BIT100

INTRODUCTION TO
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTERS

SESSION 5: General introduction to the program and
course
 SESSION OBJECTIVES

• Understanding the history of computers

• Computer generations

• Types of computers

• Information processing cycle

• The six generations of computers are:

• Mechanical era(1623-1900)

• First generation electronic computers(1937- 1953)

• Second generation (1954-1962)

• Third generation (1963-1972)

• Forth generation (1972-1984)

• Fifth generation (1984-1990)

• Sixth generation (1990 - present)

 Mechanical Era

• Abacus (3000 BC)

• It was used to perform addition, subtraction, division and

multiplication.

• It consists of wooden beads and calculation were performed

by moving these beads properly.
 Mechanical Era
• Napier’s bone (17th century)
• It was a cupboard multiplication calculator invented by john
Napier.

• It was used to perform difficult multiplication operations to

simple addition of entries in a table
 Mechanical Era

• Pascaline (17th century)

• It was invented by Blaise Pascal.

• It was first mechanical adding machine

• It had a series of wheels with teeth which could be turned using hands.
 Mechanical Era

• Difference Engine and Analytical Engine(1823 and 1833)

• It was designed by Charles Babbage who was English

mathematician, engineer, philosopher and inventor.

• He originated the concept of the programmable computer.

• A general purpose computer controlled by a list of instructions

 Mechanical Era

• Punched cards (1890)

• They were able to read information that which have been

punched into the cards automatically
 First generation
computers
• First generation computers were used during 1942-1955 .

• Based on Vacuum Tube which was a glass (tube) that controlled

and amplified the electronic signals

• Consume more power with limited performance

• High cost

• Uses assembly language – to prepare programs. These were

translated into machine level language for execution.
 Mechanical Era

• .
 Second generation 1955-
1964
• Bell Lab invented the transistor – function like vacuum tubes but
smaller, lower power consumption, more reliable.

• Transistor is a small device that transfer electronic signals

across a resister

• Lower cost
 Second generation 1955-
1964
• Magnetic core memories were used as main memory which
is a random-access non-volatile memory

• Magnetic tapes and magnetic disks were used as secondary

memory

• Hardware for floating point arithmetic operations was

developed.
 Second generation 1955-
1964

•.
 Third generation 1963-
1971
•Jack Kilby developed Integrated Circuit (IC)
• An IC combined several electronic computers on a small silicon chip
• IBM introduced System/360 – a highly configurable, highly backward
compatible, mainframe computer system.
• Small Scale Integration and Medium Scale Integration technology
were implemented in CPU, I/O processors etc.
• Smaller & better performance
• Comparatively lesser cost

• Faster processors
 Third generation 1963-
1971
•In the beginning magnetic core memories were used. Later they were
replaced by semiconductor memories (RAM & ROM)

•Introduced microprogramming - Microprogramming, parallel

processing (pipelining, multiprocessor system etc), multiprogramming,
multi-user system (time shared system) etc were introduced.

•Operating system software were introduced

•Cache and virtual memories were introduced

 Third generation 1963-
1971
•.
 Fourth generation 1972-
1984
•Microprocessors were introduced as CPU– Complete processors and
large section of main memory could be implemented in a single chip

•Tens of thousands of transistors can be placed in a single chip (VLSI

design implemented)
 Fourth generation 1972-
1984
•CRT screen, laser & ink jet printers, scanners etc were developed.

•Semiconductor memory chips were used as the main memory.

•Secondary memory was composed of hard disks

•Floppy disks & magnetic tapes were used for backup memory
 Fourth generation 1972-
1984
•CRT screen, laser & ink jet printers, scanners etc were developed.

•Semiconductor memory chips were used as the main memory.

•Secondary memory was composed of hard disks

•Floppy disks & magnetic tapes were used for backup memory
 Fourth generation 1972-
1984
•Parallelism, pipelining cache memory and virtual memory were applied
in a better way

•LAN and WANS were developed (where desktop work stations

interconnected)

•Introduced C language and Unix OS

 Fourth generation 1972-
1984
•Introduced Graphical User Interface

•Less power consumption

•High performance, lower cost and very compact

•Much increase in the speed of operation

• Examples are Apple Macintosh and IBM PC
 Fourth generation 1972-
•. 1984
 Fifth generation 1983-
1990
•Computers based on artificial intelligence are available

•Computers use extensive parallel processing, multiple pipelines,

•multiple processors etc

•Massive parallel machines and extensively distributed system

connected by communication networks fall in this category.

•Introduced ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration) technology – Intel’s

Pentium 4 micro processor contains 55 million transistors millions of
components on a single IC chip.
 Fifth generation 1983-
1990
•Superscalar processors, Vector processors, SIMD processors, 32 bit
micro controllers and embedded processors, Digital Signal Processors
(DSP) etc have been developed.

•Memory chips up to 1 GB, hard disk drives up to 180 GB and optical

disks up to 27 GB are available (still the capacity is increasing)

•Object oriented language like JAVA suitable for internet programming

has been developed.
 Fifth generation 1983-
1990
•Portable note book computers introduced Storage technology
advanced – large main memory and disk storage available

•Introduced World Wide Web. (and other existing applications like e-

mail, e Commerce, Virtual libraries/Classrooms, multimedia applications
etc.)

•New operating systems developed – Windows 95/98/XP/…, LINUX, etc.

 Fifth generation 1983-
•. 1990
 Fifth generation 1983-
1990
•Some inventions of the time are

•WWW, HTML, HTTP, Web TV, java, DVD, iPod, Youtube etc

•Examples are:
• iMac ,
• Sun ultra workstation etc
 Categories of
Computers/Machines
•Much as we can talk of the current generation of computers, they
come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

•Hence computers nowadays can be classified according to their

processing power into the following categories:
• supercomputers,
• mainframe computers,
• workstations,
• microcomputers,
• microcontrollers.
 Supercomputers
•Supercomputers are high-capacity machines with thousands of
processors that can perform more than several trillion calculations per
second.
• They are the most expensive and fastest computers available.

•They have been used for numerous but generally for the processing of
enormous volumes of data,
• doing the census count,
• forecasting weather,
• designing aircraft,
• modelling molecules,
• and breaking encryption codes.
 Supercomputers

•New generation may be coming that relies on nanotechnology

•Molecule-size nanostructures are used to create tiny machines for

holding data or performing tasks.
• ( Nano means “one-billionth.”)
 Mainframes
•Mainframes are water- or air-cooled computers

•Vary in size from small, to medium, to large,

depending on their use

•Mainframes are used by large organizations such as:

• banks,
• airlines,
• insurance companies,
• and colleges
for processing millions of transactions.
 Mainframes

•Often users access a mainframe by means of a terminal

• which has a display screen and a keyboard and can input and
output data but cannot by itself process data.

•Mainframes process billions of instructions per second.

 Workstations
•Workstations are expensive, powerful personal computers usually used for:
• complex scientific,
• mathematical,
• and engineering calculations

•They are also used for computer-aided design and computer-aided

manufacturing.

•The capabilities of low end workstations overlap those of high-end desktop

microcomputers.
 Microcomputers

•Microcomputers, also called personal computers ( PCs )

• They can fit next to a desk or on a desktop or can be carried

around.

• They either are stand-alone machines or are connected to a

computer network, such as a local area network.

•A local area network (LAN) connects, usually by special cable, a group

of desktop PCs and other devices such as printers in an office
 Microcomputers
•Microcomputers are of several types:
• desktop PCs,
• tower PCs,

• notebooks (laptops),
• netbooks,
• mobile internet devices (MIDs),

• and personal digital assistants—handheld computers or

palmtops.
 Microcomputers- desktop
PCs
•DESKTOP PCs Desktop PCs are older microcomputers whose case or
main housing sits on a desk, with keyboard in front and monitor
(screen) often on top.
 Microcomputers- tower
PCs
•These are microcomputers whose case sits as a “tower,” often on the floor
beside a desk, thus freeing up desk surface space.

•Some desktop computers, such as Apple’s iMac,

no longer have a boxy housing; most of the computer
components are built into the back of the flat-panel display screen.
 notebooks (laptops)

• Notebook computers , also called laptop computers , are lightweight

portable computers with built-in monitor, keyboard, hard-disk drive,
CD/DVD drive, battery, and AC adapter that can be plugged into an
electrical outlet; they weigh anywhere from 1.8 to 9 pounds.
 Netbooks
• Low-cost, lightweight, computers with tiny

dimensions and functions designed for basic tasks,

such as web searching, email, and word processing.

• They have little processing power, and have screens between 8.9 and 12 inches
wide diagonally.

• Netbooks fill a technological category between notebooks

and handheld devices.

 Mobile internet devices
(MIDs)
•Smaller than notebook computers but larger and more powerful than PDAs mobile
internet devices (MIDs) are for consumers and business professionals.

•Fully internet integrated, they are highly compatible

with desktop microcomputers and laptops.

•The initial models focus on data communication,

•not voice communication.
 Personal digital
assistants (PDAs)

•Personal digital assistants (PDAs) , also called handheld computers or palmtops,

combine personal organization tools
• schedule planners,
• address books,
• to-do lists—with the ability in some cases to send email and faxes.

• Some PDAs have touch-sensitive screens. Some also connect to desktop computers
for sending or receiving information.
 Related concepts
•
•Microcontrollers , also called embedded computers

• tiny, specialized microprocessors installed in “smart” appliances

and automobiles.

•These microcontrollers enable microwave ovens, for example, to store

data about how long to cook your potatoes and at what power setting.
 Related concepts
•A server, or network server , is a central computer

• that holds collections of data (databases) and programs for

connecting or supplying services to PCs, workstations, and other
devices, which are called clients.

•These clients are linked by a wired or wireless network. The entire

network is called a client/server network.