Download melonyie limion tipatet reg number: b66/40315/2011

THE UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI
COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING
SCHOOL OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT
DEPARTMENT OF REAL ESTATE AND CONSTRUCTION
MANAGEMENT
BACHELOR OF QUANTITY SURVEYING
BQS 214: COMPUTING 1
TITLE: ASSIGNMENT
NAME: MELONYIE LIMION TIPATET
REG NUMBER: B66/40315/2011
QUESTION 1
Why is a computer known as a data processor?
This is because it receives raw data from the user and commands that make it transfer the raw
data into finished or presentable data that is easily understood thus why it is called a data
processor as this whole stage is processing the data.
QUESTION 2
Explain in brief the various generations in computer techniques
First Generation (1946 to 1955)
The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and were
often enormous, taking up entire rooms. They were very expensive to operate and in addition to
using a great deal of electricity, generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause of
malfunctions.
Second generation (1956 to 1963)
Second-generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine language to symbolic, or
assembly, languages, which allowed programmers to specify instructions in words. High-level
programming languages were also being developed at this time, such as early versions of
COBOL and FORTRAN.These were also the first computers that stored their instructions in their
memory, which moved from a magnetic drum to magnetic core technology.
Third generation (1964-1971)
The development of the integrated circuit was the hallmark of the third generation of computers.
Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips, called semiconductors, which
drastically increased the speed and efficiency of computers. Instead of punched cards and
printouts, users interacted with third generation computers through keyboards and monitors and
interfaced with an operating system, which allowed the device to run many different applications
at one time with a central program that monitored the memory. Computers for the first time
became accessible to a mass audience because they were smaller and cheaper than their
predecessors.
Fourth generation
The microprocessor brought the fourth generation of computers, as thousands of integrated
circuits were built onto a single silicon chip. What in the first generation filled an entire room
could now fit in the palm of the hand. The Intel 4004 chip, developed in 1971, located all the
components of the computer—from the central processing unit and memory to input/output
controls—on a single chip
Fifth generation
Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in development,
though there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today. The use
of parallel processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a reality.
Quantum computation and molecular and nanotechnology will radically change the face of
computers in years to come. The goal of fifth-generation computing is to develop devices that
respond to natural language input and are capable of learning and self-organization.
First
generation
Generation
Second
generation
Third
generation
Magnetic
drum
Main
memory
Magnetic
core
Magnetic core
Vacuum
tubes
Circuitry
Transistors
Integrated
semiconductor
circuit.
Memory
capacity in
characters
Ten
thousands
Hundred
thousands
Thousands
Forth
generation
Large
integrated
semiconductor
circuit.
Large
integrated
semiconductor
circuit(present:
microprocessor)
Fifth
generation
Millions
Billions
Artificial
intelligent.
Artificial
intelligent.
QUESTION 3
Write short notes on 5th generation computer what makes the difference from the 4th
generation computer
Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in development,
though there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today. The use
of parallel processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a reality.
Quantum computation and molecular and nanotechnology will radically change the face of
computers in years to come. The goal of fifth-generation computing is to develop devices that
respond to natural language input and are capable of learning and self-organization.
Fourth generation
a) These computers use LSI and VLSI technologies.
b) Its sizes were reduced to desktop and laptop computer.
c) These computers are highly reliable and accurate.
d) They have a large memory and high functional speed.
e) The operating speed is measured in beyond picoseconds and MIPS (Million of instruction per
second)
f) Magnetic disk is the common source of external storage.
g) Multiprocessing and multiprogramming OS (operating system) are used.
h) 4GL is also used.
The examples are – IBM PC, Apple/Macintosh, 8086, 80286 SX, 80386 SX etc.
Fifth generation
a) The speed will be extremely high in fifth generation computer.
b) These computers will be using Ultra Large Scale Integration (ULSI) technology.
c) The goal of fifth generation computers is to develop machines that will be able to think and
take decisions.
d) It can perform large number of parallel processing.
e) Biochips and Gallium Arsenide (GAS) will be used as memory devices.
f) Large uses of natural language processing and user friendly.
g) Able to make decisions like human beings.
QUESTION4
Why did the size of the computer generation reduce in the third generation computers?
Integrated circuits allowing 10 or more transistors per package as compared to 1 in second
generation machines as well as several resistors permitted both higher component density and
reduced heat generation
QUESTION5
Write short notes on:
A): Versatility
- It means the capacity to perform completely different types of work. You may use your
computer to prepare payroll slips. Next moment you may use it for inventory management or to
prepare electric bills
B): Storage
The Computer has an in-built memory where it can store a large amount of data. You can also
store data in secondary storage devices such as floppies, which can be kept outside your
computer and can be carried to other computers.
C): Slide rule
The slide rule, also known as a slipstick, is a mechanical analog computer used primarily for
multiplication and division, and also for functions such as roots, logarithms and trigonometry,
but is not normally used for addition or subtraction. It appears in a linear or circular form with a
standardized set of markings (scales) essential to performing mathematical computations.
Around 1974 the electronic scientific calculator made it largely obsolete.
D): Baggage analytical engine
This was the first fully-automatic calculating machine constructed by a British computing
pioneer and mathematician Charles Babbage. This machine was designed to evaluate any
mathematical formula and to have even higher powers of analysis than his original Difference
engine of the 1820s. It was a mechanical digital computer which had incorporated an arithmetic
logic unit, control flow in the form of conditional branching and loops, and integrated memory.
The Engine had five components:
* A storage unit that held the numbers
* An arithmetic unit called Mill, to perform the arithmetic calculations
* A control unit that controlled the activities of the computer
* An input device that gave the numbers and instructions to the computer
* An output device that displayed the result
QUESTION 6
Distinguish between microcomputers and mainframe computers
Mainframes are computers used mainly by large organizations for critical applications,
typically bulk data processing such as census, industry/consumer statistics, ERP, and financial
transaction processing. They are mostly accessed by use of terminals.
Mainframe computer systems may have more than one processor. The host processor has direct
control over all the other processors, storage devices, and input/output devices.
A microcomputer is most often taken to mean a computer with a microprocessor as its CPU.
Another general characteristic of these computers is that they occupy physically small amounts
of space.
A microcomputer is the smallest and least expensive of all computers. Originally, it had rather
limited capabilities compared to larger computers, but today microcomputers are more powerful
than early mainframes.
A micro computer is also called a personal computer or PC because they were originally
designed for use by one person at a time.