1 ABOUT A CO MP UT ER

well as
Today, computer is influencing the field of education as
eers for
entertainment. Earlier, computers were used by scientists and engin
uter can be
complex calculations and were very costly. Nowadays, comp
even have
afforded by individuals or even small organizations. We can
to learn
them as PCs (Personal Computers) at home. Everyone wants
become a
computer to keep pace with this new technology. Computer has
such as
need nowadays because of its usage at almost every work place Let Us Recall
and even at
banks, hospitals, railways, shopping complex, schools, colleges What is the difference
homes. between a Desktop and
a Laptop computer?
to calculate.
Comp uter is derived from the word "compute" which means
appropriate.
But, calling a comp uter just a calculating machine is not
at a time.
Computers are versatile and can handle different applications
ularly Used
Computer is an acron ym for "Common Oriented Machine Partic
for Trade, Education and Research".
34 Years of PC
August 12, 1981 marks
~ WHAT IS A COMPUTER? the birth of the IBM - PC,
the comp uter that
instructions, changed the world.
Computer is an electronic device that accepts data and
to:
processes it and gives the output in a desired manner. It has the ability

♦ Acce pt the data given by the user (Input).

g).
♦ Process the data according to the given set of instructions (Processin

♦ Store and give Outp ut according to the user requirement. ) (

~ FUNCTIONS OF A COMPUTER
~
A computer performs the following functions:

INPUT: Comp uter accepts the input given by the user. It can be
in the form of
computer to
data or instructions. Instructions (commands) are given to
tion, or
operate the data. It can be a single command to perform some opera Let's Discuss
This set of
it can be a set of instructions to perform a series of steps. Role of Computer
in
instructions is called a progr am. Education

STOR AGE AND RETR IEVA L: The input and output is stored
in the memory
of a comp uter and it can be retrieved, when ever required.
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 t' teps to execute the data and instructions to get meaningful re
PROCESSING: The sequen ia 1s SIJlt is
called processing . 1 • • •
t t that a user gets after processing either on the monitor (Soft Co
OUTPUT: Final results or ou pu PY) or
as a printout (Hard Copy).
. d ily life too we perform a number of activities that resemble With
u know that m our a the
Do Y~ . f mputer Let's look at some of these examples:
functioning O a co ·
INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT
SITUATION
Petrol/Diesel Engine starts A car starts
1. A car running on
working w ith the running.
a road .
aid of petrol .

Calling a person Dial the number of Establishment of Communication

2.
on phone. person connection and between two
ring ing of bell. persons.

3. Withdrawal of Insertion of ATM Processing of card Collecting money

money from ATM . card . in ATM machine . and ATM card .

DATA: It refers to unorganized facts or figures which we input into a computer. For example, list of
marks, words, names, numbers etc.

INFORMATION: It is the meaningful outcome of processed data . E .g . time table, merit list,
percentage of marks, highest score of the class.

MEMORY: It is a place where data like numbers (0-9), characters (A-Z) and special characters etc.
can be stored .

0 CHARACTERISTICS OF A COMPUTER

Computers are capable of performing highly complex tasks, which human beings cannot perform
efficiently. The following are the main characteristics of a computer, which makes it so powerful:

SPEED

Computers work at an amazing speed without any mistakes. The work, which a normal person would
~omplete in a few hours can be done within fractions of a second by a computer. Speed of computers
o-
is measured in terms of milliseconds ( 10-3 seconds) microseconds ( 1 6 seconds) or nanoseco nd s
9
(10- seconds). '

ACCURACY

A computer perform ·t t k • • the data. It

s I s as with great accuracy. It never commits mistakes in processing
produces errors when we enter inaccurate input.
6 Learning
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RELIABILITY
Quick Quiz
Computers are more reliable than human beings as they do not get bored of
the repetitive tasks and never get tired. Give any other
example of I P 0 .
STORAGE CAPAC ITY

A computer can store large amount of data. It can store various documents,
articles , pictures etc. in its memory which can be used wh enever required.
On the other hand, a human being can keep only a limited information in his
mind and rest of the things, he forgets.
VERSATILITY

A computer can perform various types of jobs. On a

computer system , we can listen to songs while typing text
or play games while working on any other package , do
calculations, make drawings, surf the net, send e-mail
etc.
REDUCTION IN MANPO WER
Let's Know More
Earlier, the work in industries/factories was done by a number of persons .
Wrong input leads to
But with computers , it can be completed by a few persons and that too more wrong output. It is
accurately and efficiently. The advent of computer has reduced the need of called GIGO - Garbage
manpower. In Garbage Out.

PAPER WORK CAN BE REDUC ED

The use of compute r reduces the burden of work in any organization.
Record of each student of a school can be kept in the computer
Tu' i
-1:~~
J, itself rather than keeping manual files for each student. Also ,
information regarding any student can be obtained easily and
Example quickly with the help of a computer.

0 LIMITATIONS OF A COMP UTER

Despite its various advanta ges, compute rs do have the following
limitations:

NO DECISI ON-MA KING ABILITY

Computers cannot take any decisions. Human beings assist the compute r to
take the decisions.

.
Y~~$ .
~
Suppos e a street hawker is selling flowers. If such kind of
flowers are already in our house, we will decide not to purchase
Input and Data

them . Taking decision in this way without the assistan ce of

Example human being is not possible with a compute r.
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 NO INTELLIGENCE . . . , .
have any intelligence of its own, which 1s Gods grft to
A omputer does no t . . b h
c . Th work according to the instructions given y umans.
human beings. ey

NO EMOTIONS AND FEELINGS

ar away from emotions and certainly being machines, they
computers are f . .
can't have feelings and instincts.

I BRAIN DEVElOPER
A. Fill in the blanks:
'
/ Computer is an ........................................ device.
2. .. ...................................... is a place where data is stored.
3. The processed form of data is called ....................................... .
4. The result which we see on a monitor is called ...................................... ..
y I

The set of instructions is called ..................( ..................... .

8. State True or False:
1,.•.,.-.,, Processing is the meaningful outcome of the processed data.
✓

2. Output is given to computer to operate data .

..,.3. A computer works at an amazing speed. 1-T \

4. The use of a computer reduces a lot of office work in any organization. D
5. The advent of computer has reduced the need of manpower. D
6. A computer does not give accurate result. 0
C. Multiple Choice Questions:
1. .. ....................... refers to unorganized facts or figures which we input into a computer.
a. Output i _br Data c. Information
y .......................... is the meaningful outcome of processed data.
a. Input b. Information , c~ Output
3. A computer produces errors when we enter ....................... input.
a. Inaccurate b. Accurate c. Correct
/: The first IBM PC was introduced in the year ........................ ..
a. 1961 b. 1971 i)Y.1981
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o. Answerthefollowing:
1. What is a computer? Briefly explain its functions.
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2. What is data? How is it different from information?

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3. What is processing?

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......................................., ............................................................................................ .

4. Explain any two characteristics of a computer.

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5. Explain limitations of a computer.

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 12 EVOLUT ION OF COMPUT ERS

C) HISTORY OF COMPUTERS

The need to keep track of numbers led to the evolution of different

counting tools. Right from the evolution of Abacus - the first counting
device, many more devices were invented, leading to the development of
computers. Let us glance through the major milestones in the journey

=
leading to the evolution of the present day computers. Fact File

3000- BC ABACUS
~ Abacus was the first mechanical
device for calculations .
~ It was developed in China. In 1617, John Napier
made a calculating
~ It is made up of wooden frame with device - a set of
rectangular rods called
rods each having beads. Napier's Bones. The
rods were made up of
~ The frame is divided into two parts '
carved bones, which
Heaven and Earth. Fig. 2.1: Abacus
were used for
performing addition ,
~ Each rod in Heaven has 2 beads subtraction
and the Earth has 5 beads. multiplication , division
and square roots.
~ It is used for addition, multiplication and division.

0 1642- PASCAL ADDING MACHINE

~ Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician invented the first mechanical

calculator at the age of 19 in the year 1642.
Know the Fact
~ It used gears, wheels and dials.
Around 1820, Charles
~ Numbers were displayed by rotating Xavier Thomas
created the first
the wheels. successful mechanical
calculator, the
~ It was capable of performing addition Thomas Arithmometer
and subtraction. that could add , subtract,

~ This gear principle was employed in

multiply and divide
based on
Leibniz's work.
J
many mechanical calculators. ,____

Taximeter is an example of it.

Fig . 2.2: Pascaline
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 C) 1671
• LEIBNIZ CALCULATOR
'b the famous German mathemat c1an impro ✓ed on
~ Ler nrz,
Pascals machine ,n 1671
4> Leibniz s calculator could do add1t1on , subtractron ard e ,en
multrplrcat,on, dr ✓Jsron and find square roots .

~ It was a mechanical device .

Fig . 2.3: Leibniz Calcur ator

C) 1822-CHARLES BABBAGE

~ Charles Babbage, a British mathematician is considered to be th e

father of computers.
~ He invented a working model of mechanical computer ca lled
Difference engine in 1822, and Analytical engine in 1833.
~ This machine had five units - Input, Output, Store, Mill and Control.
~ These units worked like the modern computers . All the computers,
which are used nowadays, are based on it. Fig . 2.4 . Charles Babbage

~ Store was used for storing the numbers and Mill was used to do all
the arithmetic operations.
~ Control unit was used for supervising all the units.

C) 1842 -AUGUSTA ADA

!he First Programmer suggested Binary Data (0 and 1) storage
instead of decimal number system. Fig. 2.5: Lady Augusta
ADA Lovelace

C) 1850 - GEORGE BOOLE

He -~olved mathematical problems by reducing them to a series of

posrtrve or ne~~tive answered questions and linked it with binary system
of 1s for pos1t1ve answers and Os for negative answers. This system
dknown
. as f Boolean Log·ic, became the fundamental principle for the
es,gn ° computer circuits.
Fig. 2.6: George Boole
12 Learn,ng
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 I
~[m;
~ 1880 - DR. HERMAN HOLLERITH
In 1890 the United I
~ Herman Hollerith, an American statistician, States Census Bureau
used punch cards and
invented a machine called Tabulating sorting machines
machine. designed by Herman
Hollerith.
~ It was capable of reading data, processing it
and giving the desired output. Hollerith's company
eventually became the
~ The input wa s given through punched cards. core of IBM (Integrated
Business Machines) ,
~ It used punched cards to record and store Fig. 2.7: Tabulating Machine
the largest information
technology company in
data or information . the world.

~ 1940 - JOHN VON NEUMANN

Suggested the stored program concept.

C) 1944 - HOWARD AIKEN

Howard Aiken was the primary engineer in IBM,

who developed the first automatic sequence Fig. 2.8: Mark I
controlled calculator, the Mark I.
Howard Aiken

C) 1946 - ENIAC

Electronic Numeric Integrator And

Calculator , the first general purpose
electronic digital computer was invented by
John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert.

Fig. 2.9: ENIAC

John Mauchly and
C) GENERATIONS OF COMPUTERS J. Presper Eckert

Evolution of modern computers is commonly classified into generations of

computers. Each new generation resulted in the followings changes: Know the Fact
Physically ENIAC was
massive . It weighed 30
INCREASE DECREASE tons and was roughly
IN IN 2.4 m by 0.9 m by 30 m
SPEED, high , and took up
COST 160m2 and consumed
STORAGE and SIZE. 150 KW of power.
CAPACITY
and
RELIABILITY
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♦INCREASE IN SPEED, STORAGE, CAPACITY and RELIABILITY ...-. DECREASE IN COST and SIZE

-
Generation
--
Period Circuitry I Input I Storage Output Language Examples

st Vacuum Punched Magnetic Punched Machine, UNIVAC

1 1940-56 ENIAC
Tubes Cards tapes Cards Assembly
I

EDVAC
Punched Fortran,
Cards, Magnetic Punch Cobol, IBM1400 &
2nd 1956-63 Transistors
Magnetic tapes Cards Basic, 700 series
tapes PL/1 IBM 350
Integrated Pascal, IBM
3rd 1964-71 Circuits Keyboards Magnetic
Monitor Fortran, System-360
(IC) Disks
Cobol, RPG Apple 1, Altair
'v Mouse, Magnetic
4th 1972- ' cro Processors Monitor, RDBMS , CRAY 1/2
present (VLSC) Scanners, Disks with Apple IL
Sound etc. higher capacity Printers C++ etc.
VAX 9000
Present --.
5th With Artificial Optical fiber Human speech
and
Beyond intelligence (SLSI) technology recognition

~ Abacus was the first calculating device.

~ Charles Babbage is considered as the father of computers. He was the first person to
design a computer with memory to store results .
~ Augusta Ada was the first lady programmer.
~ ENIAC was the first general purpose electronic digital computer.

I BRAIN DEVElOPER
A. Mention the period:

/ 1( First generation computer

" 2. Charles Babbage's Difference engine

3. Boolean logic
/

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 y Fourth generation of computer

5. The stored program concept by Von Neumann

B. Match the following by colouring the pair with the same colour:
/ A B

( Lady Augusta Lovelace

I I Tabulating Machine I
( Pascaline Machine
I I The first programmer I
I Analytical Engine
I I Integrated circuits I
I Second Generation Computers
I I 1833 l
I Third Generation Computers
I I Transistors 4 I
I Herman Hollerith
I I 1642 7,,- I
C. Multiple Choice Questions:
v 1. Who invented mechanical calculator?
a. John Napier ~Blaise Pascal c. Howard Aiken

2. Who is considered as the father of computers?

\._
a. George Boole b. Lady Augusta c. Charles Babbage

3. Who invented Tabulating machine?

a. Lady Ada b. John Mauchly c. Herman Hollerith

4. When was Difference engine invented?

a. 1820 b. 1821 /1822

D. Answer the following:

1. Who suggested the stored program concept, and in which year?

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2. Which was the first electronic digital computer and who invented it?

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3. Whic~ltechnology was used in first generation of computers?
..... [ .................................... ~ ...........~ ....................................................................... .

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4. How was fourth generation of computers better than the third generation computers?
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+- What were the features of second generation of computers?

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lAB ACTIVITY

C hallenges in life come in three broad categories:

impossible .
easy, difficult, and

~ Those who take on easy have a safe and boring life.

~ Those who take on the difficult have a tough but satisfying life.

~ Those who take on the impossible are remembered.

16 Learning
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