1
CS1010 Introduction to Computing
Lecture 02
GENERATIONS IN COMPUTER
•
First Generation
–
1940-1956:
Vacuum Tubes
•
Second Generation
–
1956-1962:
Transistors
•
Third Generation
-
1963-1971:
Integrated Circuits
•
Fourth Generation
–
1971-1989:
Microprocessor
FIRST-GENERATION COMPUTERS
(1940 - 1956)
•
Machines were built by vacuum tubes.
•
First generation computers relied on
machine
language.
•
Input was based on
punch cards
.
•
Output was displayed on
printouts
.
•
The
UNIVAC-1
and
ENIAC
computers are examples
of
first-generation
computing device.
•
The UNIVAC was the
first commercial computer
delivered to a business client.
•
First-generations computers were mainly used for
CHARACTERISTICS OF 1
st- GENERATION
COMPUTERS
• They were fastest calculating devices of their time.
• They were too bulky in size, requiring large rooms for installation.
• Thousands of vacuum tubes, which were used, emitted large amount of heat and burnt out
frequently. Hence, the rooms/areas in which these computers were located had to be properly
air-conditioned.
AGE CONCLUSION
•
Vacuum tubes
were used – basic
arithmetic
operations
took few milliseconds.
•
Bulky/heavy
volume.
•
Consume more power
with limited
performance.
•
Uses
assembly language
“
low level language
”
–
to prepare programs. These were translated
into
machine level
language for execution.
•
Punch cards
are used to feed programs, data
and to get results.
SECOND – GENERATION COMPUTERS
(1956 - 1963)
•
Second generation computers were manufactured
using
transistors
instead of vacuum tubes.
•
Second generation computers were
more
powerful
,
more reliable
,
less expensive
,
smaller
,
and cooler to operate.
• ON SOFTWARE FRONT: The 2nd generations computer saw the emergence of high-level programming languages and batch operating systems.
• FORTAN, COBOL, ALGOL and SNOBOL were
developed during the 2nd generation period, due to it, it becomes easier to write programs on computer.
• In the 2nd generations period an increasing usage of computers was seen in business and industry for
commercial data processing applications like payroll,
CHARACTERISTICS OF 2
nd- GENERATION
COMPUTERS
• They were more than 10 times faster than the first-generation computers.
• They were much smaller than first-generation computers, requiring smaller space.
• Although the heat dissipation was much less than 1st- generation computers, the room/areas in which the 2nd – generation computers were located had to be properly air conditioned.
•
They had
faster
and
larger storage
as
compared to 1
st-generation computers.
AGE CONCLUSION
•
Lower cost
as compare to 1
stgeneration
computers.
•
Magnetic random access non-volatile memory
were used a main memory.
•
Magnetic tapes
were used as secondary memory.
•
High level languages such as
FORTAN
,
COBOL
•
Compiler
were developed to translate
high-level program into corresponding
machine language.
•
10 fold
increase the speed.
•
Increasingly used in
business
,
industry
and
commercial organizations
for preparation of
payroll
,
inventory control
,
marketing
,
THIRD – GENERATION COMPUTERS
(1963 - 1975)
•
The development of the
integrated circuit (IC)
was
the hallmark of the third generation of computers.
•
ICs are circuits consisting of several electronic
components like
transistors
,
resistors
and
capacitors
grown on a single chip of
silicon
. Eliminating wired
interconnection b/w components.
•
ICs were much
smaller
,
less expensive
, more
rugged
and
reliable
,
faster in operation
,
dissipated less heat
• Parallel advancements in storage technologies allowed the construction of larger magnetic based random
access memory and larger capacity magnetic disks/Hard disk.
• Hence, the 3rd – generation computers typically had few megabytes (less than 5 MB) of main memory, and
magnetic disks capable of storing few tens of MB of data per disk.
• The development and introduction of minicomputers
•
ON SOFTWARE FRONT:
The 3rd – generation
saw the emergence of
high-level programming
,
multi user operating systems
UNIX and creation of
an
independent software industry
.
•
UNIX
is a
multi-user
OS able to perform many
tasks.
•
UNIX is written in
C language
.
•
UNIX OS was designed to let a
number of
• FORTAN and COBOL, which were the most popular high-level programming language in those days, were standardized by the American National Standards
Institute (ANSI) in 1966 and these standards are followed in program writing.
• A FORTAN or a COBOL program could be run on any computer with an ANSI FORTAN or ANSI COBOL
compiler.
• Additionally more high-level programming languages were introduced during the 3rd period. Notable among were PL/1, PASCAL and BASIC.
CHARACTERISTICS OF 3
rd-
GENERATION COMPUTERS
•
They were much more powerful than the 2
nd–
generation computers. They were capable of
performing about
1 million instructions
per
second.
•
They were much
smaller
than 2
ndgeneration
computer.
•
Although the
heat dissipation
was much less than
2
nd- generation computers, the room/areas in
• They consumed much less power than the 2nd
generation computers.
• They had faster and larger primary and secondary storage as compared to 2nd – generation computers.
• They were totally general-purpose machines suitable for both scientific and commercial applications.
AGE CONCLUSION
•
ICs
were used.
•
SSI
and
MSI
technology were introduced.
•
Smaller
and
better
in performance.
•
Comparatively
lesser cost
.
•
Parallel processing
(multiprocessor system etc),
multi-user system
(time-shared systems) were
introduced.
•
Cache
memories were introduced (Cache memory
makes the main memory appear faster than it
really is.)
•
High-level languages were
standardized
by
ANSI
.
FOURTH – GENERATION COMPUTERS
(1975 - 1989)
• The microprocessor brought the fourth – generation of computers.
• The average number of electronic components packed on a silicon chip doubled each year after 1965. this
soon led to the era of large scale integration (LSI) when it was possible to integrate over 30,000
electronic components on a single chip, followed by
• A microprocessor contains all the circuits needed to
perform arithmetic, logic and control functions, the core activities of all computers, on a single chip.
• During the 4th – generation, capacity of random access memories were increased with very fast access time.
• Hard disks become cheaper, smaller and larger in capacity.
•
Another significant development during the
4
th– generation period was the spread of
high-speed computer networking
, which
enabled multiple computers to be connected
together, to enable them to communicate and
share data.
•
ON SOFTWARE FRONT:
Several new operating
systems were developed for PCs. Notable
among these were
MS DOS
,
MS- Windows
and
•
Several new
PC-based applications
were also
developed to make the PCs a powerful tool.
E.g.
word processing packages
,
spreadsheet
packages
and graphical packages.
•
During the 4
th- generation period, the
UNIX OS
CHARACTERISTICS OF 4
th-
GENERATION COMPUTERS
• The PCs were smaller and cheaper than the mainframe
or minicomputers of the 3rd generations.
• The mainframes were much more powerful than the 3rd generation systems.
• They consumed much less power than the 3rd generation computers.
• They had faster and larger primary and secondary
• Use of standard high-level programming languages allowed programs written for one computer to be easily ported to and executed on another computer.
• GUI enabled new users to quickly learn how to use computers.
• PC-based applications made the PCs a powerful tool for both office and home usage.
• Network of computers enabled sharing of resources like disks, printers etc among multiple computers and their users.
• The PCs of the 4th generation make computers affordable
FIFTH – GENERATION COMPUTERS
(1989 - PRESENT)
• 5th generations computers is start from 1989 to date, with Artificial intelligence. AI is also known Robotics.
• This generation of computers being designed to expand the use of artificial intelligence, natural language, expert system
and online social networks.
• AI – is an area in computer science that emphasizes the creation of intelligent machines and software's that work and react like humans.
• The trend of further miniaturization of electronic components, the dramatic increase in the power of
microprocessor chips, and the capacity of main memory
• The VLSI technology became ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration) technology, resulting in the production of microprocessor chips, having 10 million electronic
components.
• In fact, the speed of microprocessors and the size of
main memory and hard disk doubled almost every 18th month.
• Due to this fast pace of advancement in computer technology more powerful computers being
introduced almost every year, at more or less the
same price or even cheaper.
• Powerful desktop PCs and workstations, powerful servers and very powerful supercomputers.
• Optical disks also emerged as a popular portable mass storage media. They are commonly known as CD-ROM (Compact Disk – Read Only memory). The data is only read (not written/modified).
• During the 5th generation period, there was tremendous outgrowth of computer network.
Communication technologies become faster
CHARACTERISTICS OF 5
thGENERATION
COMPUTERS
• Portable PCs (called notebook computers) are much more handy and smaller than the PCs of the 4th generation.
• The desktop PCs and workstations are several times more
powerful than the PCs of the 4th generation.
• The mainframes are several times more powerful than the mainframe systems of the 4th generation.
• They consume much less power than their predecessors.
• They are more reliable and less prone to hardware failures
• They have faster and larger primary and secondary
storage as compared to their predecessors.
• Use of standard high-level programming languages
allows programs written for one computer to be easily ported to and executed on another computer.
• More user-friendly interfaces with multimedia
features make the system easier to learn and use by anyone.
SOME POPULAR SYSTEM OF GENERATIONS
• First-Generation popular systems: ENIAC, UNIVAC 1, IBM 701
• Second-Generation popular systems:
Honeywell 400, IBM 7030, CDC 1604, UNIVAC LARC
• Third-Generation popular systems:
IBM 360/370, PDP-8, PDP-11, CDC 6600
• Fourth-Generation popular systems:
IBM PC and its clones, Apple II, TRS-80, VAX 9000, CRAY -1, CRAY-2, CRAY-X/MP
• Fifth-Generation popular systems:
