COS 101: Introduction

to Computing
Sciences
By
Dr. Irene N. Ezeasomba
 Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course, students should be able to:
 1. Explain basic components of computers and other
computing devices
 2. describe the various applications of computers
 3. explain information processing and its roles in the
society
 4. describe the Internet, its various applications and its
impact
 5. explain the different areas of the computing discipline
and its specializations; and
 6. demonstrate practical skills on using computers and
the internet.
Course Contents
 1. Brief history of computing.
 2. Description of the basic components of a
computer/computing device.
 3.Input/output devices and peripherals.
 4. Hardware, software and human ware.
 5. Diverse and growing computer/digital applications.
 6. Information processing and its roles in society.
 7. The Internet, its applications and its impact on the world
today.
 8. The different areas/programs of the computing discipline -
The job specializations for computing professionals.
 9. The future of computing.
Definition and Meaning of Computer
 A computer is an electronic device that accepts data,
performs operations, displays results, and stores the
data or results as needed.
 It is a combination of hardware and
software resources that integrate together and
provides various functionalities to the user.
 Hardware is the physical components of a computer like
a processor, memory devices, monitor, keyboard, etc.,
while
 software is a set of programs or instructions that are
required by the hardware resources to function properly.
 Brief History and Basic Components of a
Computer/Computing Device
Objectives
By the end of this lecture, the Students should be able to:
 Discuss historical development of Computers
 Analyze the different generations of computer.
 Define computer/computing Device
 Explain the basic components of computer/computing device
 Understand various computing devices -Input devices, output
devices and peripherals;
 Demonstrate practically an understanding of the basic parts of a
computer.
 Brief History of Computing
 The history of computers began with primitive
designs in the early 19th century and went on to
change the world during the 20th century.
 We will briefly discuss some of these inventions,
the inventors and the significant input it made in
the evolution of what we have as computers and
computing devices today.
 Generations of computer from 1st to 5th will also be
discussed.
 Earlier Inventions - Before 20th Century
YEAR/INVENTOR INVENTION FEATURE/CONTRIBUTION
1642 Pascaline Gear-driven one-function
Blaise Pascal (Age 18) -aid for his father who was calculator (only adds)
a tax collector
1801: Jacquard Card and Early computers use
Joseph Marie Jacquard, Loom similar punch cards as
- a French merchant -the loom uses punched storage devices.
wooden cards to weave
fabric designs
automatically.
1821: Charles Babbage Proposed Difference steam driven calculating
English mathematician Engine. machine
Designed Analytic Engine

1848: Ada Lovelace Wrote programs for The world's first computer
-Nee Byron (age 17-28) Babbage’s Analytic Engine programmer
- English mathematician
1890: Hollerith Machine Punch-card system that
 20th Century Inventions

1941: Atanasoff-Berry First digital electronic

Atanasoff and his Computer (ABC). computer in the U.S.
graduate student, Clifford
Berry.
1945: John Mauchly and Electronic Numerical First "automatic, general-
J. Presper Eckert Integrator and purpose, electronic, decimal,
-University professors Calculator (ENIAC). digital computer"
1946: Mauchly and UNIVAC - Universal First commercial computer
Presper, Automatic Computer for business and govt.
applications.
1953: Grace Hopper COBOL - COmmon, first computer Programming
Business-Oriented language
Language
1969: Ken Thompson & UNIX – Uniplexed an operating system that
other developers at Bell Information made "large-scale networking
Lab. Computing System of diverse computing
 Generations of Computer
 Generations of computer defines the different
technological changes that took place from the
first digital electronic computer to the present
day.
 There are five generations of computers (1st to
5th).
 Each generation represents a major
breakthrough in technology and gives a clear
picture of the stages of development of a
modern computer system.
First Generation of Computers
(1945 – 1956): with Vacuum
Tubes Normal and Heated
Characteristics Tubes
 Very Large
 Slow
 Expensive
 Use a great deal of
electricity and generates a
lot of heat.
 The heat often cause of
malfunctioning of the
tubes.
 The first all Electronic
computer like ENIAC and
 First Generation of Computers Cont …

More Characteristics Picture of ENIAC

 Relied on machine
language, the lowest-
level programming
language.
 They could only solve one
problem at a time.
 The input was based on
punched cards and paper
tape,
 The output was displayed
on printouts.
 Second Generation of
Computers (1956 – 1963): with
Transistors
Characteristics Picture of Transistor
 Each replaced the equivalent of
40 vacuum tubes.
 Conduct electricity faster and
better than vacuum tubes.
 Were much smaller in size.
 Gave off virtually no heat
compared to vacuum tubes.
 Moved from cryptic binary
machine language to symbolic,
or assembly languages using
words
 Second Generation of Computers Cont…

More Characteristics Picture of CDC 1604

 High level prog. Lang. such as
early versions of COBOL and
FORTRAN were being
developed.
 They stored their instructions
in their memory.
 Move from a magnetic drum
to magnetic core technology.
 The first computers of this
generation were developed for
the atomic energy industry.
Third Generation of Computers
(1964 – 1971): with Integrated
 Transistors were miniaturized and placed
on silicon chips, called semiconductors
(integrated circuit)
 This drastically increased the speed and
efficiency of computers.
 Lowered its cost considerably.
 Instead of punched cards and printouts, users
interacted with third-generation computers
through keyboards and monitors.
 The hardware was interfaced with an operating
system.
 Fourth Generation of Computers
(1971 – Present):

Microprocessor
Use of monolithic integrated circuits - millions of
transistors put onto one integrated circuit chip
 The invention of the microprocessor - a single
chip that could do all the processing of the full-
scale computer.
 Faster
Speeds, Better efficiency , Less electricity
consumption, Less heat generation.
 Chipswere included in other products - more
and more everyday products began to use
microprocessors.
Fourth Generation of Computers
Cont..
 The invention of microprocessors ushered in the
internet - As these small computers became
more powerful, they could be linked together to
form networks.
 Fourth-generationcomputers also saw the
development of GUIs, the mouse, and handheld
devices.
 Five(5) basic types of microprocessors have
been developed. Microprocessors have evolved
as follows 4-bit, 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit, and 64-bit
microprocessors.
 Fifth Generation of Computers
(Present and Beyond): AI and
ML processing
 Parallel
 Support for voice recognition,
 Understanding of natural language.
 Extra fast, reliable, portable, and so on.
 Although some applications, such as voice
recognition are being used today. It is believed
that the use of parallel processing and
superconductors will help to make artificial
intelligence a reality.
 Generations of
S/N Key Characteristics
Computers

1. 1st Generation: 1945 – 1956 Based on vacuum tubes

2nd Generation: 1956 –

2. Based on transistors
1963
Based on integrated
3. 3rd Generation: 1964 – 1971
circuits
4th Generation: 1971 –
4. Based on microprocessor
present

5th Generation: present and artificial intelligence (AI)

5.
beyond and machine learning (ML)
Basic components of
computer/computing device
 Basiccomponents of a computer system
include:
 Input Unit
 Central Processing Unit(CPU)
 ALU
 Control Unit
 Registers
 Output Unit
 Storage Unit
The Central Processing
Unit

Register
s
 The Input Unit
 The input unit consists of input devices that are
attached to the computer. These devices take
input and convert it into binary language that the
computer understands.
 TheInput Unit is formed by attaching one or more
input devices to a computer.
A user input data and instructions through input
devices such as a keyboard, mouse, etc.
 The input unit is used to provide data to the
processor for further processing.
 The Central Processing Unit
 The CPU is called the brain of the computer
because it is the main processor and control centre
of the computer.
 They are characterized by their clock speeds.
 It first fetches instructions from memory and then
interprets them so as to know what is to be done.
 If required, data is fetched from memory or input
device.
 It executes or performs the required computation,
and then either stores the output or displays it.
 The CPU has three main components, which are
responsible for different functions: Arithmetic Logic
 Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU)
 ALU is the main component of the CPU and
performs mathematical calculations and takes
logical decisions.
 Arithmetic calculations include addition,
subtraction, multiplication and division.
 Logicaldecisions involve the comparison of two
data items to see which one is larger or smaller
or equal.
 TheUnit is simply a digital circuit that is used to
perform arithmetic and logical operations
 The Control Unit
 The Control unit coordinates and controls the
data flow in and out of the CPU and operations
of every other unit.
 It is also responsible for carrying out all the
instructions stored in the program.
 Itdecodes the fetched instruction, interprets it
and sends control signals to input/output
devices until the required operation is done
properly by ALU.
 It instructs every other device on how to
respond to the processor’s instructions.
 Registers
 High-speed devices for storing data or instructions
temporarily
 They are built into the processor itself and stores data
directly used by the processor.
 Registers can be of different sizes(16 bit, 32 bit, 64 bit
…)
 Each register inside the CPU has a specific function, like
storing data, storing an instruction, storing address of a
location in memory etc.
 The user registers can be used by an assembly
language programmer for storing operands,
intermediate results etc.
 Accumulator (ACC) is the main register in the ALU and
 Internal (Main) and Secondary
Memory
 Internal Memory is the largest data holding elements
that is built external (but attached) to the processor
itself.
 Theyare divided into many storage locations, each of
which can store data or instructions.
 Eachmemory location is of the same size and has an
address.
 When a program is executed, its data is copied to the
internal memory and stored in the memory till the end of
the execution.
 Theinternal memory is also called the Primary memory
or Main memory. This memory is also called RAM.
 Output Unit
 The output unit consists of output devices that
are attached to the computer.
 It converts the binary data coming from the CPU
to human understandable form. The output unit
displays or prints the processed data in a user-
friendly format.
 The common output devices are monitor, printer,
plotter, etc.
 Theoutput unit accepts the information from the
CPU and displays it in a user-readable form
 Summary and Conclusion
In this lesson, we have discussed
 The historical development of Computers from Blaise
Pascal Pascaline of 1642 to Mauchly and Presper -
(UNIVAC)1946
 Generations of Computer
 The basic components of a computer/computing
device which include:
 The input and the Output units
 The Central Processing Unit
 Primary and Secondary storage
 Review Questions

 Give brief historical development of computers before

and after the 20th century
 Discuss the main characteristics of different generations
of computers.
 List the basic Components of a Computer
 Explain the use of each component classified as part of
the basic components of computers
 Differentiate between Registers and Internal Memory
 Compare and Contrast between input and output units of
computing device.
 Justify the need for output devices in computing systems.
 Thank You
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