Generation of Computer

Generation of computer is a term which refers to a major technological development that fundamentally changed the way computers operate, resulting in increasingly smaller, cheaper, more powerful and more efficient and reliable devices.

1. First Generation of Computer

The period of first generation was from 1946-1959. The computers of first generation used vacuum tubes as the basic components for memory and circuitry for CPU (Central Processing Unit). These tubes, like electric bulbs, produced a lot of heat and the installations used to fuse frequently. Therefore, they were very expensive and only large organizations were able to afford it.

In this generation, mainly batch processing operating system was used. Punch cards, paper tape, and magnetic tape was used as input and output devices. The computers in this generation used machine code as the programming language.

the first generation computer

Vacuum tube

Vacuum tubes are also known as an electron tube or valve and first developed by John Ambrose Fleming in 1904. The vacuum tube is a glass tube that has its gas removed, creating a vacuum. Vacuum tubes contain electrodes for controlling electron flow and were used in early computers as a switch or an amplifier. The picture shows a collection of different vacuum tubes used with different devices.

The main features of the first generation are −

• Vacuum tube technology
• Unreliable
• Supported machine language only
• Very costly
• Generated a lot of heat
• Slow input and output devices
• Huge size
• Need of AC
• Non-portable
• Consumed a lot of electricity

 Some computers of this Generation are:

ENIAC:

ENIAC stands for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator, the ENIAC was the first electronic computer used for general purposes, such as solving numerical problems. It was invented by John Presper Eckert and John Mauchly at the University of Pennsylvania to calculate artillery firing tables for the United States Army's Ballistic Research Laboratory.

the ENIAC occupied about 30 X 50 foot space and consisted of almost 18,000 vacuum tubes, 1,500 relays, 10,000 capacitors, and 70,000 resistors. It also used 200 kilowatts of electricity, weighed over 30 tons, and cost about $487,000.

EDVAC:

EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer) was one of the earliest electronic computers. Unlike its predecessor the ENIAC, it was binary rather than decimal, and was designed to be a stored-program computer. ENIAC inventors John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert also invented it in about 1949.EDVAC was a binary serial computer with the capability of automatic addition, subtraction, multiplication, programmed division.

UNIVAC:

UNIVAC, the UNIVersal Automatic Computer, was the first computer built for general commercial use and used magnetic tape, rather than punch cards, to input and store data.it was developed in 1951 by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, makers of ENIAC. it also used thousands of vacuum tubes for computation.

In 1952, UNIVAC predicted the outcome of the US presidential election and helped introduce people to the Computer.

2. Second Generation of Computer

The period of second generation was from 1959-1965. In this generation, transistors were used that were cheaper, consumed less power, more compact in size, more reliable and faster than the first generation machines made of vacuum tubes. In this generation, magnetic cores were used as the primary memory and magnetic tape and magnetic disks as secondary storage devices.

In this generation, assembly language and high-level programming languages like FORTRAN, COBOL were used. The computers used batch processing and multi-programming operating system.

second generation computer

Transistor:

A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify or switch electronic signals and electrical power. It is composed of semiconductor material usually with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals controls the current through another pair of terminals. Because the controlled (output) power can be higher than the controlling (input) power, a transistor can amplify a signal.

                                              transistor invented in 1947 by American physicists John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley at Bell Labs. They shared the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics for their achievement.

transistor

The main features of second generation are −

• Use of transistors
• Reliable in comparison to first generation computers
• Smaller size as compared to first generation computers
• Generated less heat as compared to first generation computers
• Consumed less electricity as compared to first generation computers
• Faster than first generation computers
• Still very costly
• AC required
• Supported machine and assembly languages

Some computers of this generation were −

• IBM 1620
• IBM 7094
• CDC 1604
• CDC 3600
• UNIVAC 1108

Third Generation of computer

The period of third generation was from 1965-1971. The computers of third generation used Integrated Circuits (ICs) in place of transistors. A single IC has many transistors, resistors, and capacitors along with the associated circuitry.

 

third generation computer

The IC was invented by Jack Kilby. This development made computers smaller in size, reliable, and efficient. In this generation remote processing, time-sharing, multiprogramming operating system were used. High-level languages (FORTRAN-II TO IV, COBOL, PASCAL PL/1, BASIC, ALGOL-68 etc.) were used during this generation.

The main features of third generation are −

• IC used
• More reliable in comparison to previous two generations
• Smaller size
• Generated less heat
• Faster
• Lesser maintenance
• Costly
• AC required
• Consumed lesser electricity
• Supported high-level language

Some computers of this generation were −

• IBM-360 series
• Honeywell-6000 series
• PDP (Personal Data Processor)
• IBM-370/168
• TDC-316

Integrated circuit (IC):-

An integrated circuit (IC) is a small semiconductor-based electronic device consisting of fabricated transistors, resistors and capacitors. Integrated circuits are the building blocks of most electronic devices and equipment.An integrated circuit is also known as a chip or microchip. IC was developed by Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce, in 1959.

Integrated circuit generations

Since their creation, there have been many different generations of integrated circuits with increases to the number of transistors and logic gates per chip. Below is a list of each of the generations and the approximate capacity of each chip.

1. SSI (small-scale integration) - 1 to 10 transistors and 1 to 12 logic gates.
2. MSI (medium-scale integration) - 10 to 500 transistors and 13 to 99 logic gates.
3. LSI (large-scale integration) - 500 to 20,000 transistors and 100 to 9,999 logic gates.
4. VLSI (very-large-scale integration) - 20,000 to 1,000,000 transistors and 10,000 to 99,999 logic gates.
5. ULSI (ultra-large-scale integration) - over 1,000,000 transistors and 100,000 logic gates.

Fourth Generation of Computer

The period of fourth generation was from 1971-1980. Computers of fourth generation used Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuits. VLSI circuits having about 5000 transistors and other circuit elements with their associated circuits on a single chip made it possible to have microcomputers of fourth generation.

fourth generation computer

Fourth generation computers became more powerful, compact, reliable, and affordable. As a result, it gave rise to Personal Computer (PC) revolution. In this generation, time sharing, real time networks, distributed operating system were used. All the high-level languages like C, C++, DBASE etc., were used in this generation.

The main features of fourth generation are −

• VLSI technology used
• Very cheap
• Portable and reliable
• Use of PCs
• Very small size
• Pipeline processing
• No AC required
• Concept of internet was introduced
• Great developments in the fields of networks
• Computers became easily available

Some computers of this generation were −

• DEC 10
• STAR 1000
• PDP 11
• CRAY-1(Super Computer)
• CRAY-X-MP(Super Computer)

Fifth Generation of Computer

The period of fifth generation is 1980-till date. In the fifth generation, VLSI technology became ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration) technology, resulting in the production of microprocessor chips having ten million electronic components.

This generation is based on parallel processing hardware and AI (Artificial Intelligence) software. AI is an emerging branch in computer science, which interprets the means and method of making computers think like human beings. All the high-level languages like C and C++, Java, .Net etc., are used in this generation.

AI includes −

• Robotics
• Neural Networks
• Game Playing
• Development of expert systems to make decisions in real-life situations
• Natural language understanding and generation

The main features of fifth generation are −

• ULSI technology
• Development of true artificial intelligence
• Development of Natural language processing
• Advancement in Parallel Processing
• Advancement in Superconductor technology
• More user-friendly interfaces with multimedia features
• Availability of very powerful and compact computers at cheaper rates

Some computer types of this generation are −

• Desktop
• Laptop
• NoteBook
• UltraBook
• ChromeBook

SHARE

Ved Prakash

Hello guys, I am Ved, from Dehradun, A MCA student of Graphic Era University Dehradun. Graduated with BCA In 2014 from VEER KUNWAR SINGH University. My Professional Career Start Early At My 2nd University Year of BCA, Utilizing My Passion for Computer System, I Start Working as Computer Teacher at Unisoft Solutions. I spend most of my free time reading books, articles and papers. Hundreds of books and thousands of hours serving online helped me expand my knowledge of the world and improve my understanding of what, I do..

• 
• 
• 
• 
•