Introduction, History and
Computer Basics
Introduction to Computers and Computer Technology
Computer Science: A foundation
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Programming
Game
Development
Software
Engineering
Software
Development
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Networking
Security
System
Administration
Information
Technology
Networking
and IT
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Web design and
development
Animation
Modeling
Digital
Media
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History
Perspective
Social issues
Economic issues
Ethic issues
Consumer issues
General
Education
A computer science foundation
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Role of Algorithms
Hardware
Software
Programming
Program
Algorithm
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Algorithm: A set of steps that defines how a task is performed
Program: A representation of an algorithm
Programming: The process of developing a program
Software: Programs and algorithms
Hardware: Equipment used to input information (data) and output the
results of the programs, algorithms.
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Origins of Computing Machines:
Early computing devices
Abacus
300 BC by Babylonians
around 1200 A.D. in China and Japan
– Abacus: positions of beads represent numbers
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Early computing devices
Pascal’s mechanical calculator - 1645
Gear-based machines (1600s-1800s)
Positions of gears represent numbers
Inventors: Blaise Pascal, Wilhelm Leibniz,
Charles Babbage
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Early Data Storage
• Punched cards
– First used in Jacquard Loom (1801) to store patterns for weaving
cloth
– Storage of programs in Babbage’s Analytical Engine
– Popular through the 1970’s
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Early programming
• Augusta Ada King (Byron), Countess
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of Lovelace (1815-1852)
She is known as the "first
programmer".
The computer language Ada, created
by the U.S. Defense Department,
was named after Ada Lovelace.
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Babbage’s Difference Engine (1822)
Part of the Difference Engine (below)
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Babbage is credited with inventing the first mechanical computer that
eventually led to more complex designs. (1822)
The first difference engine was composed of around 25,000 parts, weighed
fifteen tons (13,600 kg), and stood 8 ft (2.4 m) high. Although he received
ample funding for the project, it was never completed. (Wikipedia)
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Early Computers
Vacuum
tube
Transistor
Microchip
• Here is a brief overview of some of the early computers and trends in
computing.
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First Generation – Vacuum Tubes
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1930’s – Vacuum tubes were used as electronic circuits
or electronic switches.
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1946 - ENIAC
• First large-scale electronic digital computer was ENIAC (Electronic
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Numerical Integrator and Calculator)
30 feet long, 8 feet wide, and 8 feet high
3 additions every second, (incredibly slow by today’s standards).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAnhFNJgNYY
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Second Generation – Transistors
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1947 - Walter Brittain and Willaim Shockley invented the
transistor at Bell Laboratories
Replaced the vacuum tube as an electronic switch
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Third Generation – Integrated Circuits
• 1959, Jack Kirby and Robert Noyce (who later became the cofounder
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of Intel Corp.) developed the first integrated circuit (silicon chip or
microchip).
An integrated circuit (IC) is a system of interrelated circuits packaged
together on a single sliver of silicon.
It is a way of placing multiple (millions) transistor devices into as single,
smaller device, the “microchip.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWVywhzuHnQ&feature=related
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Fourth Generation - Microprocessor
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A microprocessor is a Central Processing Unit (CPU) on
a single chip.
1971, Intel Corp. introduced the first microprocessor chip.
– Intel 4004
108 kHz and contained (equivalent of) 2300 transistors
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IBM Personal Computer
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On August 12, 1981,
IBM released their new
computer, named the
IBM PC
2004 – IBM sells PC
business to Lenovo
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Apple Computers
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1975 – Steve Jobs and
Steve Wozniak starts
Apple Computer
1984 – Apple
Macintosh with
Graphical User
Interface (GUI)
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Laptops
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1981 - Adam Osborne,
produced the Osborne 1
1988 - Compaq laptop with
color screen
2008 – Macbook Air –
thinnest laptop
2011 – Dell XPS 15Z –
thinnest Windows laptop
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Trends from 1990 to today…
• Microsoft continues to update Windows
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with latest version Windows called
“Windows 8”
LINUX operating system, an open
source version of UNIX, is taking on
MS Windows and gaining in popularity
IBM has stopped making small
computers; sold their business to
Lenovo
HP, the largest maker of PC is
planning to sell their PC division
Apple continues to be a major player in
personal computers, especially for the
“creative market”, iPods, iPads,
iPhones, etc.
Google has become a major player in
the Internet solutions
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Trends from 1990 to today…
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Faster
Smaller
More reliable
Less
expensive
Easier to use
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Fifth Generation
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Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial
intelligence, are continuing to be in development.
Parallel Processing is coming and showing the possibility
that the power of many CPU's can be used side by side,
and computers will be more powerful than those under
central processing.
The goal of fifth-generation computing is to develop
devices that respond to natural language input and are
capable of learning and self-organization.
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Computer Basics
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What is a computer?
• A computer is a digital device which can be programmed
to change (process) information from one form to another.
– Do exactly as they are told.
– Digital devices: Understand only two different states
(OFF and ON - 0 and 1)
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Traditional Types of Computers
• General purpose computers
–Super computer
–Mainframe
–Personal Computer
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Traditional types of computers:
• Super computers
– fast processing power
– used by NASA and similar organizations
– Example: CRAY supercomputers
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Traditional Types of Computers:
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Mainframe
Computers
First computers, introduced in 1950s
Used by large businesses
Typically supported thousands of users
Very expensive
Used for very large processing tasks
IBM’s new Mainframe
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN4J4mClckA
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Traditional Types of Computers:
Personal Computers
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Small, self-contained computers
with their own CPUs
Uses a microprocessor, a CPU
(Central Processing Unit) on a
single chip.
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Personal Computers
• Desktop computers
• Laptop computers
• Tablets
• Wearables
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Hardware versus Software
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Hardware = The
physical components
that make up a
computer system.
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Hardware versus Software
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Software = The
programs (instructions)
that tell the computer
what to do.
– System Software
– Application Software
– Stored on a storage
media such as hard
disk, CD-ROM, floppy
disk, tape, etc.
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Hardware Components
PROCESS
INPUT
Know these!
SYSTEM UNIT
OUTPUT
PERMANENT
STORAGE
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Input and Output Devices
INPUT
SYSTEM UNIT
OUTPUT
PERMANENT
STORAGE
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The Processor
Let’s open the box!
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The Processor
circuit board = a board with
integrated circuits
(microchips)
• system board or
motherboard
• interface boards or expansion
boards
system board or motherboard
= a single circuit board with
the components which make
up the computer’s processor
for a microcomputer, including
the:
• CPU (Central Processing
Unit)
• Memory
– RAM
– ROM or ROM BIOS
• expansion slots
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The Processor: The CPU
CPU (Central Processing Unit) = A complex collection of electronic
circuits on one or more integrated circuits (chips) which:
1. executes the instructions in a software program
2. communicates with other parts of the computer system, especially
RAM and input devices
The CPU is the computer!
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu
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RAM
RAM is TEMPORARY memory
RAM is volatile
• stores ON and OFF bits (software and data) electrically
• when power goes off, everything in RAM is lost
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ROM (Read Only Memory)
ROM (Read Only Memory) = integrated circuits (microchips) that are used
to permanently store start-up (boot) instructions and other critical
information
Read Only = information which:
• Cannot be changed
• Cannot be removed
• Fixed by manufacturer
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ROM (Read Only Memory)
ROM is sometimes known as ROM BIOS (Basic Input Output System
software)
ROM contains:
• start-up (boot) instructions
• instructions to do “low level” processing of input and output devices,
such as the communications with the keyboard and the monitor
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Computer Performance:
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CPU speed (and type)
Amount of RAM (and
speed)
Hard disk capacity
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Software
• System Software
• Application Software
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Application Software
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Performs specific tasks:
– Word processing
– Calculations
– Information storage and
retrieval
– Accounting
– Games
Cannot function without the
OS (Operating System)
Written for a specific
operating system and
computer hardware.
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Operating System Software
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Loads automatically when
you switch on a computer
Main roles:
– Controls hardware and
software
– Permits you to manage
files
– Acts as intermediary
between user and
applications
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GUI – Graphical User Interface
Windows 3.1
Windows
95/98/XP
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CLI – Command Line Interface
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No GUI
MS DOS / Command Prompt
Linux / Unix
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