History of Computing

-- Soujanya

Contents

Definition Abacus(600 B.C) Cardboard Calculator First Calculator Difference Engine(1822) Well-Known Early Computers The Computer Generations & their

characteristics

Definition

Computing : It is a study of systematic processes that describes & transform information: their theory, analysis, design, efficiency, implementation & application.

Abacus(600 B.C)

Also known as “Soroban”. Represents the numbers by the position of

the beads. Simple addition and subtraction carried out

rapidly and efficiently.

Abacus

Cardboard Calculator

It was designed by John Nepier in the early 17th century.

Nepier Calculator

• He invented logs in 1614. Logs allowed multiplication and division to be reduced to addition and subtraction

First Calculator

• Wilhelm Schickard designed the 1st mechanical Calculator in 1623

• The first mechanical adding machine was invented by Blaise Pascal in 1642

Pascaline

Schickard calculator

Contd..

In 1671, Baron Gottfried of Germany invented the first calculator for multiplication.

Later, Herman Hollierith came up with the concept of punched cards.

Difference Engine(1822)

Charles Babbage designed a “Difference Engine” in 1822 which could produce reliable tables.

In 1842, Babbage came out with his new idea of “Analytical Engine”

Capable of performing the basic arithmetic functions.

Average Speed of 60 additions per minute.

Contd..

Difference Engine

Well-Known Early Computers

The Mark I Computer(1937-44)

First fully automatic calculating machine. Designed by Howard A Aiken. Electro-mechanical device Though reliable, it was very complex in

design and huge in size. Capable of performing 5 basic arithmetic

operations:’+’ ‘ - ’ ‘ * ’ ‘ / ‘ and table reference.

The ENIAC(1943-46)

The Electronic Numerical Integrator Analysor & Calculator (ENIAC) was the first electronic computer.

It used 18000 vacuum tubes Addition of 2 numbers achieved in 200 microsec Multiplication in 2000 microsec. Could store & manipulate only very limited

amount of information Its programs were weird on boards.

The EDVAC(1946-52)

Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer.

Designed on stored program concept.

The EDSAC(1947-49)

The Britishers developed the Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator (EDSAC)

Addition operation accomplished in 1500 micro sec.

Multiplication operation in 4000 micro sec.

Manchester Mark I (1948)

Experimental machine based on stored program concept

Storage capacity was only 32 words, each of 31 binary digits.

Hardly of any practical use.

The UNIVAC I (1951)

The Universal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC) was the first digital computer.

Introduced in 1951 Used continuously for 10 yrs.

Note: Later in 1952, IBM corporation introduced 701 commercial computer.

The Computer Generations

First Generation Computers(1942-55)

ENIAC EDVAC EDSAC UNIVAC I IBM 701

Characteristics of First Generation Computers They were the fastest calculating devices of

their time. They were too bulky in size. They should be properly air-conditioned. The power consumption was very high. They were prone to frequent hardware failures. Constant maintenance required. Commercial production of these computers

was difficult and costly. They had limited commercial use.

Second Generation Computers (1955-64)

Bell Laboratories invented a new electronic switching device called ‘Transistor’ in 1947.

High-level programming Languages like FORTRAN, COBOL, ALGOL & SNOBOL were developed.

Characteristics of Second Generation Computers

Ten times faster than the first-generation computers. Much smaller in size Consumed much less power Much more reliable and less prone to hardware

failures Had faster and larger primary and secondary

storage devices. Easier to program. Hence they had wider

commercial use.

Third Generation Computers (1964-1975)

Texas and Fairchild semiconductor both announced the integrated circuit in 1959.

FORTRAN & COBOL languages are standardized to FORTRAN IV & COBOL 68, also referred to as ANSI FORTRAN & ANSI COBOL.

Characteristics of Third Generation Computers

Much more powerful. (Performs 1 million instruction per sec)

Much smaller in size. Much less power consumption. Much more reliable and less prone to hardware

failures. Faster and larger primary and secondary storage

devices. Totally general-purpose machines suitable for both

scientific and commercial applications

Contd..

Standardization of high-level programming languages allowed programs written for one computer to be easily ported to and executed on another computer.

Timesharing O.S helped in drastically improving the productivity of programmers cutting down the time and cost of program development by several fold.

Fourth Generation Computers (1975-1989)

Micro-processors came into existence. Start of Personal Computer Revolution. P.C:Compact & inexpensive Hard-disk: Cheaper, smaller in size and larger in

capacity Floppy disks became popular. LAN, WAN came into existence. Several O.S like MS-DOS, MS Windows, UNIX were

developed. C , C++ programming became popular.

Characteristics of Fourth Generation Computers

The PCs were much more smaller and cheaper than the mainframes or minicomputers of 3rd generation.

They are much more powerful. No air-conditioning was required for the PCs Consumed much less power. Much more reliable and less prone to hardware

failures. Faster and larger primary and secondary storage

devices. Totally general-purpose machines.

Contd..

They contained graphical user interface. Availability of C programming language

allowed these systems to be effectively used for systems programming also, like design of compilers and O.S

Object-oriented languages allowed rapid software development.

Fifth Generation Computers (1989-Present)

Larger disk space Optical disks (CD-ROM) emerged. Internet came into existence. The concept of ‘Multithreading’ was

introduced. Java programming gained popularity.

Characteristics of Fifth Generation Computers

Portable PCs (notebook computers) are much more smaller and handy.

Desktop PCs and workstations are several times more powerful

Consume less power Hot-pluggable feature. Commercial production of these systems is easier

and cheaper. Newer and more powerful applications, including

multimedia applications.

Contd..

Internet usage by comman man.