I NTRODUCTION

TO COMPUTING
ITEINC 113

MODULE1
BRIEF HISTORY
OF COMPUTERS
Prepared By: MARITES D. MANGANTI, Ph.D.
References of the content are mentioned
below the slides to acknowledge the author
of the terms and topics in this course.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Learn about computer terms

Develop an understanding on Computers and its history

Discuss Computer Generations

 The term computer originally meant a person capable of performing
basic numerical calculation with the help of the mechanical computing device.
The evolution of computer started way back in 1930’s. History of computer
dates back to the invention of a mechanical adding machine in 1642.

Current Definition
A computer is an electronic device that accepts data from the user,
processes it, produces results, displays them to the users, and stores the results
for future usage.
Data is a collection of unorganized facts & figures and does not provide
any further information regarding patterns, context, etc. Hence data means
"unstructured facts and figures".
Information is a structured data i.e. organized meaningful and processed
data. To process the data and convert into information, a computer is used.

http://www.cs.uah.edu/~rcoleman/Common/History/History.html
• A computer is an electronic device, operating
under the control of instructions stored in its
own memory

Produces
Collects data
Processing information
(input)
(output)

Information Processing Cycle

Discovering Computers 2018: Chapter 1

 ANCIENT TIMES
Early Man relied on counting on his
fingers and toes (which by the way, is
the basis for our base 10 numbering
system).
He also used sticks and stones as
markers. Later notched sticks and
knotted cords were used for counting.
Finally came symbols written on hides,
parchment, and later paper. Man invents (Roman Empire)
the concept of number, then invents
devices to help keep up with the
numbers of his possessions. https://www.cs.uah.edu/~rcoleman/Common/History/Histor
y.html#:~:text=Early%20Man%20relied%20on%20counting,%
2C%20parchment%2C%20and%20later%20paper.
The abacus, also called a counting frame,
is a calculating tool used primarily in parts
of Asia for performing arithmetic process.
Abacist is the user of an abacus who slides The ancient Romans developed
the beads by hands. an Abacus, the first "machine"
for calculating. While it
predates the Chinese abacus.
Counters in the lower groove
are 1 x 10n, those in the upper
groove are 5 x 10n

The Abacus (3000 BC)

 Industrial Age - 1600
John Napier, a Scottish nobleman and politician
devoted much of his leisure time to the study of
mathematics. He was especially interested in
devising ways to aid computations.

His greatest contribution was the

invention of logarithms. He inscribed
logarithmic measurements on a set
of 10 wooden rods and thus was
able to do multiplication and division
by matching up numbers on the rods.
These became known as Napier’s
Bones.
Napier’s Bone and Logarithms (1614)
 1621 - The Sliderule

Napier invented logarithms, Edmund Gunter invented the logarithmic

scales (lines etched on metal or wood), but it was William Oughtred,
in England who invented the sliderule (a mechanical device
for approximating multiplication and division, raising to
powers, and other simple calculations). Using the concept of
Napier’s bones, he inscribed logarithms on strips of wood and invented the
calculating "machine" which was used up until the mid-1970s when the first
hand-held calculators and microcomputers appeared.
 1642 - Blaise Pascal(1623-1662)

Blaise Pascal’s Pascaline (1645)

Blaise Pascal, a French mathematical genius, at the age of 19 invented a machine,

which he called the Pascaline that could do addition and subtraction, and automatically
carrying and borrowing from column to column during 1645 to help his father, who
was also a mathematician. Pascal’s machine consisted of a series of gears with 10 teeth
each, representing the numbers 0 to 9. As each gear made one turn it would trip the
next gear up to make 1/10 of a revolution. This principle remained the foundation of
all mechanical adding machines for centuries after his death. The Pascal programming
language was named in his honor.
 1673 - Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646-1716)

Leibniz’s
Wheel or
the Step
Reckoner

Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz invented differential and integral calculus

independently of Sir Isaac Newton, who is usually given sole credit.
He invented a calculating machine that could add and subtract, like
Pascal’s machine, but it could also multiply and divide. It did this by
repeated additions or subtractions, the way mechanical adding machines
of the mid to late 20th century did. Leibniz also invented something
essential to modern computers — binary arithmetic.
1725 - The Bouchon Loom
Basile Bouchon, the son of an organ maker, worked in the textile industry.
At this time fabrics with very intricate patterns woven into them were
very much in vogue. To weave a complex pattern, however involved
somewhat complicated manipulations of the threads in a loom which
frequently became tangled, broken, or out of place. Bouchon observed the
paper rolls with punched holes that his father made to program his player
organs and adapted the idea as a way of "programming" a loom. The paper
passed over a section of the loom and where the holes appeared certain
threads were lifted. As a result, the pattern could be woven repeatedly. This
was the first punched paper, stored program. Unfortunately the paper tore
and was hard to advance. So, Bouchon’s loom never really caught on and
eventually ended up in the back room collecting dust.

1728 - Falçon Loom

In 1728 Jean-Batist Falçon, substituted a deck of punched cardboard cards
for the paper roll of Bouchon’s loom. This was much more durable, but the
deck of cards tended to get shuffled and it was tedious to continuously
switch cards. So, Falçon’s loom ended up collecting dust next to Bouchon’s
loom.
 1745 - Joseph Marie Jacquard (1752-1834)

It took French inventor Joseph Marie Jacquard to

bring together Bouchon’s idea of a continuous punched
roll, and Falcon’s ideas of durable punched cards to
produce a really workable programmable loom.
Weaving operations were controlled by punched cards
tied together to form a long loop. And, you could add as
many cards as you wanted. Each time a thread was
woven in, the roll was clicked forward by one card. The
results revolutionized the weaving industry and made a
lot of money for Jacquard. This idea of punched data
storage was later adapted for computer data input and
output the electro-mechanical and electronic computing Joseph-Marie Jacquard punched card
industry. controlled looms (1804)
 1822 – Charles Babbage (1791-1871) and Ada Augusta, The Countess of Lovelace

Charles Babbage British

mathematician and inventor. Charles
Babbage is recognized today as the
“Father of Computers” because his
impressive designs for the Difference
Engine and Analytical Engine
foreshadowed the invention of the modern
electronic digital computer.

The Father of Computers

Charles Babbage is known as the Father of the modern computer
(even though none of his computers worked or were even constructed in
their entirety). He first designed plans to build, what he called the Automatic
Difference Engine. It was designed to help in the construction of
mathematical tables for navigation. Unfortunately, engineering limitations of
his time made it impossible for the computer to be built. His next project
was much more ambitious.

While a professor of mathematics at Cambridge University, a position he

never actually occupied, he proposed the construction of a machine he
called the Analytic Engine. It was to have a punched card input, a memory
unit (called the store), an arithmetic unit (called the mill), automatic printout,
sequential program control, and 20-place decimal accuracy. He had actually
worked out a plan for a computer 100 years ahead of its time. Unfortunately
it was never completed. It had to wait for manufacturing technology to catch
up to his ideas.
Lady Augusta Ada. Daughter of the famous romantic
poet, Lord Byron, she was a brilliant mathematician who
helped Babbage in his work. Above all, she documented
his work, which Babbage never could bother to do.
During a nine-month period in 1842-1843, Ada Lovelace
translated Italian mathematician Luigi Menabrea's
memoir on Charles Babbage's Analytic Engine. With her
translation she appended a set of notes which specified
in complete detail a method for calculating Bernoulli
numbers with the Engine. Historians now recognize this
as the world's first computer program and honor her as
the first programmer.
 1880s – Herman Hollerith (1860-1929)

Census
Tabulating
Machine
(1884)

The computer trail next takes us to, of all places, the U.S. Bureau of Census. In 1880 taking the U.S. census
proved to be a monumental task. By the time it was completed it was almost time to start over for the 1890
census. To try to overcome this problem the Census Bureau hired Dr. Herman Hollerith. In 1887, using Jacquard’s
idea of the punched card data storage, Hollerith developed a punched card tabulating system, which allowed the
census takers to record all the information needed on punched cards which were then placed in a special
tabulating machine with a series of counters. When a lever was pulled a number of pins came down on the card.
Where there was a hole the pin went through the card and made contact with a tiny pool of mercury below and
tripped one of the counters by one. With Hollerith’s machine the 1890 census tabulation was completed in 1/8
the time. And they checked the count twice. -Finished census in 6 weeks (vs. 7 years)
After the census Hollerith turned to using his tabulating machines for business and in 1896
organized the Tabulating Machine Company which later merged with other companies to become
IBM. His contribution to the computer then is the use of punched card data storage. BTW: The
punched cards in computers were made the same size as those of Hollerith’s machine. And,
Hollerith chose the size he did because that was the same size as the one dollar bill at that time
and therefore he could find plenty of boxes just the right size to hold the cards.
GENERATIONS OF
COMPUTERS
Prepared By: MARITES D. MANGANTI, Ph.D.
References of the content are mentioned
below the slides to acknowledge the author
of the terms and topics in this course.
 FIRST GENERATION (1930-1956)
The first generation computers had the following
features and components:
Hardware Memory
The hardware used in the first generation of computers The memory was of 4000 bits.
was:Vacuum Tubes and Punch Cards.
Data Input
Features The input was only provided through hard-
Following are the features of first generation computers wired programs in the computer, mostly
− through punched cards and paper tapes.
• It supported machine language. Examples
• It had slow performance
• It occupied large size due to the use of vacuum The examples of first generation computers
tubes. are −
• It had a poor storage capacity. ENIAC
• It consumed a lot of electricity and generated a lot UNIVACTBM 701
of heat.
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/computer_concepts/computer_concepts_history_of_computers.htm, 2019
MECHANICAL COMPUTATION MACHINE-19 TH CENTURY
1936- Alan Turing regarded to be the father of modern Computer Science provided a
formalization for the concept of algorithm and computations.
1941- Konrad Zuse (Z3) inventor of the program-controlled computer, built the first working
computer. This computer was based on magnetic storage.
1942- Atanasoff-Berry computer which used vacuum tube, binary numbers, was non
programmable.
1943- Colossus a secret British computer with limited programmability built using vacuum tubes,
was built to break the German wartime codes. It was the first computer to read and decipher the
codes using cryptography.
1944- Harvard Mark I an electromechanical computer built out of switches, relays, rotating shafts,
and clutches had limited programmability. It used punched paper tape instead of the punched cards. It
worked for almost 15 years. Grace Hopper was the primary programmer. She invented the first high
level language called Flow-Matic which later developed into COBOL. She also constructed the first
compiler. She found the first computer “bug”: a dead moth that got into the Mark I and whose wings
were blocking the reading of the holes in the paper tape. The word “bug” had been used to describe a
defect since at least 1889 but Hopper is credited with coining the word “debugging” to describe the
work to eliminate program faults.
 SECOND GENERATION (1956-1963)
Several advancements in the first-gen computers
led to the development of second generation
computers.
Following are various changes in features and Memory
components of second generation computers − The capacity of the memory was 32,000
bits.
Hardware
The hardware used in the second generation of Data Input
computers were − The input was provided through
Transistors punched cards.
Magnetic Tapes Examples
Features
It had features like − The examples of second generation
✓ Batch operating system computers are −
✓ Faster and smaller in size Honeywell 400
✓ Reliable and energy efficient than the previous CDC 1604
generation IBM 7030
✓ Less costly than the previous generation
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/computer_concepts/computer_concepts_history_of_computers.htm, 2019
 THIRD GENERATION (1964-1971)
Following are the various components and
features of the third generation computers:

Hardware Memory
The hardware used in the third generation of The capacity of the memory was
computers were − 128,000 bits.
✓ Integrated Circuits made from semi-conductor Data Input
materials
The input was provided through
✓ Large capacity disks and magnetic tapes
keyboards and monitors.
Features
The features of the third generation computers Examples
are − The examples of third generation
✓ Supports time-sharing OS computers are −
✓ Faster, smaller, more reliable and cheaper than IBM 360/370
the previous generations CDC 6600
✓ Easy to access PDP 8/11
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/computer_concepts/computer_concepts_history_of_computers.htm, 2019
 FOURTH GENERATION (1972-2010)
Fourth generation computers have the following
components and features −

Hardware
The Hardware used in the fourth generation of Memory
computers were − The capacity of the memory was 100
✓ ICs with Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) million bits.
technology
✓ Semiconductor memory
✓ Magnetic tapes and Floppy Data Input
The input was provided through
Features improved hand held devices, keyboard
It supports features like −
✓ Multiprocessing & distributed OS and mouse.
✓ Object-oriented high level programs supported
✓ Small & easy to use; hand-held computers have Examples
evolved The examples of fourth generation
✓ No external cooling required & affordable
✓ This generation saw the development of networks computers are −
and the internet Apple II
✓ It saw the development of new trends in GUIs and VAX 9000
mouse CRAY 1 (super computers)
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/computer_concepts/computer_concepts_history_of_computers.htm, 2019
 FIFTH GENERATION (2010-PRESENT)
These are the modern and advanced computers.
Significant changes in the components and operations
have made fifth generation computers handy and more
Memory
reliable than the previous generations.
The capacity of the memory is
Hardware unlimited.
The Hardware used in the fifth generation of
computers are − Data Input
✓ Integrated Circuits with VLSI and Nano technology The input is provided through
✓ Large capacity hard disk with RAID support
CDROM, Optical Disk and other touch
✓ Powerful servers, Internet, Cluster computing
and voice sensitive input devices.
Features
It supports features like − Examples
✓ Powerful, cheap, reliable and easy to use. The examples of fifth generation
✓ Portable and faster due to use of parallel processors computers are −
and Super Large Scale Integrated Circuits. ✓ IBM (International Business Machine)
✓ Rapid software development is possible. ✓ Pentium
✓ other advance processors

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/computer_concepts/computer_concepts_history_of_computers.htm, 2019