History of Computing Fundamentals

Computer Organization and Architecture

• Computer systems have evolved from stand-alone machines to networked computers, requiring a communication component for data sharing and processing across systems.
• A computer's operation is characterized by an input-process-output model, where it takes input data, performs operations, and delivers output.
• This model comprises three key components:
  • Hardware: Processes data by executing instructions; provides input and output capabilities.
  • Software: Contains the instructions executed by the system.
  • Data: The fundamental representation of facts and observations, manipulated by the system.
• Computer Architecture encompasses attributes visible to a programmer, like physical address memory, instruction sets, addressing modes, and registers. It describes what the computer does.
• Computer Organization describes how the computer does it, encompassing the operational units and their interconnections realizing the architectural specifications.

Computer Architecture Evolution

• Computer architecture has progressed through various generations, each distinguished by technological advancements.
• Generation 0 (1642–1945): Mechanical computers.
  • Mechanical Calculating Machine (Blaise Pascal): Invented in 1642, capable of addition and subtraction, powered by a hand-crank.
  • Step Reckoner (Gottfried von Leibniz): Improved upon Pascal's machine with the addition of multiplication, division, and square root calculations.
  • Jacquard Loom (Joseph Marie Jacquard): Used punched cards to control weaving patterns, an early example of programmable machinery.
  • Difference Engine (Charles Babbage): Designed to compute tables of numbers useful for navigation; used the method of finite differences, relying on a single algorithm.
  • Analytical Engine (Charles Babbage): Designed using separate input, processing, and output units, featuring stored programs, and concepts like loops and branching used in modern computers.
• Generation 1 (1945–1955): Vacuum Tubes.
  • ENIAC (John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert): First electronic digital computer (1943-1946), relying on 18,000 vacuum tubes. Manually programmed using switches.
  • UNIVAC I: The first commercially available computer.
  • Von Neumann Machine (John von Neumann): A foundational design featuring a central processing unit, input/output, memory. Programs and data stored together in memory, a concept fundamental to modern computers.
  • EDVAC (John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert): Used electronic memory to store instructions and data in binary, one of the first stored program computers.
  • IAS machine (John von Neumann): A binary computer (1947), storing two 20-bit instructions in a 40-bit word.
• Generation 2 (1955–1965): Transistors.
  • Transistors replaced vacuum tubes, leading to smaller, faster, more reliable computers.
  • TX-0 (MIT): First transistorized computer.
  • PDP-1 (DEC): Early example of a minicomputer, notable for its visual display and plotting capabilities.
  • IBM 7090: Highly influential, fast computer.
  • CDC 6600 (Control Data Corporation): Parallel processing-based computer, processing capabilities exceeding most contemporary designs.
• Generation 3 (1965–1980): Integrated Circuits (ICs).
  • ICs greatly improved computer size, cost, and reliability.
  • Increased memory capacity and use of magnetic disks.
  • Inclusion of peripherals like monitors and keyboards.
  • Introduction of higher-level programming languages (like FORTRAN, COBOL, PASCAL).
• Generation 4 (1980–1999): Personal Computers and VLSI.
  • VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) allowed very powerful and compact computers to be constructed.
  • Rise of personal computers (PCs) and the concept of networks, and the Internet.
  • Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and a user-centric experience made computing accessible.
• Generation 5 (2000–Present): Artificial intelligence, digital/analog hybrids.
  • Advancements in ULSI (Ultra-Large Scale Integration) and parallel processing. -Focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and related applications. Development of expert systems and natural language processing.

Specific Features of Generations

• Generation 0: Primarily mechanical devices for calculations and early forms of programming.
• Generation 1: Utilized vacuum tubes for processing but were large, costly, and inefficient.
• Generation 2: Implemented transistors, leading to marked improvements in speed, size, reliability, and cost efficiency over vacuum tube technologies.
• Generation 3: Integrated circuit technologies provided significant improvements in cost, power consumption, reliability. Key features were cost effectiveness and greater complexity.
• Generation 4: Personal computers marked this generation, with significant advances in user-friendliness (GUIs), networks (internet) and increased affordability.
• Generation 5: Focused on advancements in Artificial Intelligence and parallel processing capable of implementing sophisticated computing capabilities such as those needed for natural language processing and real-time decision making.