History of Computers - John von Neumann

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John von Neuman (December 28, 1903 – February 8, 1957)

John von Neumann was a Hungarian-American polymath who made many contributions to many scientific fields (including physics, meteorology, and physiology), math, and computer science. Due to his significant contributions to the development of the electronic computer, John von Neumann is deemed as the "Father of the Modern Computer." He died from cancer caused most likely by radioactive exposure at the age of 53.

Overview

Neumann demonstrated that computers could have a simple, fixed structure yet be flexible, efficient, and fast. During the 20th century, mechanical calculating machines were slow because they generated "truly" random numbers to solve complicated problems. However, generating random numbers takes a long time. Furthermore, some electromechanical computers used a relay-based system, which was also too slow for large calculations because of the delay between relay contacts. The ENIAC, which used electron vacuum tubes and long circuits, was able to compute complex calculations quickly (up to about 1000 times quicker than relay-based electromechanical computers), but it was onerously large: the ENIAC contained 2,500 small tubes that needed constant maintenance in order for it to work.

Significance

Neumann developed the von Neumann architecture to solve these problems. The von Neumann archiecture for computer systems is comprised of 4 parts: the arithmetic logic unit, memory (RAM), control unit, and input-output devices used by the operator. These parts are essentially what modern-day computers are made up of. The revolutionary aspect of the von Neumann architecture is the idea that the data and the program to solve problems could be stored in the same space. This dual storage also allowed the computer itself to alter the program or the data, and therefore, it could execute any kind of computation given properly programmed control without the need for changing the hardware. Furthermore, Neumann developed a method to create pseudorandom numbers, which appear to be random, but the process that generate these numbers are not truly random. With the combination of pseudorandom numbers and the dual storage system, computers became faster, more flexible, and more efficient. With his discoveries, Neumann built the EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Computer) and also restructured the ENIAC, greatly increasing its overall performance.

(John von Neumann and the ENIAC)

Links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_von_neumann