Introduction to Computer Information Systems/What is a Computer?

The data is calculated and processed daily through computers in business, at home and in education. The data are essentially the gross facts that are usually written on a computer. We call these facts "raw" because they are not organized. They can come in any form, from audio and visual, to text and numeric. When the data is entered into the computer, it is considered an entry. The computer calculates the data and spits out the information. Since this information is the result, it becomes the organized version of what used to be raw information. This system is considered information processing. The data can also come in other forms, including figures, experiments and surveys. Most of what is entered into a computer becomes data, so this term is so vital to understanding computers and how they work. [1] The information is produced by the data; it is a form of knowledge, and computers calculate detailed information. [2]

When most people think of information, the first source that comes to mind is Google. Google allows you to access a lot of information in a short period of time. What most do not know is that that is exactly what a computer does behind the scenes every time you enter data into a computer, most of the time without even considering it as "data". Information is a way to get answers to questions, because they are the result of the data you have entered to process. Many online sources provide infinite amounts of information. Without information, people will not have reliable sources for school and their career. Work can be much easier with information, including jobs that need to calculate the total hours worked by employees, or any "total data" that must be found or calculated. The data and information are very valuable and, without doubt, the backbone of a computer. These two components can help make your computer friendly by working behind what you are typing to make the data useful and organized. [3]

The Industrial Age: the first general mechanical computer was proposed and partially built by the English inventor Charles Babbage in 1837. It was an Analytical Engine that contained an Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) and allowed the control of basic programmatic flow. It was programmed using punched cards, and also had built-in memory. Historians consider that it is the first design concept of a general-purpose computer. Unfortunately, due to funding problems, the analytical engine was never built while Babbage was alive. It was not until 1910 that Henry Babbage, the youngest son of Charles Babbage, was able to complete a part of this machine that could perform basic calculations. The analytical engine should be a general purpose automatic mechanical digital computer, totally controlled by the program. It was designed to consist of four components: the mill, the store, the reader and the printer, which are all essential components of all computers today. [4]

The information age (beginning in 1950 to the present): also known as the age of the computer, the digital age or the age of new media. Digital computing was invented by Claude Shannon in the late 1950s. What he imagined was a computer built from electrical circuits instead of motors. When drawing in Boolean algebra, which assigns the value of statements "1" to "true" and the value of "0" to "false", he applied the value of "1" to the activated circuits and to the value of "0" to the circuits that were turned off. Shannon was also a pioneer in the field of information theory, which addresses the problem of how to quantify information, as in "bits" and "bytes". To express information in a "bit", one uses a binary digit, either a "1" or a "0". These binary digits can describe everything from words to images, songs, videos and the most sophisticated game software. [5]

Nowadays, it is difficult for any student to imagine life without a computer. However, computers have only existed since the mid-1900s. The computer industry went from making computers occupy a whole classroom and can now fit in a student's backpack. In addition, computers used to be much more expensive and required a greater amount of power than current computers. Finally, in the 1980s, people began to place these strange objects in their home. During this time, people really had to study and be patient with this useful device. [6] People have seen the drastic changes that have been made in computers in just forty years. Today's computers are much smaller, lighter, require less energy and are cheaper. However, in the current generation, computers are second nature to most people, and one could not imagine life without them.

The computers of our generation seem to integrate into our daily lives to help with multiple tasks related to our many needs. So much so that it is difficult to imagine our world without them. However, with great success comes a lot of patience. In the first computer model (1946-1957), for example, the machine required certain inputs, known as punch cards, and physical work to reprogram the computer. The computer itself was not as useful, simple, or convenient as it is today.

The first generation computers were built with thousands of vacuum tubes, required physical effort to reconnect the computer and could only solve one problem at a time. The second generation of computers (1958-1963) introduced transistors, which replaced vacuum tubes. The transistors simply acted as a light switch, allowing electronic circuits to open or close. Both first-generation computers and second-generation computers continued to use punch cards for their entry. The second generation computers also introduced hard drives (hardware) and programming languages ​​(FORTAN & COBOL). Soon after, (1964-1970), the third generation used an integrated circuit system, which incorporated many transistors and electronic circuits into a single silicon chip. The third generation of computers started the innovative trend of smaller and more reliable computers. Keyboards and monitors are now considered the input / output of the computer. Finally, the development of our current computers began, used by practically everyone in society. The fourth generation of computers began in 1971, when it was possible to place many more transistors on a single chip: the microprocessor. This discovery led in the decade to the creation of IBM personal computers, as well as the popular Apple Macintosh. Currently, consumers use inputs, outputs and storage that consist of: keyboards, mice, monitors, printers, speakers, hard drives, flash memory media and optical discs. Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in development, although there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today. The use of parallel processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a reality. Quantum computing and molecular nanotechnology will radically change the face of computers in the years to come. The goal of fifth generation computing is to develop devices that respond to the contribution of natural language and that are capable of learning and self-organizing. [7]

Although the movement of vacuum tubes to microprocessors took a while, compared to the beginning of civilization thousands of years ago, this progress happened very quickly. However, it also opens the human mind to realize that innovation takes test, error and patience. [8]