Introduction to Computers

Introduction to Computers

What is a computer?

* An electronic device that manipulates information or data.

* Has the ability to store, retrieve, and process data

* Uses of computers:

* Type documents

* Send emails

* Browse the Internet

* Handle spreadsheets

* Accounting

* Database management

* Presentations

* Games

* And more…

History of Computers

* Abacus

The earliest known device to record computations was the abacus. It dates back to ancient times and was invented by the Chinese. Ten beads were strung onto wires attached to a frame. Addition and subtraction were read from the final positions of the beads. It was considered the first manual tool used in calculating answers to problems that provided information and in a primitive way storing the results.

* Blaise Pascal

(1642) developed the first real calculator. Addition and subtraction were carried out by using a series of very light rotating wheels. His system is still used today in car odometers which track a car’s mileage.

* Gottfried van Leibnitz(German mathematician)

In 1690 Leibnitz developed a machine that could add, subtract, multiply, divide, and calculate square roots. The instructions were programmed into the machine. Programming was accomplished through the use of gears. The drawback to this machine was that the instructions could not be changed without changing the whole machine.

* Joseph Jacquard

(early 1800’s) Jacquard developed a loom controlled by punched cards. The cards were made of cardboard which were programmed with instructions. Each card represented a loop, and the machine read the cards as they were passed over a series of rods. The loom was the early ancestor of the IBM punched card.

* J. Presper Eckert and John W. Mauchly

(ENIAC, 1946 University of Pennsylvania) The ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator) was an electronic computer sponsored by the war department. It was classified because of...