed, and output
the result.
• We all have seen computers in our homes, schools, and
colleges. In fact, in today’s scenario, we fi nd computers in
most aspects of our daily lives. For some of us, it is hard to
even imagine a world without them.

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 Characteristics of computers

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 Characteristics of computers
• Speed : Speed Computers can perform millions of operations per
second, which means that data that may otherwise take many hours to
process is output as information in the blink of an eye. The speed of
computers is usually given in nanoseconds and picoseconds, where 1
nanosecond = 1 × 10 −9 seconds and 1 picosecond = 1 × 10 −12 seconds.
• Accuracy: A computer is a very fast, reliable, and robust electronic
device. It always gives accurate results, provided the correct data and set
of instructions are input to it. Hence, in the event of an error, it is the user
who has fed the incorrect data/program is responsible.

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 • Automation: Besides being very fast and accurate, computers are
automatable devices that can perform a task without any user intervention.
The user just needs to assign the task to the computer, after which it
automatically controls different devices attached to it and executes the
program instructions.
• Diligence: Unlike humans, computers never get tired of a repetitive task.
It can continually work for hours without creating errors. Even if a large
number of executions need to be executed, each and every execution
requires the same duration, and is executed with the same accuracy.
• Versatile: Versatility is the quality of being flexible. Today, computers are
used in our daily life in different fi elds. For example, they are used as
personal computers (PCs) for home use, for business-oriented tasks, weather
forecasting, space exploration, teaching, railways, banking, medicine, and so
on, indicating that computers can perform different tasks simultaneously.

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 • Memory: Similar to humans, computers also have memory. Just the way
we cannot store everything in our memory and need secondary media, such
as a notebook, to record certain important things, computers also have
internal or primary memory (storage space) as well as external or secondary
memory.
• No IQ: Although the trend today is to make computers intelligent by
inducing artificial intelligence (AI) in them, they still do not have any
decision-making abilities of their own. They need guidance to perform
various tasks.
• Economical: Today, computers are considered as short term investments
for achieving long-term gains. Using computers also reduces manpower
requirements and leads to an elegant and efficient way of performing various
tasks. Hence, computers save time, energy, and money. When compared to
other systems, computers can do more work in lesser time.

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 1.3 STORED PROGRAM CONCEPT
All digital computers are based on the principle of stored program concept,
which was introduced by Sir John von Neumann in the late 1940s. The
following are the key characteristic features of this concept:
• Before any data is processed, instructions are read into memory.
• Instructions are stored in the computer’s memory for execution.
• Instructions are stored in binary form (using binary numbers—only 0s and 1s).
• Processing starts with the first instruction in the program, which is copied into a
control unit circuit. The control unit executes the instructions.
• Instructions written by the users are performed sequentially until there is a break in
the current flow.
• Input/Output and processing operations are performed simultaneously. While data is
being read/written, the central processing unit (CPU) executes another program in
the memory that is ready for execution.
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 Types of Stored Program Computers
• A computer with a Von Neumann architecture stores data and
instructions in the same memory. There is a serial machine in which data
and instructions are selected one at a time. Data and instructions are
transferred to and from memory through a shared data bus. Since there is
a single bus to carry data and instructions, process execution becomes
slower.

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 Von Neumann architecture (a) Shared memory for instructions and
data (b) Separate memories for instructions and data
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 HISTORY OF COMPUTERS
• Early computers were designed not for entertainment but for solving
number-crunching problems. These computers were punch-card based
computers that took up entire rooms. Today, our smartphones have much
more computing power than that was available in those early computers.

Vacuum tube Transistors

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 • First Generation (1942–1955)
• Hardware Technology First generation computers were
manufactured using thousands of vacuum tubes (see
Figure 1.3); a vacuum tube is a device made of fragile glass.
• Memory Electromagnetic relay was used as primary memory
and punched cards were used to store data and instructions.
• Software Technology Programming was done in machine or
assembly language.

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 • Second Generation (1955–1964)
• Hardware Technology Second generation computers were
manufactured using transistors (see Figure 1.4). Transistors were
reliable, powerful, cheaper, smaller, and cooler than vacuum tubes.
• Memory Magnetic core memory was used as primary memory;
magnetic tapes and magnetic disks were used to store data and
instructions. These computers had faster and larger memory than the
first generation computers.
• Software Technology Programming was done in high level
programming languages. Batch operating system was used.

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• Third Generation (1964–1975)
• Hardware Technology Third generation computers were manufactured using
integrated chips (ICs) (shown in Figure 1.5). ICs consist of several components such as
transistors, capacitors, and resistors on a single chip to avoid wired interconnections
between components. These computers used SSI and MSI technology . Minicomputers
came into existence.
• Memory Larger magnetic core memory was used as primary memory; larger capacity
magnetic tapes and magnetic disks were used to store data and instructions.
• Software Technology Programming was done in high level programming languages
such as FORTRAN, COBOL, Pascal, and BASIC. Time sharing operating system was
used. Software was separated from the hardware. This allowed users to
invest only in the software they need.

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 • Fourth Generation (1975–1989)
• Hardware Technology Fourth generation computers were manufactured using
ICs with LSI (Large Scale Integrated) and later with VLSI technology (Very
Large Scale Integration). Microcomputers came into existence. Use of
personal computers became widespread. High speed computer networks in the
form of LANs, WANs, and MANs started growing.
• Memory : Semiconductor memory was used as primary memory, large
capacity magnetic disks were used as built-in secondary memory. Magnetic
tapes and floppy disks were used as portable storage devices.
• Soft wareTechnology Programming was done in high level programming
language such as C and C++.
Graphical User Interface (GUI) based operating system (e.g. Windows) was
introduced.

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 Fifth Generation (1989–Present)
• Hardware Technology: Fifth generation computers are manufactured
using ICs with ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integrated) technology. The use of
Internet became widespread and very powerful mainframes, desktops,
portable laptops, and smartphones are being used commonly.
Supercomputers use parallel processing techniques

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 • Memory : Semiconductor memory is used as primary memory; large
capacity magnetic disks are used as built-in secondary memory. Magnetic
tapes and fl oppy disks were used as portable storage devices, which have
now been replaced by optical disks and USB fl ash drives.

• Software Technology: Programming is done in high-level programming

languages such as Java, Python, and C#. Graphical User Interface (GUI)-
based operating systems such as Windows, Unix, Linux, Ubuntu, and Apple
Mac are being used. These operating systems are more powerful and user
friendly than the ones available in the previous generations

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 1.5 CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTERS

• Supercomputers
• Mainframe computers
• Minicomputers
• Microcomputers

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 1.5.1 Supercomputers
• Among the four categories, the supercomputer is the fastest, most
powerful, and most expensive computer. Supercomputers were first
developed in the 1980s to process large amounts of data and to solve
complex scientific problems. Supercomputers use parallel
processing technology and can perform more than one trillion
calculations in a second.

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 1.5.2 Mainframe Computers
• Mainframe computers are large-scale computers (but smaller than supercomputers).
These are very expensive and need a very large clean room with air conditioning,
thereby making them very costly to deploy. As with supercomputers, mainframes can
also support multiple processors. For example, the IBM S/390 mainframe can support
50,000 users at the same time. Users can access mainframes by either using terminals
or via PCs. The two types of terminals that can be used with mainframe systems are as
follows:
• Dumb Terminals
• Dumb terminals consist of only a monitor and a keyboard (or mouse). They do not
have their own CPU and memory and use the mainframe system’s CPU and storage
devices.
• Intelligent Terminals
• In contrast to dumb terminals, intelligent terminals have their own processor and thus
can perform some processing operations. However, just like the dumb terminals, they
do not have their own storage space. Usually, PCs are used as intelligent terminals to
facilitate data access and other services from the mainframe system.
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 1.5.3 Minicomputers
• As the name suggests, minicomputers are smaller, cheaper, and
slower than mainframes. They are called minicomputers because
they were the smallest computer of their times. Also known as
midrange computers , the capabilities of minicomputers fall between
mainframe and personal computers.

1.5.4 Microcomputers
• Microcomputers, commonly known as PCs, are very small and
cheap. The first microcomputer was designed by IBM in 1981 and
was named IBM-PC. Later on, many computer hardware companies
copied this design and termed their microcomputers as PC-
compatible, which refers to any PC that is based on the original IBM
PC design.

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thank you