Evolution of the Computer

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Even though at present, there are automated Computer Systems, the computer too has undergone a similar evolution process as human beings and has reached the advanced stage today.

        The computer was born in the attempt to make on adding machine. In order to add numbers, A device called "Abacus" was invented around 5 000 years.   

       In due course many new inventions were made. The followings are few of them.

  • In 1642, Blaise Pascal invented a machine called the Adding Machine. This was the world's first ever mathematical machine.
  • In 1674, Gottfried Wilhelm Von Leibnitz improved the machine invented by pascal. With these improvements the machine was able to perform multiplication and division too. 
  • A French Scientist named Joseph Jacquard invented a mechanical loom using Punch card system.
  • Charles Babbage started to make his Analytical Engine using the punch card system concept. This machine was based on the concepts input, process, output and store. Since this concept helped in the development of the computer, Charles Babbage in called the Father of Computing.
                Madam Ada Augusta  love lace is considered as the first programmer since she tried to                           write programmes for the Analytical Engine.
  • In the year 1944, a man named Howard Aiken invented the machine called Automatic Sequence Control Calculator at the Harvard University with the assistance of this companions and IBM company. This was named MARK 1
All the versions of early computers were mechanical in nature. from the time when the computers became automated they where categorized in to various "Generations" as bellow.

01. First Generation Computers ( 1940 - 1956 )
  •     Major Hardware Technology,
    •  Vacuum Tubes
    •  Punch Cards are used for input, process, output and storage of data

  •  Software Used
    • Machine Language
    • Assembly Language
    • Stored Program Concept
  • Characteristics
    • High Heat Generation                                           
      ENIAC was the first programmable, 
      electronic, general-purpose digital
      computer, completed in 1945. 
    • Slow in processing
    • Large in size
    • Not Portable
    • Consumes a lot of electricity
    • Expensive
  • System invented
    • ENIAC
    • EDVAC
    • EDSAC
    • UNIVAC
    • IBM 701
02. Second Generation Computers ( 1956 - 1963 )
  • Major Hardware Technology
    • Transistors
    • Tape
    • Floppy Disk, Tape for Secondary Storage
  • Software Used
    • High - Level Programming Language                     

    • Use of Assembly Language
  • Characteristics
    • Smaller in size
    • Less heat Generation
    • Low power consumption
    • Comparatively faster than the first generation
    • Expensive
  • System Invented
    • Honey well 400
    • IBM 7030
    • CDC 1604
    • UNIVAC LARC
03. Third Generation Computers ( 1964 - 1975 )
  • Major Hardware Technology
    • Integrated Circuits (IC) 
    • High capacity disks for secondary storage
    • Keyboard and Mouse for data input
  • Software Used
    • Birth of Operating Systems (OS)
    • Well developed Programming Languages                   

    • high level computer languages for coding
  • Characteristics
    • Smaller in Size
    • Less heat Generation
    • Comparatively faster than the second generation
    • Expensive
    • Low Power consumption
  • System Invented
    • IBM - 360/370
    • PDP - 8
    • PDP - 11
    • CDC - 6600
04. Fourth Generation Computers ( 1975 - 1989 )
  •  Major Hardware Technology
    • LSIC ( Large Scale Integrated Circuits )and VLSIC ( Very Large Scale Integrated Circuits )
    • Microprocessor
    • Palm Tops
    • High Capacity hard disk
    • Floppy disk
    • Optical disk
    • Personal computers (PC)
    • Faster computer networks
  • Software Used
    • OS with GUI (Graphical User Interface)                  
    • UNIX OS
  • Characteristics
    • Very small in size
    • Portable
    • Upgradable
  • Systems invented
    • IBM PC
    • Apple Ⅱ
05. Fifth Generation Computers ( 1989 to present )
  • Major Hardware Technology
    • ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration)
    • Very High Capacity Hard disks and optical disks
    • Internet
  • Software Used
    • Operating Systems with GUI (Graphical User Interface)
    • Internet and multi - media applications 
    • Voice recognition based on AI (Artificial Intelligence)
    • Character recognition
    • Hand - writing recognition systems
  • Characteristics
    • Portable                                                                

    • Less Expensive
    • Smaller in size 
    • Easy operation
    • High reliability
    • High efficiency
  • System invented
    • IBM notebook
    • Pentium PCs
    • SUN workstations

  

  


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