There are five generations of computer:
• First generation – 1946 - 1958
• Second generation – 1959 - 1964
• Third generation – 1965 - 1970
• Fourth generation – 1971 - today
• Fifth generation – Today to future
The First Generation:
• The first computers used vacuum
tubes for circuitry and magnetic
drums for memory, and were often
enormous, taking up entire rooms.
• They were very expensive to operate
and in addition to using a great deal of
electricity, generated a lot of heat,
which was often the cause of
malfunctions.
• First generation computers relied on machine
language, the lowest-level programming language
understood by computers, to perform operations,
and they could only solve one problem at a time.
• Input was based on punched cards and paper tape,
and output was displayed on printouts.
The Second Generation
• Transistors replaced vacuum tubes
and ushered in the second generation
of computers.
• One transistor replaced the
equivalent of 40 vacuum tubes.
• Allowing computers to become
smaller, faster, cheaper, more
energy-efficient and more reliable.
• Still generated a great deal of heat
that can damage the computer.
• Second-generation computers moved from cryptic
binary machine language to symbolic, or assembly,
languages, which allowed programmers to specify
instructions in words.
• Second-generation computers still relied on punched
cards for input and printouts for output.
• These were also the first computers that stored their
instructions in their memory, which moved from a
magnetic drum to magnetic core technology.
The Third Generation
• The development of the integrated
circuit was the hallmark of the third
generation of computers.
• Transistors were miniaturized and
placed on silicon chips, called
semiconductors, which drastically
increased the speed and efficiency of
computers.
• Much smaller and cheaper compare
to the second generation computers.
• It could carry out instructions in
billionths of a second.
• Users interacted with third generation computers
through keyboards and monitors and interfaced with
an operating system, which allowed the device to
run many different applications at one time with a
central program that monitored the memory.
• Computers for the first time became accessible to a
mass audience because they were smaller and
cheaper than their predecessors.
The Fourth Generation
• The microprocessor brought the
fourth generation of computers, as
thousands of integrated circuits
were built onto a single silicon chip.
• As these small computers became
more powerful, they could be linked
together to form networks, which
eventually led to the development
of the Internet.
• Fourth generation computers also
saw the development of GUIs, the
mouse and handheld devices.
The Fifth Generation
• Based on Artificial Intelligence (AI).
• Still in development.
• The use of parallel processing and superconductors
is helping to make artificial intelligence a reality.
• The goal is to develop devices that respond to
natural language input and are capable of learning
and self-organization.
• There are some applications, such as voice
recognition, that are being used today.
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