SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

GENERATIONS OF COMPUTER
LAB PROJECT REPORT
Submitted by:-
Tabeer Zehra(2225115020)
Aleeza Afzaal(2225115001)
Durrey Zehra Rizvi(2225115007)
Resource Person:-
Miss Ayesha Tariq
 INTRODUCTION
In this project we are going to discuss about generations of
computer. Generation in computer terminology is a change in
technology a computer is/was being used. Initially, the
generation term was used to distinguish between varying
hardware technologies. Nowadays, generation includes both
hardware and software, which together make up an entire
computer system.
There are five computer generations known till date. Each
generation has been discussed in detail along with their time
period and characteristics. 

Generations of computers Generations timeline Evolving hardware

First generation 1940s-1950s Vacuum tube based

Second generation 1950s-1960s Transistor based

Third generation 1960s-1970s Integrated circuit based

Fourth generation 1970s-present Microprocessor based

Fifth generation The present and the future Artificial intelligence based
 BASIC TERMS
Vacuum Tube:-
an electronic device that controls the flow of electrons in a vacuum. It used as a
switch, amplifier, or display screen in many older model radios, televisions,
computers, etc.

Transistors:-
an electronic component that can be used as an amplifier or as a switch. It is used
to control the flow of electricity in radios, televisions, computers, etc.

Integrated Circuit:-
 a small electronic circuit printed on a chip (usually made of silicon) that contains
many its own circuit elements (e.g. transistors, diodes, resistors, etc.).
Microprocessor:-
 an electronic component held on an integrated circuit that contains a computer’s
central processing unit (CPU) and other associated circuits.

Memory:-
a physical device that is used to store data, information and program in a computer.

Artificial Intelligence AI:-

an area of computer science that deals with the simulation and creation of
intelligent machines or intelligent behave in computers (they think, learn, work,
and react like humans).

 
 FIRST GENERATION OF COMPUTER
The first generation of computers relied on machine language instructions and used
vacuum tubes in their construction. The machines themselves were huge and
required extensive cooling mechanisms to keep them from overheating. The first
generation of computers was not considered programmable as the instructions that
could be carried out by the machines were all pre-programmed into them at the
time of manufacture. This meant that the instructions built into the machine had to
be changed after construction to carry out new tasks.

CHARACTERISTICS OF 1ST GENERATION

 Main electronic component – vacuum tube
 Main memory – magnetic drums and magnetic tapes
 Programming language – machine language
 Power – consume a lot of electricity and generate a lot of heat.
 Speed and size – very slow and very large in size (often taking up entire room).
 Input/output devices – punched cards and paper tape.
 Examples – ENIAC, UNIVAC1, IBM 650, IBM 701, etc.
 Quantity – there were about 100 different vacuum tube computers produced
between 1942 and1963.

SECOND GENERATION OF COMPUTER

 In this generation, transistors were used that were cheaper, consumed less power,
more compact in size, more reliable and faster than the first generation machines
 made of vacuum tubes. In this generation, magnetic cores were used as the primary
memory and magnetic tape and magnetic disks as secondary storage devices.
In this generation, assembly language and high-level programming languages like
FORTRAN, COBOL were used. The computers used batch processing and
multiprogramming operating system.

CHARACTERISTICS OF 2ND GENERATION

 Main electronic component – transistor
 Memory – magnetic core and magnetic tape / disk
 Programming language – assembly language
 Power and size – low power consumption, generated less heat, and smaller in size
(in comparison with the first generation computers).
 Speed – improvement of speed and reliability (in comparison with the first
generation computers).
 Input/output devices – punched cards and magnetic tape.
 Examples – IBM 1401, IBM 7090 and 7094, UNIVAC 1107, etc.

THIRD GENERATION OF COMPUTER

 The computers of third generation used Integrated Circuits (ICs) in place of
transistors. A single IC has many transistors, resistors, and capacitors along with
the associated circuitry.
The IC was invented by Jack Kilby. This development made computers smaller in
size, reliable, and efficient. In this generation remote processing, time-sharing,
multiprogramming operating system were used. High-level languages
(FORTRAN-II TO IV, COBOL, PASCAL PL/1, BASIC, ALGOL-68 etc.) were
used during this generation.

CHARACTERISTICS OF 3RD GENERATION

 Main electronic component – integrated circuits (ICs)
 Memory – large magnetic core, magnetic tape / disk
 Programming language – high level language (FORTRAN, BASIC, Pascal,
COBOL, C, etc.)
 Size – smaller, cheaper, and more efficient than second generation computers (they
were called minicomputers).
 Speed – improvement of speed and reliability (in comparison with the second
generation computers).
 Input / output devices – magnetic tape, keyboard, monitor, printer, etc.
 Examples – IBM 360, IBM 370, PDP-11, UNIVAC 1108, etc.

FOURTH GENERATION OF COMPUTER

 These computers used the VLSI technology or the Very Large Scale Integrated
(VLSI) circuits technology. Therefore they were also known as the microprocessors.
Intel was the first company to develop a microprocessor. The first “personal
computer” or PC developed by IBM, belonged to this generation. VLSI circuits had
almost about 5000 transistors on a very small chip and were capable of performing
many high-level tasks and computations. These computers were thus very compact
and thereby required a small amount of electricity to run.

Examples are STAR 1000, CRAY-X-MP(Super Computer), DEC 10, PDP

11, CRAY-1. This generation of computers had the first “supercomputers” that could
perform many calculations accurately. They were also used in networking and also
used higher and more complicated languages as their inputs. The computer languages
like languages like C, C+, C++, DBASE etc. were the input for these computers.

CHARACTERISTICS OF 4TH GENERATION

 Main electronic component – very large-scale integration (VLSI) and
microprocessor.
 VLSI– thousands of transistors on a single microchip.
 Memory – semiconductor memory (such as RAM, ROM, etc.)
o RAM (random-access memory) – a type of data storage (memory element) used in
computers that temporary stores of programs and data (volatile: its contents are lost
when the computer is turned off).
o ROM (read-only memory) – a type of data storage used in computers that
permanently stores data and programs (non-volatile: its contents are retained even
when the computer is turned off).
 Programming language – high level language (Python, C#, Java, JavaScript, Rust,
Kotlin, etc.)

o A mix of both third- and fourth-generation languages

 Size – smaller, cheaper and more efficient than third generation computers.
 Speed – improvement of speed, accuracy, and reliability (in comparison with the
third generation computers).
 Input / output devices – keyboard, pointing devices, optical scanning, monitor,
printer, etc.

 Network – a group of two or more computer systems linked together.

 Examples – IBM PC, STAR 1000, APPLE II, Apple Macintosh, etc.

FIFTH GENERATION OF COMPUTER

This is the present generation of computers and is the most advanced one. The
generation began somewhere around 1981  and is the present generation of
computers. The methods of input include the modern high-level languages like
Python, R, C#, Java etc. These are extremely reliable and employ the ULSI or the
Ultra Large Scale Integration technology. These computers are at the frontiers of the
modern scientific calculations and are used to develop the Artificial Intelligence or AI
components that will have the ability to think for themselves.

CHARACTERISTICS OF 5TH GENERATION

 Main electronic component: based on artificial intelligence, uses the Ultra Large-
Scale Integration (ULSI) technology and parallel processing method.
o ULSI – millions of transistors on a single microchip
o Parallel processing method – use two or more microprocessors to run tasks
simultaneously.
 Language – understand natural language (human language).
 Power – consume less power and generate less heat.
 Speed – remarkable improvement of speed, accuracy and reliability (in comparison
with the fourth generation computers).
 Size – portable and small in size, and have a huge storage capacity.
 Input / output device – keyboard, monitor, mouse, trackpad (or touchpad), touch
screen, pen, speech input (recognise voice / speech), light scanner, printer, etc.
 Example – desktops, laptops, tablets, smart phones, etc.

PICTURES DURING CEA ACTIVITY

 Discussing generation of computers

 Making Report
 Taking help from senior


CONCLUSION:-
In this work, generation of computers were discussed in detail. These
generation of computers refers to the history of computing devices being
segmented into era's/ time periods i.e. generations.The advancement in
technology has helped us move from big sized, heavy computers to
small compact devices for use. Moving from vacuum tubes to
transistors, to integrated circuits to microprocessors and finally to
artificial intelligence.