COMPUTER FUNDAMENTALS

Lesson 1

THE EVOLUTION OF COMPUTER

 A computer originally meant a person capable of performing basic numerical calculation

with the help of the mechanical computing device. Now, computer is a machine or
device that performs processes, calculations and operations based on instructions
provided by a software or hardware program. It is designed to execute applications and
provides a variety of solutions by combining integrated hardware and software
components.

 1930 is the year of evolution of computer started.

 In 1964, history of computers dated back to the invention of a mechanical adding

machine.

 An abacus is a manual aid to calculating that consists of beads or disks that can be
moved up and down on a series of sticks or strings within a usually wooden frame.
The abacus itself doesn't calculate; it's simply a device for helping a human being to
calculate by remembering what has been counted. It was invented by John Napier and
slide rule by William Oughtred.

Wooden Abacus

 Abacist is the term called for the user of an abacus who slides the beads of the abacus
by hand.

 In First Generation Computer in this generation was expensive and bulky. It used
machine language for computing and could solve problem at a time. Computer during
this phase could not support multitasking task.

First Generation Computer

 It was 1937 that John V. Atanasoff devised the first digital electronic computer.

 It was November 1939 when Atanasoff and Berry came up with ABC prototype.

 In 1941 Z3 was Konrad Zuse’z notable achievement in the evolution of computer.

 The Z3 was a German electromechanical computer designed by Konrad Zuse. It was the
world's first working programmable, fully automatic digital computer. The Z3 was built
with 2,600 relays, implementing a 22-bit word length that operated at a clock frequency
of about 4–5 Hz. Program code was stored on punched film.

 In 1946, The United States Army’s Ballistic Research Laboratory came up with the
Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC)

ENIAC
 ENIAC was turning – complete, digital computer, capable of being reprogrammed to
solve full range of computing problems.

 During Second Generation transistor made computers smaller and cheaper. They made
computers energy efficient.

 Stanford Research Institute brought ERMA, Electronic Recording Mahine Accounting

project, which dealt with the automation of the process of bookkeeping in banking.

 ERMA, was a pioneering computer development project run at SRI under contract to
Bank of America in order to automate banking and bookkeeping.

 In 1959, the General Electric Corporation delivered ERMA computing system of the Bank
of America in California.

 During Third Generation semi-conductors increased it speed and efficiency of the

computer.

 In 1968, DEC launced the first mini computer called the PDP-8.

 In 1969, the development of Arpanet began with financial backing of the department of
defense.

 In 1971 Intel Produced large scale integration circuits.

  1972, Intel introduced the 8080 microprocessor

 Microprocessor incorporates most or all of the functions of a central processing unit

(CPU) on a single Integrated Circuit(IC)

 Intel 8080 was the second 8-bit microprocessor designed and manufactured by Intel and
was released in April 1974. It is an extended and enhanced variant of the earlier 8008
design, although without binary compatibility.

 Computer system under fifth generation is based on principles of Artificial Intelligence

and Natural Language recognition.

SOURCE:
Computer Fundamental by Mary A. Soriano
www.historyofinfomation.com