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My Ict Notes

The document discusses the history and development of computers over five generations from the 1940s to present. It describes the technologies used in each generation including vacuum tubes, transistors, integrated circuits, and modern parallel processing. Memory capacity and processing speed increased dramatically with each new generation.

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42 views4 pages

My Ict Notes

The document discusses the history and development of computers over five generations from the 1940s to present. It describes the technologies used in each generation including vacuum tubes, transistors, integrated circuits, and modern parallel processing. Memory capacity and processing speed increased dramatically with each new generation.

Uploaded by

cossykin19
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 DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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DEVELOPMENT OF COMPUTERS

HISTORY OF COMPUTING
Before 1900, most data processing was done manually using simple tools like stones & sticks
to count and keep records.
Around 2000 years ago, Asian merchants came up with a special calculating tool called
Abacus that could be used to calculate large figures.
An Abacus is made up of a rectangular frame and a crossbar at the middle. It is fitted with
wires or strings running across from the frame to the crossbar.

How to represent a number using an Abacus


Each bead in the lower row has a value of 1, while each bead in the upper row has a value of
5. To represent a number, the bead is moved to the crossbar. Those beads away from the
crossbar represent zeros.
The Figure below represents the number 6908 (Six thousand nine hundred and eight).

After Abacus, the first machine that is usually regarded as the forerunner of modern
computers was named the Analytical Engine, and was developed by an English
mathematician called Charles Babbage.
In 1939, Professor Howard Aken of Horrard University designed the first computer-like
machine named Mark 1. Since then, a series of advancements in electronics has occurred.
With each breakthrough, the computers based on the older form of electronics have been
replaced by a new “generation” of computers based on the newer form of electronics.

COMPUTER GENERATIONS
A Computer generation is a grouped summary of the gradual developments in the
computer technology. The historical events are not considered in terms of individual years,
but are classified in durations (a period of more than a year).

ST
1 Generation computers (1946 – 1956)
st
The 1 generation of computers used thousands of electronic gadgets called Vacuum tubes
or Thermionic valves to store & process information.

Vacuum tube
The tubes consumed a lot power, and generated a lot of heat during processing due
to overheating.
The computers constantly broke down due to the excessive heat generated, hence were
short-lived, and were not very reliable.
They also used Magnetic drum memories.
Cards were used to enter data into the computers.
Their internal memory capacity was limited. The maximum memory size was approx. 2
KB (2,000 bytes).
The computers used big physical devices in their circuitry; hence they were very large in size,
i.e. the computer could occupy several office blocks. For example, ENIAC occupied an area of
2
about 150m - the size of an average 3-bedroom house.
They were very slow - their speed was measured in Milliseconds. E.g., ENIAC (the earliest
electronic computer) could perform 5,000 additions per second & 300 multiplications per
second.
The computers were very costly - they costed millions of dollars.
ST
Examples of 1 Generation computers:
 ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Calculator) built in 1946 for use in World
War II. It contained 18,000 Vacuum tubes.
 EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer) developed in 1945 by Dr.
John Von Neumann. It was the first computer that used instructions stored in memory.
 UNIVAC (UNIVersal Automatic Computer).
 IBM 650.
 LEO (Lyon’s Electronic Office).

ND
2 Generation computers (1957 – 1963)
nd
The 2 generation computers used tiny, solid-state electronic devices called Transistors.
The transistors were relatively smaller, more stable & reliable than vacuum tubes.

Transistor

The computers consumed less power, produced less heat, were much faster, and more
reliable than those made with vacuum tubes.
They used Magnetic core memories.
RAM Memory size expanded to 32 KB.
Their operation speed increased to between 200,000 – 300,000 instructions per second. Their
speeds were measured in Microseconds. E.g., a computer could perform 1 million additions
st
per second, which was comparatively higher than that of the 1 generation computers.
st
The computers were smaller in size & therefore, occupied less space compared to the 1
G computers.
st
They were less costly than the 1 G computers.
nd
Examples of 2 Generation computers:
 NCR 501, IBM 300, IBM 1401, IBM 7070, IBM 7094 Series & CDC-6600
Mainframe computers.
 ATLAS LEO Mark III.
 UNIVAC 1107.
 HONEYWELL 200.
RD
3 Generation computers (1964 – 1979)
Used electronic devices called Integrated Circuits (ICs), which were made by
combining thousands of transistors & diodes together on a semiconductor called a
Silicon chip.

Integrated circuit
The processing speed increased to 5 Million instructions per second (5 MIPS).
The storage capacity of the computers (i.e., the RAM memory sizes) expanded to 2 MB.
nd
They were smaller in size compared to 2 generation computers.
The computers used a wide range of peripheral devices.
The computers could support more than user at the same time. They were also able to
support remote communication facilities.
Magnetic disks were developed for storage purposes.
st
The 1 microcomputer was produced during this period (1974).
rd
Examples of 3 Generation computers:
 IBM 360, 370;
 ICL 1900 Series;
 8-bit Microcomputers & PDP-11 Mainframe computers.

TH
4 Generation computers (1979 – 1989)
th
The 4 generation computers used Large Scale Integrated (LSI) circuits & Very Large
Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuits. These circuits were made by compressing more tiny
circuits and transistors into even smaller space of the silicon chip.

Very Large integrated circuit


The computers were small, and very fast. Their processing speeds increased to 50
Million instructions per second.
Had large storage capacity, i.e., their memory sizes expanded to several hundred Megabytes.
Memories used included Magnetic disks, Bubble memories & Optical disks.
th
Examples of 4 Generation computers:
 IBM 308 and 4300;
 Amdahl 580
 Honeywell DPS-88
 Burroughs 7700, and the 16-bit & 32-bit microcomputers. The first microcomputer
was called Apple II.
TH
5 Generation computers (1990 – Present)
In this generation fall today’s computers.
The technologies used are Parallel architectures, 3-Dimensional circuit design &
super conducting materials.
These technologies have led to the development of computers referred to as
Supercomputers, which are very powerful, and have very high processing speeds. Their
speeds are measured in Nanoseconds & Picoseconds.
They are able to perform parallel (or multi-processing) whereby a single task is split
among a number of processors.
The memory sizes range between 1 Gigabyte & 1 Terabyte.
The computers are designed using VLSI and the Microchip technology that has given rise to
the smaller computers, known as Microcomputers used today.
The computers have special instruction sets that allow them to support complex programs
that mimic human intelligence often referred to as Artificial Intelligence. Such programs
can help managers to make decisions and also provide critical expert services to users
instead of relying on human professionals.

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