Evolution of computer
History of Computer
The development of personal computer has taken a long period of time to extend the use of computer at present days. There were not the advanced technologies in the ancient days. So it passed through a several phases to become this phase at present days.
The development of computer from ancient days to present days can be classified into 3 Era which are as follows.
1. Abacus
Ø Abacus is the first calculating device.
Ø An abacus consists of rectangular frame containing a number of rods or beads which is divided into two unequal parts called heaven and earth.
Ø The lower part called, an earth consist 5 beads and the upper part called, a heaven consists of 2 beads.
Ø By moving the beads, it is used for counting as well as to find addition and subtraction.
Ø A skilled abacus operator can work on addition and subtraction problems at the speed of a person equipped with a hand calculator.
2. Napier’s Bone
Ø John Napier, a great Scottish mathematician invented “Principle of logarithm” i.e. log in 1614 AD.
Ø Then, based on his own principle, he invented a simple device containing 10 rods made by ivory sticks marked with numbers in 1617 AD, called Napier’s Bone. =
Ø People could use it for faster multiplication and division.
3. Slide Rule
Ø Based on the principle of John Napier, William Oughtred, an English mathematician, made a simple device called slide rule in 1624 AD.
Ø It had multiple rulers marked with numbers in one pack.
Ø People could use it for faster multiplication and division also.
Ø It was still in use in the 1960’s by the NASA engineers of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs which landed men on moon.
4. Pascaline
Ø Pascaline was invented by Blaise Pascal in 1642 AD, when he was just 19 years old.
Ø He invented that device to help his father who was a tax collector.
Ø It had some cogs and gears rotating in complement to each other and it could do addition and subtraction up to 8 digits only.
Ø Multiplication and division were done by repeated addition and subtraction respectively.
Ø Later a computer programming language was called “Pascal” to honor him for his contribution in the development of computer.
5. Stepped Reckoner
Ø Gottfried Wilhelm Von Leibniz was a great mathematician managed to build a four function (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) calculator in 1671 AD on the basis of Pascaline.
Ø It could find square root too.
Ø Although the Stepped Reckoner employed the decimal number system, Leibniz was the first to advocate use of the binary number system which is fundamental to the operation of modern computers.
6. Jacquard’s Loom
Ø Joseph Marie Jacquard invented Jacquard’s Loom in 1801 AD.
Ø This Loom was the first to use Punch Card.
Ø Later the same Punch Card technology was used for Computer Programming.
7. Difference and Analytical Engine
Ø Difference Engine was developed by Charles Babbage in 1822 AD, which was equal to the size of a room.
Ø Difference Engine was his first invention and it was powered by stem.
Ø Difference Engine was fully automatic for mathematical calculation.
Ø He obtained government funding for the development of Difference Engine due to the importance of numeric tables in ocean navigation.
Ø By promoting their commercial and military navies, the British Government had managed to become the earth’s greatest empire.
Analytical Engine
Ø Charles Babbage also designed another engine in 1833 AD, but unfortunately, he was unable to complete it.
Ø The analytical Engine contained all components as follows.
v The store equivalent to memory.
v The mill equivalent to CPU.
v The input section using punched card.
v The output section using punched card.
And modern computers are based on it. That’s why, for all his contribution, he is known as “father of Computer”.
8. Lady Augusta Ada
Ø Lady Augusta Ada was the admirer and follower of Charles Babbage.
Ø She was fascinated by Babbage idea.
Ø She suggested Babbage to use binary number system for computer program and data to be fed into Analytical Engine on Punch Card.
Ø She gave the concept of computer programming for the first time.
Ø She invented subroutine and important of looping.
Ø She found that the same set of Punch Card could be reused to repeat certain instructions.
Ø One programming language “ADA” was named to honor her for her great contribution in computer programming.
9. Tabulating Machine
Ø The very first census of 1790 had only required 9 months, by 1880 the U.S. population had grown so much that the count for the 1880 census took 7.5 years. Automation was clearly needed for the next census. The census bureau offered a prize for an inventor to help with the 1890 census and this prize was won by Dr. Herman Hollerith for the development of Tabulating Machine.
Ø By using the similar ideas of Jacquard’s Loom he made Tabulating Machine in 1886.
Ø It could process on the Punch Cards and perform the census calculation faster and accurately.
Ø Hollerith’s technique was successful and the 1890 census was completed in only 3 years at a savings of 5 million dollars.
Ø He established his own company called Tabulating Machine Company (TMC).
Ø Later, TMC was joined with other company and established IBM company in 1923 AD.
Ø IBM is the largest computer manufacturing company in the world even today.
B) Electro- Mechanical Era
10. Mark-I
Ø It was designed by Howard Aiken.
Ø Completed in 1944
Ø This was the first programmable digital computer.
Ø This machine works on decimal not in binary format.
Ø Its dimension was 51 feet long, 8 feet tall and 3 feet wide.
Ø It had a 50 feet rotating shaft running its length, turned by a 5 horse power electric motor.
Ø It consumed a lot of electricity and emitted a lot of heat.
Ø It was also called IBMASCC (International Business Machine Automatic Sequence Control Calculator).
Ø This project was a joint partnership between IBM and Harvard University.
Ø It can automatically perform sequence of arithmetic operations: addition, subtraction, multiplications, division and table reference.
Ø It could add or subtract two of numbers in three – tenth of a second, multiply them in four seconds.
11. ABC (Atanasoff Berry Computer)
Ø J. V. Atanasoff was a Professor of Physics and mathematics, with the help of his graduate student Clifford Berry; he built a machine that could solve different types of mathematical problems successfully tested in 1942.
Ø This machine was the first to store as a charge on a capacitor, which is how today computers store information is in their main memory (RAM).
Ø It used 45 vacuum tubes for internal logic and capacitors for storage.
C. Electronic Computer Era:
12. ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator) [1943-1946)
Ø Dr. John W. Mauchly and John Presper Eckert developed ENIAC at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering of the University of Pennsylvania in 1946, USA.
Ø It was the first electronic computer.
Ø This had no moving parts except the input and output.
Ø ENIAC was developed for military need and was used for many years to solve ballistics (fire weapons) achieved problems.
Ø The addition of two numbers was achieved in 200 microseconds and multiplication in 2000 microseconds.
Ø It occupied a room measuring 9m*15 m and contained 18,000 vacuum tubes, more than 70,000 resistors, 10,000 capacitors, 60,000 switches and weighed 30 tons.
13. EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer) [1944-1951]
Ø It was invented by John W. Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert.
Ø He was the first to introduce the stored program concept in a computer.
Ø It used binary number system rather than decimal numbers for its operation.
Ø It had almost 6,000 vacuum tubes and 12, 000 diodes and consumed 56 KW of power.
Ø It covered 490 square foot of floor space and weight nearly 7 tons.
Ø The machine requires 30 personals to operate.
Ø This machine ran till 1961 at research laboratory.
14. EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Computer) [1947-1949]
Ø It was invented by Maurice Wilkes at Cambridge University, England. In 1949AD.
Ø It also used vacuum tubes.
Ø Although, started after EDVAC, it was completed before EDVAC.
Ø It used binary number system.
Ø Both input and output used paper type.
Ø This machine was used to calculate a table of squares and a list of prime numbers.
15. UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer) [1951]
Ø It was invented by John W. Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert.
Ø This computer was the first commercial computer and general purpose computer produced in large quantity.
Ø Before this, all the computers were either used for defense or census.
Ø The UNIVAC was also the first computer to come equipped with magnetic tape unit and was the first computer to use buffer memory.
Generation of Computer
Generation of Computer terminology is a change in technology a computer is/was being used. Initially generation of computer was used to distinguish between varying hardware technology.
There are 5 generation of computers which are as follows:
Name of Generation | Main components | Time Duration |
First Generation of Computer | Vacuum Tube | 1941-1955 AD |
Second Generation of Computer | Transistor | 1955-1964 AD |
Third Generation of Computer | Integrated Circuit | 1964-1975 AD |
Fourth Generation of Computer | Microprocessor | 1975- till now |
Fifth Generation of Computer | Artificial Intelligence and | Present and Beyond |
Biochips |
1) First Generation Computer
Ø
The computers which were made approximately between 1941 and 1955 AD are classified as
the first generation computer.
Ø
These computers had used vacuum tube as their memory and processing devices.
Ø Vacuum tube was developed by Lee De Forest in 1908 AD.
Characteristics of a First Generation Computer
a) Technology: Vacuum tube was used as its main components.
b) Processing Speed: Processing speed was measured in Milli-second.
c) Input/output Device: Punch Card was used as input / Output devices.
d) Computer Type: Computers were electro-mechanical.
e) Memory: Vacuum tube was used as memory device.
f) Storage Device: First Punch cards used and later magnetic drum were used as storage device.
g) Operation Mode: Computers should be set up manually as there was no operating system invented.
h) Reliability and Accuracy: The computers were not fully reliable and accurate.
i) Programming Language: Machine Level Language was used for computer programming.
j) Size and Cost: The size of computer was very large and its cost was also very expensive.
k) Availability: The Computers were only available to the military purpose and university research.
l) Power Consumption and Heat Emission: Computers consumed a lot of electricity power and emitted a lot of heat.
m) Portability: Computers were not portable because of its huge size.
n) Examples: ENIAC, EDVAC, UNIVAC etc.
Vacuum Tube:
A vacuum tube is a hollow glass cylinder containing a positive electrode and a negative electrode between which is conducted in a full or partial vacuum tube. A grid between these electrodes controls the flow of electricity. The major disadvantages of tubes include the fact that they require bulky power supplies and the high voltages can resent an electric shock hazard.
2) Second Generation Computer
Ø
The computers which were made approximately between 1955 and 1964 AD are classified as the Second generation computer.
Ø
These computers had used transistor and diodes as their memory devices.
Ø
Transistor was invented by three scientists John Bardeen, William Shockley and Walter Brattain
in 1947 AD and won the Nobel Prize in 1956 D for it.
Characteristics of a Second Generation Computer
a) Technology: Transistor was used as its main components.
b) Processing Speed: Faster processing speed as it was measured in Micro-second.
c) Input/output Device: Punch Card was used as input / Output devices.
d) Computer Type: Computers were electro-mechanical.
e) Memory: Magnetic Core (Ferrite) was used as internal memory.
f) Storage Device: Magnetic Tape was used as secondary storage device.
g) Operation Mode: Computers should be set up manually as there was no operating system invented.
h) Reliability and Accuracy: These were more reliable and accurate than first generation computers.
i) Programming Language: Assembly and High Level Language such as FORTRAN (Formula Translation), COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language) etc. were used for computer programming.
j) Size and Cost: The Computers were smaller in size and less expensive than 1st generation computer.
k) Availability: The Computers were available for general purpose.
l) Power Consumption and Heat Emission: Power consumption and Heat emission was less than 1st generation computer.
m) Portability: Computers were not portable.
n) Examples: IMB 1401, ICL 2950 / 10, IBM 1620 etc.
Transistor:
Transistor is derived from the two words “transfer” and “register” and it is the device which is made of three terminal semi-conductor materials that amplifies the electric signal or opens or closes the electronic circuit.
They were much smaller than vacuum tubes and consumed much less power. Electronic circuits could make more complex, with more transistors switching faster than vacuum tubes.
3) Third Generation Computer
Ø The computers which were made approximately between 1964 and 1975 AD are classified as the third generation computer.
Ø
These computers had used IC (Integrated Circuit) as memory and processing device.
Ø The first IC was developed by Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce in 1958. Later Robert Noyce established Intel Company.
Characteristics of a Third Generation Computer
a) Technology: IC was used for the electronic circuit in computer.
b) Processing Speed: Faster than previous generation computer as processing speed was increased into Nano-Second.
c) Input/output Device: Keyboard and Monitor were introduced as input and output devices for the first time respectively.
d) Computer Type: Computers were electronic.
e) Memory: Semiconductor memory was used as primary memory.
f) Storage Device: Magnetic disk was used as secondary storage device.
g) Operation Mode: Operating system was introduced for the automatic and multiprogramming.
h) Reliability and Accuracy: Computers became fully reliable and accurate.
i) Programming Language: Further development of High Level Language for Computer Programming.
j) Size and Cost: The computers were smaller and less expensive than previous generation computers.
k) Availability: The Computers were available for general purpose as well as personal purpose.
l) Power Consumption and Heat Emission: Power consumption and Heat emission was less than previous generation computer.
m) Portability: Computers became portable for the first time because of the personal or Desktop Computer.
n) Examples: IBM 360 Series, UNIVAC 9000, ICL 900 Series.
Integrated Circuits:
ICs range from simple logic modules and amplifiers to complete microcomputers containing millions of elements. The impact of ICs on our lives has been enormous. ICs have become the principal components of almost all electronic devices. These circuits have demonstrated low cost, high reliability, low power requirements and high processing speeds compared to the vacuum tubes and transistors which preceded them.
4) Fourth Generation Computer
Ø The computers which were made approximately between 1975 to till now having microprocessor as CPU and VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) are classified as fourth
generation computer.
Ø First commercial microprocessor was Intel 4004 which was made by Intel Corporation in 1971 AD.
Ø It was 4 bit processor because it could process only 4 bits of data at a time.
Ø It is one of the most important generations because many achievements in the hardware and software technology took place during this generation.
Characteristics of a Fourth Generation Computer
a) Technology: ICs and microprocessor are used as main components with VLSI and ULSI technology.
o) Processing Speed: Faster than previous generation computer as processing speed was increased into Pico -Second.
b) Input/output Device: Input / Output devices have been further refined and invented various devices such as scanner, touch screen, printer etc.
c) Computer Type: Computers were electronic.
d) Memory: Semiconductor memory with huge capacity has been used as primary memory.
e) Storage Device: Use of magnetic and optical disk with large storage capacity for secondary storage device.
f) Operation Mode: Multiprogramming, Multiprocessing, multimedia and distributed operating system become possible.
g) Reliability and Accuracy: The computers have become fully reliable and accurate.
h) Programming Language: Advanced HLL and 4 GL for application and database programming have been used.
i) Size and Cost: The computers were smaller in size and less expensive than previous generation computers.
j) Availability: The Computers were available for general purpose as well as special purpose.
k) Power Consumption and Heat Emission: Power consumption and Heat emission was less than previous generation computer.
l) Portability: Computers have become portable because of the development of personal or Desktop Computer, Laptop, Notebook and PDA.
m) Examples: IBM PC, Apple Mac Book, HP 300, Acer, Dell etc.
Microprocessor:
A microprocessor is a computer processor on a microchip. It is sometimes called a logic chip. It is the “engine” that goes into motion when you turn your computer on. A microprocessor is designed to perform arithmetic and logic operations that make use of small number – holding areas called registers. When the computer is turned on, the microprocessor is designed to get the first instruction from the BIOS that comes with the computer as part of its memory. After that, either the BIOS, or the operating system that BIOS loads into computer memory, or an application program is “driving” the microprocessor, giving it instructions to perform.
5) Fifth Generation Computer
Ø Although the computer of this generation have not come yet in reality, but computer scientists are trying since 1990 AD.
Ø It is said that the computer of this generation will use AI (Artificial Intelligence) and bio- chips as memory device so that they can think and decide like a human being.
Ø Bio-chips will be made of biological organism and protein fibers obtained from the living organism.
Ø So, this computer will have power of sense, logic and decision making capacity.
Advantages of AI
i. Game playing: AI in computer has been used in playing different intellectual games like chess. Computer can play master level chess. Other various games also can play due to AI.
ii. Speech recognition: Speech recognition is a way of commanding computers to perform work through speech rather than inputting through input devices. From 1990s, speech recognition has reached a practical level for limited purpose.
iii. Understanding natural language: Due to the use of AI, computer can easily understand the meaning of the text written in natural language.
iv. Automated planning and scheduling: NASA‟s remote agent program became the first on
– board autonomous planning to control the scheduling of operations for a spacecraft which lies 100 million miles from earth.
Characteristics of a Fifth Generation Computer
Ø They will be capable of fully parallel processing.
Ø Computers will use super conductor memory like bio-chips so that the speed will be very fast.
Ø The computers will be intelligent and knowledge base because of AI.
Ø Instead of HLL, natural language like English, Nepali, and Hindi etc will be used for giving instruction and making computer program.
Ø They will be large scale data processing on the basis of knowledge processing.
Ø The computers are not available in market. These are still in development phase or in testing phase or exists somewhere in the world as failed project.
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