Generations of Computers Generation in computer terminology is a change in technology a computer is/was being used. Initially, the generation term was used to distinguish between varying hardware technologies. Nowadays, generation includes both hardware and software, which together make up an entire computer system. There are five computer generations known till date, Each generation has been discussed in detail along with their time period and characteristics, In the following table, approximate dates against each generation has been mentioned, which are normally accepted. Following are the main five generations of computers. or = Generation & Description First Generation ‘The period of first generation: 1946-1953, Vacuum tube based. Second Generation The period of second generation: 1959-1965. Transistor based. jad ofthird generation: 1965-1974. Integrated Cireut bused. + | The period of fourth generation: 3972-980, VLSI micopracesser based, Eifth Generation 3 | The pesiod of fith generation: 1980-onwards. ULSI microprocessor based. First Generation Computers ‘The period of first generation was from 1946-1959. The computers of first generation used vacuum tubes as the basic components for memory and circuitry for CPU (Central Processing Unit). These tubes, like electric bulbs, produced a lot of heat and the installations used to fuse frequently. Therefore, they were very expensive and only large organizations were able to afford it. In this generation, mainly batch processing operating system was used. Punch cards, paper tape, and magnetic tape was used as input and output devices. The computers in this generation used machine code as the programming language. The main features of the first generation are * Vacuum tube technology Unreliable ‘Supported machine language only #Very costly «Generated a lot of heat low input and output devices« Huge size © Need of AC « Non-portable « Consumed a lot of electricity Some computers of this generation were: © ENIAC * EDVAC © UNIVAC *IBM-701 © IBM-650 Second Generation Computers ‘The period of second generation was from 1959-1965. In this generation, transistors were used that were cheaper, consumed less power, more compact in size, more reliable and faster than the first-generation machines made of vacuum tubes. In this generation, magnetic cores were used as the primary memory and magnetic tape and magnetic disks as secondary storage devices. In this generation, assembly language and high-level programming languages like FORTRAN, COBOL were used. The computers used batch processing and multiprogramming operating system. ‘The main features of second generation are: * Use of transistors Reliable in comparison to first generation computers * Smaller size as compared to first generation computers * Generated less heat as compared to first generation computers Consumed less electricity as compared to first generation computers + Faster than first generation computers * Still very costly AC required * Supported machine and assembly languages Some computers of this generation were: * IBM 1620 * IBM 7094 * CDC 1604 * CDC 3600 * UNIVAC 1108Third Generation Computers ‘The period of third generation was from 1965-1971. The computers of third generation Used Integrated Circuits (ICs) in place of transistors. A single IC has many transistors, resistors, and capacitors along with the associated circuitry. The IC was invented by Jack Kilby. This development made computers smaller in size, reliable, and efficient. In this generation remote processing, time-sharing, multi-programming operating system were used. High-level languages (FORTRAN-II TO IV, COBOL, PASCAL PL/1, BASIC, ALGOL-68 etc.) were used during this generation. ‘The main features of third generation are: ICused * More reliable in comparison to previous two generations «Smaller size «Generated less heat «Faster «Lesser maintenance * Costly AC required «Consumed lesser electricity « Supported high-level language Some computers of this generation were: + IBM-360 series ‘« Honeywell-6000 series « PDP (Personal Data Processor) © 1BM-370/168 © TDC-316 Fourth Generation Computers The period of fourth generation was from 1971-1980. Computers of fourth generation Used Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuits. VLSI circuits having about 5000 transistors and other circuit elements with their associated circuits on a single chip made it possible to have microcomputers of fourth generation. Fourth generation computers became more powerful, compact, reliable, and affordable. As a result, it gave rise to Personal Computer (PC) revolution. In this generation, time sharing, real time networks, distributed operating system were used. All the high-level languages like C, C++, DBASE etc, were used in this generation, The main features of fourth generation are: « VLSI technology used Very cheap «Portable and reliable «Use of PCs# Very small size « Pipeline processing No AC required * 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 Computers ‘The period of fifth generation is 1980-till date. In the fifth generation, VLSI technology became ULSI (Ultra Large-Scale Integration) technology, resulting in the production of microprocessor chips having ten million electronic components. This generation is based sing hardware and Al (Artificial Intelligence) software. AI is an ‘emerging branch in computer science, which interprets the means and method of making computers think like human beings, All the high-level languages like C and C++, Java, Net on parallel proce: etc, are used in this generation Alincludes: * Robotics « Neural Networks * Game Playing « Development of expert systems to make decisions in real-life situations « Natural language understanding and generation ‘The main features of fifth generation are: * 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 cheaper rates Some computer types of this generation are: * Desktop * Laptop # NoteBook ¢ UltraBook * ChromeBookA COMPUTER SYSTEM Any system is defined as a group of integrated parts which are designed to achieve common objective. Thus, a system is made up of more than one element or part, where each element performs a specific function and where all the elements (parts) are logically related and are controlled in such a way that the goal (purpose) of the system is achieved. ‘A computer is made up of a number of integrated elements like - The central processing unit, - The input and output devices and - The storage devices. Each of these units performs a specific task. However, none of them can function independently on their own. They are logically related and controlled to achieve a specific goal. When they are thus integrated, they form a fully-fledged computer system. COMPONENTS OF A COMPUTER SYSTEM ‘The basic parts of computer system are: «Input Unit # The Central Processing Unit * Output Unit au —*DATA FLOW (CONTROL FLOW Fig. Central Processing Unit The Input Unit: Input devices are the dev ices which are used to feed programs and data to the computer. ‘The input system connects the external environment with the computer system. The input devices are the means of communication between the user and the computer system. Typical input devices include the keyboard, floppy disks, mouse, microphone, light pen, joy stick, magnetic tapes etc, The way in which the data is fed into the computer through each of these devices is different. However, a computer can accept data only ina specific form, Therefore, these input devices transform the data fed to them, into a form which can be accepted by the computer. These devices are a means of communication and inter 1 station between the user and the computer systems.‘Thus, the functions of the input unit are: accept information (data) and programs, «convert the data in a form which the computer can accept. « provide this converted data to the computer for further processing. The Central Processing Unit: This is the brain of any computer system. The central processing unit or CPU is made of three parts: * The control unit. The arithmetic logic unit The primary storage unit The Control Unit: The Control Unit controls the operations of the entire computer system. The control unit gets the instructions from the programs stored in primary storage unit interprets these instructions and subsequently directs the other units to execute the instructions. Thus, it manages and coordinates the entire computer system. The Arithmetic Logic Unit: The Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) actually executes the instructions and performs all the calculations and decisions. The data is held in the primary storage unit and transferred to the ALU whenever needed, Data can be moved from the primary storage to the arithmetic logic unit a number of times before the entire processing is complete. After the completion, the results are sent to the output storage section and the output devices. The Primary Storage Unit: This is also called as Main Memory. Before the actual processing starts the data and the instructions fed to the computer through the input units are stored in this primary storage unit. Similarly, the data which is to be output from the computer system isalso temporarily stored in the primary memory. Itis also the area where intermediate results of calculations are stored. The main memory has the storage section that holds the computer programs during execution. ‘Thus, the primary unit: «Stores data and programs during actual processing « Stores temporary results of intermediate processing « Stores results of execution temporarily Output Unit: The output devices give the results of the process and computations to the outside world. ‘The output units accept the results produced by the computer, convert them into ahuman readable form and supply them to the users. The more common output devices are printers, plotters, display screens, magnetic tape drives etc.Input Devices Following are few of the important input devices which are used in a computer: «Keyboard * Mouse’ *# Joy Stick Light pen «Track Ball «Scanner «Graphic Tablet ‘* Microphone ‘* Magnetic Ink Card Reader(MICR) * Optical Character Reader(OCR) «Bar Code Reader ‘Optical Mark Reader(OMR) Keyboard Keyboard is the most common and very popular input device which helps in inputting data to the computer. The layout of the keyboard is like that of traditional typewriter, although there are some additional keys provided for performing additional functions. Keyboards are of two sizes 84 keys or 101/102 keys, but now keyboards with 104 keys or 108 keys are also available for Windows and Internet. The keys on the keyboard are as follows: sr. K pti Ne | Keys Description These keys include the letter keys (A~Z) and digit keys (0-9) 1 Ty Ke YPInB Keys | which generally give same layout as that of typewriters. Itis used to enter numeric data or cursor movement, Generally, Numeric 2 it consists of a set of 17 keys that are laid out in the same Keypad . configuration used by most adding machines and calculators. The twelve function keys are present on the keyboard which 3. | Function Keys | are arranged in a row at the top of the keyboard. Each function key has unique meaning and is used for some specific purpose. These keys provide cursor and screen control. It includes four directional arrow keys. Control keys also include Home, End, Insert, Delete, Page Up, Page Down, Control (Ctrl), Alternate (Al0, Escape (Esc). 4 | Control keysSpecial Keyboard also contains some special purpose keys such as Purpose Enter, Shift, Caps Lock, Num Lock, Space bar, Tab, and Print Keys Screen Mouse Mouse is most popular pointing device. It is a very famous cursor-control device having small palm size box with a round ball at its base which senses the movement of mouse and sends corresponding signals to CPU when the mouse buttons are pressed. Generally ithas two buttons called left and right button and a wheel is present between the buttons. Mouse can be used to control the position of cursor on screen, but it cannot be used to enter text into the computer. Advantages Easy to use + Not very expensive ‘* Moves the cursor faster than the arrow keys of keyboard, ae —_, OU Joystick is also a pointing device which is used to move cursor position on a monitor screen. It is a stick having a spherical ball at its both lower and upper ends. The lower spherical ball moves in a socket. The joystick can be moved in all four directions. The function of joystick is similar to that of a mouse, It is mainly used in Computer Aided Designing (CAD) and playing computer games. JoystickLight Pen Light pen is a pointing device which is similar to a pen. It is used to select a displayed menu item or draw pictures on the monitor screen. It consists of a photocell and an optical system placed in a small tube. When the tip of a light pen is moved over the monitor screen and pen button is pressed, its photocell sensing element detects the screen location and sends the corresponding signal to the CPU. MW Track Ball ‘Track ball is an input device that is mostly used in notebook or laptop computer, instead ofa mouse. This is a ball which is half inserted and by moving fingers on ball, pointer can be moved. Since the whole device is not moved, a track ball requires less space than a mouse, A track ball comes in various shapes like a ball, a button and a square, Scanner Scanner is an input device which works more like a photocopy machine. It is used when some information is available on a paper and itis to be transferred to the hard disc of the computer for further manipulation, Scanner captures images from the source which are then converted into the digital form that can be stored on the disc, These images can be edited before they are printed,Digitizer Digitizer is an input device which converts analog information into digital form. Digitizer can convert a signal from the television or camera into a series of numbers that could be stored in a computer. They can be used by the computer to create a picture of whatever the camera had been pointed at. Digitizer is also known as Tablet or Graphics Tablet because it converts graphics and pictorial data into binary inputs. A graphic tablet as digitizer is used for doing fine works of drawing and image manipulation applications. Microphone Microphone is an input device to input sound that is then stored in digital form, The microphone is used for various applications like adding sound to a multimedia presentation or for mixing music.Magnetic Ink Card Reader (MICR) MICR input device is generally used in banks because of a large number of cheques to be processed every day. The bank's code number and cheque number are printed on the cheques with a special type of ink that contains particles of magnetic material that are machine readable, This reading process is called Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR). The main advantages of MICR is that itis fast and less error prone. Optical Character Reader (OCR) OCR is an input device used to read a printed text. OCR scans text optically character by character, converts them into a machine readable code and stores the text on the system memory. Bar Code Readers Bar Code Reader is a device used for reading bar coded data (data in form of light and dark lines). Bar coded data is generally used in labelling goods, numbering the books ete. It may be a hand-held scanner or may be embedded in a stationary scanner. Bar Code Reader scans a bar code image, converts it into an alphanumeric value which is then fed to the computer to which bar code reader is connected.Optical Mark Reader (OMR) OMR is a special type of optical scanner used to recognize the type of mark made by pen or pencil, It is used where one out of a few alternatives is to be selected and marked. It is specially used for checking the answer sheets of examinations having multiple choice questions, 8 oun-nr40s \Output Devices Following are few of the important output devices which are used in a computer «Monitors «Graphic Plotter «Printer Monitors Monitors, commonly called as Visual Display Unit (VDU), are the main output device of a computer. It forms images from tiny dots, called pixels that are arranged in a rectangular form. The sharpness of the image depends upon the number of pixels. There are two kinds of viewing screen used for monitors. * Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT) Flat: Panel Display Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT) Monitor The CRT display is made up of small picture elements called pixels. The smaller the pixels, the better the image clarity, or resolution. It takes more than one illuminated pixel to form whole character, such as the letter‘e’ in the word help. A finite number of characters can be displayed on a screen at once. The screen can be divided into a series of character boxes - fixed location on the screen where a standard character can be placed. Most screens are capable of displaying 80 characters of data horizontally and 25 lines vertically. There are some disadvantages of CRT * Large in Size ‘* High power consumption Flat-Panel Display Monitor The flat-panel display refers to a class of video devices that have reduced volume, weight and power requirement in comparison to the CRT. You can hang them on walls or wear them on your wrists, Current uses of flat-panel displays include calculators, videogames, monitors, laptop computer, graphics display. The flat-panel display is divided into two categories* Emissive Displays - The emissive displays are devices that convert electrical energy into light. Example are plasma panel and LED(Light-Emitting Diodes). ‘+ Non-Emissive Displays - The Non-emissive displays use optical effects to convert sunlight or light from some other source into graphics patterns. Example is LCD(Liquid- Crystal Device) Printers Printer is an output device, which is used to print information on paper. There are two types of printers « Impact Printers « Non-Impact Printers Impact Printers ‘The impact printers print the characters by striking them on the ribbon which is then pressed on the paper. Characteristics of Impact Printers are the following * Very low consumable costs * Very noisy * Useful for bulk printing due to low cost « There is physical contact with the paper to produce an image These printers are of two types «Character printers «Line printers Character Printers Character printers are the printers which print one character at a time. ‘These are further divided into two types « Dot Matrix Printer (DMP) «Daisy Wheel Dot Matrix Printer In the market one of the most popular printers is Dot Matrix Printer. These printers are popular because of their ease of printing and economical price. Each character printed isin form of pattern of dots and head consists of a Matrix of Pins of size (5*7, 7*9, 9*7 or 9*9) which come out to form a character that is why it is called Dot Matrix Printer. Advantages «Inexpensive * Widely Used # Other language characters can be printed Disadvantages * Slow Speed * Poor Quality Daisy Wheel Head is lying on a wheel and pins corresponding to characters are like petals of Daisy (flower name) that is why it is called Daisy Wheel Printer. These printers are generally used for word-processing in offices which require a few letters to be sent here and there with very nice quality, Advantages * More reliable than DMP « Better quality «The fonts of character can be easily changed Disadvantages * Slower than DMP * Noisy ‘« More expensive than DMPLine Printers Line printers are the printers which print one line at a time. ‘These are of further two types © Drum Printer Chain Printer Drum Printer This printer is like a drum in shape so it is called drum printer. The surface of drum is divided into number of tracks. Total tracks are equal to size of paper ie. fora paper width of 132 characters, drum will have 132 tracks. A character set is embossed on track. The different character sets available in the market are 48 character set, 64 and 96 characters set. One rotation of drum prints one line, Drum printers are fast in speed and can print 300 to 2000 lines per minute. Advantages #Very high speed Disadvantages « Very expensive Characters’ fonts cannot be changed Chain Printer In this printer, chain of character sets are used so it is called Chain Printer. A standard character set may have 48, 64, or 96 characters. Advantages «Character fonts can easily be changed. « Different languages can be used with the same printer. Disadvantages NoisyNon-impact Printers Non-impact printers print the characters without using ribbon. These printers print a complete page ata time so they are also called as Page Printers, These printers are of two types Laser Printers Inkjet Printers Characteristics of Non-impact Printers « Faster than impact printers. « They are not noisy. «High quality. ‘* Support many fonts and different character size. Laser Printers ‘These are non-impact page printers, They use laser lights to produce the dots needed to form the characters to be printed on a page. Advantages «Very high speed «Very high quality output * Give good graphics quality «Support many fonts and different character size Disadvantages «Expensive, * Cannot be used to produce multiple copies of a document in a printing. Inkjet Printers Inkjet printers are non-impact character printers based on a relatively new technology. ‘They print characters by spraying small drops of ink onto paper. Inkjet printers produce high quality output with presentable features. They make less noise because nohammering is done and these have many styles of printing modes available. Colour printing is also possible. Some models of Inkjet printers can produce multiple copies of printing also, Advantages High quality printing «More reliable Disadvantages + Expensive as cost per page is high « Slow as compared to laser printer