HISTORY OF COMPUTER

BY

UTULU EMMANUEL CHIBUEZE

PSC1508068

A SEMINAR REPORT SUBMITED TO THE

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE,

FACULTY OF PHYSICAL SCIENCES

UNIVERSITY OF BENIN,

BENIN CITY, EDO STATE.

June, 2019
 HISTORY OF COMPUTER

BY

UTULU EMMANUEL CHIBUEZE

PSC1508068

A SEMINAR REPORT SUBMITED TO THE

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE,

FACULTY OF PHYSICAL SCIENCES

UNIVERSITY OF BENIN,

BENIN CITY, EDO STATE.

IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD

OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (B.Sc.) DEGREE I COMPUTER SCIENCE.

JUNE, 2019
 CERTIFICATION

This is to certify that this report titled History of Computer was carried out by Utulu Emmanuel

Chibueze in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of B.Sc. Degree in Computer

Science of University of Benin-city, Edo State.

-------------------------------- ----------------------------------
Dr. CHETE Date

-------------------------------- -----------------------------------
Dr. K, UKAOHA Date

-------------------------------- -----------------------------------
Mr. N, AGBONLAHOR Date

-------------------------------- ------------------------------------
Dr. F OLIHA Date

-------------------------------- ------------------------------------
Mr F. Osagie Date
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 DEDICATION

This seminar report is dedicated to God for the strength He gave me to make it to this present level

that I am, I am grateful. Also to my wonderful and ever supporting parents I say I love you.

Furthermore to the HOD, lecturers and non-academic staffs of the department of Computer

Science; for their relentless efforts towards the dissemination and impartation of knowledge to the

students, I say a big thank you.

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I acknowledge God Almighty who guided me all through my stay in the university I am greatly

indebted to my supervisors, Dr K, Ukaoha, Mr N. Agbonlahor, Dr F. Oliha, Mr F. Osagie for their

assistance and guidance. My sincere gratitude equally goes to the Head of Department, PROF. S.

S. DAODU and all the entire lecturers of Computer Science department.

My profound gratitude also goes to my guardian Mrs. Ebere Aimola for her moral and financial

support. Again my gratitude goes to my siblings and relations for their encouragement and

contributions.

Finally, my special regard goes to my friends, and all my well-wishers, God bless you all for your

contributions.

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 ABSTRACT

This research aims to discuss and systematically guide us into the history of our today computers,

as it dates back to over 2000 years ago in the Babylonian Empire. This research also carefully

pinpoints pivotal occurrences and problems that contributed to the huge impact on the evolution

and remarkable discovery of different computing devices as in regards to their functions,

architectural designs, inventors ‘intentions’ and foresight, remarkable effect on the then world and

influence on its successors. Progressively, we make our journey through the early inventions of

the then Babylonian Empire; all through, as we approach our modern/contemporary times.

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 TABLE OF CONTENT

Title Page … … … … … … … … …

Approval … … … … … … … … …

Certification … … … … … … … … …

Dedication … … … … … … … … …

Acknowledgment … … … … … … … …

Abstract … … … … … … … … …

Table of Contents … … … … … … … …

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of study………………………………………………………..1

1.2 Research motivation…………………………………………………….….2

1.3 Research Problem……………………………………………………………3

1.4 Aims and Objectives…………………………………………………………3

1.5 Research Scope……………………………..…………………………………3

1.6 Research Significance……………………………………………………….3

1.7 Limitation…………………………………………………………………………3

CHAPTER TWO: THE COMPUTER REVIEW

2.1 Etymology…………………………………………………………………………4

2.2 Definition of a Computer…………………………………………………………4

2.3 Why the Computer? ………………………………………………………………5

CHAPTER THREE: EARLY INVENTIONS

3.1 Earliest Devices

3.1.1 The Ishango bone………………………………………………………………6

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 3.1.2 Abacus………………………………………………………………6

3.1.3 The Antikythera mechanism…………………………………………………6

3.1.4 The Plainsphere………………………………………………………………6

3.1.5 The Astrolobe………………………………………………………………6

3.1.6 The Sector………………………………………………………………6

3.1.7 The Planimeter ………………………………………………………………6

3.2 Pre-20th History

3.2.1 The Castle Water Clock………………………………………………………………7

3.2.2 Slide Rule………………………………………………………………7

3.2.3 Pascaline………………………………………………………………7

3.2.4 Jacquard Loom………………………………………………………………7

3.2.5 Tide-predicting Machine………………………………………………………………7

3.2.6 Differential Analyser ………………………………………………………………7

3.2.7 Analytical Engine………………………………………………………………7

3.2.8 Other inventions ………………………………………………………………7

3.3 Generations of Computer

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION

4.1 Summary

4.2 Conclusion

References

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 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background Study

Computers have been around for a very long time. Going back in history, some people believe

that the abacus was the true first computer. The first abacus is believed to come into existence

between 2700–2300 BC and was created by the Sumerians so that they could count faster, and

has evolved through the years. The term “computer” came out around 1613. People who

performed computations or calculations were often referred to as computers. One of the first

major counting problems in history was the Census. The first census was taken when George

Washington was in office in 1790. In 1790 there were so many people that it took more than

seven years to add up all of the numbers for the census. The government was very frustrated that

it took so long to tabulate. As the country grew, it became harder and harder to count all of the

people and it took longer and longer. The need for speed kept on growing. In 1890, a young

engineer named Herman Hollerith designed a punch card system to tally up the 1880 census

information. The census calculations only took three years and saved the government $5 million

dollars. Information was stored on cards with holes in them. Herman’s machine used mechanics

to read the information and calculate the results. He created a company that became IBM and

was founded in 1911.

Computers are used as control systems for a wide variety of industrial and consumer devices. This

includes simple special purpose devices like microwave ovens and remote controls, factory devices

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such as industrial robots and computer-aided design, and also general purpose devices like

personal computers and its connects hundreds of millions of other computers and their users.

Early computers were only conceived as calculating devices. Since ancient times, simple manual

devices like the abacus aided people in doing calculations. Early in the Industrial Revolution,

some mechanical devices were built to automate long tedious tasks, such as guiding patterns for

looms. More sophisticated electrical machines did specialized analog calculations in the early 20th

century. The first digital electronic calculating machines were developed during World War II.

The speed, power, and versatility of computers have been increasing dramatically ever since then.

Conventionally, a modern computer consists of at least one processing element, typically a central

processing unit (CPU), and some form of memory. The processing element carries out arithmetic

and logical operations, and a sequencing and control unit can change the order of operations in

response to stored information. Peripheral devices include input devices (keyboards, mice,

joystick, etc.), output devices (monitor screens, printers, etc.), and input/output devices that

perform both functions (e.g., the 2000s-era touchscreen). Peripheral devices allow information to

be retrieved from an external source and they enable the result of operations to be saved and

retrieved.

1.2 Research Motivation

Computers have taking a huge chunk of our everyday lives. If it be using a smartphone or any

other type of technology. Computers have influenced a revolution in the way we live. But it was

not always like this, before computers became a necessity, very few people had them in their

houses. Only the people that could afford these big clunks of metal had them. As time would go

by and technology grew a computer would find a home in everyone’s household.

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Long before computers were invented, humans realized the need for them. The history of the

Computer started about 2000 years ago with the abacus. It is a wooden rack holding two horizontal

wires with beads strung on them and was one of the best calculating machines until the seventeenth

century (PBS, 1). In 1835, English inventor, Charles Babbage came up with the idea of the

Analytical Machine, a general purpose, fully programmed-controlled, automatic mechanical

digital.

1.3 Research Problem

What is the history behind the computers we use in an everyday life? Most of us don't ask

ourselves this question. But if it wasn't for the people who came up with these first inventions, we

wouldn't have had the experience of this acknowledgment that we have today. Over the centuries

computers have been evolving, becoming more and more advanced and equipped for the utilization

of personal matter. What many of us don't know is that the beginning of computers goes all the

way back to 2400 BC. This ignorance is what this research aims to clarify.

1.4 Research Aim and Objective

The volume and use of computers in the world are so great, they have become difficult to ignore

anymore. Computers appear to us in so many ways that many times, we fail to see them as they

actually are. People associated with a computer when they purchased their morning coffee at the

vending machine. As they drove themselves to work, the traffic lights that so often hampered us

are controlled by computers in an attempt to speed the journey. Accept it or not, the computer is

too important to be removed from the picture

So therefore this research aims to create the awareness of how the needs of humans led to the

discovery of different computing machines that helped them perform simple and complex task.

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1.5 Research Scope

This research is discussed solely on the areas of computer history, and it is based on the fact that

both those in the field of computer science and those that are just computer users should understand

the origination of the device they make use of, so as to create the understanding of the impact and

advancement ‘the computer’ has brought to us all.

1.6 Research Significance

The significance of this research cannot be overemphasized cause, seeing that computer effects all

areas of the life of an individual and the society; from simple activities like calculating with a

calculator, making use of a clock to know what time it is, to advance uses like special computers

used in hospitals for X-rays and CT scans etc. One can see that understanding and knowing the

history of this devices is the most natural and basic thing to do.

1.7 Research Limitation

The knowledge of the history of computer has not been given much attention as it’s supposed to be given
so many people don’t see the need to focus on this study.

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 CHAPTER TWO
THE COMPUTER REVIEW

2.1 Etymology

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known use of the word "computer" was in

1613 in a book called The Yong Mans Gleanings by English writer Richard Braithwait: "I have

read the truest computer of Times, and the best Arithmetician that ever breathed, and he reduceth

the dayes into a short number." This usage of the term referred to a human computer, a person who

carried out calculations or computations. The word continued with the same meaning until the

middle of the 20th century. During the latter part of this period women were often hired as

computers because they could be paid less than their male counterparts. By 1943, most human

computers were women. From the end of the 19th century the word slowly began to take on its

more familiar meaning, a machine that carries out computations.

The Online Etymology Dictionary gives the first attested use of "computer" in the 1640s, meaning

"one who calculates"; this is an "agent noun from compute (v.)". The Online Etymology Dictionary

states that the use of the term to mean "'calculating machine' (of any type) is from 1897." The

Online Etymology Dictionary indicates that the "modern use" of the term, to mean "programmable

digital electronic computer" dates from "1945 under this name; [in a] theoretical [sense] from

1937, as Turing machine".

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2.2 Definition of a Computer

Computer is derived from a Latin word “computare” which means to “to calculate”, “to count”,

“to sum up” or “to think together”. So, more precisely the word computer means a “device that

performs computation“.

A computer is a machine that can be instructed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical

operations automatically via computer programming. Modern computers have the ability to follow

generalized sets of operations, called programs. These programs enable computers to perform an

extremely wide range of tasks. A "complete" computer including the hardware, the operating

system (main software), and peripheral equipment required and used for "full" operation can be

referred to as a computer system. This term may as well be used for a group of computers that are

connected and work together, in particular a computer network or computer cluster.

Computer can also be seen an advanced electronic device that takes raw data as input from the

user and processes these data under the control of set of instructions (called program) and gives

the result (output) and saves output for the future use. It can process both numerical and non-

numerical (arithmetic and logical) calculations.

Furthermore, we can simply put that a computer is a device that accepts information (in form of

digitalized data) and manipulates it for some results based on a program, software, or a sequence

of instructions on how the date is to be processed.

Complex computers include the means for storing data (including the program, which is also a

form of data) for some necessary duration. A program may be invariable and built into the

computer hardware (and called logic circuitry as it is on microprocessors) or different programs

xv
may be provided to the computer (loaded into its storage and then started by an administrator or

user). Today’s computers have both kinds of programming.

Charles Babbage is called the "Grand Father" of the computer. The First mechanical computer

designed by Charles Babbage was called Analytical Engine. It uses read-only memory in the form

of punch card

Keyboard Monitor

Mouse
CPU Printer

Other input Data Information

Speaker

Other input Other output

Memory

DIAGRAMATIC REPRESENTATION OF A COMPUTER OPERATION

Fig 1.1

2.3 Why the Computer?

Computers were invented for the same reason tools were invented like the knife, axe, or spear.

And that is to enhance the capabilities of humans. The only difference is one is a tool for the brain,

the other a tool for the hands.

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Some of the earliest “computers” were just calculators or other mechanical aids to help in the

process of solving a mathematical problem. It may have been the quantity of grain stored in an

ancient Egyptian warehouse, or the taxes to be paid, or the movement of the stars.

In the first half of the 20th century, there were human computers that would calculate things like

insurance actuarial tables or various calculations required to send a rocket to the moon. Other

aspects were for determining ballistic paths for firing shells during war.

Electro-mechanical computers (relays) like the Harvard Mark I came into existence after WW I

and electronic computers (tubes) during and after WW II.

After the invention of the transistor, new computers used transistors, which were integrated onto

a common substrate and brings us to the modern age of computers.

In 1956 a typical computer could process 5000 FLOPS (Floating Point Operation per second).

Today’s PC computer can process something like 400 billion (400,000,000,000) FLOPS and the

top supercomputers something like 35 quadrillion (35,000,000,000,000,000) FLOPS. A human

might be considered lucky to do 1 FLOPS. Thus we have computers today that multiply our “brain”

power by incredible amounts, and that’s just 1 computer. When you add in all the computers on

the planet, including the one I’m typing on, that means you can solve problems of incredible

complexity!

The computer was originally invented to do repetitive calculations quickly and accurately.

Navigational calculations, time and tide tables, Artillery plotting tables, code-breaking, etcetera…

Charles Babbage, an English mechanical engineer and polymath, originated the concept of a

programmable computer. Considered the "father of the computer", he conceptualized and invented

the first mechanical computer in the early 19th century. After working on his revolutionary

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difference engine, designed to aid in navigational calculations, in 1833 he realized that a much

more general design, an Analytical Engine, was possible. The input of programs and data was to

be provided to the machine via punched cards, a method being used at the time to direct mechanical

looms such as the Jacquard loom. For output, the machine would have a printer, a curve plotter

and a bell. The machine would also be able to punch numbers onto cards to be read in later. The

Engine incorporated an arithmetic logic unit, control flow in the form of conditional branching and

loops, and integrated memory, making it the first design for a general-purpose computer that could

be described in modern terms as Turing-complete.

2.4 Components of a Computer

The internal architectural design of computers differs from one system model to another. However,

the basic organization remains the same for all computer systems. The following five units (also

called “The functional units”) correspond to the five basic operations performed by all computer

systems.

 Input Unit

 Output Unit

 Storage Unit

 Central Processing Unit (CPU)

 Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU)

 Control Unit

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2.4.1 Input Unit

Data and instructions must enter the computer system before any computation can be performed

on the supplied data. The input unit that links the external environment with the computer system

performs this task. Data and instructions enter input units in forms that depend upon the particular

device used. For example, data is entered from a keyboard in a manner similar to typing, and this

differs from the way in which data is entered through a mouse, which is another type of input

device. However, regardless of the form in which they receive their inputs, all input devices must

provide a computer with data that are transformed into the binary codes that the primary memory

of the computer is designed to accept. This transformation is accomplished by units that called

input interfaces. Input interfaces are designed to match the unique physical or electrical

characteristics of input devices to the requirements of the computer system.

In short, an input unit performs the following functions.

 It accepts (or reads) the list of instructions and data from the outside world.

 It converts these instructions and data in computer acceptable format.

 It supplies the converted instructions and data to the computer system for further

processing.

2.4.2 Output Unit

The job of an output unit is just the reverse of that of an input unit. It supplied information and

results of computation to the outside world. Thus it links the computer with the external

environment. As computers work with binary code, the results produced are also in the binary

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form. Hence, before supplying the results to the outside world, it must be converted to human

acceptable (readable) form. This task is accomplished by units called output interfaces.

In short, the following functions are performed by an output unit.

 It accepts the results produced by the computer which are in coded form and hence cannot

be easily understood by us.

 It converts these coded results to human acceptable (readable) form.

 It supplied the converted results to the outside world.

2.4.3 Storage Unit

The data and instructions that are entered into the computer system through input units have to be

stored inside the computer before the actual processing starts. Similarly, the results produced by

the computer after processing must also be kept somewhere inside the computer system before

being passed on to the output units. Moreover, the intermediate results produced by the computer

must also be preserved for ongoing processing. The Storage Unit or the primary / main storage of

a computer system is designed to do all these things. It provides space for storing data and

instructions, space for intermediate results and also space for the final results.

In short, the specific functions of the storage unit are to store:

 All the data to be processed and the instruction required for processing (received from input

devices).

 Intermediate results of processing.

 Final results of processing before these results are released to an output device.

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2.4.4 Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The main unit inside the computer is the CPU. This unit is responsible for all events inside the

computer. It controls all internal and external devices, performs “Arithmetic and Logical

operations”. The operations a Microprocessor performs are called “instruction set” of this

processor. The instruction set is “hard wired” in the CPU and determines the machine language

for the CPU. The more complicated the instruction set is, the slower the CPU works. Processors

differed from one another by the instruction set. If the same program can run on two different

computer brands they are said to be compatible. Programs written for IBM compatible computers

will not run on Apple computers because these two architectures are not compatible.

The control Unit and the Arithmetic and Logic unit of a computer system are jointly known as the

Central Processing Unit (CPU). The CPU is the brain of any computer system. In a human body,

all major decisions are taken by the brain and the other parts of the body function as directed by

the brain. Similarly, in a computer system, all major calculations and comparisons are made inside

the CPU and the CPU is also responsible for activating and controlling the operations of other

units of a computer system.

2.4.5 Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU)

The arithmetic and logic unit (ALU) of a computer system is the place where the actual execution

of the instructions takes place during the processing operations. All calculations are performed and

all comparisons (decisions) are made in the ALU. The data and instructions, stored in the primary

storage prior to processing are transferred as and when needed to the ALU where processing takes

place. No processing is done in the primary storage unit. Intermediate results generated in the ALU

are temporarily transferred back to the primary storage until needed at a later time. Data may thus

xxi
move from primary storage to ALU and back again as storage many times before the processing

is over. After the completion of processing, the final results which are stored in the storage unit

are released to an output device.

The arithmetic and logic unit (ALU) is the part where actual computations take place. It consists

of circuits that perform arithmetic operations (e.g. addition, subtraction, multiplication, division

over data received from memory and capable to compare numbers (less than, equal to, or greater

than).

While performing these operations the ALU takes data from the temporary storage are inside the

CPU named registers. Registers are a group of cells used for memory addressing, data

manipulation and processing. Some of the registers are general purpose and some are reserved for

certain functions. It is a high-speed memory which holds only data from immediate processing and

results of this processing. If these results are not needed for the next instruction, they are sent back

to the main memory and registers are occupied by the new data used in the next instruction.

All activities in the computer system are composed of thousands of individual steps. These steps

should follow in some order in fixed intervals of time. These intervals are generated by the Clock

Unit. Every operation within the CPU takes place at the clock pulse. No operation, regardless of

how simple, can be performed in less time than transpires between ticks of this clock. But some

operations required more than one clock pulse. The faster the clock runs, the faster the computer

performs. The clock rate is measured in megahertz (Mhz) or Gigahertz (Ghz). Larger systems are

even faster. In older systems the clock unit is external to the microprocessor and resides on a

separate chip. In most modern microprocessors the clock is usually incorporated within the CPU.

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2.4.6 Control Unit

How the input device knows that it is time for it to feed data into the storage unit? How does the

ALU know what should be done with the data once it is received? And how is it that only the final

results are sent to the output devices and not the intermediate results? All this is possible because

of the control unit of the computer system. By selecting, interpreting, and seeing to the execution

of the program instructions, the control unit is able to maintain order and directs the operation of

the entire system. Although, it does not perform any actual processing on the data, the control unit

acts as a central nervous system for the other components of the computer. It manages and

coordinates the entire computer system. It obtains instructions from the program stored in main

memory, interprets the instructions, and issues signals that cause other units of the system to

execute them.

The control unit directs and controls the activities of the internal and external devices. It interprets

the instructions fetched into the computer, determines what data, if any, are needed, where it is

stored, where to store the results of the operation, and sends the control signals to the devices

involved in the execution of the instructions.

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 CHAPTER THREE
EARLY INVENTIONS

3.1 Earliest Devices

3.1.1 The Ishango bone

The Ishango bone is a bone tool, dated to the Upper Paleolithic era. It is a dark brown length of

bone, the fibula of a baboon, with a sharp piece of quartz affixed to one end, perhaps for engraving.

It was first thought to be a tally stick, as it has a series of what has been interpreted as tally marks

carved in three columns running the length of the tool, though it has also been suggested that the

scratches might have been to create a better grip on the handle or for some other non-mathematical

reason.

The Ishango bone was found in 1960 by Belgian Jean de Heinzelin de Braucourt while exploring

what was then the Belgian Congo.It was discovered in the area of Ishango near the Semliki River.

Lake Edward empties into the Semliki which forms part of the headwaters of the Nile River (now

on the border between modern-day Uganda and D.R. Congo). The bone was found among the

remains of a small community that fished and gathered in this area of Africa. The settlement had

been buried in a volcanic eruption.

The artifact was first estimated to have originated between 9,000 BC and 6,500 BC. However, the

dating of the site where it was discovered was re-evaluated, and it is now believed to be more than

20,000 years old (between 18,000 BC and 20,000 BC).

xxiv
The Ishango bone is on permanent exhibition at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences,

Brussels, Belgium.

3.1.2 Abacus

The abacus (plural abaci or abacuses), also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool that was

in use in Europe, China and Russia, centuries before the adoption of the written Hindu–Arabic

numeral system. The exact origin of the abacus is still unknown. Today, abacuses are often

constructed as a bamboo frame with beads sliding on wires, but originally they were beans or

stones moved in grooves in sand or on tablets of wood, stone, or metal.

Abacuses come in different designs. Some designs, like the bead frame consisting of beads divided

into tens, are used mainly to teach arithmetic, although they remain popular in the post-Soviet

states as a tool. Other designs, such as the Japanese soroban, have been used for practical

calculations even involving several digits. For any particular abacus design, there are usually

numerous different methods to perform a certain type of calculation, which may include basic

operations like addition and multiplication, or even more complex ones, such as calculating square

roots. Some of these methods may work with non-natural numbers (numbers such as 1.5 and 3⁄4).

Although today many use calculators and computers instead of abacuses to calculate, abacuses still

remain in common use in some countries. Merchants, traders and clerks in some parts of Eastern

Europe, Russia, China and Africa use abacuses, and they are still used to teach arithmetic to

children. Some people who are unable to use a calculator because of visual impairment may use

an abacus.

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3.1.3 The Antikythera mechanism

The Antikythera mechanism is believed to be the earliest mechanical analog "computer",

according to Derek J. de Solla Price. It was designed to calculate astronomical positions. It was

discovered in 1901 in the Antikythera wreck off the Greek island of Antikythera, between Kythera

and Crete, and has been dated to c. 100 BC. Devices of a level of complexity comparable to that

of the Antikythera mechanism would not reappear until a thousand years later.

Many mechanical aids to calculation and measurement were constructed for astronomical and

navigation use. The planisphere was a star chart invented by Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī in the early

11th century. The astrolabe was invented in the Hellenistic world in either the 1st or 2nd centuries

BC and is often attributed to Hipparchus. A combination of the planisphere and dioptra, the

astrolabe was effectively an analog computer capable of working out several different kinds of

problems in spherical astronomy. An astrolabe incorporating a mechanical calendar computer and

gear-wheels was invented by Abi Bakr of Isfahan, Persia in 1235. Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī invented

the first mechanical geared lunisolar calendar astrolabe, an early fixed-wired knowledge

processing machine with a gear train and gear-wheels.

3.1.4 The Plainsphere

In astronomy, a planisphere is a star chart analog computing instrument in the form of two

adjustable disks that rotate on a common pivot. It can be adjusted to display the visible stars for

any time and date. It is an instrument to assist in learning how to recognize stars and constellations.

The astrolabe, an instrument that has its origins in Hellenistic astronomy, is a predecessor of the

modern planisphere. The term planisphere contrasts with armillary sphere, where the celestial

sphere is represented by a three-dimensional framework of rings.

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A planisphere consists of a circular star chart attached at its center to an opaque circular overlay

that has a clear elliptical window or hole so that only a portion of the sky map will be visible in

the window or hole area at any given time. The chart and overlay are mounted so that they are free

to rotate about a common pivot point at their centers. The star chart contains the brightest stars,

constellations and (possibly) deep-sky objects visible from a particular latitude on Earth. The night

sky that one sees from the Earth depends on whether the observer is in the northern or southern

hemispheres and the latitude. A planisphere window is designed for a particular latitude and will

be accurate enough for a certain band either side of that. Planisphere makers will usually offer

them in a number of versions for different latitudes. Planispheres only show the stars visible from

the observer's latitude; stars below the horizon are not included.

3.1.5 The Astrolobe

ُ ‫ ٱأل َ ْس‬al-Asturlāb; Persian: ‫اِستاره‬

An astrolabe (Ancient Greek: ἀστρολάβος astrolabos; Arabic: ‫طرالب‬

‫ یاب‬Astaara yab) is an elaborate inclinometer, historically used by astronomers and navigators to

measure the altitude above the horizon of a celestial body, day or night. It can be used to identify

stars or planets, to determine local latitude given local time (and vice versa), to survey, or to

triangulate. It was used in classical antiquity, the Islamic Golden Age, the European Middle Ages

and the Age of Discovery for all these purposes.

The astrolabe's importance not only comes from the early development of astronomy, but is also

effective for determining latitude on land or calm seas. Although it is less reliable on the heaving

deck of a ship in rough seas, the mariner's astrolabe was developed to solve that problem.

xxvii
3.1.6 The Sector

The sector, also known as a proportional compass or military compass, was a major calculating

instrument in use from the end of the sixteenth century until the nineteenth century. It is an

instrument consisting of two rulers of equal length joined by a hinge. A number of scales are

inscribed upon the instrument which facilitates various mathematical calculations. It was used for

solving problems in proportion, trigonometry, multiplication and division, and for various

functions, such as squares and cube roots. Its several scales permitted easy and direct solutions of

problems in gunnery, surveying and navigation. The sector derives its name from the fourth

proposition of the sixth book of Euclid, where it is demonstrated that similar triangles have their

like sides proportional. It has four parts, two legs with a pivot (the articulation), a quadrant and a

clamp (the curved part at the end of the leg) that enables the compass to function as a gunner's

quadrant.

3.1.7 The Planimeter

A planimeter, also known as a platometer, is a measuring instrument used to determine the area of

an arbitrary two-dimensional shape.

There are several kinds of planimeters, but all operate in a similar way. The precise way in which

they are constructed varies, with the main types of mechanical planimeter being polar, linear and

Prytz or "hatchet" planimeters. The Swiss mathematician Jakob Amsler-Laffon built the first

modern planimeter in 1854, the concept having been pioneered by Johann Martin Hermann in

1814. Many developments followed Amsler's famous planimeter, including electronic versions.

xxviii
3.2 Pre-20th History

3.2.1 The Castle Water Clock

This water clock is the most advanced of Al Jazari’s 6 water clocks that he designed and built as

innovative devices. Out of these 6 water clocks, there are 3 that can be considered as monumental

water clocks. This device is also the most advanced of these monumental water clocks that he talks

about in his book of Kitab ul Hiyal. These monumental clocks function as the clock towers that

we use in our cities today. It is understood that these clocks are established in the big halls or

gardens of villas, palaces, town squares, and the mosques. In water clocks, time management is

provided by letting the water flow under control.

The base measurement of this device is 3.2 m x 2.8 m and its height is 3.8 m. Time measurement

mechanisms are designed based on the sun-dial system in which both the day and night is accepted

as 12-hour equal slices originating from Hellenistic time and accepted by Islamic engineers and

scientists who studied time. According to this system, one hour time period changes every day and

night according to equal time system (which divides the day into 24 equal time clocks). For this

reason, this water clock mechanism has a very complex inner mechanism. This very complex

structure start a cycle of motion in which a window opens up at the top of the hour and a human

figure appears and a saying that is full of wisdom appears in a window below; the circular windows

line up in a semi-circle in the middle are illuminated in order; the balls in the mouths of the Falcons

are dropped to make a gong sound. Meanwhile, the musician figures at the base make movements

to play drum, cymbal, and borazon and make aesthetic warnings with their sounds day and night

at certain specified times adjusted to the prayer times five times a day.

xxix
3.2.2 Slide Rule

The slide rule was invented around 1620–1630, shortly after the publication of the concept of the

logarithm. It is a hand-operated analog computer for doing multiplication and division. As slide

rule development progressed, added scales provided reciprocals, squares and square roots, cubes

and cube roots, as well as transcendental functions such as logarithms and exponentials, circular

and hyperbolic trigonometry and other functions. Slide rules with special scales are still used for

quick performance of routine calculations, such as the E6B circular slide rule used for time and

distance calculations on light aircraft.

3.2.3 Pascaline

Pascal's calculator (also known as the arithmetic machine or Pascaline) is a mechanical calculator

invented by Blaise Pascal in the early 17th century. Pascal was led to develop a calculator by the

laborious arithmetical calculations required by his father's work as supervisor of taxes in Rouen.

He designed the machine to add and subtract two numbers directly and to perform multiplication

and division through repeated addition or subtraction.

Pascal's calculator was especially successful in the design of its carry mechanism, which adds 1 to

9 on one dial, and when it changes from 9 to 0, carries 1 to the next dial. His innovation made each

digit independent of the state of the others, which enabled multiple carries to rapidly cascade from

one digit to another regardless of the machine's capacity. Pascal was also the first to shrink and

adapt for his purpose a lantern gear, used in turret clocks and water wheels, which could resist the

strength of any operator input with very little added friction.

Pascal designed the machine in 1642, and after 50 prototypes, he presented it to the public in 1645,

dedicating it to Pierre Séguier, then chancellor of France. Pascal built around twenty more

xxx
machines during the next decade, many of which improved on his original design. In 1649, King

Louis XIV of France gave Pascal a royal privilege (similar to a patent), which gave him the

exclusive right to design and manufacture calculating machines in France. Nine Pascal calculators

presently exist; most are on display in European museums.

3.2.4 Jacquard Loom

The Jacquard machine (French: [ʒakaʁ]) is a device fitted to a power loom that simplifies the

process of manufacturing textiles with such complex patterns as brocade, damask and matelassé.

It was invented by Joseph Marie Jacquard in 1804. The loom was controlled by a "chain of cards";

a number of punched cards laced together into a continuous sequence. Multiple rows of holes were

punched on each card, with one complete card corresponding to one row of the design. Several

such paper cards, generally white in color, can be seen in the images below. Chains, like Bouchon's

earlier use of paper tape, allowed sequences of any length to be constructed, not limited by the size

of a card.

3.2.5 Tide-predicting Machine

A tide-predicting machine was a special-purpose mechanical analog computer of the late 19th and

early 20th centuries, constructed and set up to predict the ebb and flow of sea tides and the irregular

variations in their heights – which change in mixtures of rhythms, that never (in the aggregate)

repeat themselves exactly. Its purpose was to shorten the laborious and error-prone computations

of tide-prediction. Such machines usually provided predictions valid from hour to hour and day to

day for a year or more ahead.

The first tide-predicting machine, designed and built in 1872-3, and followed by two larger

machines on similar principles in 1876 and 1879, was conceived by Sir William Thomson (who

xxxi
later became Lord Kelvin). Thomson had introduced the method of harmonic analysis of tidal

patterns in the 1860s and the first machine was designed by Thomson with the collaboration of

Edward Roberts (assistant at the UK HM Nautical Almanac Office), and of Alexander Légé, who

constructed it.

3.2.6 Differential Analyser

The differential analyser is a mechanical analogue computer designed to solve differential

equations by integration, using wheel-and-disc mechanisms to perform the integration. It was one

of the first advanced computing devices to be used operationally. The original machines could not

add, but then it was noticed that if the two wheels of a rear differential are turned, the drive shaft

will compute the average of the left and right wheels. A simple gear ratio of 1:2 then enables

multiplication by two, so addition (and subtraction) is achieved. Multiplication is just a special

case of integration, namely integrating a constant function.

3.2.7 Analytical Engine

The Analytical Engine was a proposed mechanical general-purpose computer designed by English

mathematician and computer pioneer Charles Babbage. It was first described in 1837 as the

successor to Babbage's difference engine, a design for a simpler mechanical computer.

The Analytical Engine incorporated an arithmetic logic unit, control flow in the form of conditional

branching and loops, and integrated memory, making it the first design for a general-purpose

computer that could be described in modern terms as Turing-complete. In other words, the logical

structure of the Analytical Engine was essentially the same as that which has dominated computer

design in the electronic era. The Analytical Engine is one of the most successful achievements of

Charles Babbage.

xxxii
Babbage was never able to complete construction of any of his machines due to conflicts with his

chief engineer and inadequate funding. It was not until the late 1940s that the first general-purpose

computers were actually built, more than a century after Babbage had proposed the pioneering

Analytical Engine in 1837.

3.2.8 Other inventions

In 1889, an American inventor, Herman Hollerith (1860-1929), also applied the Jacquard’s loom

concept to computing. His first task was to find a faster way to compute the U.S. census because

the previous census in 1880 took nearly seven years to count. With expanding population, the

bureau feared it would take 10 years to count the latest census. Hollerith's method used cards to

store data which he fed into a machine to compile the results mechanically. Instead of ten years,

census takers compiled their results in just six weeks. Hollerith brought his punch card reader into

the business world and founded Tabulating Machine Company in 1896. In 1924, after a series of

mergers, it was called International Business Machine (IBM). Both business and government used

punch cards for data processing until the 1960's.

Later on, several engineers made other significant advances. Vannevar Bush (1890-1974)

developed a calculator for solving differential equations in 1931. The machine was cumbersome

because hundreds of gears and shafts were required to represent numbers and their various

relationships. To eliminate this problem, John V. Atanasoff, a professor at Iowa State College

(now called Iowa State University) and his graduate student, Clifford Berry, envisioned a computer

that applied Boolean algebra. This approach was based on the work of George Boole (1815-1864)

who clarified the binary system of algebra. According to George Boole, any mathematical equation

could be stated as either true or false. Based on George Boole’s concept, Atanasoff and Berry had

developed the first electronic computer by 1940. Speaking about computers, one should mention

xxxiii
the name of the famous scientist von Neumann. He described a computer architecture where data

and program memory are mapped into the same address space. His architecture has become the de

facto standard.

Early electronic computers were the size of a large room and consumed as much power as several

hundred modern personal computers. Today, simple computers are small enough to fit into a watch

and be powered from a watch battery. The most common form of computers used today are the

embedded computers which are small simple devices used to control other devices, e.g. they may

be found in machines ranging from aircraft to robots, digital cameras and toys.

The ability to store and execute lists of instructions differentiates computers from calculators.

According to Alan Turing, any computer with minimum capabilities is, in principle, capable of

performing the same tasks that any other computer can perform. Therefore, computers with

capability and complexity ranging from a PDA to a supercomputer are able to perform the same

computational tasks.

3.3 Generations of Computer

 First Generation: Vacuum Tubes (1940-1956)

The first computer systems used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and

were often enormous, taking up entire rooms. These computers were very expensive to operate

and in addition to using a great deal of electricity, the first computers generated a lot of heat, which

was often the cause of malfunctions.

xxxiv
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.

It would take operators days or even weeks to set-up a new problem. 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.

 Second Generation: Transistors (1956-1963)

The world would see transistors replace vacuum tubes in the second generation of computers. The

transistor was invented at Bell Labs 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.

 Third Generation: Integrated Circuits (1964-1971)

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.

xxxv
Instead of punched cards and printouts, users interacted with third generation computers through

keyboards and monitors and 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.

 Fourth Generation: Microprocessors (1971-Present)

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 computer—from the central processing unit and memory to input/output controls—on 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.

 Fifth Generation: Artificial Intelligence (Present and Beyond)

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.

xxxvi
 CHAPTER FOUR

CONCLUSION

4.1 Summary

This report has been able to take us from over 2000 years ago in the early Babylonian times all
the way to the early generations of computer. We see how the needs of man, made them to create
simple tools to help them achieve certain goals like calculations, knowing the time of the day,
reading the stars etc., and those simple tools evolved to become more complex man’s needs also
increased.

Nothing characterizes modern life better than a computer that has infiltrated every aspect of our
activities. Today computers do much more than simply compute: supermarket scanners calculate
our bills; automatic teller machines allow to carry out bank transactions from almost any place in
the world. To fully understand and appreciate the impact computers have on our lives and
promises they hold for the future, it is important to understand their evolution.

The history of the modern computer begins with two separate technologies: calculations and
programming.

4.2 Conclusion

This seminar research as in no doubt expressly fulfilled its purpose, as it gives valid and well

detailed information on past computer inventions that has led to the highly sophisticated

computers of today.

This research aims to impact everyone that makes use of a computer, especially those that are in

the field of computer science, computer engineering and all other computer related fields.

xxxvii
 REFERENCES

Copeland, J (2006), Colossus: The Secrets of Bletchley Park's Code breaking Computers,

pages 101–115, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Donald, R (1985), “Al-Biruni's mechanical calendar", Annals of Science 42, pages 139–163.

Fuat, S (2004),"Catalogue of the Exhibition of the Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic

Science (at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University", Frankfurt, Germany) pages 35

& 38, Frankfurt Book Fair.

Lavington, S (1998), A History of Manchester Computers (2 ed.), pages 34-35

Swindon: The British Computer Society.

Online Etymology Dictionary. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=computer.

Őren, T (2001). "Advances in Computer and Information Sciences: From Abacus to Holonic

Agents" (PDF). Turk J Elec Engin. 9 (1): 63–70.

Oxford English Dictionary (2 ed.). Oxford University Press. 1989. Retrieved 10 April 2009.

Price, S, (1984). "A History of Calculating Machines". IEEE Micro. 4 (1): 22–52.

Rojas, R. (1998). "How to make Zuse's Z3 a universal computer". IEEE Annals of the History

of Computing. 20 (3): 51–54.

Wiet, G, Elisseeff, V, Wolff, P, Naudu, J, (1975). History of Mankind, Vol 3: The Great

medieval Civilisations, p. 649. George Allen & Unwin Ltd, UNESCO.

xxxviii
 PART B

IT REPORT

xxxix
 TECHNICAL REPORT ON SIX MONTHS INDUSTRAIL TRAINING

UNDERGONE AT DREC VOVATIONAL ACADEMY

BY

UTULU EMMANUEL CHIBUEZE

PSC1508068

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

AT

DREC VOCATIONAL ACADEMY

UNDER

THE STUDENT INDUSTRIAL WORK EXPERIENCE SCHEME

(SIWES)

AT

Suite 13, 20 and 24 Mpape Maitama Extension Abuja.

MAY 2019.

xl
 CERTIFICATION

This is to certify that this industrial training exercise was under taken by UTULU EMMANUEL

CHIBUEZE with the matriculation number PSC15080685, a student of COMPUTER SCIENCE,

FACULTY of PHYSICAL SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF BENIN, EDO STATE , NIGERIA .

…………………………………..….. ………………………..
Industrial Training Supervisor Date

…………………………………………….. ……………………….
Head of Department Date

xli
 TABLE OF CONTENT

Dedication……………………………………………………………………………………….i

Acknowledgement………………………………………………………………………………ii

Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………iii

CHAPTER ONE
Introduction

1.1 Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES ) background

1.1.1 Aims and objective of SIWES
1.1.2 Benefits of SIWES to students

1.2 Company Profile

1.2.1 Description of company activities

1.2.2 Brief description of Drec vocational academy
1.2.3 Aims and Objective of Drec vocational academy
1.2.4 Benefits of attending Drec vocational academy

CHAPTER TWO

2.1 My placement and obligation during my IT

CHAPTER THREE

3.1 Analysis of work done at different sections and department

3.1.1 Experience at computer school
3.1.2 Experience at the cyber café
3.1.3 Experience at the professional course class

3.2 Basic tools used during my Industrial Training

3.3 Problems Encountered During the course of my IT and Solutions to Provided

CHAPTER FOUR

Conclusion

Reference

xlii
 DEDICATION

This report is dedicated to God for the strength HE gave me to undergo this internship, and His

love that sustained me during the difficult times. Also to the academic and non-academic-staffs of

the Department of Computer Science, thanks for their relentless efforts towards the propagation of

all academic activities. A big thank you.

xliii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My appreciation goes to God almighty for making all of this possible and sustaining me throughout

the period of training. I will like to thank the Industrial Training Fund for their foresight in putting

this program together and also University of Benin, for providing the opportunity for me to engage

in the training.

I want to say a big thank you to my industrial based supervisor, Mr. Cleans Idoko for his vital

encouragement, support and guidance during my training period, and for giving me the opportunity

to experience and undergo training at DREC VOCATIONAL ACADEMY. I am grateful to DREC

VOCATIONAL ACADEMY for accepting me into their company and providing me with this

great opportunity to be more exposed to computer and the web including its functionalities.

I will also like to appreciate my wonderful guardian Mrs. Ebere Aimola, Your advice and moral

encouragement was worth it, a big thank you.

ABSTRACT

xliv
This Industrial training report presents the experience I gained during my 6 months of industrial

training undertaken at DREC VOCATIONAL ACADEMY, Abuja in alliance with the curriculum

and fulfillment of the award of Bachelor of Science in Computer Science at the University of

Benin.

I was attach to the computer school and cyber café, were I was groomed. This report discusses the

technical skills gained during the training period and justifying the relevance of the scheme in

equipping students with needed technical competence to thrive in the real world.

It contains a brief explanation on the operations of DREC VOCATIONAL ACADEMY and an

overview which includes the organizational structure and its function in the society.

CHAPTER ONE

xlv
 INTRODUCTION

1.1 STUDENT INDUSTRIAL WORK EXPERIENCE SCHEME (SIWES)

BACKGROUND

The aim of our national policy in education is to build a strong and self- reliant nation, from the
government’s decree No.47 of 8th October, 1971 as amended in1 990, which led to the
establishment of Industrial Training Fund (ITF) in 1973/1974 and through the formation of this
body (ITF), in the year 1993/1994 and through the formation of this body (ITF), SIWES was
formed. In Nigeria, the current form of Cooperative Education is known as the Students
Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES).

The Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) is a planned and supervised training
intervention based on stated and specific learning and career objectives and geared towards
developing the occupational competencies of the participants. The aim is make education more
relevance and also to bridge the science-related disciplines in tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

SIWES forms part of the approved minimum academic standards in the institutions. This
requirement must be met by all students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics
(STEM) before graduation.

The student industrial work experience scheme (SIWES) popularly called Industrial Training
(IT) by Nigerian students is a yearly program design by the institution in collaboration with the
industries to give students the opportunity to gain practical working experience in their various
field of study or area of specialization. It is an effort to bridge the existing gap between
classroom theories and practical’s in engineering, management and other professional programs
in the Nigerian tertiary institutions.

Training is a key factor in changing expertise of a workforce. The world is passing through one
of the worst economic crisis in recent time. Both the developed and developing economics are
experiencing serious economic downturns.

Globalization has turned the world into one big village and whatever happens in one economy
will have effects in other economics, and the growing concern among our industrialist is that

xlvi
graduates of our institutions of higher learning, lack adequate practical background studies, so as
to help in the industries led to the formation of Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme
(SIWES).

It is through this Industrial Training that the educational systems aims at helping students acquire
appropriate skills, abilities and competencies, both mental and physical, as well as equip the
individuals to live in society. The focus of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) is for the industries
of our countries to succeed in the face of the current economic meltdown.

No society can achieve meaningful progress without encouraging its youth to acquire necessary
practical skills. Such skills enable them to harness available resources to meet the needs of the
society. It was against this background that SIWES, otherwise referred to as industrial Training
(IT), was introduced in Nigerian tertiary institution.

1.1.1 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF SIWES:

The specific objectives of SIWES were summarized by the federal government as follows:

1. To provide students with an opportunity to apply their knowledge in real work and actual
practice.

2. To make the transition from school to the world of work easier and to enhance students
contacts for later job placement.

3. Advanced countries, with over 100 years of sustained industrial development and
requisite technical and human infrastructure, have been able to adequately implement
industrial training for their students.

4. They also include providing a structural attachment program with emphasis applications,
management and hands-on experience for students to apply knowledge acquired.

5. It also aids students to acquire practical skill in other to strengthen their work value.

xlvii
 6. Moreover it helps them to gain interpersonal and entrepreneurial skills and also instill in
them the right kind of work attitudes and professionalism through interactions with
peoples in the organizations and observations of their future role in the tertiary.

1.1.2 BENEFITS OF SIWES TO STUDENTS:

Experts identified industrial experience as necessity for proper job preparation. This is
because productivity is enhanced by experience graduate or new entrance into the world of work
really needs and early exposure to the value and skills of the industry. Therefore, without
appropriate skills and experiences young graduates are not properly trained on work, norms and
role behavior among others, these components will ensure success at the job place.

Today Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is changing the way many
jobs are performed, thus altering the knowledge and skills required of workers. Consequently, a
new level of competency is required of our students. This cannot be sufficiently met by training
facilities in our education institutions hence, the need for collaborative effort between institutions
and industrial sector.

The major benefits accruing to students who participate conscientiously in industrial

training are the skills and competencies they acquire. These relevant production skills (RPSs)
remain a part of the recipients of industrial training as lifelong assets which cannot be taken
away from them. This is because the knowledge and skills acquired through training are
internalized and become relevant when required to perform jobs or functions. Several other
benefits can accrue to students who participate in industrial training.

1.2 COMPANY PROFILE

1.2.1 Description of Company Activities

Drec Vocational Academy is a vocational academy that specializes in training people all round the
globe on skill acquisition. They specialize in areas like:
1. Computer Training
2. Catering

xlviii
 3. Make up and aesthetics School
4. Shoe and slippers production
5. Cyber café operations
6. Website design
7. Online shopping mall.
8. Logo designing
9. Digital Marketing
10. E-commerce
Computer Training and computer operation is the major area of specialization, there consists of
three basic packages -which are the certificate course which lasts for three months, the diploma
course which lasts for six months and lastly the professional course. Once registered as a student
you acquire skills such as computer operations, in-depth or shallow knowledge (dependant on the
plan registered for) of Microsoft office packages i.e. Microsoft excel, word, presentation etc, Corel
draw, Photoshop to mention but a few.
The professional package consists of areas like web development i.e. front end and back end,
database management systems, CMS (word press), app development.
As a result of the fact that I am information technologically inclined I was posted to the computer
school and cyber café.

Diagrammatic Representation of the Organizations Department

Fig 1.1

DREC VOCATIONAL ACADEMY

Computer Catherine Make Up Cyber Cafe Skill

Acquisition
School School School

xlix
 DREC VOCATIONAL ACADEMY MAKE UP SCHOOL

1.2.2 Brief description of Drec vocational academy:

It’s a registered company situated at Mpape Abuja at chosen plaza suite 13, 20 and 24.it is owned
and managed by a dogged and relentless entrepreneur by the name Mr. Victor Adeyemo. It is a
vocational academy that specializes in different areas as listed above in the Description of work;
students who are interested in acquiring knowledge or expanding their knowledge in Drec’s area
of specialization can come and register. Fees and tuition depends on the area of specialization.
There are available classes for different classes ranging from the computer school, catering school,
make up school etc.
There is also a cyber café where online registration, printing, photocopying, browsing, typing,
laminating are done.

l
 DREC VOCATIONAL ACADEMY LOGO

1.2.3 Aims and objectives of Drec vocational academy:

Here consist the aims and objectives of DREC VOCATIONAL ACADEMY:

7. To improve its students skills on their area of specialization.

8. To make layman able to understand the basic workings of a computer.
9. To expand students’ knowledge on the technical aspects as it relates to computing.
10. To provide students with an opportunity to apply their knowledge in real work and actual
practice.
11. To make the transition from school to the world of work easier advanced countries, with
over 100 years of sustained industrial development and requisite technical and human
infrastructure, have been able to adequately implement industrial training for their students.
12. It also aids students to acquire practical skill in other to strengthen their work value.
13. To provide the country with computer literates that can impact the economy and move us
from been a developing country to a developed one.

1.2.4 Benefits of attending Drec vocational academy:

Experts identified industrial experience as necessity for proper job preparation. This is because
productivity is enhanced by experience graduate or new entrance into the world of work really
needs and early exposure to the value and skills of the industry. Therefore, without appropriate

li
skills and experiences young graduates are not properly trained on work, norms and role behavior
among others, these components will ensure success at the job place.

Today Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is changing the way many jobs are
performed, thus altering the knowledge and skills required of workers. Consequently, a new level
of competency is required of our students. This cannot be sufficiently met by training facilities in
our education institutions hence, the need for collaborative effort between institutions and
industrial sector.

The major benefits accruing to students who participate conscientiously in industrial training are
the skills and competencies they acquire. These relevant production skills (RPSs) remain a part of
the recipients of industrial training as lifelong assets which cannot be taken away from them. This
is because the knowledge and skills acquired through training are internalized and become relevant
when required to perform jobs or functions. Several other benefits can accrue to students who
participate in industrial training.

Drec vocational academy propagates the above agenda which I can simply put as “prepare the
student for the world”.

lii
 CHAPTER 2

2.1 MY PLACEMENT AND OBLIGATIONS DURING MY IT

At the beginning of my industrial training at DREC VOCATIONAL ACADEMY; about the

first week I was introduced to the company, its staffs and its operations. The next week I was
placed in the computer school to learn with the students at that time. I was taught about the
computer and its meaning as a whole, I was taught about basic Microsoft office packages such
as, Microsoft word, and presentation. I was also taught about the work of an IT personnel in
an organization. Furthermore I was enlightened on different operating systems such as:
 Windows operating system
 Linux operating system
 Mac operating system
 Android operating system
I spent about three weeks at the computer school after which I was moved to the cyber café to
operate as an IT staff.
As I worked there I learnt many things from there. I learnt how to do online registrations like
PRISON, BRISON, NIGERIAN DEFENCE, JAMB, NYSC etc.
I also learnt how many other things which I will list below:
 Taking passport photographs and printing out.
 Printing, photocopying and laminating
 Creating online payment vouchers like remita etc.
 Learnt how to register student for Jamb and other educational related originations etc.

I spent about three months of my validated time in the cyber café after which I was requested to
work with the then admin to compile the information of both past and present students of the
computer school. The organization was creating an online database where which student’s
information will be available and students would have the ability to access the school portal and
their profiles using a password and an email unique them. I was first asked to compile old forms
and type their information on a spreadsheet which I did for about a week because of the
voluminosity of the data.

liii
The next week I was tasked to manually upload information of present students such as their
names, date of birth, address, guardian, mat no, package, email, time of their respective classes
etc. I spent about two weeks undergoing this task.

After this I was now moved to the professional class where I learnt web design and development.

At the beginning of this training we were taught what web design was all about and what web
applications entails; its functionalities, uses and advantages. After introduction which lasted for
about a week, we finally moved to the web markup language which is HTML.

 HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. It can be seen as the skeletal structure
of a web application meaning that it is a standard markup language of a web page. It
consists of elements which are represented in tags and these elements consist of attributes
which provide additional information about itself.

We learnt HTML for about a week and then moved to CSS.

 CSS Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language used to describe the
presentation of a document written in HTML or XML (including XML dialects such as
SVG, MathML or XHTML). CSS describes how elements should be rendered on screen,
on paper, in speech, or on other media.

We learnt CSS for about two weeks and then moved to PHP.

 PHP PHP is a server scripting language, and a powerful tool for making dynamic and
interactive Web pages.

We learnt about front end and back end as it relates to web development.

We were giving assignments on a regular basis like: designing a simple form and a web page using
HTML, styling it using CSS, and creating a database using Mysql and PHP.

I spent almost a month and two weeks partaking in the professional class.

After this I was backed to the cyber café where I stayed till I rounded up my IT.

CHAPTER THREE

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3.1 Analysis of work done at different sections and department

3.1.1 Experience at the computer school

I gained little knowledge on computer operating system, different types of operating systems,
application software’s and also roles of an IT personnel in an organization.

This period was what I can describe as “welcoming into the organization” because I was also
introduced to the staffs, processes and routines of the organization.

DURING CLASS SESSIONS AT DREC VOCATIONAL ACADEMY

3.1.2 Experience at the cyber cafe

During my six months industrial training, I gained experience in several areas of computer
operation. This was as a result of the fact that I worked in their cyber café for over three months.
As I worked there I was guided through their normal process of work which is; how to attend to
customers, how to do each task asked by a customer such as: printing, typing, photocopying,
scanning, laminating, and also doing several online registrations.

The experience I gained as i worked at this department has equipped me with the ability and
capacity of computer operations where which I can now confidently work in a computer based
organization of an organization that requires the service of a clerk or a computer operator.

3.1.3 Experience at the professional course class

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I also gained a very good basic foundation on web design, wed development and web application.
I gained this experience during the time I was moved to the professional class to learn with the
students at that time. I learnt about markup language which is HTML and style sheet which is CSS
and also backend related language which is PHP. I was also educated on database manipulation,
but this was on the surface level.

The knowledge I gained in this department and also with my own personal research and study
helped me to work later on in this same organization as a front end developer. I was given the task
to create a login and registration page for a new project the company was embarking on. Also I
was asked to clone a web page for a customer who was to do a presentation concerning banking
and finance at his organization.

3.2 Basic tools used during my Industrial Training

Here a list of tools and materials used during my Industrial Training:

1. Computer(s): This is a programmable electronic device that performs mathematical

calculations and logic operations, especially one that can process, store and retrieve large
amounts of data very quickly; now especially, a small one for personal or home use
employed for manipulating text or graphics, accessing internet, or playing games or media.

2. Printer: A device usually attached to a computer, used to print text or images onto paper.

3. Photocopying machine: A machine which reproduces documents by photographing the

original over a glass plate and printing duplicates.

4. Scanner: This a device that scans documents in order to convert them to a digital medium.

5. Camera: This is a device used for taking still or moving pictures or photographs.

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 6. Router: This is a device that connects local area network (LAN) to form a larger internet
by, at minimum, selectively passing those data grams having a destination IP address to
the network which is able to deliver them to their destination; a network gateway.

7. Text Editor: A program which allows a user to edit the contents of a text file, usually in
an interactive way with immediate visual feedback.

8. Xampp: Xampp is a free and open source cross-platform web server solution stack
package developed by Apache Friends, consisting mainly of Apache HTTP Server,
MariaDB database, and interpreters for scripts written in PHP and Perl programming
Languages.

3.3 Problems Encountered During the course of my IT and Solutions to Provided

During the course of my industrial training, I encountered problems such as:

1. Bad attitude of customers: This had a negative impact during my industrial training as it
resulted in poor services offered from me to them. Some customers where sort of impatient,
somewhere insulting and others ignorant of the job they want to do. Most times as a result
of this challenge, accuracy and quality service might be definitely not rendered.
Solution:
There was meeting held because of the issue of bad attitude of customers. We were
instructed to be our best behavior at any cost regardless at what a customer do or say and
we should also keep the “the customer is always right attitude” at all times.
This really increased productivity for the company as it posed a good solution to handle
bad attitude from customers.

2. Unavailability of enough resources: This is a major problem as it leads to unproductive

and bad services from our end. Sometimes the systems are limited compared to the
customers that are in need of them, so this might result to complains or even the loss of
customers.
Solution:

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 To overcome this problem, more systems were added to the cyber café and the old ones
that weren’t working were repaired and taking back to the cyber café.

3. Technical Difficulties: Technical difficulties such as power failure, system failure and bad
service from network provider were also a challenge during my Industrial Training.
Solution:
UPS (uninterruptable power supply) were brought to the cyber café so as to avoid the loss
of a current job or work been lost.
Also a standby personnel was tasked to always put on the power plant as quickly as possible
before the UPS powers run out.

4. Lack of enough tutors for the professional classes: As a result of the importance of the
class, I expected there to be more available teachers for the professional courses; so as to
carefully guide you through the subjects offered.
Solution:
Advanced Students were tasked with the responsibility of putting us through minor
problems that were encountered during the class.
This really helped us as those that were not able to catch up fast were still been carried
along.

CHAPTER FOUR

CONCLUSION

The above report represents an overview of my six months industrial training, where it was spent,
how it was spent and the experience gained during the course of the training in conjunction with
the student industrial work experience scheme (SIWES) popularly called Industrial Training (IT)
for students which is design by the institution in collaboration with the industries to give students

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the opportunity to gain practical working experience in their various field of study or area of
specialization.

Drec vocational academy turned out to be the institution I spent my six months training where I
got knowledge faced problems capable of making me influential and skillful as I continue through
the educational process.

REFERENCE

About ITF/SIWES, Mission and vision

http://odich.com/itfnig.siwes.php
http://odich.com/itfnig/aboutus.php

Drec Vocational Academy

http://drecweb.com.ng

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