Generation Of Computers

Question 1

First Generation Years

Answer 1

1940 - 1956

Question 2

VACUUM TUBE also known as

Answer 2

Thermionic Value Based Machines

Question 3

VACUUM TUBE

Answer 3

First generation computer were Vacuum Tubes/thermionic value based machines

for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory.

Question 4

Magnetic drum

Answer 4

metal cylinder coated with magnetic iron-oxide material on which data and program can be stored.

Question 5

Input

Answer 5

based on punched cards and paper tape

Question 6

Output

Answer 6

Was in the form of printouts

Question 7

Examples of First Generation Computers

Answer 7

ENIAC, EDVAC, and UNIVAC

Question 8

Characteristics of First Generation Computers (4)

Answer 8

• These computers were based on vacuum tube technology.
• These were the fastest computing devices of their time.
• These computers were very large, and required a lot of space for installation.
• These were non-portable and very slow equipments

Question 9

Second Generation Computer Years

Answer 9

1956 - 1963

Question 10

TRANSISTORS

Answer 10

Used by Second Generation Computers

made up of semiconductor material like germanium and silicon

usually had three leads and performed electrical functions such as voltage, current or power amplification with low power requirement.

Question 11

Effects of Transistors on Computers

Answer 11

Since transistor is a small device, the physical size of computers was greatly reduced. Computers became smaller, faster, cheaper, energy-efficient and more reliable than their predecessors.

Question 12

Magnetic Cores

Answer 12

were used as primary memory and magnetic disks as secondary storage devices.

still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for output

In second generation computers

Question 13

Second Generation Computers example

Answer 13

PDP – 8 , IBM 1401 and IBM 7090

Question 14

Third Generation Computer Years

Answer 14

1964 - Early 1970

Question 15

Integrated Circuits (ic)

Answer 15

Trait of third gen computer

consists of a single chip with many components such as transistors and resistors fabricated on it.

replaced several individually wired transistor.

Question 16

Effects of Integrated Circuits on Computers

Answer 16

replaced several individually wired transistor. This development made computers smaller in size, reliable and efficient.

Question 17

How did users interact with third generation computers?

Answer 17

Instead of punched cards and printouts, users interacted with third generation computers through keyboards and monitors and interfaced with operating system.

Question 18

Third Generation Computers Example

Answer 18

NCR 395 and B6500

Question 19

Characteristics of Second Gen Computers (3)

Answer 19

• These machines were based on transistor technology • These were smaller as compared to the first generation computers.
• These were more portable and generated less amount of heat.

Question 20

Characteristics of Third Gen Computers (3)

Answer 20

• These computers were based on integrated circuit (ic) technology.
• They were able to reduce computational time from micro seconds to nano seconds.
• Extensive use of high – level language became possible.

Question 21

Fourth Generation Computer Years

Answer 21

Early 1970 - Till Date

Question 22

Microprocessors

Answer 22

still based on the intergrated circuit, these have been made readily available to use because of the development of the microprocessor.

Utilized by 4th Gen computers

Question 23

What did the 4th Gen Computers lead to?

Answer 23

an era of large scale integration (LSI) and very large scale integration (vlsi) technology.

Question 24

LSI meaning

Answer 24

Large Scale Integration

Question 25

What did LSI technology allow?

Answer 25

thousands of transistors to be constructed on one small slice of silicon material

Question 26

What did VLSI allow

Answer 26

squeezed hundreds of thousands of components on to a single ewp

Question 27

ULSI meaning

Answer 27

Ultra Large Scale Integration

Question 28

What did ULSI allow

Answer 28

increased that number into millions the fourth generation computer became more powerful compact, reliable and affordable.

Question 29

Examples of Fourth Gen Computers

Answer 29

apple ii, attair 8800 and CRAY-1

Question 30

Characteristics of 4th Gen Computers

Answer 30

• Fourth generation computers are microprocessor based systems
• These computers are very small
• GUI and pointing devices enable users to learn to use the computer quickly
• Interconnection of computers leads to better communication and resource sharing

Question 31

Fifth Generation Years

Answer 31

Present and Beyond

Question 32

Artificial Intelligence

Answer 32

5th Generation Computers Utilized this

learn from its mistakes and possess the skill of experts

defined as a computer information system that attempts to mimic the thought process and reasoning of experts in specific areas

Question 33

What is the starting point for the fifth generation of computers?

Answer 33

Set in the early 1990

Question 34

What are the three characteristics of 5th Gen Computers? (3)

Answer 34

Mega Chips
Parallel Processing
Artificial Intelligence

Question 35

Mega Chips

Answer 35

Fifth generation computers will use super large scale integrated (SLSI) chips, which will result in the production of microprocessor having millions of electronic components on a single chip

Question 36

Parallel Processing

Answer 36

accesses several instructions at once and works on them at the same time through use of multiple central processing units.

Question 37

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Answer 37

comprises a group of related technologies expert systems (ES), natural language processing (NLP) speech recognition, vision recognition and robotics.