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First Generation Computers (1946 - 1957)
- Used vacuum tubes to construct computers.
- These computers were large in size and writing programs on them was difficult.
- The following are major drawbacks of First generation computers,
- The operating speed was quite slow.
- Power consumption was very high,
- It required large’space for installation,
- The programming capability was quite low.
- Cumbersome to operate - switching between programs, input and output
Second Generation Computers (1958 - 1964)
- Replaced vacuum tubes with transistors.
- The transistor is smaller, cheaper and dissipates less heat than a vacuum tube.
- The second generation also saw the introduction of more complex arithmetic and logic
units, the use of high - level programming languages and the provision of system software
with the computer.
- Transistors are smaller than electric tubes and have higher operating speed. They have no
filament and require no heating. Manufacturing cost was also lower. 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.
Third Generation Computers (1965 - 1971)
- Had an integrated circuit.
- Although the transistor technology was a major improvement over vacuum tubes,
problems remained. The transistors were individually mounted in separate packages and
interconnected on printed circuit boards by separate wires. This was a complex, time
consuming and error-prone process.
- The early integrated circuits are referred to as small-scale integration (SSI). Computers of
this generation were similar in size, lower cost, larger memory and processing speed was
much higher.
Fourth Generation Computers (1972 - Present)
- Employ Large Scale Integrated (LSI) and Very Large-Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuit
technology to construct computers. Over 1,000 components can be placed on a single
integrated-circuit chip.
Fifth Generation Computers
- These are computers of 1990s
- Use Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuit technology to build computers. Over
10,000 components can be incorporated on a single integrated chip.
- 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.
(ii) Devices that contributed towards evolution of computers
- Microprocessor
- Storage devices
- Integrated Circuit
Kavungya answered the question on May 13, 2019 at 10:59