The history of computer development is often referred to in reference to the different generations of computing devices.Each generation of computer is characterized by a major technological development which in turns changed the way computers operates, resulting in increasingly smaller, cheaper, powerful, faster, efficient and more reliable
First Generation (1940-1956)
The first computers used vacuum tube technology for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and were very large in size, taking up entire rooms.
They were very expensive to operate and in addition to using a great deal of electricity, generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause of malfunctions.
First generation computers relied on machine language to perform operations, and they could only solve one problem at a time. Machine languages are the only languages understood by computers. While easily understood by computers, machine languages are almost impossible for humans to use because they consist entirely of numbers, which means that they can be operable only by the programmers.
The UNIVAC(UNIVersal Automatic Computer) and
ENIAC(Electronic Numerical Integrator And Calculator) computers are examples of first-generation computing devices.
The UNIVAC was the first commercial computer delivered to a business client, the U.S. Census Bureau in 1951. The ENIAC, weighing 30 tons, using 200 kilowatts of electric power and consisting of 18,000 vacuum tubes,1,500 relays, and hundreds of thousands of resistors,capacitors, and inductors, was completed in 1945.
Second Generation (1956-1963)
In the second generation computers Transistors replaced vacuum tubes, but still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for output. Transistor is a device composed of semiconductor material
that amplifies a signal or opens or closes a circuit. Invented in 1947 at Bell Labs, transistors have become the key ingredient of all digital circuits, including computers. Today's latest microprocessor contains tens of millions of microscopic transistors.
The transistor was far superior to the vacuum tube, allowing computers to become smaller, faster, cheaper,more energy-efficient and more reliable than their first-generation predecessors. Though the transistor still generated a great deal of heat that subjected the computer to damage, it was a vast improvement over the vacuum tube.
First Generation (1940-1956)
The first computers used vacuum tube technology for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and were very large in size, taking up entire rooms.
They were very expensive to operate and in addition to using a great deal of electricity, generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause of malfunctions.First generation computers relied on machine language to perform operations, and they could only solve one problem at a time. Machine languages are the only languages understood by computers. While easily understood by computers, machine languages are almost impossible for humans to use because they consist entirely of numbers, which means that they can be operable only by the programmers.
The UNIVAC(UNIVersal Automatic Computer) and
ENIAC(Electronic Numerical Integrator And Calculator) computers are examples of first-generation computing devices.
The UNIVAC was the first commercial computer delivered to a business client, the U.S. Census Bureau in 1951. The ENIAC, weighing 30 tons, using 200 kilowatts of electric power and consisting of 18,000 vacuum tubes,1,500 relays, and hundreds of thousands of resistors,capacitors, and inductors, was completed in 1945.
Second Generation (1956-1963)
In the second generation computers Transistors replaced vacuum tubes, but still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for output. Transistor is a device composed of semiconductor material
that amplifies a signal or opens or closes a circuit. Invented in 1947 at Bell Labs, transistors have become the key ingredient of all digital circuits, including computers. Today's latest microprocessor contains tens of millions of microscopic transistors.The transistor was far superior to the vacuum tube, allowing computers to become smaller, faster, cheaper,more energy-efficient and more reliable than their first-generation predecessors. Though the transistor still generated a great deal of heat that subjected the computer to damage, it was a vast improvement over the vacuum tube.