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Generations Of Computer
The origin of computer development is frequently referred to in reference to the various generations of computing devices. A generation refers to the condition of development in the product improvement process. This term is also used in the dissimilar advancements of latest computer technology. With every new generation, the circuitry has become smaller and further superior to the preceding generation before it. As a consequence of the miniaturization, speed, power, and computer memory has proportionally augmented. Innovative discoveries are continuously being developed that influence the way we live, work and play.
Every generation of computers is characterized by foremost technological progress that essentially changed the way computers function, resulting in ever more smaller, cheaper, and more powerful and more efficient and reliable devices. For the purpose of this article, we’ll only discuss the 1st generation of computers. And for further reading, you may visit our website.
First Generation – 1940-1956: Vacuum Tubes
The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and were frequently massive, taking up very large amounts of space. A magnetic drum, also referred to as drum, is a metal tube coated with magnetic iron-oxide substance on which data and programs can be stored. Magnetic drums were one time used as a primary storage device however they have since been applied as support storage devices.
The tracks on a magnetic drum are assigned to channels situated around the perimeter of the drum, forming nearby circular bands that coil about the drum. A single drum can have up to 200 tracks. As the drum rotates at a speed of up to 3,000 rpm, the device’s read/write heads deposit magnetized spots on the drum during the write operation and sense these spots during a read operation. This action is similar to that of a magnetic tape or disk drive.
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. Machine languages are the only languages understood by computers. While easily understood by computers, machine languages are almost impossible for humans to use because they consist entirely of numbers. Computer Programmers, therefore, use either high level programming languages or an assembly language programming. An assembly language contains the same instructions as a machine language, but the instructions and variables have names instead of being just numbers.
Programs written in high level programming languages retranslated into assembly language or machine language by a compiler. Assembly language program retranslated into machine language by a program called an assembler (assembly language compiler).
Every CPU has its own unique machine language. Programs must be rewritten or recompiled, therefore, to run on different types of computers. Input was based on punch card and paper tapes, and output was displayed on printouts.
The UNIVAC and ENIAC computers are examples of first-generation computing devices. The UNIVAC was the first commercial computer delivered to a business client, the U.S. Census Bureau in 1951.
ENIAC is an acronym for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer, the world’s first operational electronic digital computer, developed by Army Ordnance to compute World War II ballistic firing tables. The ENIAC, weighing 30 tons, using 200 kilowatts of electric power and consisting of 18,000 vacuum tubes, 1,500 relays, and hundreds of thousands of resistors, capacitors, and inductors, was completed in 1945. In addition to ballistics, the ENIAC’s field of application included weather prediction, atomic-energy calculations, cosmic-ray studies, thermal ignition, random-number studies, wind-tunnel design, and other scientific uses. The ENIAC soon became obsolete as the need arose for faster computing speeds.
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