Computer system

“ A silicon chip that is the central, controlling part of the computer.
MINICOMPUTER: A computer that is usually larger, more powerful, and more expensive than a microcomputer, but is smaller than a mainframe in memory and functions.
MODEM (MODulator/ DEModulator) : A device used to attach a computer or one of its devices to a communication line, often a telephone.
OPERATING SYSTEM: A special group of programs which controls the overall operation of a computer system. It mediates between the hardware and the particular software program.
OUTPUT: The information generated by a computer. ”

“ The Academic Computer It was inevitable that the computer invade, or perhaps “infiltrate” is the better word, our education system. Mark I and ENIAC were university-born and -bred, and early research work was done by many institutions using computers. A logical development was to teach formal courses in using the computer. While application of the machine in mathematical and scientific work came first, its application to business and to the training of executives for such use of the computer was soon recognized. ”

“ On left is an array of 16 analog computers; at right is a large digital data-processing system.
The facility can perform scientific and business tasks simultaneously.
The dictionary also gives us a good clue to the digital computer: “Digital.—Of the fingers or digits.” A digital machine deals in digits, or discrete units, in its calculations. For instance, if we ask it to multiply 2 times 2, it answers that the product is exactly 4. A slide rule, which we have said is an analog device, might yield an answer of 3.98 or 4.02, depending on the quality of its workmanship and our eyesight. ”

“ Computer control is nominally located at the hub of the expanding LMF disk, and commands in hierarchical fashion a distributed information processing system with sector computers at each node and sector subsystems at the next hierarchical level of control. ”

“ Not all hardware and software are compatible. In fact, hundreds of producers of computer equipment and computer programs are in the market, and there are few across-the-board standards. So it's important to get hardware and software that are compatible.
Software, or the computer programs themselves, are not like records that can be played on any record player. They have to be compatible with the hardware in terms of the programing language used, operating system, size, format, and other factors. ”

“ Notable improvements in the general-purpose computer are doing much to further its use as a technical tool. Present machines do jobs as varied as the following: personnel records, inventorying, pattern determination, missile system checkout, power-plant control, system simulation, navigation, ballistic trajectory computations, and so on. Special computers are also provided now for the engineer ”

“ If a machine can read, why can’t it understand verbal input 56as well? Lazy computer engineers have pushed this idea, and the simplest input system of all is well on the way to success. Computers today can recognize numbers and a few words, and the Japanese have a typewriter that prints out the words spoken to it! These linguistic advances that electronic computers are making are great for everyone, except perhaps the glamorized programmer, a new breed of mathematical logician whose services have been demanded in the last few years. ”

“ You needn’t be a computer expert or wrestle with inconveniences like dialing fifteen-digit numbers to reach the main computer. The system explains itself on screen if you want it to, though experienced users can switch off the menus when they’re ready. You ideally don’t have to wade through an instruction manual. The system tells you when you’re tapping out wrong commands. Also, it’s fast. You can start using it in a hurry, and you don’t have to wait more than a few seconds at the most for it to respond to your commands. And you constantly feel in control. ”

“ Here the machine can hunt for a previous result punched in the tape, read that result, and use it again.
HOW INFORMATION IS MANIPULATED
IN THE MACHINE
The main part of the computing system consists of 27 large frames loaded with relays and wiring, called the computer, or Computer 1 and Computer 2. In this “telephone central station,” all the “phone calls” from one number to another are attended to. There are 8 types of these frames in the computer:
In most but not quite all respects, the two halves, Computer 1 and Computer 2, can compute independently. ”

“ These are "bare bones" prices for the computer systems; when filled out with color monitors, printers, ports, modems, and the rest of an average computer system, these prices usually doubled, and the prices I usually quote as modern comparison figures include VGA, printer, modem, mouse, and software. ”

“ The huge amounts of information—books, articles, speeches, 14and records of all sorts—are beginning to make it absolutely necessary for an efficient information retrieval system. Many cases have been noted in which much time and effort are spent on a project which has already been completed but then has become lost in the welter of literature crammed into libraries. The computer is a logical device for such work; in a recent test such a machine scored 86 per cent in its efforts to locate specific data on file. Trained workers rated only 38 per cent in the same test! ”

“ Thus, what is desired is drastically to increase the rate of interaction between the programmer and the computer without large economic loss and also to make each interaction more meaningful by extensive and complex system programming to assist in the man-computer communication. ”

“ A computer is the most complicated machine you'll ever use. It's made of billions of micro-miniaturized transistors that can be configured to run any program you can imagine. But when you sit down at the keyboard and write a line of code, those transistors do what you tell them to.
Most of us will never build a car. Pretty much none of us will ever create an aviation system. Design a building. ”

“ Be sure you try the system you plan to buy. Test run on a sample problem the hardware and software combination you are considering using. See if you think the solutions the computer puts out are what you need. ”

“ These analogies in nature are particularly fitting, since the analog computer is at its best in representing a physical system. While we do not generally recognize such homely examples as computers, automatic record-changers, washing machines, electric watt-hour meters, and similar devices are true analogs. ”

“ New computer hardware, unadorned with such snares and delusions as an {operating system}, an {HLL}, or even assembler. Commonly used in the phrase `programming on the bare metal', which refers to the arduous work of {bit bashing} needed to create these basic tools for a new machine. Real bare-metal programming involves things like building boot proms and BIOS chips, implementing basic monitors used to test device drivers, and writing the assemblers that will be used to write the compiler back ends that will give the new machine a real development environment. ”

“ The automated group education system of the System Development Corporation is made up of the following components: a digital computer to control and select the material presented and to analyze responses, a magnetic tape storage unit, a typewriter for printing out data analysis, a slide projector and screen for presenting educational materials, and individual desks with keyboards for the students’ responses. ”

“ Figure 5.18 - LMF assembly sector: Operations. Computer control and communications. The seed computers must be capable of deploying and operating a highly complex, completely autonomous factory system. The original computer must erect an automated production facility, and must be expandable in- order to retain control as the LMF grows to its full "adult" size. The computer control subsystem coordinates all aspects of production, scheduling, operations, repairs, inspections, maintenance, and reporting, and must stand ready to respond instantly to emergencies and other unexpected events. ”

“ Jacquard used the punched holes to permit certain pins to slide through. Hollerith substituted the mercury electrical contact for the loom’s flying needles. Today there are many other ways of “reading” the cards. Metal base plate and springs, star wheels, even photoelectric cells are used to detect the presence or absence of the coded holes. A 54human who knows the code can visually extract the information; a blind man could do it by the touch system. So with the computer, there are many ways of transferring data.
Remington Rand UNIVAC
The Computer’s Basic Parts. ”

“ If we do not interact with the computer via a primary programming language (Assembler or machine language) , I believe that it is impossible to find the principle of work of the computer either from in- or outside of it. ”

“ Computers are a vital part of automation, and already they are running production lines and railroads, making mechanical drawings and weather predictions, and figuring statistics for insurance companies as well as odds for gamblers. Electronic machines permit the blind to read a page of ordinary type, and also control material patterns in knitting mills. This last use is of particular interest since it represents almost a full circle in computer science. ”

“ Don't underestimate the amount of time and effort it will require to collect data, make sure it's accurate, enter the data, and run the analyses.
It's important to consider how user-friendly the computer is, and how much the computer's software will do to guide you through the analysis.
A computer will do calculations very quickly, perhaps saving hours of laborious figuring. A computer will store information from one time period to the next, and recalculate alternatives quickly. By making the information available, it will help you identify strong and weak points in your operation. ”

“ Surely, progress has been made and improvements continue to be designed into modern analog computers. Repetitive operations can now be done automatically at high speed, and the computer even has a memory. ”

“ It can also “learn” to play a mediocre game of chess.
If we investigate the workings of a digital computer, we find much to remind us of the human brain. First is the obvious similarity of on-off, yes-no operation. This implies a power source, usually electrical, and a number of two-position switches. The over-all configuration of the classic computer resembles, in principal if not physical appearance, that of the human brain and its accessories.
As we have learned, the electronic computer has an input section, a control, an arithmetic (or logic) section, a memory, and an output. ”

“ A fertile field for the analog computer from the start was that of industrial process control. Chemical plants, petroleum refineries, power generating stations, and some manufacturing processes lend themselves to control by analog computers. ”

“ Engineers using computers to solve complex problems in aircraft design.
The science of communication is advancing along with that of computers, and can help make the dream of a worldwide “brain” come true. Computers in distant cities are now linked by telephone lines or radio, and high-speed techniques permit the transmission of many thousands of words per second across these “data links.” An interesting sidelight is the fact that an ailing computer can be hooked by telephone line with a repair center many miles away and its ailments diagnosed by remote control. ”

“ Others furnish information in typed or printed form, punched cards, or a display on a tube or screen.
Like us, the computer can be frustrated by a task beyond its capabilities. A wrong command can set its parts clicking rapidly but in futile circles. Early computers, for example, could be panicked by the order to divide a number by zero. The 10solution to that problem of course is infinity, and the poor machine had a hard time trying to make such an answer good. ”

“ When you were working on a machine like the TX-0, which came with almost no software, everyone would furiously write systems programs to make programming easier—Tools to Make Tools, kept in the drawer by the console for easy access by anyone using the machine. ”

“ We can begin to investigate the question of computer intelligence by again looking up a definition. The word “compute” means literally to think, or reckon, with. Early computers such as counting sticks, the abacus, and the adding machine are obviously something man thinks with. Even though we may know the multiplication tables, we find it easier and safer to use a mechanical device to remember and even to perform operations for us. ”

“ With a problem of complex nature, such as one involving the firing of a space vehicle, programmers soon learned they were spending hours, or even days, on a problem which the computer proceeded to zip through in minutes or seconds. ”

“ Their implementation of modern computer control may be made easier because their industries are newer and do not represent such a long-established and expensive investment in hard-to-modify existing equipment.
Basically, at least, computer control is simple and can be compared to the feedback principle that describes many physical systems including the workings of our own bodies. In practice, the computer can be put in charge of producing something, and by sampling the output of its work can constantly make corrections or improvements that are desired. ”

“ The Digital Counter The digital computer was first on the scene and it appears now that it will outnumber and perhaps outlive its analog relative. A simple computer of this type is as old as man, though it is doubtful that it has been in use that long. ”