Numerical Methods

Lecture 3-4 :
Introduction to Computer

Dr. Nasir M Mirza

Email: nasirmm@yahoo.com
Computers
Brief History of Computers
Brief History of Chip
Types of Computers
Computer Hardware
Computer Software
Oldest Computers

Figure : Jacquard’s loom

First Type: The Mark I computer
Pascal Computer
• Many contributions to mathematics
• A primitive adder, like an odomoter, called the “Pascaline”
• Economics limited its appeal (too expensive)
• http://lecture.eingang.org/pascal.html
Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz
• 1666 as Dissertatio de arte combinatoria (Dissertation on the combinatorial art)
• (Mozart/Dice Games) http://www.worldvillage.com/jchuang/Music/Dice/dice.cgi
• Machine below: business success; add, subtract, mult, divide. There was a
primitive “language” for programming this device (setting wheel positions)
• http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Leibniz.html
Charles Babbage’s Machine
• He Designed a machine (Difference
Engine) capable of performing a
calculation many times over (useful for
limits, logs, etc)
• Steam Powered; only capable of
performing one type of operation
without changing the gears on the
machine
• Analytical Engine – A generic machine
(never built) that was capable of
reading instructions from punched
cards.
• This is the basis of the modern
instruction set/execution architecture.

• Ada Lovelace is credited with designing

the language for the analytical engine.
Hardware & Software
of a Computer
In the Beginning ...
• The first devices to be used were vacumn tubes
• They had two states
• They were hot and required lots of air conditioning
• They were fairly big and needed lots of wiring
• They burnt out often
Getting Smaller ...
• Next came transisters
• They had two states
• They produced far less heat
• They were smaller and therefore needed less
wiring
• Less wiring meant shorter distances for
electrons to travel and thus faster computers
Smaller Yet ...
• Today, we use integrated circuits, which combine
transisters and other components into photographically
microtized circuits
• They are essentially cool
• They need very little wiring and therefore are even
faster
Microprocessors
• Each modern Computer has

Microprocessor or sets of microprocessors

So, we have now chip making technologies.

How a Computer Chip is Made!
Microchip is the brain of the Close-up of a
modern computers. part of one
Following steps are chip
component.
taken to make a chip.
• Preparation of a design

Large scale
printout of
entire chip for
designer team

Photo masks
How a Computer Chip is Made!
• Manufacturing the chip

Close-up view Silicon Wafers

of wafer in etching
showing many baths
chips

Close-up view A wafer with

of wafer hundreds of
showing a chips
single chip
How a Computer Chip is Made!
3. Testing the chip
A prob
machine
measuring
electrical
conductivity

Yield analysis being done

A diamond
saw cutting
wafer into
single chips
How a Computer Chip is Made!
3. Packaging the chip
Dual in-line
A wire-
package
bonding
with two
device wires
rows of
the pads of
legs
the chip

A dual
Square
and two
pin-grid
square
array
packag
package
es
What is a computer
• A computer is an used to process data, converting the data into useful
information that is useful to user.
• A computer can convert data into information that is meaningful to people
• What is the difference between data and information ?
• Data
• Raw facts stored in computer e.g. A banks computer accounts data
such as account number, amount etc..
• Information
• Processed data is called information or the data that serves specific
purpose
• Example: Number of accounts in a bank
• Example: Number of transactions on a specific day
• Components of a Computer
• A complete computer system includes four distinct parts
• Hardware
• Software
• Data
A Basic Computer
A Basic Computer

CPU

Central Processing Unit - where data is processed

A Basic Computer

CPU
ROM

Read Only Memory - Manufacturer supplied data and

instructions
A Basic Computer

CPU
ROM RAM

Random Access Memory - User supplied data and

instructions
A Basic Computer

Input CPU
Device ROM RAM

Allows user to supply data to CPU directly

A Basic Computer

Input CPU Output

Device ROM RAM Device

Allows CPU to send data to user directly

A Basic Computer

Input CPU Output

Device ROM RAM Device

Secondary
Storage
Semi-permanent storage - device and medium
Main Components of a Computer

Simple Computer: A CPU and main memory connected via a bus.

Computer Hardware
• A computers hardware
consists of electronic
devices; the parts you can
see and touch

• The term device refers to

any piece of hardware used
by the computer; Examples
• Keyboard
• Monitor
• Modem
Components of a Computer
power
supply CD-ROM
drive

floppy
drive
cards
hard
drive

motherboard
Software
• Definition
• Software is a set of electronic instructions that tells
the computer how to do certain tasks.
• A set of instructions is often called a program

• Program Execution
• When a computer is using a particular program, it is
said to be running or executing the program

• Types of Software
• System software
• Application software
System Software
• Purpose
• System software exists primarily for the computer itself, to help
the computer perform specific functions.

– Operating System
• One major type of system software is the operating system
(OS). All computers require an operating system.
• The OS tells the computer how to interact with the user and its
own devices.

• Operating System Example

• Common operating systems include Windows, the Macintosh OS,
OS/2, and UNIX .
Application Software
• Application software tells the computer how to
accomplish tasks the user requires, such as creating a
document or editing a graphic image.
• Some important kinds of application software are:
Word processing programs Spreadsheet software
Database management Presentation programs
Graphics programs Networking software
Web design tools and browsers Internet applications
Communications programs Utilities
Entertainment and education Multimedia authoring
Data
• What is data
• Data consists of raw facts, which the computer can manipulate and
process into information that is useful to people
• Digital data
• Data in computer is stored in the form of binary numbers; 1 & 0
• Computer understand the language of 1 & 0 only
• Although computers use data in digital form, they convert data into
forms that people can understand, such as text, sounds, numerals and
images

• Example
• A B C  1 2 3  000000001,00000010,00000011

• Why computer uses binary number for storing data ?

• Easy to implement; Magnetic storage uses magnetic poles, optical
storage uses presence and absence of light reflection
 Ten different
symbols in
the decimal
system

Numbers above 9
use more than 1 digit
Data Representation

Figure : The message “Hello.” in ASCII

Data Representation

Figure : The base ten

and binary systems
Data Representation

Figure : Decoding the binary representation of 100101

Data Representation

Figure : Decoding the binary representation 101.101

Looking Inside the machine
• Types of Hardware
• The CPU
• Memory
• How Memory is measured
• Input and Output Devices
• Storage Devices
Types of Computer Hardware
• A computers hardware devices are categorized
as follows
• Processor
• Memory
• Input and Output (I/O) devices
• Storage devices
Computer System
Inside the Machine - The CPU
The processor
The procedure
is also called
that transforms
the central
raw data into
processing
useful information
unit (CPU). It
is called
manages all
processing. This
devices and
function is divided
performs the
between the
actual
computer's
processing of
processor and
data.
memory.

The CPU consists of one or more chips attached to the computer's main circuit
board (the motherboard).
 Looking Inside the Machine - Memory
• Memory also consists of chips attached to
the motherboard.

• Memory holds data and program

instructions as the CPU works with them.
This memory is called Random Access
Memory (RAM).

• The CPU can find any piece of data

• in RAM, when it needs it for processing.

• RAM is volatile, meaning it holds data

• only when the power is on. When the
power
• is off, RAM's contents are lost.
Comparison of Machines

Clock Data
Name Date Transistors Microns MIPS
speed width

8080 1974 6,000 6 2 MHz 8 bits 0.64

16 bits
8088 1979 29,000 3 5 MHz 0.33
8-bit bus

80286 1982 134,000 1.5 6 MHz 16 bits 1

80386 1985 275,000 1.5 16 MHz 32 bits 5

80486 1989 1,200,000 1 25 MHz 32 bits 20

First Intel Microprocessor X86 Family Processor Example
Intel 4004 Intel 8080
 Clock
Name Date Transistors Microns Data width MIPS
speed

32 bits
Pentium 1993 3,100,000 0.8 60 MHz
64-bit bus
100

Pentium 32 bits
1997 7,500,000 0.35 233 MHz ~300
II 64-bit bus

Pentium 32 bits
1999 9,500,000 0.25 450 MHz ~510
III 64-bit bus

Pentium 32 bits
2000 42,000,000 0.18 1.5 GHz ~1,700
4 64-bit bus

Pentium
4 32 bits
2004 125,000,000 0.09 3.6 GHz ~7,000
"Prescot 64-bit bus
t"
• Date
• The year that the processor was first introduced.
• Transistors
• The number of transistors on the chip.
• Microns
• The width, in microns, of the smallest wire on the chip. For
comparison, a human hair is 100 microns thick. As the feature size on
the chip goes down, the number of transistors rises.
• Clock speed
• The maximum rate that the chip can be clocked at.
• MIPS
• Stands for "millions of instructions per second" and is a rough
measure of the performance of a CPU.
 – How Memory is Measured

• Bit:
The smallest unit of memory a binary 0 or 1
• Byte
The smallest usable unit of memory is called byte
the amount of memory required to hold one character, like the letter
A or the numeral 2
Computers work with larger chunks of data, measured in multiple bytes, as
shown below:

Unit Approx. Value Actual Value

(bytes) (bytes)

Kilobyte (KB) 1,000 1,024

Megabyte (MB) 1,000,000 1,048,576
Gigabyte (GB) 1,000,000,000 1,073,741,824
Terabyte (TB) 1,000,000,000,000 1,099,511,627,776
Input and Output Devices
• Input devices
• accept data and instructions from the user or from another computer
system.
• Examples
• The keyboard and mouse.

• Output devices
• return processed data back to the user or to another computer system.
• Examples
• The printer and monitor are examples.

• Communications
• devices (such as modems and network interface cards) perform both
input and output, allowing computers to share information.
Storage Devices
• Storage devices
• Hold data not currently being used by the CPU.
• Data is commonly stored on a magnetic or optical disk. Each type
uses a special medium for storing data on its surface.

• Disk Drive
• A disk drive is a device that reads data from and writes data to a
disk. Most new computers feature a floppy disk drive, a hard disk
drive, and an optical disk drive.

• External Storage
• Large organizations produces huge data that is stored on special
storage devices such as tape drives, these devices are not part of
the computer rather these are externally attached

• The most common optical storage devices are CD-ROM and DVD-ROM
drives.
MAGNETIC DISK STORAGE

Disk Cartridge
MAGNETIC DISK STORAGE
• Disk cartridges
• Large storage capacity (more than 1 gigabyte)
• Fast access times
• Portable
• e.g. Jaz disks
• There are other alternatives like Zip disks, Super disks
(around 100 megabyte)
CD-ROM AND OPTICAL DISKS
• CD-ROM (compact disk read-only
memory)
• 650 MB of information
• DVD-ROM (digital versatile disk)
• 4.7 to 7 gigabytes
• CD-RW (compact disk-recordable)
• Magneto-optical (MO)
• 230 MB, 650 MB, 1.3 GB of
information
• support read and write operation.
MAGNETIC TAPES
• Thin plastic ribbon
• Sequential storage
• Support read and write
operation

reel-to-reel devices for

large computer
systems
Classification of Computer
Mainly classified on basis of
• Size
• Speed
• Cost

Computers are classified into four categories

• Supercomputers
• Mainframe computers
• Mini computers
• Micro computers or Personal Computers
Classification of Computer
Category Area where size speed cost
used?

Super Engineering largest Very fast $2 Million to

Computer and scientific $20 Million
computing

Mainframe Large In between Faster than Above $35,000

computer organizations super and mini miniframes

Miniframe Small scale In between Faster than From

computer business mainframe and micro $18,000 to
micro $50,000

Micro For an smallest Meets the Less then

computer individual needs of miniframe cost
person individual user
Super-Computer
• Supercomputers are the most
powerful computers. They are
used for problems requiring
complex calculations.

• Because of their size and expense, Cray-2 Supercomputer

supercomputers are relatively Price = $20 Million
rare.

• Supercomputers are used by

universities, government agencies,
and large businesses
Main Frame Computer
• Mainframe computers can support hundreds or thousands of users,
handling massive amounts of input, output, and storage.

• Mainframe computers are used in large organizations where many

users need access to shared data and programs.

• Mainframes are also used as e-commerce servers, handling

transactions over the Internet.

• In some way main frames are more powerful than super computers
as they support more simultaneous users and programs than super
computer but super computer can execute a single program more
faster
Main Frame Computer
Mini-computers
• Minicomputers are smaller than mainframes but
larger than microcomputers.

• Minicomputers usually have multiple terminals.

• Minicomputers may be used as network servers

and Internet servers.
• Minicomputers support up 4 to 200 user
simultaneously

• In terms of computing power minicomputer lie

between mainframe and workstation
Micro Computers
• Microcomputers are more commonly
known as personal computers. The
term "PC" is applied to IBM-PCs or
compatible computers.

• Full-size desktop computers are the

most common type of PC.

• Notebook (laptop) computers are

used by people who need the power
of a desktop system, but also
portability.

• Handheld PCs (such as PDAs) lack

the power of a desktop or notebook
PC, but offer features for users who
need limited functions and small
size Modern Offices
Handheld PCs (such as PDAs)