Download OKEMWA, SERAPHINE MORAA. B66/0842/2011. COMPUTING 1

OKEMWA, SERAPHINE MORAA.
B66/0842/2011.
COMPUTING 1 ASSIGNMENT.
1) Why is the computer known as a data processor?
A computer can accept, store, process and retrieve data as and when desired. This function is the
primary and most fundamental and hence the reason why it is known as a data processor.
2) Explain in brief various generations of computer technology.
First Generation Computers:
The first generation period was between 1942 and 1955. The key hardware technologies were: vacuum
tubes and punched card secondary storage. The key software technologies were: machine and assembly
language and stored program concept. First generation computers relied on machine language, the
lowest-level programming language understood by computers, to perform operations, and they could
only solve one problem at a time. Some representative systems are: ENIAC, EDVAC, EDSAC, and UNIVAC.
Second Generation Computers:
The second generation of computers period was between 1955 and 1964. The key hardware
technologies were: transistors and magnetic core memory. The key software technologies were: batch
operating system. Second-generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine language to
symbolic, or assembly, languages, which allowed programmers to specify instructions in words. Some
representative systems are: IBM-7030, UNIVAC LARC.
Third Generation Computers:
The third generation of computers period was between 1964 and1975. The key hardware technologies
were: IC, Microcomputers. The key software technologies were: time sharing, operating system. 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. Some representative systems are: PDP-2, PDP-8.
Fourth Generation of Computers:
Fourth generation of computers period was between 1975 and 1984. The key hardware technologies
were the microprocessor and the semiconductor. The key software technologies were the PC, GUI,
UNIX. As these small computers became more powerful, they could be linked together to form
networks, which eventually led to the development of the Internet. Fourth generation computers also
saw the development of the mouse and handheld devices. Some system representatives are Apple-2,
TRS-80, CRAY-1, CRAY-2, and CRAY-X/MP.
Fifth Generation Computers:
The fifth generation of computers period is from 1984 till present times. The key hardware technologies
are notebook computers. The key software technologies are the World Wide Web and internet based
applications. The fifth generation computers are based on artificial intelligence. Some representative
systems: Pentium PCs, PARAM-10000
3) Write short notes on fifth generation computer. What makes it different from fourth generation
computer?
Fifth Generation Computer:
Fifth generation computers are in developmental stage which is based on the artificial intelligence. The
goal of the fifth generation is to develop the device which could respond to natural language input and
are capable of learning and self-organization. Quantum computation and molecular and nanotechnology
are used in this technology. The characteristics are;
1) The fifth generation computers use super large scale integrated chips.
2) They have artificial intelligence.
3) They are be able to recognize image and graphs.
4) Fifth generation computer are able to solve highly complex problem including decision making, logical
reasoning.
5) They are able to use more than one CPU for faster processing speed.
6) Fifth generation computers are intended to work with natural language
Difference between fifth generation and fourth generation computer:
I.
Fifth generation Nanos all have a polished aluminum finish that distinguishes this model from
the fourth generation.
II.
The screen on the fifth generation is also a little bigger than on the fourth generation.
III.
The fifth generation has a built in camera which was not present in the fourth generation
4) Why did the size of the computer get reduced in the third generation computer.
In 1958, Jack Kilby who is an engineer with Texas Instruments developed the Integrated Circuit (IC). The
Integrated Circuit combined three electronic components onto a small silicon disc, which was made
from quartz rock. Scientist later managed to fit more components on a single chip, called
semiconductor. As a result of it, more components were able to squeeze onto the chip and thereby
computers became ever smaller.
5) Give short notes on the following.
a) Versatility
Versatility in computers means that one can open a couple(a lots of applications will slow down an
ordinary computer machine so we are talking about a few applications opened at a time on a computer
machine) of applications at a time on a computer machine, for instance say that a computer can prepare
the results of schools or college students and at the same time one can print electricity bills with it and
at the same very time one can play a song on it and side by side one can play a computer game on it. All
that is done by multitasking property of computer in which the processing of the applications are done
in a multitask manner.
b) Storage
This is a technology consisting of computer components and recording media used to retain digital data.
Computer storage is measured in bytes, kilobytes (KB), megabytes (MB), gigabytes (GB) and
increasingly terabytes (TB). One byte is one character of information, and is comprised of eight bits (or
eight digital 1's or 0's). Technically a kilobyte is 1024 bytes, a megabyte 1024 kilobytes, a gigabyte 1024
megabytes, and a terabyte 1024 gigabytes There are two storage devices used in computers; a primary
storage device such as computer RAM and a secondary storage device such as a computer hard drive.
The secondary storage could be a removable, internal, or external storage.
c) Slide rule
The slide rule (often nicknamed a "slipstick") is a mechanical analog computer, consisting of calibrated
strips, usually a fixed outer pair and a movable inner one, with a sliding window called the cursor. It was
the most commonly used calculation tool in science and engineering. Their use began to wane as
computers were introduced, starting in the 1950s, and the scientific calculator made them largely
obsolete by the early 1970s. Despite their similar appearance, a slide rule serves a purpose different
from that of a standard ruler: a ruler measures physical distances and aids in drawing straight lines,
while a slide rule performs mathematical operations
d) Babbages Analytical Engine
The Babbages Analytical Engine was constructed by Charles Babbages in 1834 as a general-purpose
programmable computing engine. The Analytical Engine has many essential features found in the
modern digital computer. It was programmable using punched cards. The Engine had a 'Store' where
numbers and in It was also capable of functions for which we have modern names: conditional
branching, looping (iteration), microprogramming, parallel processing, iteration, latching, polling, and
pulse-shaping, amongst others, though Babbage nowhere used these terms. It had a variety of outputs
including hardcopy printout, punched cards, graph plotting and the automatic production of stereotypes
- trays of soft material into which results were impressed that could be used as molds for making
printing plates. Intermediate results could be held, and a separate 'Mill' where the arithmetic processing
was performed. The logical structure of the Analytical Engine was essentially the same as that which has
dominated computer design in the electronic era - the separation of the memory (the 'Store') from the
central processor (the 'Mill'), serial operation using a 'fetch-execute cycle', and facilities for inputting
and outputting data and instructions.
6) Distinguish between microcomputer and mainframe:
Microcomputers:
Microcomputers are general purpose computer also called PC. They are used at our homes. Micro
computer can handle one user at a time. These computers are used for documentation, making power
point presentation, printing tasks and other usual tasks that u all know.
Mainframe:
Mainframe computers are those which can handle 100 of user at a time. That mean we cannot run PC
operating system on mainframe. Mainframe computers have special operating system that can handle
parallel user processing, transactions and time sharing. These computers run best run on Linux
operating system. In mainframe computers there are many processors working and integrating with
each other