Classification And Generation Of Computer

Classification Of Computer

The computer systems can be classified on the following basis:

1. On the basis of size.
2. On the basis of functionality.
3. On the basis of data handling.

Classification on the basis of size:

1. Super computers : The super computers are the most high

performing system. A supercomputer is a computer with a
high level of performance compared to a general-purpose
computer. The actual Performance of a supercomputer is
measured in FLOPS instead of MIPS. All of the world’s fastest
500 supercomputers run Linux-based operating systems.
Additional research is being conducted in China, the US, the
EU, Taiwan and Japan to build even faster, more high
performing and more technologically superior
supercomputers. Supercomputers actually play an important
role in the field of computation, and are used for intensive
computation tasks in various fields, including quantum
mechanics, weather forecasting, climate research, oil and gas
exploration, molecular modeling, and physical simulations.
and also Throughout the history, supercomputers have been
essential in the field of the cryptanalysis.
Eg: PARAM, jaguar, roadrunner.
2. Mainframe computers : These are commonly called as big
iron, they are usually used by big organisations for bulk data
processing such as statistics, census data processing,
transaction processing and are widely used as the servers as
these systems has a higher processing capability as compared
to the other classes of computers, most of these mainframe
 Classification And Generation Of Computer

architectures were established in 1960s, the research and

development worked continuously over the years and the
mainframes of today are far more better than the earlier ones,
in size, capacity and efficiency.
Eg: IBM z Series, System z9 and System z10 servers.
3. Mini computers : These computers came into the market in
mid 1960s and were sold at a much cheaper price than the
main frames, they were actually designed for control,
instrumentation, human interaction, and communication
switching as distinct from calculation and record keeping,
later they became very popular for personal uses with
evolution.
In the 60s to describe the smaller computers that became
possible with the use of transistors and core memory
technologies, minimal instructions sets and less expensive
peripherals such as the ubiquitous Teletype Model 33
ASR.They usually took up one or a few inch rack cabinets,
compared with the large mainframes that could fill a room,
there was a new term “MINICOMPUTERS” coined
Eg: Personal Laptop, PC etc.

4. Micro computers : A microcomputer is a small, relatively

inexpensive computer with a microprocessor as its CPU. It
includes a microprocessor, memory, and minimal I/O circuitry
mounted on a single printed circuit board.The previous to
these computers, mainframes and minicomputers, were
comparatively much larger, hard to maintain and more
expensive. They actually formed the foundation for present
day microcomputers and smart gadgets that we use in day to
day life.
Eg: Tablets, Smartwatches.

Classification on the basis of functionality:

 Classification And Generation Of Computer

1. Servers : Servers are nothing but dedicated computers which

are set-up to offer some services to the clients. They are
named depending on the type of service they offered. Eg:
security server, database server.

2. Workstation : Those are the computers designed to primarily

to be used by single user at a time. They run multi-user
operating systems. They are the ones which we use for our
day to day personal / commercial work.
3. Information Appliances : They are the portable devices which
are designed to perform a limited set of tasks like basic
calculations, playing multimedia, browsing internet etc. They
are generally referred as the mobile devices. They have very
limited memory and flexibility and generally run on “as-is”
basis.
4. Embedded Computers : They are the computing devices
which are used in other machines to serve limited set of
requirements. They follow instructions from the non-volatile
memory and they are not required to execute reboot or reset.
The processing units used in such device work to those basic
requirements only and are different from the ones that are
used in personal computers- better known as workstations.

Classification on the basis of data handling:

1. Analog : An analog computer is a form of computer that uses

the continuously-changeable aspects of physical fact such as
electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic quantities to model the
problem being solved. Any thing that is variable with respect
to time and continuous can be claimed as analog just like an
analog clock measures time by means of the distance traveled
for the spokes of the clock around the circular dial.
2. Digital : A computer that performs calculations and logical
operations with quantities represented as digits, usually in the
binary number system of “0” and “1”, “Computer capable of
solving problems by processing information expressed in
 Classification And Generation Of Computer

discrete form. from manipulation of the combinations of the

binary digits, it can perform mathematical calculations,
organize and analyze data, control industrial and other
processes, and simulate dynamic systems such as global
weather patterns.
3. Hybrid : A computer that processes both analog and digital
data, Hybrid computer is a digital computer that accepts
analog signals, converts them to digital and processes them in
digital form.

Generations Of Computer

In computers, we use the term “generation” to show the evolution of

technology. Earlier, the generation term was used to distinguish the computers
in terms of varying hardware but now it all together includes the hardware and
software which makes up a computer system. After centuries of evolution that
began in the 16th century, the contemporary computer has taken its current
form. There are 5 Generations of computers and all of them have been
discussed below along with their features.

First Generation Computers (1940-1956)

Second Generation Computers (1956-1963)
Third Generation Computers (1964-1971)
Fourth Generation Computers (1971-Present)
Fifth Generation Computer (Present and Beyond)

5 Generations of Computers

Generations Time-Period Technology Used

 Classification And Generation Of Computer

1st Generation 1940s – 1950s Vacuum Tube Based

2nd Generation 1950s – 1960s Transistor Based

3rd Generation 1960s – 1970s Integrated Circuit Based

4th Generation 1970s – Microprocessor Based

Present

5th Generation Present – Artificial Intelligence Based

Future

1. FIRST GENERATION COMPUTERS

The 1st Generation Computers were introduced using the technology of

vacuum tubes which can control the flow of electronics in a vacuum. These
tubes are usually used in switches, amplifiers, radios, televisions, etc. The First
Generation of Computer was very heavy and large and were not ideal for
programming. They used basic programming and didn’t have an operating
system, which made it tough for users to do programming on them. The 1st
Generation Computers required a big room dedicated to them and also
consumed a lot of electricity.

Some examples of main first-generation computers are-

1.ENIAC: Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer, built by J. Presper

Eckert and John V. Mauchly which contained 18,000 vacuum tubes.
2.EDVAC: Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer, designed by Von
Neumann.
3.UNIVAC: Universal Automatic Computer, developed by Eckert and Mauchly in
1952.
Characteristics of 1st Generation Computers
 Classification And Generation Of Computer

1.These computers were designed using vacuum tubes.

2.Programming in these computers was done using machine languages.
3.The main memory of 1st Generation Computers consisted of magnetic tapes
and magnetic drums.
4.Paper tapes and Punched cards were used as input/output devices in these
computers.
5.These computers were very huge but worked very slowly.
6.Examples of 1st Generation Computers are IBM 650, IBM 701, ENIAC,
UNIVAC1, etc.

2. SECOND GENERATION COMPUTERS

The Second Generation of Computers revolutionized as it started using the

technology of transistors instead of bulky vacuum tubes. Transistors are
devices made of semiconductor materials that open or close a circuit. These
transistors were invented in the Bell Labs which made the Second Generation
Computer powerful and faster than the previous ones. Transistors made these
computers smaller and generated less heat compared to the vacuum tubes
they replaced. The Second Generation of Computers also introduced the use of
CPU, memory and input/output units. The programming languages used for the
second-generation computers were FORTRAN (1956), ALGOL (1958), and
COBOL (1959)

Characteristics of Second-Generation Computers

1.The Second Generation computers used the technology of Transistors.
2.Machine language and Assembly Languages were used for these computers.
3.Magnetic core and magnetic tape/disk were used for memory storage.
4.The Second Generation Computers were smaller in size, consumed less
power and generated less heat.
5.Magnetic tape and punched cards were used as input/output devices.
 Classification And Generation Of Computer

6.Some of the examples are PDP-8, IBM1400 series, IBM 7090 and 7094,
UNIVAC 1107, CDC 3600, etc.

3.THIRD GENERATION COMPUTER

The evolution of Third Generation Computers took place with a shift from
transistors to integrated circuits also called IC. The Third Generation of
Computer was very fast and reliable. The ICs used in these computers were
made from silicons and were called silicon chips. A single IC has many
transistors, registers, and capacitors built on one thin slice of silicon. This
generation of computers has increased memory space and efficiency. Higher-
level languages like BASIC (Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code)
were used and the Minicomputers were introduced in this era.

Characteristics of Third-Generation Computers

1.These computers were built using Integrated Circuits (ICs).
2.High-level programming languages were used for programming on these
computers.
3.Large magnetic core and magnetic tape/disk were used for memory storage.
4.Magnetic tape, monitor, keyboard, printer, etc were used as input/output
devices.
5.Some of the examples of Third Generation Computers are IBM 360, IBM 370,
PDP-11, NCR 395, B6500, UNIVAC 1108, etc.

4.FOURTH GENERATION COMPUTERS

The period from 1972 to 2010 is considered the period of the fourth generation
of computers. Microprocessor technology was used to develop the Fourth
Generation of Computers. The foremost advantage of these computers is that
the microprocessor can contain all the circuits required to perform arithmetic,
 Classification And Generation Of Computer

logic, and control functions on one chip. In the Fourth Generation, computers
became very small in size and also became portable.

Technologies like multiprocessing, multiprogramming, time-sharing, operating

speed, and virtual memory were also introduced by then. During the fourth
generation, private computers and computer networks became a reality.

Characteristics of Fourth-Generation Computers

1.The Fourth Generation Computers have been developed using the technology
of Very-large-scale integration (VLSI) and the microprocessor (VLSI has
thousands of transistors on a single microchip).
2.Semiconductor memory such as RAM, ROM, etc was used for memory
storage.
3.Input/output devices such as pointing devices, optical scanning, keyboard,
monitor, printer, etc were introduced.
4.Some examples of Fourth Generation Computers are IBM PC, STAR 1000,
APPLE II, Apple Macintosh, Alter 8800, etc.

5. FIFTH GENERATION OF COMPUTERS

The Fifth Generation of Computers has been built using the technology called
Artificial Intelligence (AI). This technology encourages computers to behave
like humans. Some of the applications of AI have been seen in features like
voice recognition, entertainment, etc. The speed of the Fifth Generation of
Computers is the highest while the sizes are the smallest. A big improvement
has been noticed so far over the years in the various generations of computers
in the aspect of speed, accuracy dimensions, etc.

Characteristics of Fifth Generation of Computers

 Classification And Generation Of Computer

1.The 5th Generation Computers have been built based on artificial

intelligence, use the Ultra Large-Scale Integration (ULSI) technology and parallel
processing method.
2.These computers understand natural language (human language).
3.The Fifth-generation computers are portable and smaller in size.
4.Trackpad (or touchpad), touchscreen, pen, speech input (recognize
voice/speech), light scanner, printer, keyboard, monitor, mouse, etc are used as
Input/Output devices.
5.Examples of 5th Generation Computers are Desktops, laptops, tablets,
smartphones, etc..