CPE102: Introduction to Computer Engineering - Historical Development and Evolution of Computing

Historical Foundations of Modern Computing and Early Mechanical Devices

• The computer is viewed as the epitome of modern life, having infiltrated nearly every sector of society including supermarket scanning, telephone switching, and banking through Automated Teller Machines (ATM).

• The Abacus: Originating approximately $5,000$ years ago in Asia Minor, the abacus is considered the first computer. It utilizes a system of sliding beads on a rack for computations and remained vital until the spread of paper and pencil in Europe.

• Blaise Pascal ($1623$–$1662$): In $1642$, the $18$-year-old son of a French tax collector invented the numerical wheel calculator (also known as the Pascaline).

  • The device was a brass rectangular box with eight movable dials.

  • It utilized a base-$10$ system where one complete revolution of a dial moved the next dial (ten's column) one notch.

  • Its primary limitation was that it could only perform addition.

• Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz ($1646$–$1716$): In $1694$, this German mathematician improved upon the Pascaline by creating a machine that could also multiply.

  • The machine utilized a stepped-drum gear design, which was an elongated version of a flat gear.

• Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar: In $1820$, Colmar invented the arithmometer, which was the first mechanical calculator to gain widespread use.

  • It offered practical computing by performing all four basic arithmetic functions: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

  • It remained in use until the First World War.

The 19th Century Visionaries: Babbage and Lovelace

• Charles Babbage ($1791$–$1871$): An English mathematics professor known as the father of modern computing. He sought to automate calculations to eliminate errors in tables for the Royal Astronomical Society.

• The Difference Engine ($1822$): Proposed by Babbage to solve differential equations. It was steam-powered, as large as a locomotive, and featured a stored program to calculate and print results automatically.

• The Analytical Engine: A breakthrough general-purpose computer design featuring over $50,000$ components.

  • Input: Perforated cards (borrowed from the Jacquard loom concept).

  • Store: Memory capable of holding $1,000$ numbers of up to $50$ decimal digits.

  • Mill: A control unit for processing instructions in any sequence.

  • Output: Printed results.

• Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace ($1815$–$1842$): Assistant to Babbage and daughter of Lord Byron.

  • She is recognized as the first female computer programmer for creating instruction routines for the Analytical Engine.

  • The programming language ADA, named by the U.S. Defense Department in the $1980$'s, honors her.

• Joseph-Marie Jacquard: In $1820$, he produced the Jacquard loom, which used punched boards to control weaving patterns, a concept later adapted for computing.

Data Processing and the Rise of Electronic Computing

• Herman Hollerith ($1860$–$1929$): Applied the Jacquard loom concept to the $1890$ U.S. Census.

  • Hollerith's punch cards stored data; each punch represented a number, and combinations of two represented a letter.

  • The process, which previously took $7$ years, was completed in $6$ weeks.

  • Hollerith founded the Tabulating Machine Company in $1896$, which became International Business Machines (IBM) in $1924$.

• Vannevar Bush ($1890$–$1974$): Developed a differential equation calculator in $1931$. It was extremely bulky, involving hundreds of gears and shafts.

• John V. Atanasoff and Clifford Berry: Professor and graduate student at Iowa State College who developed the first all-electronic computer by $1940$.

  • They applied Boolean algebra (developed by George Boole) to electronic circuitry, treating mathematical equations as "true/false" or "on/off."

The Five Generations of Modern Computers

• First Generation ($1945$–$1956$): Characterized by vacuum tubes and magnetic drums for storage.

  • Konrad Zuse: Developed the Z3 in $1941$ for aircraft and missile design.

  • Colossus ($1943$): A secret British code-breaking machine used during WWII.

  • Mark I (Harvard-IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator): An electronic relay computer created by Howard H. Aiken. It was half the length of a football field, had $500$ miles of wiring, and took $3$ to $5$ seconds per calculation.

  • ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer): Built by Eckert and Mauchly at the University of Pennsylvania. It contained $18,000$ vacuum tubes, $70,000$ resistors, and consumed $160,000$ watts of power ($160\,kW$).

  • EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer): Designed by John von Neumann in $1945$. It introduced the stored program concept and the Central Processing Unit (CPU) architecture.

• Second Generation ($1956$–$1963$): Defined by the transition from vacuum tubes to transistors (invented in $1947$ at Bell Labs).

  • Computers became smaller, faster, and more energy-efficient.

  • Supercomputers: IBM's Stretch and Sperry-Rand's LARC were developed for atomic energy labs.

  • Introduction of assembly language and high-level languages like COBOL and FORTRAN.

  • The IBM 1401 was considered the "Model T" of the computer industry.

• Third Generation ($1964$–$1971$): Defined by the Integrated Circuit (IC), developed by Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments in $1958$.

  • Enabled the creation of semiconductors and operating systems capable of running multiple programs simultaneously.

• Fourth Generation ($1971$–Present): Defined by Large Scale Integration (LSI), VLSI, and ULSI, fitting millions of components onto single chips.

  • Intel 4004 ($1971$): The first microprocessor, locating all computer components on one tiny chip.

  • Rise of personal computers (PCs) by Apple, IBM, Commodore, and Radio Shack.

  • Development of Local Area Networks (LAN) and the Internet.

• Fifth Generation (Present and Beyond): Focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI), voice recognition, and parallel processing.

  • Uses Superconductor technology for faster information flow.

  • Involves Expert Systems to assist in fields like medical diagnosis.

Evolution and Validation of the Personal Computer (PC)

• Definition: A PC is a microcomputer. Mainframes took up rooms; minicomputers were the size of a refrigerator; microcomputers fit on a desk.

• The MITS Altair 8800 ($1975$): Sold as a kit without a monitor or keyboard; it proved there was a massive demand for personal units. Bill Gates and Paul Allen wrote BASIC for it, launching Microsoft.

• The "Rebel" Era:

  • Apple I ($1976$) and Apple II ($1977$): Introduced by Wozniak and Jobs; the Apple II featured color and sound.

  • TRS-80 and Commodore PET: Dominated the early market alongside Apple.

  • VisiCalc ($1979$): The first spreadsheet program, which transformed the computer from a "toy" into a viable business tool.

• The IBM PC ($1981$): Project "Acorn" validated the PC for corporate use. It used an Intel 8088 chip, had $16\,K$ of RAM (expandable to $256\,K$), and offered PC-DOS.

• The Macintosh ($1984$): Introduced the Graphical User Interface (GUI) and the mouse to the mass market. It was designed to be "user-friendly," allowing icons to be clicked rather than typing codes.

• Desktop Publishing: Born in the mid-$1980$'s through the combination of the Mac, the Apple LaserWriter, and Adobe's PostScript language, enabling WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) display.

• Miniaturization: Trends moved from desktops to laptops (e.g., Toshiba T1100, Apple PowerBook) to Personal Digital Assistants (e.g., Apple Newton).