Evolution of Computer Flashcards
Why human created computer?
- Finance
- Engineering
- Healthcare and Media
- Education and Learning
- Entertainment and Media
A ________ is an ancient memory aid device used to record and document numbers, quantities, or even messages. It consists of a piece of wood, bone, or other material with notches carved into it, each notch representing a unit of something.
tally stick
Tally sticks were used across various cultures and continents throughout history, including ancient _____, _______, _______, _______, and _____.
Their use continued well into the Middle Ages and even into the 20th century in some parts of Europe
Mesopotamia; Egypt; Greece; Rome; China
The ______ is an ancient calculating tool used for performing arithmetic operations. It consists of a frame with rods or wires on which beads are moved to represent numerical values
abacus
Various forms of the abacus were developed independently in different parts of the world, including ________________________.
ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, India, and China
- The invention of the abacus was driven by the need for a more efficient and reliable way to perform calculations.
- Abacus were essential tools for merchants, traders, accountants, and anyone else who needed to perform arithmetic operations on a regular basis.
- The abacus provided a simple yet powerful way to manipulate numbers, making complex calculations more manageable and accessible to a wider range of people.
_______ is a manually-operated calculating device created by ____________. It was invented in 1617 as a tool to simplify the multiplication and division of large numbers
Napier’s Bones; John Napier of Merchiston, Scotland
The primary purpose of Napier’s Bones was to simplify the tedious and error-prone process of multiplying and dividing large numbers by hand.
The device is based on the concept of ____________, a method for multiplying numbers using a grid.
lattice multiplication
A _______ is a mechanical analog computer developed by ________ primarily for multiplication, division, roots, logarithms, trigonometry, and other functions. It consists of a set of logarithmic scales that can be slid against each other to perform calculations.
slide rule; William Oughtred
The _________, also known as the first mechanical calculator that could perform multiple calculations (addition and subtraction) in a row without being reset. While it was not widely adopted due to its high cost and limitations.
Pascaline
Invented pascaline
was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer, and Catholic theologian. He was a child prodigy who made significant contributions to various fields despite his short life.
Blaise Pascal
The __________was a mechanical calculator invented by the German mathematician and philosopher ____________in 1672. It was the first calculator capable of performing all four basic arithmetic operations and the decimal number system, making it more intuitive and easier to use than earlier calculating devices.
Stepped Reckoner; Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
The ___________ is a mechanical loom, invented by __________ in 1804, that simplifies the process of manufacturing textiles with complex patterns such as ________, ___________, and ___________. It uses a series of punched cards to control the weaving pattern, allowing for intricate designs to be produced automatically.
Jacquard loom; Joseph Marie Jacquard; brocade; damask; matelassé
A _______ is a stiff card with holes strategically punched into it. Each card corresponds to one row of the textile pattern being woven. The holes determine which threads are raised or lowered, creating the desired pattern in the fabric. The cards are strung together in sequence to automate the weaving process and produce intricate designs.
punch card
The concept of the punch card is a method of storing and processing information by representing data as a series of holes punched into a stiff card.
The _________ was the first commercially successful mechanical calculator. It was designed and developed by ____________ in 1820 and first manufactured in 1851. It is the first reliable and practical calculating machine that could be used in various professional settings. It can also perform four basic arithmetic operations and first mass produced calculator.
Arithmometer; Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar
was an English mathematician, philosopher, inventor, and mechanical engineer. He is considered a pioneer of computer science and is often referred to as the “father of the computer.”
Charles Babbage
The ________ , conceived by ________ in the 1820s, was a groundbreaking automatic mechanical calculator designed to tabulate polynomial functions. It was a remarkable feat of engineering for its time, aiming to eliminate errors in mathematical computation that were often calculated and copied by hand.
Partially built, never fully completed
Difference Engine; Charles Babbage
The __________ , designed in the 1830s, was a revolutionary concept for a mechanical general-purpose computer. It was programmable using punched cards, an idea borrowed from the Jacquard loom used for weaving complex patterns in textiles.
Partially built, never fully completed
Analytical Engine
_________ , Countess of Lovelace (née Byron; 1815-1852), is widely recognized as a pioneer in the field of computer science due to her work on Charles Babbage’s proposed Analytical Engine. She is the first programmer. She suggested to Babbage to use the binary system to program the Analytical Engine.
Augusta Ada Byron
The ____________, developed by Swedish father-son duo, _________ and _________ in the 1843.
It was the first printing calculator.
Scheutzian Calculation Engine; Per Georg; Edvard Scheutz
The ________ was an electromechanical machine designed to assist in summarizing information stored on punched cards. It was invented by __________, an American inventor, in year 1890. It was developed to speed up the processing of data for the 1890 U.S. Census. It proved highly successful, reducing the time required to tabulate census data from several years to just a few months.
tabulating machine; Herman Hollerith
He is considered a pioneer of modern automatic computation and data processing.
Herman Hollerith
The ________, also known as the _________________, was an electromechanical computer built during World War II. It was conceived by Harvard physicist ________in 1937. The ——- was designed to solve complex mathematical problems that were beyond the capabilities of human computers (people who performed calculations by hand).
Harvard Mark I; IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (ASCC); Howard Aiken
The ___ was a mechanical computer designed by German inventor __________ between 1936 and 1938. It was built in Berlin, Germany. It was the first working programmable computer using punch tape.
Z1; Konrad Zuse
He is widely regarded as the creator of the world’s first programmable computer.
Konrad Zuse
was the first automatic electronic digital computer. It was the first computer to use vacuum tubes for its arithmetic and logic circuits, making it much faster than previous mechanical calculators.
Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC)
Inventor of Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC)
John Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford Berry
was the first programmable, electronic, general purpose digital computer. It was developed and built at the University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School of Electrical Engineering during World War II.
ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer)
The primary reason for ENIAC’s invention was to ____________. These tables were essential for accurately aiming artillery guns, but their calculation was a complex and time-consuming process. It also played a significant role in the development of the hydrogen bomb after the war.
calculate artillery firing tables for the U.S. Army’s Ballistic Research Laboratory
was the first commercial computer produced in the United States. It was designed principally by _______ and _______, the inventors of the ENIAC.
UNIVAC I, short for Universal Automatic Computer I; J. Presper Eckert; John Mauchly
was one of the earliest electronic computers and a successor to the ENIAC. It was the first stored program computer. It has memory that hold its program as well its data. It was developed by ___________ in 1952.
EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer) ;Von Neumann
He is considered one of the most important figures in the history of computing.
John von Neumann
released in 1981, was the first commercially successful portable computer. It was invented by _________ and designed by _______
Osborne 1; Adam Osborne; Lee Felsenstein
refers to the earliest electronic computers developed between the mid-1940s and the late 1950s. These computers were characterized by their use of vacuum tubes as the main electronic component for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory.
first generation of computers
is an electronic device that was used to perform logic operations, store data, and control the flow of information in the computer.
vacuum tube
Key characteristics of first generation computers:
- Very large, often occupying entire rooms.
- Slow compared to modern standards, with processing speeds measured in milliseconds.
- Extremely high power consumption and heat generation.
- Unreliable due to the fragility of vacuum tubes.
- Machine language (binary code) was used for programming.
- Expensive
Notable examples of first-generation computers:
- ENIAC: Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer, considered the first general-purpose electronic computer.
- EDVAC: Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer, introduced the concept of the stored-program computer.
- UNIVAC I: Universal Automatic Computer I, the first commercially available computer.
- IBM 701: The first large-scale scientific computer produced by IBM.
- IBM 650: A popular business computer known for its reliability and ease of use.
marked a significant advancement in technology, replacing the bulky and unreliable vacuum tubes of the first generation with transistors. This transition led to smaller, faster, more reliable, and energy-efficient computers.
second generation of computers
Key Characteristics of Second Generation Computers:
- Transistors are smaller, faster, more reliable, and require less power, making them a superior alternative.
- Assembly and High Level language replaced machine language, making programming easier.
- Transistors led to a significant reduction in the size and cost of computers, making them more accessible to businesses and universities.
- Second-generation computers were faster and more efficient than their predecessors, with processing speeds measured in microseconds.
- Transistor consumed less power and generated less heat than the first generation, increasing their reliability and lifespan.
Notable Examples of Second Generation Computers:
- IBM 1401
- IBM 7090
- IBM 7094
- UNIVAC 1107
- CDC 1604
marked a significant technological shift from the previous generations. These computers were characterized by the use of integrated circuits (ICs), which replaced the individual transistors of the second generation.
third generation of computers
Key characteristics of third-generation computers:
-
1 Integrated Circuits (ICs) is equal to thousands of transistors, resistors, and capacitors, making computers smaller, faster, more reliable, and more energy-efficient.
- The use of ICs significantly reduced the size of computers making them more compact and easier to accommodate.
- Integrated circuits allowed for faster processing speeds, measured in nanoseconds, and improved overall efficiency.
- As IC production became more efficient, computers became more affordable, making them accessible to a wider range of businesses and organizations.
- The integrated circuits were more reliable than individual transistors, reducing the risk of malfunctions and increasing the lifespan of computers.
- IC support the use of high-level programming languages (FORTRAN-II to IV, COBOL, BASIC, ALGOL-68, etc.) made programming more accessible to a broader audience.
Notable examples of third-generation computers:
- IBM System/360: A family of mainframe computers that became highly successful and set the standard for the industry.
- DEC PDP-8: A popular minicomputer used in research and education settings.
- CDC 6600: A powerful supercomputer used for scientific and engineering applications.
was a significant period in computer history, marked by the introduction of microprocessors, which integrated thousands of transistors onto a single chip. This miniaturization of electronic components led to a revolution in computing, making computers smaller, faster, more powerful, and affordable.
fourth generation of computers
Key characteristics of fourth-generation computers:
- Microprocessors led to the development of personal computers (PCs) and the popularization of computing.
- Very Large-Scale Integration (VLSI) technology allowed for the placement of thousands of transistors on a single chip, leading to smaller and more powerful computers.
- Computers became more compact and affordable, making them accessible to individuals and small businesses.
- The use of microprocessors and VLSI technology resulted in a significant increase in processing speed and computational power.
- The **introduction of graphical user interfaces (GUI) **made computers easier to use, as they replaced complex command-line interfaces (CLI) with visual elements like icons and windows.
- The emergence of computer networks, enabling computers to communicate and share resources.
Notable examples of fourth-generation computers:
- Altair 8800: One of the first personal computers, which sparked the PC revolution.
- Apple II: A popular personal computer known for its user-friendly interface and educational applications.
- IBM PC: The first personal computer from IBM, which became the industry standard for many years.
- Commodore 64: A popular home computer known for its gaming capabilities.
is defined by its ongoing development and focus on artificial intelligence (AI). This generation began in the 1980s and continues to evolve today.
fifth generation of computers
is a type of computing that leverages the principles of quantum mechanics to perform calculations. It’s a fundamentally different approach than classical computing, which relies on bits (0s and 1s). Instead, quantum computers use _________, which can exist in a superposition of states, representing both 0 and 1 simultaneously.
Quantum computing; quantum bits, or qubits
