Generation of computers
First Generation
The period 1940 to 1956, roughly considered as the First Generation of Computer.
The first generation computers were developed by using vacuum tube or thermionic valve
machine.
The main memory storing units were magnetic tapes and magnetic
drums.
The sizes used to be very large which could take up entire rooms and the
speed was very slow.
The only input/output devices were paper tape and punched cards. T he
output was displayed on printouts.
The first generation computers worked on binary-coded concept (i.e., language of 0-
1). Examples: ENIAC, EDVAC, etc.
Second Generation
The period 1956 to 1963 is roughly considered as the period of Second Generation of
Computers.
The second generation computers were developed by using transistor technology.
The main memory storing units were magnetic tape or disk and magnetic
core.
The assembly language was used as the programming language.
The sizes were smaller as compared to those of the first generation and
they used to consume low power and generate less heat.
There was an improvement in speed.
The input/output devices were magnetic tape and punched cards.
Examples are IBM 1401, IBM 7094 AND IBM 7090, UNIVAC 1107, and so
on.
Third Generation
The period 1963 to 1971 is roughly considered as the period of Third Generation of
computers.
The third generation computers were developed by using the Integrated Circuit (IC)
technology.
The memory storing units were the magnetic disk or take and a large
magnetic core.
High-level languages such as BASIC, COBOL, Pascal were used as the
programming language.
The sizes were smaller and efficient and the computers were called
minicomputers.
There was an improvement in reliability and speed as compared to the
second generation of computers.
The third generation computer consumed less power and also generated less heat.
The input/output devices were keyboards, magnetic tape monitor,
printer, etc.
Examples are IBM 370, IBM 360, UNIVAC 1108 and so on.
Fourth Generation
The period 1972 to 2010 is roughly considered as the fourth generation of computers.
The fourth generation computers were developed by using microprocessor technology.
computer became very small in size, it became portable.
The machine of fourth generation started generating very low amount of heat.
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.
The main electronic components used in the fourth generation of
computers are microprocessors and very large scale integration (VLSI).
When thousands of transistors are attached to a single microchip, it is
known as VLSI.
Semiconductor memory storage units such as RAM, ROM, etc were
introduced.
RAM (random-access memory)- Temporarily stores the programs and
data and the contents are lost when the computer is shut down.
ROM (read-only memory)- Permanently stores the data and programs
and the contents are retained even after shutting down the computer.
High-level languages such as C#, JAVA, Python, JavaScript are used as
programming languages.
The sizes are smaller and the speed has improved.
The input/output devices are a monitor, mouse, keyboard, printer, and so
on.
Examples are STAR 1000, APPLE II, IBM PC, and so on.
The Fifth Generation of Computers- (present and the future)
1. The main electronic components that are used in the present generation
of computers is Artificial Intelligence which uses the parallel processing
method and the Ultra-Large Scale Integration (ULSI).
2. The fifth generation of computers understands the natural human
language.
3. The speeds are really fast and the sizes are also small.
4. The fifth-generation computers are portable and have a huge storage
capacity.
5. The input/output devices are keyboards, monitors, touchscreen pens,
printers, light scanners, and so on.
6. Examples are laptops, desktops, tablets, smartphones, etc.
Software :
“Software is a set of programs (sequence of instructions) that allows
the users to perform a well-defined function or some specified task."
Software is responsible for directing all computer-related devices and instructing
them regarding what and how the task is to be performed.
Types of software
Software's are broadly classified into two types, i.e., System Software and
Application Software.
1. System Software
System software is a computer program that helps the user to run computer
hardware or software and manages the interaction between them.
Essentially, it is software that constantly runs in the computer background,
maintaining the computer hardware and computer's basic functionalities,
including the operating system, utility software, and interface.
o Examples : Operating System -Microsoft Windows
o Apple's iOS
o Apple's MacOS
o Android
o CentOS
o Linus
o Ubuntu
o Unix
Device Drivers
o BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) Device Driver
o USB (Universal Serial Bus) Drivers
o Motherboard Drivers
o Display Drivers
o Printer Drivers
o Sound Card Driver
o ROM (Read-only memory) Drivers
o VGA (Video Graphic Array) Drivers
Application Software
Application programs or software applications are end-user computer
programs developed primarily to provide specific functionality to the user.
The applications programs assist the user in accomplishing numerous tasks such as
doing online research, completing notes, designing graphics, managing the
finances, watching a movie, writing documents, playing games, and many
more.
Examples :
Word Processors
Some examples of Word Processor software's are as follows:
o MS Word (Microsoft)
o iWork-Pages (Apple)
o Corel WordPerfect
o Google Docs
Database Software
o Oracle
o MS Access
o SQLite
o Microsoft SQL Server
o FileMaker
o dBase
o MySQL
Multimedia Software
o Adobe Photoshop
o Windows Movie Maker
o Adobe Illustrator
o Picasa
o Windows Media Player
o Corel Draw
Web Browsers
o Chrome
o Mozilla Firefox
o Microsoft Internet Explorer
o Opera
o Microsoft Edge
o UC Browser
o Apple Safari
What is an Operating System?
An Operating System (OS) is a software that acts as an interface between
computer hardware components and the user.
A computer is a machine which needs to be instructed for every single step.
The operating system is the most important software that runs on a computer.
The OS performs the following functions.
It provides a convenient and an efficient environment for users to execute
programs.
An operating system controls the allocation of
resources like memory, processors, devices, and
information.
It makes sure that different programs and multi-users do
not interfere with each other.
Types of Operating System (OS)
There are many different operating systems that have been developed for different purposes. The most
typical OS in ordinary desktop computers and laptops are Microsoft Windows, Linux, UNIX, etc.
Microsoft Windows
Windows is an operating system designed by Microsoft. It is the most popular OS for home PCs. There
have been many versions of Windows, but the most recent ones include Windows 10 (released in 2015),
Features of Microsoft Windows Operating System
(a) It is GUI based operating system, i.e., interaction with the computer is
done by clicking with mouse on the icons. GUI also provides menus,
buttons
and other graphical objects to the user to perform different
tasks. GUI is very easy to interact with the computer. Thus,
Windows eliminate the need to memorize commands for the
command line (MS-DOS).
(b) Several programs can be opened at the same time, i.e., it
supports multiprogramming and multitasking.
Linux
Linux is an open-source operating system. The term open source
refers to program code which is freely available and its source code
is available to developers or users for modification. Linux typically
provides two GUIs: KDE and Gnome. The various distributions of
Linux come from different companies like Red Hat, SuSE, Ubuntu,
Xandros etc.
Features of Linux Operating System
(a) It is an open source OS. Open source refers to any program whose source code is
made available for use or modification. Open source software is usually developed as
a public collaboration and made freely available.
(b) It is a multi-user system operating system that supports multiple users at once or
different times.
Smartphone Operating Systems
Smartphones are using operating systems too.
This development has brought many advanced functions on mobile which were already
available on our computer.
Mobile phones or smartphones are not just a device to make phone calls or send some
texts, but they are close to handheld computers that enable us to send email, play games,
watch news, do video calls and much more.
For example, you can download weather app that tells you the current temperature or
possibility of rain in your city.
Let us learn about some of the smartphone operating systems in detail.
(a) iOS
Apple iOS is a multi-touch, multi-tasking operating system that runs on Apple iPhone,
iPad, and iPod. It gives the response on the user’s touch. It allows them to tap on the
screen to open a program, enlarge an image, or swipe a finger on the screen to change the
pages.
iOS Home Screens Evolution
(b) Android
Android is an open source mobile operating system owned by Google. You can find a wide
range of devices from smartphones, to Android TV’S, tablets etc. which use Android as OS.
Android smartphone has a wide range of customers now. The Android market has millions
of apps, most of which are totally free.
Android based smart phones
(a) Windows Phone
Microsoft released its Windows platform for mobile phones in late 2010.The Windows
phone home screen resembles a Window’s Desktop start menu. Windows phone is
recognizable from its tile-based interface.
The Home screen is fully customizable to add or remove tiles (square / rectangular shaped
selectable icons), resize tiles and move them around on the screen to reorganize. The
content like photos, music, etc. from various applications are automatically grouped
together by the aggregator feature called hubs.
FUNCTIONS OF OPERATING SYSTEM
The operating system manages computer resources, especially the
allocation or assignment of the resources among other programs.
Management tasks include scheduling the resources to avoid
conflicts and interference between programs.
The various functions of operating system are shown in Fig. 4.1.
Process
Management
Memory User
Management Interface
Functions
of Operating
System
Input/Output File & Disk
Management Management
1. Process Management
o A program that is in an execution state is called a process. For example, a word
processing program like MS-Word being run by a user on a personal computer is a
process. A system task, such as sending output to a printer, can also be a process.
o A process needs certain resources-such as CPU time, memory, files and I/O devices
to accomplish its tasks. These resources are allocated to the process either when they
are created or while they are executing.
o The operating system helps in the allocation of resources to each process.
o Releasing the processor when the jobs are finished
Memory Management
o Allocating the memory to the running programs
o De-allocating the memory when the programs are terminated.
Device Management
o Allocating the input and output devices to the running processes
o De-allocating the devices when the processes are completed
File Management
o Managing the file system
o Opening and closing files, providing access permission to the files, keeping track of
files with their status and memory locations.
