COMPUTER APPLICATION IN TOURISM BTTM 303 Block 1 Computer Technology and Tourism Uttarakhand Open University 1 COMPUTER APPLICATION IN TOURISM BTTM 303 UNIT 1 HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF COMPUTERS GENERATION; COMPUTER HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE,CPU CONTENTS 1.0 OBJECTIVES 1.1 INTRODUCTION 1.2 HISTORY ON COMPUTERS JOUNREY 1.3 VON NEUMANN ARCHITECTURE 1.4 COMPUTER GENERATIONS 1.4.1 First Generation 1.4.2 Second Generation 1.4.3 Third Generation 1.4.4 Fourth Generation 1.4.5 Fifth Generation 1.5 COMPUTER HARDWARE AND COMPUTER SOFTWARE,CPU 1.6 CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU) 1.7 SUMMARY 1.8 REFERENCES 1.9 EXERCISES (Model Answers) 1.0 OBJECTIVES On completion of this unit, you will be able to: Know the major personalities, devices and events that led to development of computers. How computer has grown with the passage of time Understand Von-Neumann architecture Learn how computer has passed through various generations Understand how development took place in electronic components Classification of Digital Computers Know about types of computers 1.1 INTRODUCTION The development of computer technology is the story of a revolution that began in the 1940s. It is still accelerating rapidly towards more advanced systems and technologies. In this unit brief exposure on computer systems and its fundamental knowledge is essential for an entry into computer world. The evolution and growth of computer technology is covered in the form of a brief history in reference to the important milestones in the evolution of computing machines from the primitive form to the modern high-speed supercomputers. The first commercial computer was large enough to fill up a big room. It was so expensive that only US government department could afford it. Now if you see the price of ordinary personnel computers (PC) is easily affordable. These machines not only have high speed, processing power and versatility is superior to early machines. There is no other form of technology or branch of science that matches the phenomenal progress of computer technology. Uttarakhand Open University 2 COMPUTER APPLICATION IN TOURISM BTTM 303 Today, computer technology has enhanced the efficiency of typical office functions, however, has been an off shoot of its recent development. It was only made possible when the price of computers came down. The growth and development of this technology, however, has largely by-passed India. In spite of some promising attempts at fundamental research during fifties, by and large, this technology has not had the desired impact on our country. Before on starts this unit the question that comes naturally to you is why should you learn about history of computers? Awareness of the history of computers may be useful to you for several reasons. Firstly, as a computer professional, you will see how the development of this technology has been closely associated with practical requirements of real-life situations. Secondly, it will give you an insight into the trends and directions of this technology and its relevance to the business environment. Finally, it will be a tribute to those fascinating and dedicated thinkers and innovators whose genius made this era to be called the computer age. In the end of this section, you will have complete picture in development of computers right from its first generation to the last generation. 1.2 HISTORY ON COMPUTERS JOURNEY Abacus The modern computers may have been born in the 1940s, but the concept of devising a calculating or computing machine existed many centuries ago. It is said that the circular arrangement of massive stones at the famous Stonehenge in England was just one part of a massive computer used by the Druid priests to predict eclipses. Primitive man used his fingers, toes for counting and they also learned to count by making marks on wood and later by using tally sticks. On finding the limitation of this method, he switched over pebbles. These pebbles strung on a piece of wood formed the basic component of a kind of counting machine called the Abacus shown in fig 1.2 (a). Fig. 1.2 (a) Abacus Abacus was originated in china around 3500B.C .The standard abacus can be used performed addition subtraction division and multiplication; the abacus can also be used to extract square roots-cubic roots .the abacus is typical constructed of various types of hard woods and comes in varying sizes. The frame of the abacus has a series of vertical rods on which a number of wood beads are allowed to slide freely. Horizontal beam separate the frame into two sections, known as upper deck and lower deck. The beats are manipulated with either the index finger or thumb of one hand each bead in the upper deck has a Uttarakhand Open University 3 COMPUTER APPLICATION IN TOURISM BTTM 303 value of 5; each bead in lower deck has a value1. Beads are counted, when move towards the beam that separates the two decks. After 5 beads are counted the results is carried upper deck; after both beads in the upper deck are counted, the resulted 10 is than carried two the left most adjacent column. The right most column is ones column; the next adjacent to the left is tense columns as so on. Abacus is still in use today by shopkeeper in Asia and China town in North America blind children are use the abacus for performing a simple calculations. In addition, some shop assistants in Japan who use electronic cash registers prefer to check the results through the abacus. Devices by Pascal and Leibnitz The next important invention in computing was the adding machine made by the French mathematician Blaise Pascal around 1641. Pascal, the son of a tax collector, invented the machine to help his father with his calculations. In 1642, Blaise Pascal developed a calculating machine called the Pascaline for carrying out repeated additions and subtractions. It worked similar to the odometer of a car or scooter. The number to be processed was set on the dials and through a set of rotating gear wheels, the calculation was carried out and the result displayed on the dial. Due to poor quality of the Pascaline could not be introduced on a big scale because of stiff resistance of any mechanization of computing work. Meanwhile Pascal turned to other fields and invented diverse items like the hydraulic press, barometer, wheel barrow, etc. In 1676, Pascial was followed by another great mathematician-Goltrfied Leibnitz who improved on Pascaline by incorporating multiplication and division. This machine known as Leibnitz Wheel also met the fate of Pascaline primarily due to the fact that Leibnitz was loath to use his inventions as a commercial product. In 1820, however, a similar mechanical calculator, called Thomas Arithmometer met with commercial success. The gearing wheel technology had obviously improved and contributed to its success. Jacquard’s Punched Card The other significant development on automatic computing was, however, not related to the invention of a calculating machine. It came from the weaving industry. In 1801, a French inventor called Joseph Jacquired conceived the idea of using a card with a set of holes (punched card) for weaving patterns on cloth. The automation of pattern weaving in looms was a major commercial success. Fifty years later, this concept of coding through punched card was perfected by Herman Hollerith and subsequently; the punched cards emerged as the most important medium for storing and entering data. Herman Hollerith and the Punched Card In 1890, Herman Hollerith, an employee of the United States bureau of census, invented a tabulating machine, which completed the 1890 census in a record time. The tabulating machine used punched cards to store data. Although the credit for inventing these punched cards goes to Jacquard, Hollerith’s real contribution comes from inventing a machine, which could read data from the punched cards by an electromechanical device and perform mathematical operations on the data. Of course, it is said that Hollerith had no knowledge of Jacquard’s invention for using punched cards in the weaving industry. He is said to have developed this idea from watching railway conductors punching holes in the tickets. Dr.Hollerith introduced the idea of recording data by punching holes on cards. With the help of punched cards and tabulating machines, the 1890 Uttarakhand Open University 4 COMPUTER APPLICATION IN TOURISM BTTM 303 census reports were ready in about two years. The population figure itself was announced with six weeks of the completion of the census. The program and data were stored on a stack of cards arranged in pre-determined sequence. Thus, a file of punched cards used to be only a bundle of cards. It is interesting to note that, it was Hollerith, who after leaving the US government service, started a company which finally came to be known as the IBM, which has remained a top computer manufacturer even till today. As time progressed, the tabulating machine of Hollerith was further perfected. In the meantime, followed by Edison’s invention of electric bulbs, vacuum tubes were invented. These tubes formed the main components of the first electronic computer. Charles Babbage and the Analytical Engine Undoubtedly the greatest hero in the history of computing was the Englishman Charles Babbage (1792-1871). The son of a wealthy banker, Babbage was passionately interested in mathematics and founded the Analytical Society at Cambridge in 1812. He was a versatile genius who made important contributions to mathematics, manufacture, life insurance postal services, railways, cryptology, etc. In 1822, he built a machine called the Difference Engine. It could do complex algebraic equations and was built on the principle of gearing wheels of earlier era.