CS10 OUTLINE

General History
Ideas About Weblike Systems
Lab Topics

Index

 

GENERAL HISTORY

Computing Systems

  • a computer system is made up of hardware, software, and data
  • layers of a system: information, hardware, programming, operating system, application, communication
  • layers are an abstraction, a "mental model... which removes or hides complex details" (Computer Science Illuminated, Dale & Lewis)

History of Computing

  • early computing "calculators": Stonehenge, abacus
  • computer technology sped up in late 19th - early 20th century
  • WWII computers (around the time of "As We May Think"): Harvard Mark I, ENIAC
  • first commercial computer, UNIVAC 1, finished in 1951
  • after 1951, computers continued to be improved in "generations"
    • First Generation (1951-1959)
      • vacuum tubes stored information
      • magnetic drum memory device; information stored on hole-punched cards
    • Second Generation (1959 - 1965)
      • transistor instead of vacuum tube (smaller & more reliable device)
      • magnetic cores & magnetic disk used instead of magnetic drum
      • magnetic cores provided instant access to information
    • Third Generation (1965-1971)
      • integrated circuits (smaller, faster, cheaper than 2nd generation circuit boards)
      • introduction of the terminal: keyboard & screen
    • Fourth Generation (1971 - ?)
      • "large-scale integration", PCs and commercial markets w/ affordable computers
      • networks in businesses (and at Swat!), not to mention the Internet and its subsequent webpages

History of Computer Software

A Brief History of Logic