1 Fundamentals of Computer 11

multiplications and divisions. It has three parts, slide, rule

DO YOU KNOW?
and a transparent sliding cursor as shown in Fig.1-7. Slide rule was replaced by electronic
pocket calculator in the early 1970s.
Mark-I
The next successful computing machine
invented was a digital computer known as Mark-
I. It was invented by Howard Aiken in 1944. Mark-
I could add three numbers having eight digits in
one second. It could print out its results on
punched cards or on an electric typewriter. Mark-
I was 50 feet long, 8 feet high and weighed about
5 tons. It used 3,000 electric switches. Mark-I is
shown in Fig.1-8.
More over Mark II, Mark III and Mark IV were Fig.1-8 Mark-I Computer
also built under the supervision of Howard Aiken with extended capabilities.
Since computer evolution is a continuous process, it has not stopped in the modern era.
New systems are being developed to provide voice recognition and understand natural
languages. High performance computing (HPC) is being used in today’s data centers for fast
data processing. High-performance computing (HPC) is the use of parallel processing for
running advanced application programs efficiently, reliably and fast.
The concept of “Cloud Computing” has been introduced. In the simplest terms, cloud
computing means storing and accessing data and programs over the Internet instead of
computer's hard drive. The current advancements in computer technology are likely to transform
computer into intelligent machine having thinking power. The evolution of computers will
probably continue till their processing capabilities have become equal to human intelligence or
even beyond that.
1.1.2 GENERATIONS OF COMPUTER
History of computers is a chain that runs from the ancient abacus and the analytical engine
of the nineteenth century, through the modern computers of present age. It is generally divided
into five generations. Each generation of computers is characterized by
major technological developments of that time.
First Generation Computers (1940 – 1956)
Vacuum tubes were used in the first generation computers. Vacuum tubes
generated so much heat that they had to be cooled by air conditioner.
Vacuum tubes burnt out very often and it was difficult to repair and maintain
the computers of first generation. A vacuum tube is shown is Fig.1-9.
The following are the characteristics of first generation computers.
 First generation computers used vacuum tubes.
 Speed was slow and memory was very small.
 They were huge in size taking up entire room. Fig.1-9 Vacuum Tube
12 1 Fundamentals of Computer

 First generation computers were very expensive and unreliable.

 They consumed a lot of power and generated a lot of heat.
 Input was based on punched cards.
 Output was obtained on printouts through electric typewriter.
 Machine language was used in these computers.
Some examples of first generation Mini/Mainframe computers are ENIAC (Electronic
Numerical Integrator and Computer), UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer), IBM 604, Mark-I
and EDSAC. Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator.
Second Generation Computers (1956 – 1963)
In 1947, three scientists, William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter
Brattain invented transistor shown in Fig.1-10. Transistor functions like a
vacuum tube. It replaced the vacuum tubes in the second generation
computers. Transistor was faster, more reliable, smaller and much
cheaper than vacuum tube.
Fig.1-10 Transistor The following are the characteristics of second generation computers.

 Transistors were used instead of vacuum tubes.

 Transistors reduced the size of computers and increased the speed and memory
capacity.
 Computers became more reliable and cheaper.
 Second generation computers used punch card readers, magnetic tapes, magnetic disks
and printers.
 Assembly language was used in these computers.
 High level programming languages, FORTRAN and COBOL were introduced in this
generation of computers.
Examples of second generation computers are UNIVAC II, IBM 7030, 7780 and 7090, NCR
300 series, General Electric GE 635 and Control Data Corporation’s CDC 1604 computers.
Third Generation Computers (1963 – 1971)
Integrated Circuits (ICs), also known as
semiconductor chips were used in third generation of
computers instead of transistors. IC chips were
developed in early 1960s. A single IC chip contains a
large number of transistors. IC chips increased the
power and decreased the cost of computers. Invention
of IC chips was a great breakthrough in advancing
computer technology. IC chips are shown in Fig.1-11.
The following are the characteristics of third
Fig.1-11 IC Chips generation of computers.
 1 Fundamentals of Computer 13
 Third generation computers used IC chips. DO YOU KNOW?
 IC chips improved the speed and memory of Intel invented the world’s first
computers. microprocessor, the Intel 4004 in
November, 1971.
 Computers consumed less electricity, became smaller,
cheaper and more reliable than second generation computers.
 Keyboard and monitor were used with the computer.
 These computers could run different application programs at the same time.
Some examples of third generation computers are Burroughs 6700, IBM System/360,
System 3 and Control Data Corporation’s 3300 and 6600 computers.
Fourth Generation Computers (1971 – Present)
In this generation of computers LSI (Large Scale Integration) and VLSI
(Very Large Scale Integration) chips having millions of transistors were
developed. Microprocessor was also developed in fourth generation of
computers. A microprocessor is a single chip that can handle all the
processing of a computer. A microprocessor is shown in Fig.1-12.
The following are the characteristics of fourth generation of computers. Fig.1-12 Microprocessor

 Microprocessor was developed which resulted in the development of microcomputers.

 Fourth generation computers are very fast, have large storage capacity and use
advanced input/output devices.
 Microcomputers are very small in size, very reliable, consume less power and are
affordable.
 Large variety of software is available for use in microcomputers.
 Operating system having Graphical User Interface (GUI) was developed in this
generation.
 These computers support multimedia software that combines text, image, sound and video.
 These computers support modern programming languages such as Visual Basic, C++,
Java and Python for developing powerful software.
 Fourth generation computers support a large variety of portable and wireless input/output
devices.
Some examples of microprocessors developed in fourth generation of computers are Intel
Pentium series, Dual Core, Core2 Duo, Core i3, i5, i7 and AMD Athlon.
Some examples of fourth generation computers are IBM ThinkPad series, HP Pavilion
series, Dell Inspiron series and Apple’s MacBook Pro and MacBook Air series.
Fifth Generation Computers (Present and Beyond)
The goal of fifth generation of computers is to develop devices that For your Information
can understand natural languages and have thinking power. This is Artificial Intelligence is the
a big challenge for computer developers and programmers to design branch of computer
science concerned with
such systems and software for them.
making computer behave
The following are the characteristics of fifth generation of computers. like humans.
14 1 Fundamentals of Computer


Fifth generation computes are based on Artificial Intelligence (AI).

In the fifth generation of computers, AI will minimize the need to write programs.

These computers will allow users to give commands in any natural language such as
English.
Examples of fifth generation computers are robots and expert systems.
1.1.3 TYPES OF COMPUTERS
On the basis of data representation, processing, Input and Output, Computers can be
classified into the following three types.
 Analog Computers
 Digital Computers
 Hybrid Computers
Analog Computers
Analog computers represent and process data by
measuring quantities such as voltage and current to solve
a problem. They work on supply of continuous signals as
input and display output simultaneously. Analog
computers are special purpose devices, designed to
Fig.1-13 Analog computer perform single specific task. Mostly these devices are
used in engineering and scientific applications. The
accuracy of analog computers is low but they are faster in speed as compared to digital
computers. They mainly consist of electrical devices such as resisters, capacitors, transistors,
etc. An analog computer with volt meter is shown in Fig.1-13.
Digital Computer
Digital computer works with digits. Everything in a digital computer is represented with
binary digits 0s and 1s. It manipulates them at very fast speed. Data and instructions are fed into
the digital computer through an input device in the form of 0s and 1s. The computer performs
calculations on data according to the
instructions given in a computer program. The
results of calculations are displayed on
monitor or printed on printer. A digital
computer is shown in Fig.1-14.
Digital computers can store and process
large amount of information at high speed.
The results produced by digital computers are
reliable and accurate. Digital computers are
general-purpose computers, used in various
fields.
Fig.1-14 Digital Computer
 1 Fundamentals of Computer 15
Hybrid Computers
Hybrid computers are the combination of analog and
digital computers. They combine the characteristics of both
analog and digital computers. Hybrid computers are mainly
used for scientific applications. These computers are used in
spaceships, missile systems, scientific research, hospitals and
for controlling industrial processes.
A hybrid computer known as Vital Sign Monitoring Unit is
shown in Fig.1-15. It is used in hospitals to monitor patient’s
important data such as blood pressure, temperature, respiration Fig.1-15 A Hybrid Computer
(Vital Sign Monitoring Unit)
and heartbeat.
1.1.4 CLASSIFICATION OF DIGITAL COMPUTERS
Digital computers are classified into super, mainframe, minicomputer and microcomputer
based on their size, speed, storage capacity and the number of users they can support.
Super Computer
Super computers are the largest and the most
powerful computers. Super computers have been used for
scientific and engineering applications that must handle
very large databases and do a great amount of
computation. These computers are very expensive. Their
speed is measured in TIPS (Trillions of Instructions per
Second). These computers are used in nuclear research
and forecasting weather reports worldwide. Government
organizations use these computers to meet their extra Fig. A-1-16 Super computer
ordinary demand for processing data which require tremendous processing speed, memory and
other services. Fig A-1-16 shows The Columbia Supercomputer located at the NASA Ames
Research Center, USA.
Mainframe Computer
Mainframe computers were developed in early 1940s.
A mainframe computer is a very large, very powerful and
expensive computer that can support hundreds and even
thousands of users at the same time. Therefore, these
computers are used in large organizations. The modern
mainframe computers that use cutting edge technology are
the foundation of today’s business in banking, insurance,
education, air travel, research, health care, government and
Fig. B-1-16 Mainframe computer
many other public and private organization. These
computers can execute more than trillion instructions per second (TIPS). Some examples of
mainframe computers are IBM’s z Enterprise EC12, EC 196, HP 16500 Series and HP Integrity
Superdome. A mainframe is shown in Fig.B-1-16.
16 1 Fundamentals of Computer

Minicomputer
Minicomputer was introduced in the 1960s when IC chips were introduced. A minicomputer
is bigger than a microcomputer but smaller than a mainframe. These computers can execute
billions of instructions per second (BIPS).
Therefore, they can process more data than
microcomputers. Today, minicomputers
with cutting edge technology are playing an
important role in business organizations for
their data processing requirements. These
are used in organizations that have
hundreds of users such as PIA, NADRA,
police departments, hospitals, etc. A
minicomputer is shown in Fig.1-17.
Examples of minicomputers are IBM
Fig.1-17 Minicomputer System/36 and HP 3000.
Microcomputer
Microcomputers are the smallest and the low cost computers. These computers are most
commonly used in homes and offices. Microcomputer was introduced in 1970s when
microprocessor was developed. A microprocessor is a single chip that controls the operations
of the entire computer system. Modern microcomputers have large storage capacity and they
can execute millions of instructions per second (MIPS). A variety of software is available for use
in these computers.
Microcomputers are available in various forms such as Do you know?
desktop, laptop and tablet as shown in Fig.1-18. Some popular Today, microprocessor is not
companies that manufacture microcomputers are IBM, Dell, HP, only used in microcomputers,
they are also used in the
Toshiba and Acer. A microcomputer is also known as Personal devices including mobile
Computer or PC. IBM Lenovo series, Dell XPS series and HP phones, microwave ovens,
Envy series are some popular microcomputers. cameras, washing machines,

Fig.1-18 (a) Desktop (b) Laptop (c) Tablet Microcomputer