UNIT 1 – INTRODUCTION TO

COMPUTER
 DEFINITION
 CLASSIFICATION

COLLEGE OF NURSING SCIENCES, NGURU

BMP 123 – INTRODUCTION TO ICT
 Definition & Classification of
Computer

WHAT IS A COMPUTER
Definition: Any device that accepts data as an input, processes the data,
stores it for later use or produce the result as an output is a computer.
The basic functions of a computer are INPUT, PROCESS, STORAGE and
OUTPUT. However, modern computers play more than just the basic
computer’s role. They are electronic devices used for a variety of
purposes ranging from browsing the web, writing documents, editing
videos, creating applications, playing video games, etc.
They are designed to execute applications and provide a variety of
solutions by combining integrated hardware and software components
Let’s take our minds down memory lane:

CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTERS
(Function, Purpose, Size and Age)
1. BY FUNCTION
Computers can be classified into four parts according their function as
follows:

Server: a computer equipped with a special program which manages

access to a centralized resource or service in a network. It can manage a
large network of peripheral PCs or workstations and handle immense
data-processing and reporting tasks. In other words, a server is a
computer that serves up information and resources to other computers
on a network.

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 Workstation: a high-performance computer system that is basically
designed for a single user and has advanced graphics capabilities, large
storage capacity, and a powerful central processing unit. A workstation is
more capable than a personal computer (PC) but is less advanced than a
server. The term workstation was also sometimes ascribed to dumb
terminals (i.e., those without any processing capacity) that were
connected to mainframe computers.
Personal Computer (PC): is a microcomputer designed for use by one
person at a time. A PC is typically multipurpose but generally thought of
as either desktop or laptop, however, they come in different shapes, sizes
and function. A more compact category of PCs are notebooks, tabs and by
extension smartphones.
Information Appliances: An information appliance (IA) is an appliance
that is designed to easily perform a specific electronic function such as
playing music, photography, or editing text. Typical examples are PDAs,
airline black box, smart watches and other wearable devices.
Embedded Computers: An embedded computer is a microprocessor-
based system, specially designed to perform a specific function and
belong to a larger system. Example is vehicle brain box.

2. BY PURPOSE
Computers come with different design and different purpose. They are
therefore classified into two parts according to Purpose:
a) Special Purpose Computer: Special purpose computers are those
found at a convenience store or supermarket counters. These
computers have the same components such as the CPU, Monitor
and input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse. The only
difference is that the keyboard is designed to input numeric
characters and a pre-set product and price combinations. The keys
on such keyboards are designed to respond only to the program
that the computer is designed to run. The computer will not run any
other program other than the POS system.

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 b) General Purpose Computer: General purpose computers are
designed for everyday use at homes for family use, or inside our
offices. All computers from micro to mainframe are general
purpose. Even computers in toys, games and single-function devices
follow instructions in their built-in program. It can be used for
typing documents, listening to music, watching movies, browsing
the web or for playing video games.

3. BY SIZE
a) Microcomputer:
Is an electronic device with a microprocessor as its central processing
unit (CPU). Microcomputer is a commonly used for personal
computers (PCs) and in particularly any small digital device whose CPU
is contained on a single integrated semiconductor chip. Thus, a
microcomputer uses a single microprocessor for its CPU, which
performs all logic and arithmetic operations.
The earliest microcomputers marketed in the mid-1970s contained a
single chip on which all CPU, memory, and interface circuits were
integrated.

b) Minicomputer:
A computer that was smaller, less expensive, and less powerful than a
mainframe or supercomputer but more expensive and more powerful
than a personal computer. Minicomputers were used for scientific and
engineering computations, business transaction processing, file
handling, and database management. They were a distinct class of
computers which emerged in the late 1950s and reached their peak in
the 1960s and ’70s before declining in popularity in the 1980s and
’90s. Their niche was filled by more powerful personal computers,
workstations, and small or midsize servers.

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 c) Mainframes:
These are type of computers that are generally known for their
large size, amount of storage, processing power and high level of
reliability. They are primarily used by large organizations for
mission-critical applications requiring high volumes of data
processing and have the ability to run (or host) multiple operating
systems. Mainframes have been used for such applications as
payroll computations, accounting, business transactions,
information retrieval, airline seat reservations, and scientific and
engineering computations.
Mainframes first appeared in the early 1940s.

d) Supercomputer:
A supercomputer performs the same function of storing and
processing data as a regular personal computer, but at a scale so
big it's hard to imagine. Inside a supercomputer are several clusters
of processing units that help perform operations a million times
faster than your average laptop or desktop PC.

While older computers were measured in IPS (instructions per

second), supercomputers are measured in FLOPS (floating point
operations per second). The higher this number, the more powerful
a supercomputer is.

As at August 2022, the world's fastest supercomputer is Frontier,

developed by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, located in Tennessee,
United States. Frontier is the world's first exascale supercomputer,
which means it can calculate one quintillion floating point
calculations (also called exaflops or EFLOPS) per second.

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 4. BY AGE (Refer to Generations)

1st Generation (1945 to 1956)

Features:
 Used Vacuum Tubes
 Consumed lots of power
 Generated large amount of heat
 Large in size
 Very expensive
 Used Machine Language to programme
 Used Punched Cards & Paper Tapes for data storage
 5000 Additions/sec
 350 Multiplications/sec
Examples: ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer), EDVAC
(Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer), UNIVAC 1 (Universal
Automatic Computer I)

2nd Generation (1956 to 1964)

Features:
 Used Transistors
 Smaller and faster that 1st Gen.
 Cheaper and more reliable
 More energy efficient
 Also generated lots of heat
 Used Magnetic Core technology
 Saved instruction in memory
 Used Machine/Assembly Language to program
Examples: IBM 7090, CDC 3600 (Control Data Corporation)

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 3rd Generation (1964 to 1971)
Features:
 Used Integrated Circuits (ICs)
 Smaller and Faster
 Cheaper than 2nd Gen
 Accessed using Keyboard, Monitor
 Used Operating System
 Made available to large number of people
Examples: IBM 360, PDP 11

4th Generation (1971 to Now)

Features:
 Microprocessors With VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration)
 Thousands of ICs on a single chip
 Small and portable
 Cheapest and Work at high speed
 Accuracy and Reliability
 Larger Memory
 GUl and Application Software
 Handheld devices
Examples: all the computers around us today

5th Generation (Future)

Features:
 ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration]
 Faster, Cheaper
 Self-reliant
 Quantum technology
 Nano technology
 Intelligent computers
Difference Between Minicomputer & Microcomputer

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 S/N MINICOMPUTER MICROCOMPUTER
1 Bulky in nature Lighter/smaller in size, thus easy
to handle
2 Had no embedded microchip Has microchip embedded into it
3 Provides multiple users with Capable of being handled by a
multiple terminals at a time single user at a time
4 For control of processes to For general purpose usage by
manufacture products. individuals (e.g. presentation,
education, entertainment)
5 Highly complex and costly. Cost and user friendly.
6 Ability to handle multiple Only handle single-user multiple
processes by different users processes
simultaneously.
7 Faster in problem solving Slower compared to
(multiprocessing) Minicomputers
8 Storage measured in Terabytes Had storage maximum of
Gigabytes

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