MPM 823 –COMPUTER APPLICATION

& INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

DISTINCT FEATURES OF THE VARIOUS

GENERATIONS OF COMPUTERS

BY
ADEGBITE, ADESEGUN OLUFEMI - 179052033

MASTERS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS
The history of computer dates back to the 19th century where Charles Babbage designed the
Analytical Engine and it was this design that the basic framework of the computers of today are
based on. Prior to this time, the use of early counting and computing devices such as Abacus,
Slide rule, Pascaline, Napier bones, etc. were in use.

The increasing everyday need of man in computation and information coupled with the quest for
research to produce several successive breakthroughs in computer technology that fundamentally
changed the way computers operate. Most major developments from the 1940's to present day
have resulted in increasingly smaller, cheaper, more powerful and more efficient computing
devices and these technological advancements were in captured in several distinctive periods.

‘Generations’ in computer terminology represent a change in technology a computer being used.

Initially, the term was used to distinguish between varying hardware technologies. Nowadays,
generation includes both hardware and software, which together make up an entire computer
system. There are five computer generations known to date. Each generation is clearly
distinguishable in terms of their period and characteristics.

The following table, shows approximate dates against each generation as is generally accepted

S.No Generation & Description

First Generation
1 The period of first generation: 1946 - 1959. Vacuum tube based.

Second Generation
2 The period of second generation: 1959 - 1965. Transistor based.

Third Generation
3 The period of third generation: 1965 - 1971. Integrated Circuit based.

Fourth Generation
4 The period of fourth generation: 1971 - 1980. VLSI microprocessor based.

Fifth Generation
5 The period of fifth generation: 1980 - onwards. ULSI microprocessor based

:
First Generation of Computers

The period of the first generation was from 1946 - 1959. The computers of the first generation
used vacuum tubes as the basic components for circuitry and CPU (Central Processing Unit) and
magnetic drums for memory. They were very large in size; taking up entire rooms; very expensive
to operate and therefore only large organizations were able to afford them. In addition to using a
great deal of electricity, they generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause of malfunctions.
In this generation, mainly batch processing operating system was used. Punch cards, paper tape,
and magnetic tape were used as input and output devices. The computers in this generation used
machine code as the programming language.

The main features of the first generation are −

 Vacuum tube technology

 They were unreliable

 Supported machine language only

 Very costly

 Generated a lot of heat

 Slow input and output devices

 Huge size

 Need of AC

 Immobility or non-portability

 Consumption of a lot of electricity

Some computers of the first generation computers were −

 ENIAC

 EDVAC

 UNIVAC
  IBM-701

 IBM-650

Second Generation of Computers

The period of second generation of computers was from 1959 - 1965. In this generation,
transistors were used. The transistor was far superior to the vacuum tube, allowing computers to
become cheaper, more compact in size, more energy efficient, more reliable and faster than their
first-generation predecessors. Though the transistor still generated a great deal of heat that
subjected the computer to damage, it was a vast improvement over the vacuum tube. Second
generation computers still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for output.

Second-generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine language to symbolic, or

assembly languages, which allowed programmers to specify instructions in words. High-level
programming languages were also being developed at this time, such as early versions of COBOL
and FORTRAN. These were also the first computers that stored their instructions in their memory,
which moved from a magnetic drum to magnetic core technology. The computers used batch
processing and multiprogramming operating system.

The main features of second generation are −

 Use of transistors

 Improved Reliability in comparison to first generation computers

 Reduction in size as compared to first generation computers

 Generated less heat as compared to first generation computers

 Consumed less electricity as compared to first generation computers

 Faster than first generation computers

 Still very costly

 AC required

 Supported machine and assembly languages

Some computers of this generation were −

 IBM 1620
  IBM 7094

 CDC 1604

 CDC 3600

 UNIVAC 1108

Third Generation of Computers

The period of third generation of computers was from 1965 - 1971. The development of
the integrated circuit invented by Jack Kilby, was the hallmark of the third generation of
computers. Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips, called semiconductors
along with resistors, capacitors and the associated circuitry. This drastically increased the speed,
efficiency and reliability of computers. Instead of punched cards and printouts, users interacted
with smaller third generation computers through keyboards, monitors and interfaced with
an operating system, which allowed the device to run many different applications at one time with
a central program that monitored the memory. Computers for the first time became accessible to
a mass audience because they were smaller and cheaper than their predecessors. In this generation
remote processing, time-sharing, multiprogramming operating system were used. High-level
languages (FORTRAN-II TO IV, COBOL, PASCAL PL/1, BASIC, ALGOL-68 etc.) were used
during this generation.

The main features of third generation are −

 Integrated circuits were used

 Increased reliability in comparison to previous two generations

 Reduction in size than the previous former 2 generations

 Generated less heat

 Faster

 Lesser maintenance

 Costly

 AC required

 Consumed lesser electricity

  Supported high-level language

Some computers of this generation were −

 IBM-360 series

 Honeywell-6000 series

 PDP (Personal Data Processor)

 IBM-370/168

 TDC-316

Fourth Generation of Computers

The period of the fourth generation of computers was from 1971-1980. The advent
of microprocessors made possible the creation of the fourth generation of computers, as
thousands of integrated circuits were built onto a single silicon chip. What in the first generation
filled an entire room could now fit in the palm of the hand. The Intel 4004 chip, developed in
1971, located all the components of the computer from the central processing unit and memory
to input/output controls on a single chip.

In 1981 IBM introduced its first computer for the home user, and in 1984 Apple introduced the
Macintosh. Microprocessors also moved out of the realm of desktop computers and into many
areas of life as more and more everyday products began to use microprocessors.

As these small computers became more powerful, they could be linked together to form networks,
which eventually led to the development of the Internet. Fourth generation computers also saw
the development of GUIs (Graphical user interface), the mouse and handheld devices. All the
high-level languages like C, C++, DBASE etc., were used in this generation.

The main features of fourth generation are −

 Microprocessors/Very large scale integration (VLSI) technology used

 Very cheap

 Portable and reliable

 Use of PCs

 Very small size

  Pipeline processing

 No AC required

 Concept of internet was introduced

 Great developments in the fields of networks

 Computers became easily available

Some computers of this generation were −

 DEC 10

 STAR 1000

 PDP 11

 CRAY-1(Super Computer)

 CRAY-X-MP(Super Computer)

Fifth Generation of Computers

The period of fifth generation of computer is from 1980 - till date. Fifth generation computing
devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in development, though there are some
applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today. The use of parallel
processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a reality.

Quantum computation and molecular and nanotechnology will radically change the face of
computers in years to come. The goal of fifth-generation computing is to develop devices that
respond to natural language input and are capable of learning and self-organization. In the fifth
generation, VLSI technology became ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration) technology, resulting
in the production of microprocessor chips having ten million electronic components. All the high-
level languages like C and C++, Java, .Net etc., are used in this generation.

Artificial Intelligence includes −

 Robotics

 Neural Networks

 Game Playing
  Development of expert systems to make decisions in real-life situations

 Natural language understanding and generation

The main features of fifth generation are −

 ULSI technology

 Development of true artificial intelligence

 Development of Natural language processing

 Advancement in Parallel Processing

 Advancement in Superconductor technology

 More user-friendly interfaces with multimedia features

 Availability of very powerful and compact computers at cheaper rates

Some computer types of this generation are −

 Desktop

 Laptop

 Notebook

 Ultra Book

 Chrome Book