GENERATION OF COMPUTERS

A generation is often referred to the state of improvement in the development of a product. Generation of computer is the advancement of computer technology from time to time. In every generation, the circuitry has become smaller and more advanced than the previous generation. Each generation of computer is characterized by a major technological development.

Table of Contents

There are five generations of computer which are:

First generation (1940 – 1956)
Second generation (1956 – 1963)
Third generation (1964 – 1971)
Fourth generation (1971 – 1983)
Fifth generation (1983 – present and beyond)

FIRST GENERATION OF COMPUTERS (1940 – 1956)

Technology: use of vacuum tubes in electronic circuit. These tubes controlled internal operations and were large which made the machine to be very large and to occupy much space.

Storage Capacity: magnetic drum was the primary internal storage medium which is limited in size.

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Slow input/output: input/output operation are made through the use of punched card which is very slow.

Heat and maintenance problem: this generation generates high level of heat due to the use of tube and special ir conditioning and maintenance were required.

Low level symbolic programming language with long stripe of numbers made of zeros and ones were in use.

Application: the computers were used for payroll processing and record keeping. Examples: IBM 650, UNIVAC I, ENIAC

SECOND GENERATION (1956 – 1963)

Technology: Transistors were used for the internal operation. They replaced vacuum tube of first generation. They are smaller and faster in operation.

Storage Capacity: magnetic core was the primary internal storage which replaced printed card and paper tape.

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Faster input/output: devices could be connected directly to the computer. This made printing faster and easy, detection and correction of error.

High level programming: COBOL, FORTRAN were used for programming. FORTRAN (FORmular TRANslator) was the first widely accepted programming language used scientific application. COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language) was developed in1961 for business data processing. It helped in file processing, editing and input/output capabilities.

Application: payroll processing, billing, updating and inventory files. Examples: IBM 1401, Honeywell 200, CDC 1604 and 3600, IBM 7090.

THIRD GENERATION (1964 – 1971)

Technology: the integrated circuit (IC) replaced the transistors of second generation.

Storage Capacity: magnetic cone and solid state main storage was developed. Input/output were more flexible and it was disk oriented. This generation computers were smaller in size, had better performance and more reliability due to advances in solid-state technology.

High-level programming language: there were many software industries that emerged during this generation. The programming languages of second generations were improved to reduce cost of writing new programs.

Introduction of mini computer: the mini computers offered many of the same features as the main frame computers on a smaller scale.

Time Sharing and Remote Processing: third generation computers were able to perform several operations at the same time. Remote terminals were developed to communicate with a central computer over a specific geographical location. There is availability of operating system (software) to control input/output operation.

Application: this generation of computers was used as airline reservation systems, market forecasting, credit card billing, inventory control and scheduling labour and materials. There was also multi tasking in this generation where both scientific and business application could run on the same machine. Examples: IBM system 360, 370, NCR 395, VAX-750, etc.

FOURTH GENERATION (1971 – 1983)

Technology: use of large scale integrated circuit (LSIC) or micro processor, the first micro processor was developed in the fourth generation. It contains the equivalent of 2300 transistors and was a 4 bit processor. Micro computers were introduced in this generation.

Storage Capacity; there is increased storage capacity and speed.

Special Application: network operating systems were introduced, e.g. Apple Macintosh, the use of Graphic User Interface (GUIs) was also introduced

Versatility of Input and Output Devices: more input and output devices were introduced, e.g. mouse, traceball and other handheld devices.

Applications: fourth generation computers were used for mathematical modeling and simulation, electronic funds transfer, Computer-Aided Instruction and internet.

Super computer was also introduced in this generation. Examples: IBM 4341, DEC 10, Apple 11, STAR 1000, etc.

FIFTH GENERATION (1983 – )

This generation is referred to a Knowledge Information Processing System (KIPS).

Technology: it uses very large scale integrated circuit (VLSIC). Introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is the branch of computer science concerned with making computers behave like humans. It has a mega-chip memories.

The processing speed is very high and it can perform parallel processing. The concept of Artificial Intelligence allows the computer to take its own decision.

Artificial Intelligence includes:

Games playing – programming computer to play games
Natural language – programming computer to understand human languages
Neutral network: programming computer to make decision in real life
Robotics – programming computer to see, hear and react to other sensory stimuli
Neutral networks: systems that simulate intelligence by attempting to reproduce the type of physical connections that occur in animal brains.