Five generations of computers

The Five Generations of Computers

The history of computer development is often referred to in reference to the different

generations of computing devices. Each generation of computer is characterized by a
major technological development that fundamentally changed the way computers operate,
resulting in increasingly smaller, cheaper, more powerful and more efficient and reliable
devices. Read about each generation and the developments that led to the current devices
that we use today.
To this date, there are only four generations of computers, the "fifth generation" is but the
name of a Japan's national research project in the 1980's.

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, 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. 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.

Second Generation - 1956-1963: Transistors

Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and ushered in the second generation of computers.
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. 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 first computers of this generation were developed for the atomic energy industry.

Third Generation - 1964-1971: Integrated Circuits

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, users interacted with third generation computers
through keyboards and 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.

Fourth Generation - 1971-Present: Microprocessors

The microprocessor brought 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, the mouse and handheld devices.

Proposed and Failed "Fifth Generation" - 1982-1993 Massively Parallel Computers

From Wikipedia, "The Fifth Generation Computer Systems project (FGCS) was an
initiative by Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry, begun in 1982, to
create a "fifth generation computer" (see history of computing hardware) which was
supposed to perform much calculation utilizing massive parallelism. It was to be the end
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
usable artificial intelligence capabilities."

Also from Wikipedia, "The term fifth generation was intended to convey the system as
being a leap beyond existing machines. ...the fifth generation, it was widely believed at
the time, would instead turn to massive numbers of CPUs for added performance."

The project was canceled in 1993 with little appreciable lasting impact.

Generations of Computer

By Najmi

The history of computer development is often referredto in reference to the different

generations ofcomputing devices A generation refers to the state ofimprovement in the
development of a product. Thisterm is also used in the different advancements
ofcomputer technology. With each new generation, thecircuitry has gotten smaller and
more advanced thanthe previous generation before it. As a result of theminiaturization,
speed, power, and memory of computershas proportionally increased. New discoveries
areconstantly being developed that affect the way welive, work and play.

Each generation of computer is characterized by amajor technological development that

fundamentallychanged the way computers operate, resulting inincreasingly smaller,
cheaper, more powerful and moreefficient and reliable devices. Read about
eachgeneration and the developments that led to thecurrent devices that we use today.

First Generation - 1940-1956: Vacuum Tubes

The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitryand magnetic drums for memory, and
were oftenenormous, taking up entire rooms. A magnetic drum,also referred to as drum,
is a metal cylinder coatedwith magnetic iron-oxide material on which data andprograms
can be stored. Magnetic drums were once usedas a primary storage device but have since
beenimplemented as auxiliary storage devices.

The tracks on a magnetic drum are assigned to channelslocated around the circumference
of the drum, formingadjacent circular bands that wind around the drum. Asingle drum
can have up to 200 tracks. As the drumrotates at a speed of up to 3,000 rpm, the
device'sread/write heads deposit magnetized spots on the drumduring the write operation
and sense these spotsduring a read operation. This action is similar tothat of a magnetic
tape or disk drive.

They were very expensive to operate and in additionto using a great deal of electricity,
generated a lotof heat, which was often the cause of malfunctions.First generation
computers relied on machine languageto perform operations, and they could only solve
oneproblem at a time. Machine languages are the onlylanguages understood by
computers. While easilyunderstood by computers, machine languages are
almostimpossible for humans to use because they consistentirely of numbers.
Programmers, therefore, useeither a high-level programming language or anassembly
language. An assembly language contains thesame instructions as a machine language,
but theinstructions and variables have names instead of beingjust numbers.

Programs written in high-level languages aretranslated into assembly language or

machine languageby a compiler. Assembly language programs aretranslated into machine
language by a program calledan assembler.

Every CPU has its own unique machine language.Programs must be rewritten or
recompiled, therefore,to run on different types of computers. Input wasbased on punched
cards and paper tape, and output wasdisplayed on printouts.

The UNIVAC and ENIAC computers are examples offirst-generation computing devices.
The UNIVAC was thefirst commercial computer delivered to a businessclient, the U.S.
Census Bureau in 1951.
Acronym for Electronic Numerical Integrator AndComputer, the world's first operational
electronicdigital computer, developed by Army Ordnance tocompute World War II
ballistic firing tables. TheENIAC, weighing 30 tons, using 200 kilowatts ofelectric power
and consisting of 18,000 vacuum tubes,1,500 relays, and hundreds of thousands of
resistors,capacitors, and inductors, was completed in 1945. Inaddition to ballistics, the
ENIAC's field ofapplication included weather prediction, atomic-energycalculations,
cosmic-ray studies, thermal ignition,random-number studies, wind-tunnel design, and
otherscientific uses. The ENIAC soon became obsolete as theneed arose for faster
computing speeds.

Second Generation - 1956-1963: Transistors

Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and ushered in thesecond generation of computers.
Transistor is a devicecomposed of semiconductor material that amplifies asignal or opens
or closes a circuit. Invented in 1947at Bell Labs, transistors have become the
keyingredient of all digital circuits, includingcomputers. Today's microprocessors
contains tens ofmillions of microscopic transistors.

Prior to the invention of transistors, digitalcircuits were composed of vacuum tubes,

which had manydisadvantages. They were much larger, required moreenergy, dissipated
more heat, and were more prone tofailures. It's safe to say that without the inventionof
transistors, computing as we know it today wouldnot be possible.

The transistor was invented in 1947 but did not seewidespread use in computers until the
late 50s. Thetransistor was far superior to the vacuum tube,allowing computers to become
smaller, faster, cheaper,more energy-efficient and more reliable than theirfirst-generation
predecessors. Though the transistorstill generated a great deal of heat that subjectedthe
computer to damage, it was a vast improvement overthe vacuum tube. Second-generation
computers stillrelied on punched cards for input and printouts foroutput.

Second-generation computers moved from cryptic binarymachine language to symbolic,

or assembly, languages,which allowed programmers to specify instructions inwords.
High-level programming languages were alsobeing developed at this time, such as early
versionsof COBOL and FORTRAN. These were also the firstcomputers that stored their
instructions in theirmemory, which moved from a magnetic drum to magneticcore
technology.

The first computers of this generation were developedfor the atomic energy industry.

Third Generation - 1964-1971: Integrated Circuits

The development of the integrated circuit was thehallmark of the third generation of
computers.Transistors were miniaturized and placed on siliconchips, called
semiconductors, which drasticallyincreased the speed and efficiency of computers.

A nonmetallic chemical element in the carbon family ofelements. Silicon - atomic

symbol "Si" - is the secondmost abundant element in the earth's crust, surpassedonly by
oxygen. Silicon does not occur uncombined innature. Sand and almost all rocks contain
siliconcombined with oxygen, forming silica. When siliconcombines with other elements,
such as iron, aluminumor potassium, a silicate is formed. Compounds ofsilicon also occur
in the atmosphere, natural waters,many plants and in the bodies of some animals.

Silicon is the basic material used to make computerchips, transistors, silicon diodes and
otherelectronic circuits and switching devices because itsatomic structure makes the
element an idealsemiconductor. Silicon is commonly doped, or mixed,with other
elements, such as boron, phosphorous andarsenic, to alter its conductive properties.

A chip is a small piece of semiconducting material(usually silicon) on which an

integrated circuit isembedded. A typical chip is less than ¼-square inchesand can contain
millions of electronic components(transistors). Computers consist of many chips
placedon electronic boards called printed circuit boards. There are different types of
chips. For example, CPUchips (also called microprocessors) contain an entireprocessing
unit, whereas memory chips contain blankmemory.

Semiconductor is a material that is neither a goodconductor of electricity (like copper)

nor a goodinsulator (like rubber). The most common semiconductormaterials are silicon
and germanium. These materialsare then doped to create an excess or lack ofelectrons.

Computer chips, both for CPU and memory, are composedof semiconductor materials.
Semiconductors make itpossible to miniaturize electronic components, such astransistors.
Not only does miniaturization mean thatthe components take up less space, it also means
thatthey are faster and require less energy.

Instead of punched cards and printouts, usersinteracted with third generation computers
throughkeyboards and monitors and interfaced with anoperating system, which allowed
the device to run manydifferent applications at one time with a centralprogram that
monitored the memory. Computers for thefirst time became accessible to a mass
audiencebecause they were smaller and cheaper than theirpredecessors.

Fourth Generation - 1971-Present: Microprocessors

The microprocessor brought the fourth generation ofcomputers, as thousands of
integrated circuits werebuilt onto a single silicon chip. A silicon chip thatcontains a CPU.
In the world of personal computers,the terms microprocessor and CPU are
usedinterchangeably. At the heart of all personalcomputers and most workstations sits a
microprocessor.Microprocessors also control the logic of almost alldigital devices, from
clock radios to fuel-injectionsystems for automobiles.

Three basic characteristics differentiatemicroprocessors:

• Instruction Set: The set of instructions that themicroprocessor can execute.

• Bandwidth: The number of bits processed in a singleinstruction.

 • Clock Speed: Given in megahertz (MHz), the clockspeed determines how many
instructions per second theprocessor can execute.

In both cases, the higher the value, the more powerfulthe CPU. For example, a 32-bit
microprocessor thatruns at 50MHz is more powerful than a 16-bitmicroprocessor that
runs at 25MHz.

What in the first generation filled an entire roomcould now fit in the palm of the hand.
The Intel 4004chip, developed in 1971, located all the components ofthe computer - from
the central processing unit andmemory to input/output controls - on a single chip.

Abbreviation of central processing unit, andpronounced as separate letters. The CPU is

the brainsof the computer. Sometimes referred to simply as theprocessor or central
processor, the CPU is where mostcalculations take place. In terms of computing
power,the CPU is the most important element of a computersystem.

On large machines, CPUs require one or more printedcircuit boards. On personal

computers and smallworkstations, the CPU is housed in a single chipcalled a
microprocessor.

Two typical components of a CPU are:

• The arithmetic logic unit (ALU), which performsarithmetic and logical

operations.

• The control unit, which extracts instructions frommemory and decodes and
executes them, calling on theALU when necessary.

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

As these small computers became more powerful, theycould be linked together to form
networks, whicheventually led to the development of the Internet.Fourth generation
computers also saw the developmentof GUIs, the mouse and handheld devices

Fifth Generation - Present and Beyond: ArtificialIntelligence

Fifth generation computing devices, based onartificial intelligence, are still in
development,though there are some applications, such as voicerecognition, that are being
used today.
Artificial Intelligence is the branch of computerscience concerned with making
computers behave likehumans. The term was coined in 1956 by John McCarthyat the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Artificial intelligence includes:

• Games Playing: programming computers to play gamessuch as chess and

checkers

• Expert Systems: programming computers to makedecisions in real-life situations

(for example, someexpert systems help doctors diagnose diseases based
onsymptoms)

• Natural Language: programming computers to understandnatural human

languages

• Neural Networks: Systems that simulate intelligenceby attempting to reproduce

the types of physicalconnections that occur in animal brains

• Robotics: programming computers to see and hear andreact to other sensory

stimuli

Currently, no computers exhibit full artificialintelligence (that is, are able to simulate
humanbehavior). The greatest advances have occurred in thefield of games playing. The
best computer chessprograms are now capable of beating humans. In May,1997, an IBM
super-computer called Deep Blue defeatedworld chess champion Gary Kasparov in a
chess match.

In the area of robotics, computers are now widely usedin assembly plants, but they are
capable only of verylimited tasks. Robots have great difficultyidentifying objects based
on appearance or feel, andthey still move and handle objects clumsily.

Natural-language processing offers the greatestpotential rewards because it would allow

people tointeract with computers without needing anyspecialized knowledge. You could
simply walk up to acomputer and talk to it. Unfortunately, programmingcomputers to
understand natural languages has provedto be more difficult than originally thought.
Somerudimentary translation systems that translate fromone human language to another
are in existence, butthey are not nearly as good as human translators.
There are also voice recognition systems that canconvert spoken sounds into written
words, but they donot understand what they are writing; they simply takedictation. Even
these systems are quite limited -- youmust speak slowly and distinctly.

In the early 1980s, expert systems were believed torepresent the future of artificial
intelligence and ofcomputers in general. To date, however, they have notlived up to
expectations. Many expert systems helphuman experts in such fields as medicine
andengineering, but they are very expensive to produceand are helpful only in special
situations.

Today, the hottest area of artificial intelligence isneural networks, which are proving
successful in anumber of disciplines such as voice recognition andnatural-language
processing.

There are several programming languages that are knownas AI languages because they
are used almostexclusively for AI applications. The two most commonare LISP and
Prolog.

Voice Recognition
The field of computer science that deals withdesigning computer systems that can
recognize spokenwords. Note that voice recognition implies only thatthe computer can
take dictation, not that itunderstands what is being said. Comprehending humanlanguages
falls under a different field of computerscience called natural language processing. A
number of voice recognition systems are available onthe market. The most powerful can
recognize thousandsof words. However, they generally require an extendedtraining
session during which the computer systembecomes accustomed to a particular voice and
accent.Such systems are said to be speaker dependent.

Many systems also require that the speaker speakslowly and distinctly and separate each
word with ashort pause. These systems are called discrete speechsystems. Recently, great
strides have been made incontinuous speech systems -- voice recognition systemsthat
allow you to speak naturally. There are nowseveral continuous-speech systems available
forpersonal computers.

Because of their limitations and high cost, voicerecognition systems have traditionally
been used onlyin a few specialized situations. For example, suchsystems are useful in
instances when the user isunable to use a keyboard to enter data because his orher hands
are occupied or disabled. Instead of typingcommands, the user can simply speak into a
headset.Increasingly, however, as the cost decreases andperformance improves, speech
recognition systems areentering the mainstream and are being used as analternative to
keyboards.

The use of parallel processing and superconductors ishelping to make artificial

intelligence a reality. Parallel processing is the simultaneous use of morethan one CPU to
execute a program. Ideally, parallelprocessing makes a program run faster because
thereare more engines (CPUs) running it. In practice, it isoften difficult to divide a
program in such a way thatseparate CPUs can execute different portions
withoutinterfering with each other.

Most computers have just one CPU, but some models haveseveral. There are even
computers with thousands ofCPUs. With single-CPU computers, it is possible toperform
parallel processing by connecting thecomputers in a network. However, this type of
parallelprocessing requires very sophisticated software calleddistributed processing
software.

Note that parallel processing differs frommultitasking, in which a single CPU executes
severalprograms at once.

Parallel processing is also called parallel computing.

Quantum computation and molecular and nanotechnologywill radically change the face
of computers in yearsto come. First proposed in the 1970s, quantumcomputing relies on
quantum physics by takingadvantage of certain quantum physics properties ofatoms or
nuclei that allow them to work together asquantum bits, or qubits, to be the
computer'sprocessor and memory. By interacting with each otherwhile being isolated
from the external environment,qubits can perform certain calculations exponentiallyfaster
than conventional computers.

Qubits do not rely on the traditional binary nature ofcomputing. While traditional
computers encodeinformation into bits using binary numbers, either a 0or 1, and can only
do calculations on one set ofnumbers at once, quantum computers encode informationas a
series of quantum-mechanical states such as spindirections of electrons or polarization
orientationsof a photon that might represent a 1 or a 0, mightrepresent a combination of
the two or might representa number expressing that the state of the qubit issomewhere
between 1 and 0, or a superposition of manydifferent numbers at once. A quantum
computer can doan arbitrary reversible classical computation on allthe numbers
simultaneously, which a binary systemcannot do, and also has some ability to
produceinterference between various different numbers. Bydoing a computation on many
different numbers at once,then interfering the results to get a single answer, aquantum
computer has the potential to be much morepowerful than a classical computer of the
same size.In using only a single processing unit, a quantumcomputer can naturally
perform myriad operations inparallel.

Quantum computing is not well suited for tasks such asword processing and email, but it
is ideal for taskssuch as cryptography and modeling and indexing verylarge databases.

Nanotechnology is a field of science whose goal is tocontrol individual atoms and

molecules to createcomputer chips and other devices that are thousands oftimes smaller
than current technologies permit.Current manufacturing processes use lithography
toimprint circuits on semiconductor materials. Whilelithography has improved
dramatically over the lasttwo decades -- to the point where some manufacturingplants can
produce circuits smaller than one micron(1,000 nanometers) -- it still deals with
aggregatesof millions of atoms. It is widely believed thatlithography is quickly
approaching its physicallimits. To continue reducing the size ofsemiconductors, new
technologies that juggleindividual atoms will be necessary. This is the realmof
nanotechnology.

Although research in this field dates back to RichardP. Feynman's classic talk in 1959,
the termnanotechnology was first coined by K. Eric Drexler in1986 in the book Engines
of Creation.

In the popular press, the term nanotechnology issometimes used to refer to any sub-
micron process,including lithography. Because of this, manyscientists are beginning to
use the term molecularnanotechnology when talking about true nanotechnologyat the
molecular level.

The goal of fifth-generation computing is to developdevices that respond to natural

language input and arecapable of learning and self-organization.

Here natural language means a human language. Forexample, English, French, and
Chinese are naturallanguages. Computer languages, such as FORTRAN and C,are not.

Probably the single most challenging problem incomputer science is to develop

computers that canunderstand natural languages. So far, the completesolution to this
problem has proved elusive, althougha great deal of progress has been made.Fourth-
generation languages are the programminglanguages closest to natural languages.