World of Computing: A Primer Companion for the Digital Age

331 Pages·2018·7.85 MB·English

by  Gerard O’Regan

Gerard O’Regan
World of
Computing
A Primer Companion
for the Digital Age
World of Computing
’
Gerard O Regan
World of Computing
A Primer Companion for the Digital Age
123
Gerard O’Regan
SQCConsulting
Mallow, Cork
Ireland
ISBN978-3-319-75843-5 ISBN978-3-319-75844-2 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75844-2
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To
Kevin Crowley
For lifelong friendship
Preface
Overview
The objective of this book is to provide a concise introduction to the world of
computingtostudentsandgeneralreaders.Thecomputingfieldisavastareaandso
itisnotpossibletocovereveryareaofcomputing,ortocovereverytopicindetail.
Therefore,thegoalistogivethereaderaflavourofsomeoftheimportantareasof
computing, and to stimulate the reader to study the more advanced articles and
books that are available.
Organisation and Features
Chapter 1 introduces analog and digital computers, and the von Neumann archi-
tecture which is the fundamental architecture underlying a digital computer.
Chapter 2 discusses the foundations of computing, and we describe the binary
number system and the Step Reckoner calculating machine that were invented by
Leibniz. Babbage designed the Difference Engine as a machine to evaluate poly-
nomials,andhisAnalyticEngineprovidedthevisionofamoderncomputer.Boole
was an English mathematician who made important contributions to mathematics
and logic, and his symbolic logic is the foundation for digital computing.
Chapter 3 presentsa concisehistory ofcomputingincluding a discussionofthe
first digital computers, the first commercial computers, the SAGE air defence
system, theinventionof thetransistor atBell Labs,and early transistor computers,
theinventionoftheintegratedcircuitatTexasInstruments,thedevelopmentofthe
IBM System/360, and its influence on later computer development, later main-
frames and minicomputers, including DEC’s minicomputers. We discuss the rev-
olutionary invention of the microprocessor, and how it led to the development of
home computers such as the Apple I and II, Commodore computers, Atari com-
puters, the Sinclair ZX 81 and ZX spectrum computers and the Apple Macintosh.
vii
viii Preface
We discuss the introduction of the IBM personal computer, which was a major
milestone in the computing field.
Chapter 4 introduces the essential mathematics for computing including sets,
relations and functions. Sets are collections of well-defined objects; relations
indicate relationships between members of two sets A and B; and functions are a
specialtypeofrelationwherethereisexactly(oratmost)onerelationshipforeach
element a 2 A with an element in B.
Chapter 5 presents a short introduction to algorithms, where an algorithm is a
well-definedprocedureforsolvingaproblem.Itconsistsofasequenceofstepsthat
takesasetofvaluesasinput,andproducesasetofvaluesasoutput.Analgorithm
is an exact specification of how to solve the problem, and it explicitly defines the
procedure so that a computer program may implement the solution in some pro-
gramming language.
Chapter 6 presents an introduction to logic for computing, and includes a short
history of logic, and an introduction to propositional and predicate logic.
Propositional logic is the study of propositions, where a proposition is a statement
that is either true or false. It may be used to encode simple arguments that are
expressed in natural language, and to determine their validity. Predicate logic
allows complex facts about the world to be represented, and new facts may be
determined via deductive reasoning.
Chapter 7 discusses human–computer interaction (HCI), which is a branch of
computersciencethatisconcernedwiththedesign,evaluationandimplementation
of interactive computing systems for human use. It is focused on the interfaces
between people and computers, and involves several fields including computer
science, cognitive psychology, design and communication.
Chapter 8 presents a short introduction to programming languages starting with
machine languages; to assembly languages; to early high-level procedural lan-
guages suchas Fortran and COBOL;to later high-level procedural languagessuch
asPascalandC;andtoobject-orientedlanguagessuchasC++andJava.Functional
programminglanguagesandlogicprogramminglanguagesarediscussed,andthere
is a short discussion on the important area of syntax and semantics.
Chapter 9 presents a short introduction of the software engineering field. We
discuss its key challenges and several high-profile software failures. The waterfall
and spiral lifecycles are discussed, as well as a brief discussion on the rational
unifiedprocessandthepopularAgilemethodology.Wediscussthekeyactivitiesin
thewaterfallmodelsuchasrequirements,design,implementation,unit,systemand
acceptance testing.
Chapter10presentsashortintroductiontooperatingsystemsincludingtheIBM
OS/360, which was the operating system for the IBM System/360 family of
computers. We discuss the MVS and VM operating systems, which were used on
theIBMSystem/370mainframecomputer.WediscusstheUNIXoperatingsystem,
which is a multi-user, and multi-tasking operating system. It was written almost
entirelyinC.DECdevelopedtheVAX/VMSoperatingsysteminthelate1970sfor
its VAX family of minicomputers. Microsoft developed MS/DOS for the IBM
personal computer in 1981, and it introduced Windows as a response to the
Preface ix
GUI-driven operating system of the Apple Macintosh. There is a short discussion
on Android and iOS, which are popular operating systems for mobile devices.
Chapter 11 presents a short introduction to databases including a discussion
of the hierarchical and network models. We discuss the relational database model
whichwasdevelopedbyCoddatIBMinmoredetail,asmostdatabasesusedtoday
are relational. There is a short discussion on the SQL query language and on the
Oracle database.
Chapter 12 presents a short introduction to telecommunications, and it focuses
on the development of mobile phone technology. The development of the AXE
system by Ericsson is discussed, as this was the first fully automated digital
switching system. We discuss the concept of a cellular system, which was intro-
duced by Bell Labs, as well as the introduction of the first mobile phone, the
DynaTAC, by Motorola.
Chapter 13 describes the Internet revolution starting from ARPANET, which
wasapacketswitchednetworkandTCP/IP,whichisasetofnetworkstandardsfor
interconnectingnetworksandcomputers.Thesedevelopmentsledtothebirthofthe
Internet,andTimBerners-Lee’sworkatCERNledtothebirthoftheWorldWide
Web. We discuss various applications of the World Wide Web, as well as the
dot-com bubble and burst of the late 1990s/early 2000. We conclude with a brief
discussionontheInternetofThingsandtheInternetofMoney(includingbitcoin).
Chapter 14 discusses the invention of the smartphone and the rise of social
media. It describes the evolution of the smartphone from PDAs and mobile phone
technology, and the impact of Facebook and Twitter in social networking is dis-
cussed. Facebook has become a way for young people to discuss their hopes and
aspirationsaswellasatoolforsocialprotestandrevolution.Twitterhasbecomea
popular tool in political communication, and it is also an effective way for busi-
nesses to advertise its brand to its target audience. We briefly discuss how social
media has been abused by individuals and states to spread fake news, and the
challenges this poses to western democracies.
Chapter 15 discusses legal aspects of computing and is concerned with the
overlapofthelawandthecomputingfield.Wediscussintellectualpropertysuchas
patents, copyright and trademarks and the licensing of software. We examine the
areaofhackingandcomputercrime,andexplorethenatureofprivacy,freespeech
andcensorship.Weconsiderthelegalissuesofbespokesoftwaredevelopment,and
the legal aspects of the Internet.
Chapter16discussesethicsandprofessionalresponsibilityincomputing.Ethics
is a branch of philosophy that deals with moral questions such as what is right or
wrong, and computer ethics are a set of principles that guide the behaviour of
individuals when using computer resources. Professional ethics are a code of
conduct that governs how members of a profession deal with each other and with
third parties.
Chapter 17 discusses innovation in the computing field including distributed
systems, service-oriented architecture (SOA), Software as a Service (SaaS), cloud
computing and embedded systems. Chapter 18 is the concluding chapter in which
we summarise the journey that we have travelled in the book.
x Preface
Audience
The main audience of this book are computer science students and the general
reader who are interested in learning about the fascinating world of computing.
Acknowledgements
I am indebted to friends and family who supported my efforts in this endeavour.
This book is dedicated to Kevin Crowley (a lifelong friend) who is currently
fightingadifficultillnesswithallhisstrengthanddetermination.Iwishhimvictory
inthismajorchallenge,andmythoughtsarewithhimandhisfamilyatthisdifficult
time.IwouldliketothanktheteamatSpringerfortheirconstantprofessionalwork
and support. I would like to thank all copyright owners for the permission to use
their images. I believe that all of the required permissions have been obtained, but
in the unlikely event that an image has been used without the appropriate autho-
risation, please contact me so that the required permission can be obtained.
Cork, Ireland Gerard O’Regan
Contents
1 What Is a Computer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Analog Computers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 Digital Computers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3.1 Vacuum Tubes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3.2 Transistors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3.3 Integrated Circuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3.4 Microprocessor S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.4 Von Neumann Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.5 Hardware and Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.6 Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.7 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2 Foundations of Computing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2 Step Reckoner Calculating Machine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.3 Binary Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.4 The Difference Engine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.5 The Analytic Engine—Vision of a Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.5.1 Applications of Analytic Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.6 Boole’s Symbolic Logic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.6.1 Switching Circuits and Boolean Algebra . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.7 Application of Symbolic Logic to Digital Computing . . . . . . . 25
2.8 Review Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.9 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3 A Concise History of Computing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.2 Early Digital Computers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.2.1 Harvard Mark 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
xi