Computer System - Overview
Evolution of computer
The first device to be qualified as a computing tool was the abacus. The abacus was a wooden rack with parallel rods on which beads were strung. The abacus was used for making additions and subtractions. It enabled the users to represent numbers by positioning the beads on the rack. In 1694, Blaise Pascal invented the first digital calculating machine which could add up numbers that were entered by turning dials.
Charles Babbage invented an analytical engine in 1842 which was intended to be completely automatic. It was an automatic calculating machine that was powered by steam. Also, during this period, Herman Hollerith developed the concept of punched cards which are used till date as input media in modern digital computers. Table 1.1 illustrates the trends in computer system capabilities.
In 1944, Howard H. Aiken of Harvard University collaborated with IBM to release the first fully automatic calculating machine named the Mark 1 computer. Also called as the IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (ASCC), the computer was based on the techniques that had already been developed for the punched card machinery. The Mark 1 computer proved to be extremely reliable. However, it was huge and had a very complex design.
Table 1.1: Major Trends in Computer System Capabilities
|
|
First Generation
|
Second Generation
|
Third Generation
|
Fourth Generation
|
Fifth Generation
|
|
Period
|
1940 - 56
|
1956 - 63
|
1963 - 71
|
1971 - 91
|
1991 and Beyond
|
|
Number of Computers
|
Few thousands
|
Tens of thousands
|
Hundreds of thousands
|
Millions
|
Billions
|
|
Circuitry
|
Vacuum tubes or Electronic valves
|
Transistors
|
Integrated circuits
Microchips
|
Microprocessors
Large scale integrated (LSI) circuits
Very large scale integrated (VLSI) circuits
|
Ultra large scale integrated (ULSI) circuits
Parallel processing
|
|
Technology for Memory
|
Mercury delay lines
Magnetic drums
Electrostatic storage tubes
|
Magnetic core
|
Magnetic disks
|
LSI semiconductor memory
Magnetic disks
Optical disk
|
VLSI semiconductor memory
Magnetic disks
Optical disk
|
|
Types of Languages
|
Machine language
|
Assembly language
COBOL
FORTRAN
LISP
|
High Level Languages such as Pascal and
BASIC
Command line operating systems
|
C
C++
Command line interface
Graphical user interface
|
Java
|
|
Input/Output Devices
|
Punched cards
|
Punched cards
Magnetic tape
Printed
papers
|
Monitors
Keyboard
|
Mouse
Handheld devices
|
Voice recognition devices
Handwriting recognition
Wireless devices
|
|
Input Media
|
Punched cards, Paper tapes
|
Punched cards
|
Keyboards
|
Keyboard, Pointing devices, Scanners, Digitizers
|
Voice recognition, Handwriting recognition, Speech, Touch devices
|
|
Output Media
|
Punched Cards, Printed Reports and Documents
|
Punched Cards, Printed Reports and Documents
|
Printed Reports and Documents Video Displays
|
Video Displays, Audio Responses, Printed Reports and Documents
|
Video Displays, Voice Responses, Hyperlinked Multimedia Documents
|
|
Primary Storage Media
|
Magnetic Drum
|
Magnetic Core
|
Magnetic Core
|
LSI Semiconductor Memory
|
VLSI Semiconductor
|
|
Secondary Storage Media
|
Magnetic Tape, Magnetic Drum
|
Magnetic Tape, Magnetic Disk
|
Magnetic Tape, Magnetic Disk
|
Magnetic Disk, Optical Disk
|
Optical Disk, Magnetic Disk
|
|
Networking
|
None
|
Mainframe-based Networks
of Video Terminals
|
Mainframe and Minicomputer-
based Networks
|
Local Area and Client/Server
Networks
|
The Internet, Intranet, and Extranet
|
|
Examples
|
UNIVAC
ENIVAC
|
LARC
IBM 401
|
Mainframes
IBM 360
|
IBM 370
Apple II
Macintosh
|
Laptops
Palmtops
|
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