Computing dates back over 5000 years – in fact many people believe that the first computing device was the abacus (for adding and subtracting).
In 1642 the Pascaline was created. It allowed users to calculate sums up to eight (8) figures long. However this device still only could perform addition and subtraction.
In 1830′s the first general purpose computer was created (the Analytical Engine). This computer included input devices (a way of getting content/data into a computer – such as keyboard, mouse or disk drive), memory storage, a control unit that allowed processing instructions in any sequence and output devices (a way of getting content/data out of the computer – such as monitors, printers and disk drives). Input and output devices are known as peripheral devices.
Computing Generations
Many historians believe that the current (modern-day) computers to be the fourth of fifth generation (where each generation has an important and noticeable advancement in computing). The second world war required an advancement in computing calculations.
The transistor in 1956 is classified as the second generation. These computers were faster, smarter, more reliable and energy efficient. It is claimed that the software industry was born during this era with the development of FORTRAN and COBOL.
The third generation saw computers become smaller, and transistors became semiconductors. The emergence of operating systems occurred, and allowed users to run multiple programs at once.
Over time, computing hardware became more readily acceptable. It was mass produced, and thus become less expensive (allowing individuals to purchase computers compared to just organizations).
The fifth generation of computing is harder to define, as computing is still relatively young. Computers can now accept spoken/verbal commands, imitate human reasoning through artificial intelligence, communicate with various other devices around the globe, and more. Computers come in a variety of shapes, and are often found in small devices (such as wrist watches, and more).
Bits and Bytes and ‘x’bytes
Imagine a light switch. It is either on, or off. A computer bit is similar to this, but represented with either a 1 or a 0 (where 1 is on and 0 is off).
When there are 8 bits in a sequence, it is known as a byte. Each byte is representative of a letter, or symbol, that we are familiar with (such as ‘A’, ’2′ or ‘%’).
Bytes can be further grouped (depending upon their number in a sequence). There is a kilobyte (KB), megabyte (MB), Gigabyte (GB), Terabyte (TB), Petabyte (PB), Exabyte (EB), Zettabyte (ZB) and Yottabyte (YB). Note that a megabyte is a sequence of kilobytes which is a sequence of bytes (therefore a megabyte can be made up of sequence of bytes).
Where does the power really come from?
Many people debate what makes up the real power of a computer: software or hardware? Although hardware can impact greatly on what can be achieved with software, software in fact can determine just how powerful a computer can really be.
Bad coding (that takes up a lot of computer memory) will run slowly. In such a situation, only a few programs will run without risk of crashing. Think about it. How many times have you opened too many programs on your computer and it began to run slowly (or even crashed)?
Good coding on the other hand will run fast, and allow multiple programs to run at once. Have you ever installed/re-installed a fresh operating system (Microsoft Windows, Linux or Macintosh) onto a computer system and found that it instantly ran faster? Some of the software that had been running in the background (often part of the operating system itself) originally has been removed, and no longer chewing up system resources.
Application Software
Application software is essentially applications that allows a user to perform functions on a computer easier than writing direct code themselves. Microsoft Word and eBay are examples of application software. They are both application softwares that allows a user to perform functions easier: Microsoft Word allows the user to write and format text. Meanwhile eBay allows users to upload pictures and content on the the web in order to sell products.
Note that the definition of application software, in this discussion at the very least, is something that allows a user to perform a task without writing code themselves. Many people would debate that eBay isn’t actual an application software, and that the internet browser an individual would use to access eBay (such as Google Chrome, Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox) would be the application software. In a sense both the browser and eBay are application softwares.
What is Syntax?
Every language has rules (and ways of saying things). Certain words will not be appropriate in certain situations. Programming languages are the the same – they follow Syntax’s.
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