Unit-1

Lecture-4
 Generations of Computer
• “Generation” in computer talk provides a
framework for the growth of computer industry
based on key technologies developed.
• Originally, it was used to distinguish between
hardware technologies but later extended to
include both hardware and software
technologies.
 There are totally five computer generations
known till today:
• First Generation (1942-1955)
• Second Generation (1955-1964)
• Third Generation(1964-1975)
• Fourth Generation (1975-1989)
• Fifth Generation (1989-Present)
 First Generation
• The period of first generation was 1942-1955.
• The early computers were manufactured using
Vacuum tubes as electronic switching devices.
• A vacuum tube was a fragile glass device using
filaments as a source of electronics and could
control and amplify electronic signals.
• These tubes, like electric bulbs, produced a lot
of heat and were prone to frequent fusing of
the installations, therefore, were very expensive
and could be afforded only by very large
organizations.
• Vacuum tubes were the only high speed
electronic switching device available in those
days. These vacuum tube computers could
perform computations in milliseconds(10-3 of a
second).
Vacuum Tubes
 Hardware Technology:
• The first generation of computers used
vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic
drums for memory .
• Punched cards and paper tapes were used
for Input and Output.
Punch Card
Punched Paper Tapes
Magnetic Drum
 Software Technology:
• The instructions were written in machine
language.
• Machine language uses 0s and 1s for coding of
the instructions.
• The first generation computers could solve one
problem at a time.
• In this generation mainly batch processing
operating system were used.
Computing Characteristics:
The computation time was in milliseconds (10-3)

Physical Appearance:
These computers were enormous in size and
required a large room for installation.

Application:
They were used for Scientific applications as
they were the fastest computing device of their
time.
 Examples:
• UNIVersal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC)
• Electronic Numerical Integrator And Calculator
(ENIAC)
• Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic
Computer (EDVAC)
 The main features of First generation are:
• Vacuum tube technology
• Unreliable
• Supported machine language only
• Very costly
• Generated lot of heat
• Punch Cards were used for input and output which
were very slow.
• Huge size
• Need of A.C.
• Non-portable
• Consumed lot of electricity
 Second Generation
• The period of second generation was 1955-
1964.
• John Bardeen, Willian Shockley, and Walter
Brattain invented a new electronic switching
device called transistor at Bell Laboratories in
1947.
• Transistors soon proved to be a better
electronic switching device than vacuum tubes.
Transistors
 Hardware Technology
• Transistors replaced the vacuum tubes of the
first generation of Computers.
• Transistors allowed computers to become
smaller, faster, cheaper and reliable.
• The second generation computers used
magnetic tapes and disks for secondary
storage.
• The input and output was still through
punched cards.
 Software Technology
• The instructions were written using Assembly
language.
• Assembly language uses mnemonics like ADD
for addition and SUB for coding of instructions.
• It is easier to write instructions in Assembly
language as compared to writing instructions
in machine language.
• High level programming languages such as
early versions of COBOL & FORTRAN were
developed during this period.
• The computer used batch processing &
multiprogramming operating system.
 Computing Characteristics
The computation time was in microseconds(10-6)

Physical Appearance
Transistors are smaller in size compared to vacuum
tubes, thus the size of the computer was also
reduced.

Examples
• PDP-8
• IBM 1401
• CDC 1604
Magnetic Tapes
Magnetic Disk
 The main features of second generation are:
• Use of transistors
• Reliable in comparison to first generation
computers
• Smaller 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
• A.C. needed
• Supported machine and assembly language
Second Generation
 Third Generation
• The period of third generation was 1964-1975.
• In 1958, Jack St. Clair Kilby and Robert Noyce
invented the first integrated circuit.
• Integrated circuits (called ICs) are circuits
consisting of several electronic components like
transistors, resistors and capacitors grown on a
single chip of silicon eliminating wired
interconnection between components.
Integrated Circuit
• IC technology was also known as
“microelectronics” technology because it
made it possible to integrate large number of
circuit components into very small (less than
5mm square) surface of silicon, known as
“chip”.
• Initially the integrated circuits contained only
about ten to twenty components. This
technology was named small-scale integration
(SSI).
• Later with the advancement in technology for
manufacturing ICs, it became possible to
integrate up to about hundred components on
a single chip. This technology was known as
medium scale integration (MSI).
• Hardware Technology
The third generation computers used the
Integrated Circuit (IC) chip.
The use of IC chip increased the speed and the
efficiency of computer, manifold.
Magnetic Tapes and disks were still used for
storage.
The keyboard and monitor were used to
interact with the third generation computer,
instead of the punch cards.
 Software Technology
• In this generation remote processing, time-
sharing, multi-programming operating system
were used.
• High level languages were used extensively for
programming instead of machine language and
assembly language.
• High-level languages (FORTRAN-II TO IV,
COBOL, PASCAL PL/1, BASIC, ALGOL-68 etc.)
were used during this generation.
Computing Characteristics
The computation time was in nanoseconds(10-9
of a second).

Physical Appearance
The size of these computers was quite small
compared to the second generation
computers.
 Examples
• IBM 370
• PDP 11
 The main features of Third generation are:
• IC used
• More reliable in comparison to previous two
generations
• Smaller size
• Generated less heat
• Faster
• Lesser maintenance
• Still costly
• A.C needed
• Consumed lesser electricity
• Supported high-level language
 Fourth Generation
• The period of first generation was 1975-1989.
• Average number of electronic components
packed on a silicon chip doubled each year after
1965.
• This progress soon led to the era of large-scale
integration (LSI) when it was possible to
integrate over 30,000 electronic components
on a single chip, followed by very-large-scale
integration (VLSI) when it was possible to
integrate about one million electronic
components on a single chip.
• A microprocessor contains all circuits needed to
perform arithmetic logic and control functions,
the core activities of all computers on a single
chip.
• It started a new social revolution-personal
computer (PC) revolution.
• Overnight computers became incredibly
compact. They became inexpensive to make,
and suddenly it became possible for many to
own a computer.
 Hardware Technology
• They use Large Scale (LSI) and Very Large Scale
Integration (VLSI) technology.
• This era is marked by the development of
microprocessor.
• Secondary Storage device like magnetic disks
became smaller in physical size and larger in
capacity.
• The computers were linked to form networks
that led to the emergence of the Internet.
• This generation also saw the development of
pointing devices like mouse.
 Software Technology
• Several new operating systems like MS-DOS and
MS-Windows developed during this time.
• This generation of computers supported
Graphical User Interface (GUI).
• GUI is a user friendly interface that allows user to
interact with the computer via menus and icons.
• In this generation time sharing, real time,
networks, distributed operating system were
used.
• High-level languages like C, C++, DBASE etc. were
used in this generation.
 Computing Characteristics
• The computation time is in picoseconds(10-12
of a second)

Physical Appearance
• They are smaller than the computers of the
previous generations. Some can even fit into
the palm of a hand.
 Examples
• DEC 10
• STAR 1000
• PDP 11
• CRAY-1(Super Computer)
• CRAY-X-MP(Super Computer)
Fourth Generation
 Fourth Generation
The main features of fourth generation are:
• VLSI technology used
• Very cheap
• Portable and reliable
• Use of PC's
• Very small size
• No A.C. needed
• Concept of internet was introduced
• Great developments in the fields of networks
• Computers became easily available
 Fifth Generation
• The period of fifth generation is 1989-Present.
• In the fifth generation, the VLSI technology
became ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration)
technology, resulting in the production of
microprocessor chips having ten million electronic
components.
• This generation is based on Artificial Intelligence
software.
• AI is an emerging branch in computer science,
which interprets means and method of making
computers think like human beings.
• All the high-level languages like C and C++, Java,
.Net etc. are used in this generation.
 Fifth 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.
Fifth Generation
 Fifth Generation
The main features of fifth generation are:
• ULSI technology
• Development of true artificial intelligence
• Development of Natural language processing
• More user friendly interfaces with multimedia
features
• Availability of very powerful and compact
computers at cheaper rates
 Fifth Generation
Some computer types of this generation are:
• Desktop
• Laptop
• Notebook
• Ultra Book
• Chrome Book