INTRODUCTION

Definitions:

Computer

The word computer comes from the word compute which means to calculate. So a computer is
normally considered to be a device that can perform arithmetic operations at enormous speed; it
is a high speed electronic device capable of performing calculations and making logical
decisions at a speed millions or billions of times faster than human beings.

It is an electronic device used to input, store, retrieve and output information and operate under a
set of instructions.

It’s a machine which accepts data, processes it, and returns new information as output

It’s a device that works under the control of stored programs automatically accepting, storing and
processing data to produce information that is the result of that processing.

Data

These are raw facts that are fed into the computer

Information

This is processed data that can be used to make decision. It is refined data.

Computer Application:

1) commercial applications eg
 Routine administration – such as payroll processing stock recording office automation
e.t.c
 Management –stock control, production etc
2) Scientific research and engineering applications
 Weather forecasting systems
 Mathematical and statistical analysis
 Design work
 Medical diagnosis
 Education
 Personal computing

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How do we use computers?
During the past few decades, computers and electronic technologies have been incorporated into
almost every aspect of society. They now play a role in how we learn, how we take care of our
money, and how we are entertained. Today, there is probably no better indication of how
advanced a society is than how computerized it is. In our society, computers are now a
fundamental component of our jobs, our schools, our stores, our means of transportation, and our
health care. Our complex systems of banking and investment could not operate without
computers. Essentially, all of our medical and scientific facilities now depend entirely upon
incredibly complex computer-based systems.

Almost all of our businesses now use the computer to maintain information about customers and
products. Our schools use computers to teach and to maintain student records. Computers are
now commonly used in medicine for diagnosis and treatment. In fact, every day it gets harder to
find any type of business, educational institution, or government office that does not use
computers in some way.

A variety of new types of specialized hardware and software tools have made the computer
valuable for everything from the most repetitive tasks, such as scanning items in a supermarket,
to incredibly detailed and complex tasks, such as designing spacecraft. Because computers can
store accurate information, they are used to help people make better decisions. Because
computers can continue to operate day or night, 24 hours a day, they are now used to provide a
level of services to humans that were unknown before their invention.

How are computers used in Banking and Finance?

Answer: Computers have become an indispensable tool in the handling of money and
finances. Computerized ATM machines and credit card machines are now familiar throughout
the United States and in many other countries in the world. Although they have only been in
existence for a short while, many of us now take them for granted and expect our bank to provide
these computerized services whenever and wherever we need them. Many do not realize that
these machines are part of the huge electronic network that has been put in place in the banking
and financial services industries. The ATM machines and the credit card machines provide
our interface with the bank's computers.

Computers are also used extensively in the world of stocks and investments. Around the world,
investors, investment brokers, financial advisors, and the stock exchanges themselves rely on
huge databases of information about world financial markets. Through a worldwide network of
computers, this information can be quickly updated as financial events occur. This computerized
financial network has created a global market for currencies and financial instruments. Today, a
change in a stock on the Hong Kong stock market will be known instantly by everyone who has
access to the computer network.

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How are computers used in Education?
Answer: Today, computers can be found in every school. From kindergarten to graduate
school, the computer is being used for learning, for record keeping, and for research. A variety
of computer-assisted instruction ( CAI) programs are now being used to facilitate the learning of
nearly every educational topic. Multimedia-based learning systems can deliver information to
students in the form of sound and video in addition to text and pictures. Using these new tools,
students can gain control over their own learning as the computer delivers the instruction at the
student's desired pace, monitors their progress, and provides instantaneous feedback. And,
because computers can now take over some of the instruction that used to take place in the
classroom, teachers are free to work with students who need more concentrated attention.

How are computers used in Medicine?

Answer: Computers are now so widely used in medicine they are changing the very structure
of our society's health care system. They are used extensively for basic tasks such as keeping
track of patient appointments and they are used widely for diagnostic and treatment procedures.
Diagnosis of illness can be aided through the use of databases that contain information on
diseases and symptoms and laboratory tests on blood and tissue chemistry have become
dependant on computer analysis. In addition, such computer-based technologies as computer
tomography ( CAT) scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which allow the physician
to see the organs of the body in three dimensions, can provide direct evidence of disease.

How are computers used in Business?

Answer: Business was one of the first areas to incorporate the computer. Because of its
powerful capability to store and retrieve vast amounts of information, computers are now a vital
component of almost every type of business. They are used to record sales, maintain information
about inventories, maintain payroll records, and generate paychecks. Business workers now use
computers to keep track of meetings, write letters and memos, create charts and presentation
graphics, create newsletters, and examine trends.

All of us have by now experienced how the point-of-sale ( POS) product scanning systems in
stores have speeded up the check-out process and made it more accurate by eliminating the need
for checkers to punch in the price for each individual item. These point-of-sale systems not only
make it more convenient for shoppers, but they also provide an accurate inventory of product
availability for the store's management.

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How are computers used in Entertainment and Recreation?
Answer: Computers can be found throughout the entertainment industry. They are behind
much of the glitz and excitement that we encounter every time we turn on the television, attend a
professional basketball game, or risk our money in the slot machines of Las Vegas. Computers
are used to create the special effects used in television advertisements, the colorful displays on
the score boards at sports arenas, and the cards that are displayed on the screen if we play a game
of video poker. Computer games are becoming more and more lifelike as the computer's
capability to portray graphics is constantly improved.

In the motion picture industry, the time required to create animation has been greatly reduced
through the use of computers and special graphics software. The movie industry also uses
computers routinely for a variety of special effects and specialized computer programs have even
made it possible to "colorize" old black-and-white films.

Musicians are also taking advantage of advances in technology by using computerized electronic
synthesizers to store, modify, and access a wide variety of sounds. Special word processing
software has been created for scoring music and other applications give musicians a way to
actually cut and paste stored sounds to create compositions.

How are computers used in the workplace?

Answer: With the proliferation of computers throughout our society, there has been a resultant
discussion about what their role should be. Although almost everyone recognizes the presence of
computers in today's workplaces, not everyone welcomes them. Some employees fear that they
may be replaced by computers. And although it may be true that in some areas such as
manufacturing where robots have taken over the job of human workers, overall, the employment
of computers has not resulted in a net loss of jobs. What computers have often caused is a need
for people to be retrained so that they can fill the jobs that have been created by computers and
new related technologies. In some cases the retraining is minimal, as when typists learn to apply
their typing skills to word processing but, in other cases, significant retraining is necessary.

In some jobs, for example, where assembly-line workers have been displaced by robots,
employees have to be totally retrained. New technology-based manufacturing systems often
require an entirely new set of worker skills and people who have habituated to doing their work
in a particular way often find it difficult to make the changes necessary to fit in. Many of us are
afraid of change, until we learn more about what it means. Fear of technology is known as
technophobia, and there are a fair number of people suffering from it these days. However,
many people feel that as new generations grow up with computers and learn to use them in a

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variety of environments they will feel more comfortable with the technology and will not suffer
the discomfort of this transitional period.

Characteristic of computers
Speed
As you know computer can work very fast. It takes only few seconds for calculations that we
take hours to complete. Suppose you are asked to calculate the average monthly income of one
thousand persons in your neighborhood. For this you have to add income from all sources for all
persons on a day to day basis and find out the average for each one of them. How long will it
take for you to do this? One day, two days or one week? Do you know your small computer can
finish this work in few seconds? The weather forecasting that you see every day on TV is the
results of compilation and analysis of huge amount of data on temperature, humidity, pressure,
etc. of various places on computers. It takes few minutes for the computer to process this huge
amount of data and give the result.

You will be surprised to know that computer can perform millions (1,000,000) of instructions
and even more per second. Therefore, we determine the speed of computer in terms of
microsecond (10-6 part of a second) or nano-second (10-9 part of a second). From this you can
imagine how fast your computer performs work.

Accuracy
Suppose someone calculates faster but commits a lot of errors in computing. Such result is
useless. There is another aspect. Suppose you want to divide 15 by 7. You may work out up to 2
decimal places and say the dividend is 2.14. I may calculate up to 4 decimal places and say that
the result is 2.1428. Some one else may go up to 9 decimal places and say the result is
2.142857143. Hence, in addition to speed, the computer should have accuracy or correctness in
computing.
The degree of accuracy of computer is very high and every calculation is performed with the
same accuracy. The accuracy level is determined on the basis of design of computer. The errors
in computer are due to human and inaccurate data.

Diligence
A computer is free from tiredness, lack of concentration, fatigue, etc. It can work for hours
without creating any error. If millions of calculations are to be performed, a computer will
perform every calculation with the same accuracy. Due to this capability it overpowers human
being in routine type of work.

Versatility
It means the capacity to perform completely different type of work. You may use your computer
to prepare payroll slips. Next moment you may use it for inventory management or to prepare
electric bills.

Power of Remembering
Computer has the power of storing any amount of information or data. Any information can be

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stored and recalled as long as you require it, for any numbers of years. It depends entirely upon
you how much data you want to store in a computer and when to lose or retrieve these data.

No IQ
Computer is a dumb machine and it cannot do any work without instruction from the user. It
performs the instructions at tremendous speed and with accuracy. It is you to decide what you
want to do and in what sequence. So a computer cannot take its own decision as you can.

No Feeling
It does not have feelings or emotion, taste, knowledge and experience. Thus it does not get tired
even after long hours of work. It does not distinguish between users.

Storage
The Computer has an in-built memory where it can store a large amount of data. You can also
store data in secondary storage devices such as floppies, which can be kept outside your
computer and can be carried to other computers.

The evolution of computers

Necessity is the mother of invention. Computers were invented as a result of man’s search for
fast and accurate calculating device

Saying exactly when the computer came into existence is a little tricky because there were a
number of devices and concepts that had to be invented first. The first computers, developed
during World War II, were used for mathematical calculations. Although electronic computers
have been in existence since then, people have always had a need to manage information and to
solve problems. Early thinkers created a number of devices to evaluate information and to solve
problems related to that information. One of the earliest known devices, the abacus also known
as soroban, was a computational tool that was used to quickly add and subtract numbers. It has
been in use in China for thousands of years and is still used in everyday transactions throughout
the Far East.

Another computational device, known as Napier's Bones, is similar in design to the abacus.
Designed by John Napier in the early 1600s, it was comprised of multiplication tables inscribed
on ivory rods that looked like bones. It was used for mathematical calculations including
multiplication and division and is similar in principle to the modern slide rule.

Another notable device on the path to modern computing was invented in 1642 by Blaise Pascal,
a French philosopher. Pascal's adding machine used a hand-powered mechanical system to add
and subtract numbers. The system of dealing with numbers in Pascal's device is similar to the
system used in today's computers and it is worth noting that, at the time, the device was seen as a
threat to the livelihood of those employed to calculate numbers.

Pascal's device was not improved upon until 40 years later when a German, Gottfried Wilhelm
von Leibniz, developed a device that was not only able to add and subtract, but was also capable
of carrying out multiplication and divisions (as a series of repeated additions and subtractions).

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The French inventor, Joseph Marie Jacquard, developed a device to automate rug weaving on
a loom in 1804. The device used holes punched in cards to determine the settings for the loom, a
task that normally required constant attention by the loom operator. By using a set of punched
cards, the loom could be "programmed" to weave an entire rug in a complicated pattern. This
system of encoding information by punching a series of holes in paper was to provide the basis
for the data-handling methods that would eventually be used in the early computers.

Despite the great success of Jacquard's loom, many were disturbed by this "high tech" invention
when they learned that it could completely eliminate jobs that had been done by humans for
centuries. As a result, in England, a group that called themselves Luddities smashed some of the
automated looms as a protest against mechanical innovation and the related threat to their jobs.

A few years later, in England, Charles Babbage proposed the design for a new calculator that
was in many ways the forerunner of today's computers. In 1822, Babbage built a working model
of the difference engine and received a grant from the British government to develop a full-scale
version. Unfortunately, he soon discovered that the parts that he needed could not be
manufactured to tolerances that he required. In1842 Babbage came out with new ideas of
Analytical engine that was intended to be completely automatic. It was also capable of
performing the most basic arithmetic functions for any mathematical problem. He is considered
the father of modern digital computers

In 1842, Ada Augusta Byron, the daughter of the poet Lord Byron, became interested in
Babbage's project. She was a trained mathematician and saw the potential of his device (the Ada
programming language that is supported by the U.S. Department of Defense was named after
her). She helped provide funds to continue research for the project and she collaborated with
Babbage on some of his scientific writings. Today she is credited with coming up with the
concept of a programmed loop, a way to carry out the sequence of steps that are part of a
mathematical calculation. Based on her published descriptions of the process, many consider her
to be the world's first programmer.

Forty years later, Dr. Herman Hollerith, an employee of the U.S. Census Bureau, put Jacquard's
punched-card concept together with some of the same kind of ideas that had been proposed by
Charles Babbage and Ada Byron to solve a real-world problem. The Census Bureau realized that
it was taking so long to complete census calculations they wouldn't even be able to complete one
census before it was time to undertake the next one. Hollerith proposed a solution based on what
he termed a census machine that would count data that was fed in on punched cards. He chose
cards that were about the size of dollar bills to be fed into a hand cranked machine. Using
Hollerith's machine, the census was tabulated in less than half the time it had previously taken.

Based on his Census Bureau success, Hollerith formed the Tabulating Machine Company in
1896 and began designing census tabulation machines. The company eventually evolved into the
International Business Machines (IBM) company, the world's largest computer company.

Although computational machines continued to evolve, the invention of modern computers could
not come about until the supporting technologies of electrical switching devices were in place.
By 1937, electricity was in general use in most of the world's cities and the principles of radio

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were well understood. Using these new tools, several researchers were working on electrically
powered versions of the earlier computing devices. Among them was Howard Aiken of Harvard
University. Working with the support of the IBM company, in 1944 he completed the basic
development of a machine that was dubbed the Mark 1. The machine, which was also known as
the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, is now seen as the first full-sized digital
computer (smaller-scale electric calculating devices had been created earlier). The Mark 1 filled
an entire room and weighed 5 tons, included 500 miles of wiring, and was controlled by punched
paper cards and tapes.

Despite the many advances in computational technology represented by this new machine, it was
very limited by today's standards. It was used only for numeric calculations and took three
seconds to carry out one multiplication. However, with the world-wide expansion of industrial
technologies that accompanied World War II, others were proceeding along the same path
established by the Mark 1. For example, John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert were developing
a large-scale computing device known as the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (
ENIAC) at the University of Pennsylvania with the support of the U.S. government. Based on
mechanical switches and radio vacuum tubes, this device is now seen as the first electronic
computer. The huge machine consumed so much power that it often caused the lights in nearby
Philadelphia to dim. But it was far more capable than Aiken's Mark 1 computer: it could perform
thousands of calculations per second and was used for a variety of purposes including scientific
research and weather prediction.

Classification of computers
Computers can be classified in terms of:

 Age of technology
 Their configuration
 The processor mode of operation
 Purpose and use
 The manufacturer

1. Classification in terms of age of technology

First Generation (1940-1956)

The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and were
often enormous, taking up entire rooms. They were very expensive to operate and in addition to
using a great deal of electricity, generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause of
malfunctions.

First generation computers relied on machine language, the lowest-level programming language
understood by computers, to perform operations, and they could only solve one problem at a
time. Input was based on punched cards and paper tape, and output was displayed on printouts.

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The UNIVAC and ENIAC computers are examples of first-generation computing devices. The
UNIVAC was the first commercial computer delivered to a business client, the U.S. Census
Bureau in 1951.

Summary

1. Use of vacuum tubes

2. Big & Clumsy

3. High Electricity Consumption

4. Programming in Mechanical Language

5. Larger AC were needed

6. Lot of electricity failure occurred

Second Generation (1956-1963) Transistors

Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and ushered in the second generation of computers. The
transistor was invented in 1947 but did not see widespread use in computers until the late 1950s.
The transistor was far superior to the vacuum tube, allowing computers to become smaller,
faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient and more reliable than their first-generation predecessors.
Though the transistor still generated a great deal of heat that subjected the computer to damage,
it was a vast improvement over the vacuum tube. Second-generation computers still relied on
punched cards for input and printouts for output.

Second-generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine language to symbolic, or

assembly, languages, which allowed programmers to specify instructions in words. High-level
programming languages were also being developed at this time. These were also the first
computers that stored their instructions in their memory, which moved from a magnetic drum to
magnetic core technology.

The first computers of this generation were developed for the atomic energy industry.

Summary:

1. Transistors were used

2. Core Memory was developed

3. Faster than First Generation computers

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 4. First Operating System was developed

5. Programming was in Machine Language & Aseembly Language

6. Magnetic tapes & discs were used

7. Computers became smaller in size than the First Generation computers

8. Computers consumed less heat & consumed less electricity

Third Generation (1964-1971) Integrated Circuits

The development of the integrated circuit was the hallmark of the third generation of computers.
Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips, called semiconductors, which
drastically increased the speed and efficiency of computers.

Instead of punched cards and printouts, users interacted with third generation computers through
keyboards and monitors and interfaced with an operating system, which allowed the device to
run many different applications at one time with a central program that monitored the memory.
Computers for the first time became accessible to a mass audience because they were smaller
and cheaper than their predecessors.

Summary:

1. Integrated circuits developed

2. Power consumption was low

3. SSI & MSI Technology was used

4. High level languages were used

Fourth Generation (1971-Present) Microprocessors

The microprocessor brought the fourth generation of computers, as thousands of integrated

circuits were built onto a single silicon chip. What in the first generation filled an entire room
could now fit in the palm of the hand. The Intel 4004 chip, developed in 1971, located all the
components of the computer—from the central processing unit and memory to input/output
controls—on a single chip.

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In 1981 IBM introduced its first computer for the home user, and in 1984 Apple introduced the
Macintosh. Microprocessors also moved out of the realm of desktop computers and into many
areas of life as more and more everyday products began to use microprocessors.

As these small computers became more powerful, they could be linked together to form
networks, which eventually led to the development of the Internet. Fourth generation computers
also saw the development of GUIs, the mouse and handheld devices.

Summary:

1. LSI & VLSI Technology used

2. Development of Portable Computers

3. RAID Technology of data storage

4. Used in virtual reality, multimedia, simulation

5. Computers started in use for Data Communication

6. Different types of memories with very high accessing speed & storage capacity

Fifth Generation (Present and Beyond) Artificial Intelligence

Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in development,
though there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today. The use
of parallel processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a reality..
The goal of fifth-generation computing is to develop devices that respond to natural language
input and are capable of learning and self-organization.

Summary:

1. Used in parallel processing

2. Used superconductors

3. Used in speech recognition

4. Used in intelligent robots

5. Used in artificial intelligence

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 2. Classification in terms of their configuration (types of computers)

In the computing world, when people talk about their computer configuration, they are referring
to the technical specifications, or the "tech specs" of their computer. These specs typically
include processor speed, the amount of RAM, hard drive space, and the type of video card in the
machine. By configuration, we mean the size, speed of doing computation and storage capacity
of a computer.

a).Super Computers

When we talk about types of computers, the first type that comes to our mind would be Super
computers. Supercomputers are the fastest type of computer and are employed for specialized
applications that require large amounts of mathematical calculations. The chief difference
between a supercomputer and a mainframe is that a supercomputer channels all its power into
executing a few programs as fast as possible, whereas a mainframe uses its power to execute
many programs concurrently They are the best in terms of processing capacity and also the most
expensive ones. These computers can process billions of instructions per second. Normally, they
will be used for applications which require intensive numerical computations such as stock
analysis, weather forecasting etc. Other uses of supercomputers are scientific simulations,
(animated) graphics, fluid dynamic calculations, nuclear energy research, electronic design, and
analysis of geological data (e.g. in petrochemical prospecting). Perhaps the best known super
computer manufacturer is Cray Research. Some of the "traditional" companies which produce
super computers are Cray, IBM and Hewlett-Packard.

b) Mainframe Computers

Mainframe computers can also process data at very high speeds vi.e., hundreds of million
instructions per second and they are also quite expensive. Normally, they are used in banking,
airlines and railways etc for their applications.

c). Mini Computers

Mini computers are lower to mainframe computers in terms of speed and storage capacity. They
are also less expensive than mainframe computers. Some of the features of mainframes will not
be available in mini computers. Hence, their performance also will be less than that of
mainframes.

d). Workstations

They are specialized singe user computer with many of the features of personal computers (PC)
with the processing power of a mini computer. They are popular among engineers, animators,
programmers etc or users who need a great deal of number crunching power. They use advanced
processors and features more RAM and storage capacity than personal computers. They often
have high resolution monitors and accelerated graphics handling capabilities making them

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perfect for advanced design modeling animation and video editing. The term workstation is also
used to describe a single computer on a network, in this context, a works station is usually a
personal computer

e). Micro Computers

The invention of microprocessor (single chip CPU) gave birth to the much cheaper micro
computers. They are further classified into

 Desktop Computers
 Laptop Computers
 Handheld Computers(PDAs)

Desk top computers

Today the Desktop computers are the most popular computer systems.These desktop computers
are also known as personal computers or simply PCs. They are usually easier to use and more
affordable. They are normally intended for individual users for their word processing and other
small application requirements.

Laptop Computers
Laptop computers are portable computers. They are lightweight computers with a thin screen.
They are also called as notebook computers because of their small size. They can operate on
batteries and hence are very popular with travelers. The screen folds down onto the keyboard
when not in use.

Handheld Computers
Handheld computers or Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) are pen-based and also battery-
powered. They are small and can be carried anywhere. They use a pen like stylus and accept
handwritten input directly on the screen. They are not as powerful as desktops or laptops but they
are used for scheduling appointments, storing addresses and playing games. They have touch
screens which we use with a finger or a stylus.

3. Classification in terms of processor mode of operation

There are three different types of computers according to the principles of operation. Those three
types of computers are

 Analog Computers
 Digital Computers
 Hybrid Computers

Analog Computers

Analog Computer is a computing device that works on continuous range of values. The results
given by the analog computers will only be approximate since they deal with quantities that vary

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continuously. It generally deals with physical variables such as voltage, pressure, temperature,
speed, etc

Digital Computers

On the other hand a digital computer operates on digital data such as numbers. It uses binary
number system in which there are only two digits 0 and 1. Each one is called a bit. The digital
computer is designed using digital circuits in which there are two levels for an input or output
signal. These two levels are known as logic 0 and logic 1. Digital Computers can give more
accurate and faster results. Digital computer is well suited for solving complex problems in
engineering and technology. Hence digital computers have an increasing use in the field of
design, research and data processing.

Hybrid Computers

A hybrid computer combines the desirable features of analog and digital computers. It is mostly
used for automatic operations of complicated physical processes and machines. Now-a-days
analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters are used for transforming the data into suitable
form for either type of computation.

For example, in hospital’s ICU, analog devices might measure the patients temperature, blood
pressure and other vital signs. These measurements which are in analog might then be converted
into numbers and supplied to digital components in the system. These components are used to
monitor the patient’s vital sign and send signals if any abnormal readings are detected. Hybrid
computers are mainly used for specialized tasks.

4. Classification based on purpose.

Based on the purpose, computers can be further classified as,

 General Purpose Computers

 Special Purpose Computers

Special purpose computer is one that is built for a specific application. They are designed to
perform only one specific task e.g. weapons guidance systems. The set of instructions that
(programs) which drive the machine are fixed at the time it is built.

General purpose computers are used for any type of applications (wide variety of problems).
They can store different programs and do the jobs as per the instructions specified on those
programs. Most of the computers that we see today, are general purpose computers

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 5. Classification by manufacturer

Computers can be classified by their makes which in most cases reflects the manufacturing firm
e.g.

IBM- international Business Machines

ICL- International Computers Limited

COMPAQ
APPLE
DELL etc