Introduction Of Computer

What is a Computer ?
A computer is a programmable machine. The two principal characteristics of a computer are: it responds to a specific set of instructions in a well-defined manner and it can execute a prerecorded list of instructions (a program). Modern Computers Defined Modern computers are electronic and digital. The actual machinery -- wires,transistors, and circuits -- is called hardware; the instructions and data are called software. All general-purpose computers require the following hardware components: memory: enables a computer to store, at least temporarily, data and programs. mass storage device: allows a computer to permanently retain large amounts of data. Common mass storage devices include disk drives and tape drives. input device: usually a keyboard and mouse, the input device is the conduit through which data and instructions enter a computer. output device: a display screen, printer, or other device that lets you see what the computer has accomplished. central processing unit (CPU): the heart of the computer, this is the component that actually executes instructions. In addition to these components, many others make it possible for the basic components to work together efficiently. For example, every computer requires a bus that transmits data from one part of the computer to another. Computer Classification, By Size and Power Computers can be generally classified by size and power as follows, though there is considerable overlap: personal computer: a small, single-user computer based on amicroprocessor. In addition to the microprocessor, a personal computer has a keyboard for entering data, a monitor for displaying information, and a storage device for saving data. workstation: a powerful, single-user computer. A workstation is like a personal computer, but it has a more powerful microprocessor and a higher-quality monitor. minicomputer: a multi-user computer capable of supporting from 10 to hundreds of users simultaneously. mainframe: a powerful multi-user computer capable of supporting many hundreds or thousands of users simultaneously. supercomputer: an extremely fast computer that can perform hundreds of millions of instructions per second.

What is Computer History ?

The history of computer development is often referred to 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. The history of computer development is often referred to 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 more efficient and reliable computing devices. In this Webopedia reference article you'll learn about each of the five generations of computers and the technology developments that have led to the current devices that we use today. Our journey starts in 1940 with vacuum tube circuitry and goes to the present day -- and beyond -with artificial intelligence. Related Webopedia Definitions: computer, magnetic drums, binary, integrated circuit, semiconductor, nanotechnology 1. First Generation (1940-1956) Vacuum Tubes The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and were often enormous, taking up entire rooms. They were very expensive to operate and in addition to using a great deal of electricity, generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause of malfunctions. First generation computers relied on machine language, the lowest-level programming language understood by computers, to perform operations, and they could only solve one problem at a time. Input was based on punched cards and paper tape, and output was displayed on printouts. The UNIVAC and ENIAC computers are examples of first-generation computing devices. The UNIVAC was the first commercial computer delivered to a business client, the U.S. Census Bureau in 1951.

A UNIVAC computer at the Census Bureau. Image Source: United States Census Bureau

2. Second Generation (1956-1963) Transistors Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and ushered in the second generation of computers. The transistor was invented in 1947 but did not see widespread use in computers until the late 1950s. The transistor was far superior to the vacuum tube, allowing computers to become smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient and more reliable than their first-generation predecessors. Though the transistor still generated a great deal of heat that subjected the computer to damage, it was a vast improvement over the vacuum tube. Second-generation computers still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for output. Second-generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine language to symbolic, or assembly, languages, which allowed programmers to specify instructions in words. High-level programming languages were also being developed at this time, such as early versions of COBOL and FORTRAN. These were also the first computers that stored their instructions in their memory, which moved from a magnetic drum to magnetic core technology. The first computers of this generation were developed for the atomic energy industry. 3. Third Generation (1964-1971) Integrated Circuits The development of the integrated circuit was the hallmark of the third generation of computers. Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips, called semiconductors, which drastically increased the speed and efficiency of computers. Instead of punched cards and printouts, users interacted with third generation computers through keyboards and monitorsand interfaced with an operating system, which allowed the device to run many different applications at one time with a central program that monitored the memory. Computers for the first time became accessible to a mass audience because they were smaller and cheaper than their predecessors. 4. Fourth Generation (1971-Present) Microprocessors The microprocessor brought the fourth generation of computers, as thousands of integrated circuits were built onto a single silicon chip. What in the first generation filled an entire room could now fit in the palm of the hand. The Intel 4004 chip, developed in 1971, located all the components of the computerfrom the central processing unit and memory to input/output controlson a single chip. In 1981 IBM introduced its first computer for the home user, and in 1984 Apple introduced the Macintosh. Microprocessors also moved out of the realm of desktop computers and into many areas of life as more and more everyday products began to use microprocessors. As these small computers became more powerful, they could be linked together to form networks, which eventually led to the development of the Internet. Fourth generation computers also saw the development of GUIs, the mouse and handhelddevices. 5. Fifth Generation (Present and 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.

What is Processor ?
In a PC the processor usually consists of one or more microprocessors (Sometimes called chipts). A microprocessor is the heart of the computer. Microprocessor also called as the central processing unit(CPU) is a complete computation engine fabricated on a single chip and it consists of slivers of silicon connected with many tiny electronic circuits. The Micro processor is plugged into the computers motherboard is the master circuit board in a computer. In most of the PCs many internal devices such as video cards, Sound cards, disk. Controllers are mounted directly onto the motherboard. WORKING OF THE PROCESSOR 1. CPU works onlywith binary electronic single (Binery language ) 2. Every instruction executed, First get stored in memory unit, then it gets Processed by the CPU. 3. To process data on to complete an instruction from a user or a program, the computer posses electricity through circuit.

What is Hardware ?
The Physical components of computer technology which are used as structural and operational equipments that may be outside or inside of the computer and which can be touched by any one are known as hardware. Example are Monitor, Cabinet, Mouse, Keyboard, Joystick Mother Board, Ram CD-Drive, FDD, HDD,Wire, Cable, electronic goods etc. which make the logic board circuit for all devices. All software resides in hardware (Hard disk) and controls it. The major components of computer hardware are: 1. Input-Devices 2. Processing Unit 3. Output Devices

Control Unit: Control Unit controls the operations of all the parts of the computer. CU decodes the instruction and sends signals for the required operation to be performed in ALU. CU also executes a program, i.e. fetch-decode execute cycle. CU gets program instructions from memory and executes them. CU also controls the flow of

data in all others parts of computer such as Input devices, output devices and secondary memory devices. Arithmetical Logical Unit (ALU) : The function of this unit is to help in processing data by performing data by performing arithmetic operations and by logical operation or comparisons. It performance four basic arithmetic operations, i.e. +, - , * , / , . It also performs logical operations. For example, it can whether X>Y is true or not. The result of comparison is either True or False. These operation provide the capability of decision making by the computer. Memory Unit : This unit Provides facilities for storing data and instruction (software). Memory is a storage place where computer can store the programme, data or information. Classification of memory is explained in figure given below.

Primary Memory :
Primary Memory is a workspace for the computers processor. It is a temporary storage area where the programs and data being operated on by the processor must reside. Memory storageis considered temporary and data being operated on by the processor must reside. Memory storage is considered temporary because the data programs remain there only as long as the computer has electrical power. Before

switching off the computer data should be saved to a more permanent storage device (usually a hard disk) for future use. Primary Memory of the computer is usually divided into the following two parts.

RAM or Random Access Memory : Term RAM is used as we can randomly

(opposed to sequentially) access any location in memory. Here users can both store and retrieve information. RAM is usually volatile i.e information stored in RAM is lost when power supply in cut off. There are two types of RAM.

DRAM or Dynamic RAM : DRAM chips are those which store data
dynamically. The information can be written to RAM repeatedly at any time. DRAM requires the data to be refreshed every 15ms (Milliseconds) or more.

SRAM or Static RAM : This RAM does not require periodic refreshing. SRAM
stores data in such a manner that as long as there is power supply the content are stable.

Type DRAM SRAM

Speed Slow Fast

Density High Low

Cost Low High

Secondary
Secondary memory refers to storage devices, such as hard drives and solid state drives. It may also refer to removable storage media, such as USB flash drives,CDs, and DVDs. While secondary memory is much slower than primary memory, it typically offers far greater storage capacity. For example, a computer may have a one terabyte hard drive, but only 16gigabytes of RAM. That means the computer has roughly 64 times more secondary memory than primary memory. Additionally, secondary memory is nonvolatile, meaning it retains its data with or without electrical power. RAM, on the other hand, is erased when a computer is shut down or restarted. Therefore, secondary memory is used to store "permanent data," such as the operating system, applications, and user files.

COMPONENTS OF CPU

Control Unit : Most Critical part of the CPU The control umit is responsible for generating control signals to streamline the functioning of the CPU and other units. The CPUs instructions for carrying out commands are built in Control Unit. The Control Unit determines the sequence in which program instructions are interpreted and executed.

Arithmetic and logic Unit (ALU)

The arithmetic Logic unit executes arithmetic and logical operations. Arithmetic operations include addition, subtration, multiplication and division. Logical operations compare numbers, letters and special characters. Comparison operations test for three conditions: equal-to condition in which two values are the same less-than condition in which one value is smaller than the other greater-than condition in which one value is larger than the other Relational operations (=, <, >) are used to describe the comparison operations used by the arithmetic logic unit. The arithmetic logic unit performs logic functions such as AND, OR and NOT.

Memory Unit
The Memory Unit is the part of the computer that holds data and instructions for processing. Although it is closely associated with the CPU, in actual fact it is seperate from it. Memory associated with the CPU is also called primary storage, primary memory, main storage, internal storage and main memory. When we load software from a floppy disk, hard disk or CD-ROM, it is stored in the Main Memory.

There are two types of computer memory inside the computer, RAM and ROM.

RAM RAM stands for Random Access Memory. This is really the main store and is the place where the programs and software we load gets stored. When the Central Processing Unitruns a program, it fetches the program instructions from the RAM and carries them out. If the Central Processing Unit needs to store the results of calculations it can store them in RAM. Random Access Memory can have instructions READ from it by the CPU and also it can have numbers or other computer dataWRITTEN to it by the CPU. The more RAM in your computer, the larger the programs you can run. When we switch a computer off, whatever is stored in the RAM gets erased. The following is a photo of a common RAM chip. ROM ROM stands for Read Only Memory. The CPU can only fetch or read instructions from Read Only Memory (or ROM). ROM comes with instructions permanently stored inside and these instructions cannot be overwritten by the computer's CPU.

ROM memory is used for storing special sets of instructions which the computer needs when it starts up. When we switch the computer off, the contents of the ROM does not become erased but remains stored permanently. Therefore it is non-volatile.

The following is a diagram showing the relationship between the Central Processing Unit and the Main Memory (RAM and ROM).

OTHER Types of Memory PROM Programable Read only Memory i. ii. iii. iv. v. Programable ROM Amemory Chip on which data can be written only once the program has been written on the PROM it remains there forever. The Difference Between PROM and ROM is PROM is manufactured as blank memory where as a ROM is Programmed during Manufacturing Process. User can store programs and Data in PROM. Special Equipment called PROM Programmer is required to Program PROMs

EPROM - Erasable Programmable ROM

An EPROM is a non-volatile memory device, i.e., it can retain its stored data even if it is powered off. Reprogramming an EPROM with new data is possible, but it has to undergo a special data erasure process that employs ultraviolet (uv) lightbefore it can be done. There are some EPROMs though, known as one-time programmable (OTP) EPROMs, that are designed to be non-reprogrammable as a cheaper alternative for storing specific bug-free data that never require any change.

Flash Memory
Flash Memory is a semiconductor memory device that is electrically erasable and programmable in sections of memory called 'blocks'. In a flash memory, a whole block of memory cells can be erased in a single action, or in a 'flash,' which is how this device got its name. Flash memory is non-volatile, i.e., it can retain its memory contents even if it is powered off. A basic flash memory cell consists of a MOSFET that was modified to include an isolated inner gate between its external gate and the silicon (see Figure 1). This inner gate is known as a 'floating gate', which is the data-storingelement of the memory cell. Flash memory is not the first memory device to use a floating gate to store information. The uv-erasable EPROM, which preceded the Flash memory, is also a 'floating gate' memory device. EEPROM - Electronically Erasable Programable ROM EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory) is usermodifiable read-only memory (ROM) that can be erased and reprogrammed (written to) repeatedly through the application of higher than normal electrical voltage. Unlike EPROM chips, EEPROMs do not need to be removed from the computer to be modified. However, an EEPROM chip has to be erased and reprogrammed in its entirety, not selectively. It also has a limited life - that is, the number of times it can be reprogrammed is limited to tens or hundreds of thousands of times. In an EEPROM that is frequently reprogrammed while the computer is in use, the life of the EEPROM can be an important design consideration. A special form of EEPROM is flash memory, which uses normal PC voltages for erasure and reprogramming.

SOFTWARE

What is Software ? Software are the set of instructions or Programs used to make a computer usable, in term of accomplishing the users task. Software is a generic term for
organized collections of computer data and instructions, often broken into two major categories: system software that provides the basic non-task-specific functions of the computer, and application software which is used by users to accomplish specific tasks. Different Classes of Software System software is a program that manages and supports the computer resources and operations of a computer system while it executes various tasks such as processing data and information, controlling hardware components, and allowing users to use application software. That is, systems software functions as abridge between computer system hardware and the application software. System software is made up of many control programs, including the operating system, communications software and database manager. There are many kinds of computers these days. Some of them are easier to learn than others. Some of them perform better than others. These differences may come from different systems software.

Three Kinds of Programs

Systems software consists of three kinds of programs. The system management programs, system support programs, and system development programs are they. These are explained briefly. System Management Programs
These are programs that manage the application software, computer hardware, and data resources of the computer system. These programs include operating systems, operating environment programs, database management programs, and telecommunications monitor programs. Among these, the most important system management programs are operating systems. The operating systems are needed to study more details. There are two reasons. First, users need to know their functions first. For the second, there are many kinds of operating systems available today. Telecommunications monitor programs are additions of the operating systems of microcomputers. These programs provide the extra logic for the computer system to control a class of communications devices.

System Support Programs

These are the programs that help the operations and management of a computer system. They provide a variety of support services to let the computer hardware and other system programs run efficiently. The major system support programs are system utility programs, system performance monitor programs, and system security monitor programs (virus checking programs).

System Development Programs These are programs that help users develop information system programs and prepare user programs for computer processing. These programs may analyze and design systems and program itself. The main system development programs are programming language translators, programming environment programs, computer-aided software engineering packages.

Operating Systems
An operating system is a collection of integrated computer programs that provide recurring services to other programs or to the user of a computer. These services consist of disk and file management, memory management, and device management. In other words, it manages CPU operations, input/output activities, storage resources, diverse support services, and controls various devices. Operating system is the most important program for computer system. Without an operating system, every computer program would have to contain instructions telling the hardware each step the hardware should take to do its job, such as storing a file on a disk. Because the operating system contains these instructions, any program can call on the operating system when a service is needed.

Examples of Operating System i. ii. iii. iv. CP/M ( control Program for micro computer developed for APPLE- ii MS-DOS (Microsoft disk Operating System developed by Microsoft. Unit developed by AT & T Bell Labs. Windows developed by Microsoft. Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and the latest being Windows 7.

TRANSLATOR
A translator is a computer program that translates a program written in a given programming language into a functionally equivalent program in a different language. Depending on the translator, this may involve changing or simplifying the program flow, without losing the essence of the program, thereby producing a functionally equivalent program.

UTILITY PROGRAMS
A program that performs a very specific task, usually related to managingsystem resources. Operating systems contain a number of utilities for managing disk drives, printers, and other devices. Utilities differ from applications mostly in terms of size, complexity and function. For example, word processors, spreadsheet programs, anddatabase applications are considered applications because they are large programs that perform a variety of functions not directly related to managingcomputer resources.

APPLICATION SOFTWARE
Application software consists of Programs that direct computers to perform specific information processing activities for end users. These programs are calledapplication packages because they direct the processing required for a particular use, or application, which users want to accomplish. Thousands of application packages are available because there are thousands of different jobs end users want computers to do.

Scientific Application Programs For Example Scientific Analysis, Engineering design, monitoring of Experiments etc. General application software like spreadsheet, data management, word processing, graphics, multimedia etc.