FIRST GENERATION COMPUTERS(1951-1958)

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.

SECOND GENERATION COMPUTERS(1959-1964)

Transistors - It replace 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 1950s. 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.

THIRD GENERATION OF COMPUTERS(1965-1971)

Integrated Circuits - Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips called semiconductor,
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 application 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 OF COMPUTERS(1971-Present)

Microprocessor Technologies - 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.

Ultra Large SI - is the process of integrating or embedding millions of transistors on a single silicon
semiconductor microchip.

First Generation of mordern computer (1946 - 1954)

The period of first generation was 1946 - 1954. Computers of first generation used vacuum tubes as the
basic components for memory and circuitry for Central Processing Unit.The first electronic computer,
ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and calculator) was developed in 1947 at the University of
Pennsylvania, USA. This machine had vacuum tubes as switching devices. Von Neumann introduced the
concept of stored program by around the same time and the first digital computer using program,
EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator), was announced in 1949.

They were very large in size, consumed lot of power dnd emitted too much of heat. They required to be
housed in large air-conditioned rooms.

During this period, computer programming was mainly done in machine language. The user had to be
both an electronics expert and a programmer to use the computer for any task.

First Generation of Computer Image

Second Generation of mordern computer (1955 - 1964)

The period of second generation was 1959-1965. In second generation of computer transistors were
used. The transistors were highly reliable and easier to handle and maintain than the vacuum tubes.
They required much less power. These transistors replaced vacuum tubes in computers during this
period. The magnetic cores were used to construct large random access memories. Magnetic disk
storage was also developed during this period.

Commercial applications rapidly developed during this period and dominated computer use by mid
1960s. This period also witnessed development of high level languages (like FORTRAN, COBOL, ALGOL,
and SNOWBOL) and operating systems. The computers used multiprogramming and batch processing
operating system.

Third Generation of mordern computer (1965 - 1974)

The period of third generation was 1965-1974.In this generation silicon transistors replaced germanium
transistors. Integrated circuits were developed by interconnecting transistors, resistors and capacitors
grown on a single chip of silicon. Integrated Circuit (IC) chips were used in computers. ICs were small in
size, less power consuming and less expensive than the previous switching technology. Advances in
storage technologies resulted in creating large capacity magnetic ,disks and tapes and large magnetic
core based random access memory.

On software front, high level languages were improved. Fortran IV and optimising Fortran compilers
were developed. Standardisation of COBOL (COBOL 68) was another major development during this
period.

Fouth Generation of mordern computer (1975 - 1989)

The period of fourth generation was 1971-1980.The fourth generation computers were made using very
large scale integration technology. Tens of thousands of components were packed on a single chip, the
size of a fingernail. It led to the development of microprocessor. Magnetic core memories were replaced
by semiconductor memories. Personal computer operating systems were developed during this period.

Graphic User Interface (GUI) technology was exploited to offer more comfort to users. PCs became more
affordable and widespread during this period.

A significant development in software was the development of concurrent programming languages like
ADA. Another notable development was the introduction of interactive graphic devices and language
interfaces to graphic systems .

Fifth Generation of mordern computer (1990 onwards)

Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) technology gave way to Ultra Large Scale Integration that led to the
development of microprocessor chip with several million electronic components on each. Powerful
laptops, notebook PCs and desktops were the other developments during this period.

The fifth generation is essentially about a new super-breed of computers. These computers will be able
to think and take decisions. Artificial Intelligence is being built into the computer. The revolutionary
parallel processing is being used in the new breed of computers in place of conventional Von Neumann
architecture.

On the software front, effort is being directed at developing languages to cope with su,h new generation
computers. Languages known as functional languages and object-oriented languages such as C++ have
been developed during this generation. Development of more user-friendly operating systems like MS
Windows and Lynux, and Lynux based software products are the other developments during this period.

Computer Hardware

A computer like human brain receives data and instructions, stores them and processes the data
according to the instructions given to it. It receives data from input devices, stores them in memory and
displays them through an output device. The physical devices that make up a computer are referred to
as hardware. Computer hardware includes all the electrical, mechanical, and the electronic parts of a
computer. Any part that we can see or touch is the hard ware.

Computer hardware can be classified into two categories :

1. CPU (Central Processing Unit)

2. Computer Peripherals


Central Processing Unit (CPU)

CPU is the brain of a computer. It has an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) to perform arithmetical and logical
operations. It has a control unit to co-ordinate the. aclivities of the CPU and main memoryfor primary
storage.