For those who really want to become perfect in computer operation and understanding, this article which will come in ‘parts’ will guide you smoothly from the basics of computer to the complex use of software in the system. Before one begins to use the programs in the system, he or she wants to understand the components of the system and their use. And so I want to let you know the meaning of computer and probably the generations of computer.

Definition of a computer system

Computer is defined in many ways by many people based on their field of expertise. A computer is a set of interrelated and interactive devices, which uses electronic components to perform a predefined operation with precision. But in general, a computer system can be simply defined as an electronic device, which is capable of accepting data as input, processing the data, storing the data, and providing a result as output in human readable form. The four basic parts of a computer are the monitor, keyboard, mouse, and system unit.

A brief history of the computer

The history and development of computers always goes back to Charles Babbage, the father of computers and Lady Ada Lovelace, the mother of programming. The computer that we have come to use today perfectly without much stress and difficulty was not invented in the way that we have seen but went through a series of processes and stages. There are five generations of computers, as briefly discussed below:

First generation computer (vacuum tube technology)

This generation of computers consists of computers developed between 1944 and 1959. ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Calculator), EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Computers) and UNIVAC 1 and 11 are first generation computers. This generation of computers were very bulky, they dissipated a lot of heat, some were very heavy, weighing up to 200 tons. Due to the heat, they needed a special cooling system. The characteristic technology of this generation was the use of vacuum tubes as the basic building blocks for the logical parts of computers. In terms of speed, they were very slow compared to later generation computers.

Second generation computer (transistor technology)

The technology that gave the distinctive features of second generation computers was transistor technology. Although this device was developed in 1948 at Bell Telephone Laboratories, and was widely used in the electronic world, it was not until 1959 that it was introduced into computer manufacturing. These transistors replaced the bulky vacuum tubes. In addition to doing everything the vacuum tube could do, transistors would do it more reliably, requiring less power, generating less heat, less expensive to manufacture, and much smaller in size. Computers developed between 1959 and 1964 are called second generation computers. Examples: IBM 7030, 7070, 7090, 7094, Boroughs 200 series, UNIVAC III, Honey-well 800, etc. The development of high-level programming languages ​​such as FORTRAN and COBOL was another innovation brought about by second-generation computers, and they were 10 times faster than the first.

Third Generation Computers (Integrated Circuit Technology)

Between 1964 and 1971 third generation computers were developed. It was integrated circuit technology that opened the doors to third-generation computers. In fact, we can say that integrated circuit technology really revolutionized computer technology itself. Integrated circuits are attached to a small piece of silicon chip. This technology came progressively from Small Scale Integration (SSI), which contained about twenty interconnected transistors and diodes, through Medium Scale Integration (MSI), which had more than one hundred interconnected transistors on a single chip, to Large Scale Integration (LSI). of more than tens of thousands of transistors and diodes on a single chip. The achievements of integrated circuit technology led to even faster, more reliable, cheaper, and smaller computers, whose powers were multiples of those of previous generations. In fact, this generation of computers gave rise to minicomputers, whose operating power was greater than that of the previous generation, greater reliability and speed, but much smaller in size and cost. They could do a hundred times more calculations per second and a hundred times faster than their second generation counterparts. Examples: IBM 31360 – 31370 series, CDC 6600, 7600 series, Boroughs B5000 and PDP II.

Fourth generation computers (VLSIC Micro Technology

The very large scale integrated circuit (VLSIC), made possible by the microtechnology of the 1971-1982 period, ushered in the fourth generation of computers. VLSIC has between 5,000 and 50,000 gates (transistors), on which the microprocessors are built. The effect of this technology was ever smaller but ever more powerful computers whose speed and reliability trivialized those of previous generations. This era also produced the microcomputers that could do the work of the first generation mainframe computers with speed thousands of times faster and prices affordable even for individuals. This generation also produced a wide variety of software packages such as word processing packages, graphics packages, games, spreadsheet packages, and database management systems. Network capabilities were also improved in this era. Examples of fourth generation computers include IBM 3033, HP 3000 Mini Computers, Apple II, Boroughs B7700.

Fifth Generation Computers (Age of Artificial Intelligence)

The technology of this generation of computers is characterized by Super Large Scale Integration (ULSI), Ultra Large Scale Integration (ULSI), parallel processing, Artificial Intelligence, Speech Processing, Pattern Recognition and Expert System. The hallmarks of this generation of computers are their enormous speed and power. The continuous miniaturization of computers is the order of the day, newer, smaller, more powerful computers are seen every day. Today’s powerful microcomputers have dwarfed the capacity of the mainframe of the old days. Pentium II motherboards with a clock speed of over 300 MHz and a hard drive storage space of over 20 Gigabytes with incredible capabilities are now affordable even for low-income people. Networks, ranging from wide local areas to the Internet, are common features of this generation of computers and have reduced the entire world to a global village.