Chapter 1 Introduction

What is a Computer? Electronic device that takes in data and instructions (input), works with the data (processing) and Put out the information (output)

Computer Components Hardware Software Input devices CPU Storage devices Output devices Software System software Programs

Generations of Computers First generation vacuum tube-based electronic computer. Use machine language. Very large and slow.

Generations of Computers second generation transistor-based electronic computer. Reduction in size and cost. More faster Use assembly language.

Generations of Computers Third generation integrated circuits replaced several individually wired transistors. Faster and smaller in size. Use programming languages such as: C Fortran Basic Cobol

Generations of Computers Forth generation Use large-scale integration technology. the need to speed up the software development process Use friendly programming languages.

Generations of Computers Fifth generation Very Large-Scale Integration technology (VLSI).. make use of parallel processing Artificial intelligence Prolog

Range of Computers Embedded Systems chips in washing machines, laser printers hand calculators.

Range of Computers Microcomputers personal computers Multitasking Networking PRICE: between $700 - $2000

Range of Computers Minicomputers These perform multi-tasking and allow many terminals to be connected to their services. Business, to process large amount of data. PRICE: between $15,000 - $150,000

Mainframe Computers Mainframe computers are large general purpose Large databases. government departments and the airline industry

Supercomputers very fast and have multiple processors. developed for scientific applications usually involving complex arithmetic and mathematical operations.

Basic Computer System ALU Control Unit Registers internal bus.

Fetch and Execute

Input devices Keyboard Mouse Joystick Light pin ……