1.

2 EVOLUTION OF COMPUTERS
The computers of today are vastly different in appearance and performance as compared to
the computers of earlier days. But where did this technology come from and Where is it heading? To
fully understand the impact of computers on today’s world and the promises they hold for the future,
it is important to understand the evolution of computers.

1.2.1. The First Generation:

The first generation computers made use of:
Vacuum tube technology,
Punched cards for data input,
Punched cards and paper tape for output,
Machine Language for writing programs,
Magnetic tapes and drums for external storage.
The computers of the first generation were very bulky and emitted large amount of
heat which required air conditioning. They were large in size and cumbersome to handle. They had to
be manually assembled and had limited commercial use. The concept of operating systems was not
known at that time. Each computer had a different binary coded program called a machine language
that told it how to operate.

Punched cards Paper tape Vacuum tube

Fig. 1.1 The first Generation Computer technology

The Abacus, which emerged about 5000 years ago in Asia Minor and is still in use
today, allows users to make computations using a system of sliding beads arranged on a rack.
Early merchants used Abacus to keep trading transactions.

Abacus Pascaline
Fig. 1.2 the first Generation Computers

Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician invented the first mechanical machine, a

rectangular brass box, called Pascaline which could perform addition and subtraction on whole
numbers. This was in the seventeenth century. Colmar, a Frenchman invented a machine that
could perform the four basic arithmetic functions of addition, subtraction, multiplication and
division. Colmar’s mechanical calculator, “Arithmometer”, presented a more practical
approach to computing. With its enhanced versatility, the “Arithmometer” was widely used
until the First World War, although later inventors refined Colmar’s calculator, together with
fellow inventors, Pascal and Leibniz, he helped define the age of mechanical computation.
 Charles Babbage a British mathematician at Cambridge University invented the
first analytical engine or difference engine. This machine could be programmed by
instructions coded on punch cards and had mechanical memory to store the results. For his
contributions in this field Charles Babbage is known as ‘the
father of modern digital computer.
Some of the early computers included:
Mark I –
This was the first fully automatic calculating machine. It was designed by Howard
Aiken of Harvard University in collaboration with IBM. This machine was an electronic relay
computer. Electromagnetic signals were used for the movement of mechanical parts. Mark I
could perform the basic arithmetic and complex equations. Although this machine was
extremely reliable, it was very slow (it took about 3-5 seconds per calculation) and was complex
in design and large in size.

Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC) –

This computer developed by John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry was the world’s first
general purpose electronic digital computer. It made use of vacuum tubes for internal logic and
capacitors for storage.
ENIAC (Electronic Numeric Integrator and Calculator) –
The first all electronic computer was produced by a partnership between the US
Government and the University of Pennsylvania. It was built using 18,000 vacuum tubes,
70,000 resistors and 1,500 relays and consumed 160 kilowatts of electrical power. The ENIAC
computed at speed about thousand times faster than Mark I. However, it could store and
manipulate only a limited amount of data. Program modifications and detecting errors were also
difficult.

Fig. 1.3 ENIAC

EDVAC –
In the mid 1940’s Dr. John von Neumann designed the Electronic Discrete Variable
Automatic Computer with a memory to store both program and data. This was the first
machine which used the stored program concept. It had five distinct units - arithmetic, central
control, memory, input and output. The key element was the central control. All the functions of
the computer were co-ordinate through this single source, the central control. The programming
of the computers was done in machine language UNIVAC • I –
Remington Rand designed this computer specifically for business data processing
applications. The Universal Automatic Computer was the first general purpose commercially
available computer.

Fig 1.4 UNIVAC

1.2.2 The Second Generation:
In the second generation computers:
Vacuum tube technology was replaced by transistorized technology, Size
of the computers started reducing,
Assembly language started being used in place of machine language,
Concept of stored program emerged,
High level languages were invented.

This was the generation of Transistorized Computers. Vacuum tubes were

replaced by transistors. As a result, the size of the machines started shrinking. These computers
were smaller, faster, more reliable and more energy efficient. The first transistorized computer
was TX-0. The first large scale machines that took advantage of the transistor technology were
the early supercomputers, Stretch by IBM and LARC by Sperry Rand. These machines were
mainly developed for atomic energy laboratories. Typical computers of the second generation
were the IBM 1400 and 7000 series, Honeywell 200 and General Electric.

Fig 1.5 Transistors

IBM 1401 was universally accepted throughout the industry and most large
businesses routinely processed financial information using second generation computers. The
machine language was replaced by assembly language. Thus the long and difficult binary code
was replaced with abbreviated programming code which was relatively easy to understand.
The stored program concept and programming languages gave the computers
flexi bility to finally be cost effective and productive for business use. The stored program
concept implied that the instructions to run a computer for a specific task were held inside the
computer’s memory and could quickly be modified or replaced by a different set of instructions
for a different function. High level languages like COBOL, FORTRAN and AL- GOL were dev
eloped. Computers started finding vast and varied applications. The entire software industry
began with the second generation computers.

1.2.3. The Third Generation:

The third generation computers were characterized by:

Use of Integrated circuits,
Phenomenal increase in computation speed,
Substantial reduction in size and power consumption of the machines, Use
of magnetic tapes and drums for external storage,
Design-of Operating systems and new higher level languages,
Commercial production of computers.

This generation was characterized by the invention of Integrated Circuits (ICs).

The 1C combined electronic components onto a small chip which was made from quartz.
Fig 1.6 i) Integrated Circuit ii) Integrated Circuit

Later, even more components were fitted onto a single chip, called a semiconductor.
This reduced the size even further. The weight and power consumption of computers decreased
and the speed increased tremendously. Heavy emphasis was given to the development of
software. Operating systems were designed which allowed the machine to run many different
programs at once. A central program monitored and co-ordinate the computer s memory.
Multiprogramming was made possible, whereby the machine could perform several jobs at the
same time. Computers achieved speeds of executing millions of instructions per second.
Commercial production became easier and cheaper. Higher level languages like Pascal and
Report Program Generator (RPG) were introduced and applications oriented languages like
FORTRAN, COBOL, and PL/1 were developed.

1.2.4. The Fourth Generation:

The general features of the fourth generation computers were:
Use of Very Large Scale Integration,
Invention of microcomputers,
Introduction of Personal Computers,
Networking,
Fourth Generation Languages.

Fig. 1.7 VLSI

The third generation computers made use of ‘Integrated Circuits that had 10-20
components on each chip, this was Small Scale Integration (SSI).
The Fourth Generation realized Large Scale Integration (LSI) which could fit
hundreds of components on one chip and Very Large Scale integration (VLSI) which
squeezed thousand of components on one chip. The Intel 4004 chip, located all the components
of a computer (central processing unit, memory, input and output controls) on a single chip and
microcomputers were introduced. Higher capacity storage media like magnetic disks were
developed. Fourth generation languages emerged and applications software’s started becoming
popular.
Computer production became inexpensive and the era of Personal
Computers (PCs) commenced. In 1981, IBM introduced its personal computer for use in office,
home and schools. In direct competition, the Macintosh was introduced by Apple in 1984.
Shared interactive systems and user friendly environments were the features of these computers.
As the computers started becoming more and more powerful, they could be linked
together or networked to share not only data but also memory space and software. The networks
could reach enormous proportions with local area networks. A global web of computer circuitry,
the Internet, links the computers worldwide into a single network of information.

1.2.5 The Fifth Generation:

Defining the fifth generation computers is somewhat difficult because the field is still
in its infancy. The computers of tomorrow would be characterized by Artificial Intelligence (At).
An example of Al is Expert Systems. Computers could be developed which could think and
reason in much the same way as humans. Computers would be able to accept spoken words as
input (voice recognition).

Many advances in the science of computer design and technology are coming together
to enable the creation of fifth generation computers. Two such advances are parallel processing
where many CPUs work as one and advance in superconductor technology which allows the
flow of electricity with little or no resistance, greatly improving the speed of information flow.