1. CSCI-235 Micro-Computers in Science Course Information & Introduction

2. Class webpage http://www.stfx.ca/people/igondra/csci235 What is a computer? A good start at defining what a computer is might be: “It is a device that processes data and produces information” Is this a good definition? It is far too broad in its applicability. With this definition, many things can be classified as a computer (e.g., a thermostat, a VCR)

3. What is this definition missing? Have you ever written a term paper on your VCR or calculated your tax return with your thermostat? Those devices were manufactured with the ability to perform a single, limited task A computer can be programmed! There is a particular kind of data that a computer requires in addition to any other data it might receive: a program Better definition: “It is a programmable device that processes data and produces information” Is the human brain a computer?

4. Gross Anatomy Hardware: equipment associated with the computer Input devices, processor, output devices, storage Software: instructions that tell the hardware what to do Two categories of software: System software Application software

5. von Neumann Architecture Although specific components may vary, virtually all modern computers have the same underlying structure known as the von Neumann architecture Named after computer pioneer, John von Neumann, who popularized the design in the early 1950's

6. The von Neumann architecture identifies 3 essential components: Input/Output Devices (I/O) allow the user to interact with the computer Memory stores information to be processed as well as programs (instructions specifying the steps necessary to complete specific tasks) Central Processing Unit (CPU) carries out the instructions to process information

7. First “computer”? The first actual calculating mechanism known to us is the abacus, which was invented about 2000 years agoabacus

8. Many references cite the French mathematician, physicist, and theologian Blaise Pascal as being the inventor of the first mechanical calculator in 1642, the Arithmetic MachineBlaise Pascal Arithmetic Machine

9. However, it now appears that the first mechanical calculator may have been conceived by someone else almost 150 years earlier than Pascal's machine. Can you guess who? Leonardo Da Vinci

10. In the early 1800s, a French silk weaver called Joseph- Marie Jacquard invented a way of automatically controlling the warp and weft threads on a silk loom by recording patterns of holes in a string of cards

11. The first device that might be considered to be a computer in the modern sense of the word was the Difference Engine to automatically calculate mathematical tables conceived in 1822 by the British mathematician and inventor Charles Babbage Difference Engine The Difference Engine was only partially completed when Babbage conceived the idea of another, more sophisticated machine called the Analytical EngineAnalytical Engine The Analytical Engine was intended to use loops of Jacquard's punched cards to control an automatic calculator, which could make decisions based on the results of previous computationsAnalytical Engine

12. Working with Babbage was Augusta Ada Lovelace, the daughter of the English poet Lord Byron. Ada, who was a splendid mathematician and one of the few people who fully understood Babbage's vision, created a program for the Analytical Engine Ada is now credited as being the first computer programmer and, in 1979, a modern programming language was named ADA in her honor

13. In 1939, a German engineer, Konrad Zuse built the first programmable, general-purpose digital computer. His computer was built from electric relays to automate engineering calculations “I was too lazy to calculate and so I invented the computer.” John Atanasoff invented the Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC) —the first electronic digital computer. Built in 1939, this computer used vacuum tubes and was based on binary arithmetic. It was never a fully operational product

14. In 1944, Howard Aiken completed the Mark I, the largest electromechanical calculator ever built. It was built with electromechanical relays and followed instructions punched in paper tape

15. The first computer “bug”

16. In 1945, Mauchly and Eckert built the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer). The ENIAC was built with 18,000 vacuum tubes that failed on an average of once every seven minutes After the war, they created the UNIVAC I - the first general-purpose commercial computer

17. First-Generation Computers 1930s – 1940s Vacuum tubes used as switches Large computers Extremely slow by today’s standards Prone to frequent failure Includes the ABC, Mark I, ENIAC, UNIVAC, and others of similar design

18. Second-Generation Computers 1950s – mid-1960s Transistors used as switches Smaller than vacuum-tube-built computers As much as a thousand times faster than first-generation computers More reliable and less expensive

19. Third-Generation Computers Late 1960s Hundreds of transistors packed into a single integrated circuit on a silicon chip Dramatic reduction in size and cost Significant increases in reliability, speed, and efficiency Mass production techniques to manufacture chips inexpensively

20. Fourth-Generation Computers 1970s to present Complete computer on a chip Radical change in the appearance, capability and availability of computers