INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING 1

LESSON 1:

WHAT IS A COMPUTER?

A computer is an electronic device that accepts data from the user, processes it, produces results,
displays them to the users, and stores the results for future usage.
Data is a collection of unorganized facts & figures and does not provide any further information
regarding patterns, context, etc. Hence data means "unstructured facts and figures".
Information is a structured data i.e. organized meaningful and processed data. To process the data and
convert into information, a computer is used.
FUNCTIONS OF COMPUTERS

Receiving Input - Data is fed into computer through various input devices like keyboard, mouse, digital
pens, etc. Input can also be fed through devices like CD-ROM, pen drive, scanner, etc.
Processing the information - Operations on the input data are carried out based on the instructions
provided in the programs.
Storing the information - After processing, the information gets stored in the primary or secondary
storage area.
Producing output - The processed information and other details are communicated to the outside world
through output devices like monitor, printer, etc.

Early Computing Devices

People used sticks, stones, and bones as counting tools before computers were invented. More
computing devices were produced as technology advanced and the human intellect improved over time.
Let us look at a few of the early-age computing devices used by mankind.

1. Abacus
Abacus was invented by the Chinese around 4000 years ago. It’s a wooden rack with metal rods with
beads attached to them. The abacus operator moves the beads according to certain guidelines to
complete arithmetic computations.
 2. Napier’s Bone
John Napier devised Napier’s Bones, a manually operated calculating apparatus. For calculating, this
instrument used 9 separate ivory strips (bones) marked with numerals to multiply and divide. It was also
the first machine to calculate using the decimal point system.

3. Pascaline
Pascaline was invented in 1642 by Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician and philosopher. It is thought
to be the first mechanical and automated calculator. It was a wooden box with gears and wheels inside.
 4. Stepped Reckoner or Leibniz wheel
In 1673, a German mathematician-philosopher named Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz improved on Pascal’s
invention to create this apparatus. It was a digital mechanical calculator known as the stepped reckoner
because it used fluted drums instead of gears.

5. Difference Engine
In the early 1820s, Charles Babbage created the Difference Engine. It was a mechanical computer that
could do basic computations. It was a steam-powered calculating machine used to solve numerical
tables such as logarithmic tables.
6. Analytical Engine 
Charles Babbage created another calculating machine, the Analytical Engine, in 1830. It was a
mechanical computer that took input from punch cards. It was capable of solving any mathematical
problem and storing data in an indefinite memory. Babbage only built a small part of the Analytical
Engine, but Lovelace’s efforts have been remembered. In 1843 Ada Lovelace published a translation
from the French of an article on the Analytical Engine by an Italian engineer, Luigi Menabrea, to which
Ada added extensive notes of her own. The Notes included the first published description of a stepwise
sequence of operations for solving certain mathematical problems and Ada is often referred to as 'the
first programmer'. The early programming language Ada was named for her, and the second Tuesday in
October has become Ada Lovelace Day, on which the contributions of women to science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics are honoured.

Charles Babbage was considered to be the father of computing after his concept, and then later the
invention of the Analytical Engine in 1837. The Analytical Engine contained an ALU (arithmetic logic
unit), basic flow control, and integrated memory; hailed as the first general-purpose computer concept.
 7. Tabulating machine 
An American Statistician – Herman Hollerith invented this machine in the year 1890. Tabulating Machine
was a punch card-based mechanical tabulator. It could compute statistics and record or sort data or
information. Hollerith began manufacturing these machines in his company, which ultimately became
International Business Machines (IBM) in 1924.

8. Differential Analyzer 
Vannevar Bush introduced the first electrical computer, the Differential Analyzer, in 1930. This machine
is made up of vacuum tubes that switch electrical impulses in order to do calculations. It was capable of
performing 25 calculations in a matter of minutes.
9. Mark I 
Howard Aiken planned to build a machine in 1937 that could conduct massive calculations or
calculations using enormous numbers. The Mark I computer was constructed in 1944 as a collaboration
between IBM and Harvard.