Five Generation of Computer

FIVE GENERATION OF COMPUTER
First Generation (1940-1956) Vacuum Tubes

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, the first
computers 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, and it could take days or weeks to set-up a
new problem. Input was based on punched cards and paper tape, and output was
displayed on printouts.
The UNIVAC and ENIAC computers are examples of first-generation computing

devices. The UNIVAC was the first commercial computer delivered to a business
client, the U.S. Census Bureau in 1951.
A UNIVAC computer at the Census Bureau.

Image Source: United States Census Bureau
Recommended Reading: The First Computer, Webopedia's ENIAC definition. The

first computer, ENIAC, was developed by Army Ordnance to compute World War
II ballistic firing tables. It weighed 30 tons and used 200 kilowatts of electric
power.
Second Generation
Computers (1955-1964)
The second generation

computers used transistors. The
scientists at Bell laboratories
developed transistor in 1947.
These scientists include John
Barden, William Brattain and
William Shockley. The size of
the computers was decreased by
replacing vacuum tubes with
transistors. The examples of
second generation computers are
IBM 7094 series, IBM 1400 series and CDC 164 etc.
Advantages
 Smaller in size as compared to the first generation computers.

 The 2nd generation Computers were more reliable
 Used less energy and were not heated.
 Wider commercial use
 Better portability as compared to the first generation computers.
 Better speed and could calculate data in microseconds
 Used faster peripherals like tape drives, magnetic disks, printer etc.
 Used Assembly language instead of Machine language.
 Accuracy improved.
Disadvantages
 Cooling system was required

 Constant maintenance was required
 Commercial production was difficult
 Only used for specific purposes
 Costly and not versatile
 Puch cards were used for input.
Third Generation Computers (1964-1975)
The Third generation computers used

the integrated circuits (IC). Jack Kilby
developed the concept of integrated
circuit in 1958. It was an important
invention in the computer field. The first
IC was invented and used in 1961. The
size of an IC is about ¼ square inch. A
single IC chip may contain thousands of
transistors. The computer became
smaller in size, faster, more reliable and
less expensive. The examples of third
generation computers are IBM 370, IBM System/360, UNIVAC 1108 and
UNIVAC AC 9000 etc.
Advantages
 Smaller in size as compared to previous generations.

 More reliable.
 Used less energy
 Produced less heat as compared to the previous two generations of
computers.
 Better speed and could calculate data in nanoseconds.
 Used fan for heat discharge to prevent damage.
 Maintenance cost was low because hardware failure is reare.
 Totally general purpose
 Could be used for high-level languages.
 Good storage
 Versatile to an extent
 Less expensive
 Better accuracy
 Commercial production increased.
 Used mouse and keyboard for input.
Disadvantages
 Air conditioning was required.

 Highly sophisticated technology required for the manufacturing of IC chips.
Fourth Generation Computers (1975-Present)
The fourth generation computers started

with the invention of Microprocessor. The
Microprocessor contains thousands of ICs.
Ted Hoff produced the first
microprocessor in 1971 for Intel. It was
known as Intel 4004. The technology of
integrated circuits improved rapidly. The
LSI (Large Scale Integration) circuit and
VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration)
circuit was designed. It greatly reduced
the size of computer. The size of modern
Microprocessors is usually one square inch. It can contain millions of electronic
circuits. The examples of fourth generation computers are Apple Macintosh &
IBM PC.
Advantages
 More powerful and reliable than previous generations.

 Small in size
 Fast processing power with less power consumption
 Fan for heat discharging and thus to keep cold.
 No air conditioning required.
 Totally general purpose
 Commercial production
 Less need of repair.
 Cheapest among all generations
 All types of High level languages can be used in this type of computers
Disadvantages
 The latest technology is required for manufacturing of Microprocessors.

Fifth Generation Computers
(Present & Beyond)
The Fifth Generation Computer
Systems (FGCS) was an initiative by
Japan's Ministry of International Trade and
Industry, begun in 1982, to create a
computer using massively parallel
computing/processing. It was to be the
result of a massive government/industry
research project in Japan during the 1980s.
It aimed to create an "epoch-making
computer" with supercomputer-like performance and to provide a platform for
future developments in artificial intelligence. There was also an unrelated Russian
project also named as fifth-generation computer (see Kronos (computer)).
In his "Trip report" paper,[1] Prof. Ehud Shapiro (which focused the FGCS project
on concurrent logic programming as the software foundation for the project)
captured the rationale and motivations driving this huge project:
"As part of Japan's effort to become a leader in the computer industry, the Institute
for New Generation Computer Technology has launched a revolutionary ten-year
plan for the development of large computer systems which will be applicable to
knowledge information processing systems. These Fifth Generation computers will
be built around the concepts of logic programming. In order to refute the
accusation that Japan exploits knowledge from abroad without contributing any of
its own, this project will stimulate original research and will make its results
available to the international research community."

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FIVE GENERATION OF COMPUTER

First Generation (1940-1956) Vacuum Tubes

First generation computers relied on machine language, the lowest-level

The UNIVAC and ENIAC computers are examples of first-generation computing

A UNIVAC computer at the Census Bureau.

Recommended Reading: The First Computer, Webopedia's ENIAC definition. The

The second generation

 Smaller in size as compared to the first generation computers.

 Cooling system was required

Third Generation Computers (1964-1975)

The Third generation computers used

 Smaller in size as compared to previous generations.

 Air conditioning was required.

Fourth Generation Computers (1975-Present)

The fourth generation computers started

 More powerful and reliable than previous generations.

 The latest technology is required for manufacturing of Microprocessors.

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