History and development of computers - Basics of computers (2023)

Necessity is the mother of invention. The saying also applies to computers. Although computers seem like a modern invention, computing dates back to the early 19th century. Computers were invented because of man's search for accurate and fast computing devices. Basic Pascal invented the first mechanical adding machine in 1642. Later, in 1671, keyboard machines originated in the States around 1880, and we use them even today. Around the same period, Herman Hollerith came up with the termpunch cardwas widely used as an input medium in computers even in the late 1970s.

A nineteenth-century professor at Cambridge University,Charles Babbage, is considered the father of modern digital computers. Today computers are different from earlier days based on appearance and performance. But today's computers have undergone significant changes in the past seven decades.

A brief history of computers

Primitive people used the first counting device. In the past, people used their fingers, stones, bones and pebbles as counting tools to make calculations. More computing devices were developed as the human mind and technology improved over time. The first use of the word "Computer” was documented in 1613 in reference to a person who performed calculations or calculations, and the term continued to be used in that sense until the mid-20th century.

Some of the popular computing devices, starting with the earliest to the latest, are described below:

1. Tally Sticks

A tally stick (or tally) was an ancient memory aid for recording quantities, numbers or messages. Tally sticks first appear as animal bones carved with notches during the Upper Paleolithic (also known aslate stone age). Tallies have been used for numerous purposes, from messaging and planning, especially in financial and legal transactions, to being a currency.

2. Abacus

TheAbacus,which appeared about 5,000 years ago in Asia Minor and is still in use today, is one of the first mechanical calculating devices that let users perform calculations using a system of sliding beads arranged on a stand. Early traders used the Abacus to keep trade transactions. An image of the Abacus is shown below.

3. Napier's bone

Napier's bone was invented in 1614 by a Scottish mathematician, John Napier of Merchiston (1550-1617). He also played a crucial role in the development of logarithms. Napier's Bone was a manually operated calculating device that allowed the operator to multiply, divide and calculate square and cube roots by moving the rods around and placing them in specially made boards.

He used 9 different ivory strips or bones marked with numbers to multiply and divide in this calculator. So the unit became known as Napier's Bones. It was also the first machine to use the decimal point.

4. Slide Rule (1620-1230 e.Kr.)

The rule was invented around 1620-1630 AD, shortly after John Napier published the concept of the logarithm. In 1620, Edmund Gunter of Oxford developed a calculating device with a single logarithmic scale. In 1622,William Oughtredof Cambridge combined two handheld Gunter rules to make a device that is recognizably the modern slide rule.

The slide rule is considered the first analog computing device that works according to the logarithmic principle. The grid rule was used until the mid-1970s, when the first handheld calculators and microcomputers appeared.

5. Pascaline (1623-1662 e.Kr.)

I 1642,Blaise Pascal,a French mathematician, invented the first mechanical machine, a rectangular brass box calledPascaline(also known asPascal's calculatororcalculator), which could perform addition and subtraction on whole numbers. Pascal invented this device to help his father, a tax accountant.

Pascal's device was a wooden box with a series of gears and wheels with 10 teeth each. It represents the numbers 0 to 9. As each gear made one revolution. When a wheel is turned one revolution, it rotates the adjacent wheel. A series of windows are provided on top of the wheels to read the totals. A picture of Pascaline is shown below.

A computer programming language,Pascal, was later named to honor his contributions.

6. Trappet Regner or Leibnitz Wheel

In 1694 AD a German mathematician-philosopher, Gottfried Welham Von Leibniz, improved Pascaline by creating a machine calledIt's raining on the stairs(also known asLeibnitz calculator), who could add, subtract, multiply, and evaluate square roots with series of incremental additions. Leibniz was the first to support the use of a binary number system.

Leibniz got the idea for a calculator in 1672 in Paris from a pedometer. Later he learned about Blaise Pascal's unity when he read Pascal'sTanker. He focused on extending Pascal's mechanism so that it could reproduce and divide.

7. Jacquards vævemaskine

In 1804, Joseph Marie Jacquard, a French silk weaver, invented a device mounted on an automated loom that used punched cards as a pattern to weave complex designs and patterns. The resulting ensemble of the Jacquard machine and the loom is then called aJacquard weave.

A chain of cards controlled the machine; several punch cards strung together into a continuous sequence. Several rows of holes were punched on each card, with a complete card corresponding to a design row. This use of interchangeable punch cards to control a series of operations is considered a significant step in the history of computer hardware, having inspired Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine.

8. Difference Engine & Analytical Engine (Babbage's Engine)

A British mathematician at Cambridge University, Charles Babbage, invented the firstDifference Engine or Analytical Engine.

In 1822, Charles Babbage conceptualized and began to inventDifferent engine, believed that the first automatic computer could approximate polynomials. The Difference Engine was adept at calculating multiple sets of numbers and making hard copies of the results. Babbage got some help in inventing the Difference Engine fromThere's Lovelace, is considered the first computer programmer for his work.

Unfortunately, Babbage was never able to complete a full-scale functional version of this machine due to funding. In June 1991, the London Science Museum completed Difference Engine No 2 for the bicentenary of Charles Babbage's birth and later completed the printing mechanism in 2000.

I 1837 friede Charles Babbageanalytical engine,the first general mechanical computer. The analytical engine contained:

• An arithmetic logic unit (ALU).
• Punch card (inspired by Jacquard Loom).
• Integrated memory.
• Basic flow control.

It is the first general purpose computer concept that could be used for multiple things and not just one specific calculation.

Unfortunately, this computer was also never built while Charles Babbage was alive due to budget issues. In 1910, Charles Babbage's youngest son, Henry Babbage, completed part of this machine and performed some basic calculations.

Charles Babbageis known as'the father of the modern digital computer'for his contribution.

9. Lady Augusta Ada Lovelace (first computer programmer)

Lady Augusta Byron, Countess of Lovelace (1815 – 1852 AD) was an English mathematician, mainly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. She advised Charles Babbage to use a binary number system to feed programs and data into an analytical engine.

She was the first to recognize that the machine had applications beyond pure computation and posted the first algorithm to be executed by such a machine. As a result, she is often considered the first computer programmer. A programming language named "Ada” is named after her.

10. Scheutzian calculation engine

Pehr (Per) Georg Scheutz (1785 – 1873 AD) was a Swedish lawyer, translator and inventor who is now best known for his outstanding work in computer technology. He is most known forScheutzian calculation engine, invented in 1837 and completed in 1843. This machine, which he made with his son Edvard Scheutz, was based on Charles Babbage's Difference engine.

In 1851 they received funding from the government to build an improved model, built in 1853 (about the size of a piano) and subsequently demonstrated at the Paris World's Fair, 1855. The device was used to make logarithmic tables.

11. Tabulating machine

In 1890, Herman Hollerith, an American statistician, inventedTabulating machine. It was a mechanical tabulator based on punch cards that could tabulate statistics and record or sort data or information. The machine was also used to tabulate the 1890 US Census in record time. Hollerith's machine was approximately ten times faster than manual tabulations and saved the Census Bureau millions of dollars.

Hollerith also started Hollerith's Tabulating Machine Company in 1896 AD, which later becameInternational Business Machine (IBM)i 1924 e.Kr.

12. Havard Mark 1

Harvard Mark Iis also known asIBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (ASCC). Howard Aiken of Harvard University designed the first fully automatic calculator in collaboration with IBM. It was the first programmable digital computer.

The Harvard Mark I was an electronic relay computer as electromagnetic signals were used to move mechanical components. It could perform basic arithmetic and complex equations. Although this device was highly reliable, it was very slow (taking about 3-6 seconds per calculation) and was large in size and complex in design.

On March 29, 1944, one of the first programs to run on the Mark I was initiated by John von Neumann. The Mark I also calculated and printed mathematical tables, which had been Charles Babbage's original dream for his "Analytical Engine" in 1837.

13. Z1 – First programmable computer

Konrad Zuse pledgedZ1in his parents' living room from 1936 to 1938. It is considered the first modern computer and the first electromechanical binary programmable computer. It was a binary electrically operated mechanical calculator with limited programmability that read instructions from die-cut celluloid film.

It was completed in 1938 and financed entirely by private funds. This computer was demolished during the bombing of Berlin in December 1943, during World War II, along with all building plans.

Konrad Zuse would also later inventZ3, the first working programmable computer that could be fully automated.

14. Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC) – The first digital computer

Short forAtanasoff-Berry computer, thatABCwas the world's first mainstream electronic digital computer, which began development by Professor John Vincent Atanasoff and his student Cliff Berry in 1937. Its development continued until 1942 at Iowa State College.

The ABC was an electrical computer that used more than 300 vacuum tubes for digital computation, including Boolean logic and binary math, and had no CPU (it was not programmable). It made use of vacuum tubes for internal logic and capacitors for storage.

On October 19, 1973, US federal judge Earl R. Larson signed his ruling that the ENIAC patent of J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly was invalid. In conclusion, Larson named Atanasoff, the sole inventor.

15. Osborne 1 – The first portable computer

TheOsborne 1is the first portable computer, developed by Adam Osborne and designed by Lee Felsenstein, released on April 3, 1981 AD, by Osborne Computer Corporation. It weighs 11.1 kg, costs $1,795 and runs CP/M 2.2 OS. It is powered by a wall socket as it has no battery, but it is still labeled as a portable device as it can be carried in the hand when the keyboard is closed.

The computer was delivered with a bundle of software equivalent in value to the machine itself. The Osborne 1 is about the size and weight of a sewing machine and was advertised as the only computer that would fit under an airplane seat.

16. Electronic Controls Company – The first computer company

Founded in 1949 by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly,Electronic control companywas the first computer company. The company was founded by the same people who helped create the ENIAC computer. Later, the company was renamed Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation (EMCC) and released a series of mainframe computers under the UNIVAC name.

In 1950 the company was sold to Remington Rand, which later merged with Sperry Corporation to become Sperry Rand and survives today asUnisys.

To get a better impression of the development of computers, it is worth discussing the well-known early computers. We can categorize the generation of computers into five generations based on the technology used at that time. These are as follows:

Evolution of computers [Generations of computers]

Computer generation is a classification of computers into different groups according to their manufacturing date, memory device, software and hardware technologies. There are five generations of computers. They are as follows:

1. First generation (1942-1955)
2. Second generation (1955-1964)
3. Third generation (1964-1975)
4. Fourth generation (1975-1989)
5. Fifth Generation (1989–present)

1. The first generation of computers (1945-1956 AD)

First-generation computers bore little resemblance to today's computers, either in appearance or performance. The first generation of computers took place from 1940 AD. to 1956 AD and was extremely large in size. The internal workings of computers at the time were unsophisticated. These early machines are requiredvacuum tubethat functioned as switches, amplifiers andmagnetic drumsfor the memory. The paper tapes and punch cards were used for input and prints for output.

The vacuum tubes were primarily responsible for the large size of the devices and the enormous amounts of heat they gave off despite large cooling units. First generation computers also used a very basic programming language referred to as machine language.

Features of first generation computers

Following are some of the features of first generation computers -

• It was a large mainframe built with vacuum tube technology.
• It took up a lot of space, was low in efficiency and unreliable due to low accuracy.
• The power consumption was very high and it produced massive heat.
• The speed operation was in milliseconds.
• It was used only for scientific or research purposes.
• Low-level programming languages ​​were used in computers.
• They were very slow.

Limitations of first generation computers

Following are some of the limitations of first generation computers -

• The computer needed an air-conditioned room and constant maintenance.
• They were not portable.
• It was an expensive commercial product.
• They have minimal programming options.
• The computers have only limited use.

Examples of first generation computers

Some of the examples of the first generation of computers are as follows:

1. ENIAC(Electronic numerical integrator and calculator)
2. EDVAC(Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic)
3. UNIVAC(Universal Automatic Computers)
4. IBM-701
5. IBM-650

ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator) (1943-46 AD)

The Electronic Numerical Integrator And Calculator (ENIAC) was the first fully electronic computer. It was built at the Moore School of Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, U.S.A., by a design team led by Professors J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly.

The team developed the ENIAC because of military needs. It was used for many years to solve ballistics-related problems. ENIAC took up wall space in a 20 x 40 square meter room and used 18,000 vacuum tubes. It could add two numbers in 200 microseconds and multiply them in 2000 microseconds.

Did you know?
Baron Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz of Germany invented the first calculator for multiplication.

EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic) (1946-52 e.Kr.)

A major disadvantage of the ENIAC was that its programs were attached to boards, making it difficult to change the programs. Dr. John Von Neumann later introduced the "stored program concept" that helped overcome this problem. The basic idea behind this concept is that a sequence of instructions and data can be stored in a computer's memory to control the operations automatically. This feature greatly influenced the development of modern digital computers because of how different programs can be loaded and executed on the same computer. Because of this feature, we usually refer to modern digital computers as stored-program digital computers.

The Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer (EDVAC) used the stored program concept in its design. Von Neumann is also credited with introducing the idea of ​​storing both instructions and data in binary form (a system that uses only two digits – 0 and 1 to represent all characters), instead of decimal numbers or human-readable words .

UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computers) (1951)

The Universal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC) was the first non-one-of-a-kind digital computer. Many UNIVAC machines were manufactured, the first of which was installed in the Census Bureau in 1951 and was used continuously for 10 years.

I 1952 introducerede International Business Machines (IBM) CorporationIBM-701commercial computer. In rapid succession, improved models ofUNIVAC Iand other IBM 700 series machines were introduced. In 1953, IBM producedIBM-650and sold over 1000 computers.

Did you know?
UNIVAC marked the arrival of commercially available digital computers for business and scientific applications and was developed by General Electric Corporation in 1954.

2. Second Generation of Computers (1956-1963 AD)

Interest in computer technology grew rapidly after the first generation of computers. That was the generation ofTransistorized computers.Transistors replaced the vacuum tubes of the first generation of computers. As a result, first generation computers were replaced by second generation computers.

The transistors were more reliable than vacuum tubes, smaller in size, faster in speed and cheaper than first-generation computers. Magnetic drums are being replaced by magnetic disks and magnetic tapes for secondary storage. As a result, the size of the machines began to shrink.

The first transistorized computer wasTX-0. The first large machines to utilize transistor technology were the early supercomputers, LARC by Sperry Rand and Stretch by IBM. These machines are specially developed for nuclear energy laboratories. The IBM 1400 and IBM 7000 series, General Electric and Honeywell 200 were the typical computers of the second generation.

The IBM 1401 was accepted throughout the industry, and most prominent companies routinely processed financial information using second-generation computers. Machine language was replaced by assembly language. The long and challenging binary code was thus replaced with abbreviated programming code that was relatively easy to understand.

The programming languages ​​and the stored program concept gave computers the flexibility to be cost-effective and productive for business use. Thatsaved programthe concept meant that the instructions to run a computer for a particular task were held inside the computer's memory and could be quickly changed or replaced by another set of instructions for a different function.

High-level languages ​​such as FORTRAN, COBOL and AL-GOL were developed. Computers began to find various and large applications. The entire software industry began with second-generation computers.

Features of second generation computers

Following are some of the features of second generation computers -

• The most important feature of this generation was to introduce transistors, making the size smaller than the first generation computer.
• The computer was much faster, more reliable and better speed and could handle huge data than first generation computers.
• The machine-level language was replaced by assembly language and machine-independent language such as COBOL FORTRAN to simplify programming.
• The significant change is in speed from millisecond to microsecond.
• The computer uses less power than a first-generation computer.
• The computer is widely used in commercial areas.

Limitations of second generation computers

Following are some of the limitations of second generation computers –

• It still used a cooling system to cool down the computer.
• It requires constant maintenance.
• Punch cards are still used for input.
• It was still expensive and versatile.

Examples of second generation computers

Some of the examples of the second generation computer are as follows:

1. IBM 1401(Bruges i Business Application)
2. IBM 1620(Used for scientific purposes)
3. CDC 3600(Used for scientific purposes)
4. IBM 7000
5. Honeywell 200

3. Third Generation of Computers (1964-1971 AD)

Its period was around 1964 to 1971. Third generation computers were characterized by the invention ofIntegrated Circuits (ICs).The IC is a silicon chip made of quartz with several transistors placed over it. Robert Noyce and Jack Kilby developed the IC at Texas Instrument in 1958-1959. Later, even more components were rigged onto a single chip, called asemiconductor. It further reduced the size in third generation computers. Computers' weight and power consumption decreased and speed increased.

Operating systems were created so that the machine can run many different programs simultaneously. Multiprogramming was enabled, allowing the device to perform multiple tasks simultaneously.

Computers gained the speed to execute millions of instructions per second. Commercial production became more accessible and cheaper. Higher-level languages ​​such as Pascal and the Report Program Generator (RPG) were introduced. And application-oriented languages ​​such as FORTRAN, COBOL and PL/1 were developed. Keyboard and mouse were introduced for inputting data. The monitor was introduced to output data.

Features of third generation computers

Following are some of the features of third generation computers –

• IC was used in the computer replacing transistors.
• The mass audience used computers.
• The computers were very reliable, relatively cheap, faster and more accurate.
• It can be operated with low energy and the maintenance cost was also low.
• The keyboard and screen were introduced for data input and output.
• It had a more prominent space capacity.
• A computer has a higher level computer language such as ALGOL-68, FORTRAN-II THROUGH IV, BASIC, COBOL, PASCAL PL/1.
• They were produced commercially and were cheaper than both generations of computers.

Limitations for third generation computers

Following are some of the limitations of third generation computers –

• Even so, the air conditioner is used for cooling purposes.
• Very sophisticated technology was required to maintain the ICS chip.
• For third-generation computers, formal training was needed.

Examples of third generation computers

Some of the examples of the third generation computers are as follows:

1. THE IBM 360 SERIES
2. IBM 370
3. UNIVAC 1108
4. UNIVAC AC 9000
5. PDP-8, PDP-11
6. ICL 2900 series and so on.

4. Fourth generation of computers (1971 – present)

Fourth generation computers were developed from 1971 to 1990 AD. The current computer we see is the fourth generation of computers. The third generation of computers used integrated circuits with 10–20 components on each chip; this wasSmall Scale Integration (SSI).Fourth generation recognizedLarge-scale integration (LSI),which could accommodate hundreds of components on one chip, andVery Large Scale Integration (VLSI),which included thousands of components on a silicon chip.

The Intel 4004 chip contains all the components of a computer (CPU, input and output controllers, memory device) on a single chip called aMicroprocessor, and microcomputers were introduced.

In this generation, the concept of computer networks and CD-ROMs emerges. GUI and pointing devices make it easy to use and learn on the computer. Many new operating systems such as MS-DOS and MS-Windows were developed during this time. Computer manufacturing became affordable and the era of personal computers (PCs) began.

In 1981, IBM introduced its personal computer for the home, office and schools. In direct competition, the Macintosh was introduced in 1984 by Apple. Common interactive systems and user-friendly environments were the features of these computers.

Features of fourth generation computers

Following are some of the features of fourth generation computers –

• Computer sizes change from desktop to laptop and from laptop to palmtop.
• Electronic mail (e-mail) and the Internet were developed in this generation.
• The computer is used for all scientific, technical and commercial purposes.
• On the computer, we can perform multiprocessing and multitasking.
• The computer has a GUI (Graphical User Interface) and is user-friendly.
• Several high-level languages ​​such as PASCAL,BASIC COBOL, FORTRAN and C languages ​​were developed in this generation of computers.
• They originated as single-board computers and a single-chip processor called microprocessors.

Limitations of fourth generation computers

Following are some of the limitations of fourth generation computers –

• They were very sophisticated.
• The production of an Integration Chip on a very large scale required very advanced technology.

Examples of fourth generation computers

Some of the examples of the fourth generation computers are as follows:

1. MAC notebook
2. IBM-pc
3. Pentium I, II and III
4. Apple II
5. VAX 9000
6. CRAY 1

5. Fifth generation computers (present – ​​future)

It is difficult to define the fifth generation of computers because the field is still in its infancy. Tomorrow's computers will be characterized by artificial intelligence (AI) and ULSI (Ultra Large-Scale Integration) technology that can store millions of components in a single chip. An example of Al is Expert Systems. Computers could be developed to think and sense in much the same way as humans. Computers would be able to accept verbal words as input (voice recognition).

Numerous advances in the science of computer design and technology are coming together to enable the creation of fifth-generation computers. Two such advances are insuperconductor technologythat allows electricity to flow with little or no resistance, greatly increasing the speed of information flow and advancingparallel processing,how many CPUs work as one.

Scientists are now working on fifth-generation computers - a promise, but not yet a reality. They seek to bring us machines with real I.Q., the ability to reason logically and real-world knowledge.

Features of fifth generation computers

Following are some of the features of fifth generation computers –

• These machines will incorporate ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration).
• It can perform a large number of parallel processing.
• The speed of this generation of computers will be very high.
• Bio-chips and gallium arsenide (GaAs) are used as memory devices.
• The term AI (Artificial Intelligence) has been introduced.
• This generation of computers can understand human language and recognize images and graphs.

Limitations of fifth generation computers

Following are some of the limitations of fifth generation computers –

• The biggest limitation of this generation is that the computer will overtake all employment and create unemployment in the country.
• The highly advanced robots can overtake the world, leading to destruction for humans.