Basic concepts  (Page 2/3)

The electronic capture, collection, storage, manipulation, transmission, retrieval, and presentation of information in the form of data, text, voice, or image and includes telecommunications and office automation functions.

History and Classification of Computers

History of computers

Webster's Dictionary defines "computer" as any programmable electronic device that can store, retrieve, and process data.

Blaise Pascal invents the first commercial calculator, a hand powered adding machine

In 1946, ENIAC, based on John Von Neuman model completes.The first commercially successful computer is IBM 701.

A generation refers to the state of improvement in the development of a product. This term is also used in the different advancements of computer technology. With each generation, the circuitry has gotten smaller and more advanced than the previous generations before it. As a result of the miniaturization, the speed, power and memory of computers has proportionally increased. New discoveries are constantly being developed that affect the way we live, work and play. In terms of technological developments over time, computers have been broadly classed into five generations.

The first generation - 1940-1956

The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and were often enormous, taking up entire rooms. They were very expensive to operate and in addition to using a great deal of electricity, they 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. Input was based on punched cards and paper tape, and output was displayed on printouts.

The computers UNIVAC , ENIAC of the US and BESEM of the former Soviet Union are examples of first-generation computing devices.

The second generation - 1956-1963

Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and ushered in the second generation of computers. Computers becomed smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient and more reliable than their first-generation predecessors. Second-generation computers still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for output. High-level programming languages were being developed, such as early versions of COBOL and FORTRAN.

The first computers of this generation were developed for the atomic energy industry.

The computers IBM-1070 of the US and MINSK of the former Soviet Union belonged to the second generation.

The third generation - 1964-1971: integrated circuits

The development of the integrated circuit was the hallmark of the third generation of computers. Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips, called semiconductors, which drastically increased the speed and efficiency of computers. Users interacted with third generation computers through keyboards and monitors and interfaced with an operating system, which allowed the device to run many different applications at one time. Typical computers of the third generation are IBM 360 (United States) and EC (former Soviet Union).