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Computer Organization Reviewer

The document discusses the history of computers over five generations from 1946 to the present. It describes the main features and examples of computers from each generation as technology advanced from vacuum tubes to transistors to integrated circuits. The document also covers different types of computers and how they work at a basic level.

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elyssesantiago6
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32 views5 pages

Computer Organization Reviewer

The document discusses the history of computers over five generations from 1946 to the present. It describes the main features and examples of computers from each generation as technology advanced from vacuum tubes to transistors to integrated circuits. The document also covers different types of computers and how they work at a basic level.

Uploaded by

elyssesantiago6
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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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The first generation (1946 – 1959)

The main features:


• Vacuum tube technology • Unreliable • Supported machine language only
• Very costly • Generated lot of heat • Slow input and output devices
• Huge size • Need of A.C. • Non-portable • Consumed lot of electricity
Some computers of this generation were:
• ENIAC • EDVAC • UNIVAC • IBM – 701 • IBM 650

Second Generation (1959 - 1965)


The main features are:
• Use of transistors
• Reliable in comparison to first generation computers
• Smaller size as compared to first generation computers
• Generated less hear as compared to first generation computers
• Consumed less electricity as compared to first generation computers
• Faster than first generation computers
• Still very costly
• A.C needed
• Supported machine and assembly languages
Some computers of this generation were:
• IBM 1620
• IBM 7094
• CDC 1604
• CDC 3600
• UNIVAC 1108

Third Generation (1965 - 1971)


The main features are:
• IC used
• More reliable in comparison to previous two generations
• Smaller size
• Generated less heat
• Faster
• Lesser maintenance
• Still costly
• AC needed
• Consumed lesser electricity
• Supported high-level language
Some computers of this generation are:
▪ IBM – 360 series
▪ Honeywell- 6000 series
▪ PDP(Personal Data Processor)
▪ IBM – 370 /168
▪ TDC – 316
Fourth Generation (1971 - 1980)
The main features:
• VLSI technology used
• Very cheap
• Portable and reliable
• Use of PC’s
• Very small size
• Pipeline processing
• No A.C needed
• 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 (1980 – up to date)


All include:
• Robotics
• Neural Networks
• Game Playing
• Development of expert systems to make decisions in real-life situations
• Natural language understanding and generation
The main features:
• 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 a cheaper rate
The main features:
• Desktop
• Laptop
• Notebook
• Ultrabook
• Chromebook

COMPUTER TYPES
A computer can be defined as a fast electronic calculating machine that accepts the
(data) digitized input information processes it as per the list of internally stored
instructions and produces the resulting information. The list of instructions is called
programs & and internal storage is called computer memory
The different types of computers are:
• Personal Computers =>This is the most common type found in homes, schools,
business office etc. It is the most common type of desk top computers with processing
and storage units along with various input and output devices.
• Notebook Computers => These are compact and portable versions of PC
• Work Stations=> These have high-resolution input/output (I/O) graphics capability but
with the same dimensions as that of desktop computers. These are used in engineering
applications of interactive design work.
• Enterprise Systems =>These are used for business data processing in medium to
large corporations that require much more computing power and storage capacity than
workstations.
• Super Computers=> These are used for large scale numerical calculations required in
the applications like weather forecasting, etc.

Functional Unit
• A computer consists of five functions independent main parts input, memory,
arithmetic logic unit (ALU), output and control unit
• Input device accepts the coded information as a source program i.e. high-level
language.
• This is either stored in the memory or immediately used by the processor to perform
the desired operations.
• The program stored in the memory determines the processing steps.
• Basically, the computer converts one source program to an object program. i.e. into
machine language.
• Finally the results are sent to the outside world through the output device

Word
The number of bits in each word is known as word length. The time required to access
one word is called the memory access time. The small, fast, RAM units are called
caches

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