INTRODUCTION

EVOLUTION OF COMPUTING >>

Introduction to Computing CS101

LESSON 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Charles Babbage (1791-1871)

Creator of the Analytical Engine - the first general-purpose digital computer (1833)

The Analytical Engine was not built until 1943 (in the form of the Harvard Mark I)

1.2. The Analytical Engine

A programmable, mechanical, digital machine

Could carryout any calculation

Could make decisions based upon the results of the previous calculation

Components: input; memory; processor; output

1.3. Ada, Countess of Lovelace(1815-52)

Babbage: the father of computing

Ada: the mother?

Wrote a program for computing the Bernoulli's sequence on the Analytical Engine - world's 1st

computer program

Ada: A programming language specifically designed by the US Dept of Defense for developing military

applications was named Ada to honor her contributions towards computing

A Lesson that we all can learn from Babbage's Life

Charles Babbage had huge difficulties raising money to fund his research

As a last resort, he designed a clever mathematical scheme along with Ada, the Countess of Lovelace

It was designed to increase their odds while gambling. They bet money on horse races to raise enough

money to support their research experiments

Guess what happened at the end? The lost every penny that they had.

Fast

Bored

Storage

Here is a fact:

It could analyze up to 300 billion chess moves in

three minutes

In 1997 Deep Blue, a supercomputer designed by IBM, beat Gary Kasparov, the World Chess

Champion

That computer was exceptionally fast, did not get tired or bored. It just kept on analyzing the situation

and kept on searching until it found the perfect move from its list of possible moves

Goals for Today:

To develop an appreciation about the capabilities of computing

To find about the structure & policies of this course

Introduction to Computing CS101

CS101 Introduction to Computing

1.4 Course Contents & Structure

Course Objectives

To build an appreciation for the fundamental concepts in computing

To achieve a beginners proficiency in Web page development

To become familiar with popular PC productivity software

Fundamental concepts

Development methodology

Intro to computing

Design heuristics

Evolution of computing

Web design for usability

Computer organization

Building a PC

Computer networks

Intro to the Internet

Microprocessors

Binary numbers & logic

Internet services

Graphics & animation

Computer software

Operating systems

Intelligent systems

Data management

Application software

Cyber crime

Algorithms

Social implications

Flowcharts

The computing profession

Programming languages

The future of computing

Web page development

Web Development

Flow control & loops Arrays

The World Wide Web

Built-in functions

Making a Web page

User-defined functions

Lists & tables

Events handling

Interactive forms

String manipulation

Objective & methods

Images & graphics

Data types & operators

Programming methodology

Productivity Applications

Word processor

Spreadsheet

Presentation software

Database

Instructor:

Altaf Khan

altaf@vu.edu.pk

Course Web Page:

http://www.vu.edu.pk/cs101

Introduction to Computing CS101

Textbooks:

UC -

Understanding Computers (2000 ed.)

JS -

Learn JavaScript in a Weekend

Reading Assignments

Please make sure to read the assigned material for each week before the commencement of the

corresponding week

Reading that material beforehand will help you greatly in absorbing with ease the matter

discussed during the lecture

Check your e-mail often for announcements related to this and other VU courses

Marks distribution ...

Assignments (15%)

Almost one every week, 13 in all

No credit for late submissions

The lowest 2 assignment grades will be dropped

Midterm Exam (35%)

During the 8th week

Duration: One hour

Will cover all material covered during the first seven weeks

Final Exam (50%)

During the 16th week

Will cover the whole of the course with a slight emphasis on the material covered after the midterm

exam

Duration: 2 hours

First Assignment

Send an email message to me at altaf@vu.edu.pk with the subject "Assignment 1" giving me some

information (in around 50 words) about what you see yourself doing ten years from now

Go to the CS101 message board and post a message (consisting of approx. 50 words) about how we

could make the contents of this course more suitable for your individual needs. The subject for this

message should be "Assignment 1"

Consult the CS101 syllabus for the submission deadline

A suggestion about unfamiliar terms

We try not to use any new terms without explaining them first

However, it is not possible to do that all the time

If you encounter any unfamiliar terms during the lectures, please note them down and consult the

GLOSSARY provided at the end of the "Understanding Computers" text book for their meaning

Let's summarize the things that we have covered today?

A few things about:

the very first digital computer & its inventor

the capability of modern computers

Introduction to Computing CS101

the structure and contents of CS101

Final

Midter

Examin

ation

Examin

50%

ation

35%

Homew

ork

Assign

ments

15%

In the Next Lesson ...

We'll continue the story of the evolution of digital computers form the Analytical Engine onwards.

We'll discuss many of the key inventions and developments that he lead to the shape of the current field

of computing.

Table of Contents: