Introduction to Computing – History and Evolution of Computers

Vocabulary flashcards covering key devices, technologies, people, and concepts from the history and evolution of computing.

Computer

An electronic device that can perform high-speed arithmetic operations, store, process, and retrieve data.

Data Processor

Another name for a computer, emphasizing its ability to store, manipulate, and output data.

Automatic (Computer Characteristic)

Ability of a computer to execute instructions without continuous human intervention.

Speed (Computer Characteristic)

Capability to perform millions or billions of operations per second.

Accuracy (Computer Characteristic)

Capacity to produce error-free results provided the input and program are correct.

Diligence

Property that lets computers work tirelessly and consistently without loss of performance.

Versatility

Quality that allows computers to switch quickly between different kinds of tasks or applications.

Remembrance Power

Ability to store vast amounts of data and recall it exactly when required.

No I.Q.

Indicates that computers cannot think or make decisions on their own; they follow programmed instructions.

No Feelings

Computers lack emotions, tastes, or judgment; they are purely logical machines.

Tally Stick

An ancient carved bone or wood device used to record numbers, quantities, or messages.

Abacus

A 5,000-year-old mechanical calculator with sliding beads on rods, still used for arithmetic today.

Napier’s Bone

John Napier’s 1614 manually operated rods that simplified multiplication, division, and root extraction.

Slide Rule

Early 17th-century calculating device using logarithmic scales for rapid multiplication and division.

Pascaline

Blaise Pascal’s 1642 brass mechanical calculator for adding and subtracting whole numbers.

Stepped Reckoner (Leibnitz Wheel)

Gottfried Leibniz’s 1694 machine capable of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and square roots.

Jacquard Loom

1804 weaving machine that used punched cards to create complex textile patterns—an early input method inspiration.

Difference Engine

Charles Babbage’s 1822 mechanical device designed to calculate polynomial tables automatically.

Analytical Engine

Babbage’s 1837 design for a general-purpose computer featuring an ALU, memory, punch-card input, and flow control.

Ada Lovelace

Mathematician who wrote algorithms for Babbage’s Analytical Engine; regarded as the first computer programmer.

Scheutzian Calculation Engine

1837–1843 Swedish adaptation of Babbage’s Difference Engine built by Pehr and Edvard Scheutz.

Tabulating Machine

Herman Hollerith’s 1890 punch-card device that sped up U.S. Census data processing 10-fold.

Harvard Mark I (IBM ASCC)

1944 electromechanical, fully automatic, programmable digital computer developed by Howard Aiken and IBM.

Z1 Computer

Konrad Zuse’s 1938 electromechanical binary programmable calculator—often called the first modern computer.

Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC)

1937–1942 electronic digital computer using vacuum tubes and capacitors; recognized as the first electronic digital computer.

Osborne 1

Released in 1981, it was the first portable computer, weighing 11 kg and running CP/M 2.2.

Electronic Controls Company

Founded 1949 by Eckert and Mauchly; first computer company, later became UNIVAC under Remington Rand.

Computer Generation

Classification of computers into five historical phases based on technology: First to Fifth Generation.

First Generation Computers

1945-1956 machines using vacuum tubes and magnetic drums; programmed in machine language.

Vacuum Tube

Glass electronic component acting as a switch or amplifier; core technology of first-generation computers.

ENIAC

Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator; massive first-generation computer completed in 1945.

Transistor

Small semiconductor device that replaced vacuum tubes, enabling faster, smaller second-generation computers.

Second Generation Computers

1956-1963 systems built with transistors, magnetic disks/tape, and assembly-level programming.

Integrated Circuit (IC)

Silicon chip containing multiple transistors; foundational technology of third-generation computers.

Third Generation Computers

1964-1971 machines using ICs, resulting in reduced size, cost, power use, and increased speed.

Microprocessor

Single-chip CPU introduced by Intel 4004, integrating all central computer functions on one IC.

Fourth Generation Computers

1971–present computers characterized by LSI/VLSI microprocessors and the advent of personal computers.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Field aiming to create computer systems that mimic human reasoning, learning, and perception—hallmark of fifth generation.

Ultra Large-Scale Integration (ULSI)

Chip fabrication technology packing millions of components onto a single chip; envisioned for fifth-generation machines.

Expert System

AI program that emulates decision-making abilities of human specialists.

Voice Recognition

Technology allowing computers to accept and process spoken input, anticipated in future computer generations.

Intel 4004

World’s first commercial microprocessor (1971) that placed the CPU on a single silicon chip.