First Generation Computers (1940-1956): The 1st Generation Computers were introduced using the technology of vacuum tubes which can control the flow of electronics in a vacuum. These tubes are usually used in switches, amplifiers, radios, televisions, etc. The First Generation of Computer was very heavy and large and were not ideal for programming. They used basic programming and didn’t have an operating system, which made it tough for users to do programming on them. The 1st Generation Computers required a big room dedicated to them and also consumed a lot of electricity.
Characteristics of 1st Generation Computers
These computers were designed using vacuum tubes.
Programming in these computers was done using machine languages.
The main memory of 1st Generation Computers consisted of magnetic tapes and magnetic drums.
Paper tapes and Punched cards were used as input/output devices in these computers.
These computers were very huge but worked very slowly.
Examples of 1st Generation Computers are IBM 650, IBM 701, ENIAC, UNIVAC1, etc.
Second Generation Computers (1956-1963): The Second Generation of Computers revolutionized as it started using the technology of transistors instead of bulky vacuum tubes. Transistors are devices made of semiconductor materials that open or close a circuit. These transistors were invented in the Bell Labs which made the Second Generation Computer powerful and faster than the previous ones. Transistors made these computers smaller and generated less heat compared to the vacuum tubes they replaced. The Second Generation of Computers also introduced the use of CPU, memory and input/output units. The programming languages used for the second-generation computers were FORTRAN (1956), ALGOL (1958), and COBOL (1959).
Characteristics of Second-Generation Computers
The Second Generation computers used the technology of Transistors.
Machine language and Assembly Languages were used for these computers.
Magnetic core and magnetic tape/disk were used for memory storage.
The Second Generation Computers were smaller in size, consumed less power and generated less heat.
Magnetic tape and punched cards were used as input/output devices.
Some of the examples are PDP-8, IBM1400 series, IBM 7090 and 7094, UNIVAC 1107, CDC 3600, etc.
Third Generation Computers (1964-1971): The evolution of Third Generation Computers took place with a shift from transistors to integrated circuits also called IC. The Third Generation of Computer was very fast and reliable. The ICs used in these computers were made from silicons and were called silicon chips. A single IC has many transistors, registers, and capacitors built on one thin slice of silicon. This generation of computers has increased memory space and efficiency. Higher-level languages like BASIC (Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) were used and the Minicomputers were introduced in this era.
Characteristics of Third-Generation Computers
These computers were built using Integrated Circuits (ICs).
High-level programming languages were used for programming on these computers.
Large magnetic core and magnetic tape/disk were used for memory storage.
Magnetic tape, monitor, keyboard, printer, etc were used as input/output devices.
Some of the examples of Third Generation Computers are IBM 360, IBM 370, PDP-11, NCR 395, B6500, UNIVAC 1108, etc.
Fourth Generation Computers (1971-Present): The period from 1972 to 2010 is considered the period of the fourth generation of computers. Microprocessor technology was used to develop the Fourth Generation of Computers. The foremost advantage of these computers is that the microprocessor can contain all the circuits required to perform arithmetic, logic, and control functions on one chip. In the Fourth Generation, computers became very small in size and also became portable.
Technologies like multiprocessing, multiprogramming, time-sharing, operating speed, and virtual memory were also introduced by then. During the fourth generation, private computers and computer networks became a reality.
Characteristics of Fourth-Generation Computers
The Fourth Generation Computers have been developed using the technology of Very-large-scale integration (VLSI) and the microprocessor (VLSI has thousands of transistors on a single microchip).
Semiconductor memory such as RAM, ROM, etc was used for memory storage.
Input/output devices such as pointing devices, optical scanning, keyboard, monitor, printer, etc were introduced.
Some examples of Fourth Generation Computers are IBM PC, STAR 1000, APPLE II, Apple Macintosh, Alter 8800, etc.
Fifth Generation Computers (Present and Beyond): The Fifth Generation of Computers has been built using the technology called Artificial Intelligence (AI). This technology encourages computers to behave like humans. Some of the applications of AI have been seen in features like voice recognition, entertainment, etc. The speed of the Fifth Generation of Computers is the highest while the sizes are the smallest. A big improvement has been noticed so far over the years in the various generations of computers in the aspect of speed, accuracy dimensions, etc.
Characteristics of Fifth Generation of Computers
The 5th Generation Computers have been built based on artificial intelligence, use the Ultra Large-Scale Integration (ULSI) technology and parallel processing method (ULSI has millions of transistors on a single microchip and the Parallel processing method uses two or more microprocessors to run tasks simultaneously).
These computers understand natural language (human language).
The Fifth-generation computers are portable and smaller in size.
Trackpad (or touchpad), touchscreen, pen, speech input (recognize voice/speech), light scanner, printer, keyboard, monitor, mouse, etc are used as Input/Output devices.
Examples of 5th Generation Computers are Desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc.