Self-Evaluation
CHECKLIST
After reading the chapter, I know these points:
Agree
I know that the 'Abacus' was the first calculating device.
I know that the Charles Babbage is known as the 'Father of Computer'.
I know that the first electro-mechnical computer is Mark I, built in 1944
I know that the first electronic computer named ENIAC became
operational in 1946.
I know that IBM introduced the first Personal Computer in 1981
I know that the First Generation Computers used vacuum tubes.
I know that the Second Generation Computers used transistors.
I know that the Third Generation Computers used integrated circuit.
I know that the Fourth Generation Computers use microprocessor
I know that the Fifth Generation Computers use Artificial Intelligence
IT PEANUT CICAHYTH)
Answers
Explanation:
Trying to trace the history of computers, how far should we go? Computer Science is the youngest discipline among human repository of knowledge. We know, the Internet became popular among general public since 1990s; Mark I, the first computer, was built in 1944; computers have never gone earlier than 20th century?
That’s true, but, because computers are elegant devices for calculation, and if we skip the development of calculating devices, we’ll just puzzle how computers came into existence! And to understand how these devices emerged, you should know the need to calculate and count. Oh! ‘the counting devices‘? How did people start to count?
It’s strange at first to see every book on history of computers points to the ancient times – the time when mankind just developed from Stone Age. Uhh? That’s the beginning of mankind! Does the history of computers go that distant? Yes.
The First Problem – Counting
Life in jungle must be enjoying. Though, they did not have luxury of materials, their brain must be free from all the tensions of today’s world. All they cared was food and shelter. I wish Eve[1] had never eaten that apple!
The quest for easy food drove mankind into the agricultural age. People started to possess properties. When there is something you possess, you need to remember the quantity, type and so on. How many sheep do I have? How could a man express a quantity? Numbers were not invented yet!
Knots in vine and ropes, notches in sticks, scratches made on rocks must be the first counting aid for people at that time. Later on, those scratches on rocks and drawings on ground must have given a way to develop numbers.
Guess, what after the numbers came into existence? Obviously, the need to add and subtract them!
Mechanical Devices – Counting and Calculating
In this section we will learn about the counting and calculating devices that contribute a way through for the development of modern day computers.
Abacus – The first known calculating device
Abacus photo
Abacus[2] is a simple wooden box with beads strung which are moved towards the mid-bar[3] to perform calculations. You bring the beads near the bar and count to get result. Obtaining result is a manual process. Thus Abacus is essentially a memory aid rather than truly a calculating device. It is generally agreed that Abacus was invented in China around 2500 BC.
An Abacus is divided into two parts – heaven, the upper deck and earth, the lower deck – divided by a mid-bar. On each string there are two beads on heaven and 5 beads on earth. The value of each bead on heaven is 5 and on earth it is 1. So if you pull one heaven bead and 3 earth bead near the mid-bar, it represented the number 8.
Napier’s bones
Calculating using Napier's Bones
Abacus is about ancient past. When we look upon the modern history, it is 1614 when John Napier invented Logarithm[4] – a branch of mathematics to multiply and divide extremely large or small numbers. This is considered the principal invention of Napier.
In Computer Science what interests us more about Napier’s invention, in addition to the rule of Logarithm, is Napier’s bones. It is a set of rods (10 rods in a set). Numbers are carved on each rod and can be used to perform multiplication, division with the help of logarithm. These rods were made up of bones, and must be the reason for the name.
Calculation is done by aligning the proper rods against each other and by inspection