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Generation of Computers

The document summarizes the five generations of computers based on their underlying technology. The first generation used vacuum tubes, the second used transistors which were smaller and more efficient than vacuum tubes. The third generation used integrated circuits which further improved size, speed and cost. The fourth generation used microprocessors which placed all components on a single chip. Researchers are now working to develop fifth generation computers that can think and reason like humans using artificial intelligence.

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165 views4 pages

Generation of Computers

The document summarizes the five generations of computers based on their underlying technology. The first generation used vacuum tubes, the second used transistors which were smaller and more efficient than vacuum tubes. The third generation used integrated circuits which further improved size, speed and cost. The fourth generation used microprocessors which placed all components on a single chip. Researchers are now working to develop fifth generation computers that can think and reason like humans using artificial intelligence.

Uploaded by

peermytheen
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Generation of Computers

Each phase of computer development is known as a separate generation of


computers. The computer can be classified into four generations according to
their type of electronic circuits such as vacuum tube, transistor, IC etc.

The First Generation Computers (1949-55)


The greatest single advancement in automatic computing came in 1945 when
Dr. John Von Neuman introduced the idea of storing the computer’s instruction
internally. This idea was incorporated in the design of (EDVAC), Electronic
Discrete Variable Automatic Computer. But the world’s first successful
computer was made in 1946 named ENIAC, Electronic Numerical Integrator And
Computer, developed by J.W. Mauchly and J.P. Eckert.
ENIAC was quite fast compared with earlier devices. But it was huge. It
contained 18,000 vacuum tubes. It occupied a two room car garage. It
consumed a lot of electricity and had a water cooled cooling system. The first
generation computers are identified by the use of vacuum tubes.
The main examples of this generation computers are ENIAC and UNIVAC-I.
Main Features:
(i) The computers of this generation used vacuum tubes.
(ii) These computers used machine language for giving instructions.
(iii) They used the concept of stored program.
(iv) These computers were 5000 times faster than the MARK-I.
(v) The first generation computers were welcomed by Government and
Universities.

Limitations:
(i) These computers were very big in size. The ENIAC machine was 30 x 50 feet
in size and 30 tons in weight. So, these machines required very large space for
their workings.
(ii) Their power consumption was very high.
(iii) These computers had slow operating speed and small computing capacity.
(iv) These computers had a very small memory.
The Second Generation Computers (1956-65)
In 1948, Bell Laboratories developed the transistor. The transistor performed
the same functions as vacuum tube but was smaller and less expensive,
generated almost no heat and required less power. The development of the
transistor was soon applied to computers which reduced their size substantially,
the power required was less and had higher processing speed. IBM-700, 1401
and ATLAS are some examples of the IInd Generation Computers.
The second generation computers are IBM 1401, IBM 1620, IBM 7094 and
UNIVAC 1108.

Main Features:
(i) The computers of this generation replaced vacuum tubes with transistors.
(ii) Magnetic cores were invented for storage.
(iii) Different magnetic storage devices were developed in this generation.
(iv) Commercial applications were developed during this period. Eighty percent
of these computers were used in business and industries.

Third Generation Computers (1966-75)


In 1964, third generation computers were introduced. These computers has a
new technology, the technology of integrated transistor circuits better known as
IC or Integrated Circuits. These computers had much higher speeds, larger
storage capacities, and lower prices. Instead of having one transistor working
separately, several transistors would be integrated with other components and
sealed in a small package. This package was called Integrated Circuit (I.C.)
or the Chip. Examples of IIIrd generation computers are IBM 360/370 and
NCR 395.
The third generation computers are IBM-360 series, ICL-2900 series, KL
2903, CDC-1700 etc.
Main Features:
(i) The third generation computers replaced transistors with’ Integrated
Circuits’. These Integrated Circuits are also known as chips.
(ii)The size of main memory was increased and reached about 4 megabytes.
(iii)Magnetic disk technology had been improved and drive having capacity upto
100 MBPS came into existence.
(iv) The CPU become more powerful with the capacity of carrying out 1 million
instructions per second.
(v) This generation computers were relatively inexpensive and faster.
(vi) The application area also increased in this generation. The computers were
used in other areas like education, small businesses survey, analysis along with
their previous usage areas.

The Fourth Generation Computers (1976-Present)


The fourth generation of computers has not been clearly defined. However, they
can be identified with the use of Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) technology.
After 1971, the technology made it possible to put all the main electric
components of a computer system onto a single chip, which was called the
Microprocessor. The number of circuits per chip range from 1000 to several
hundred thousand. The benefit of using microprocessor was that the cost was
further reduced, the size was reduced, computers became faster than before
and they had very large storage capacity.Example of rough generation: Mini
Computers, Micro Computers.
The Fourth Generation Computers are Pentium, Power PC etc

Main Features:
(i) The fourth generation computers replaced small scale integrated circuits and
medium scale
integrated circuits with the microprocessors chip.
(ii) Semiconductor memories replaced magnetic core memories.
(iii) The hard-disks are available of the sizes upto 200 GB. The RAID technology
(Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) gives storage upto thousands of GB.
(iv) Computer cost came down rapidly in this generation.
(v) Application of computers is increased in various areas like visualization,
parallel computing, multimedia etc.

The Fifth Generation Computers


Mankind along with the advancement in science and technology is working hard
to bring the Vth Generation of computer. These computers will have the
capability of thinking on their own like an man with the help of Artificial
Intelligence (AI). the 21st century will see better, faster, smaller and smarter
computers.

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