Early History of Computer
Since the evolution of humans, devices have been used for calculations
for thousands of years. One of the earliest and most 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 in 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 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. So let us look at the important features
of these five generations of computers.
• 1st Generation: This was from the period of 1940 to 1955. This was
when machine language was developed for the use of computers. They
used vacuum tubes for the circuitry. For the purpose of memory, they
used magnetic drums. These machines were complicated, large, and
expensive. They were mostly reliant on batch operating systems and
punch cards. As output and input devices, magnetic tape and paper
tape were implemented. For example, ENIAC, UNIVAC-1, EDVAC,
and so on.
• 2nd Generation: The years 1957-1963 were referred to as the “second
generation of computers” at the time. In second-generation
computers, COBOL and FORTRAN are employed as assembly
languages and programming languages. Here they advanced from
vacuum tubes to transistors. This made the computers smaller, faster
and more energy-efficient. And they advanced from binary to assembly
languages. For instance, IBM 1620, IBM 7094, CDC 1604, CDC 3600,
and so forth.
• 3rd Generation: The hallmark of this period (1964-1971) was the
development of the integrated circuit. A single integrated circuit (IC)
is made up of many transistors, which increases the power of a
computer while simultaneously lowering its cost. These computers
were quicker, smaller, more reliable, and less expensive than their
predecessors. High-level programming languages such as FORTRON-
II to IV, COBOL, and PASCAL PL/1 were utilized. For example, the
IBM-360 series, the Honeywell-6000 series, and the IBM-370/168.
• 4th Generation: The invention of the microprocessors brought along
the fourth generation of computers. The years 1971-1980 were
dominated by fourth generation computers. C, C++ and Java were the
programming languages utilized in this generation of computers. For
instance, the STAR 1000, PDP 11, CRAY-1, CRAY-X-MP, and Apple
II. This was when we started producing computers for home use.
• 5th Generation: These computers have been utilized since 1980 and
continue to be used now. This is the present and the future of the
computer world. The defining aspect of this generation is artificial
intelligence. The use of parallel processing and superconductors are
making this a reality and provide a lot of scope for the future. Fifth-
generation computers use ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration)
technology. These are the most recent and sophisticated computers. C,
C++, Java,.Net, and more programming languages are used. For
instance, IBM, Pentium, Desktop, Laptop, Notebook, Ultrabook, and
so on.
