History and Development of Computers

“Who invented the computer?” is not a question with a simple answer. The real answer is that many inventors contributed to the history of computers and that a computer is a complex piece of machinery made up of many parts, each of which can be considered a separate invention.

Development of Computers

The computers we see today, were not always the same. By computers, I mean anything that is able or helpful in computing. Early computers were mechanical calculators, punching machines etc. Then came ENIAC etc. that digitally computed but were too big. The usage of personal computers started as a hobby among a certain set of people and went on to become something that people cannot live without.

THE ABACUS

Abacus is known to be the first mechanical calculating device. Which was used to be performed addition and subtraction easily and speedily? This device was a first develop Ed by the Egyptians in the 10th centaury B.C, but it was given it final shape in the 12th centaury A.D. by the Chinese educationists. Abacus is made up of wooden frame in which rod where fitted across with rounds beads sliding on the rod. It id dividing into two parts called ‘Heaven’ and ‘Earth’. Heaven was the upper part and Earth was the lower one. Thus any no. can be represented by placing the beads at proper place.

NAPIER’S BONES

Napier As the necessity demanded, scientist started inventing better calculating device. In thus process John Napier’s of Scotland invented a calculating device, in the year 1617 called the Napier Bones. In the device, Napier’s used the bone rods of the counting purpose where some no. is printed on these rods. These rods that one can do addition, subtraction, multiplication and division easily.

PASCAL’S CALCULATOR

Pascal’s calculator In the year 1642, Blaise Pascal a French scientist invented an adding machine called Pascal’s calculator, which represents the position of digit with the help of gears in it.

LEIBNZ CALCULATOR

Leibnz Calculator In the year 1671, a German mathematics, Gottfried Leibniz modified the Pascal calculator and he developed a machine which could perform various calculation based on multiplication and division as well.

ANALYTICAL ENGINE

Analytical Engine In the year 1833, a scientist form England knows to be Charles Babbage invented such a machine. Which could keep our data safely? This device was called Analytical engine and it deemed the first mechanical computer. It included such feature which is used in today’s computer language. For this great invention of the computer, Sir Charles Babbage is also known as the father of the computer.

Computers Generations

The history of computer development is often in reference to the different generations of computing devices. Each of the five generations of computers is characterized by a major technological development that fundamentally changed the way computers operate, resulting in increasingly smaller, cheaper, more powerful and efficient computing devices.

First Generation of Computers (1942-55): Vacuum Tubes

The computers manufactured between 1942 -55 are called first Generation Computers. They were extremely large in size with vacuum tubes in their circuitry which generated considerable heat. Hence, special air conditioning arrangements were required to dissipate this heat.

They were extremely slow and their storage capacity was also very less compared to today’s computers. In these computers punched cards were used to enter data in to the computer. These were cards with rectangular holes punched in them using some punching devices. UNIVACI was the first commercially available computer, built in 1951 by Remington Rand Company. It had storage capacity of about 2000 words. These were used mostly for payroll, billing and some mathematical computing.

Second Generation Computers (1956-1965): Transistors

The computers, in which vacuum tubes were replaced by transistors made from semiconductors, were called second generation computers. The use of transistors reduced the heat generated during the operation. It also decreased the size and increased storage capacity. It required less power to operate and were much faster than first generation computers. Magnetic media was being used as an auxiliary storage of data. These computers used high level languages for writing computer programs. FORTRAN and COBOL were the languages used.

Third Generation Computers (1966-1976): Integrated Circuits

The third generation computers started in 1966 with incorporation of integrated circuits (IC) in the circuitry. IC is a monolithic circuit comprising a circuitry equivalent to tens of transistors on a single chip of semiconductor having a small area a number of pins for external circuit connections. IBM 360 series computers in this generation had provision for facilitating time sharing and multiprograms also.

These were small size and cost effective computers compared to Second generation computers. Storage capacity and speed of these computers was increased many folds as include user friendly package programs, word processing and remote terminals. Remote terminals could use central computer facilities and get the result, instantaneously.

Fourth Generation Computers (1975-Present): Microprocessors

Fourth Generation Computers were introduced after 1975 and in these computers electronic components were further miniaturized through Large Scale Integration (LSI) techniques Microprocessor which are programmable Ics fabricated using LSI technique are used in these computers. Micro computers were developed by combing microprocessor with other LSI Chips, with compact size, increased speed and increased storage capacity. In recent days, Ics fabricated using VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) techniques are used in Computers. Through this techniques, the storage capacity is increased many folds. Not only that, the speed of these computers is also very high as compared to earlier computers.

During 1980s, some computers called as super computers were introduced in the market. These computers perform operation with exceptionally high speed (approx 100 million operations per sec). This speed is attained by employing number of microprocessors consequently there cost is also very high. These are normally used in very complex application like artificial intelligence etc.

Fifth Generation Computers (Present & Beyond): Artificial Intelligence

Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in development, though there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today. The use of parallel processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a reality. Quantum computation and molecular and nanotechnology will radically change the face of computers in years to come. The goal of fifth-generation computing is to develop devices that respond to natural language input and are capable of learning and self-organization.

Introduction to Computer Science

What is Computer Science?

Computer Science is the systematic study of the feasibility, structure, expression, and mechanization of the methodical processes (or algorithms) that underlie the acquisition, representation, processing, storage, communication of, and access to information, whether such information is encoded in bits and bytes in a computer memory or transcribed in genes and protein structures in a human cell. The fundamental question underlying all of computing is: what computational processes can be efficiently automated and implemented?

To tackle this seemingly simple question, computer scientists work in many complementary areas. They study the very nature of computing to determine which problems are (or are not) computable. They compare various algorithms to determine if they provide a correct and efficient solution to a concrete problem. They design programming languages to enable the specification and expression of such algorithms. They design, evaluate, and build computer systems that can efficiently execute such specifications. And, they apply such algorithms to important application domains.

What Computer Science Is Not…

Computer Science is not just about building computers or writing computer programs! Computer Science is no more about building computers and developing software than astronomy is about building telescopes, biology is about building microscopes, and music is about building musical instruments! Computer science is not about the tools we use to carry out computation. It is about how we use such tools, and what we find out when we do. The solution of many computer science problems may not even require the use of computers—just pencil and paper. As a matter of fact, problems in computer science have been tackled decades before computers were even built. That said, the design and implementation of computing system hardware and software is replete with formidable challenges and fundamental problems that keep computer scientists busy. Computer Science is about building computers and writing computer programs, and much much more!

Why Computer Science?

In 1943, Thomas J. Watson, Chairman of IBM declared: “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” A few billion computers later, there is a temptation to fall into Watson’s embarrassing underestimation of the potential that computing may have on our society. Indeed, in a few decades, “one computer per capita” may sound as outrageous as a “world market of five computers” sounds today. Computer scientists envision a world in which computing is pervasive and seamless. The golden age of computing (and of computer scientists) has barely begun. Students choose to major in computer science for a variety of reasons. Many of our students graduate to rewarding computer-related careers in software engineering, system administration and management, research and development in industrial and governmental laboratories. And, since computer technology has transformed almost all disciplines, many of our graduates use their computer science major (and the analytical skills it instills) to prepare them for a career in other disciplines such as medicine, law, education, physical and life sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Demand for graduates well-versed in computer science is high and is expected to continue to grow as the information age comes of age!

How Does Computer Science Relate To Scientific Computing?

Computers and software artifacts have become indispensable tools for the pursuit of pretty much every scientific discipline. The use of computers has enabled biologists to comprehend genetics, has enabled astrophysicists to get within femtoseconds of the big bang’s initial conditions, and has enabled geologists to predict earthquakes. It is not surprising, then, for scientists in these disciplines to increasingly rely on a computational methodology (in addition to traditional mathematical or empirical methodologies) to make advances in their respective fields of study. Such scientists are often referred to as computational scientists. So, a computational chemist is a scientist who uses computers to make contribution to chemistry, just as a mathematical physicist uses mathematics to model atomic dynamics, or an empirical biologist uses a microscope to observe cellular behaviors. And, just like all of these scientific disciplines, advances in computer science itself often rely on the use of computers and computational processes. In that sense, among all scientific disciplines, Computer Science is unique. It is the only discipline which fuels its own advancement. Indeed it is a recursive discipline!

How Does Computer Science Relate To Computer Engineering?

The realization of a computing system, subject to various physical and technological constraints, is a challenging undertaking that requires a great deal of knowledge about the functionality and characteristics of the building blocks available at our disposal using today’s technologies (e.g., semiconductor technologies, optical communication technologies, wireless signaling technologies, etc.) Computer engineering concerns itself with current practices in assembling hardware and software components to erect computing engines with the best cost-performance characteristics. In contrast, computer scientists worry about the feasibility and efficiency of solutions to problems in a manner that is less dependent on current technologies. As such, computer scientists work on abstractions that hide details of underlying implementations to enable the construction and comprehension of yet more complex systems. The creative process of developing, implementing, and evaluating computing abstractions is what pushes the frontiers of what computers and computations can do. For example, the pervasive use of the Web in our society is a direct result of our ability to free Internet application developers from the lower-level implementation details of moving bits and bytes over wires from one point to another. Similarly, the tremendous advances in the use of computer animation are a direct result of our ability to free programmers from having to worry about lower-level digital signal processing techniques.

What Does It Take To Be A Successful Computer Scientist?

Computer Science is about problem solving. Thus, the qualities of a good computer scientist include a passion for finding elegant solutions, an ability to use mathematical analysis and logical rigor to evaluate such solutions, creativity in modeling complex problems through the use of abstractions, attention to details and hidden assumptions, an ability to recognize variants of the same problem in different settings, and being able to retarget known efficient solutions to problems in new settings. If you like to solve puzzles, then computer science is for you!