- •1. Analog computers are the most modern ones nowadays.
- •2 Digital computers are the most modern ones nowadays.
- •3. The evolution of digital computing is often divided into generations.
- •4 The evolution of digital computing is not divided into generations.
- •5. Calculators are useless devices.
- •6. Charles Babbage was truly a man ahead of his time.
- •7. A computer is any device that can perform calculations.
- •8. Chips are the heart of today’s computers.
- •10. Most personal computers can’t perform any operations.
- •1. The first generation electronic computers were quite successful.
- •2. Three machines have promoted the development of the first electronic computers.
- •3. Eniac and edvac are the same machine.
- •4.Software technology during the period of the first generation computers was very primitive.
- •4. There were no important innovations in computer architecture of the second generation.
- •5. The third generation brought huge gains in computational power.
- •6. The third generation didn’t bring huge gains in computational power.
- •7. New high level programming languages were created for the second and the third generation.
- •8. New high level programming languages were not created for the second and the third generation.
- •9. Automation can be described as a “revolutionary” development.
- •1. The fourth generation computers used very large scale integration in the construction of computing elements.
- •3. The fifth generation computers are characterized by acceptance of parallel processing.
- •5. Programming languages for the fourth generation computers tend to use a declarative programming style.
- •6. Programming languages for the fourth generation computers do not tend to use a declarative programming style.
- •7. The widespread use of computer networks and the increasing use of single-user workstations characterize 5th generation.
- •8. The same.
- •9. The computer industry is one of the most important branches.
- •10. The computer industry is not one of the most important branches.
8. Chips are the heart of today’s computers.
You’re absolutely right. The heart of today’s computers is integrated circuits, sometimes called microchips or simply chips. This tiny silicon wafers can contain millions of microscopic electronic components. They can perform different operations: some control an entire computer (central processing unit), some perform mathematical operations (math coprocessors), other store information (memory chips).
9. Computers are of very large size and shapes nowadays.
I can’t agree with this statement. Today’s computers are marvels of miniaturization. Though the first models weighed many tons and occupied the hole rooms nowadays they can be easily carried in a suit pocket. Computers come in many sizes and shapes depending on their destination. Special-purpose computers form the control units of calculators and electronic devices such as digital watches, cameras, heating systems and so on. General-purpose computers namely personal and business computers can perform different tasks because they accepted new sets of instructions or programs.
10. Most personal computers can’t perform any operations.
I can’t agree with this statement. Personal computers are multi-purpose devices. They perform different types of operations depending on the program hey accept. One program lets the computer act like a word processor, another one lets it manage inventories, and yet another transforms it into a video game.
UNIT 2
1. The first generation electronic computers were quite successful.
I can’t fully agree with this statement. The answer depends on the devices they can be compared with. In comparison with the machines of the Mechanical era they are quite successful. On the other hand modern computers are much more powerful and versatile. Speaking about the time when these computers appeared, I should say, that they were of great help for solving a lot of problems. As primitive as they were, these first electronic machines were quite useful in applied science and engineering.
2. Three machines have promoted the development of the first electronic computers.
The statement is correct. Three machines have been promoted at various times as the first electronic computers. The first one was designed by professor Atanasoff to solve systems of partial differential equations. The machine was not programmable, and was more of an electronic calculator. The second one was designed by Alan Turing and it’s name was Colossus. The idea of Turing machine is widely used nowadays. It was used during the Second World War in breaking German army codes. ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was the first general-purpose programmable electronic machine. It was built by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly. The machine was used for the hydrogen bomb design. The main contribution of EDVAC, the new modification of ENIAC, was the notion of a stored program.
3. Eniac and edvac are the same machine.
I can’t fully agree with you here. EDVAC was an advanced modification of ENIAC, the first general purpose programmable electronic computer. ENIAC was designed and constructed at the end of the Second World War. It was extensively used for hydrogen bomb design, random numbers generator, wind tunnels and weather forecasting. EDVAC, the new project of Presper Eckert, John Maushly and John von Newman, was based on the same principles but contained some new features. It had a stored program, which made it possible to work orders of magnitude faster than ENIAC. These projects are clear examples of interdisciplinary approach efficiency that characterizes modern computational science.