Chapter Two
Evolution and Generation of Computers
Generation of computers
A generation refers to the state of
improvement in the development of a product.
Each generations are improved resulting in
increasingly smaller,
cheaper,
more powerful,
efficient and
reliable devices.
In terms of technological developments over
time, computers have been broadly classed
into five generations.
First generation 1940-56.
The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry
and magnetic drums for memory
They were often enormous, taking up entire rooms.
They were very expensive
They use a great amount of electricity,
generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause of
malfunctions.
First generation computers relied on machine
language to perform operations, and they could only
solve one problem at a time.
1st gen...
Punched cards were the principal secondary
storage medium to store data and instruction.
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.
ENIAC
ENIAC(Electronic Numeric Integrator and Calculator)
was the first computer
developed in the university of Pennsylvania in
1946.
ENIAC marked the beginning of the first
generation of computers.
2nd generation 1956-63.
Transistors replaced vacuum tubes.
Transistor: An electronic device used to control the
flow of electricity.
The transistor was invented in 1947 but did not see
widespread use in computers until the late 50s.
The transistor was far superior to the vacuum tube,
allowing computers to become
smaller,
faster,
cheaper,
more energy-efficient and
more reliable than their first-generation
predecessors. But the transistor also still
generates a great deal of heat.
2nd gen...
Second-generation computers moved from binary
machine language to symbolic, or assembly
languages, which allowed programmers to specify
instructions in words.
low-level programming language 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 first computers of this generation were
developed for the atomic energy industry.
3rd generation 1964-71
The development of the integrated circuit was the hallmark of
the third generation of computers.
Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips, called
semiconductors, which drastically increased the speed and
efficiency of computers.
Instead of punched cards and printouts, keyboards and
monitors are used and interfaced with an operating system.
This 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.
4th generation 1971- present
The microprocessor brought the fourth generation of computers,
as thousands of integrated circuits were built onto a single silicon
chip.
4th generation computer includes micro computers.
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,
the mouse and handheld devices.
What in the first generation filled an entire room could now fit in
the palm of the hand.
5th generation present and beyond
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 goal of fifth-generation computing is to develop devices
that respond to natural language input and are capable of
learning and self-organization.
Previous computer generations had focused on increasing the
number of logic elements in a single CPU.
Fifth generation, would instead turn to massive numbers of
CPUs for added performance.
Types of Computers
On the basis of size of memory, shapes, size,
and capabilities, computers can be divided
into following Categories.
1. Micro computers
2. Minicomputers
3. Mainframe computers
4. Super computers
Micro computers
Microcomputer is at the lowest end of the
computer range in terms of speed and capacity
storage
Its CPU is a microprocessor.
The first microcomputers were built of 8-bit
microprocessor chips.
The most common microcomputer is a personal
computer (PC).
They make programs and data available for people
hooked up to a computer network, a collection of
computers connected together so that they can
exchange data.
Minicomputers
This is designed to support more than one user at
a time.
It possesses large storage capacity and operates
at a high speed than a microcomputer.
The mini computer is used in multi-user system in
which various users can work at the same time.
This type of computer is generally used for
processing large volume of data in an
organization.
They are also used as servers in Local Area
Networks (LAN).
Mainframe computers
These computers are large machines housed
centrally in a purpose built in computer center.
They require special air conditioning and
humidity control and have many peripheral
machines.
Main frame’s OS allows a number of people to
use its CPU simultaneously through a technique
called multi programming.
Mainframes are huge, multi-user systems
designed to handle gigantic processing jobs in
large corporations or government agencies.
Super computers
This is the fastest and most expensive machines.
It has high processing speed compared to other
computers.
They also have multiprocessing technique.
One of the ways in which supercomputers are built is
by interconnecting hundreds of microprocessors.
Supercomputer is mainly used for weather forecasting,
biomedical research, remote sensing, aircraft design
and other areas of science and technology.
Today’s PCs are connected to each other by network
cable or via a telephone line so that they can share
resources such as disk storage, printers, files etc.
Characteristics of computers
Storage capacity
Computers help to save space and economy by
storing very large amount of data.
Data stored on paper that filled the shelves of a
registrar office can be stored in a single
computer with larger storage capacity.
This also helps to have backup (copy) of the
data and put it somewhere else for security
purpose.
You can also put multiples of hard disks in a
computer to increase its storage capacity.
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Cont...
Speed
These days’ computers process tasks in very short
period of time.
They can accomplish tasks in Nanoseconds or less.
So they can perform very repetitive activities in slice
of time.
Accuracy
Once well programmed, computers accomplish tasks
accurately.
The perfectness of the set of instruction that drives
the system determines the accuracy of their
activities.
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Cont...
Reliability
Now a day’s computers are used in sensitive
areas that need very high reliability.
For example hospitals are using computers in
patient diagnosis, monitoring patient operations.
Computers are also used in nuclear plants that
need very high care and its failure may cause the
destruction of a continent or the whole world.
In general computers are becoming reliable
devices even in life and death situations.
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Cont...
Versatility
Computers accomplish various types of tasks at the
same time or at different time.
For this reason they are called versatile.
For example, you can listen music while you are
writing some text.
Automatic:
machine is said to be automatic if it works by itself
without human intervention.
Computers once started on a job, they carry on until
the job is finished, normally without any human
assistance.
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cont...
Diligence:
Unlike human beings, a computer is free from
monotony, tiredness, lack of concentration, etc.
and hence can work for hours without creating
any kind of errors.
Power of remembering:
A computer can store and recall any amount
information because of its secondary storage
capabilities.
cont...
No IQ
A computer is not a magical device, it can only
perform tasks that a human being can.
The difference is that it performs these tasks
with unthinkable speed and accuracy.
It possesses no intelligence. its IQ is zero.
No feeling
computers are devoid of emotions.
They have no instincts because they are
machines.
Computers vs. Human beings
Humans have rather poor memory.
He needs certain support apart from his
abilities and capacities.
Because of poor memory and mental tiredness
humans lack in accuracy, speed, and reliability.
This is why, human needs computer as their
additional support.
The table below compares human beings
and computers.
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Computers vs human beings
Human Computer
Can Think Cannot think by itself
Gets Mental Tiredness Never gets Tiredness
May do mistake Can’t do mistake by itself
Has limited speed Very High Speed
Has limited Memory More Amount of memory
Accuracy may be missing Never missing
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Comp vs human being cont...
Human can do anything a computer can do but a computer
cannot do everything a human can do”.
Operations Performed by a Computer Actions Performed by a Human
Hold instruction in internal storage Remember a set of instructions
Read data in machine readable form Read data in written or printed form and
memorize it or file it.
Retrieve any data from internal Remember data or retrieve data from
memory or secondary storage file
Output the results on an output device Speak or Write the result on paper
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sti on ?
Q u e
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