CBSE Class 4 Computer Science Evolution of Computer Notes Set 01

From counting to computing

In ancient times people counted on their fingers or made marks on rocks and trees. Over thousands of years they invented tools to count and calculate faster. The computer we use today is the result of many such inventions, one after another.

Early calculating devices

1. Abacus (about 3000 BC). An abacus is a wooden frame with rods and sliding beads. Moving the beads up and down shows the value of a number. It is regarded as one of the earliest calculating tools.

2. Napier's Bones (1617). John Napier of Scotland made a set of rods, first from bone, to help in multiplying and dividing numbers.

3. Pascaline (1642). The French mathematician Blaise Pascal built a machine with wheels and gears. Each wheel had the digits 0 to 9, and turning the wheels added and subtracted numbers.

4. Jacquard's loom (1801). Joseph Jacquard, a French weaver, used cards with holes punched in them to control the needles of a loom. This showed that information could be stored on punched cards.

Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace

Charles Babbage was an English mathematician. In 1822 he designed the Difference Engine to make mathematical tables. Later, in the 1830s, he designed the Analytical Engine, which could be given instructions and had parts to calculate and to store numbers. These are the same basic parts a computer has today, so Babbage is called the Father of the Computer.

Ada Lovelace wrote instructions for the Analytical Engine. She is called the first programmer in the world.

ENIAC

The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer, or ENIAC, was one of the first big electronic computers. It was built in the United States in the 1940s and used thousands of vacuum tubes. It was so large that it filled a big hall and used a lot of electricity.

Generations of computers

Computers have improved in stages called generations.

1. First generation (about 1940 to 1956): vacuum tubes. These computers were huge and got very hot.

2. Second generation (about 1956 to 1963): transistors. These were smaller, faster and used less power.

3. Third generation (about 1964 to 1971): integrated circuits (ICs). Many parts were placed on one small chip.

4. Fourth generation (from 1971 onwards): microprocessors. A whole CPU fits on a single chip, and this made personal computers possible.

5. Fifth generation (today and the future): computers that use artificial intelligence to do tasks such as understanding speech.

Worked examples

Example 1. Who invented the first mechanical calculator that could add and subtract? Blaise Pascal made the Pascaline in 1642.

Example 2. Why is Charles Babbage called the Father of the Computer? His Analytical Engine had the main ideas of a modern computer: instructions, calculation and storage.

Example 3. Which part made first generation computers big? They used vacuum tubes, which were large and gave off a lot of heat.

Remember

The abacus, Napier's Bones, the Pascaline, the punched-card loom and the Analytical Engine led step by step to the modern computer. Read the list in order of year and you can see how a computer grew from a counting tool.

Quick Check Questions