Computer Basics | Exercises Logic

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ByDr.JimmyBarnes(EditedbyBrentGriffin)

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A computer is an electronic machine that accepts information, stores it until the information

is needed, processes the information according to the instructions provided by the user, and

finally returns the results to the user (Input Data, Manipulate Data, Store Data, Recall Data,

and Output Data). The computer can store and manipulate large quantities of data at very

high speed, but a computer cannot think. A computer makes decisions based on simple

comparisons such as one number being larger than another. Although the computer can

help solve a tremendous variety of problems, it is simply a machine. It cannot solve

problems on its own.

Since civilizations began, many of the advances made by science and technology have

depended upon the ability to process large amounts of data and perform complex

mathematical calculations. For thousands of years, mathematicians, scientists and

businessmen have searched for computing machines that could perform calculations and

analyze data quickly and efficiently. One such device was the abacus.

The abacus was an important counting machine in ancient Babylon, China, and throughout

Europe where it was used until the late middle ages. It was followed by a series of

improvements in mechanical counting machines that led up to the development of accurate

mechanical adding machines in the 1930’s. These machines used a complicated assortment

of gears and levers to perform the calculations but they were far to slow to be of much use

to scientists. Also, a machine capable of making simple decisions such as which number is

larger was needed. A machine capable of making decisions is called a computer.

The first computer like machine was the Mark I developed by a team from IBM and Harvard

University. It used mechanical telephone relays to store information and it processed data

entered on punch cards. This machine was not a true computer since it could not make

decisions.

In June 1943, work began on the world's first electronic computer. It was built at the

University of Pennsylvania as a secret military project during World War II and was to be

used to calculate the trajectory of artillery shells. It covered 1500 square feet and weighed

30 tons. The project was not completed until 1946 but the effort was not wasted. In one of

its first demonstrations, the computer solved a problem in 20 seconds that took a team of

mathematicians three days. This machine was a vast improvement over the mechanical

calculating machines of the past because it used vacuum tubes instead of relay switches. It

contained over 17,000 of these tubes, which were the same type tubes used in radios at

that time.

The invention of the transistor made smaller and less expensive computers possible.

Although computers shrank in size, they were still huge by today’s standards. Another

innovation to computers in the 60’s was storing data on tape instead of punch cards. This

gave computers the ability to store and retrieve data quickly and reliably.

Computer Basics, Exercises of Logic