Introduction and Brief History of Computers
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This document provides an introduction and history of computers. It defines what a computer is and who a user is. It describes the differences between data and information, and explains information technology. The document then outlines the history of computers from mechanical to modern electronic computers in four generations, describing the technologies used in each generation. Finally, it classifies different types of computers such as supercomputers, mainframes, workstations, servers, desktops, laptops and palmtops based on their features and common uses.
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Introduction and Brief History of Computers
- 1. Introduction & History of Computers,Their Applications By: Khalid Khan Sarhad University of Science & InformationTechnology Peshawar
- 2. Contents • What is Computer? • Who is a User? • Data & Information • InformationTechnology (IT) • History of Computers • Generations • Types of Computers • Classification of Computers
- 4. What is Computer? Definitions: • A computer is normally considered as calculating machine that can perform arithmetic operation at a very high speed. • Computers are electronic devices that is programmed to • accept data (input), • (process) that data into useful information, • produce (output), and then • (store) for later use.
- 5. Who is a user? • Someone that communicates with a computer
- 6. Data & Information Definitions: • DATA A collection of raw facts and figures is called data. It may consist of numbers, characters, symbols etc • INFORMATION Processed data is called information. It is more meaningful than data.
- 7. InformationTechnology • Information is data that is organized, meaningful, and useful. • Information technology is the use of systems (especially computers and telecommunications) for storing, retrieving, and sending information.. • Computer is a very important component of information technology
- 9. Mechanical computers (1600-1900) early designs for more traditional computers - based on mechanical techniques. Slide rule Abacus Pascal Calculator
- 11. First Generation -VacuumTubes 1. From 1946 to 1956 •It can perform 2,000 to 16,000 additions per second •Had main memory 100 bytes to 2 kilobytes 2. Used vacuum tubes 3.Very large machines •special rooms to house them with air conditioning •specially trained technicians to run & maintain
- 12. Second Generation -Transistors 1. From 1959 to around 1965 2. Smaller, faster, and more reliable used transistors 6,000 to 3,00,000 operations/s main memory 6 kilobytes to 1.3 megabytes 3. one-tenth the price of a 1st Generation 4. become common in larger businesses and universities
- 13. Third Generation - Integrated Circuits 1. Form 1965 to around 1972 2. Used integrated circuits – many transistors on one piece of silicon 3. Smaller, faster, more reliable, and lower in price • Size of a stove or refrigerator, some can fit on desktops • Can perform trillions of operations per second • Cost about one-tenth the amount of second generation computers 4. These Computers become very common in medium to large businesses
- 14. Fourth Generation - Microprocessors 1. From 1972 until now 2. Used large scale to very large scale integrated circuits • Put more than one IC on a silicon chip • Can do more than one function 3. smaller, faster, more reliable, and lower in price • Size of a television or much smaller • Can do 500,000 to 1,000,000,000 operations/second • Cost one-tenth, or less, the amount of third generation 4. very common in homes and business
- 15. Types of Computer • Analog computers • Digital computers
- 16. Analog Computers • An analog computer recognizes data as a continuous measurement of a physical property. • It has no state • Its output is usually displayed on a meter or graphs. • Examples are Analog clock, speedo-meter of a car, thermo-meter etc
- 17. Digital Computers • It works with numbers • They breaks all types of information into tiny units and use numbers to represent those pieces of information. • Everything is described in two states i.e. either ON (1) or OFF (0). • They are very fast and have big memory
- 20. Supercomputer • A supercomputer is a computer with a high-level computational capacity compared to a general-purpose computer. • It comprised of multiple high performance computers working in parallel as a single system. • Super Computers uses thousands of processor at a same time. • Used for nuclear weapon weather forecasting, Scientific Simulition, oil and gas exploration or in large companies.
- 21. Mainframe • Mainframes are huge computers that could fill an entire room or even a whole floor! • mainframes can run multiple instances of operating systems at the same time. • Mainframe are used primarily by large organizations for critical applications, bulk data processing • It uses for online data storage. • Mainframe used for transaction processing in banking, Airlines etc
- 22. Workstation • A desktop computer that has a more powerful processor, • additional memory (RAM, Hard drive) and enhanced capabilities for performing a special group of task, such as 3D Graphics or game development. • Multiple users can use single workstation all together.
- 23. Server • A computer that has been optimized to provide services to other computers over a network. • Servers usually have powerful processors, lots of memory and large hard drives. • Multiple CPU’s & Hard drives
- 24. DESKTOP • A PC that is not designed for portability. • you will set the computer up in a permanent location. • Most desktops offer more power, storage and versatility for less cost than portable computers.
- 25. Laptop • Also called notebooks. • Laptop are portable computers that integrate the display, keyboard, a pointing device or trackball, processor, memory and hard drive all in a battery-operated package.
- 26. Palmtop • More commonly known as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) • palmtops are tightly integrated computers that often use flash memory instead of a hard drive for storage. • usually do not have keyboards but rely on touchscreen technology for user input. • A slightly larger and heavier version of the palmtop is the handheld computer.