CHAPTER ONE
Overview of Computer
WHAT IS A COMPUTER OR A PC?
Definition 1: Computer is an Electronic data
processing device which is capable of performing
Arithmetic and Logical
Definition 2: An electronic device that’s designed and
organized to automatically accept and store input
data, process them and produce the output, that
results under the direction of a detailed step-by-step
stored program/algorithms.
Definition 3:An electronic device having a quality of
Artificial Intelligence i.e.“Computer is similar to
human being but, without thinking power ".
CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPUTER
Speed –It is measured in terms of nanoseconds or
picoseconds.
Accuracy –Errors in computer data processing are
mostly human factors.
Storage - computers can store large amount of data
using their memory units.
Versatility –describes flexibility in computer usage for
different applications
Diligence – a computer can handle very routine and
repetitive tasks. They are tireless. As long as there is no
failure of power and no defect in the machine itself, it
will never be out of operation.
APPLICATION OF COMPUTERS
What computer can do for you?
Accounting
General Shops
Airlines and Railways
Hospital
Colleges and Universities
GENERATIONS OF COMPUTER
Depending on the type of technological achievement like:
Basic electronic component
Secondary storage device
Operating system
Access time of the computer and
Computer language used
We classify computer into five(5)
generations
FIRST GENERATION COMPUTERS (1940-
1956)
Used vacuum tubes or thermionic valve as a circuitry.
Have small internal memory based on magnetic drums or
relays.
Input device was based on punch card or paper tape.
Output is displayed on printouts.
Use machine (or low level) language.
Access time measured in milliseconds (thousands of a
second).
Consists’ about 1,000 circuits per cubic foot.
Require extreme air conditioning system.
SECOND GENERATION COMPUTERS
(1956-1963)
Used transistors (discrete electronic components) as a
main circuitry.
Use magnetic core or tape as storage device.
Input device was on punch card.
Output was displayed on printout.
Use assembly language.
Consists of about 100,000 circuits per foot.
Access time measured in microseconds.
THIRD GENERATION COMPUTERS (1964-1970)
Use Integrated circuits(IC) in place of transistors.
A number of transistors are integrated on a small size
silicon chip.
Use IC based (magnetic) storage device.
10 million circuits per square foot.
New input/output devices, like the keyboard and visual
displaying unit, were developed.
Access time in 100 nanoseconds (100 times that of
second generation computer).
Cheaper and made commercial production easier.
FOURTH GENERATION COMPUTERS (1970’S
TO PRESENT)
Introduce very large scale integration circuit or VLSI
technology.
Widely known for the use of microprocessors.
Circuit density approached 100,000 components per chip
and above
Billions of circuits per cubic foot
Access time approached nanoseconds
Programming task were simplified
Virtual operating systems were introduced for multiple
use
Are versatile in nature and are also able to form a
network.
FIFTH GENERATION COMPUTERS
Why 2day’s computer:
do not learn from their mistakes?
do not possess the skill of experts?
Therefore, to answer the above questions, future generation
computers are expected to have:
Logical decision making capability
Reasoning capability.
Use super large scale integration circuit (SLSI)
Parallel processing will be used
High speed logic and memory chips
Voice/data integration, knowledge-based platforms.
They are called as artificial intelligent (or expert systems).
Generally expected to understand and processes human
natural language accordingly.
CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER
We classify computer into
groups based on:
Purpose
Method of operation.
Functionalities
CLASSIFICATION BASED ON
PURPOSE
General purpose: These computers have
the ability to perform a wide range of
tasks.
These machines can be used for various
applications, ranging from scientific as
well as business applications.
E.g. computers that you use home and
schools are general purpose computers.
SPECIAL PURPOSE:
This includes computers which are design to
handle a specific problem or to perform a single
task.
They lacked versatility. However, being
designed for specific tasks; they can be
providing the result very quickly and effectively.
These computers are used for airline reservation,
satellite tracking, and air traffic control.
CLASSIFICATION BASED ON METHOD
OF OPERATION
Based on the way they process data, computers are
classified in to three:
Analog computers: Analog computers are
devices which operate by measuring.
They deal with continuous variable.
E.g. Thermometer, Voltmeter, Speedometer. Generally,
they are computers designed for specific purpose.
DIGITAL COMPUTERS:
Unlike the analog computers, digital computers operate
by counting rather than measuring.
Deal with discrete variables. They operate directly upon
numbers that represent numbers, letters, or other special
symbols.
it is a computing device in which data represented by
discrete numerical quantities which represented by
discrete voltage states(0s and 1s).
they have very high accuracy and speed than analog
ones. E.g. personal computer
HYBRID COMPUTERS:
The best features of analog and digital computers can be
combined into single device to from a hybrid computer.
It processes the information by collecting input data
with analog method, converts it into digital quantities,
processes the digital values and provides the output in
analog form.
CLASSIFICATION BASED ON FUNCTIONALITY
Depending on the functionality (size, speed, cost, and
performance) computer can be divided into four
categories as described below:
Micro computer
Mini computer
Mainframe computer
Super computer
MICROCOMPUTER:
Are smallest but, most important and most frequently
used types of computer particularly for end users.
They are relatively small or compact computers having
the capacity of executing millions of instruction with in a
second.
Basically they can be grouped into three: laptop, palmtop,
desktop computers.
MINICOMPUTER:
Minicomputer is mid-range computer which is able to process
and store more data than most microcomputers but is smaller
and less power full than main frame computer system.
It is designed to meet the competing needs for several people
simultaneous in a small to medium sized business
environment.
It is capable of supporting 4 to 400 simultaneous users
Since it is multi user system it is widely used in interactive
application in industries, scientific laboratories, research
organizations, universities and colleges etc.
MAINFRAME:
A main frame is an ultra-high performance computer made for high
volume, processor intensive computing task.
It is physical larger than micros and minis and usually has processors
with faster instruction processing speeds.
A mainframe computer is generally placed in a special computer room
where environmental factors, such as temperature, humidity, dust and air
conditions are closely monitored.
It is capable of supporting around 1000 multiple users working at a time.
They are also used as the center of computer networking.
SUPERCOMPUTER:
A supercomputer is generally characterized as being the fastest,
the most powerful, which can resolve a complex mathematical
equation in a few hours, which would take a scientist a life time
with paper pencils.
In addition, highly trained data processing professionals are
required to operate supercomputers.
It is the most expensive computer designed for intensive tasking.
Typically, supper computer used to solve multi-variant
mathematical problems of existent physical process, such as
aerodynamics, metrology, and plasma physics.
These computers can take inputs from over 10,000 individual
computers and users at the same time.
