Five Generation of computer


The evolution of computer started from the 16th century, resulting in today’s modern machines. It is distinguished into five generations of computers from the first programmable computer to the ones based on artificial intelligence. Each generation of computers is characterised by a major technological development that fundamentally changed the way computers operate, resulting smaller, cheaper, more powerful, more efficient and reliable computing devices. Based on various stages of development, computers can be divided into different generations. They are:

  1. First Generation Computers (1940 – 1956)
  2. Second Generation Computers (1956 – 1963) 
  3. Third Generation Computers (1964 – 1971) 
  4. Fourth Generation Computers (1971 – Present)
  5. Fifth Generation Computers (Present and beyond)

Five Generation of Computer In Depth

First generation computers (1940 – 1956)



The first generation computers were built using vacuum tubes. This generation implemented the stored program concept. A vacuum tube is a device controlling electric current through a vacuum in a sealed container. This cylindrical shaped container is made of thin transparent glass. The input was based on punched cards and paper tapes and output was displayed on printouts. The first general purpose programmable electronic computer, the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC) belongs to this generation. ENIAC was built by J. Presper Eckert and John V. Mauchly. The ENIAC was 30-50 feet long, weighed 30 tonnes, contained 18,000 vacuum tubes, 70,000 registers, 10,000 capacitors and required 1,50,000 watts of electricity. First generation computers were too bulky in size, required a large room for installation and used to emit a large amount of heat. Consequently, the air-conditioner was a must for the proper working of computers. Before ENIAC was completed, Von Neumann designed the Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer (EDVAC) with a memory to hold both stored program as well as data. Eckert and Mauchly later developed the first commercially successful computer, the Universal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC), in 1952. Now we know the First generation of computer out of Five Generation of Computer

Von Neumann architecture

The mathematician John Von Neumann conceived a computer architecture which forms the core of nearly every computer system in use today. This architecture known as Von Neumann architecture consists of a central processing unit (CPU) containing arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and control unit (CU), input-output unit and a memory for storing data and instructions. This model implements the ‘Stored Program Concept’ in which the data and the instructions are stored in the memory.

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Second generation computers (1956 – 1963)



In second generation computers, vacuum tubes were replaced by transistors. It was developed at Bell Laboratories by John Bardeen, Walter Brattain and William Shockley in 1947. Replacing vacuum tubes with transistors, allowed computers to become smaller and more powerful and faster. They also became less expensive, required less electricity and emitted less heat. The manufacturing cost was also less.

It is in the second generation that the concept of programming language was developed. This generation used magnetic core memory and magnetic disc memory for primary and secondary storage respectively. Second-generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine language to symbolic or assembly languages. During the second generation, many high-level programming languages like FORTRAN and COBOL were introduced that allowed programmers to specify instructions in English like words. IBM 1401 and IBM 1620 are popular computers in this generation. Now we know the Second generation of computer out of Five Generation of Computer

Third generation computers (1964 – 1971)



Third generation computers are smaller in size due to the use of integrated circuits (IC's). IC's or silicon chips that contained miniaturised transistors were developed by Jack Kilby, an engineer with Texas Instruments. IC drastically reduced the size and increased the speed and efficiency of computing. Multilayered printed circuits were developed and core memory was replaced by faster, solid state memories with large capacity.

This generation of computers had better processing speed, consumed less power and was less costly. Integrated circuits, improved secondary storage devices and new input/output devices like keyboards and monitors were introduced. Arithmetic and logical operations were performed in microseconds or even nanoseconds. These computers could run many different programs at one time with a central program that monitored the memory. The high-level language BASIC which made programming easy was developed during this period. Computers for the first time became accessible to a mass audience because they were smaller and cheaper than their predecessors. Some computers in this generation are IBM 360 and IBM 370. Now we know the Third generation of computer out of Five Generation of Computer

Fourth generation computers (1971 onwards)



The computers that we use today belong to this generation. These computers use microprocessors and are called microcomputers. The microprocessor is a single chip which contains Large Scale of Integration (LSI) of electronic components like transistors, capacitors, resistors, etc. Due to the development of the microprocessor, it is possible to place computer’s Central Processing Unit (CPU) on a single chip. Because of microprocessors, the fourth generation includes more data processing capacity than third generation computers. Later LSI circuits were replaced by Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuits which further increased the scale of integration. The fourth generation computers are smaller in size and have faster accessing and processing speeds. The computer which occupied a very large room in earlier days could now fit in a palm. These computers were interconnected to form computer networks, which eventually led to the development of the Internet. As computers became less costly and more user-friendly, a large number of people began buying them for personal use. Some computers in this generation are IBM PC and Apple II. Now we know the Fourth generation of computer out of Five Generation of Computer

Fifth generation computers (future)



Fifth generation computers are based on Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is the ability to simulate human intelligence. Such intelligent systems are still in the development stage, though there are some applications, such as speech recognition, face recognition and robotic vision and movement that are already available. AI is the branch of computer science concerned with developing computer programs (intelligent systems) for solving complex problems (which are normally done by human beings without any effort) by the application of the process that are analogues to human reasoning process. The two most common AI programming languages are LISP and Prolog. The fifth-generation computing also aims at developing computing machines that respond to natural language input and are capable of learning and self-organization