Classification of Computers – by

Generation, Type, Size and Degree

The classification of computers includes types, sizes, generations, and degrees
of versatility.

A. Classification of Computers by Generation

Detail information on the generations of computers can be found in this
article: Identifying Different Generations of Computers. Here, we
summarized the classification of computers by generation as follow:

1. First-generation computers were based on vacuum tubes. These

machines were large in size, expensive to operate and instructions
were written in machine language. Their computation time was in
milliseconds.
2. Second-generation computers were based on transistors. They
were smaller in size, less expensive and required less maintenance
than the first-generation computers. They used the stored program
concept. Programs were written in assembly language. The
computation time was in microseconds.
3. Third-generation computers were characterized by the use of
Integrated Circuits. They consumed less power and required low
maintenance compared to their predecessors. High-level languages
were used for programming. The computation time was in
nanoseconds. These computers marked the beginning of
commercial production.
4. Fourth-generation computers used microprocessors which were
designed using the LSI (Large Scale Integration) and VLSI (Very
Large-Scale Integration) technology. The computers became
small, portable, reliable and cheap. The computation time is in
picoseconds. They became available both to the home user and for
commercial use.
 5. Fifth-generation computers are expected to be capable of
learning and self-organization. The computers use SLSI (Super
Large-Scale Integration) chips and have large memory
requirements. They use parallel processing and are based on (AI)
Artificial Intelligence. The fifth-generation computers are still being
developed.

B. Classification of computers by Types

There are three major classifications of computers by type, namely:
Analog, Digital, and Hybrid computers. Let us discuss each in a greater
detail.

Analog Computers:
An analog computer is a kind of computer that represents data as a
variable across a continuous range of values. The earliest computers were
analog computers. Analog computers are used for measuring parameters
that vary continuously in real-time, such as temperature, pressure, and
voltage. Analog computers may be more flexible but generally less
precise than digital computers. The slide rule is an example of an analog
computer. In general, analog computers are extraordinarily fast, since
they can solve most complex equations at the rate at which a signal
traverses the circuit, which is generally an appreciable fraction of the
speed of light. On the other hand, the precision of analog computers is
not good; they are limited to three, or at most, four digits of precision.

Digital Computer:
A digital computer uses distinct values to represent the data internally. All
information is represented using the digits 0s and 1s. The computers that
we use in our homes and offices are digital computers. Digital computers
can be built to take the solution of equations to almost unlimited
precision, but quite slowly compared to analog computers. Generally,
complex equations are approximated using iterative numerical methods
which take huge numbers of iterations, depending on how good the
initial “guess” at the final value is and how much precision is desired.

Hybrid Computer:
Hybrid computers are computers that exhibit features of analog
computers and digital computers. The digital component normally serves
as the controller and provides logical operations, while the analog
component normally serves as a solver of differential equations. Hybrid
computers can be used to obtain a very good but relatively imprecise
‘seed’ value, using an analog computer front-end, which is then fed into
a digital computer iterative process to achieve the final desired degree of
precision. With a three or four-digit, highly accurate numerical seed, the
total digital computation time necessary to reach the desired precision is
dramatically reduced, since many fewer iterations are required.

C. Classification of computers by Size

A third classification of computers is by size. Computers are broadly
classified into four based on their size, namely:
 Micro Computers,
 Mini-Computers,
 Mainframe computers, and
 Super Computers.

Micro-Computers:
Microcomputers are relatively small and low-cost. They consist of a CPU,
an input unit, an output unit, a storage unit, and the software. Although
microcomputers are stand-alone machines, they can be connected
together to create a network of computers that can serve more than one
user. Microcomputers include desktop computers, notebook computers
or laptops, tablet computers, handheld computers, smartphones, and
netbooks, as shown in the figure below.

Different Sizes of Micro Computers

The Desktop Computer usually called Personal Computer (PC) is the
most common type of microcomputer. It is a standalone machine that
can be placed on the desk. 

Notebook Computers or Laptops look like a notebook. They are

portable and have all the features of a desktop computer. The advantage
of the laptop is that it is small in size, can be carried anywhere, has a
battery backup, and has all the functionality of the desktop.

Laptops can be placed on the lap while working (hence the name).
However, some laptops are costlier than desktop machines, depending
on system configurations.

Netbooks are smaller notebooks optimized for low weight and low cost
and are designed for accessing web-based applications. Starting with the
earliest netbook in late 2007, they have gained significant popularity
now. Netbooks deliver the performance needed to enjoy popular
activities like streaming videos or music, emailing, Web surfing or instant
messaging. The word netbook was created as a blend of Internet and
notebook. 

Tablet Computer has features of the notebook computer but it can

accept input from a stylus or a pen instead of the keyboard or mouse. It
is a portable computer optimized for web capabilities. Tablet computer is
a new kind of PCs.

Handheld Computer or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) is a small

computer that can be held on the top of the palm. It is small in size.
Instead of the keyboard, PDA uses a pen or a stylus for input. PDAs do
not have a disk drive. They have limited memory and are less powerful.
PDAs can be connected to the Internet via a wireless connection. Over
the last few years, PDAs have merged into mobile phones to create
smartphones. Casio and Apple are some of the manufacturers of
PDA. Smartphones are cellular phones that function both as a phone and
as a small PC. They may use a stylus or a pen or may have a small
keyboard. They can be connected to the Internet wirelessly. They are
used to access the electronic-mail, download music, play games, etc.
Blackberry, Apple, HTC, Nokia, and LG are some of the manufacturers of
smartphones.

Mini-Computers:
Minicomputers are digital computers, generally used in multi-user
systems. They have high processing speed and high storage capacity
than the microcomputers. Minicomputers can support up to 4 – 200
users simultaneously. The users can access the minicomputer through
their PCs or terminal. They are used for real-time applications in
industries, research centers, etc. PDP 8, IBM (8000 series) are some of the
widely used minicomputers. The figures below are examples of
minicomputers.

Mainframe Computers:
Mainframe computers are multi-user, multi-programming, and high-
performance computers. They operate at a very high speed, have a very
large storage capacity, and can handle the workload of many users.
Mainframe computers are large and powerful systems generally used in
centralized databases. The user accesses the mainframe computer via a
terminal that may be a dumb terminal, an intelligent terminal, or a PC.
A dumb terminal cannot store data or do the processing of its own. It has
the input and output device only. An intelligent terminal has the input
and output device, can do processing, but, cannot store data of its own.
The dumb and the intelligent terminal use the processing power and the
storage facility of the mainframe computer. Mainframe computers are
used in organizations like banks or companies, where many people
require frequent access to the same data. Some examples of mainframes
are CDC 6600 and IBM ES000 series. The figures below are examples of
mainframe computers.

Super Computers:
Supercomputers are the fastest and most expensive machines. They have
high processing speed compared to other computers. The speed of a
supercomputer is generally measured in FLOPS (Floating Point
Operations Per Second). Some of the faster supercomputers can perform
trillions of calculations per second. Supercomputers are built by
interconnecting thousands of processors that can work in parallel.
Supercomputers are used for highly calculation-intensive tasks, such as
weather forecasting, climate research (global warming), molecular
research, biological research, nuclear research, and aircraft design. They
are also used in major universities, military agencies, and scientific
research laboratories. Some examples of supercomputers are IBM
Roadrunner, IBM Blue Gene, and Intel ASCI red. PARAM is a series of
supercomputers assembled in India by C-DAC (Center for Development
of Advanced Computing), in Pune. PARAM Padma is the latest machine in
this series. The peak computing power of PARAM Padma is 1 TeraFLOP
(TFLOP). The diagrams below are examples of supercomputers.
D. Classification of Computers by Degree of Versatility
The fourth and final classification of computers is by degree of usage.
Based on degree of usage or versatility, computers fall into two groups:

 General-purpose computers, and

 Special-purpose computers

General-Purpose Computers:
General-purpose computers are designed to solve a large variety of
problems. That is they can be given different programs to solve different
types of problems. General-purpose computers can process business
data as readily as they process complex mathematical formulas. General-
purpose computers can store a large amount of data and the programs
necessary to process them. Because general-purpose computers are so
versatile, most businesses today use them. Most digital computers are
general computers and it is mainly such computers that are used in
business and commercial data processing. A PC or a Mac and other types
of computers can do a huge amount of things. They can be used by
different people for completely different kinds of jobs. They are general-
purpose computers.

Special-Purpose Computers:
Special purpose computers are designed to solve specific problems; the
computer program for solving the problem is built right into the
computer. Special purpose computers have many features of general-
purpose computers but are designed to handle specific problems and are
not applied to other computerized activities. For example, special
purpose computers may be designed to process only numeric data or to
completely control automated manufacturing processes. Moat analog
computers are special-purpose computers. Special purpose computers
are designed to do specific kinds of jobs. A TV, a washing machine, an
iPod etc, are forms of computers, but they have only a small range of
things that they can do, and are designed specifically to do them.
Special purpose computers are often used as training simulators. A
simulator is a computer-controlled device for training people under
simulated, or artificially created, conditions. The computer creates test
conditions the trainee must respond to, it then records and evaluates the
responses, providing these results to both trainee and supervisor.

The Concept of Computer System

A computer can be defined as a programmable device that can
automatically perform logical and arithmetic operations based on the
input given by the user and returns the desired result after processing. A
computer can also be defined as an electronic device that accepts data,
processes, and stores the data as per user instruction and gives the
results quickly and accurately. A computer system is the combination of
hardware and software that takes input, processes them and gives
output. Computer components are divided into two major categories
namely hardware and software. Hardware is the machine itself and its
connected devices such as monitor, keyboard, mouse, scanner, printer,
etc. The software is the set of programs that make use of hardware for
performing various functions.
A computer has the following characteristics:

1. It processes complex computations faster and accurately than

human beings
2. It can store a large amount of data while working for hours without
breaking or inputting errors
3. A computer can perform different kinds of work at the same time
4. A computer cannot work except instruction is passed to it
 5. A computer does not have emotions, knowledge, experience or
feeling, hence a computer cannot think.

Components of Computer System

There are three major components of a computer system, namely:
hardware, software, and people ware.

Hardware Components
These include the physical components that make up a computer system.
The hardware components include all components that a user can see
and touch while using the computer. A computer system consists of four
basic units; namely the input unit, a storage unit, a central processing
unit, and an output unit. The central processing unit is further divided
into Arithmetic logic unit and control unit. These four units enable the
computer to perform the following five basic functions:
1. Accepts data or instructions as input
2. Stores data and instructions
3. Processes data based on per-user instructions
4. Controls all operations inside a computer
5. Gives results in the form of output to the user.

a. Input Devices: Input devices are used to enter data into the computer
system. The hardware components that make up the input unit include a
mouse, keyboard, scanner, touchscreen monitor, camera/camcorder,
joystick, and microphone.

b. Storage Devices: Storage devices are used by the computer system to

save data and information for future use. Some of the hardware
components that make up the storage devices include:

 Primary memory/storage: Random Access Memory (RAM), Read-

Only Memory (ROM), cache and flash memory.
  Secondary (internal) storage: Hard Disk Drive (HDD) and Solid
State Drive (SSD)
 External storage: CD/DVD, diskette, flash drive, external hard disk,
blue ray disk, and a pen drive.

c. The central processing unit (CPU): This is the processing center of

the computer. It is the center where all arithmetic and logical operations
of the computer is performed. The CPU takes data and instructions from
the primary memory and perform calculations based on the instructions
given and the type of data provided. The CPU is divided into the
Arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and control unit (CU).

d. The Arithmetic Logic Unit performs all calculations and comparisons

based on the data and instructions provided. It performs arithmetic
functions such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and
logical operations such as greater than, less than, greater than or equal
to, equal to, etc.

e. The Control Unit controls all operations of the computer. It takes care
of step by step processing of all operations inside the computer.
Operations such as input, processing, and output are performed by the
control unit.

f. Output devices: Output devices are used by the computer system to

give, show or display results to the user. The hardware components of
the output unit are Monitor, printer, and speaker.

Software Components
Software components of a computer system have no physical
presence but are a set of instructions and data stored in digital form
within the computer memory. They have basically divided into two:
1. System Software
2. Application software.
(1) The system software is used to manage and control the hardware
components of the computer. It allows for user interaction between the
hardware and application software.

There are two major categories of system software:

- The Operating System

- Device Drivers.

(2) An application software otherwise called ‘apps’ are designed to

allow users of a computer system to complete specific tasks. The
application software is the major purpose for which we buy and learn
how to use the computer system.

Application software can either be generic or bespoke. Generic

application software is usually mass-produced with the intention that it
will be used by a wide variety of different users in a wide range of
different situations. This makes their cost cheaper and availability
rampart. The bespoke or custom-built software is created for a specific
purpose which will be used in a known environment. This makes them
more expensive and very rare to see.

Another type of software is utility software. It helps a user to maintain

and protect the computer system but does not directly interface with the
computer hardware. Examples are anti-virus software, firewalls, disk
defragmenters, disk cleanup, etc.

People-ware Components
The computer is designed to be used by people. The people who use the
computer are referred to as people-ware component of the computer
system. People-ware refers to the role of people in the development and
use of computer software and hardware.

 Anyone who designs, develops or uses computer systems plays an

important role in the computing process. They include computer
professionals and users such as computer engineers, programmers,
individual computer users, software engineers, IT specialists, network
engineers, graphic designers, computer technicians, database
administrators, desktop publishers, etc.

The relationship between Hardware, Software, and People-ware

1. The hardware, software, and peopleware are indispensable. All of

them complement one another and none can function without the
other. For example, people created both the software and the
hardware, and the hardware cannot function without the software,
neither will the software function without the hardware. Also, both
the hardware and software need people to operate them for them
to function.
2. One hardware can be used to load different software depending on
who is using it. This means that people (users) determine the kind
of software that can be loaded (installed) in a computer hardware.
3. The kind of job people does determine the kind of hardware and
software that they can use. For example, the kind of computer
hardware and software a film editor uses is different from the kind
desktop publisher uses.
4. Hardware is mostly purchased once while software used in
computer hardware changes over time. Similarly, one or more
persons can use computer hardware and software over time.
5. Hardware, software, and peopleware can be upgraded over time.
This means that obsolete and less functional hardware can be
 changed or upgraded for more efficiency, while over time, the
software is updated to accommodate recent development in
information and communication trends. Also, computer
professionals and users upgrade their knowledge of innovative
developments in hardware and software industry to maximize
productivity and usability.

Definition of Software
A computer software can be visualized as the intangible component of
the computer system. It is the collection of programs, instructions, and
data that directs the computer to perform specific tasks.

System Software
The system software is the backbone of the computer system. It has
various functions including, controlling, integrating and managing the
computer hardware components. It also interfaces between the user,
application software and hardware such that users of the system see it as
a functional unit. System software can be classified as the operating
system, drivers, and utilities.

Operating system:
Examples of the operating system include Unix, Linux, Mac Os, OS/2,
Xenix, Windows NT, Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, HP-UX,
Android (for mobile devices), etc.

Drivers:
Device drivers are operating system specific. A driver that works in
Windows 7 may not necessarily work in windows 8. Examples of device
drivers: printer drivers, video adapter drivers, network drivers, sound card
drivers, etc.

Utility Software:
Utility Software is routine software that is packaged with the operating
system which helps in system maintenance. Examples of utility software
include Norton Antivirus, McAfee antivirus, Scandisk, disk defragmenter,
backup and recovery manager, etc.

Application Software
Application software is used to accomplish specific tasks other than just
running the computer system. There are different kinds of application
software such as word processing software, spreadsheet application
software, graphics, multimedia software, database software, etc.
Application software may consist of a single program e.g. AVS Video
editor, a small collection of programs that work closely together to
accomplish a task e.g. Microsoft Office Word, or a larger collection of
related but independent programs and packages that have a common
user interface or shared data format, such as Microsoft Office suite,
Macromedia MX, CorelDraw graphic suite, etc.

Examples of application software:

i. Word Processing – MS Word, WordPad, WordPerfect, word star,
textmaker, Lotus word pro, Microsoft works, etc

ii. Spreadsheet Applications – MS Excel, Lotus 1-2-3, Quattro Pro,

PlanMaker, OpenOffice.org Calc, AppleWorks, Accel, etc.
iii. Graphics Design Applications – 3D Studio Max, CorelDraw,
Macromedia Dreamweaver & fireworks, paint, photoshop, illustrator,
InDesign, GIMP, Serif DrawPlus, etc.

iv. Multimedia Software – Windows media player, Real player, Total

video player, Gamut, Winamp, etc.

v. Database applications – MS Access, Oracle, MySQL, MS SQL Server,

DB2, etc.

Definition of an Operating System (OS)

An Operating System (OS) can be defined as system software that
manages computer hardware and software resources. It is a vital
component of the computer system and it provides common services for
computer programs. Application software is usually dependent on the
operating system to function.

Examples of Operating System

Different operating systems are used in computer systems today. The
most popular ones which are mostly packaged together with a new
system sold in the market include:

1. FreeDOS– an improved version of DOS (Disk Operating System)

2. Unix – a stable multi-user & multitasking OS for server systems.
3. Linux – usually available as commercial and Open Source software.
There are different Linux OS depending on the distribution: Red
Hat, Ubuntu, OpenSuse, Fedora, LinuxMint, Debian, etc.
4. Macintosh – usually called Mac, was introduced by Apple
computer.
 5. Windows – which is the most popular OS used today, especially in
Nigeria. Windows OS is developed by Microsoft Inc. it has various
versions including Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, etc.

Functions of Operating System

The basic functions of an operating system are:

1. It helps in booting the computer system

2. It monitors the system performance and activities
3. It helps in managing various peripheral devices such as mouse,
keyboard, printer, etc
4. It provides a user interface for effective operating of the computer,
e.g. command line and graphical user interface (GUI)
5. It helps in resource allocation such as computer’s memory and
sharing of the central processing unit time by various applications
or peripheral devices
6. It provides a system of file management which includes the way the
operating system manipulates, stores, retrieves and saves data.
7. It assists in computer utility functions such as backup and restores
operations, defragmentation, disk cleaning, etc.