1.What are the characteristics of the 1st to 5th generation computers?

First Generation (1941-1956)

World War gave rise to numerous developments and started off the computer age.
Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) was produced by a partnershp
between University of Pennsylvannia and the US government. It consisted of 18,000
vacuum tubes and 7000 resistors. It was developed by John Presper Eckert and John W.
Mauchly and was a general purpose computer. "Von Neumann designed the Electronic
Discrete Variable Automatic Computer (EDVAC) in 1945 with a memory to hold both a
stored program as well as data." Von Neumann's computer allowed for all the computer
functions to be controlled by a single source.

Then in 1951 came the Universal Automatic Computer(UNIVAC I), designed by

Remington rand and collectively owned by US census bureau and General Electric.
UNIVAC amazingly predicted the winner of 1952, presidential elections, Dwight D.
Eisenhower.

In first generation computers, the operating instructions or programs were specifically

built for the task for which computer was manufactured. The Machine language was the
only way to tell these machines to perform the operations. There was great difficulty to
program these computers ,and more when there were some malfunctions. First
Generation computers used Vacuum tubes and magnetic drums(for data storage).

Second Generation Computers (1956-1963)

The invention of Transistors marked the start of the second generation. These transistors
took place of the vacuum tubes used in the first generation computers. First large scale
machines were made using these technologies to meet the requirements of atomic energy
laboratories. One of the other benefits to the programming group was that the second
generation replaced Machine language with the assembly language. Even though
complex in itself Assemly language was much easier than the binary code.

Second generation computers also started showing the characteristics of modern day
computers with utilities such as printers, disk storage and operating systems. Many
financial information was processed using these computers.

In Second Generation computers, the instructions(program) could be stored inside the

computer's memory. High-level languages such as COBOL (Common Business-Oriented
Language) and FORTRAN (Formula Translator) were used, and they are still used for
some applications nowdays.

Third Generation Computers (1964-1971)

Although transistors were great deal of improvement over the vacuum tubes, they
generated heat and damaged the sensitive areas of the computer. The Intergreated
Circuit(IC) was invented in 1958 by Jack Kilby. It combined electronic components onto
a small silicon disc, made from quartz. More advancement made possible the fitings of
even more components on a small chip or a semi conductor. Also in third generation
computers, the operating systems allowed the machines to run many different
applications. These applications were monitored and coordinated by the computer's
memory.

Fourth Generation (1971-Present)

Fourth Generation computers are the modern day computers. The Size started to go down
with the improvement in the integerated circuits. Very Large Scale(VLSI) and Ultra
Large scale(ULSI) ensured that millions of components could be fit into a small chip. It
reduced the size and price of the computers at the same time increasing power, efficiency
and reliability. "The Intel 4004 chip, developed in 1971, took the integrated circuit one
step further by locating all the components of a computer (central processing unit,
memory, and input and output controls) on a minuscule chip."

Due to the reduction of cost and the availability of the computers power at a small place
allowed everyday user to benefit. First came the minicomputers, which offered users
different applications, most famous of these the word processors and spreadsheets, which
could be used by non-technical users. Video game systems like Atari 2600 generated the
interest of general populace in the computers.

In 1981, IBM introduced personal computers for home and office use. "The number of
personal computers in use more than doubled from 2 million in 1981 to 5.5 million in
1982. Ten years later, 65 million PCs were being used." Computer size kept getting
reduced during the years. It went down from Desktop to laptops to Palmtops. Machintosh
introduecd Graphic User Interface in which the users didnt' have to type instructions but
could use Mouse for the purpose.

The continued improvement allowed the networking of computers for the sharing of data.
Local Area Networks(LAN) and Wide Area Network(WAN), were potential benefits, in
that they could be implemented in corporations and everybody could share data over it.
Soon the internet aand World Wide Web appeared on the computer scene and formented
the Hi-Tech revolution of 90's.

Fifth Generation (Present and Beyond)

Fifth generations computers are only in the minds of advance research scientiets and
being tested out in the laboratories. These computers will be under Artifical
Intelligence(AI), They will be able to take commands in a audio visual way and carry out
instructions. Many of the operations which requires low human intelligence will be
perfomed by these computers.

Parallel Processing is coming and showing the possibiliy that the power of many CPU's
can be used side by side, and computers will be more powerful than thoes under central
processing. Advances in Super Conductor technology will greatly improve the speed of
information traffic. Future looks bright for the computers.

3. What are the advantages of transistors over vacuum tube?

Advantages of transistors over vacuum tubes

• Smaller

• Lighter

• Less power consumption

• More rugged

• Lower voltages

• Less heat

• Greater reliability

2. What are the concepts of modern computers on Babbage’s Analytical Engine?

Influence

Computer science

The analytical engine was then all but forgotten, with three known exceptions. Percy
Ludgate wrote about the engine in 1915 and even designed his own analytical engine (it
was drawn up in detail but never built). Ludgate's engine would be much smaller than
Babbage's of about 8 cubic feet (230 L) and hypothetically would be capable of
multiplying two 20-decimal-digit numbers in about six seconds. Leonardo Torres y
Quevedo and Vannevar Bush also knew of Babbage's work, though the three inventors
likely did not know of each other.

Closely related to Babbage's work on the analytical engine was the work of George
Stibitz of Bell Laboratories in New York just prior to WWII, as well as Howard
Hathaway Aiken at Harvard University during and just after WWII. They both built
electromechanical (i.e. relay-and-switch) computers which were closely related to the
analytical engine, though neither was quite a modern programmable computer. Aiken's
machine was largely financed by IBM and was called the Harvard Mark I. Aiken was
inspired by a piece of the Analytical engine deposited at the university by Henry Babbage
in 1886, and discovered by him in the 1930s. He gained access to Babbage's writings and
later claimed, pointing to Babbage's books:
“There's my education in computers, right there; this is the whole thing, everything I took
out of a book.”

In molecular nanotechnology, the earliest proposal for a way to implement extremely

small and fast computers relied upon logic gates constructed from sliding rods and stubby
protrusions to conditionally restrict their motion. Similar computational "rod-logic" was
present in the sliding control levers and studded barrel devices which were used to access
the microprogram in Babbage's design.

From Babbage's autobiography:

“As soon as an Analytical Engine exists, it will necessarily guide the future course of the
science.”