Chapter 2

Computer Generations
 Outline

• What is a Computer
• Evolution of Computer
• Computer Generations
 What is a Computer

• A machine which can take instructions and

perform computations based on those
instructions.

▪ Ability to take instructions (programs)

▪ Range from very small to very large
▪ Early computers were very large and used a lot of
power
 Evolution of Computer

• Blaise Pascal invented the first mechanical

adding machine in 1642.

• Baron Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz invented the

first calculator for multiplication in 1671.

• Keyboard machines originated in the United

States around 1880.

• Around 1880, Herman Hollerith came up with the

concept of punched cards that were extensively
used as input media until late 1970s.
 Evolution of Computer

• Charles Babbage is considered to be the father

of modern digital computers.
– He designed “Difference Engine” in 1822.
– He designed a fully automatic analytical engine
in 1842 for performing basic arithmetic
functions
– His efforts established a number of principles
that are fundamental to the design of any digital
computer
Some Well Known Early Computers

• The Mark I Computer (1937-44)

• The Atanasoff-Berry Computer (1939-42)
• The ENIAC (1943-46)
• The EDVAC (1946-52)
• The EDSAC (1947-49)
• Manchester Mark I (1948)
• The UNIVAC I (1951)
 Computer Generations
• “Generation” in computer talk is a step in
technology. It provides a framework for the
growth of computer industry.
• Originally it was used to distinguish between
various hardware technologies, but now it has
been extended to include both hardware and
software.
• Till today, there are five computer generations.
• Not clear cut groups.
Five Generations of Computers

• First Generation - 1942-1955: Vacuum Tubes

• Second Generation - 1955-1964: Transistors
• Third Generation - 1964-1975: Integrated
Circuits
• Fourth Generation - 1975-1989: Microprocessors
• Fifth Generation - 1989 to present: Artificial
Intelligence
 First Generation - 1942-1955
• Used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums
for memory.
• Vacuum tube was invented in 1906 by an electrical
engineer Lee De Forest (1873-1961)
• Input was based on punched cards and output was
displayed on printouts.
• Relied on machine language to perform operations,
and solve one problem at a time.
• Very expensive, using a great deal of electricity,
generated a lot of heat.
• Enormous and taking up entire rooms.
Examples: UNIVAC and ENIAC
First Generation - 1942-1955
 Vacuum Tubes

• Act like an amplifier and a switch.

• Without any moving parts, vacuum tubes could take very
weak signals and make the signal stronger (amplify it).
• Vacuum tubes could also stop and start the flow of
electricity instantly (switch).
• These two properties made the ENIAC computer
possible.
 Punch Cards

• Punch card represents information by the presence

or absence of holes in predefined positions.
 Second Generation - 1955-1964

• Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and it was a vast

improvement over the vacuum tube.
• Transistor was invented in 1947 but used in
computers in the late 50s.
• Computers become smaller, faster, cheaper, more
energy-efficient and more reliable than previous
generation systems.
• One transistor replaced the equivalent of 40 vacuum
tubes.
Transistors

• Transistors were made of solid material, some of which

is silicon, an abundant element found in beach sand and
glass. Therefore they were very cheap to produce.
• Conduct electricity faster and better than vacuum
tubes.
• Much smaller and gave off virtually no heat compared
to vacuum tubes.
 Second Generation - 1955-1964

• Replaced Machine language with the Assembly

language.
• Early versions of COBOL and FORTRAN.
• Still relied on punched cards for input and printouts
for output.
• Transistor still generated a great deal of heat and
subjected to computer damages.
Examples
 Third Generation - 1964-1975

• Development of the integrated circuit (IC).

• Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon
chips, called semiconductors (1958 by Jack Kilby).
• Drastically increased the speed and efficiency of
computers.
• Instead of punched cards and printouts - keyboards
and monitors.
• Development of computer operating system, allowed to
run many different applications at one time.
• Computers became smaller and cheaper, hence
accessible to a mass audience than previous generation
systems .
Integrated Circuits
 Fourth Generation - 1975-1989

• Microprocessor brought the fourth generation of

computers.
• Microprocessor - A single chip that could do all the
processing of a full-scale computer
• Thousands of integrated circuits were built onto a
single silicon chip.
• LSI and VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration)
• Components from the computers’ CPU and memory to
input/output controls are located on a single chip.
• In 1981 IBM introduced its first computer and in 1984
Apple introduced the Macintosh.
Processors
Fourth Generation - 1975-1989

• Microprocessors began to use more in everyday

products other than the area of desktop computers.

• Computers became more powerful, and linked

together to form networks such as the Internet.

• Development of GUIs and used handheld devices

such as mouse.
Fifth Generation – 1989 to present

• Artificial Intelligence (AI).

• Natural Language Processing (NLP).
• Previous computer generations had focused on
increasing the number of logic elements in a single CPU
• The fifth generation, it was widely believed at the
time, would instead turn to massive numbers of CPUs
for added performance.
• Parallel Processing - possibility that the power of many
CPU's can be used side by side, and computers will be
more powerful than those under central processing.
 Exercises

1. The Input of the first-generation computers –

2. The output of the first-generation computers –

3. The language used in the first-generation computers –

4. List the advantages of the second-generation

computers over the first generation.

5. What was the hallmark of the third-generation

computers –