Generation of Computers and Computers Language

First Generation (1940-1956) Vacuum Tubes

Vacuum tubes were used for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory

They were very expensive to operate

Used a great deal of electricity, generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause of malfunctions. First generation computers relied on machine language They were very slow and could 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.

Second Generation (1956-1963) Transistors

Transistors replaced vacuum tubes , allowing computers to become smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient and more reliable Though the transistor still generated a great deal of heat Second-generation computers still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for output. Second-generation computers used 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. Magnetic core technology was used as memory

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.

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 and brought all the components of the computerfrom the central processing unit and memory to input/output controlson 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.

Fifth Generation (Present and Beyond) Artificial Intelligence

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.

FIRST GENERATION LANGUAGE

First-generation language is the lowest level computer language and is called machine level programming language. Information is conveyed to the computer by the programmer as binary instructions. No translator was used to compile or assemble the first-generation language. The main benefit of programming in a first-generation programming language is that the code a user writes can run very fast and efficiently, since it is directly executed by the CPU. It is a lot more difficult to learn and it is far more difficult to edit if errors occur. Portability is significantly reduced .Architectural considerations make portability difficult too. The first-generation programming instructions were entered through the front panel switches of the computer system.

SECOND GENERATION LANGUAGE

Assembly or assembler language was the second generation of computer language.

Assembly language consists of letters of the alphabet. It makes use of mnemonics, or memory aids, which are easier for the human programmer to recall than are numerical codes.
This kind of programming is still considered fast and to program in machine language required high knowledge of the CPU and machine's instruction set. This also meant high hardware dependency and lack of portability.

THIRD GENERATION LANGUAGE

Third generation languages often followed procedural code, meaning the language performs functions defined in specific procedures on how something is done. 3GLs support structured programming. These languages required compiler to convert the programms into machine codes. These languages enable a programmer to create program files using commands that are similar to spoken English. Eg: FORTRAN (FORmula TRANslater), ALGOL (ALGOrithmic Language) and COBOL (COmmon Business Oriented Language), BASIC (Beginner's Allpurpose Symbolic Instruction Code) , C, C++,C#, Java and Python A third generation language improves over a second generation language by having the computer take care of non-essential details, not the programmer. High level language is a synonym for third-generation programming language.

FOURTH GENERATION LANGUAGE

These languages are nonprocedural.

A disadvantage with fourth generation languages was they were slow compared to compiled languages and they also lacked control. These languages are user friendly, portable and independent of operating systems, usable by non-programmers, having intelligent default options about what the user wants and allowing the user to obtain results fasts using minimum requirement code generated with bug-free code from high-level expressions Fourth-generation languages typically consist of English-like words and phrases. When they are implemented on microcomputers, some of these languages include graphic devices such as icons and onscreen push buttons for use during programming and when running the resulting application Many fourth-generation languages use Structured Query Language (SQL) as the basis for operations. Eg: PROLOG, an artificial intelligence language ,OCCAM and PARLOG

FIFTH GENERATION LANGUAGES

Fifth-generation programming language (5GL) is a programming language based around solving problems using constraints given to the program, rather than using an algorithm written by a programmer. Most constraint-based and logic programming languages and some declarative languages are fifthgeneration languages. Fifth-generation languages are used mainly in artificial intelligence research. While fourth-generation programming languages are designed to build specific programs, fifth-generation languages are designed to make the computer solve a given problem without the programmer. This way, the programmer only needs to worry about what problems need to be solved and what conditions need to be met, without worrying about how to implement a routine or algorithm to solve them. Eg:Prolog, OPS5, and Mercury are the best known fifth-generation languages.