Research Work

by: Bacongan, Ma. Arvie Apple O.

What is computer?
A computer is a general purpose device that can be programmed to carry out a set of
arithmetic or logical operations automatically. Since a sequence of operations can be readily changed, the computer
can solve more than one kind of problem.
It is a device that accepts information (in the form of digitalized data) and manipulates it for some
result based on a program or sequence of instructions on how the data is to be processed. Complex
computers also 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 (and
called logic circuitry as it is on microprocessors) or different programs 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.

Conventionally, a 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 logic operations, and a sequencing and
control unit can change the order of operations in response to stored information. Peripheral devices allow
information to be retrieved from an external source, and the result of operations saved and retrieved.
Mechanical analog computers started appearing in first century and were later used in the medieval era for
astronomical calculations. In World War II, mechanical analog computers were used for specialized military
applications. During this time the first electronic digital computers were developed. Originally they were the size of
a large room, consuming as much power as several hundred modern personal computers (PCs).[1]
Modern computers based on integrated circuits are millions to billions of times more capable than the early
machines, and occupy a fraction of the space.[2] Simple computers are small enough to fit into mobile devices, and
mobile computers can be powered by small batteries. Personal computers in their various forms are icons of the
Information Age and are what most people think of as computers. However, the embedded computers found in
many devices from MP3 players to fighter aircraft and from toys to industrial robots are the most numerous.
Modern computers inherently follow the ideas of the stored program laid out by John von Neumann in
1945. Essentially, the program is read by the computer one instruction at a time, an operation is
performed, and the computer then reads in the next instruction, and so on. Recently, computers and
programs have been devised that allow multiple programs (and computers) to work on the same
problem at the same time in parallel. With the advent of the Internet and higher bandwidth data
transmission, programs and data that are part of the same overall project can be distributed over a
network and embody the Sun Microsystems slogan: "The network is the computer."

History of computer
One of the earliest machines designed to assist people in calculations was the abacus
which is still being used some 5000 years after its invention.
In 1642 Blaise Pascal (a famous French mathematician) invented an adding machine
based on mechanical gears in which numbers were represented by the cogs on the
wheels.
Englishman, Charles Babbage, invented in the 1830's a "Difference Engine" made out of brass and pewter rods and
gears, and also designed a further device which he called an "Analytical Engine". His design contained the five key
characteristics of modern computers:1. An input device
2. Storage for numbers waiting to be processed
3. A processor or number calculator
4. A unit to control the task and the sequence of its calculations
5. An output device
Augusta Ada Byron (later Countess of Lovelace) was an associate of Babbage who has become known as the first
computer programmer.
An American, Herman Hollerith, developed (around 1890) the first electrically driven device. It utilised punched
cards and metal rods which passed through the holes to close an electrical circuit and thus cause a counter to
advance. This machine was able to complete the calculation of the 1890 U.S. census in 6 weeks compared with 7 1/2
years for the 1880 census which was manually counted.
In 1936 Howard Aiken of Harvard University convinced Thomas Watson of IBM to invest $1 million in the
development of an electromechanical version of Babbage's analytical engine. The Harvard Mark 1 was completed in
1944 and was 8 feet high and 55 feet long.
At about the same time (the late 1930's) John Atanasoff of Iowa State University and his assistant Clifford Berry
built the first digital computer that worked electronically, the ABC (Atanasoff-Berry Computer). This machine was
basically a small calculator.
In 1943, as part of the British war effort, a series of vacuum tube based computers (named Colossus) were developed
to crack German secret codes. The Colossus Mark 2 series (pictured) consisted of 2400 vacuum tubes.
John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert of the University of Pennsylvania developed these ideas further by proposing a
huge machine consisting of 18,000 vacuum tubes. ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer) was
born in 1946. It was a huge machine with a huge power requirement and two major disadvantages. Maintenance was
extremely difficult as the tubes broke down regularly and had to be replaced, and also there was a big problem with
overheating. The most important limitation, however, was that every time a new task needed to be performed the
machine need to be rewired. In other words programming was carried out with a soldering iron.

In the late 1940's John von Neumann (at the time a special consultant to the ENIAC team) developed the EDVAC
(Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer) which pioneered the "stored program concept". This allowed
programs to be read into the computer and so gave birth to the age of general-purpose computers.

The Generations of Computers

It used to be quite popular to refer to computers as belonging to one of several "generations" of computer. These
generations are:The First Generation (1943-1958): This generation is often described as starting with the delivery of the first
commercial computer to a business client. This happened in 1951 with the delivery of the UNIVAC to the US Bureau
of the Census. This generation lasted until about the end of the 1950's (although some stayed in operation much
longer than that). The main defining feature of the first generation of computers was that vacuum tubes were used as
internal computer components. Vacuum tubes are generally about 5-10 centimeters in length and the large numbers
of them required in computers resulted in huge and extremely expensive machines that often broke down (as tubes
failed).
The Second Generation (1959-1964): In the mid-1950's Bell Labs developed the transistor. Transistors were
capable of performing many of the same tasks as vacuum tubes but were only a fraction of the size. The first
transistor-based computer was produced in 1959. Transistors were not only smaller, enabling computer size to be
reduced, but they were faster, more reliable and consumed less electricity.
The other main improvement of this period was the development of computer languages. Assembler languages or
symbolic languages allowed programmers to specify instructions in words (albeit very cryptic words) which were
then translated into a form that the machines could understand (typically series of 0's and 1's: Binary code). Higher
level languages also came into being during this period. Whereas assembler languages had a one-to-one
correspondence between their symbols and actual machine functions, higher level language commands often
represent complex sequences of machine codes. Two higher-level languages developed during this period (Fortran
and Cobol) are still in use today though in a much more developed form.
The Third Generation (1965-1970): In 1965 the first integrated circuit (IC) was developed in which a complete
circuit of hundreds of components were able to be placed on a single silicon chip 2 or 3 mm square. Computers using
these IC's soon replaced transistor based machines. Again, one of the major advantages was size, with computers
becoming more powerful and at the same time much smaller and cheaper. Computers thus became accessible to a
much larger audience. An added advantage of smaller size is that electrical signals have much shorter distances to
travel and so the speed of computers increased.
Another feature of this period is that computer software became much more powerful and flexible and for the first
time more than one program could share the computer's resources at the same time (multi-tasking). The majority of
programming languages used today are often referred to as 3GL's (3rd generation languages) even though some of
them originated during the 2nd generation.
The Fourth Generation (1971-present): The boundary between the third and fourth generations is not very clearcut at all. Most of the developments since the mid 1960's can be seen as part of a continuum of gradual
miniaturisation. In 1970 large-scale integration was achieved where the equivalent of thousands of integrated
circuits were crammed onto a single silicon chip. This development again increased computer performance
(especially reliability and speed) whilst reducing computer size and cost. Around this time the first complete generalpurpose microprocessor became available on a single chip. In 1975 Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) took the
process one step further. Complete computer central processors could now be built into one chip. The
microcomputer was born. Such chips are far more powerful than ENIAC and are only about 1cm square whilst
ENIAC filled a large building.

During this period Fourth Generation Languages (4GL's) have come into existence.
Such languages are a step further removed from the computer hardware in that they use
language much like natural language. Many database languages can be described as 4GL's.
They are generally much easier to learn than are 3GL's.
The Fifth Generation (the future): The "fifth generation" of computers were defined by
the Japanese government in 1980 when they unveiled an optimistic ten-year plan to
produce the next generation of computers. This was an interesting plan for two reasons. Firstly, it is not at all really
clear what the fourth generation is, or even whether the third generation had finished yet. Secondly, it was an attempt
to define a generation of computers before they had come into existence. The main requirements of the 5G machines
was that they incorporate the features of Artificial Intelligence, Expert Systems, and Natural Language. The goal
was to produce machines that are capable of performing tasks in similar ways to humans, are capable of learning,
and are capable of interacting with humans in natural language and preferably using both speech input (speech
recognition) and speech output (speech synthesis). Such goals are obviously of interest to linguists and speech
scientists as natural language and speech processing are key components of the definition. As you may have guessed,
this goal has not yet been fully realised, although significant progress has been made towards various aspects of
these goals.

Kinds of computers
*Super computers- The most powerful computers in terms of performance and data processing are the
supercomputers. These are specialized and task specific computers used by large organizations. These
computers are used for research and exploration purposes, like NASA uses supercomputers for launching space
shuttles, controlling them and for space exploration purpose. supercomputers are very expensive and very
large in size. It can be accommodated in large air-conditioned rooms; some super computers can span an entire
building.
*Mainframe computer- Although Mainframes are not as powerful as supercomputers, but certainly they are
quite expensive nonetheless, and many large firms & government organizations uses Mainframes to run their
business operations. The Mainframe computers can be accommodated in large air-conditioned rooms because
of its size. Super-computers are the fastest computers with large data storage capacity, Mainframes can also
process & store large amount of data. Banks educational institutions & insurance companies use mainframe
computers to store data about their customers, students & insurance policy holders.
*Minicomputer- Minicomputers are used by small businesses & firms. Minicomputers are also called as
Midrange Computers. These are small machines and can be accommodated on a disk with not as processing
and data storage capabilities as super-computers & Mainframes. These computers are not designed for a single
user. Individual departments of a large company or organizations use Mini-computers for specific purposes. For
example, a production department can use Mini-computers for monitoring certain production process.
*Microcomputer- Desktop computers, laptops, personal digital assistant (PDA), tablets & smartphones are all
types of microcomputers. The micro-computers are widely used & the fastest growing computers. These
computers are the cheapest among the other three types of computers. The Micro-computers are specially

designed for general usage like entertainment, education and work purposes. Well known manufacturers of
Micro-computer are Dell, Apple, Samsung, Sony & Toshiba. Desktop computers, Gaming consoles, Sound &
Navigation system of a car, Netbooks, Notebooks, PDAs, Tablet PCs, Smartphones, Calculators are all type of
Microcomputers.

Uses of computers

Home Budget- Computer can be used to manage Home Budget. You can easily calculate
your expenses and income. You can list all expenses in one column and income in another column. Then you
can apply any calculation on these columns to plan your home budget. There are also specialize software that
can manage your income and expenses and generate some cool reports.
Computer Games- An important use of computers at home is playing games. Different types of games are
available. These games are a source of entertainment and recreation. Many games are available that are
specially developed to improve your mental capability and thinking power.
Working from Home- People can manage the office work at home. The owner of a company can check the work
of the employees from home. He can control his office while sitting at home.
Entertainment- People can find entertainment on the internet. They can watch movies, listen to songs, and
watch videos download different stuff. They can also watch live matches on the internet.
Information- People can find any type of information on the internet. Educational and informative websites are
available to download books, tutorials etc. to improve their knowledge and learn new things.
Chatting & Social Media- People can chat with friends and family on the internet using different software like
Skype etc. One can interact with friends over social media websites like Facebook, Twitter & Google Plus. They
can also share photos and videos with friends.

Purpose of computers

General-purpose computers are designed to solve a large variety of problems. That is

they can be given different programmes to solve different types of problems.
General-purpose computers can process business data as readily as they process
complex mathematical formulas. General-purpose computers can store large amount of data and the
programmes necessary to process them. Because general-purpose computers are so versatile, most businesses
today use them. Most digital computers are general computers and it is mainly such computers that are used in
business and commercial data processing.
Special purpose computers are designed to solve a specific problems; the computer programme for solving the
problem is built right into the computer. Special purpose computers have many features of general-purpose
computers but are designed to handle specific problems and are not applied to other computerized activities.
For example, special purpose computers may be designed to process only numeric data or to completely
control automated manufacturing processes. Moat analogue computers are special purpose computers.
Special purpose computers are often used as training simulators. A simulator is a computer-controlled device
for training people under simulated, or artificially created, conditions. The computer creates test conditions the
trainee must respond t. it then records and evaluates he responses, providing these results to both trainee and
supervisor.