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MACHARIA JOHN THUO
B66/40111/2011
BQS 214: COMPUTING 1
ASSIGNMENT 1
QUESTION 1
Why is a computer known as a data processor?
A computer is an electronic device which manipulates or transforms data. It accepts data, stores
data, process data according to a set of instructions, and also retrieve the data when required.
Hence it is known as a data processor.
QUESTION 2
Explain in brief the various generations in computer techniques
There are several generation of computers which involve different skills and techniques due to
improvement of technology.
The First Generation: 1946 to 1955
The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry, magnetic drums and magnetic cores 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.
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. Input was based on punched cards and paper tape, and output was displayed on teletype
printers.
The UNIVAC is the most famous first generation computer. .
The Second Generation: 1956 to 1963
Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and ushered in the second generation of computers. The
transistor was far superior to the vacuum tube, allowing computers to become smaller, faster,
cheaper, more energy-efficient and more reliable than their first-generation predecessors.
Though the transistor still generated a great deal of heat that subjected the computer to damage,
it was a vast improvement over the vacuum tube. Second-generation computers still relied on
punched cards for input and printouts for output. Second-generation computers used assembly
languages, which allowed programmers to specify instructions in words.
The third generation
The third generation is characterized by the development of the integrated circuit - a complete
electrical circuit whose components (transistors, capacitors, etc.) are fabricated onto a small
"chip" made of silicon ... otherwise known as an integrated circuit chip, or IC chip. IC chips
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.
The fourth generation;
the fourth generation is distinguished primarily as the generation in which the personal computer
first appeared through the development of the microprocessor by Intel Corp. A microprocessor
is a single IC chip that contains an entire computer processor. The second breakthrough was a
series of improvements in IC design and manufacturing methods which allowed engineers to
create IC chips with tens of thousands of transistors, a process now known as large scale
integration (LSI). This allowed more complex systems to be produced using smaller circuit
boards, and at a reduced cost. During this generation networks and graphical user interfaces were
also developed.
The 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
Magnetic
drum
Generation
Main
memory
Second
generation
Magnetic
core
Third
generation
Magnetic core
Vacuum
tubes
Circuitry
transistors
Integrated
semiconductor
circuit.
Forth
generation
Large
integrated
semiconductor
circuit.
Large
integrated
semiconductor
circuit(present:
Fifth
generation
Artificial
intelligent.
Artificial
intelligent.
thousands
Memory
capacity in
characters
Ten
thousands
Hundred
thousands
micro processor)
millions
billions
QUESTION3
Write short notes on the 5th generation computers and what makes them from the 4th
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.
Fourth generation
 These computers use LSI and VLSI technologies.
 Its sizes were reduced to desktop and laptop computer.
 These computers are highly reliable and accurate.
 They have a large memory and high functional speed.
 The operating speed is measured in beyond picoseconds and MIPS (Million of instruction
per second)
 Magnetic disk is the common source of external storage.
 Multiprocessing and multiprogramming OS (operating system) are used.
 4GL are also used.
The examples are – IBM PC, Apple/Macintosh, 8086, 80286 SX, 80386 SX etc.
Fifth generation
 The speed will be extremely high in fifth generation computer.
 These computers will be using Ultra Large Scale Integration (ULSI) technology.
 The goal of fifth generation computers is to develop machines that will be able to think
and take decisions.
 It can perform large number of parallel processing.
 Biochips and Gallium Arsenide (GaAS) will be used as memory devices.
 Large uses of natural language processing and user friendly.
 Able to make decisions like human beings.
QUESTION4
Why did the size of the computer generation reduce in the 3rd 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
QUESTION6
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.
REFERENCES
Longhorn Studies Form 1
http://en.wikipedia.org