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By: Muhammad Talal Zahid Submitted To: Sir Ali Imran: Agriculture University Faisalabad Sub Campus Toba-Tek-Singh

The document summarizes the five generations of computers from the 1940s to present. The first generation used vacuum tubes, were large and expensive. The second generation used transistors, which made computers smaller, faster and cheaper. The third generation used integrated circuits which further increased speed and efficiency. The fourth generation used microprocessors on a single chip making computers much smaller. The fifth generation focuses on artificial intelligence and parallel processing.

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53 views

By: Muhammad Talal Zahid Submitted To: Sir Ali Imran: Agriculture University Faisalabad Sub Campus Toba-Tek-Singh

The document summarizes the five generations of computers from the 1940s to present. The first generation used vacuum tubes, were large and expensive. The second generation used transistors, which made computers smaller, faster and cheaper. The third generation used integrated circuits which further increased speed and efficiency. The fourth generation used microprocessors on a single chip making computers much smaller. The fifth generation focuses on artificial intelligence and parallel processing.

Uploaded by

bilal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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By: Muhammad Talal Zahid

Submitted To: Sir Ali Imran

Date: 17-10-2018

Department: Computer Science

Semester: First
Agriculture University Faisalabad Sub Campus Toba-Tek-Singh
First Generation (1940-1956) Vacuum Tubes

The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and were
often enormous, taking up entire rooms. They were very expensive to operate and in addition to
using a great deal of electricity, generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause of malfunctions.

First generation computers relied on machine language, the lowest-level programming language
understood by computers, to perform operations, and they could only solve one problem at a time.
Input was based on punched cards and paper tape, and output was displayed on printouts.

The UNIVAC and ENIAC computers are examples of first-generation computing devices. The UNIVAC
was the first commercial computer delivered to a business client, the U.S. Census Bureau in 1951.

Second Generation (1956-1963) Transistors

Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and ushered in the second generation of computers. The
transistor was invented in 1947 but did not see widespread use in computers until the late 1950s.
The transistor was far superior to the vacuum tube, allowing computers to become smaller, faster,
cheaper, more energy-efficient and more reliable than their first-generation predecessors. Though
the transistor still generated a great deal of heat that subjected the computer to damage, it was a
vast improvement over the vacuum tube. Second-generation computers still relied on punched cards
for input and printouts for output.

Second-generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine language to symbolic, or


assembly, languages, which allowed programmers to specify instructions in words. High-level
programming languages were also being developed at this time, such as early versions of COBOL and
FORTRAN. These were also the first computers that stored their instructions in their memory, which
moved from a magnetic drum to magnetic core technology.

The first computers of this generation were developed for the atomic energy industry.

Third Generation (1964-1971) Integrated Circuits

The development of the integrated circuit was the hallmark of the third generation of computers.
Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips, called semiconductors, which drastically
increased the speed and efficiency of computers.
Instead of punched cards and printouts, users interacted with third generation computers through
keyboards and monitors and interfaced with an operating system, which allowed the device to run
many different applications at one time with a central program that monitored the memory.
Computers for the first time became accessible to a mass audience because they were smaller and
cheaper than their predecessors.

Fourth Generation (1971-Present) Microprocessors

The microprocessor brought the fourth generation of computers, as thousands of integrated circuits
were built onto a single silicon chip. What in the first generation filled an entire room could now fit in
the palm of the hand. The Intel 4004 chip, developed in 1971, located all the components of the
computer—from the central processing unit and memory to input/output controls—on a single chip.

In 1981 IBM introduced its first computer for the home user, and in 1984 Apple introduced the
Macintosh. Microprocessors also moved out of the realm of desktop computers and into many areas
of life as more and more everyday products began to use microprocessors.

As these small computers became more powerful, they could be linked together to form networks,
which eventually led to the development of the Internet. Fourth generation computers also saw the
development of GUIs, the mouse and handheld devices.

Fifth Generation (Present and Beyond) Artificial Intelligence

Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in development, though
there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today. The use of parallel
processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a reality. Quantum
computation and molecular and nanotechnology will radically change the face of computers in years
to come. The goal of fifth-generation computing is to develop devices that respond to natural
language input and are capable of learning and self-organization.

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