Evolution of Computers!

     Computer is an electronic device for storing and processing data, typically in binary form, according to instructions given to it in a variable program. it become such an important part of everyday living. computers as they are known and used today are still relatively new. although computers have technically been in use since the abacus approximately 5000 years ago, modern computers were developed in 1944. Called the Mark I, this computer was used only for calculations and weighed five tons. Despite its size and limited ability, it was the first of many that would start off generations of computer development and growth.

The First Generation (1946-1959)

    The Computers of 1st generation used vacuum tubes as the basic components for memory and circuitry for the CPU (Central Processing Unit). The mainly batch processing operating system was used. Punch cards, paper tape, and the magnetic tape was used as input and output devices. It uses machine code as the programming language. The main features of the first generation are, huge in size, supported machine language only, vacuum tube technology, unreliable, generated a lot of heat, slow input, and output, need for AC, non-portable, and consumed a lot of electricity. We had ENIAC, EDVAC, UNIVAC, IBM-701, and IBM-650 computers on this generation

Second Generation (1956-1963)

            This generation generated a lot of heat but much less than the 1^st generation computers. They required less maintenance than the first generation computer. The vacuum tubes of the 1^st generation computers were replaced by Transistors. Transistors allowed computers to become smaller, faster, cheaper, energy efficient, and reliable. This generation of computers used magnetic core technology for primary memory. They used magnetic tapes and magnetic disks for secondary storage. The input was still through punched cards and the output using printouts. They used the concept of a stored program, where instructions were stored in the memory of the computer. The instructions were written using the assembly language. Assembly language uses mnemonics like ADD for addition and SUB for subtraction for coding the instructions. It is easier to write instructions in assembly language, as compared to writing instructions in machine language. High-level programming languages, such as early versions of COBOL and FORTRAN were also developed during this period. The cost of commercial production of these computers was very high, though less than the first generation computers. The transistors had to be assembled manually in second-generation computers. PDP-8, IBM 1401, and CDC 1604 were developed on this generation.

                                                                                                Transistor

Third Generation (1965-1971)

            The development of 3^rd generation computers is marked by the period when the transistors were replaced by integrated circuits. Integrated circuits (IC) were widely used as the main technology in 3^rd generation computers. In particular, the transistors were assembled on silicon chips, called semiconductors, which resulted in faster speeds in the computer and improved efficiency. Due to the use of an integrated circuit, the size of the computer was reduces even more than the 2^nd generation computers. This helped to make the computer more portable. 3^rd generation computers had better input-output devices. The use of keyboard and monitors was introduced in place of punched cards and printouts, which helped in increasing the speed of input and output operations. Besides, remote processing, time-charing, and multiprogramming operating systems were also introduced in this generation, which eventually allowed users to run multiple applications at once. For the advancement of software, they used high-end languages such as COBOL, FORTAN-II to IV, BASIC, PASCAL PL/1, ALGOL-68, etc. As a result, the computer was made more reliable than the previous generation of computers. The computers were developed was IBM 370/168, Honeywell 6000 series, PDP 8, PDP 11, TDC 316, ICL 2900, and etc.

Fourth Generations (1971-1980)

    The computers made in the 4^th generation computers were based upon the microprocessor, which was the extended version of the 3^rd generation of computers. These computers used VLSI circuits, on a single chip, VLSI and LSI techniques are contained by a microprocessor to pack millions of transistors. In modern times, the speed and memory of computers have enhanced drastically while the cost and size have dramatically decreased. The characteristics of the fourth generation of computers was associated with the process of creating an integrated circuit (IC) with the help of combining many transistors into a single chip because these computers used the VLSI technology. For instance, due to the technology used to build fourth-generation computers, they came with various features such as more versatility, large primary storage capacity, excellent in speed and reliability, portable, very compact and small, etc.

    The first processor was Intel 4004 which was built on a single silicon chip, which was built in 1971 and included 2,300 transistors. It gave a new rise to the generation of a computer whose lineage would be continued in the present. In 1981, IBM chose the Intel Corporation as the builder of the microprocessor (the Intel 8086) for IBM's new machine, the IBM-PC. Around 240,000 additions per second can be executed by the new IBM machine, the IBM-PC. However, in terms of speed, this computer was much slower compared to the computers in the IBM 360 family. Later in 1996, the PC, Intel Corporation's Pentium Pro was very fast in speed; it had the capability of executing 400,000,000 additions per second, which was approx 210,000 times fast compared to the ENIAC-the workhorse of World War II. 

    In modern times, all computers are basin on microprocessor technology. The manufacturing of chips is not costly. Memory chips and processor chips both are different; memory chips are used for dynamic RAM (random access memory), and processor chips are used as a central processor. The millions of transistors are used in both kinds of chips (Memory and processor chips). The chips can be available in the future through which memory and processor chips can be combined on a single silicon die.

    Due to a lot of transistors can be concentrated in a very small place, Superscalar, cached, and pipelined microprocessors became popular that allowed scientists to exploit instruction-level parallelism with the help of instruction pipelines along with designs, which made them capable of executing more than one instruction at a time (called superscalar). Also, scientists became capable of designing these single-chip processors with onboard memory, which is known as a cache. The Intel Pentium Pro PC was known for its pipelined, cached, superscalar microprocessor.

    Also, the use of parallel processors has increased during this period. In order to results in parallel, these machines integrate multiple processors in different ways. Now, they are used for file servers and as well as databases; however, they have also been used for scientific computations. They still may not lend themselves to various problems to a parallel solution and are very hard to program because they are not as universal as uniprocessors.

    The five independent units Input, arithmetic ,and logic, memory, output ,and control unit are included in the computers made in the fourth generation. The below diagram represents the physical location of the computer's functional unit in the computer. The unit takes input (digital information) by users with the help of input devices such as mouse, keyboard, microphone, etc. The input is processed or held on the basis of the kind of instruction.

Fifth Generation (1980-present)

       Fifth-generation computers were introduced after the fourth-generation computers were invented. Fifth-generation computers, also known as modern computers, are still in the development stage and are based on artificial intelligence. In 1982, Japan invented the FGCS (Fifth Generation Computer System). Computers of this generation are based on microelectronic technology with high computing power and parallel processing. This is the most recent and technologically advanced computer generation. Modern high-level languages such as Python, R, C#, Java, and others are used as input methods. These are incredibly dependable and use the Ultra Large-Scale Integration (ULSI) technology. War. Parallel processing hardware and artificial intelligence software are used in computers.

    These computers are at the cutting edge of modern scientific computations and are being utilized to develop artificial intelligence (AI) software. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a popular discipline of computer science that examines the meaning and methods for programming computers to behave like humans. It is still in its infancy.

    In the fifth generation of computers, all high-level languages are employed. The primary goal of the fifth generation is to create machines that can learn and organize themselves. Artificial intelligence and parallel processing hardware are at the heart of this generation of computers, and artificial intelligence encompasses terms like Robotics, Neural Networks, etc.

            The fundamental goal of this system is to make development in artificial intelligence and incorporate it into a new generation of extremely powerful computers that can be used by the average person. AI-based systems are employed in a variety of real-world applications and give a variety of benefits. When a specific set of knowledge and skills is required, systems are capable of performing well in scenarios that a human could encounter with the help of proper training. They do not, however, fit in situations where there is a need for tacit knowledge and a human can get it by talking in natural language and is concerned with form and speech recognition

            The usage of AI, which helps to make computers more powerful, is one of the primary elements of 5th generation computers. From navigation to browsing, AI applications may be found everywhere. It’s also used for video analysis, image processing, and other tasks. Artificial intelligence is projected to automate practically every element of computing.

            Even though they are still in development, computers in the fifth generation are more powerful, functional, and speedy. Some of the benefits of computers that use ULSI (Ultra Large-Scale Integration) technology. The fifth-generation computers employ AI (artificial intelligence) technology, which includes expert system development, gameplay, and more. These machines were able to interpret human language as well as recognize graphs and photos thanks to AI technology. Fifth-generation computers are being developed to address extremely difficult tasks, such as working with natural language. They will, hopefully, be able to utilize more than one CPU and will be less expensive than the current generation. It is relatively simple to move these computers from one location to another. Some fifth-generation computers are PARAM 10000, IBM notebooks, Intel P4, Laptops, etc.