Computer Generations

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. But
nowadays, generation includes both hardware and software, which together make up an entire
computer system.
There are totally five computer generations known till date. Each generation has been discussed in
detail along with their time period, characteristics. We've used approximate dates against each
generations which are normally accepted.

Following are the main five generations of computers:

First Generation
The period of first generation was 1946-1959.
First generation of computers started with using vacuum tubes as the basic components for memory
and circuitry for CPU (Central Processing Unit). These tubes like electric bulbs produced a lot of heat
and were prone to frequent fusing of the installations, therefore, were very expensive and could be
afforded only by very large organisations.
In this generation, mainly batch processing operating systems were used. In this generation,
Punched cards, Paper tape, Magnetic tape Input & Output device were used.

There were machine codes and electric wired board languages used.
The main features of First Generation are:
Vacuum tube technology
Unreliable
Supported Machine language only
Very costly
Generate lot of heat
Slow Input/Output device
Huge size
Need of A.C.
Non-portable
Consumed lot of electricity

Some computers of this generation were:

ENIAC
EDVAC
UNIVAC

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IBM-701
IBM-650

Second Generation
The period of second generation was 1959-1965.
This generation using the transistor 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 primary memory and magnetic tape and magnetic disks as
secondary storage devices.
In this generation, assembly language and high-level programming language like FORTRAN, COBOL
were used.
There were Batch processing and Multiprogramming Operating system used.

The main features of Second Generation are:

Use of transistors
Reliable as compared to First generation computers
Smaller size as compared to First generation computers
Generate less heat as compared to First generation computers
Consumed less electricity as compared to First generation computers
Faster than first generation computers
Still very costly
A.C. needed
Support machine and assembly languages
Some computers of this generation were:
IBM 1620
IBM 7094
CDC 1604
CDC 3600
UNIVAC 1108

Third Generation
The period of third generation was 1965-1971.
The third generation of computer is marked by the use of Integrated Circuits (IC's) in place of
transistors. A single IC has many transistors, resistors and capacitors along with the associated

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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, Real-time, Multi-programming Operating
System were used.
High-level language (FORTRAN-II TO IV, COBOL, PASCAL PL/1, BASIC, ALGOL-68, etc.) were used
during this generation.

The main features of Third Generation are:

IC used
More reliable
Smaller size
Generate less heat
Faster
Lesser maintenance
Still costly
A.C. needed
Consumed lesser electricity
Support high-level language

Some computers of this generation were:

IBM-360 series
Honeywell-6000 series
PDP(Personal Data Processor)
IBM-370/168
TDC-316

Fourth Generation
The period of Fourth Generation was 1971-1980.
The fourth generation of computers is marked by the use of Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI)
circuits. VLSI circuits having about 5000 transistors and other circuit elements and their associated
circuits on a single chip made it possible to have microcomputers of fourth generation. Fourth
Generation computers became more powerful, compact, reliable, and affordable. As a result, it gave
rise to personal computer (PC) revolution.
In this generation, Time sharing, Real time, Networks, Distributed Operating System were used.
All the higher level languages like C and C++, DBASE, etc., were used in this generation.

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The main features of Fourth Generation are:
VLSI technology used
Very cheap
Portable and reliable
Use of PC's
Very small size
Pipeline processing
No A.C. needed
Concept of internet was introduced
Great developments in the fields of networks
Computers became easily available

Some computers of this generation were:

DEC 10
STAR 1000
PDP 11
CRAY-1 (Super Computer)
CRAY-X-MP (Super Computer)
Fifth Generation
The period of Fifth Generation is 1980-till date.
In the fifth generation, the VLSI technology became ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration) technology,
resulting in the production of microprocessor chips having ten million electronic components.
This generation is based on parallel processing hardware and AI (Artificial Intelligence) software.
AI is an emerging branch in computer science which interprets means and methods of making
computers think like human beings.
All the higher level languages like C and C++, Java, .Net, etc., are used in this generation.

AI includes:
Robotics
Neural networks
Game Playing
Development of expert systems to make decisions in real life situations.

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Natural language understanding and generation.

The main features of Fifth Generation are:

ULSI technology
Development of true artificial intelligence
Development of Natural language processing
Advancement in Parallel Processing
Advancement in Superconductor technology
More user friendly interfaces with multimedia features
Availability of very powerful and compact computers at cheaper rates

Some computers types of this generation are:

Desktop
Laptop
NoteBook
UltraBook
ChromeBook

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 Operating Systems
Section 1: Processes
Basics b) lack of paper in printer
1.What is operating system? c) connection failure in the network
a) collection of programs that manages d) all of the mentioned
hardware resources
Answer: d
b) system service provider to the application
programs
c) link to interface the hardware and 5. The main function of the command
application programs interpreter is

d) all of the mentioned a) to get and execute the next user-specified

command
Answer: d
b) to provide the interface between the API
and application program
2. To access the services of operating system, c) to handle the files in operating system
the interface is provided by the
d) none of the mentioned
a) system calls
Answer: a
b) API
c) library
6. By operating system, the resource
d) assembly instructions management can be done via
Answer: a a) time division multiplexing
b) space division multiplexing
3. Which one of the following is not true? c) both (a) and (b)
a) kernel is the program that constitutes the d) none of the mentioned
central core of the operating system
Answer: c
b) kernel is the first part of operating system
to load into memory during booting
c) kernel is made of various modules which 7. If a process fails, most operating system
can not be loaded in running operating write the error information to a
system a) log file
d) kernel remains in the memory during the b) another running process
entire computer session
c) new file
Answer: c
d) none of the mentioned
Answer: a
4. Which one of the following error will be
handle by the operating system?
a) power failure

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8. Which facility dynamically adds probes to a are called multiprogramming systems.
running system, both in user processes and in Uniprocessing means only one processor.
the kernel?
a) DTrace
2. In operating system, each process has its
b) DLocate own
c) DMap a) address space and global variables
d) DAdd b) open files
Answer: a c) pending alarms, signals and signal handlers
d) all of the mentioned
9. Which one of the following is not a real Answer: d
time operating system?
a) VxWorks
3. In Unix, Which system call creates the new
b) Windows CE process?
c) RTLinux a) fork
d) Palm OS b) create
Answer: d c) new
d) none of the mentioned
10. The OS X has Answer: a
a) monolithic kernel
b) hybrid kernel 4. A process can be terminated due to
c) microkernel a) normal exit
d) monolithic kernel with modules b) fatal error
Answer: b c) killed by another process
d) all of the mentioned
Processes Answer: d
1. The systems which allows only one process
execution at a time, are called
5. What is the ready state of a process?
a) uniprogramming systems
a) when process is scheduled to run after
b) uniprocessing systems some execution
c) unitasking systems b) when process is unable to run until some
task has been completed
d) none of the mentioned
c) when process is using the CPU
Answer: a
d) none of the mentioned
Explanation: Those systems which allows
more than one process execution at a time, Answer: a

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Explanation: When process is unable to run
until some task has been completed, the
process is in blocked state and if process is 10. The address of the next instruction to be
executed by the current process is provided
using the CPU, it is in running state.
by the
a) CPU registers
6. What is interprocess communication?
b) program counter
a) communication within the process
c) process stack
b) communication between two process
d) pipe
c) communication between two threads of
same process Answer: b

d) none of the mentioned

Answer: b Process Control Block
1) A Process Control Block(PCB) does not
contain which of the following :
7. A set of processes is deadlock if
a) Code
a) each process is blocked and will remain so
forever b) Stack

b) each process is terminated c) Heap

c) all processes are trying to kill each other d) Data

d) none of the mentioned e) Program Counter

Answer: a f) Process State

g) I/O status information
h) bootstrap program
8. A process stack does not contain
a) function parameters Answer: h

b) local variables
c) return addresses 2) The number of processes completed per
unit time is known as ____.
d) PID of child process
a) Output
Answer: d
b) Throughput
c) Efficiency
9. Which system call returns the process
identifier of a terminated child? d) Capacity

a) wait Answer: b

b) exit
c) fork 3) The state of a process is defined by :

d) get a) the final activity of the process

Answer: a b) the activity just executed by the process

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c) the activity to next be executed by the b) the number of processes in the ready
process queue
d) the current activity of the process c) the number of processes in the I/O queue
Answer: d d) the number of processes in memory
Answer: d
4) Which of the following is not the state of a
process ?
8) A single thread of control allows the
a) New process to perform :
b) Old a) only one task at a time
c) Waiting b) multiple tasks at a time
d) Running c) All of these
e) Ready Answer: a
f) Terminated
Answer: b 9) The objective of multi-programming is to :
(choose two)
a) Have some process running at all times
5) The Process Control Block is :
b) Have multiple programs waiting in a queue
a) Process type variable ready to run
b) Data Structure c) To minimize CPU utilization
c) a secondary storage section d) To maximize CPU utilization
d) a Block in memory
Answer: a and d
Answer: b

Process Scheduling Queues

6) The entry of all the PCBs of the current 1) Which of the following do not belong to
processes queues for processes ?
is in : a) Job Queue
a) Process Register b) PCB queue
b) Program Counter c) Device Queue
c) Process Table d) Ready Queue
d) Process Unit Answer: b
Answer: c

2) When the process issues an I/O request :

7) The degree of multi-programming is : a) It is placed in an I/O queue
a) the number of processes executed per unit b) It is placed in a waiting queue
time

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c) It is placed in the ready queue b) It selects which process has to be executed
next and allocates CPU
d) It is placed in the Job queue
c) It selects which process to remove from
Answer: a memory by swapping
d) None of these
3) When a process terminates : (Choose Two) Answer: c
a) It is removed from all queues 7) What is a short-term scheduler ?
b) It is removed from all, but the job queue a) It selects which process has to be brought
c) Its process control block is de-allocated into the ready queue

d) Its process control block is never de- b) It selects which process has to be executed
allocated next and allocates CPU

Answer: a and c c) It selects which process to remove from

memory by swapping
d) None of these
4) What is a long-term scheduler ?
Answer: b
a) It selects which process has to be brought
into the ready queue
b) It selects which process has to be executed 8) The primary distinction between the short
next and allocates CPU term scheduler and the long term scheduler is
:
c) It selects which process to remove from
memory by swapping a) The length of their queues

d) None of these b) The type of processes they schedule

Answer: a c) The frequency of their execution

d) None of these

5) If all processes I/O bound, the ready queue Answer: c

will almost always be __, and the Short term
Scheduler will have a __ to do.
9) The only state transition that is initiated by
a) full,little the user process itself is :
b) full,lot a) block
c) empty,little b) wakeup
d) empty,lot c) dispatch
Answer: c d) None of these
Answer: a
6) What is a medium-term scheduler ?
a) It selects which process has to be brought 10) In a time-sharing operating system, when
into the ready queue the time slot given to a process is completed,
the process goes from the running state to the
:

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a) Blocked state 14) Which of the following need not
necessarily be saved on a context switch
b) Ready state between processes ? (GATE CS 2000)
c) Suspended state a) General purpose registers
d) Terminated state b) Translation look-aside buffer
Answer: b c) Program counter
d) All of these
11) In a multi-programming environment : Answer: b
a) the processor executes more than one
process at a time
14) Which of the following does not interrupt
b) the programs are developed by more than a running process ? (GATE CS 2001)
one person
a) A device
c) more than one process resides in the
memory b) Timer
d) a single user can execute many programs at c) Scheduler process
the same time
d) Power failure
Answer: c
Answer: c

12) Suppose that a process is in “Blocked”

state waiting for some I/O service. When the 15) Several processes access and manipulate
service is completed, it goes to the : the same data concurrently and the outcome
of the execution depends on the particular
a) Running state order in which the access takes place, is called
a(n) __.
b) Ready state
a) Shared Memory Segments
c) Suspended state
b) Entry Section
d) Terminated state
c) Race condition
Answer: b
d) Process Synchronization
Answer: c
13) The context of a process in the PCB of a
process does not contain :
a) the value of the CPU registers 16) Which of the following state transitions is
not
b) the process state
possible ?
c) memory-management information
a) blocked to running
d) context switch time
b) ready to running
Answer: d
c) blocked to ready
d) running to blocked

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Answer: a d) socket
Answer: c
Process Synchronization
1. Which process can be affected by other 5. A semaphore is a shared integer variable
processes executing in the system?
a) that can not drop below zero
a) cooperating process
b) that can not be more than zero
b) child process
c) that can not drop below one
c) parent process
d) that can not be more than one
d) init process
Answer: a
Answer: a

6. Mutual exclusion can be provided by the

2. When several processes access the same
data concurrently and the outcome of the a) mutex locks
execution depends on the particular order in b) binary semaphores
which the access takes place, is called
c) both (a) and (b)
a) dynamic condition
d) none of the mentioned
b) race condition
Answer: c
c) essential condition
Explanation: Binary Semaphores are known as
d) critical condition mutex locks.
Answer: b

7. When high priority task is indirectly

3. If a process is executing in its critical preempted by medium priority task
section, then no other processes can be effectively inverting the relative priority of the
executing in their critical section. This two tasks, the scenario is called
condition is called a) priority inversion
a) mutual exclusion b) priority removal
b) critical exclusion c) priority exchange
c) synchronous exclusion d) priority modification
d) asynchronous exclusion Answer: a
Answer: a
4. Which one of the following is a 8. Process synchronization can be done on
synchronization tool?
a) hardware level
a) thread
b) software level
b) pipe
c) both (a) and (b)
c) semaphore
d) none of the mentioned

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Answer: c 2) A parent process calling ___ system call will
be suspended until children processes
terminate.
9. A monitor is a module that encapsulates a) wait
a) shared data structures b) fork
b) procedures that operate on shared data c) exit
structure
d) exec
c) synchronization between concurrent
procedure invocation Answer: a
d) all of the mentioned
Answer: d 3) Cascading termination refers to
termination of all child processes before the
parent terminates __.
10. To enable a process to wait within the a) Normally
monitor,
b) Abnormally
a) a condition variable must be declared as
condition c) Normally or abnormally
b) condition variables must be used as d) None of these
boolean objects
Answer: a
c) semaphore must be used
d) all of the mentioned
4) With ……………. only one process can
Answer: a execute at a time; meanwhile all other
process are waiting for the processor. With
………….. more than one process can be
Process Creation running simultaneously each on a different
processor.
1) Restricting the child process to a subset of
the parent’s resources prevents any process a) Multiprocessing, Multiprogramming
from : b) Multiprogramming, Uniprocessing
a) overloading the system by using a lot of c) Multiprogramming, Multiprocessing
secondary storage
d) Uniprogramming, Multiprocessing
b) under-loading the system by very less CPU
utilization Answer: d
c) overloading the system by creating a lot of
subprocesses
5) In UNIX, each process is identified by its :
d) crashing the system by utilizing multiple
a) Process Control Block
resources
Answer: c b) Device Queue
c) Process Identifier
d) None of these
Answer: c

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 Answer: b
6) In UNIX, the return value for the fork
system call is __ for the child process and __
for the parent process. 2) Message passing system allows processes
to :
a) A Negative integer, Zero
a) communicate with one another without
b) Zero, A Negative integer resorting to shared data.
c) Zero, A nonzero integer b) communicate with one another by
resorting to shared data.
d) A nonzero integer, Zero
c) share data
Answer: c
d) name the recipient or sender of the
message
7) The child process can : (choose two) Answer: a
a) be a duplicate of the parent process
b) never be a duplicate of the parent process
3) An IPC facility provides atleast two
c) have another program loaded into it operations : (choose two)

d) never have another program loaded into it a) write message

Answer: a and c b) delete message

8) The child process completes execution,but c) send message

the parent keeps executing, then the child d) receive message
process is known as :
Answer: c and d
a) Orphan
b) Zombie
4) Messages sent by a process :
c) Body
a) have to be of a fixed size
d) Dead
b) have to be a variable size
Answer: b
c) can be fixed or variable sized
d) None of these
Inter Process Communication
Answer: c
1) Inter process communication :
a) allows processes to communicate and
synchronize their actions when using the 5) The link between two processes P and Q to
same address space. send and receive messages is called :
b) allows processes to communicate and a) communication link
synchronize their actions without using the
b) message-passing link
same address space.
c) allows the processes to only synchronize c) synchronization link
their actions without communication. d) All of these
d) None of these Answer: a

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 b) the sender blocks until the receiver
receives the message
6) Which of the following are TRUE for direct
communication :(choose two) c) the sender keeps sending and the messages
dont wait in the queue
a) A communication link can be associated
with N number of process(N = max. number of d) the queue can store atleast one message
processes supported by system)
Answer: a and b
b) A communication link can be associated
with exactly two processes
c) Exactly N/2 links exist between each pair of 10) The Zero Capacity queue :
processes(N = max. number of processes a) is referred to as a message system with
supported by system) buffering
d) Exactly one link exists between each pair of b) is referred to as a message system with no
processes buffering
Answer: b and d c) is referred to as a link
d) None of these
7) In indirect communication between Answer: b
processes P and Q :
a) there is another process R to handle and
pass on the messages between P and Q 11) Bounded capacity and Unbounded
capacity queues are referred to as:
b) there is another machine between the two
processes to help communication a) Programmed buffering

c) there is a mailbox to help communication b) Automatic buffering

between P and Q c) User defined buffering
d) None of these d) No buffering
Answer: c Answer: b

8) In the non blocking send :

a) the sending process keeps sending until the
message is received
b) the sending process sends the message and
resumes operation
c) the sending process keeps sending until it
receives a message
d) None of these
Answer: b

9) In the Zero capacity queue : (choose two)

a) the queue has zero capacity

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