HISTORY AND GENERATIONS OF THE COMPUTERS

History of Computers

Computer was not made in a single day. It took hundreds of years in developing the computers you use today. 

 

When we study the many aspects of computing and computers, it is important to know about the history of computers. Charles Babbage designed an Analytical Engine which was a general computer,  It helps us understand the growth and progress of technology through the times. It is also an important topic for competitive and banking exams. 

 

Alfred is a long-time teacher and computer enthusiast who works with and troubleshoots a wide range of computing devices. 

 

The history of computers is deeply rooted in the desire by mankind to compute basic mathematical functions. These and other tasks remain the core functions of computers even today. 

 

Men actually began this quest by using readily available tools like fingers, sticks, and stones before adopting more advanced contraptions such as the abacus. Then came the Turing machine, a model computer that manipulates symbols on strips of tape to simulate algorithms. The Turing machine paved way for finite mechanical machines in the mid-1900s. 

History of computers Generation

 The word 'computer' has very interesting origin. It was first used in the 16th century for a person who used to compute, i.e. do calculations. The word was used in the same sense as a noun until the 20th century. Women were hired as human computers to carry out all forms of calculations and computations. 

 

By the past of the 19th century, the word was also used to describe machines that did calculations. The modern day use of the word is generally to describe programmable digital devices that run on electricity. 

Early History of Computer

Since the evolution of humans, devices have been used for calculations for thousands of years. One of the earliest and well-known devices was an abacus. Then in 1822, the father of computers, Charles Babbage began developing what would be the first mechanical computer. And then it 1833 he actually designed an Analytical Engine which was a general purpose computer. It contained an ALU, some basic flow chart principles and the concept of integrated memory.

 

Then more than a century later in the history of computers, we got our first electronic computer for general purpose. It was the ENIAC, which stands for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer. The inventors of this computer were John W. Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert. 

 

And with times the technology developed and the computers got smaller and the processing got faster. We got our first laptop in 1981 and it was introduced by Adam Osborne and it was introduced by Adam Osborne and EPSON. 

 

Generations of Computers

 In the history of computers, we often refer to the advancements of modern computers as the generation of computers. We are currently on the fifth generation of computers.

Nowadays, generation includes both hardware and software, which together make up an entire computer system. There are five computer generations known till date. Each generation has been discussed in detail along with their time period and characteristics. 

• First Generation Computers: - The period of first generation was from 1946-1959. This was when the machine language was developed for the use of computers. They used vacuums tubes for the circuitry. For the purpose of memory, they used magnetic drums. They were very expensive and only large organization was able to afford it. 

 

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• Second Generation Computers: - The period of second generation was from 1959-1965. In this generation, transistors were used that were cheaper, consumed less power, more compact in size, more reliable and faster than the first generation machines made of vacuum tubes.

      This made the computers smaller, faster and more energy efficient. And           they advanced from binary to assembly languages. 

·       Third Generation computers: - The period of the third generation was from 1963 to 1971. The third generation computers were developed by using the Integrated Circuit (IC) technology. In comparison to the computers of the second generation, the size of computers of the third generation was smaller. The third generation computer consumed less power and also generated less heat. The maintenance cost of the computers in the third generation was also low. 

 Third Generation

  ·      Fourth Generation computers: - The period 1972 to 2010 is roughly considered as the fourth generation of computers. The fourth generation computers were developed by using microprocessor technology. It is much faster and accuracy became more reliable. The production cost reduced to very low in comparison to the previous generation. It became available for the common people as well.

 

Fourth Generation

• • Fifth Generation computers:- This is the present and the future of the computer world. The defining aspect of this generation is artificial intelligence.

  The period 2010 to till date and beyond, roughly considered as the period of fifth generation of computers. 

  By the time, the computer generation was being categorized on the basic of hardware only, but the fifth generation technology also included software. 

  The computers of the fifth generation had high capability and large memory capacity.