The Five Generations of Computers

The Five Generations of Computers

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曆曆A computer is a device that can be instructed to carry out an arbitrary set of arithmetic or logical operations automatically.曆曆

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曆曆Charles Babbage is considered as the “father of the computer”. He invented the first mechanical computer in the early 19th century.曆曆

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曆曆The principle of the modern computer was proposed by Alan Turing.曆曆
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First Generation (1940-1956)
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They used: vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory
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Memory and Storage: Magnetic tapes, magnetic drums as secondary memory
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⚫Very expensive to operate.
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⚫Relied on binary machine language, the lowest-level programming language to perform operations.
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⚫Binary Machine Language (0s and 1s) was difficult for users to understand
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⚫Could solve only one problem at a time
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♥Examples: UNIVAC and ENIAC computers
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Second Generation (1956-1963)
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They used: Transistors
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Memory and Storage: Main memory- Ferite cores. Secondary Memory- Magnetic disks and tapes
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⚫Computers became smaller, faster, and cheaper.
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⚫Also binary Machine Language was replaced by Assembly Languages.
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⚫Use of assembly Language allowed programmers to specify instructions in words.
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♥Examples: IBM 1401 and Honeywell 400 computers
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Third Generation (1964-1971)
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They used: Integrated Circuits
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Memory and Storage: Main memory- RAM, ROM. Secondary Memory- Magnetic disks, tapes
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⚫Computers became more smaller and cheaper.
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⚫Speed and efficiency of Computers was further increased by the use of semiconductors.
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⚫Keyboards and Monitors were introduced for input and screen
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⚫Different application could run at one time
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♥Examples: IBM System/360, IBM 1130, UNIVAC 1107 computers
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Fourth Generation (1971-Present)
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They use: Microprocessors. VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) technology
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Memory and Storage: Main Memory- RAM/ROM. Secondary Memory- Hard Disk
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⚫Thousands of integrated circuits were built onto a single silicon chip.
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⚫Computers became more powerful.
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⚫Computers could be linked together to form networks now, which eventually led to the development of the Internet.
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⚫Graphic user Interface (GUIs), mouse and handheld devices were developed.
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⚫Programming languages closest to human language
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♥Examples: Apple Macintosh, IBM PCs computers
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Fifth Generation (Present and Beyond)
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They use: Artificial Intelligence. ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration) technology
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Memory and Storage: Main Memory- RAM/ROM. Secondary Memory- Hard Disk
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⚫Still in development.
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⚫Some applications like voice recognition are used today also
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⚫The goal of fifth-generation computing is to develop devices that respond to natural language (human language) input and are capable of learning and self-organization.

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