COMPUTER

COMPUTER, or computing machine, a device that performs mathematical and logical operations on
symbols and other forms of information and produces results in a form readable by humans or by
machine. Early computers were used mainly to compute, that is, to add, subtract, multiply, divide, and
so on. Today, computers do a great variety of other tasks, such as text processing, graphics, and the
handling of huge quantities of information.
Machines that perform simple calculations, such as adding machines, are usually called calculators.
Calculators generally operate in fixed ways, by means of buttons and keys. Although computers are
often controlled via instructions typed in at a keyboard, their main functions are usually regulated by
internally stored instructions known as software or programs. oth calculators and computers work by
!uggling symbols of some kind.
Computers are the central tools in what is becoming an information society. "ost of us spend a great
deal of time handling information. #e read, write, listen to the radio, watch television, make
calculations, plan, and dream$ all of these are information activities, and
all can be computer%aided.
Computers can perform repetitive tasks rapidly, accurately, and endlessly. Their &attention& seldom
wanders$ they do not 'as a rule( complain. Common, everyday applications of computers include the
controls in such devices as microwave ovens, T) sets, stereo systems, automobile ignition and fuel
in!ection systems, telephone circuit switches, and burglar alarms$ computers also compile and print
monthly bills.
Digital computers are making ma!or contributions to the economies of many countries. The first
digital computer appeared on the market in *+,-. y *+.- there were about /-,--- general%purpose
computers in the 0nited 1tates, with about 2-,--- in the rest of the world. The microprocessor%%a
computer on a chip3first appeared in *+.-. y *+., there were about 2,-,--- general%purpose
computers 'excluding pocket calculators( in the 0nited 1tates. The personal computer 'see below(
became available in *+.,. As of *++2 there were about 4, million personal computers in the 0nited
1tates including 5+ million in homes and 6 million in schools, colleges, and universities. The total is
expected to increase by more than *, percent annually.
Large computers have made equally impressive gains. A computer such as the Cray%5 can perform
more than * billion operations per second$ personal computers can handle between * million and 5,
million operations per second%%more than the large computers of a decade earlier. #hile
supercomputers are indispensable for such pro!ects as long%range weather forecasting, personal
computers are becoming necessities for more humdrum tasks%%such as writing this article. '1ee also
section The Computer 7ndustry below.(

TYPES OF COMPUTER
There are two main types of computer8 analog and digital. They differ in construction, in the way
information is represented inside them, and in how they respond to instructions. An analog computer
works by mimicking whatever it is computing$ it does this by varying its own physical properties in a
continuous way. This response is an analog of the process embodied in the problem it is working on. A
general%purpose analog computer is equipped with resistors, capacitors, and inductors that can be
interconnected to represent the conditions of a problem. 9igital computers, on the other hand, change
the values of numbers 'more specifically, binary digits, or bits( that represent the components of the
problem being computed. The numbers in a digital computer can be used to represent other symbols as
well, such as letters, plus and minus signs, and so on. 9igital computers,
computers, work in finite steps. :ybrid computers 'see below(, as the name implies, combine features
of the two main types.
Analog Computers. Analog computers come in a variety of forms. A common analog computer is the
automatic transmission of an automobile. 7t &computes& the linkage between the engine and the drive
shaft by using pressure differences on fluids within the transmission to control the shifting of the gears.
"oving the shift lever or changing the speed of the car causes the computer to change its internal
mechanical state. "ost mechanical analog computers are relatively large, but there are also microchip
analog computers. These computers use tiny mechanical elements, such as rods and springs, etched in
wafers of silicon by techniques similar to those used for the microelectronic chips in digital computers
'see below(.
Analog computers are &programmed& by setting up the physical characteristics of the computer
components. 7n scientific computers this is usually done by switching components into or out of
circuits, interconnecting components by patch cords, and changing the settings of variable resistors,
capacitors, and inductors in the circuits. 7n an automobile transmission the program is changed by
moving the gear shift lever, causing the fluids in the transmission to take different paths and produce
different results.
Except for production items such as automatic transmissions and music synthesi;ers, analog computers
tend to be tailored to the particular computational task at hand. There are few large general%purpose
analog computers.
Digital Computers. Almost all digital computers are electronic. All have somewhat similar
components for accepting, sorting, manipulating, and transmitting information, and all make use of a
relatively small number of basic functions to perform their tasks. The most important characteristics of
digital computers are speed, ability to operate in exactly repeatable ways, and flexibility. ecause of
these characteristics, digital computers can be used in an enormous variety of applications, from
running a wristwatch to guiding a spacecraft.
There are our main categories o !igital computer"
supercomputers, mainframe computers, minicomputers, and microcomputers. 'A personal
computer can be thought of as a general%purpose microcomputer.( All digital computers share the same
general design characteristics, but differ in si;e and computing speed, or both.
Personal Computers. <ersonal computers are smaller varieties of general%purpose digital computers.
There are more personal computers in existence than all other types of general%purpose digital
computer combined, and the ratio of personalcomputers to other digital computers is increasing. 7t is
worth pointing out the main characteristics ofpersonal computers.
7n general, a personal computer has a single microprocessor chip as its central processor unit 'see
below(. <ersonal computers tend to be more limited than the latest minicomputers and mainframe
computers, but are more powerful than the mainframe computers of the early *+/-=s. The limitations
are generally those of cost. As the costs of
the basic components continue to decrease, ever more powerful personal computers will become
affordable for many people. A powerful and more expensive form of microcomputer, called the
engineering workstation, appeared in the mid%*+/-=s. Engineering workstations generally employ the
fastest microprocessors and high%resolution graphics displays. "any use >71C processors 'see below(.
As personal computers increase in capability, the distinction between personal computer and
workstation becomes blurred, as does the distinction between microcomputer and minicomputer.
"any things possible on large machines can be performed on personal computers, although not, in
general, as quickly. ?arge computers are required for some complex information%processing functions$
for other functions, such as routine text or document processing, desktop publishing, and simple
accounting, personal computers are often more effective than larger computers.
#$%ri! Computers. A hybrid computer is part analog, part digital$ it uses each basic type where most
appropriate. An important application of hybrid computers is in simulators such as pilot trainers. The
actions of the simulator, such as physical movements the cockpit, instruments, control levers, and so
on, are controlled by the analog part of the computer, while the actions to be performed and the
reactions to the trainee=s and instructor=s responses are controlled by the digital part. 7n the most
advanced simulators the display representing the outside world may be generated by a special digital
graphics
computer.
"any music synthesi;ers are hybrid computers. 7n the analog part, components such as tone generators
and control potentiometers '&faders&( remain, but new capabilities may be digital. @or example, signal
processors add sounds not easily formed using conventional analog techniques. 9igital recorder are
also hybrid computers, with the input and output systems mostly analog and internal signal processing
mostly digital.
ARC#&TECTURE
The term &architecture& means much the same thing applied to a computer as to a building. @or
example, digital computers, like most houses and offices, have a common basic architecture. The basic
design for most digital computers was proposed by Aohn von
Beumann in the late *+6-=s. A computer, like a house, is a system8 a logical interconnection of
fundamental units, each of which has a specific purpose. These units are often called subsystems and
are composed of smaller component units, each serving some set purpose, and each often made up of
still smaller units.
The five main subsystems of a digital computer are8 the control unit, the arithmetic and logic unit, the
memory system, the inputCoutput system, and the internal communications system.
Memor$. "emory usually comes in two varieties8 main memory and secondary memory. Main
memor$ is set up like a post office$ it consists of an array of microscopic rooms'cells( each having a
unique address or number. An item of information is stored in memory by assigning it an address. To
retrieve the information, the computer &looks& in the cell and copies down the contents in its
&headquarters& unit, to be described shortly. The capacity of a single memory cell is called a word. @or
a personal computer a word is typically *4 binary digits, or bits, long. An /%bit length is called a byte.
Typical mainframe%computer words range from 25 to 46 bits '6 to / bytes( in length, while
minicomputers have word lengths ranging from *4 to 25 bits '5 to 6 bytes(. "icrocomputers typically
use word lengths of /, *4, or 25 bits '*, 5, or 6 bytes(.
Secon!ar$ memor$ is usually located outside the main part of the computer. ecause secondary
memory is slower than main memory, it is used mostly to store informationnot immediately needed by
the computer. To use secondary memory, the headquarters unit of the computer usually transfers the
contents of part of the secondary memory to themain memory. "ain memory is expensive, so
computer designers store as much information as possible in secondary memory.
Central Processor Unit. The core pair ofsubsystems of a computer consists of the control unit 'C0(
and the arithmetic and logic unit 'A?0(. Together, these make up the central processor unit, or C<0
'the headquarters(. 7n the C<0 the computer manipulates data, keeps track of its instructions, and
controls the rest of the subsystems. 7n most microcomputers the C<0 is on a single microelectronic
chip. "inicomputers often have the C0 on one chip, the A?0 on another, and the instructions
governing both on a third. "ainframe computers have their C<0s distributed over many chips. 7n all
cases, the C<0 occupies a relatively small space.
The C<0 deals directly with the program stored in memory. A program is simply a list of instructions
that tell the computer what to do. "ost computer programs consist of two types of information8
instructions and data. The instructions are interpreted by the C0, which then controls whatever needs
to be done, such as an addition in the A?0. The instructions are given to the C0 in a form known as
an operation code 'op code(%%so called because the code tells the computer what to do next. "ost of the
computer=s tasks have to do with manipulating data8 moving memory words from place to place,
adding, subtracting, and comparing and making changes in A typical sequence of instructions to the
C<0, translated into English, might look like this8
%%@etch a byte of data from location 25,*4$
%%<ut it in >egister A$
%%@etch a byte of data from location 25,*.$
%%Add it to whatever is in >egister A$
%%<ut the contents of >egister A 'the results o the addition( in location 25,*/, thereby
destroying whatever was in that location before$
%%@etch a byte of data from location *4,/2$
%%1ubtract it from whatever is in >egister A$
%%Check to see if the result of the subtraction is a positive number$
%%7f so, put the contents of >egister A in location 25,*+$
%%7f not, put the contents of >egister A in location *4,/6$ and so on.
The ALU generally carries out the following functions8 addition, subtraction, logical operations,
comparisons, and various bit%manipulation tasks. A?0 communicates via wires to a number of
registers8 sets of memory circuits that act as temporary storage for activities in progress. There are
usually at least two sets of registers in a computer8 one set for the use of the C<0, the other for keeping
track of the instructions in the program in progress. @oremost among the C<0 registers is the
accumulator, which is the unit that directly serves the A?0. The latest results of whatever is going on
are usually to be found in the accumulator. 1ome other registers are the program counter, which keeps
track of the addresses of the instructions to be fetched from memory$ the stack pointer, which keeps
track of intermediate results of computations$ and various general%purpose registers.
The CU decodes instructions fetched from memory, generates and supplies the control signals
necessary to move data around the computer, and tells the A?0 what to do next.
Other Architectures. Although most computers incorporate von Beumann architecture, the use of
variant architectures is growing. )on Beumann microprocessors are of two main types8 C71C 'complex
instruction set computer( and >71C 'reduced instruction set computer(. The traditional microprocessor
is a C71C whose instructions allow a great variety of commands to be executed$ an >71C has fewer
instructions but is faster. >71C processors may be superior where large numbers of relatively simple
calculations are required, as in graphics%intensive applications$ C71C processors may have the edge in
general%purpose applications.
@or both C71C and >71C processors the time is coming when the computing speed will be limited by
need to run everything through the single 1ome new supercomputers, such as the connection machine,
solve this problem by using arrays of von Beumann microprocessors. Connection machines are used
where large amounts of similar data are to be processed, as in weather forecasting and high%resolution
graphics. A parallel machine distributes the data among its processors and performs the calculations
together. Beural network computers, another form of parallel processors architecture, use very simple
microprocessors. Each microprocessor acts like a neuron, responding to signals from several different
inputs. The computer comprises a highly interconnected network of these microprocessors. Beural
network computers can be taught$ as new data come in, they ad!ust the responses of individual
microprocessors andCor change the interconnection
paths. Beural computers are not programmed by means of algorithms such as those used by other of
digital computers$ rather, the connections, the response algorithms, and the training laws are specified
by the programmer.
&nternal Communications. A computer must have a central communications path connecting all the
main subsystems. 7n many computers this channel is called the bus. "any mini% and microcomputer
systems incorporate a general%purpose bus that can connect a variety of special%purpose functions to
the computer. #ith such a bus, a computer can be altered piecemeal to meet demand or as the
technology changes.
&nput an! Output. The purpose of the input function of the computer is to convert information from
the external world%%that is, images, sounds, keystrokes, pointer positions, thermocouple voltages, and
so on%%to binary digits.
The output function, by a reverse process, converts binary digits to visual displays, printed characters,
sounds, control voltages, and the like. asically, anything measurable, and that can be converted into
an electrical analog of binary digits, can be used by a computer. Anything a computer can compute can,
in turn, be converted into a form understandable by humans or by other machines. Dne frequently used
inputCoutput consists of two elements8 an analog%to%digital converter and a digital%to%analog converter.
The first converts voltages, such as those used in an analog computer, to binary digits$ the
second converts binary digits to voltages.
T#E '&(ARY (UM'ER SYSTEM
All digital computers are basically collections of switches. Each switch has two possible positions8
open, &-&, or off$ and closed, &*&, or on. The two positions form the basis of the binary 'or two%valued8
-, *( number system. Dtherwise, the computer uses numbers as we do in the familiar decimal system.
'inar$ (um%ers. Any number can be represented in binary as well as in decimal form.@or example,
the number *,+/, expressed in binary form is *****-----*. As is the case with decimal numbers, we
can interpret a binary number as the sum of a series of powers of the base number. @or example, in
decimal notation8*,+/, E * F *-2 G + F *-5 G / F *-* G , F *--that is,*,+/, E * F *,--- G + F *-- G /
F *- G , F *.1imilarly, in binary notation8*****-----*E*F5*- G*F5+G*F5/G*F5.G*F5 4G- F 5, G -
F 56 G - F 5
2 G - F 55 G - F 5* G * F 5 -or, in decimal notation8*****-----* E * F *,-56 G * F ,*5 G * F 5,4 G *
F *5/ G* F 46 G - F 25 G - F *4 G - F / G - F 5 G * F *
Bumbers can be used to represent nonnumerical quantities, such as letters of the alphabet and
punctuation marks. A standard code is often used to assign specific patterns of binary numbers to
printable characters.
Logic Circuits. inary numbers can also be used to represent the results of logical operations. @or
example, if * represents T>0E and - represents, we can represent all functions logical 'except
&maybe&( by sequences of binary numbers. #e can then arrange the circuits of a computer to make
logical tests on statements given to the machine. These logic circuits enable the C<0 'central processor
unit( to react to an incoming instruction or piece of data.
@or example, an important feature of the computer 'and of the human mind( is the ability to decide
between two alternatives. 1uppose the computer must decide who in a group of people are at least 5*
years of age. The computer examines the item of data labelled &age& for each member of the group.
Each time it examines the age, a logic circuit in the C<0 compares the binary number for the age with
the binary number for 5*. 7f the age number is equal to or greater than 5*, the circuit produces a *, for
T>0E. 7f the age number is less than 5*, the circuit produces a -.
The type of circuit used for logical comparisons is called a gate because the circuit acts to pass on *=s,
like a gate in a fence, only for the logical conditions for which it is set 'see illustration(. There are two
basic kinds of gate8 AB9 and D>, representing the two basic kinds of logical decision to be made. 7n
the simplest form, each gate has two inputs and one output. An AB9 gate produces a * at its output
only if both of its inputs are also *. An D> gate produces a * at its output if either or both of its inputs
are *=s. A third kind of gate, called an HD> gate 'exclusive D>(, produces a * at its output only if one
input but not the other is a *. 7n other words, an AB9 gate produces -=s unless both inputs are *=s$ an
D> gate produces -=s only if both inputs are -$ an HD> gate demands one of each.
To see how this works, suppose a computer is in charge of baking a roast in a microwave oven. The
owner of the oven programs it to stop cooking the roast when either the preset time has elapsed or the
thermometer in the roast reads *6-I@. The logic gate used by the computer in the oven for this task is
an D> gate. At the start of the cooking process, neither the timer output nor the thermometer output
satisfies the conditions set in the oven 'timer output greater than or equal to 2- minutes, thermometer
output greater than or equal to *6-(. Therefore, the D> gate will produce a - at its output, since both
inputs are -. At some point one or both of the conditions will be met and the D> gate will produce a *,
thereby shutting down the oven.
Bow suppose the chef, knowing it is possible to get a thermometer reading that is toohigh if the
thermometer is touching the bone in the roast, sets the oven to stop cooking when the thermometer has
at least reached a certain point and the proper cooking time has elapsed. The difference between this
and the previous situation is that an AB9 gate is used in the microwave computer8 the gate produces
required * only when both the temperature has reached *6-I@. and the roast has cooked for 2- minutes.
All the complex logical operations of much more sophisticated computers can be reduced to
combinations of logic%gate operations much like those described.
COMPUTER #ARD)ARE
The descriptions to follow will generally apply to both larger computers and personal computers. 7n
some cases comments appropriate to one or other class will be made.
Electronic !igital computers consist of two main types of circuit8 logic gates and memory circuits. Df
course, a computer also contains other types of circuit, such as drivers, buffers, and oscillators. ut the
gates and flip%flops 'see below( perform the key logical functions of the computer. The gate circuit
produces its desired output only while the input signals are present$ when the input signal stops, the
output of the gate reverts to its ;ero input condition%%it has no memory. '1ee section ?ogic Circuits in
The inary Bumber 1ystem.(
Flip*lops are the key elements of memory circuits. A flip%flop is so called because its output voltage
flips from one value to another and stays there until it an input signal to change 'flop( back. The most
familiar, everyday example of a flip%flop is a light switch. 1uppose the light is off. #hen you push the
button, the switch closes and the light goes on. <ush gain, the switch opens and the light goes off. This
is the equivalent of a single%input flip%flop. 'Two%input flip%flops are represented by the wall toggle
switch.( The &on& position in a flip%flop is produced by a &set& signal, the &off& position by a &reset&
signal.
Computing as we know it today began with the development of electronic computers, the earliest
being machines that used vacuum tubes. Tubes switch faster and are more reliable than relays.
)acuum%tube computers are generally known as the first generation of electronic digital computers.
They predominated from about *+66 to about *+,/. The second generation of computers evolved a few
years after the invention of the transistor '*+6.(. Transistors are smaller, more reliable, and consume
far less power than vacuum tubes. The first transistor computers were not appreciably faster than
vacuum%tube computers but had other advantages. The second generation of computers lasted from
about *+,, to about *+44. '1ee also Transistor.(
The thir! generation of digital computers began with the introduction of the multiple form of the
transistor8 the integrated circuit. An integrated circuit crams as many circuit elements on a chip of
substrate%%generally silicon%%as is possible. 7ntegrated circuits of the mid%*+4-=s contained four or five
logic gates each. 7n the early *+.-=s the first ?17 'large scale integrated( circuits began to appear. 7n the
*+/-=s the emphasis was on )?17 and ):17 'very large scale integrated and very high speed
integrated( circuits. 7n *++* 7ntel produced a chip, the i/4-H<, a so%called supercomputing
microprocessor, containing 5., million transistors on a single chip$ this chip processes 46 bits at a time
at a rate of *-- million operations per second. The number of components on a chip has doubled every
year since *+44, a rate of progress likely to hold through the *++-=s.
The integrate! circuit has many advantages over the discrete transistor$ it is faster, more reliable,
consumes less power, and is significantly smaller. 5.,%million transistor chip mentioned above is a
rectangle approximately *- mm by *, mm 'equivalent to -.52 square inch($ the connections on the
chip are -./ micron 'millionths of a meter( wide. Electron beams are used to draw these extremely fine
lines. The small si;e of the elements is also the reason for the higher speed of integrated circuits. This
speed is about one foot '2- cm( per billionth of a second 'or nanosecond(. )acuum%tube computers had
speeds of ,-,--- operations per second. 7n second% and third%generation machines, the circuits operate
in the nanosecond range. @ourth%generation computers, also called supercomputers, perform tens or
hundreds of millions of operations per second. The Cray%5, for example, achieves its speed by being
arranged in a cylindrical shape to minimi;e the length of the wires connecting its various elements.
Optical microelectronic circuits may be the next step in the search for faster computer circuits.
Dptical circuits, in which data are transmitted as light pulses, take advantage of the fact that light
waves travel in glass fibers faster than electronic pulses in wires. #ith these techniques, small
computers will have the speed and capabilities of today=s supercomputers. '1ee also @iber Dptics.(
Central Processor Unit. The C<0 of a typical computer consists of a large number of logic gates and
flip%flops. The C0 uses many gates to select the processes to be performed in the A?0 and also to send
the results to other parts of the computer. The registers discussed earlier are mainly arrays of flip%flops.
A number of trends are occurring in the design and production of C<0s. 7n large computers, that is,
most mainframe and many minicomputers, the C<0 is composed of a set of chips, each with a
speciali;ed function. Each of the main elements of the C<0%%the A?0, the C0, the microinstructions
for the C0%%in these machines may be on one or more chips. '"icroinstructions essentially tell the C0
which wires and gates to connect in order to satisfy the requirements of an instruction.( This approach
permits the design of C<0s that are too complicated to be put on a single chip. 7t also allows changes
to be made in the design, after installation of the computer, by replacing one or two chips rather than
the entire C<0.
7n some large computers several C<0s share the task to be performed. This technique is known as
parallel processing. 1ome C<0s operate directly in terms of a programming language 'see below(
rather than in terms of the conventional architecture described above. An increasing variety in the
design and capabilities of C<0s is to be expected. Also likely are increasing departures from the
traditional architecture as processing capacity and speeds are increased.
<ossibly the biggest step in C<0 design came with the appearance of the microprocessor in *+.*. This
was 7ntel=s 6-66. The 6-66 was a relatively slow chip with a limited set of instructions, but it and its
immediate successors made possible pocket calculators and digital watches and led to the development
of the microcomputer. The 6-66 is a 6%bit microprocessor$ it processes information 6 binary digits at a
time. 7n *+.6 came /%bit microprocessors, which process information / bits at a time.
As mentioned earlier, the microprocessor 'or other C<0( takes in information a &word& at a time. @or
example, the C0 has the computer memory deliver / bits, all at once, to the accumulator. The C0 then,
example, adds the number --*-**-* to the bits in the accumulator, again all at once. A new set of /
bits now sits in the accumulator. Bext, the C0 has the / bits transferred to memory, all at once. 7n each
of these steps the / bits are operated on or moved simultaneously, but the individual actions3bringing
in, adding, copying the result%%are performed in sequence. 7n principle, the larger the si;e of the word
the C<0 can handle, the more information it can gulp at a time, and the faster it performs its tasks.
#hen the !ob of the C<0 is to manipulate individual characters, such as letters of the alphabet, then the
si;e of the C<0 word, once it has reached at least . bits, may not be as important.
Eight%bit microprocessors were the precursors of microcomputers, sophisticated computer terminals,
and a number of &smart& devices. The trend is far from complete. y *++* there were not only
hundreds of millions of 6%, /%, and *4%bit microprocessors, but also 25%bit microprocessors were being
used in most new personal computers and engineering workstations. y *++-, indeed, some 25%bit
microprocessors had exceeded the computational capabilities of contemporary minicomputer C<0s,
that is, more than *- million operations per second.
@inally, one of the inevitable consequences of microelectronic design was the, development of anentire
computer, including memory, on a chip. Df course, memory is relatively limited for such a small
computer, but it is enough to allow the development of such devices as controllers for automatic
automobile ignition and fuel systems and microwave ovens, as well as full%function &palmtop&
computers.
Memor$ De+ices. The dominant memory device for computers of the second generation and for many
mainframe computers of the third generation was the magnetic core, a doughnut%shaped bit of
magnetic material about the si;e of a small bead. These cores were strung in arrays inside the
computer, with small wires threading the doughnuts hori;ontally and vertically. Each core held a
magnetic charge. The direction of the magnetic flux determines whether it is a * or -. Core storage was
invented by An #ang in *+6/ and was the preferred method of storage during the *+,-=s and *+4-=s.
Core storage is a nonvolatile memory, that is, it holds its content even when the power is cut off. The
cores performed the functions of the earlier vacuum%tube flip%flops and gave rise to the term &core
memory&8 the main, fast memory of the computer. 7n time, core memories were supplanted by
microelectronic devices$ however, core memory is still used by the military, in space vehicles, and for
other speciali;ed applications.
A fundamental ad!unct to the microprocessor is the integrated circuit '7C( memory. An integrated
circuit is the multiple form of transistor. 7C memories come two broad classes8 random access
memories '>A"s( and read%only memories '>D"s(.
>A"s are fast$ the microprocessor can get their attention in as little as ten% or twenty%billionths of a
second 'the time it takes a ray of light to travel , yards, or 6.4 meters(. Common commercial >A"
chips hold *" to *4" bits each '*" E *,-6/,,.4 bits(. Eight or nine 6" chips constituted the main
memory of many mid%level *++5 personal computers$ this amount of memory is the equivalent of
about 4,-,--- words, or about *,/-- printed pages, of simple English. >A"s are reliable and may run
for years, performing billions of operations. >A"s remember only what you told them last$ everything
else is erased. >A"s are relatively low consumers of power, comparable to other 7Cs of roughly equal
si;e and packing density. 1ome >A"s consume so little power that a small battery can be used to keep
them retentive, if not active, after the main power has been turned off. These >A"s are often used in
small portable computers and calculators.
>A"s lose all memory when power is off. >D"s, on the other hand, remember virtually forever.
1ome >D"s are used for tasks that entail following the same set of instructions over and over again.
>D"s are generally slower than >A"s, but have the advantage of a permanent internal memory.
"oreover, what >D"s lack in speed of response they make up in packing density$ >D"s have
roughly twice the memory capacity of >A"s.
The random%access feature of both >D"s and >A"s refers to the ability of the microprocessor or
other C<0 to access any memory element at any time. @or example, if a phone number is stored
somewhere in a >A" or >D" and the C<0 'by means of its program( knows where it is, the C<0 can
dial it almost instantaneously. Even this is a complication in contemporary computers8 the
C<0Cprogram must know where the phone number is before it can dial it.
Bot all >D"s are absolutely permanent. 1ome >D"%like devices have semipermanent memories$ that
is, they remember what they are told, even with the power off, until they are erased and rewritten.
Erasing can be accomplished by exposing the chip to high%intensity ultraviolet light, as in the E>D"
'Erasable >D"(, or by other means, as in some of the newer erasableCwritable memory chips.
E,ternal Memories. External, or secondary, memories include magnetic tapes, magnetic disks, optical
disks, and magnetic bubbles. External memories are cheaper than internal3usually semiconductor%
based%%memories. 7n addition, most external memories can be moved from one computer to another.
The ma!or drawback of secondary memories is that they are slower than internal memories.
Magnetic tapes in the form of cassettes for car or home stereos and videotape cassettes are familiar
types of external memory. oth store analog data, that is, signals that vary continuously%%for example,
from a violin=s pianissimo to the blast of a rock group. To use these media for computers requires that
the form of the data be changed to digital, that is, to signals that vary only between two prescribed
values, corresponding to the binary digits - and *. They are by far the least expensive medium and also
by far the slowest. ?arge computers, on the other hand, use high%speed multitrack magnetic tapes to
store large quantities of data. These tapes are commonly used to copy all the information from the
computer system=s disks 'see below( to serve as a backup.
Tape cartri!ges are similar in appearance to audiotape cassettes but are designed for digital recording.
They record at higher densities than audiotape cassettes and use specially tested tapes. They are used as
backups for hard%disk systems. )ideotapes increase the speed of access, but at a higher cost. 1ome
video recorders may serve as backup storage devices for hard disks. 9igital audio tapes '9AT( are also
used as a backup medium. A digital audio tape can hold up to a billion bytes of data in a cassette
smaller than an audiotape cassette. All types of tape storage have one ma!or drawback. They are serial$
the tape must be run through to get to a required item. This is a time%consuming process. The question
of time brings us to the second most popular storage medium for smaller computers, the floppy disk.
The lopp$ !is- is the logical compromise between the magnetic tape and the phonograph record. 7t
consists of a thin, flexible '&floppy&( disk of plastic coated on one or both sides with magnetic material.
The coated disk is encased in a protective envelope or shell that contains holes for access by the
readCrecord head and the disk%drive motor.
@loppy disks are played like a phonograph record, but with a magnetic recorder head rather than a
needle. ?ike a magnetic tape, a floppy disk can form a permanent record of a program or data$ because
it is erasable, its content can be altered.
The floppy disk, unlike magnetic tape, is a random%access medium. The information recorded on a
floppy disk is laid out in concentric circles 'tracks( on its surface. Dne or two of the tracks are
generally used to store a table of contents. To find a particular record on the disk, the computer tells the
magnetic head to move to the track with the table of contents and find the location coordinates of the
desired information. The computer does this by reading the data on the track as the disk spins by the
magnetic head. Dnce the desired record is located, the computer tells the magnetic head to move to that
spot. The same concepts hold for recording information. To change information on a tape, the entire
tape must be read out, the changes inserted, and the revised version rerecorded. A floppy%disk system
simply revises a specific segment of itsrecords, leaving the rest of the surface unaltered. This is
because a given record can be recorded in pieces, with each piece stuffed into whatever location is
convenient. The only additional requirement is that the table of contents on the disk changed to tally
with the changes made on the disk.
7n the 0nited 1tates floppy disks are manufactured in two main si;es8 2J inches and ,K inches '+ and
*2 cm(. A typical single floppy disk can store from about 24,,--- to *,66-,--- characters 'bytes(,
equivalent to 5-- to /,- double%spaced pages of typed text. @loppy disk drives are built into most
personal computers and cost about L*-- or less to replace. lank floppy disks cost from L* to L2 each.
A hard disk is much like a floppy disk. The main difference is that the hard disk is of metal. A hard disk
is therefore more rigid, can be spun faster, and packs more information than a floppy disk. A typical
personal computer hard%disk drive is about the si;e of a floppy%disk drive and holds between 5-
million and 5,- million or more characters, compared with *.66 million characters for a high%density
2J%inch diameter floppy disk. Also, hard disks have much higher communication rates with their
computer than either floppies or audiotape cassettes. A search that might take minutes on an audio
cassette, or up to a few seconds on a floppy, would take hundredths of a second on a hard disk. The
hard disk is the external storage medium of choice for current records and applications software on
most computers.
"any hard disks are permanently enclosed in an airtight, dustproof housing. 7f such a disk fails, the
computer is useless without a backup memory. 1ome hard disks can be removed from their drives, as
can floppy disks. >emovable hard disks have less storage than fixed disks of comparable development.
:ard disks cost more than floppy disks$ however, they tend to cost less per unit of capacity.
The optical disk, detailed in this illustraton, is similar to both the magnetic disk and the phonograph
record. There are three main types of optical disk8 C9%>D" 'compact disk read%only memory( disks,
#D>" 'write once, read mostly( disks, and erasable optical disks. C9%>D" disks and #D>" disks
are used to store large amounts of information that does not change. #D>" disks can be written on
once only$ once entered, the information cannot be erased. Erasable optical disks can be used like hard
disks. Dptical disks range in si;e from those to videodisks to the disks of diameter ,K inches '*2.2
cm(, 6..5 inches '*5 cm(, and smaller used for audio compact disks. '1ee also )ideo >ecording and
>eproduction.(
An optical disk, like a phonograph record, stores information on a spiral track. As is the case with
magnetic disks, the optical%disk player pickup head moves radially back and forth along a fixed track
rather than on a pivoted arm. An optical disk uses a laser beam to store and &read& its information.
7n a phonograph record the information is stored as undulations in the grooves of the record. These
undulations are converted by the needle and tiny magnets to electrical signals that are fed to an
amplifier. The surface layer of a magnetic disk has varying intensities of magneti;ation$ the magnetic
field is detected by a small electromagnet in the pickup head and converted to electrical signals. The
surface of an optical disk contains information in the form of little pits, corresponding to binary digits.
The variations in intensity of the laser light reflected from the pits are detected by a photocell that
converts them into electrical signals. Erasable optical disks are coated with a material that changes its
optical polari;ation in response to a magnetic field from the write head of the disk drive. These
changes can then be converted into electrical signals by the read head. The magneto%optical disk is
erased by the combined effect of a magnetic field and a laser beam.
A CD*ROM !is- of diameter 6..5 inches '*5 cm( can hold the equivalent of about 2--,--- pages of
printed material, or 4-- million characters 'bytes( ofinformation, at a production cost of less than L,
per disk, although retail prices in *++* varied from about L,- to several hundred dollars. Commercial
C9%>D"s are used to distribute a wide variety of reference works, clip%art images for computer
graphics, animation, and combinations of text and audio and video materials. They are becoming
indispensable in multimedia computing. "agneto%optical disks come in diameters of ,K and 2J inches
and hold from *5/ million to 4,- million characters each.
A *5%inch '2-%cm( optical disk can hold *., billion characters of digital data%%more than a thousand
times as much as an /%inch '5-%cm( floppy disk. A
6%inch '*-%cm( disk can store the equivalent of about 5,- million characters per side.
A form of magnetic recording called perpendicular or vertical recording promises to keep floppy disks
in the running for storing large amounts of information. <erpendicular recording combines the
materials of ordinary magnetic recording with semiconductor technology. The magnetic poles of the
recording material are aligned perpendicular to the surface of the supporting material, an arrangement
much like that of matches in a box. <erpendicular alignment makes for denser packing 'more
information( per unit area than even the most advanced conventional recordings.
"emory technologies are steadily improving in speed, reliability, and cost. @or the consumer, the main
issue will often be the choice suited to the computing task at hand. <rices are expected to decline
steadily.
&nput.Output E/uipment. A computer must be able to communicate with the outside world. 7n
addition to the external memory units reviewed above, a computer may be required to communicate
with its operators, with telecommunications lines, and with sensors, actuators, or other machines.
Computer.Operator &nterace. Communicating with a computer is not like talking to a person.
7ndeed, it is more like talking to a typewriter. 7n many ways this is not as satisfying as a normal
conversation. This situation results partly from hardware deficiencies, but more from software
inadequacies%%we do not know, for example, how people think, much less how to program a computer
to simulate thinking in more than very simple ways.
The most common machineChuman interface device for a computer is a T)%like display and a
typewriter%like keyboard. The display is called a C>T 'cathode ray tube( terminal or a video display
tube ')9T(. 9isplays used in industry cost from L5,- to several thousand dollars. <ersonal computers
routinely have displays with much higher resolution than home T) screens. @or example, )MA 'video
graphics adapter( displays show 46- F 6/- dots on the screen. Through much of the *+/-=s )9Ts and
their associated computer%based controller circuit boards were largely character oriented$ that is, the
display controller included a >D" containing the dot patterns for the alphabetic and graphics
characters 'up to 5,,( to be used. The computer told the display controller where to place each
character on the screen, as well as what character 'if any( to use at each location. As computer memory
became less expensive, the trend was toward bit%mapped displays, in which the controller board
calculates brightness and color for each dot on the screen. it%mapped displays are required on
graphical user interfaces 'M07, see below(. Although most )9Ts were monochrome in the early
*+/-=s, most displays sold in *++* were full color.
An ad!unct to the )9T display is a printer. The printer provides a permanent copy of the computer
output. Computer printers range in capability from low resolution to almost typeset quality. "ost
relatively inexpensive printers use a dot matrix system in which the individual characters are made up
of dots formed either by tiny arrays of wires that strike a typewriter%like ribbon or by tiny drops of ink
fired by an electronically controlled gun. Typical dot matrix printers have resolutions ranging from *66
to 24- dots per inch and take from about *- seconds to 5 minutes to print a page of text. ?aser and
?E9 'light%emitting diode( printers are built of the mechanisms used for photography machines. A
moving laser beam 'or array of ?E9s( forms a line image on a rotating light%sensitive drum that
transfers the image via electrostatic charge and toner powder to a sheet of paper. "ost low%cost
desktop laser and ?E9 printers operate at a resolution of 2-- dots per inch and print from 6 to / pages
of text per minute. Mraphics pages generally take longer to print for all types of printers. <rinters for
large computers are designed to turn out massive volumes of paper in a short time. A laser printer that
can turn out a page of high%quality text in a second or so.
"any of us would prefer to talk to the computer instead of typing at it. 0nfortunately, the computer has
a relatively limited vocabulary and a fixed set of rules for converting that vocabulary to utterance.
<eople can talk to certain computers with a reasonable chance of being understood. 7n highly
structured situations such as assembly%line inspection tasks, where a machine can be taught to
recogni;e on the order of a few hundred words spoken slowly, computers work well. ut, as yet,
people do not converse with computers.
Dther means of personCcomputer interfacing include &!oysticks& for conveying positional information
regarding a display on a C>T or T) screen, &mice& 'hand%held devices( for performing the same task,
and pointers for picking out specific spots on a display screen or plotting board. @or some C>T
displays a finger can be used as the pointer.
Telecommunications &nter*aces. ?inked to a telecommunications system, the personal computer can
talk to other computers similarly connected. The gadget that performs this function via an ordinary
telephone line is called a modem 'modulator%demodulator(. Contemporary modems are of two types.
Dne is an external box that connects to the telephone line and the computer. The other is a circuit board
that fits inside the computer. The @ederal Communications Commission and many state public utility
commissions have rules against the use of unauthori;ed interconnection devices$ all commercially
available modems meet these requirements. The advantage of such a modem is that the computer is
programmed to dial telephone numbers automatically. "odem transmission speeds range from *5- to
more than *,5-- characters per second.
7nternational standards govern modem speeds, signaling speeds, and data compression techniques.
Consequently, it is possible to send computer data between most points in the world with relative ease.
1ince the late *+.-=s a number of other telecommunications systems, designed specifically for use with
all sorts of computers, have come on the market. These systems are known as local area networks, or
?ABs. They form the core technology of many schemes for office automation. Dffice automation is a
ma!or area of computer applications, concentrating on the uses of computers,
particularlymicrocomputers, coupled with advanced telecommunications systems, to help facilitate the
flow of information. '1ee also usiness "achines
and Equipment.(
Sensor.Actuator &nteraces. A ma!or early use of computers was in controlling machine tools.
"inicomputers connected to large lathes, milling machines, and other production machinery could
monitor the machine operations and alter them to produce a perfectly machined piece each time. The
computer is equipped with sensors that provide it with information on the position of the various parts
of the machine, such as the cutting head, and of the part that is being machined. The computer
compares the sensor data with its preprogrammed instructions and generates commands to actuators to
move the machine parts to conform to the preestablished pattern. Computers are frequently used to
replace people in ha;ardous tasks, such as the handling of radioactive materials. '1ee also "achine
Tools$
>obot.(
Personal computers can control many things in the home, such as energy consumption, sprinkler
systems, and security systems, provided they have the proper sensors 'of temperature and sunlight, soil
moisture, burglars, and so on(. The trouble is that such systems are expensive. 0ntil integrated circuits
are built into many types of appliance there will not be strong economic arguments for the use of
personal computers for sensing and control.
The ma!or automobile manufacturers are turning to the use of integrated circuits and microprocessors
in automobile control systems%%mainly in response to
air%pollution and fuel%economy regulations. "any types of sensor are being developed for this
industry$ similar devices will then be available for the personal computer.
Fith*0eneration Computers. The advent in the *+/-=s of massively parallel and neural network
computers signaled the first results of a conceptual revolution. Dne of the key concepts is that of
knowledge processing. Nnowledge processing involves the development of computer &reasoning,&
coupled with access to information as to how experts approach problem solving. A typical fifth%
generation computer will, in effect, be an electronic expert in a particular area. The user will
communicate with these computers in a natural language rather than in the styli;ed codes used by
today=s systems.
The 0nited 1tates and Aapan are the front%runners in the race to produce the next generation of
computers. '1ee also Artificial 7ntelligence 'A7(.(
COMPUTER SOFT)ARE
Sot1are is the computer=s instructions. 7ncluded in this definition are programs, program subsections
or routines, and data. Thus, software tells the computer what to do, how to do it, when to do it, in what
sequence, and how often. Computer software is often known simply as the program.
Computer programs are lists of instructions that tell the computer to do things. Computers have to be
told everything. Computer programs are often
written in a form of shorthand. :ere is a program for crossing the street.
CO Crossing%the%street program OC
Approach the curb$
7@ BDT 'at the corner D> at a pedestrian
crossing(
T:EB proceed to the corner or the nearest
pedestrian crossing$
E?1E 7@ there is a traffic signal at the
crossing T:EB wait for the signal to indicate
&#A?N&$
>E<EAT
look both ways down the street for
approaching vehicles$
0BT7? you see that it is safe to cross$
egin to cross the street$
>E<EAT CO continue crossing OC
P
Neep walking$
look both ways down the street to detect
approaching ha;ards$
7@ you detect an approaching ha;ard
T:EB increase your pace for the nearest
safe curb$
Q
0BT7? 'you have reached the other side D>
you are back at the start($
7@ you are back at the start
T:EB restart the program$
E?1E congratulate yourself on your survival$
>ET0>BCOto whatever you were planning to
do nextOC
This program is written in
Pseu!oco!e % understandable by the programmer rather than the computer. The parts that are
surrounded by CO and OC are ignored by the computer$ they are there to help the programmer. Two key
structural features of programs are the conditional statement8 7@ something is true, T:EB do
something, E?1E 'otherwise( do something else$ and the loop8 >E<EAT some action or set of actions
0BT7? some condition is satisfied. "ost programs are made up of series of similar statements. Each
instruction in the example, such as &restart the program,& is terminated by a semicolon '$(. 7ndividual
program subsections are set off by indentation.
Programming Concepts. There are two broad categories of program8 systems programs and
applications programs. 1ystems programs deal with the interactions between the various components
of the computer. @or example, a disk operating system '9D1( is a program or collection of programs
that tells the C<0 how to transfer data and instructions back and forth between itself, its internal
memory, the disk memory unit, and inputCoutput units such as
C>T terminals or video display monitors, printers, paper%tape punches and readers, modems, sensors,
and so on. 7t takes care of housekeeping chores such as keeping track of where the applications
programs are stored on the floppy disk with which the computer is interacting. The best systems
programs are those in which the computer does its !ob without the operator being aware of it.
An applications program is a set of instructions for achieving some purpose other than the basic
internal operation of the computer. An example of an
applications program is one in which the computer alerts the operator by beeping every five seconds.
Languages. The only language a digital computer directly consists of *=s and -=s 'on and off, yes and
no, true and false( repeated and as necessary. @or this reason, direct statements to a digital computer
must be in a language based on the binary number system 'see illustration(. @or example, the following
is a statement that is acceptable to microprocessors of the 7ntel /-H/4 series 'where H is any number
from * to ,(8*----**------***
This two%byte sequence of bits represents the instruction8 &Add the number . to whatever is in the
accumulator.& The accumulator is the register in the C<0 that stores the latest results of whatever is
being processed. This sequence of bits, while fine for
the C<0, is tedious and confusing for the average person. Consequently, languages have been invented
that translate statements that are more comprehensible to people into bits and vice versa. The next step
in the level of abstraction is the assembly level language.
7n the assembly language of the 7ntel /-H/4 microprocessors the preceding *4%bit command appears
as8A99 -.This is a little more comprehensible.
Assem%l$ language programs provide the most compact form for accomplishing the desired purpose.
They also take longest to write. :igher%level languages, such as C, <A1CA?, A17C, CDD?,
@D>T>AB, and the like use more memory than assembly languages but are much easier to work with.
As memory costs went down in the *+.-=s and *+/-=s and programmer costs went up, higher%level
languages became dominant. The higher%level languages most likely to come to the attention of <C
owners are C, A17C 'eginners= All%purpose 1ymbolic 7 nstruction Code(, and <A1CA? 'named in
honor of the @rench mathematician laise <ascal(.
C is a powerful language, developed at ell Telephone ?aboratories, that allows programmers to work
at the assembly language level of detail. 7t also provides for a high level of abstraction. y *++* C had
become the most popular language for writing commercial applications software for personal
computers. The original chief virtue of A17C was that it is relatively easy to learn$ it has since
become quite a powerful language as well. <A1CA?, originally developed to teach programming
techniques known as structural programming, is also very popular for personal computers. "odula%5 is
a variant of <A1CA?$ both are by the same author, Biklaus #irth. "any other higher%level languages
exist, each suitable for certain tasks. CDD? 'CD mmon usiness Driented ?anguage( was designed
mainly for business use$ it is particularly suited to handling large files such as inventory records and
payrolls. @D>T>AB is a primary computer language of scientists and engineers$ it speciali;es in
mathematical formulas and complicated computations. A9A, named after Charles abbage=s chief
programmer ' see section :istory below(, is sponsored by the 0.1. 9epartment of 9efense. ?71< '?71t
<rocessor( and <>D?DM '<>Dgramming in ?DMic( are the primary languages for artificial
intelligence research. ?DMD is an outgrowth of ?71< designed to explore techniques for computer%
aided learning.
All higher%level languages, including the examples quoted above, are procedural languages$ that is,
they give the computer explicit, step%by%step instructions. Another group of higher%level languages is
ob!ect oriented. Db!ect%oriented programming 'DD<( focuses on modulari;ing common processes and
encapsulating them into units that can be reused for various functions. Each program ob!ect has a
specified behavior and set of characteristics. Each ob!ect reacts in a prespecified way to messages from
other ob!ects. The details of how it reacts are encapsulated within the ob!ect code and are not &visible&
to the other ob!ects. @or example, to draw a box on the )9T screen in a procedural language the
programmer must write instructions covering the details of the drawing from the starting point to each
successive point, specifying which points of the screen are to be lit up. 7n an ob!ect%oriented language
the programmer simply writes an instruction to draw a box of given si;e in a certain location.
Examples of DD< languages are 1malltalk, Actor, CGG, and later versions of Turbo <ascal.
1o far, English is too complicated, too inexact, too broad, and too subtle for contemporary
computers,regardless of si;e.
#igher*Le+el Programming Languages. Computer programming is not a popular pastime. @or this
reason menu programming, or user programming, is popular among applications programmers. The
original programmer may choose a language such as A17C 'the computer language of choice for
those who are not professional programmers( for the detailed structure of the program, but the parts of
the program that the operator sees appear to be in a natural language, such as English or Aapanese. 7n
running the program, the operator selects from a menu of alternatives$hence the name. The alternative
selected may cause another set of alternatives to be displayed, one of which is to be selected, and so
forth.
1ome menu programs, such as that used to compile and edit the text for this article, have a small set of
commands that cause the computer to perform various tasks. A sophisticated menu program might start
with relatively long explanations of alternatives, then gradually reduce its message length as the
operator increases in manipulative skill.
A large number of the more traditional applications programs must be written in menu%like or user%
oriented formats if public acceptance of personal computers is to increase. As the use of computers
spreads, and particularly as schoolchildren learn to use them, a large proportion of the 0nited 1tates
population will have been exposed to some form of programming by the turn of the century. The
emphasis in software will be on making the humanCmachine interface as transparent, and friendly as
possible. Dne particular aspect of this search is worthy of special notice.
Programmerless Sot1are. The growth of personal computers has greatly accelerated the
development of so%called programmerless software. :ere, the user can interact by means of the
computer controls with a display showing a logical or visual structure of some kind. The user can key
in other information at any point in the display and then go on to the next point. The structure can be
used again and again, with different data each time, if necessary. The user does not have to know
anything about programming to use the program. "any spreadsheet and database programs incorporate
these programmerless features. A primary means of querying large mainframe databases is via 1R?
'1tructured Ruery ?anguages$ pronounced sequel(, in which the user asks the database for information
in a syntax much like standard English. 1R? links to personal computer databases have become
popular.
0raphical User &nteraces 20U&3. As microcomputers and engineering workstations gained in power
during the *+/-=s computer displays evolved from being character%based to the use of extensive bit%
mapped graphics. This development allowed the design of programs3particularly operating systems
software including graphics and alarge variety of display methods. "ultiple programs can be screened
and the application programs run 'apparently( simultaneously. The "acintosh series of computers
produced by Apple led the way to the popularity of M07 interfaces for personal computers. #indows
'"icrosoft Corporation(, D1C5 <resentation "anager '7"(, Bew #ave ':ewlett%<ackard(, and most
engineering workstation display software use M07 and DD<.
COMPUTER APPL&CAT&O(S
#herever there is need for the rapid processing of large quantities of information or for the
performance of routine, highly repetitive tasks, there is need for a computer. 0ntil the late *+.-=s,
because of cost, computers were mostly the reserve of large business organi;ations, government
agencies, and scientific and technical laboratories. Today, although a computer may be used for almost
any information%processing task, the millennium is not yet here, and there are many fields where
computer development lags behind practical applications.
E!ucation. 7n education, some trends seem clear. ecause of the expanding importance of computers
the economic growth of society, people must know how to interact with a computer. "ost people will
likely have to know as much about operating computers as they know about operating anautomobile.
Computers are becoming increasingly useful tools of education. @or some applications, such as routine
instruction, they can be superb ad!uncts to the teacher. They are ideally suited to self%paced instruction
where the course ob!ectives and content are well defined. <roperly programmed computers can be
superior to the average teacher for tasks such
as these. @or economic reasons the use of computers in primary and secondary schools has lagged
significantly behind their adoption in homes and business.
7n the universities, computers have long been the key tools for numerous forms of research. :owever,
careers in computer science have become so lucrative that students are going into government or
industry rather than continuing their graduate education. As a result, the source of teachers for future
computer scientists is drying up. This trend must be reversed to protect the future of the 0.1. computer
industry.
'usiness. Computers began their business careers in the banking and insurance industries, where
massive amounts of data have to be processed daily. 7n the late *+,-=s the banking industry adopted
magnetic coding of checks$ this made computer processing of checks possible. Computers were made
available to tellers in banks and other financial institutions and later began to replace tellers as the use
of AT"s 'automated teller machines( expanded. The credit card and the debit card are used for
automatic, instantaneous banking transactions via computer. The concept of &bank anywhere, anytime&
depends on the computer%based expansion of E@T 'electronic funds transfer( technology. anking from
home computers or data terminals is the next logical step.
y the late *+4-=s computer%processed data had become a fact of life in business. Computers are used
for almost all aspects of business administration8 bookkeeping, accounting, inventory control,
forecasting, and record keeping$ these capabilities are also available to small businesses. 7n the field of
office automation, computers, interconnected by , are applied to such tasks as then handling of
electronic mail and text and document processing. #ith an office or desktop microcomputer, one can
compose a memo, do calculations, draw graphs, check spelling, and automatically transmit the results
by electronic mail. '1ee also @acsimile.(
Computers have rapidly assumed a ma!or role on the factory floor as well. eginning with numerically
machines and industrial robots that automated specific manufacturing tasks, computers and
telecommunications networks have enabled computer%integrated manufacturing 'C7"(. 7n C7" entire
production processes, involving multiple manufacturing workstations and parts transportation lines, are
controlled and regulated by computer networks. The telephone network is almost entirely computer
controlled. 7n the *++-=s the network will change from analog to digital transmission of all its signals.
As a result, it will be possible to send manynkinds of instructions, including full%motion video pictures,
directly to homes.
0o+ernment. Movernment is a ma!or user of computers. 7n the 0nited 1tates the federal government,
the largest employer in the country, is also the largest user of computers. About half the federal
computers are in the 9epartment of 9efense. @ederal, state, and local authorities use computers much
as does business$ many other applications, however, are specific to government work.
Space an! Deense. The space program, including the lunar landings, the planetary probes,
communications satellites, and the space shuttle, would not have been possible without computers.
Computers are used to design, build, launch, track and, in some cases, recover spacecraft. "issiles are
computer%guided. "any forms of &smart& weapons have microcomputers as &brains.& Computer%based
command and control communications systems support BA1A=s space%tracking operations. 1imilar
systems support military operations worldwide. '1ee also Communications 1atellite$ Electronic
Communications$ "ilitary Communications$ 1pace Exploration.(
)eather Pre!iction. Dne of the earliest uses of computers was in weather prediction. Today,
computers bring data to the Bational #eather 1ervice, check observations for errors, plot weather
maps, use data from satellites to plot maps of cloud cover, perform the extensive calculations involved
in predicting the weather, and plot the forecast maps and disseminate the results to airports, #eather
1ervice offices, and the news media. '1ee also "eteorology and Climatology$ >emote 1ensing$
#eather 1ervice, 0.1. Bational.(
Fe!eral 'ureau o &n+estigation 2F'&3. The @7 runs a Bational Crime 7nformation Center, the heart
of which is a computer system in which records of wanted individuals, stolen motor vehicles, stolen
securities, and so on are stored. This information can be accessed within seconds by various federal,
state, and city law%enforcement agencies. Thus, a highway police officer can quickly check whether an
out%of%state vehicle has been stolen. "any states have similar systems.
&nternal Re+enue Ser+ice. Computers are used to check the arithmetic of income tax returns, to check
whether itemi;ed deductions are &reasonable,& to check whether items such as dividends reported by
the taxpayer tally with the reports submitted by the paying company, and to prepare refund checks or
demands for additional payment from the taxpayer. ?arge businesses file their tax returns on computer
tapes.
Census. 7t takes several years to analy;e the results of a population census using computers. 'The first
ma!or use of punched cards by the federal government was for the */+- census, and the first
commercially available computer was used for the *+,- census.( Completed census questionnaires are
read onto microfilm and then onto magnetic tapes. These tapes are processed by computer to produce
summary tapes from which printed reports can be prepared photographically. 1ummary tapes are also
sold to researchers who make analyses using their own computers. '1ee also Census.(
#ome. Computers began entering the home in large numbers in the late *+.-=s. As of *++6 an
estimated 2. percent of 0.1. households had computers. Although many home computers are used
mainly for entertainment and education, a growing percentage is used for economic purposes, from
money and investment management to the running of home%based businesses. A feature of these
applications is the increasing sophistication of the personal computer and its software$ it is no longer
necessary to know anything about computers to run one successfully. There are tens of thousands of
programs 'software( available for use with personal computers. Electronic bulletin boards and
commercial information systems provide hundreds of thousands of computer users with information on
almost every imaginable topic. Telecommuting%%working at or near home rather than in an office%%was
being done by more than 2 million employees in the 0nited 1tates by the end of *++* and the number
of telecommuters is growing by more than 5, percent a year. There is also a trend toward &smart&
appliances of various types. esides microwave ovens, some of which talk to the user, there are
environmental controls, programmable recorders and radios, home security systems, and smart
telephones, all run by microprocessor. 1ee also 7nformation 1torage and >etrieval $ ?ibraries.
Aack ". Billes
T#E COMPUTER &(DUSTRY
The computer industry has grown rapidly since *+,- and 0B7)AC, the first mass%produced electronic
computer. y *+.4 it accounted for more than 5 percent of the 0.1. gross domestic product and 2
percent of exports. y the late *+/-=s it accounted for about 2 percent of the gross domestic product.
Companies such as 7" have become extensively known, but there are also several thousand others
that manufacture or sell computer equipment, supplies, and services. #ith the advent of the personal
computer, names such as Apple and
TandyC>adio 1hack are household words.
Structure. The larger the computer the fewer the manufacturers. The large mainframe market is
dominated, in the 0nited 1tates as elsewhere, by 7"$ by manufacturers, such as Amdahl, that create
computers compatible with the 7" mainframes$ and by a handful of companies 'including 0nisys,
ull, Control 9ata, and Cray( that typically require specially designed programs for their systems.
The medium systems computer market consists of smaller mainframes and so%called
&superminicomputers.& 7", 9igital Equipment Corporation, and :ewlett%<ackard account for three
fifths of this market, but almost ,- other 0.1.%based companies, including 0nisys, 9ata Meneral,
#ang, ATST, and Tandem, also compete.
7n the small systems market, 7", 9igital, and BC> account for roughly a third of all computers
installed in the 0nited 1tates. The remainder of the market is divided among well over *-- other
manufacturers including most of those with a stake in the medium systems market, as well as
numerous smaller companies. "any of the computers sold into this market are powered by the same
kind of microprocessors found in personal computers,
except that the systems are designed for more than single%individual use.
:istorically, the larger manufacturers of computers for both the medium and small systems markets
required the use of programs that could run only on their own products. Dver time, however, some
ma!or computer users, like the 0.1. government, began demanding more consistency, and the
manufacturers themselves began to find burdensome the investments necessary to maintain an edge in
vendor%specific programs as well as in the computers they make. Consequently, more and more
competitors are making use of software written for standard operating systems such as 0nix that can be
much more easily transported from one maker=s computers to another=s.
Throughout most of the *+/-=s the most dynamic element in the computer industry was the personal
computer, which is manufactured by between 5-- and 2-- 0.1.%based manufacturers. The dominant
architecture is that of the 7" <C family. :owever, the 7" <C is easy to duplicate. As a result, many
more 7"%compatible personal computers were manufactured by 7"=s competitors 'for example,
Compaq( than by 7" itself. The leading manufacturer of personal computers not compatible with the
7" <C is Apple, which runs 7" a close
second in the personal computer market.
1everal hundred other companies offer the peripheral products needed to run a computer. <eripherals
include floppy disks, magnetic tape, terminals, and printers, plus &add%ons& such as additional storage
devices and graphics capabilities. "ore than *,--- companies provide services ranging from the
creation of computer programs to the integration of different computer systems through networks. 1till
other companies arrange for the leasing of computer equipment, sell used computers, handle computer
maintenance, manufacture supplies, and recruit and train people to program and run computers.
@inally, numerous satellite companies supply the ma!or firms with goods, services, and other support
and undertake subcontract work.
Unite! States Statistics. @igures assembled by the 7nternational 9ata Corporation show that, as of the
end of *++5, +,+-- large general%purpose and scientific computer systems had been installed in the
0nited 1tates, with a total current value of L4- billion. "ore than *65,,-- medium systems were
installed with a current value of L52 billion, and *,52,,,-- small systems worth L*/ billion. Dver 4-
million personal computers were installed, with a total value of more than L*-- billion. '7n *+/* there
were fewer than 5 million personal computers in use
in the 0nited 1tates.(
7n *++5 0.1.%based companies sold about L*-6 billion of computer systems and related devices like
printers worldwide. About ,/ percent of the orders came from 0.1. buyers. 1ales of personal
computers and related devices, including the markup by retail stores and other distributors, accounted
for 4- percent of 0.1. sales and almost ,, percent of 0.1.%based companies= worldwide computer
revenue.
Mrowth in the 0.1. computer industry began to slow in early *+/,. The compounded annual growth
rate from *+/. through *++5 for all computer systems except personal computers was slightly
negative. Even the market for personal computers showed signs of leveling off$ the compounded
annual growth for this sector over the same period was /., percent, down from the double%digit growth
over the previous half%decade. :owever, while some segments of the overall computer market are
beginning to show the slower growth rates typical of a maturing industry, this market should
outperform the national norm for the remainder of the 5-th century and beyond.
Dverall, the central budget for information processing in a typical 0.1. corporation may be broken
down as follows8 mainframes, minicomputers, and peripherals, 5- percent$ <Cs and workstations, **
percent$ commercially available software, / percent$ networking and other services, */ percent$
personnel wages and benefits, 24 percent$ and miscellaneous, . percent.
Other Countries. y *++5 the 0.1. computer systems market constituted about 24 percent of the
worldwide market. Total worldwide value of shipments, including necessary peripherals, was L*4/
billion in *++5. :owever, computer companies based in the 0nited 1tates accounted for a larger share
of sales to the global market. @or example, 0.1.%based vendors represented about 4- percent of the
value of worldwide personal computer shipments, even though the 0.1. market accounted or under 6-
percent of the total.
#estern Europe comprises 2- percent of the world computer market. The largest market share is held
by 7", with other 0.1. vendors also taking significant portions of European computer sales. 7n
Europe each country has a handful of companies concentrating on sales within its borders 'for
example, ull in @rance, 1iemens%Bixdorf in Mermany, and 7C? in ritain(.
9espite its small si;e, Aapan in *++5 accounted for *+ percent of the world computer market. The
Aapanese computer market is dominated by @u!itsu, Bippon Electric Corporation, and :itachi, as well
as by 7" Aapan. Aapanese manufacturers have successfully penetrated the 0.1. computer market,
especially for semiconductors, peripherals, and certain types of personal computer.
The computer markets in both #estern Europe and Aapan grew slower than the 0.1. markets in *++5,
reversing a 5-%year trend. The Aapanese market did not grow at all, but shrank around / percent. oth
markets were plagued by a lingering recession. The remainder of the world accounts for *, percent of
the world market. Eastern Europe and the successor states to the 1oviet 0nion have a relatively small
number of largely obsolescent computers. The transformation of European politics in *+/+ has allowed
the #estern countries to relax or drop many restrictions on computer equipment exports. China
continues to benefit from less burdensome restrictions on the part of the 0.1. government and its allies.
Role o the U.S. 0o+ernment. The federal government underwrote much of the early development of
computers and is still the largest single user. 1tandards set by the federal government for its own
purchases are often adopted by industry at large. @or example, the business%oriented language CDD?
was first adopted by the federal government and then by a ma!ority of commercial users. :owever,
despite its si;e, the federa government market has become increasingly diverse. As a result, its
effectiveness in creating and imposing standards has begun to diminish.
The federal government also affects the computer industry through its antitrust policy. Consent decrees
agreed to by 7" and the 0.1. 9epartment of Austice in *+24 and *+,4 resulted in the establishment of
punch%card manufacturers, independent peripheral manufacturers, and service bureaus as ma!or
segments of the industry. Another result of government pressure was 7"=s decision to emphasi;e
outright sales of computers, rather than the earlier system of leasing from the manufacturer.
7n *+4+ the 9epartment of Austice began legal proceedings against 7", asking that the company be
broken up into smaller units in accordance with the antitrust laws. After *2 years in the courts, the
department dropped the action as &without merit.& Although in *++5 a considerably diminished 7"
would still account for *4 percent of the worldwide computer market, the government had decided
thatthe case had been superseded by changing conditions in the industry, including the growth of
Aapanese competition.
The growth of Aapanese expertise and market presence in computers has given rise to considerable
discussion in the 0.1. government about taking more vigorous action to stimulate or protect the
domestic industry. The government has imposed punitive tariffs to retaliate against the &dumping& of
Aapanese%manufactured semiconductors below cost, and has helped sponsor consortiums of ma!or
0.1.manufacturers to work together in basic computer research and semiconductor production.
#&STORY OF COMPUTER
Twenty years after the #ar of */*5 an English inventor and mathematician, Charles abbage, was
commissioned by the ritish government to develop a system for calculating the rise and fall of the
tides. The ritish navy ruled the oceans of the world at that time, and crucial to that control was
accurate knowledge of the tides. Tides are caused by extremely complex gravitational interactions
between the earth, the moon, and the sun. The task of accurately charting tidal patterns was beyond the
capabilities of most nations of the world.
'a%%age decided that the only answer was to build a device he called the analytical engine. y
selecting and meshing an array of gears, levers, and counter wheels in a frame resembling an
automobile gearbox gone mad, abbage designed the first programmable computer, complete with
punch cards for data input. The machine could add, subtract, multiply, and and, by means of various
combinations of its gears and levers, could perform many other types of calculation.
Each cog tooth and each gear wheel 'some ,-,--- in all( in abbage=s engine had to be built to
extremely fine tolerances. This task was beyond the artisans of his time. Although some smaller
versions of abbage=s engine were built and operated successfully, the machine of his dreams was
never reali;ed in his lifetime. :e died an embittered man.
Dther attempts were made to build mechanical general%purpose computers. All suffered the fate of
abbage=s machine, and for similar reasons. 7t became clear that mechanical methods of general%
purpose computing on all but the most modest scale were not practical. The demand for more effective
means of calculation grew, but the
mechanical devices of the *+2-=s were too slow and cumbersome to satisfy the needs of scientists,
engineers, and businessmen. This situation was turned around by using electric switches rather than
gears to count. 1witches can be made to achieve the same results as abbage=s machine. The only
conceptual difficulty is that mechanical switches are ordinarily on or off$ one cannot make such a
switch represent a number between one and ten as a counter wheel can. 1witches operate on a binary
number system$ people count in tens. ut, once familiar with a binary system, people could use a
switch%based computer to perform complicated calculations.
A rela$ computer was built in Mermany in *+6* by Nonrad Tuse. Called the T2, its logical operations
were alterable by switching among the relays.
7n the 0nited 1tates, 7nternational usiness "achines built a machine at :arvard 0niversity over the
years from *+2+ to *+66. The computer, called the "ark 7 sequence%controlled calculator, was built
under the direction of :oward Aiken to perform calculations for the "anhattan <ro!ect, engaged in the
development of the atomic bomb. The "ark 7, considerably bigger than a breadbox, was a relay
computer like the T2.
The Mar- & had its problems. >elays are electromechanical devices and are slow and noisy. They
consume a lot of power. 7f their contacts are dirty or corroded, they do not work well. Clearly,
something more reliable was needed.
The Electronic Computer. The vacuum tube, an electronic device invented in the early 5-th century,
was the basis for the first computer revolution. The vacuum tube was ideal for computers. 7t had no
mechanical moving parts, switched at rates far faster than any mechanical device, and was relatively
reliable and long%lived. The first vacuum%tube computer, the Atanasoff%erry Computer 'AC( at 7owa
1tate 0niversity, was built at about the same time as the "ark 7. AC marked the beginning of the
computer revolution.
A splendid example of these irst*generation electronic computers was E(&AC 2Electronic
(umerical &ntegrator an! Calculator3. EB7AC weighed !ust over 2- tons and took up 2,--- cubic
feet '/, cubic meters( of space. 7ts */,--- vacuum tubes used *6- kilowatts of electric power3enough
for a medium%si;ed town. 7t was not quite up to the computing capability of, or nearly as flexible as, a
L,-- personal computer of today.
7n *+,* the first assembly%line computer, the U(&4AC 5 2Uni+ersal Automatic Computer36 was built
by the >emington >and Corp., later to becomepart of 1perry >and. A 0B7)AC was delivered to the
Meneral Electric Company in *+,6$ 6, were built in all. 0p to the time of 0B7)AC *, 4- electronic
computers had been built. 0B7)AC * allowed rapid, extensive computing to be applied to onscientific
problems.
The next advance in computer technology was the transistor. 7n *+6. a team of scientists, led by Aohn
ardeen, #alter rattain, and #illiam 1hockley, developed the first transistor at ell Telephone
?aboratories. The transistor represented a quantum leap over the vacuum tube%%in the physical as well
as the metaphorical sense. Transistors switch as fast as vacuum tubes, but use much less power and are
smaller. Computers of astounding complexity and speed were now possible. abbage=s dream began to
seem tame.
A +acuum tu%e is built by encapsulating a collection of small metal parts. A transistor is composed of
a single slice 'a chip( of a material called a semiconductor. A semiconductor is in general mediocre
conductor of electricity$ under certain conditions, however, it can be made to conduct, and even
amplify, electricity. The first transistor was the !unction transistor. This was the famous cat=s whisker
used in the first radio receivers. The !unction transistor was improved in *+,*, again at ell ?abs, with
the development of the grown transistor. The 'asic Semicon!uctor Material % germanium or silicon,
for example % is melted in a pot. "inute traces of other substances are added to change the electrical
characteristics of the semiconductor. A small pure cr$stal o the semicon!uctor introduced into the
mix acts as a seed for the growth of a large single crystal. #ith this invention, technologists were better
able to control the characteristics of the transistor. The technology for manufacturing transistors
steadily improved until, in *+,+, the first integrated circuit, the multiple form of the transistor, was
produced.
&ntegrate!*circuit technolog$ allowed the inclusion of discrete components such as resistors and
capacitors on the chip containing the transistor. Thus the basic logical element, the &flip%flop,& which
required two transistors and some resistors and capacitors in the early *+,-=s, could be packaged as a
single unit about the si;e of a transistor.
&ntegrate!*circuit technolog$ made it possible to !am more and more elements onto a single chip.
Entire assemblies of parts could be manufactured in the time previously needed for a single part. The
cost of providing a particular computing function decreased proportionately. The number of
components per integrated circuit has doubled every year since *+4, and shows no signs of slowing.
:owever, metals and semiconductors are composed of molecules, and wires only a few molecules
thick are extremely fragile and difficult to control even with the most advanced technology.
The number of functions that can be crammed onto a single semiconductor chip continues to grow. As
the number of elements on chip increases, the functions performed by the chip becomes more complex,
the speed at which a given function is performed tends to rise, the power required to perform a given
function decreases, but the manufacturing cost per chip stays about the same.
A microcircuit is a chip containing perhaps many thousands of separate components. The
consequences for computing of miniaturi;ation on this scale can be seen from the fact that by *+/2
there were some 5 million personal computers in the 0nited 1tates.
Ma,is6 Minis6 an! Micros. The second generation of computers was based on the transistor and lasted
about *, years. The third generation began in the mid%*+4-=s and produced the mainframe computer
and the minicomputer.
The mainrame computer is big, requires air conditioning because of its substantial power
consumption, and needs systems programmers, applications programmers, and operators. A good
example of the mainframe computer is the 7" 62-- series systems. 7ntegrated circuits make the
mainframe computer extremely powerful.
"uch smaller and less expensive than the conventional machines, the minicomputer was first applied
to industrial process control and small%!ob data processing. y the early *+.-=s the minis were taking
on !obs considered difficult for their larger cousins of a decade earlier. The big machines, in turn, were
performing tasks previously considered impractical.
The ourth*generation computer is exemplified by the first commercial microprocessor, the 7ntel
6--6, introduced in *+.*. The central processor unit was put on a single chip. #ith a C<0 chip and a
few memory chips and other integrated circuits, a fully functional general%purpose computer can be
built. 7t weighs a few ounces and consumes a few watts of power.
7n *+./ the &ntel 7879 microprocessor was announced. #ith 5+,--- transistors on a single chip five%
hundredths of a square inch '25 mm5( in area, the /-/4 approached the basic computational
capabilities of minicomputers. The /-/4 was followed by the "otorola "C4/---, with 4/,---
transistors per chip. 7n *+/5, :ewlett%<ackard
announced its 25%bit microprocessor with 6,-,--- logic elements on a slightly larger chip. 7n *++*
7ntel announced its 46%bit microprocessor, the i/4- with 5., million transistors on a chip. Chips like
these form the core of the fifth generation of computers, exemplified by massively parallel and neural
network computers.
0LOSSARY OF COMPUTER TERMS
A!!ress % a number used to identify an internal register or a physical location in a memory unit.
Algorithm % a set of rules designed to solve a specific problem or carry out a certain procedure.
Analog computer % a computer that performs calculations on continuously variable quantities,
represented in the computer by electric voltages or other physical variables.
A(D gate % a logic circuit whose output is a logical * if and only if all of its inputs are logical *=s.
Assem%l$ language % a language used to operate a digital computer.
Au,iliar$ memor$ % relatively slow%speed equipment capable of holding large quantities of digital
information for example, magnetic disks or tapes.
'it % contraction of &binary digit,& a unit of information content. A bit is the smallest unit of
information in a binary 'two%valued( system of notation. 7t is the choice between two possible states,
usually designated * and -.
'$te % eight bits.
CD*ROM % compact disk read%only memory. A plastic disk used to permanently store several hundred
million bytes of data. 1imilar to the compact disks used for audio recording.
Processor Unit % the component of a digital computer consisting of the arithmetic, logical, and control
circuits.
Chip % a small piece of silicon that contains many electric components.
Co!e % a system of symbols and rules for their use in representing information.
Data % the information to be manipulated by a computer.
Data 'an- % a large%scale database, such as that containing all the personnel data for a large
corporation.
Data 'ase % the store of information available to a computer in performing a given task.
Data Communication % the movement of encoded information over electric transmission systems
such as telephone lines.
Data Processing % the use of a digital computer to store, manipulate, and retrieve nonarithmetic
information.
Digital Computer % a computer that performs arithmetic or logical operations on data in the form of
discrete &bits& of information.
Enco!e % to convert information represented in one form to another form, for example, to convert it
from alphabetic and numeric keyboard symbols to patterns of *=s and -=s.
lip*lop % an electric circuit in a computer memory capable of holding one bit of information.
lopp$ !is- % a form of magnetic disk memory using a floppy plastic disk encased in a protective
plastic cover and able to store from a few hundred thousand to several million bytes of data.
Flo1chart % a diagram used by a programmer to outline the sequence of basic operations to be
performed in a given program.
har! !is- % a form of magnetic disk memory using one or stack of rigid disks enclosed in a protective
metal box and able to store from tens of millions to billions of bytes of data.
#ar!1are % the physical equipment that makes up a computer system.
#igh*le+el Language % a language used to control the operation of a digital computer without
referring to its internal components.
&nstruction % a digital%computer word specifying operations to be performed and the addresses of the
operands on which they are to be performed.
&ntegrate! Circuit % a very small electric circuit consisting of many interconnected electric devices
and components.
Logic gate % an electric circuit that performs elementary logical operations.
Machine Language % a language used to control the operation of a digital computer which refers
specifically to its internal components.
Macro &nstruction % a predefined sequence of assembly%language instructions.
Magnetic Dis- Memor$ % a device in which information is stored on spinning disks coated with
magnetic material.
Main Memor$ % the high%speed memory of a digital computer, containing the program currently being
executed and the data being manipulated.
Memor$ % any device capable of retaining information.
Microcomputer % a computer using a microprocessor as its &brain.&
Microprocessor % a central processor unit on a chip.
Minicomputer % a small low%cost computer designed for small% or medium%si;ed businesses and for
scientific use.
Mouse % a device used to control the position of a cursor on a display screen and to give commands to
a computer.
On*line % applies to devices or processes directly controlled by the central processor unit of the
computer.
Operan! % a digital%computer word that is the data for some instruction.
Operating S$stem % a computer program that provides services to users and maximi;es the use of the
computer=s resources.
Operational Ampliier % an electronic amplifier circuit with additional electric components, used in
analog computers.
OR 0ate % a logic circuit whose output is a logical * if one or more of its inputs is a logical *.
Pro%lem Language % a high%level language that requires no knowledge on the part of the user other
that needed to specify the particular problem he or she wants solved.
proce!ural language % a high%level language that requires no knowledge on the part of the user other
than that required to specify the procedure that will solve his or her problem.
Program % a sequence of statements that specify the actions to be undertaken by a digital computer. A
Machine*Language Program % is a sequence of machine instructions capable of execution by the
computer, but other programs require a translation step.
Ran!om Access % a mode of retrieval of information from the computer=s memory in which particular
items of information may be retrieved without reference to the order in which the information was
originally recorded.
Real*time % a mode of computer operation in which the computer=s calculations are coordinated with a
continuous flow of data, as in the control of ongoing industrial processes. 7n such operations, the
timing of the computer calculations must take into account &real time&%%the timing of events in the
external world.
Register % a collection of flip%flops treated as a single unit for holding information.
Se/uential machine % an interconnected collection of logic gates and memory elements. A digital
computer is a sequential machine.
Simulation % a procedure in which a computer performs operations to imitate, and thus to predict, the
development of some process, such as the evolution of a star, the depletion of natural resources, or
even the operation of another computer. 7f the nature of the process is uncertain, various possible
&models& of it can quickly be tested by determining their consequences through simulation.
Sot1are % the programs used by a computer to facilitate its operation and utili;ation.
source !ec- % a deck of punched cards each of which a program statement in a high%level or assembly
language.
summing ampliier % an operational amplifier that performs the mathematical summation of analog
quantities.
systems analysis % the procedure by which an industrial, commercial, or governmental organi;ation is
studied with the aim of determining how to operate it most efficiently, including how most effectively
to usecomputers.
Terminal % a device designed to make it easy to communicate with a digital computer. Terminals are
usually on%line devices that permit many persons to use the computer simultaneously.
Timesharing % a mode of operation in which a digital%computer facility is shared by many users for
different purposes, apparently at the same time. Although the computer actually services each user in
turn, the high speed of the computer makes it appear that the users are all handled simultaneously.
#ord % a standard set of bits that is the usual unit in which information is stored, transmitted, or
operated upon by a digital computer.
Computer Operating S$stems
COMPUTER OPERAT&(0 SYSTEMS, software that controls and coordinates all of a computer=s
operations. 7n fact, a computer system is virtually useless without an operating system. All other
software running on the computer must use the system as its primary contact with the computer=s core
components, such as the central processing unit 'C<0(, the system memory, the floppy and hard disk
drives, and the visual display. Although operating systems are many and varied, they all have the same
duties in common8 the management of hardware devices attached to the computer, the scheduling of
software tasks, and the handling of data.
The core tasks of an operating system are handled by its &kernel,& a portion of the operating system
that is always held in the computer=s memory when the computer is turned on. 1ometimes external
system programs and device drivers%%the software programs that control peripherals such as modems
and printers%%can be added to the operating system to extend the functions of the kernel. @or users to
exercise direct control over the system, the operating system provides a user interface. This may take
the form of a command line, such as the &C8U& prompt of the "1%9D1 operating system, onto which is
typed instructions from the computer=s keyboard, or of a graphical interface with display windows,
icons, and menus through which are issued commands through a pointing device such as a mouse or
trackball.
Bot only do individual computers have operating systems, networks of computers have operating
systems, too. The main feature that distinguishes a network operating system from a single computer
operating system is its ability to deal with more than one user request at a time. ?ocal area networks
'?ABs( of personal computers run network operating systems such as 0nix, #indows BT, and Bovell
Betware. The term &network operating system& is usually abbreviated to BD1, while other operating
systems are referred to generically as an D1.
)h$ are Operating S$stems (ecessar$V Bot all computing devices have operating systems. The
programs in single%function devices that contain microchips, such as calculators or programmable
home appliances, control the hardware directly instead of going through intermediary software.
:owever, computers that are designed to run many different kinds of programs almost always have an
operating system. This makes programming application software, such as word processors and
spreadsheets, for these computers much easier. <rogrammers leave to the operating system the direct
control of the system hardware for tasks like managing memory and saving files to a hard disk. y
writing programs that communicate with the operating system, programmers can focus their efforts on
the functionality of the software application, rather than on the application=s use of the computer=s
components.
@or this reason, the programmers who create operating systems provide and publish &calls& or
application programming interfaces 'A<7s( that application software programmers use to get the
operating system to perform specific tasks. To save a file to disk, for example, application software
sends an instruction to the file%saving A<7, and the operating system communicates with the
microprocessor, random access memory 'commonly known as >A"(, disk controller, and file system
to make sure that the data are safely encoded onto the disk.
Functions o Operating S$stems. #hether a computer is a small personal computer or a large with
hundreds of user terminals, its operating system has four basic functions8 !ob management, task
management, file management, and device management. The first two functions are services the
operating system provides for scheduling events for application software. @ile management is
concerned with the storage and retrieval of data onto magnetic or optical media such as a hard disk
drive or a recordable optical drive. 9evice management handles how an operating system coordinates
the hardware that is either a part of the computer system Uor has been added to it.

:o% Management. 7n the language of networks and large computers, a !ob is anything that needs to be
processed, whether it is a program that must be loaded in a multiuser environment or a print queue in a
local area network. 7n small computers, !ob management is fairly rudimentary, since most !obs are
processed as the direct result of one user=s requests. Complex sequences of instructions are handled
using scripts called 7B7 files. ?arger, multiuser computers have more complicated instruction
sequences to handle, often as a result of many simultaneous requests to the operating system. To
automate complex pro!ects, large computers may use a script language like 7"=s Aob Control
?anguage 'AC?(.
Tas- Management. #hen several programs are running at one time and making requests of system
resources such as microprocessor time or memory, the operating system needs to arbitrate between the
software programs to allocate the computer=s resources. This is called &task management,& and it comes
in three levels. The simplest level of task management is used by systems that can run only one
application at a time, and is called &task switching.& Task switching uses either a programmed software
timer or user intervention to go from one task to another. 7n effect, one task is stopped and another is
started, then the original task can be resumed. Dne step up from task switching is &cooperative
multitasking,& in which applications yield processor cycles to other running applications, effectively
allowing two or more programs to run at one time. "ore advanced is preemptive multitasking, in
which the operating system has tighter control over how each application runs and how much
processor time each running application gets, and when.
The tasks themselves include microprocessor use, the use of memory and virtual memory, and the
input and output of data '7CD(, and they are most often scheduled for the system=s idle time 'in which
users are pausing between keystrokes or other tasks are not making full use of the microprocessor(.
File Management. 7n the )on Beumann computing architecture, storing data 'including programs( is
crucial. 1ince one of the primary functions of an operating system is to handle important functions for
application software, file or data management obviously falls to the operating system. Application
software has no information about where files are actually stored on a disk, or how to retrieve them.
This is stored in the operating system=s access method routines and 'in the case of 9D1%based
machines( in a file allocation table '@AT(. #hen a program is ready to handle data, it sends a call to the
operating system=s programming interface. This signals the operating system to find and retrieve the
file for the application 'by referring to the @AT and using device drivers to send signals through the
disk controller to the disk drive itself(. This process works in reverse when an application is ready to
save a file to disk.
De+ice Management. "ost computer systems are no longer under the strict design of one
manufacturer, as they were before the advent of the personal computer. 1mall computers are often
pieced together using keyboards, interface cards, monitors, memory chips, and peripheral devices such
as printers from many different manufacturers. 7t is crucial that the operating system have a method to
keep track of what devices are attached to the system, how they work, and how to direct the input and
output of signals to and from them.
#hile the operating system provides an information clearinghouse for all devices, it can only do so if
the device manufacturer has provided detailed instructions. "ost often these instructions are contained
in speciali;ed device driver programs that users install whenever a new piece of hardware is added to
the computer. #hen the operating system needs to control the flow of data to or from a piece of
hardware, it calls upon the drivers to do the actual communication.
(et1or- Operating S$stems. Betwork operating systems have a &superset& of functions to handle
tasks beyond the usual responsibilities of an operating system. These are so distinct from regular
operating system functions that some network operating systems require a regular operating system to
take care of basic functions, while they deal only with networking functions.
Betwork operating systems must handle communication among different computers connected to the
network. The primary relationship in a classic clientCserver network is that between the individual
computers on the network, called nodes or clients, and the central network controlling computers,
called servers. The sharing of devices 'including data storage devices and the information on them( is
another network operating system function. And the access rights to all the devices and information on
the network%%especially when it comes to the enforcement of security%%is the paramount responsibility
of the operating system.
User &nterace. The relationship between an operating system and its user interface '07( is best
summed up by what technologists call the 078 a shell. The living and vibrant part of an operating
system is what is beneath the surface$ the rest of it is !ust exterior work. ut despite what technologists
think, the user interface is what the world sees of an operating system and it is the point of interaction
between the user and the operating system.
#istor$. The first design for a computer operating system came from ritish mathematician Charles
abbage '*.+5%*/.*( as part of his concept for a digital &analytical engine.& The device, designed in
*/2,, was never actually created, and abbage=s work was forgotten until its rediscovery in *+2.. 7t is
a concept, however, formed the basis for computers and operating systems developed more than a
century later. "ore pioneering work in the design of computer systems by :ungarian mathematician
Aohn von Beumann '*+-2%*+,.( led to the development of E9)AC 'electronic discrete variable
computer(, completed in *+,5. 7n the stored%memory or )on Beumann architecture, the operating
system and other instructions program are loaded from a storage device 'a floppy disk or magnetic
tape, for example( and stored in main memory 'or >A"(. The stored%program method of operation is
used by all modern multipurpose computers from personal microcomputers to mainframes.
Mainrame an! Minicomputer Operating S$stems. 1tarting with large mainframe and
minicomputer systems designed in the *+,-=s and *+4-=s by 7" and 9igital Equipment Corporation,
computer operating systems were designed to handle large volumes of instructions. "ainframe
operating systems such as 7"=s ")1 '"ultiple )irtual 1torage(, and minicomputer operating systems
such as 9EC=s TD<1%*- and TD<1%5- featured support
for multiple users, since the systems they controlled were in great demand. They also divided up the
clock cycles of the computer to enable the many users to use the system=s microprocessor at the same
time 'a process called timesharing(, and run multiple programs at the same time 'a process called
multitasking(.
These operating systems, like the systems they controlled, were proprietary%%developed by one
company to control a single type of computer also developed by that company. :owever, between the
late *+4-=s and mid%*+.-=s, a multiuser, multitasking operating system was developed as an open
system able to run on many kinds of computer processors. The operating system was called 0nix, and
after its invention in *+4+ by Nen Thompson 'b. *+62( and 9ennis >itchie 'b. *+6*(, it was further
developed by many people in the corporate and academic world 'initially in ATST and the 0niversity
of California at erkeley(. 0nix was compiled in many programming languages and has been
published and sold in many different versions, such as 71C*, HEB7H, and ?inux. 7t is acknowledged as
the operating system able to run on the widest variety ofcomputer systems.
Personal Computer Operating S$stems. #ith low%powered /%bit and *4%bit microprocessors such as
7ntel=s /-// and /-5/4, the early personal computer operating systems did not need to concern
themselves with mainframe and minicomputer issues such as multiuser support, multitasking, or
timesharing. These processors and computers were intended for single%application, single%user tasks.
ut desktop operating systems owed a lot to mainframe and minicomputer operating systems.
The preeminent personal computer operating system of the *+.-=s, 9igital >esearch=s C<C" 'Control
<rogram for "icrocomputers(, was designed to look and act like the 9EC operating system TD<1%*-,
but to do so on desktop /-// systems instead of <9<%*- minicomputers. 7n turn, 1eattle Computer
<roducts= R9D1 'Ruick and 9irty Dperating 1ystem( was modeled after C<C". After R9D1 was sold
to "icrosoft in *+/* and re%released under two names, <C%9D1 'personal computer disk operating
system( and "1%9D1 '"icrosoft disk operating system(, it became the dominant personal computer
operating system of the *+/-=s 'see also Mates, ill(.
0ntil the *+/-=s, all the ma!or operating systems had text%based user interfaces that required users to
type in often arcane instructions at a command prompt onscreen. :owever, Apple Computer built on a
prototype of a graphical user interface designed at Herox Corporation=s <alo Alto >esearch Center.
Apple released its operating system in *+/6 as the "acintosh operating system. 1ince the user
interface is often grafted onto the operating system proper as a &shell,& other companies followed suit
by grafting graphical user interfaces, or M07s, onto existing operating systems.
The earliest releases of "icrosoft #indows were shells that used 9D1 as the true operating system.
0nder 0nix, M07s such as "otif, Dpen ?ook, and H #indow concealed the underlying command line
interface. True graphical operating systems exist on the <C platform, however. They include 7"=s
D1C5 and "icrosoft=s #indows BT.
1ince windowing graphical interfaces set up an expectation that a user can do more than one thing
simultaneously, graphical operating systems support multitasking in one of two ways8 the "acintosh
D1 'up to version .( and "icrosoft #indows up to version 2.** were cooperative multitasking
environments, in which applications yielded processor cycles to other running applications. D1C5,
#indows BT, and #indows +, were preemptive multitasking environments, in which the operating
system determines how much processor each running application gets.
&nternet
&(TER(ET, a world%wide super%network of interconnected computer networks. The core of the
7nternet is a series of powerful computers connected to one another by a broadband
telecommunications network, known as the 7nternet backbone. Dther computer networks can link to
computers on this core network, and computers on these networks are able to link to computers on
other networks, and so on. Any computer able to log on to this interconnected network or networks has
access to databases on other computers in remote locations throughout the world. Through the 7nternet,
people,are able to send and receive electronic mail to any mail server%%a program that acts as an
electronic post office, storing messages and routing them to other mail servers. And the 7nternet
enables computer users to send and retrieve electronic files, such as documents and software programs
from file servers that act as repositories for these files.
Commercial online services, such as Compu1erve and America Dn?ine, fit this broad definition, but
they are, in effect, smaller networks that are self%contained systems but that can also act as 7nternet
service providers '71<s(. An 71< is a computer service that enables individuals to connect to the
7nternet via dial%up phone lines using a
modem.
"ost computers on the 7nternet%%be they individual computers, commercial online services, corporate
networks, or 71<s%%exchange information using 7nternet <rotocol '7<( connections. These computers
have an 7< address. 1uch addresses are issued to organi;ations by the 7nterB7C >egistration 1ervice,
and appear in the form of &dotted octet,& a group of four sets of numbers separated by periods, such as
*52.*52.52.5. ecause these digital addresses are difficult to remember, numeric 7< addresses can have
nicknames, or &domain names& by which they are commonly referred.
&P A!!ressing an! the Domain (ame S$stem. The 7nternet consists of many thousands of networks
called domains, connected to the wider network by local service providers and a high%speed, high%
capacity backbone of T2 fiber optic cables. The backbone, which is provided by national 71<s
including Alternet and Bet ++, has a data pipe that can maintain transfer rates of 6, megabits per
second. 7n ma!or metropolitan areas, the backbone links to routers that provide access to local 71<s.
9ata transferred across the 7nternet takes whatever route it can find through the backbone to other
network servers so that it can reach its destination. 7f one server or connecting line 'also called a
&pipe&( is down or overloaded, the data are rerouted through another pipe.
The central registration service for the 7nternet, which distributes 7< addresses and assigns domain
names to those 7< addressses, is called 7nterB7C 'the 7nternet Betwork 7nformation Center(. 7nterB7C
was formed in *++2 as part of an agreement between the Bational 1cience @oundation, Meneral
Atomics, ATST, and Betwork 1olutions, 7nc. 'which administers the operation(. 7nterB7C assigns
blocks of 7< addresses to network administrators who request them, and also assigns domain names to
applicants who already have 7<
addresses.
Domain names are the public face of navigating the 7nternet, the equivalent of saying &the red house
on the corner of /th and 7rving& instead of using the formal address with ;ip code. 7n order for e%mail
to reach its destination, or for a browser to retrieve a #eb page, the e%mail or browser request must be
addressed with a domain name that identifies the location on the 7nternet where information is to be
sent or from which it is to be retrieved.
roadly speaking, anything to the right of the &W& sign in an e%mail address is a domain. @or example,
in the 7nterB7C information e%mail address infoWinternic.net, the domain is internic.net. The domain
name is divided into two parts8 the location or system name is first, followed by a period 'or &dot&( and
then the type of domain. There are six top%level domains in the 0nited 1tates, of which the commercial
domain '.com( is the growing most rapidly, at the rate of one new domain every two minutes during
*++4. The six top%level domains are8
Com% used by commercial organi;ations
Edu % granted only to four%year, degree colleges
Mov %0.1. government agencies
"il %0.1. 9epartment of 9efense agencies
Bet % networks, such as 7nternet service providers
Drg % not%for%profit organi;ations
7n addition to these top%level domains, there are other subdomains that are used to further identify the
location and the owner of the computer described by the domain name. The country domain, which in
the case of the 0nited 1tates is &us&, identifies the country in which the computer is located. 7n the
0nited 1tates, the country code is usually preceded by a two%letter state abbreviation 'the same one
used by the 0.1. <ost Dffice(. :owever, one of the following subdomains may be used in place of a
state code8
fed % agencies of the federal government
isa % interstate authority
nsn % native sovereign nations 'Bative American communities that cross state, regional, or
national boundaries(
And preceding a subdomain, there are many other sub%subdomains8
ci % city government agencies
co % county government agencies
k*5 % public schools
cc % community colleges
tec % technical and vocational schools
lib % state, county, and city libraries
state % state government agencies
gen % general independent entities
cog % councils of government
mus % museums
dst % districts
Domain names all have 7< address equivalents, which are the only 7nternet addresses 7<
communications understand. Therefore, the 7nternet uses the domain name system '9B1( to translate
domain names into the dotted octet 7< address. #hen e%mail is sent across the 7nternet, for example,
the 9B1 server translates the domain names into the 7< address, sending the message on to the
appropriate server.
Elements o the &nternet. The information, or &content,& accessible through the 7nternet is vast and
amorphous, but content comes in distinct types, each of which is accessed using a different protocol.
The element of the 7nternet that brought this international super%network into the public lexicon by the
mid%*++-=s is the #orld #ide #eb '#2 or ###(, a then relative newcomer to the 7nternet
architecture that many people mistook for the whole of the 7nternet. Bothing could be further from the
truth$ in fact, the ma!ority of 7nternet traffic is generated by electronic mail.
E*mail. The most common protocol used for 7nternet mail is called 1"T< '1imple "ail Transfer
<rotocol(. An e%mail message is largely text information encoded in A1C77%%an acronym for the
7nternational 1tandards Drgani;ation '71D( standard called the American 1tandard Code for
7nformation 7nterchange and pronounced &ask%ee.& Text messages are sent to a mail server, where the
e%mail waits until retrieved by its addressee. 7nternet e%mail passes along the 7nternet backbone from
server to server, taking whichever route it can to get from sender to recipient. 7f it encounters a delay
along one route, it is re%routed in another direction.
7n addition to pure textual information, e%mail can include binary file attachments, which need to be
encoded separately from the text message. The two most common encoding techniques for e%mail
attachments are 00encoding 'originally developed as the output from a 0nix utility called
&uuencode&( and "7"E 'multipurpose internet mail extensions(.
0opher. Another long%standing 7nternet feature is Mopher, a program that searches for data across
specially configured computers, called Mopher servers. Mopher uses a series of menus to aid
navigation, across the servers in &Mopherspace& 'the collective name for all the more than .,---
Mopher servers on the 7nternet( using a consistent menu structure that conceals the complex navigation
from the user.
Usenet. 0senet 'the user network( is a dispersed public access network on the 7nternet that collects the
writings, news, and debates of its participants. 7n *++,, the daily volume generated by the more than
*-,--- newsgroups then available exceeded ,- megabytes of information, forcing newsgroups to
become dispersed across many different servers. ecause of space considerations and traffic volume,
not all newsgroups are accessible from all 7nternet service providers.
File Transer Protocol 2FTP3. efore the advent of the #orld #ide #eb, the movement of files
across the 7nternet used to be the !ob of the file transfer protocol, or @T<. @T< sites are still common
across the 7nternet, though it is now possible to search for and download files from #eb sites directly.
@T< uses a file directory structure that the user navigates like a local hard drive. Alternatively, files at
@T< sites can be found using one of several file search techniques. The classic technique is a fairly
slow and unreliable one called &Archie& 'a truncation of the word archive(. There are a few do;en
systems across the 7nternet designated as Archie servers that catalog files available for downloading.
The Archie servers periodically search @T< sites across the 7nternet and record information about the
sites they find. ecause these searches are not constant, however, the file catalogs on Archie servers
are often outdated.
Another, more reliable, @T< search technique is the )1? 'virtual software library(, once known as
1:A1E 'a contraction of shareware search engine(, developed at the 0niversity of ?!ubl!ana in
1lovenia. The )1? system involves some effort on the part of @T< archive managers, who provide two
indexes8 a quick index file, or R7@, and an archive description file, or A9@. The )1? checks the index
files of all registered sites daily, making for a relatively up%to%date collection.
)orl! )i!e )e%. y *++4, the #orld #ide #eb had become the most popular part of the 7nternet.
0sing a protocol called &http& 'the hypertext transfer protocol(, #eb browsing software such as
Betscape Bavigator, ?ynx, or "icrosoft 7nternet Explorer sends an 7nternet address 'also called a
universal resource locator, or 0>?( to the domain name server, and interprets the coded files that are
sent back from the #eb server. The code of a #eb page is usually a simple text file with formatted by
hypertext markup language ':T"?(.
1ometimes, the :T"? code calls up graphics and places them in the #eb page, sometimes it provides
links to other #eb pages. These links generally show up as text of a different color, and are called
hypertext links, or hyperlinks for short. 0sing a mouse or other pointing device, the user simply clicks
on a hyperlink, which causes the #eb browser to contact another #eb site and request a specific page.
Dther elements that can be served up to a #eb browser include graphics files, sound files, digital
video, or computer programs. @or digital data files, the #eb browser usually calls upon a separate
program called a helper application to interpret the file and display it. To execute programs to process
forms or search for data, #eb pages use CM7 'common gateway interface( scripts, usually written in a
simple batch processing language called <erl. 1un "icrosystems= Aavascript brought a more structured
programming language akin to CGG to the business of running applications from within #eb
documents. "icrosoft created a standard called ActiveH to handle similar tasks to those that Aavascript
was designed to do.
#istor$ o the &nternet. 7n the cold war years following the #orld #ar 77, the 0.1. 9epartment of
9efense began building computer networks to handle military operations. ut the threat of nuclear
attack and massive destruction of the communications infrastructure found a weak link in the existing
military networks. The Advanced >esearch <ro!ects Agency 'A><A(, later called the 9efense
Advanced >esearch <ro!ects Agency, or 9A><A, designed and implemented a network to redirect
information around military servers even if the most direct route and many of the nodes and servers
were destroyed. The dynamic routing protocols used as a failsafe measure formed the basis for the
modern 7nternet.
The resulting experimental network, called A><ABET, ran from *+4+ through the early *+.-=s, during
which time the networks that linked American universities were added to the network. 7n *+.,,
9A><A relinquished continued management of their experiment to the 9efense Communications
Agency. Throughout the next half of the decade, the key 7nternet protocols including 7< and TC< were
stabili;ed and adopted throughout A><ABET.
y August *+/2, there were ,45 registered host servers in A><ABET, mainly minicomputers such as
<9<%**C6,s and )AHs and other large, expensive computers running 0B7H. 9uring the *+/-=s,
minicomputers such as the <C, "acintosh, and 1un workstations were introduced, and A><ABET
became known as the 7nternet. The Bational 1cience @oundation 'B1@( took a hand in the
demilitari;ed 7nternet, basing their own network, B1@BET, on the 7nternet protocols. B1@BET,
formed in *+/,, was the core of the 0.1. branches of the 7nternet
until it was privati;ed and ultimately replaced adecade later.
y *+/., the business of naming domains 'then in the hands of B1@( had become stable, but another
problem raised its head8 that of overloading the network. A prank or rogue program called the &7nternet
#orm& was released by a student that year, and clogged the 7nternet=s bandwidth, bringing the system
to a standstill. "any fear that bandwidth%hogging elements such as video and graphics could have the
same effect on the 7nternet soon, especially given the massive increase in traffic in recent years.
7n *+/+, a team of particle physicists at the 1wiss research lab CE>B 'Centre EuropXen pour la
>echerche BuclXaire, later translated to English as the European Center for <article >esearch( adapted
the hypertext linking technique used by a variety of programs to work on the 7nternet. The intention
was to use it to share physics and other research. ritish computer scientist Tim erners%?ee 'b. *+,,(
developed a program for interpreting these hypertext commands in *++- and released it, the first #eb
browser, to @T< sites on the 7nternet in *++*. This
was the beginning of the #orld #ide #eb and a driving force in the development of :T"? standards.
A team at the Bational Center for 1upercomputing Applications 'BC1A( at the 0niversity of 7llinois
'one of B1@=s supercomputer centers( developed a graphical interface to the #eb browser and released
it as B1CA "osaic in *++2, which established the #orld #ide #eb in earnest as a popular tool. Dne
of the development team of BC1A "osaic, then a student, "arc Andreessen, founded Betscape, which
is in large part responsible for the development of the #eb, via its commercial browser Betscape
Bavigator, ever since.
Multime!ia
MULT&MED&A . At its most literal, multimedia describes presentations that incorporate more than
one type of communications medium%%text, photos, sound, animation, and the like. Typically,
though,multimedia describes any computer%based application that uses a variety of text, sound,
photographs and other digital images, and motion video and animation, and that engages the user to
interact with these media elements in order to fully experience the application. A multimedia
application can be relatively simple, such as this C9%>D"%based encyclopedia that includes text,
photographs, and other images. "ultimedia applications can also be very complex, such as a virtual
reality arcade game that includes bright, moving graphics and stereo sound.
Multime!ia Computers. "ultimedia computers are machines optimi;ed to run applications that use
combined media. "ultimedia applications, especially those that incorporate many video and animation
sequences or that frequently draw new graphic images on the screen, require computers capable of
retrieving information from storage and processing and displaying that information without noticeable
delays. A typical multimedia personal computer includes a fast microprocessor to quickly process
instructions. They typically have large amounts 'often *4 megabytes or more for optimum use( of
random%access memory '>A"( to hold program instructions and information, and a video accelerator
card that allows the computer to quickly render graphic images and display them on the monitor. An
audio card is required to convert digital sound into analog sound waves that can be heard over
loudspeakers. @inally, multimedia computers have a C9%>D" drive to play the C9%>D" discs most
multimedia software programs are stored on.
Apple Computer;s Macintosh computer was the leading multimedia computer in the late *+/-=s and
early *++-=s. y *++4, however, virtually all personal computers were configured to run multimedia
applications.
A #istor$ rom #$perte,t. "ultimedia came out of work done in the field of hypertext. The idea
behind hypertext was to facilitate nonsequential retrieval of information. #hile traditional text is linear
and sequential, hypertext has no order that determines the pattern in which the content is experienced.
Each unit of information has a name, such as a node, a script, or a page. <ointers to other units are
called links. A word in a text document, for example, could be linked to a word in another document
that, in turn, could have links to other words in other documents. y linking documents in this fashion,
readers could follow links to get more and more in%depth information based on their interests, rather
than reading one document from beginning to end, then moving on to the next document and reading it
from start to finish, and so on.
There are many well%known hypertext systems. 1ince the early *++-=s, computer users have begun to
take multimedia for granted as an essential format for presentations, educational modules, adventure
games, and online information. The concept of hypertext is at the root of multimedia programs, as it is
the fundamental technique for working with graphics and various other media within computer
software. #hile hypertext has its foundations in text, today linked data may be in most media formats.
A picture can be linked to text, which can be linked to a sound, for example. "oreover, hyperlinks can
lead across documents stored in different places. A document stored on a C9%>D" disc can include a
link to a document located on a computer across the globe and accessible through the 7nternet.
Though hypertext became a familiar concept as the #orld #ide #eb became accessible to millions of
people in the *++-=s, the idea of hypertext and hypertext products has actually been around for years.
7n *+6,, )annevar ush'*/+-%*+.6(, a scientist and advisor to <resident >oosevelt during #orld #ar
77, proposed a system called the
memory extender, or "emex. The system was never implemented, however his proposal appeared in
the Atlantic "onthly and caused quite a stir. The system ush proposed used microfilm and allowed
the user to combine different microfilms in a single view. The essential feature of the "emex was the
same as present%day hypertext or multimedia8 it depended on the ability to tie two units of information
together.
9oug Engelbart began work on the 1tanford >esearch 7nstitute Augment pro!ect in *+45. B?1 'oB
?ine 1ystem( was a part of the Augment pro!ect that allowed researchers to cross%reference the work of
others in their reports and papers by storing all of their work in one shared area. B?1 was
demonstrated at the *+4/ @all Aoint Computer Conference. The demonstration used special video
pro!ectors and microwave transmission lines between the lab and the conference, and was a forerunner
of interactive computing.
Ted Belson coined the term &hypertext& in *+4,. :e developed the Hanadu system, the concept of
which was an intermeshing of the entire body of written works. :is large%scale literary vision was
never created, in part due to storage capacity, not to mention the copyright problems.
The first working hypertext system was the :ypertext Editing 1ystem created in *+4. as a research
pro!ect at rown 0niversity. 7" later sold this system to BA1A=s "anned 1pacecraft Center in
:ouston where it was used to produce documentation for the Apollo missions. 7t was followed up by a
*+4/ pro!ect at rown called @>E11 '@ile >etrieval and Editing 1ystem(. oth systems allowed for
basic linking, and were mainly text%based.
:owever, it was not until *+./ that these systems became more like the multimedia known today. 7n
*+./, the Aspen "ovie map was developed at what would later become the "7T "edia ?ab. Aspen
allowed the user to take a simulated &drive& through the city of Aspen using a computer screen. As in
later computer games, a person would use a !oystick to navigate the virtual space. This system used
two screens$ one large screen showed the view of the city, and the other sat below as an overview or
map. The Aspen group later began building instructional repair manuals for cars and bicycles that used
a variety of video, image, and text content.
7n *+/2, the Nnowledge "anagement 1ystem, or N"1, was released as a commercial product. A
descendant of the TDM research at Carnegie "ellon 0niversity, N"1 ran on 0nix workstations and
was designed to managed large hypertexts with tens of thousands of nodes. That same year, :yperties
was created at the 0niversity of "aryland. :yperties allowed hyperlinks in text that gave the user a
short definition of where they were going by following a link before actually taking them there.
7n *+/,, a program called BoteCards was designed at Herox <A>C '<alo Alto >esearch Center(, and
later became a commercial product. The program created a set of &notecards,& each of which appeared
on the computer screen as a new window. That same year, the 1ymbolics workstation came with a
hypertext manual called the 1ymbolics 9ocument Examiner, and 7ntermedia was developed at rown
0niversity. ?inks in the 7ntermedia system were bi%directional, meaning that a word in one document
linked to a word in another document, which in turn linked back to the original document.
Muide, the first popular commercial hypertext system, was released for the "acintosh, and later for
<Cs, in *+/4. >ather than leaving the node to link to another, the links were anchors for text strings
that would pop up as the user scrolled over or edited the text. y *+/., :yperCard, a BoteCard%like
system, was produced by Apple Computer. :yperCard quickly became popular in part due to the fact
that it was bundled with new "acintosh computers.
"ultimedia on C9%>D". 7n the mid%*++-=s, hypermedia systems began to gain public recognition due
to the proliferation of C9%>D", or compact disk%read only memory. This optical storage technology
revolutioni;ed multimedia because of its storage capacity of a floppy disk, and thus a single C9%>D"
disc could hold all the text, images, digital audio, and animation needed for a complex multimedia
application. At first, C9%>D" was most commonly used to store large databases of text documents,
but by *++2, short, black%and%white videos became available on C9%>D", followed quickly by
applications that included full%color video, music, and animation.
Along with the C9%>D" revolution has come data compression standards such as "<EM and
RuickTime that allowed digiti;ed video footage to be stored in less space. The next step in optical
storage for multimedia applications is 9igital )ideo 9iscs 'or 9)9(. 9)9 provides enough storage to
place a full%length movie on a compact disc, but requires a 9)9 disc drive in order for the disc to be
used on a personal computer.
Multime!ia on the )orl! )i!e )e%. 7n *+/+, CE>B, the European ?aboratory for <article <hysics
in 1wit;erland, created a global hypertext system called the #orld #ide #eb that uses the 7nternet as
its transport mechanism. The #eb uses a standard called hypertext transport protocol ':TT<( for the
acquisition of content from other computers on the 7nternet.
A specification known as :yperText "arkup ?anguage ':T"?( enables documents stored on the
#orld #ide #eb to link to documents stored on computers elsewhere on the network. oth :TT< and
:T"? are the foundations for an intricate multimedia communications medium. 9eveloped first as a
way for researchers to quickly access related works on other computers, the #orld #ide #eb became
by the mid%*++-=s a mass medium using colorful graphics, video, sound, and animation. <rogramming
environments such as 1un "icrosystem=s Aava, and applications such as "acromedia=s 9irector allow
users to easily create multimedia applications and publish them on the #eb.
ecause of the proliferation of the 7nternet, multimedia now encompasses the world of online
documentation, technical support, interactive shopping, dictionaries and reference works, advertising,
visual brainstorming, interactive discussions, education, entertainment, travel and language assistance,
interactive fiction, and even sex. "ore than *-,--- multimedia C9%>D" titles were available in the
marketplace in *++,, and by *++4, thousands of #eb sites included interactive multimedia elements.
y the year 5---, it is expected that multimedia will be the norm by which ideas and information are
communicated among businesses and to consumers.