Computer Architecture and History Quiz

The ENIAC, or Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer, was developed during World War II by the University of Pennsylvania to provide correct Range and Trajectory Tables to the Allied Forces. Although it was completed after the war, it was later used to find out the feasibility of the Hydrogen Bomb, demonstrating its general purpose nature. The ENIAC could be programmed by changing the entire hardware configuration through plugging and unplugging various cables.

The ENIAC used Vacuum Tube technology and operated in Decimal form, performing arithmetic operations in decimal format. It had its own memory space to store data, weighed 30 tons, and consumed 140 kWh of electrical energy. One of its disadvantages was the tedious hardware configuration changes.

The speed improvements from the first to the sixth generation of computing technology were: First Vacuum Tube - 40,000, Second Transistor - 200,000, Third Small & Medium Scale Integration (SSI/MSI) - 1,000,000, Fourth LSI - 10,000,000, Fifth VLSI - 100,000,000, Sixth ULSI - 1,000,000,000.

The Von Neumann Machine addressed one of the biggest disadvantages of the ENIAC, which was the tedious hardware configuration changes. It introduced the concept of storing program instructions and data in the same memory unit, allowing for easier and more efficient programming.

The ENIAC's architecture, which required tedious hardware configuration changes for programming, inspired the development of the Von Neumann Architecture, which integrated program instructions and data in the same memory unit, simplifying the programming process and leading to the modern computer architecture.