Computer Fundamentals
Historical Overview
The development of the modern day computer was the result of advances in technologies and man's need to quantify, Today computer can be seen almost every wear like School, collage's offices shopping malls and almost in home also.
Computers are changing the way people work and make work
easier and it is useful in many ways.
Five generations of computers are:
First Generation - 1940-1956: Vacuum Tubes
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, 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.
Second Generation - 1956-1963: Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and ushered in the second generation of computers. 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 vast improvement over the vacuum tube. Second-generation computers still used punched cards for I/p and printouts for o/p.
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.
Instead of punched cards and printouts, users interacted with third generation computers through keyboards and monitors and interfaced with an operating system, which allowed the device to run...