Computer Generations

Generation Key hardware Key software

Key characteristics Some rep. systems
(Period) Technologies technologies
• Vaccum Tubes • Machine and • Bulky in size • ENIAC
• Electromagnetic assembly • Highly • EDVAC
relay memory languages unreliable • EDSAC
• Punched cards • Stored program • Limited • UNIVAC I
First (1942- secondary concept commercial use • IBM 701
1955) storage • Mostly scientific and costly
applications • Difficult
commercial
production
• Difficult to use
• Transistors • Batch operating • Faster, smaller, • Honeywell
• Magnetic cores system more reliable 400
memory • High-level and easier to • IBM 7030
• Magnetic tapes programming program than • CDC 1604
Second • Disks for languages previous • UNIVAC
(1955- secondary • Scientific and generation LARC
1964) storage commercial systems
applications • Commercial
production was
still difficult and
costly
• ICs with SSI and • Timesharing • Faster, smaller, • IBM 360/370
MSI technologies operating more reliable, • PDP-8
• Larger magnetic system easier and • PDP-11
cores memory • Standardization cheaper to • CDC 6600
• Larger capacity of high-level produce
disks and programming • Commercially,
magnetic tapes languages easier to use,
Third
secondary • Unbundling of and easier to
(1964-
storage software from upgrade than
1975)
• Minicomputers; hardware previous
upward generation
compatible systems
family of • Scientific,
computers commercial and
interactive on
line applications
• ICs with VLSI • Operating • Small, • IBM PC and
technology systems for PCs affordable, its clones
Fourth
• Microprocessors; with GUI and reliable, and • Apple II
(1975-
semiconductor multiple easy to use PCs • TRS-80
1989)
memory windows on a • More powerful • VAX 9000
and reliable • CRAY-1
 • Larger capacity single terminal mainframe • CRAY-2
hard disks as in- screen systems and • CRAY-X/MP
built secondary • Multiprocessing supercomputers
storage OS with • Totally general
• Magnetic tapes concurrent purpose
and floppy disks programming machines
as portable languages • Easier to
storage media • UNIX operating produce
• Personal system with C commercially
computers programming • Easier to
• Supercomputers language upgrade
based on parallel • Object-oriented • Rapid software
vector design and development
processing and programming possible
symmetric • PC, Network-
multiprocessing based, and
technologies supercomputing
• Spread of high- applications
speed computer
networks
• ICs with ULSI • Micro-kernel • Portable • IBM
technology based, computers notebooks
• Larger capacity multithreading, • Powerful, • Pentium PCs
main memory, distributed OS cheaper, • SUN
hard disks with • Parallel reliable, and Workstations
RAID support programming easier to use • IBM SP/2
• Optical disks as libraries like desktop • SGI Origin
portable read- MPI & PVM machines 2000
only storage • JAVA • Powerful • PARAM
media • World Wide supercomputers 10000
• Notebooks, Web • High uptime
powerful • Multimedia, due to hot-
Fifth (1989
desktop PCs and Internet pluggable
Present)
workstations applications components
• Powerful • More complex • Totally general
servers, supercomputing purpose
supercomputers applications machines
• Internet • Easier to
• Cluster produce
computing commercially,
easier to
upgrade
• Rapid software
development
possible