Chapter 1. Introduction To Computer

Outlin
Chapter 1: Computer es
History
Introduction to Characteristics
Computer Types
Generations
Applications
Social Impact
Dr. Rahman Ali, University of Peshawar.
rahmanac1@gmail.com
Asmat Ali, GHSS no. 1, Mingora Swat.
aasmat76@gmail.com
Computer – An Introduction
 What is Computer?
• Derived from the Latin word “Computare”, i.e. to compute.
• A programmed device with a set of instructions to perform specific tasks and
generate results at a high speed.
• Four basic components.

 Input devices
 Output devices
 Memory
 CPU
Introduction To Computer & ICT – by Dr. Rahman Ali & Asmat Ali 3
History of Computer
 First Mechanical Computer
• The “Analytical Engine”, proposed by
Charles Babbage in 1837 and built by
Henry Babbage in 1910.
• Consisted of flow control, punch cards,

ALU and memory.
 First Programmable Computer

• Created by Konard Zuse in 1938.
• Electromechanical binary
programmable computer, the first
really functional machine.
History of Computer
 Turing Machine
• Proposed by Alan Turing in 1936.
• An information processor working
through a series of instructions,
performing read/write and moving to the
next instruction.
 Colossus
• Developed by Tommy Flower in 1943.
• The first electric programmable
computer.
• Primarily aimed to decrypt and read

messages during world war II.
History of Computer
 First Digital Computer
• “ABC”, Developed by Atansoff and Cliff
Berry in 1942.
• Used 300 vacuum tubes for
computations.
• “ENIAC”, developed by J. Presper and
John Mauchley in 1946.
• Consisted of 18000 vacuum tubes.
 UNIVAC
• The first computer with program
stored in memory.
• Built in 1950.
History of Computer
 Whirlwind Machine
• The first computer with RAM.
• Introduced by MIT in 1955.
 First Desktop Computers

• “Programma 101”, introduced in
1964.
• “HP 9100A”, introduced by HP in

1968
History of Computer
 The First Workstation
• Xerox Alto, introduced in 1974.
• Fully functional computer with display, mouse, windows, menus and icons.
 The First Microprocessor

• Intel 4004.
• Introduced by Intel in 1971
 The First Personal Computer

• Altair 8800, introduced by Ed Roberts in 1975.
• Consisted of a series of switches for input/output by turning ON and OFF a
series of lights.
History of Computer
 IBM 5100
• The first portable computer, released
in September 1975.
• CRT display
• Tape drive
• 1.9 MHz processor and 64 KB of RAM
 The First Laptop

• Osborne 1, introduced in 1981.
• 5 inch display
• Two floppy drives
• 64 KB memory
• Modem
• CP/M 2.2 operating system
History of Computer
 IBM PC
• The first personal computer, introduced
by IBM in 1981.
• 8088 processor
• 16 KB of memory extendable to 256 KB.
• MS-DOS operating system.
 Compaq Portable
• Introduced by Compaq in 1983.
• Compatible with programs developed
for IBM computers.
History of Computer
 Windows 1.0
• Released in 1985.
• The first version of MS windows line.
• 16 bit multi-tasking shell on the top
of MS-DOS
• Overlapping windows in Windows
2.0.
 First Multimedia Computer

• M2500 XL/2 and M4020 SX introduced in 1992
by Radio Shack.
• Ran programs that combined video, animations,

graphics and audio
M2500 XL/2
History of Computer
 History, 1990 – onward
• 1990 – HTML was proposed by Tim Berners Lee. Microsoft released windows 3.0
• 1992 – Microsoft released windows 3.1.
• 1994 – PC video games.
• 1995 – Windows 95 which merged MS-DOS and windows platforms.
• 1996 – Google Search Engine.
• 1998 – Windows 98, a graphical operating system.
• 1999 – Wireless internet.
• 2001 – Mac OS X, a Unix based operating system used in apple computers.
• 2003 – The first 64 bit processor, “Athlon 64.
• 2004 – Mozilla Firefox was released and Facebook was founded.
• 2005 – YouTube was founded.
History of Computer
 History, 1990 – onward (continued)
• 2006 – Apple introduced MacBook pro, the first dual core laptop computer.
• 2007 – Steve Jobs launched iPhone.
• 2009 – Microsoft released windows 7.
• 2010 – Apple introduced iPad, a multi touch screen computer.
• 2011 – Google introduced ChromeBook which runs Google chrome OS.
• 2015 – Microsoft released windows 10. Apple introduced the Apple Watch.
• 2016 – China’s Sunway TaihuLight supercomputer became the world’s most
powerful computer.
Characteristics of Computer
 Accuracy
• Every calculation should be
performed with the same accuracy.
• High degree of accuracy.

• Any inaccuracy is the result of
inaccurate data.
 Speed
• Modern computers run millions and
billions of instructions in a second.
• Even the slowest computers should

perform calculations much faster
than humans.
 Reliability
• High speed.
• Provided accurate data, it should output correct data.
• Results should be reliable.
 Automation
• To be able to schedule tasks to be performed without human intervention.
• Procedures that are executed one after another in an automated manner.
 Diligence
• Free from tiredness.
• No fatigue.
• No lack of concentration.
 Versatility
• Should be able to be used in multiple areas:
 Scientific research
 Medicine
 Multimedia
 Astronomy
 Agriculture and many more.
 Memory
• Stores huge amounts of data, from GBs to hundreds of TBs
 AI and Decision Making

• Modern computers can imitate human intelligence and can perform intelligent
decision making alongside logical and arithmetic operations.
• AI is applied in robotics, gaming, medicine, scientific research and more.
Types of Computer
 Embedded Computer
• A small computer device built into another
device, e.g. the computer embedded in an ATM
machine.
 Personal Computer
• Also called PC or desktop computer.
• Screen separated from the case containing mother
board and power supply.
• Mouse, keyboard and other external peripherals.
• Several categories including:
 Tower model
 Desktop model
 Laptop and Notebook
 Tablet
 Hybrid computer
 Personal digital assistant (PDA) and more.
Types of Computer
 Wearable Computer
• Computer devices strapped to human body, e.g.
 Smart watches
 Devices used for augmented memory
 Devices used for immediate access to important
data.
 Devices used to take notes.
 Microcomputer
• A standard personal computer
• Consists of CPU, RAM, Modem, sound card
and video card etc.
Types of Computer
 Server Computer
• Run server software to respond to clients.
• Powerful, capable of responding to several clients.
 Mainframe Computer
• Powerful computers
• Multiple user interfaces
• Reliability, availability, serviceability.
• Applied where processes are to be done
with no downtime.
Types of Computer
 Mini Computer
• Mid range computers.
• Small computers with most of the features of large
computers.
• Smaller than mainframe and larger than
microcomputers.
• Mostly used as server computers.
PDP-8, a minicomputer from the 1960s
 Workstation
• Comparatively powerful computer for
individual use.
• More capable and faster than PC.
• Used for processor and memory
extensive tasks.
Types of Computer
 Super Computer
• A very powerful computer or a collection of several computers acting as a single
computer.
• Very powerful.
• Used to solve problems where the primary constraint is processing speed.
• Used in nuclear research, weather forecasting, Bitcoin mining and more.
Ran System Cores Ran System Cores

k k
1 Sunway TaihuLight - China 10,649,600 6 Sequoia - United States 1,572,864
2 Tianhe-2 (MilkyWay-2) - 7 Trinity - United States
3,120,000 979,968
China
3 Piz Daint - Switzerland 361,760 8 Cori - United States 622,336
4 Gyoukou - Japan 19,860,000 9 Oakforest- Japan 556,104
5 Titan - United States 560,640 10 K computer - Japan 705,024
List of top ten supercomputers as of 2018,
ranked by power.
Generations of Computer
A new release of computer hardware because of advancement in technology is
referred to as “Generation”. Since 1946, there have been five known generations of
computers, Generation 1 through 5.
 First Generation: 1946 – 1959
• Vacuum tubes were used for memory and circuitry for CPU
• Very expensive.
• Batch processing operating systems.
• Used punch cards, paper tape and magnetic tape.
• Machine language.
• Slow and Unreliable.
• Very large size.
• Power intensive
• Examples:
 ENIAC
 EDVAC
 IBM-650 IBM-650
 Second Generation: 1959 – 1965
• Transistors were used instead of vacuum tubes.
• Comparatively reliable.
• Comparatively lesser power intensive.
• Faster than first generation computers.
• Machine and assembly languages.
• Examples include IBM 1620, CDC 1604 and UNIVAC 1108.
IBM-1620
 Third Generation: 1965 – 1971
• Transistors were replaced by IC’s (integrated circuits).
• An IC has several transistors, resistors and capacitors integrated together.
• More reliable and faster.
• Generated lesser heat.
• Expensive
• Lesser power consumption.
• High level languages like FORTRAN and COBOL.
• Examples:
 IBM-370/168
 TDC-316
 IBM-360
A third generation computer

made by IBM
 Fourth Generation: 1971 – 1980
• VLSI (very large scale integrated) circuits based computers.
• Smaller in size.
• Faster and reliable.
• Advanced networking.
• Easily available.
• Comparatively less expensive.
• Examples:
 DEC 10
 PDP 11
 CRAY-1
PDP 11
 Firth Generation: 1980 – onward
• ULSI (ultra large scale integrated) circuits.
• Microprocessor chips with up to ten million electronic elements.
• Artificial intelligence.
• Natural language processing.
• Parallel processing.
• User friendly interfaces.
• Multimedia support.
• Low price.
• Powerful.
• Smaller in size and lesser heat generation.
• Examples: Modern day PC’s, laptops, smartphones, mainframe and super
computers.
Applications of Computer
Computer has evolved as a mean of solving various problems in human society.
From the earliest form of computer to modern day supercomputer, it has affected
the society in several ways. Computer is in use in various fields that include:
 Management
 Banking
 Industry
 Engineering
 Satellite
 Astronomy
 Travelling
 Traffic control
 Medicine
 Research
Social Impact of Computer Age
 Positive Impacts
• Very Fast and efficient data processing in small time.
• Large storage within a small place.
• Multi-tasking and multi-processing.
• Easy access to data.
• Security and privacy to sensitive data.
• Results with no or less errors.
 Negative Impacts
• Highly expensive hardware and software.
• Highly skillful individuals required to operate a system.
• Data piracy.
• Rise in unemployment.
• Damage to storage devices causes huge data loss.
• Several threats to data security.
• Rapidly changing technology.
References
 Ali, R. & Ali, A. (2018). Chapter 1: Introduction to Computer. Introduction

to Computer and ICT – 1st Edition (pp. 1-20). Mahla Jangi, Qissa
Khawani, Peshawar, Pakistan: Al-ilum Publications.
Thanks!
Any Questions
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Outlin

Dr. Rahman Ali, University of Peshawar.

Asmat Ali, GHSS no. 1, Mingora Swat.

• Four basic components.

• Consisted of flow control, punch cards,

 First Programmable Computer

• Primarily aimed to decrypt and read

 First Desktop Computers

• “HP 9100A”, introduced by HP in

 The First Microprocessor

 The First Personal Computer

 The First Laptop

 First Multimedia Computer

• Ran programs that combined video, animations,

• High degree of accuracy.

• Even the slowest computers should

 AI and Decision Making

Ran System Cores Ran System Cores

A third generation computer

 Ali, R. & Ali, A. (2018). Chapter 1: Introduction to Computer. Introduction

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