DANCER SWAPNILA: January 2023

Monday 16 January 2023

COMPUTER AND IT’S IMPORTANCE WHAT IS A COMPUTER? A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operation (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These programs enable computers to perform a wide range of tasks. A computer system is a nominally complete computer that includes the hardware, operating system (main software), and peripheral equipment needed and used for full operation. This term may also refer to a group of computers that are linked and function together, such as a computer network. A broad range of industrial and consumer products use computers as control systems. Simple special-purpose devices like microwave ovens and remote controls are included, as are factory devices like industrial robots and computer-aided design, as well as general-purpose devices like personal computers and mobile devices like smartphones. Computers power the Internet, which links billions of other computers and users. 1.1 History 2 Pre-20th century The Ishango bone, a bone tool dating back to prehistoric Africa. Devices have been used to aid computation for thousands of years, mostly using one-to-one correspondence with fingers. The earliest counting device was most likely a form of tally stick. Later record keeping aids throughout the Fertile Crescent included calculi (clay spheres, cones, etc.) which represented counts of items, likely livestock or grains, sealed in hollow unbaked clay containers.[a][4] The use of counting rods is one example. The Chinese suanpan (算盘). The number represented on this abacus is 6,302,715,408. The abacus was initially used for arithmetic tasks. The Roman abacus was developed from devices used in Babylonia as early as 2400 BC. Since then, many other forms of reckoning boards or tables have been invented. In a medieval European counting house, a checkered cloth would be placed on a table, and markers moved around on it according to certain rules, as an aid to calculating sums of money. The Antikythera mechanism, dating back to ancient Greece circa 150–100 BC, is an early analog computing device. The Antikythera mechanism is believed to be the earliest known mechanical analog computer, according to Derek J. de Solla Price. It was designed to calculate astronomical positions. It was discovered in 1901 in the Antikythera wreck off the Greek island of Antikythera, between Kythera and Crete, and has been dated to approximately c. 100 BC. Devices of comparable complexity to the Antikythera mechanism would not reappear until the fourteenth century. Many mechanical aids to calculation and measurement were constructed for astronomical and navigation use. The planisphere was a star chart invented by Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī in the early 11th century. The astrolabe was invented in the Hellenistic world in either the 1st or 2nd centuries BC and is often attributed to Hipparchus. A combination of the planisphere and dioptra, the astrolabe was effectively an analog computer capable of working out several different kinds of problems in spherical astronomy. An astrolabe incorporating a mechanical calendar computer and gear-wheels was invented by Abi Bakr of Isfahan, Persia in 1235. Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī invented the first mechanical geared lunisolar calendar astrolabe an early fixed-wired knowledge processing machine with a gear train and gear-wheels, c. 1000 AD. The sector, a calculating instrument used for solving problems in proportion, trigonometry, multiplication and division, and for various functions, such as squares and cube roots, was developed in the late 16th century and found application in gunnery, surveying and navigation. The planimeter was a manual instrument to calculate the area of a closed figure by tracing over it with a mechanical linkage. A slide rule. The slide rule was invented around 1620–1630 by the English clergyman William Oughtred, shortly after the publication of the concept of the logarithm. It is a hand-operated analog computer for doing multiplication and division. As slide rule development progressed, added scales provided reciprocals, squares and square roots, cubes and cube roots, as well as transcendental functions such as logarithms and exponentials, circular and hyperbolic trigonometry and other functions. Slide rules with special scales are still used for quick performance of routine calculations, such as the E6B circular slide rule used for time and distance calculations on light aircraft. In the 1770s, Pierre Jaquet-Droz, a Swiss watchmaker, built a mechanical doll (automaton) that could write holding a quill pen. By switching the number and order of its internal wheels different letters, and hence different messages, could be produced. In effect, it could be mechanically "programmed" to read instructions. Along with two other complex machines, the doll is at the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, and still operates.[15] In 1831–1835, mathematician and engineer Giovanni Plana devised a Perpetual Calendar machine, which, through a system of pulleys and cylinders and over, could predict the perpetual calendar for every year from AD 0 (that is, 1 BC) to AD 4000, keeping track of leap years and varying day length. The tide-predicting machine invented by the Scottish scientist Sir William Thomson in 1872 was of great utility to navigation in shallow waters. It used a system of pulleys and wires to automatically calculate predicted tide levels for a set period at a particular location. The differential analyser, a mechanical analog computer designed to solve differential equations by integration, used wheel-and-disc mechanisms to perform the integration. In 1876, Sir William Thomson had already discussed the possible construction of such calculators, but he had been stymied by the limited output torque of the ball-and-disk integrators. In a differential analyzer, the output of one integrator drove the input of the next integrator, or a graphing output. The torque amplifier was the advance that allowed these machines to work. Starting in the 1920s, Vannevar Bush and others developed mechanical differential analyzers. 3 First computer A portion of Babbage's Difference engine. Charles Babbage, an English mechanical engineer and polymath, originated the concept of a programmable computer. Considered the "father of the computer",[17] he conceptualized and invented the first mechanical computer in the early 19th century. After working on his revolutionary difference engine, designed to aid in navigational calculations, in 1833 he realized that a much more general design, an Analytical Engine, was possible. The input of programs and data was to be provided to the machine via punched cards, a method being used at the time to direct mechanical looms such as the Jacquard loom. For output, the machine would have a printer, a curve plotter and a bell. The machine would also be able to punch numbers onto cards to be read in later. The Engine incorporated an arithmetic logic unit, control flow in the form of conditional branching and loops, and integrated memory, making it the first design for a general-purpose computer that could be described in modern terms as Turing-complete.[18][19] The machine was about a century ahead of its time. All the parts for his machine had to be made by hand – this was a major problem for a device with thousands of parts. Eventually, the project was dissolved with the decision of the British Government to cease funding. Babbage's failure to complete the analytical engine can be chiefly attributed to political and financial difficulties as well as his desire to develop an increasingly sophisticated computer and to move ahead faster than anyone else could follow. Nevertheless, his son, Henry Babbage, completed a simplified version of the analytical engine's computing unit (the mill) in 1888. He gave a successful demonstration of its use in computing tables in 1906. 3.1.1 Analog computers Main article: Analog computer Sir William Thomson's third tide-predicting machine design, 1879–81 During the first half of the 20th century, many scientific computing needs were met by increasingly sophisticated analog computers, which used a direct mechanical or electrical model of the problem as a basis for computation. However, these were not programmable and generally lacked the versatility and accuracy of modern digital computers.[20] The first modern analog computer was a tide-predicting machine, invented by Sir William Thomson (later to become Lord Kelvin) in 1872. The differential analyser, a mechanical analog computer designed to solve differential equations by integration using wheel-and-disc mechanisms, was conceptualized in 1876 by James Thomson, the elder brother of the more famous Sir William Thomson.[16] The art of mechanical analog computing reached its zenith with the differential analyzer, built by H. L. Hazen and Vannevar Bush at MIT starting in 1927. This built on the mechanical integrators of James Thomson and the torque amplifiers invented by H. W. Nieman. A dozen of these devices were built before their obsolescence became obvious. By the 1950s, the success of digital electronic computers had spelled the end for most analog computing machines, but analog computers remained in use during the 1950s in some specialized applications such as education (slide rule) and aircraft (control systems). 3.1.2 Digital computers 3.1.2.1 Electromechanical By 1938, the United States Navy had developed an electromechanical analog computer small enough to use aboard a submarine. This was the Torpedo Data Computer, which used trigonometry to solve the problem of firing a torpedo at a moving target. During World War II similar devices were developed in other countries as well. Replica of Konrad Zuse's Z3, the first fully automatic, digital (electromechanical) computer. Early digital computers were electromechanical; electric switches drove mechanical relays to perform the calculation. These devices had a low operating speed and were eventually superseded by much faster all-electric computers, originally using vacuum tubes. The Z2, created by German engineer Konrad Zuse in 1939, was one of the earliest examples of an electromechanical relay computer.[21] In 1941, Zuse followed his earlier machine up with the Z3, the world's first working electromechanical programmable, fully automatic digital computer.[22][23] The Z3 was built with 2000 relays, implementing a 22 bit word length that operated at a clock frequency of about 5–10 Hz.[24] Program code was supplied on punched film while data could be stored in 64 words of memory or supplied from the keyboard. It was quite similar to modern machines in some respects, pioneering numerous advances such as floating-point numbers. Rather than the harder-to-implement decimal system (used in Charles Babbage's earlier design), using a binary system meant that Zuse's machines were easier to build and potentially more reliable, given the technologies available at that time.[25] The Z3 was not itself a universal computer but could be extended to be Turing complete.[26][27] Zuse's next computer, the Z4, became the world's first commercial computer; after initial delay due to the Second World War, it was completed in 1950 and delivered to the ETH Zurich.[28] The computer was manufactured by Zuse's own company, Zuse KG [de], which was founded in 1941 as the first company with the sole purpose of developing computers.[28] 3.1.2.2 Vacuum tubes and digital electronic circuits Purely electronic circuit elements soon replaced their mechanical and electromechanical equivalents, at the same time that digital calculation replaced analog. The engineer Tommy Flowers, working at the Post Office Research Station in London in the 1930s, began to explore the possible use of electronics for the telephone exchange. Experimental equipment that he built in 1934 went into operation five years later, converting a portion of the telephone exchange network into an electronic data processing system, using thousands of vacuum tubes.[20] In the US, John Vincent Atanasoff and Clifford E. Berry of Iowa State University developed and tested the Atanasoff–Berry Computer (ABC) in 1942,[29] the first "automatic electronic digital computer".[30] This design was also all-electronic and used about 300 vacuum tubes, with capacitors fixed in a mechanically rotating drum for memory.[31] Colossus, the first electronic digital programmable computing device, was used to break German ciphers during World War II. It is seen here in use at Bletchley Park in 1943. During World War II, the British code-breakers at Bletchley Park achieved a number of successes at breaking encrypted German military communications. The German encryption machine, Enigma, was first attacked with the help of the electro-mechanical bombes which were often run by women.[32][33] To crack the more sophisticated German Lorenz SZ 40/42 machine, used for high-level Army communications, Max Newman and his colleagues commissioned Flowers to build the Colossus.[31] He spent eleven months from early February 1943 designing and building the first Colossus.[34] After a functional test in December 1943, Colossus was shipped to Bletchley Park, where it was delivered on 18 January 1944[35] and attacked its first message on 5 February.[31] Colossus was the world's first electronic digital programmable computer.[20] It used a large number of valves (vacuum tubes). It had paper-tape input and was capable of being configured to perform a variety of boolean logical operations on its data, but it was not Turing-complete. Nine Mk II Colossi were built (The Mk I was converted to a Mk II making ten machines in total). Colossus Mark I contained 1,500 thermionic valves (tubes), but Mark II with 2,400 valves, was both five times faster and simpler to operate than Mark I, greatly speeding the decoding process. The ENIAC[38] (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was the first electronic programmable computer built in the U.S. Although the ENIAC was similar to the Colossus, it was much faster, more flexible, and it was Turing-complete. Like the Colossus, a "program" on the ENIAC was defined by the states of its patch cables and switches, a far cry from the stored program electronic machines that came later. Once a program was written, it had to be mechanically set into the machine with manual resetting of plugs and switches. The programmers of the ENIAC were six women, often known collectively as the "ENIAC girls".[39][40] It combined the high speed of electronics with the ability to be programmed for many complex problems. It could add or subtract 5000 times a second, a thousand times faster than any other machine. It also had modules to multiply, divide, and square root. High speed memory was limited to 20 words (about 80 bytes). Built under the direction of John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert at the University of Pennsylvania, ENIAC's development and construction lasted from 1943 to full operation at the end of 1945. The machine was huge, weighing 30 tons, using 200 kilowatts of electric power and contained over 18,000 vacuum tubes, 1,500 relays, and hundreds of thousands of resistors, capacitors, and inductors.[41] 3.1.3 Modern computers 3.1.3.1 Concept of modern computer The principle of the modern computer was proposed by Alan Turing in his seminal 1936 paper,[42] On Computable Numbers. Turing proposed a simple device that he called "Universal Computing machine" and that is now known as a universal Turing machine. He proved that such a machine is capable of computing anything that is computable by executing instructions (program) stored on tape, allowing the machine to be programmable. The fundamental concept of Turing's design is the stored program, where all the instructions for computing are stored in memory. Von Neumann acknowledged that the central concept of the modern computer was due to this paper.[43] Turing machines are to this day a central object of study in theory of computation. Except for the limitations imposed by their finite memory stores, modern computers are said to be Turing-complete, which is to say, they have algorithm execution capability equivalent to a universal Turing machine. 3.1.3.2 Stored programs A section of the reconstructed Manchester Baby, the first electronic stored-program computer Early computing machines had fixed programs. Changing its function required the re-wiring and re-structuring of the machine.[31] With the proposal of the stored-program computer this changed. A stored-program computer includes by design an instruction set and can store in memory a set of instructions (a program) that details the computation. The theoretical basis for the stored-program computer was laid out by Alan Turing in his 1936 paper. In 1945, Turing joined the National Physical Laboratory and began work on developing an electronic stored-program digital computer. His 1945 report "Proposed Electronic Calculator" was the first specification for such a device. John von Neumann at the University of Pennsylvania also circulated his First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC in 1945.[20] The Manchester Baby was the world's first stored-program computer. It was built at the University of Manchester in England by Frederic C. Williams, Tom Kilburn and Geoff Tootill, and ran its first program on 21 June 1948.[44] It was designed as a testbed for the Williams tube, the first random-access digital storage device.[45] Although the computer was described as "small and primitive" by a 1998 retrospective, it was the first working machine to contain all of the elements essential to a modern electronic computer.[46] As soon as the Baby had demonstrated the feasibility of its design, a project began at the university to develop it into a practically useful computer, the Manchester Mark 1. The Mark 1 in turn quickly became the prototype for the Ferranti Mark 1, the world's first commercially available general-purpose computer.[47] Built by Ferranti, it was delivered to the University of Manchester in February 1951. At least seven of these later machines were delivered between 1953 and 1957, one of them to Shell labs in Amsterdam.[48] In October 1947 the directors of British catering company J. Lyons & Company decided to take an active role in promoting the commercial development of computers. Lyons's LEO I computer, modelled closely on the Cambridge EDSAC of 1949, became operational in April 1951[49] and ran the world's first routine office computer job. Grace Hopper was the first to develop a compiler for a programming language.[2] 3.1.3.3 Transistors Main articles: Transistor and History of the transistor Further information: Transistor computer and MOSFET Bipolar junction transistor (BJT) The concept of a field-effect transistor was proposed by Julius Edgar Lilienfeld in 1925. John Bardeen and Walter Brattain, while working under William Shockley at Bell Labs, built the first working transistor, the point-contact transistor, in 1947, which was followed by Shockley's bipolar junction transistor in 1948.[50][51] From 1955 onwards, transistors replaced vacuum tubes in computer designs, giving rise to the "second generation" of computers. Compared to vacuum tubes, transistors have many advantages: they are smaller, and require less power than vacuum tubes, so give off less heat. Junction transistors were much more reliable than vacuum tubes and had longer, indefinite, service life. Transistorized computers could contain tens of thousands of binary logic circuits in a relatively compact space. However, early junction transistors were relatively bulky devices that were difficult to manufacture on a mass-production basis, which limited them to a number of specialised applications.[52] At the University of Manchester, a team under the leadership of Tom Kilburn designed and built a machine using the newly developed transistors instead of valves.[53] Their first transistorised computer and the first in the world, was operational by 1953, and a second version was completed there in April 1955. However, the machine did make use of valves to generate its 125 kHz clock waveforms and in the circuitry to read and write on its magnetic drum memory, so it was not the first completely transistorized computer. That distinction goes to the Harwell CADET of 1955,[54] built by the electronics division of the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell.[54][55] MOSFET (MOS transistor), showing gate (G), body (B), source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer (pink). The metal–oxide–silicon field-effect transistor (MOSFET), also known as the MOS transistor, was invented by Mohamed M. Atalla and Dawon Kahng at Bell Labs in 1959.[56] It was the first truly compact transistor that could be miniaturised and mass-produced for a wide range of uses.[52] With its high scalability,[57] and much lower power consumption and higher density than bipolar junction transistors,[58] the MOSFET made it possible to build high-density integrated circuits.[59][60] In addition to data processing, it also enabled the practical use of MOS transistors as memory cell storage elements, leading to the development of MOS semiconductor memory, which replaced earlier magnetic-core memory in computers. The MOSFET led to the microcomputer revolution,[61] and became the driving force behind the computer revolution.[62][63] The MOSFET is the most widely used transistor in computers,[64][65] and is the fundamental building block of digital electronics.[66] 3.1.3.4 Integrated circuits Main articles: Integrated circuit and Invention of the integrated circuit Further information: Planar process and Microprocessor Die photograph of a MOS 6502, an early 1970s microprocessor integrating 3500 transistors on a single chip. Integrated circuits are typically packaged in plastic, metal, or ceramic cases to protect the IC from damage and for ease of assembly. The next great advance in computing power came with the advent of the integrated circuit (IC). The idea of the integrated circuit was first conceived by a radar scientist working for the Royal Radar Establishment of the Ministry of Defence, Geoffrey W.A. Dummer. Dummer presented the first public description of an integrated circuit at the Symposium on Progress in Quality Electronic Components in Washington, D.C. on 7 May 1952.[67] The first working ICs were invented by Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments and Robert Noyce at Fairchild Semiconductor.[68] Kilby recorded his initial ideas concerning the integrated circuit in July 1958, successfully demonstrating the first working integrated example on 12 September 1958.[69] In his patent application of 6 February 1959, Kilby described his new device as "a body of semiconductor material ... wherein all the components of the electronic circuit are completely integrated".[70][71] However, Kilby's invention was a hybrid integrated circuit (hybrid IC), rather than a monolithic integrated circuit (IC) chip.[72] Kilby's IC had external wire connections, which made it difficult to mass-produce.[73] Noyce also came up with his own idea of an integrated circuit half a year later than Kilby.[74] Noyce's invention was the first true monolithic IC chip.[75][73] His chip solved many practical problems that Kilby's had not. Produced at Fairchild Semiconductor, it was made of silicon, whereas Kilby's chip was made of germanium. Noyce's monolithic IC was fabricated using the planar process, developed by his colleague Jean Hoerni in early 1959. In turn, the planar process was based on Mohamed M. Atalla's work on semiconductor surface passivation by silicon dioxide in the late 1950s.[76][77][78] Modern monolithic ICs are predominantly MOS (metal–oxide–semiconductor) integrated circuits, built from MOSFETs (MOS transistors).[79] The earliest experimental MOS IC to be fabricated was a 16-transistor chip built by Fred Heiman and Steven Hofstein at RCA in 1962.[80] General Microelectronics later introduced the first commercial MOS IC in 1964,[81] developed by Robert Norman.[80] Following the development of the self-aligned gate (silicon-gate) MOS transistor by Robert Kerwin, Donald Klein and John Sarace at Bell Labs in 1967, the first silicon-gate MOS IC with self-aligned gates was developed by Federico Faggin at Fairchild Semiconductor in 1968.[82] The MOSFET has since become the most critical device component in modern ICs.[79] The development of the MOS integrated circuit led to the invention of the microprocessor,[83][84] and heralded an explosion in the commercial and personal use of computers. While the subject of exactly which device was the first microprocessor is contentious, partly due to lack of agreement on the exact definition of the term "microprocessor", it is largely undisputed that the first single-chip microprocessor was the Intel 4004,[85] designed and realized by Federico Faggin with his silicon-gate MOS IC technology,[83] along with Ted Hoff, Masatoshi Shima and Stanley Mazor at Intel.[b][87] In the early 1970s, MOS IC technology enabled the integration of more than 10,000 transistors on a single chip.[60] System on a Chip (SoCs) are complete computers on a microchip (or chip) the size of a coin.[88] They may or may not have integrated RAM and flash memory. If not integrated, the RAM is usually placed directly above (known as Package on package) or below (on the opposite side of the circuit board) the SoC, and the flash memory is usually placed right next to the SoC, this all done to improve data transfer speeds, as the data signals don't have to travel long distances. Since ENIAC in 1945, computers have advanced enormously, with modern SoCs (Such as the Snapdragon 865) being the size of a coin while also being hundreds of thousands of times more powerful than ENIAC, integrating billions of transistors, and consuming only a few watts of power. 3.1.4 Mobile computers The first mobile computers were heavy and ran from mains power. The 50 lb (23 kg) IBM 5100 was an early example. Later portables such as the Osborne 1 and Compaq Portable were considerably lighter but still needed to be plugged in. The first laptops, such as the Grid Compass, removed this requirement by incorporating batteries – and with the continued miniaturization of computing resources and advancements in portable battery life, portable computers grew in popularity in the 2000s.[89] The same developments allowed manufacturers to integrate computing resources into cellular mobile phones by the early 2000s. 3.1.5 These smartphones and tablets run on a variety of operating systems and recently became the dominant computing device on the market.[90] These are powered by System on a Chip (SoCs), which are complete computers on a microchip the size of a coin. 3.1.6 Artificial intelligence A computer will solve problems in exactly the way it is programmed to, without regard to efficiency, alternative solutions, possible shortcuts, or possible errors in the code. Computer programs that learn and adapt are part of the emerging field of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Artificial intelligence based products generally fall into two major categories: rule-based systems and pattern recognition systems. Rule-based systems attempt to represent the rules used by human experts and tend to be expensive to develop. Pattern-based systems use data about a problem to generate conclusions. Examples of pattern-based systems include voice recognition, font recognition, translation and the emerging field of on-line marketing. Advantages of Computers: Certain advantages of computers are as follows: High Speed i. It is a very fast device. ii. It is capable to perform calculations of a very large set of data. iii. Its units of speed are the microsecond, nanosecond, and even the picosecond. iv. It is capable to perform millions of calculations in a few seconds as compared to the manual effort that takes many months to perform the same task. Accuracy i. In addition to being very fast, computers are accurate as well. ii. The calculations are error-free. iii. All jobs are performed with accuracy, but make sure that the input is correct. Storage Capability i. One of the important characteristics of computers is memory. ii. a Large amount of data can be stored in a computer. iii. Any type of data like images, videos, text, audio, etc. can be stored. Diligence i. A computer is free from monotony, tiredness, and lack of concentration. ii. It can continue to work without any fatigue and boredom. iii. Repeated tasks can be performed with the same speed and accuracy. Versatility i. A computer is very flexible in performing the jobs that can be done. ii. A computer can also solve problems related to various fields. iii. At one instance, it may be playing a card game and within the next moment, it may be solving a complex scientific problem. Reliability i. Modern electronic components have a long life. ii. The machines are designed to make maintenance easy. Automation i. Functions can be performed automatically. ii. Automation is required to perform a task automatically. Once the computer receives a program i.e., the program gets stored in the computer’s memory, then no human interaction is required for the program and instruction to control the program execution. Reduction in Paper Work and Cost i. The use of computers for data processing in an organization results in speeding up the process and also leads to a reduction in paperwork. ii. The problem of maintenance of a large number of paper files gets reduced as data in electronic files can be retrieved as and when required. iii. Since the initial investment for installing a computer is high, the cost of each of its transactions substantially gets reduced. Advantages of Computers: Certain advantages of computers are as follows: High Speed i. It is a very fast device. ii. It is capable to perform calculations of a very large set of data. iii. Its units of speed are the microsecond, nanosecond, and even the picosecond. iv. It is capable to perform millions of calculations in a few seconds as compared to the manual effort that takes many months to perform the same task. Accuracy i. In addition to being very fast, computers are accurate as well. ii. The calculations are error-free. iii. All jobs are performed with accuracy, but make sure that the input is correct. Storage Capability i. One of the important characteristics of computers is memory. ii. a Large amount of data can be stored in a computer. iii. Any type of data like images, videos, text, audio, etc. can be stored. Diligence i. A computer is free from monotony, tiredness, and lack of concentration. ii. It can continue to work without any fatigue and boredom. iii. Repeated tasks can be performed with the same speed and accuracy. Versatility i. A computer is very flexible in performing the jobs that can be done. ii. A computer can also solve problems related to various fields. iii. At one instance, it may be playing a card game and within the next moment, it may be solving a complex scientific problem. Reliability i. Modern electronic components have a long life. ii. The machines are designed to make maintenance easy. Automation i. Functions can be performed automatically. ii. Automation is required to perform a task automatically. Once the computer receives a program i.e., the program gets stored in the computer’s memory, then no human interaction is required for the program and instruction to control the program execution. Reduction in Paper Work and Cost i. The use of computers for data processing in an organization results in speeding up the process and also leads to a reduction in paperwork. ii. The problem of maintenance of a large number of paper files gets reduced as data in electronic files can be retrieved as and when required. iii. Since the initial investment for installing a computer is high, the cost of each of its transactions substantially gets reduced.

Saturday 14 January 2023

Travel with SWAPNILA EP-3

This article is about the city proper in Nevada. For the metropolitan area, see Las Vegas Valley. For the tourist destination, see Las Vegas Strip. For the city in New Mexico, see Las Vegas, New Mexico. For other uses, see Las Vegas (disambiguation). "Vegas" redirects here. For other uses, see Vegas (disambiguation). Las Vegas, Nevada City Downtown Las Vegas Downtown Las Vegas World Market Center World Market Center Stratosphere Tower Stratosphere Tower Las Vegas Las Vegas Strip Las Vegas Strip Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health Clark County Government Center Clark County Government Center Flag of Las Vegas, Nevada Flag Official seal of Las Vegas, Nevada Seal Etymology: Spanish: Las vegas (English: The meadows) Nickname(s): "Vegas",[1] "Sin City", "City of Lights", "The Gambling Capital of the World",[2] "The Entertainment Capital of the World", "Capital of Second Chances",[3] "The Marriage Capital of the World", "The Silver City", "America's Playground" Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap Show Las Vegas Show Clark County Show Nevada Show the United States Show all Coordinates: 36°10′30″N 115°08′11″WCoordinates: 36°10′30″N 115°08′11″W Country United States State Nevada County Clark Founded May 15, 1905 Incorporated March 16, 1911 Government • Type Council–Manager • Mayor Carolyn Goodman (I) • Mayor Pro Tem Brian Knudsen (D) • City Council Members • City manager Jorge Cervantes Area[4] • City 141.91 sq mi (367.53 km2) • Land 141.85 sq mi (367.40 km2) • Water 0.05 sq mi (0.14 km2) Elevation 2,001 ft (610 m) Population (2020) • City 641,903 • Rank 25th in the United States 1st in Nevada • Density 4,525.16/sq mi (1,747.17/km2) • Urban 2,196,623 (US: 21st) • Urban density 5,046.3/sq mi (1,948.4/km2) • Metro[5] 2,265,461 (US: 29th) Demonym Las Vegan Time zone UTC−08:00 (PST) • Summer (DST) UTC−07:00 (PDT) ZIP Codes 89044, 89054, 891xx Area code 702 & 725 FIPS code 32-40000 GNIS feature ID 847388 Major airport LAS Interstate Highways I-15, I-515 Other major highways US 93, US 95, SR 159, SR 599, SR 604, CC 215 Website lasvegasnevada.gov Las Vegas (US: /lɑːsˈveɪɡəs/; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area and is the largest city within the greater Mojave Desert.[6] Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city, known primarily for its gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment, and nightlife. The Las Vegas Valley as a whole serves as the leading financial, commercial, and cultural center for Nevada. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous for its luxurious and extremely large casino-hotels together with their associated activities. It is a top three destination in the United States for business conventions and a global leader in the hospitality industry, claiming more AAA Five Diamond hotels than any other city in the world.[7][8][9] Today, Las Vegas annually ranks as one of the world's most visited tourist destinations.[10][11] The city's tolerance for numerous forms of adult entertainment earned it the title of "Sin City",[12] and has made Las Vegas a popular setting for literature, films, television programs, and music videos. Las Vegas was settled in 1905 and officially incorporated in 1911. At the close of the 20th century, it was the most populated North American city founded within that century (a similar distinction was earned by Chicago in the 19th century). Population growth has accelerated since the 1960s, and between 1990 and 2000 the population nearly doubled, increasing by 85.2%. Rapid growth has continued into the 21st century, and according to the United States Census Bureau, the city had 641,903 residents in 2020,[13] with a metropolitan population of 2,227,053.[14] As with most major metropolitan areas, the name of the primary city ("Las Vegas" in this case) is often used to describe areas beyond official city limits. In the case of Las Vegas, this especially applies to the areas on and near the Las Vegas Strip, which are actually located within the unincorporated communities of Paradise and Winchester.[15][16] Nevada is the driest state, and Las Vegas is the driest major U.S. city. Over time and influenced by climate change, droughts in Southern Nevada have been increasing in frequency and severity,[17] putting a further strain on Las Vegas' water securityHistory Main article: History of Las Vegas For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Las Vegas. Southern Paiutes at Moapa wearing traditional Paiute basket hats with Paiute cradleboard and rabbit robe Nomadic Paleo-Indians traveled to the Las Vegas area 10,000 years ago, leaving behind petroglyphs. Ancient Puebloan and Paiute tribes followed at least 2,000 years ago.[19] A young Mexican scout named Rafael Rivera is credited as the first non-Native American to encounter the valley, in 1829.[20] Trader Antonio Armijo led a 60-man party along the Spanish Trail to Los Angeles, California in 1829.[21][22] In 1844, John C. Frémont arrived, and his writings helped lure pioneers to the area. Downtown Las Vegas's Fremont Street is named after him. Eleven years later, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chose Las Vegas as the site to build a fort halfway between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles, where they would travel to gather supplies. The fort was abandoned several years afterward. The remainder of this Old Mormon Fort can still be seen at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Washington Avenue. Las Vegas was founded as a city in 1905, when 110 acres (45 ha) of land adjacent to the Union Pacific Railroad tracks were auctioned in what would become the downtown area. In 1911, Las Vegas was incorporated as a city.[23] Golden Nugget and Pioneer Club along Fremont Street in 1952 1931 was a pivotal year for Las Vegas. At that time, Nevada legalized casino gambling and reduced residency requirements for divorce to six weeks. This year also witnessed the beginning of construction on nearby Hoover Dam. The influx of construction workers and their families helped Las Vegas avoid economic calamity during the Great Depression. The construction work was completed in 1935. In late 1941, Las Vegas Army Airfield was established. Renamed Nellis Air Force Base in 1950, it is now home to the United States Air Force Thunderbirds aerobatic team.[24] Following World War II, lavishly decorated hotels, gambling casinos, and big-name entertainment became synonymous with Las Vegas. This view of downtown Las Vegas shows a mushroom cloud in the background. Scenes such as this were typical during the 1950s. From 1951 to 1962, the government conducted 100 atmospheric tests at the nearby Nevada Test Site.[25] In 1951, nuclear weapons testing began at the Nevada Test Site, 65 miles (105 km) northwest of Las Vegas. During this time, the city was nicknamed the "Atomic City". Residents and visitors were able to witness the mushroom clouds (and were exposed to the fallout) until 1963 when the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty required that nuclear tests be moved underground.[25] In 1955, the Moulin Rouge Hotel opened and became the first racially integrated casino-hotel in Las Vegas. The iconic "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign, which has never been located within municipal limits, was created in 1959 by Betty Willis.[26] Fremont Street in the late 1960s During the 1960s, corporations and business tycoons such as Howard Hughes were building and buying hotel-casino properties. Gambling was referred to as "gaming", which transitioned it into a legitimate business. Learning from Las Vegas, published during this era, asked architects to take inspiration from the city's highly decorated buildings, helping to start the postmodern architecture movement. In 1995, the Fremont Street Experience opened in Las Vegas's downtown area. This canopied five-block area features 12.5 million LED lights and 550,000 watts of sound from dusk until midnight during shows held at the top of each hour. Due to the realization of many revitalization efforts, 2012 was dubbed "The Year of Downtown". Projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars made their debut at this time, including the Smith Center for the Performing Arts, the DISCOVERY Children's Museum, the Mob Museum, the Neon Museum, a new City Hall complex, and renovations for a new Zappos.com corporate headquarters in the old City Hall building..Geography Astronaut photograph of Las Vegas at night Downtown Las Vegas with Red Rock Canyon in the background Las Vegas is situated within Clark County, in a basin on the floor of the Mojave Desert,[28] and is surrounded by mountain ranges on all sides. Much of the landscape is rocky and arid, with desert vegetation and wildlife. It can be subjected to torrential flash floods, although much has been done to mitigate the effects of flash floods through improved drainage systems.[29] The peaks surrounding Las Vegas reach elevations of over 10,000 feet (3,000 m), and act as barriers to the strong flow of moisture from the surrounding area. The elevation is approximately 2,030 ft (620 m) above sea level. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 135.86 sq mi (351.9 km2), of which 135.81 sq mi (351.7 km2) is land and 0.05 sq mi (0.13 km2) (0.03%) is water. After Alaska and California, Nevada is the third most seismically active state in the U.S. It has been estimated by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) that over the next 50 years, there is a 10–20% chance of an M6.0 or greater earthquake occurring within 50 km (31 mi) of Las Vegas.[30] Within the city, there are many lawns, trees and other greenery. Due to water resource issues, there has been a movement to encourage xeriscapes. Another part of conservation efforts is scheduled watering days for residential landscaping. A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant in 2008 funded a program that analyzed and forecast growth and environmental impacts through 2019. Climate Desert scene at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in the Las Vegas area Spring flowers at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in the Las Vegas area Las Vegas has a subtropical hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification: BWh), typical of the Mojave Desert in which it lies. This climate is typified by long, extremely hot summers; warm transitional seasons; and short winters with mild days and cool nights. There is abundant sunshine throughout the year, with an average of 310 sunny days and bright sunshine during 86% of all daylight hours.[31][32] Rainfall is scarce, with an average of 4.2 in (110 mm) dispersed between roughly 26 total rainy days per year.[33] Las Vegas is among the sunniest, driest, and least humid locations in North America, with exceptionally low dew points and humidity that sometimes remains below 10%.[34] The summer months of June through September are extremely hot, though moderated by extremely low humidity. July is the hottest month, with an average daytime high of 104.5 °F (40.3 °C). On average, 137 days per year reach or exceed 90 °F (32 °C), of which 78 days reach 100 °F (38 °C) and 10 days reach 110 °F (43 °C). During the peak intensity of summer, overnight lows frequently remain above 80 °F (27 °C), and occasionally above 85 °F (29 °C).[31] While most summer days are consistently hot, dry, and cloudless, the North American Monsoon sporadically interrupts this pattern and brings more cloud cover, thunderstorms, lightning, increased humidity, and brief spells of heavy rain. Potential monsoons affect Las Vegas between July and August. Summer in Las Vegas is marked by a significant diurnal temperature variation. While less extreme than other parts of the state, nighttime lows in Las Vegas are often 30 °F (16.7 °C) or more lower than daytime highs.[35] The average hottest night of the year is 90 °F (32 °C). The all-time record is at 95 °F (35 °C).[31] Las Vegas winters are short and generally very mild, with chilly (but rarely cold) daytime temperatures. Sunshine is abundant in all seasons. December is both the year's coolest and cloudiest month, with an average daytime high of 56.9 °F (13.8 °C) and sunshine occurring during 78% of its daylight hours. Winter evenings are defined by clear skies and swift drops in temperature after sunset, with overnight minima averaging around 40 °F (4.4 °C) in December and January. Owing to its elevation that ranges from 2,000 to 3,000 feet (610 to 910 m), Las Vegas experiences markedly cooler winters than other areas of the Mojave Desert and the adjacent Sonoran Desert that are closer to sea level. The city records freezing temperatures an average of 10 nights per winter. It is exceptionally rare for temperatures to reach or fall below 25 °F (−4 °C).[31] Most of the annual precipitation falls during the winter months. February, the wettest month, averages only four days of measurable rain. The mountains immediately surrounding the Las Vegas Valley accumulate snow every winter, but significant accumulation within the city is rare, although moderate accumulations occur every few years. The most recent accumulations occurred on February 18, 2019, when parts of the city received about 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5.1 cm) of snow[36] and on February 20 when the city received almost 0.5 inches (1.3 cm).[37] Other recent significant snow accumulations occurred on December 25, 2015, and December 17, 2008.[38] Unofficially, Las Vegas's largest snowfall on record was the 12 inches (30 cm) that fell in 1909.[39] In recent times, ice days have not occurred, although 29 °F (−2 °C) was measured in 1963.[31] On average the coldest day is 44 °F (7 °C).[31] 117 °F (47 °C) is the highest temperature officially observed for Las Vegas, as measured at Harry Reid International Airport on July 10, 2021, the last of five occasions.[31] The lowest temperature was 8 °F (−13 °C), recorded on two days: January 25, 1937, and January 13, 1963.[31] The highest temperature ever measured within the city of Las Vegas was 118 °F (48 °C) on July 26, 1931.[40] The official record hot daily minimum is 95 °F (35 °C) on July 19, 2005, and July 1, 2013. The official record cold daily maximum is 28 °F (−2 °C) on January 8 and 21, 1937.[31] Due to concerns about climate change in the wake of a 2002 drought, daily water consumption has been reduced from 314 US gallons (1,190 L) per resident in 2003 to around 205 US gallons (780 L) in 2015.[41]Economy The primary drivers of the Las Vegas economy are tourism, gaming, and conventions, which in turn feed the retail and restaurant industries. The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, welcoming tourists to the city Tourism World Market Center Building A The Golden Nugget Las Vegas The Las Vegas Strip, primarily located in Paradise A view of the Las Vegas Valley looking north from the Stratosphere Tower The major attractions in Las Vegas are the casinos and the hotels, although in recent years other new attractions have begun to emerge. Most casinos in the downtown area are located on Fremont Street, with The STRAT Hotel, Casino & Skypod as one of the few exceptions. Fremont East, adjacent to the Fremont Street Experience, was granted variances to allow bars to be closer together, similar to the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego, the goal being to attract a different demographic than the Strip attracts. Downtown casinos Main article: Downtown (Nevada gaming area) The Golden Gate Hotel and Casino, located downtown along the Fremont Street Experience, is the oldest continuously operating hotel and casino in Las Vegas; it opened in 1906 as the Hotel Nevada. In 1931, the Northern Club (now the La Bayou) opened.[58][59] The most notable of the early casinos may have been Binion's Horseshoe (now Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel) while it was run by Benny Binion. Boyd Gaming has a major presence downtown operating the California Hotel & Casino, the Fremont Hotel & Casino, and the Main Street Casino. The Four Queens also operates downtown along the Fremont Street Experience. Downtown casinos that have undergone major renovations and revitalization in recent years include the Golden Nugget Las Vegas, The D Las Vegas (formerly Fitzgerald's), the Downtown Grand Las Vegas (formerly Lady Luck), the El Cortez Hotel & Casino, and the Plaza Hotel & Casino.[60] Las Vegas Strip Main article: Las Vegas Strip The center of the gambling and entertainment industry is located on the Las Vegas Strip, outside the city limits in the surrounding unincorporated communities of Paradise and Winchester in Clark County. Some of the largest casinos and buildings are located there.[61] Development See also: List of tallest buildings in Las Vegas When The Mirage opened in 1989, it started a trend of major resort development on the Las Vegas Strip outside of the city. This resulted in a drop in tourism in the downtown area, but many recent projects have increased the number of visitors to downtown. An effort has been made by city officials to diversify the economy by attracting health-related, high-tech and other commercial interests. No state tax for individuals or corporations, as well as a lack of other forms of business-related taxes, have aided the success of these efforts.[62] The Fremont Street Experience was built in an effort to draw tourists back to the area and has been popular since its startup in 1995. The city purchased 61 acres (25 ha) of property from the Union Pacific Railroad in 1995 with the goal of creating a better draw for more people to the downtown area. In 2004, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman announced plans for Symphony Park, which could include a mixture of offerings, such as residential space and office buildings. Already operating in Symphony Park is the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health (opened in 2010), The Smith Center for the Performing Arts (opened in 2012) and the DISCOVERY Children's Museum (opened in 2013).[63] On land across from Symphony Park, the World Market Center Las Vegas opened in 2005. It currently encompasses three large buildings with a total of 5.1 million square feet. Trade shows for the furniture and furnishing industries are held there semiannually. Also located nearby is the Las Vegas North Premium Outlets. With a second expansion, completed in May 2015, the mall currently offers 175 stores.[64] City offices moved to a new Las Vegas City Hall in February 2013 on downtown's Main Street. The former City Hall building is now occupied by the corporate headquarters for the major online retailer, Zappos.com, which opened downtown in 2013. Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh took an interest in the urban area and contributed $350 million toward a revitalization effort called the Downtown Project.[65][66] Projects funded include Las Vegas's first independent bookstore, The Writer's Block.[67] Other industries A number of new industries have moved to Las Vegas in recent decades. Online shoe retailer Zappos.com (now an Amazon subsidiary) was founded in San Francisco but by 2013 had moved its headquarters to downtown Las Vegas. Allegiant Air, a low-cost air carrier, launched in 1997 with its first hub at Harry Reid International Airport and headquarters in nearby Summerlin. Planet 13 Holdings, a cannabis company, have opened the world's largest cannabis dispensary in Las Vegas at 112,000 sq ft (10,400 m2).[68][69] Impact of growth on water supply A growing population means the Las Vegas Valley used 1.2 billion US gallons (4.5×109 L) more water in 2014 than in 2011. Although water conservation efforts implemented in the wake of a 2002 drought have had some success, local water consumption remains 30 percent more than in Los Angeles, and over three times that of San Francisco metropolitan area residents. The Southern Nevada Water Authority is building a $1.4 billion tunnel and pumping station to bring water from Lake Mead, has purchased water rights throughout Nevada, and has planned a controversial $3.2 billion pipeline across half the state. By law, the Las Vegas Water Service District "may deny any request for a water commitment or request for a water connection if the District has an inadequate supply of water." However, limiting growth on the basis of an inadequate water supply has been unpopular with the casino and building industries.[41] Culture Main article: Las Vegas Valley § Culture and the arts The Smith Center for the Performing Arts & Discovery Museum Symphony Park in Downtown Las Vegas The city is home to several museums, including the Neon Museum (the location for many of the historical signs from Las Vegas's mid-20th century heyday), The Mob Museum, the Las Vegas Natural History Museum, the DISCOVERY Children's Museum, the Nevada State Museum and the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park. The city is home to an extensive Downtown Arts District, which hosts numerous galleries and events including the annual Las Vegas Film Festival. "First Friday" is a monthly celebration that includes arts, music, special presentations and food in a section of the city's downtown region called 18b, The Las Vegas Arts District.[70] The festival extends into the Fremont East Entertainment District as well.[71] The Thursday evening prior to First Friday is known in the arts district as "Preview Thursday", which highlights new gallery exhibitions throughout the district.[72] The Las Vegas Academy of International Studies, Performing and Visual Arts is a Grammy award-winning magnet school located in downtown Las Vegas. The Smith Center for the Performing Arts is situated downtown in Symphony Park and hosts various Broadway shows and other artistic performances. Las Vegas has earned the moniker "Gambling Capital of the World", as the city currently has the largest number of land-based casinos in the world.[73] Sports Main article: Sports in the Las Vegas metropolitan area See also: Nevada § Sports The Las Vegas Valley is the home of three major professional teams: the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Vegas Golden Knights, an expansion team that began play in the 2017–18 NHL season at T-Mobile Arena in nearby Paradise,[74] the National Football League (NFL)'s Las Vegas Raiders, who relocated from Oakland, California in 2020 and play at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise,[75] and the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)'s Las Vegas Aces, who play at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Two minor league sports teams play in the Las Vegas area. The Las Vegas Aviators of the Pacific Coast League, the Triple-A farm club of the Oakland Athletics, play at Las Vegas Ballpark in nearby Summerlin.[76] The Las Vegas Lights FC of the United Soccer League, play in Cashman Field in Downtown Las Vegas.[77][78] The mixed martial arts promotion, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), is headquartered in Las Vegas and also frequently holds fights in the city at T-Mobile Arena and at the UFC Apex training facility near the headquarters.[79]