Digital Computing
                      Digital 
Computing
Introduction
• In information technology, there are two basic data storage and 
communication systems-digital and analog. 
• Analog systems provide continuous data input and output, while digital 
systems process data in discrete parts. 
Source: Pixabay
Major Differences
• The biggest difference between digital and analog devices has to do with 
precision and speed. Because encoding is typically important for digital 
devices, items like sensor data, oscilloscopes, and other instruments can not be 
exactly represented. 
• The information is quantitative but frequently changes. And an estimate is 
what goes into a digital device.
Source: Pixabay
Four Pillars
• A typical digital computer device has four basic functional elements: 
1. Input-output equipment
2. Main memory 
3. Control unit 
4. Arithmetic-logic unit 
Source: Pixabay
Brief History
• During the 17th century Blaise Pascal of France and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz 
of Germany invented automatic electronic calculating machines. 
• However, the English inventor Charles Babbage is commonly credited with 
conceiving the first automated automatic computer. Babbage invented his so-
called Analytical Engine during the 1830's.
Source: Wikipedia
Second Generation
• The second generation of computers started in the late 1950s, when digital 
devices were becoming commercially available using transistors. 
• Although this type of semiconductor device was invented in 1948, it took more 
than 10 years of development work to make it a viable alternative to the 
vacuum tube.
Source: Tuts Master
Third Generation
• Another form of third-generation device built as a result of microelectronics 
was the minicomputer, a machine appreciably smaller than the regular 
mainframe yet powerful enough to monitor the instruments of a whole science 
laboratory.
Source: silicon.co.uk
World Wide Web
• The introduction of the World Wide Web in the 1990s brought millions of users 
to the Internet, the worldwide computer network, and by 2019 about 4.5 
billion people, over half of the world 's population, had access to the Internet. 
• Computers grew smaller and faster and became prevalent in smartphones and 
later tablet computers in the early 21st century.
Source: silicon.co.uk
Examples
• A digital electronic computer is, in computer science, a computer machine 
which is both an electronic computer and a digital computer. 
• Examples of a digital computer include the IBM PC, the Apple Macintosh and 
modern smartphones.
Source: Pixabay
Advantages
• Digital computers play an important role in today's life as they can be used to 
control industrial processes, analyze and organize business data, assist in 
scientific research and car and aircraft design, and even help to create special 
effects in films. 
Source: Pixabay
Disadvantages
• The main disadvantages are that digital circuits use more energy than analogue 
circuits to accomplish the same tasks, thus producing more heat as well. 
• Electronic circuits are also fragile, in that if a single piece of digital data is lost 
or misinterpreted, the importance of large blocks of similar data will shift 
completely.
Source: Pixabay