GENERATION OF COMPUTERS

Hi friend today i discuss about different generation of computer. In my

previous blog i write about the introduction of computer and what is a computer & characteristics about computer. hope all of you read about the topic . those who does not read the topic please click the following link

http://amienbcafe.blogspot.in/2013/08/what-is-computer.html

http://amienbcafe.blogspot.in/2013/08/study-notes-on-amie-sec-computing-and.html

COMPUTER GENERATIONS

You know that the evolution of computer started from 16th century and resulted in the form that we see today. The present day computer, however, has also undergone rapid change during the last fifty years. This period, during which the evolution of computer took place, can be divided into five distinct phases known as Generations of Computers. Each phase is distinguished from others on the basis of the type of switching circuits used.

1.6.1    First Generation Computers

First generation computers used Thermion valves. These computers were large in size and writing programs on them was difficult. Some of the computers of this generation were:

ENIAC: It was the first electronic computer built in 1946 at University of Pennsylvania, USA by John Eckert and John Mauchy. It was named Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC). The ENIAC was 30´50 feet long, weighed 30 tons, contained 18,000 vacuum tubes, 70,000 registers, 10,000 capacitors and required 150,000 watts of electricity. Today your favorite computer is many times as powerful as ENIAC, still size is very small.

EDVAC: It stands for Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer and was developed in 1950. The concept of storing data and instructions inside the computer was introduced here. This allowed much faster operation since the computer had rapid access to both data and instructions. The other advantages of storing instruction was that computer could do logical decision internally.

Other Important Computers of First Generation

EDSAC: It stands for Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Computer and was developed by M.V. Wilkes at Cambridge University in 1949.

 UNIVAC-1: Ecker and Mauchly produced it in 1951 by Universal Accounting Computer setup.   

Limitations of First Generation Computer

Followings are the major drawbacks of First generation computers.

1. The operating speed was quite slow.

2. Power consumption was very high.

3. It required large space for installation.

4. The programming capability was quite low.

1.6.2    Second Generation Computers

Around 1955 a device called Transistor replaced the bulky electric tubes in the first generation computer. Transistors are smaller than electric tubes and have higher operating speed. They have no filament and require no heating. Manufacturing cost was also very low. Thus the size of the computer got reduced considerably.

It is in the second generation that the concept of Central Processing Unit (CPU), memory, programming language and input and output units were developed. The programming languages such as COBOL, FORTRAN were developed during this period. Some of the computers of the Second Generation were

1.     IBM 1620: Its size was smaller as compared to First Generation computers and mostly used for scientific purpose.

2.     IBM 1401: Its size was small to medium and used for business applications.

3.     CDC 3600: Its size was large and is used for scientific purposes.

1.6.3    Third Generation Computers

The third generation computers were introduced in 1964. They used Integrated Circuits (ICs). These ICs are popularly known as Chips. A single IC has many transistors, registers and capacitors built on a single thin slice of silicon. So it is quite obvious that the size of the computer got further reduced. Some of the computers developed during this period were IBM-360, ICL-1900, IBM-370, and VAX-750. Higher level language such as BASIC (Beginners All purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) was developed during this period.

Computers of this generations were small in size, low cost, large memory and processing speed is very high.

1.6.4    Fourth Generation Computers

The present day computers that you see today are the fourth generation computers that started around 1975. It uses large scale Integrated Circuits (LSIC) built on a single silicon chip called microprocessors.  Due to the development of microprocessor it is possible to place computer’s central processing unit (CPU) on single chip. These computers are called microcomputers. Later very large scale Integrated Circuits (VLSIC) replaced LSICs.

Thus the computer which was occupying a very large room in earlier days can now be placed on a table. The personal computer (PC) that you see in your school is a Fourth Generation Computer.

1.6.5    Fifth Generation Computer

The computers of 1990s are said to be Fifth Generation computers. The speed is extremely high in fifth generation computer. Apart from this it can perform parallel processing. The concept of Artificial intelligence has been introduced to allow the computer to take its own decision. It is still in a developmental stage.