Generations
Computers · पीढ़ियां
📋Quick Overview
Computer generations classify the evolution of computing technology. Each generation introduced a breakthrough in hardware. The first generation (1940-56) used vacuum tubes, the second (1956-63) used transistors, the third (1964-71) used integrated circuits (ICs), the fourth (1971-present) uses microprocessors, and the fifth generation uses AI and parallel processing.
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ENIAC (1946): world's first general-purpose electronic computer — used 18,000 vacuum tubes
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Charles Babbage is the 'Father of Computer' — designed the Analytical Engine (1837)
📖Five Generations of Computers
| Gen | Period | Technology | Example | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1940–1956 | Vacuum Tubes | ENIAC, UNIVAC, EDVAC | Machine language |
| 2nd | 1956–1963 | Transistors | IBM 1401, CDC 1604 | Assembly language |
| 3rd | 1964–1971 | Integrated Circuits (IC) | IBM 360, PDP-8 | COBOL, FORTRAN |
| 4th | 1971–Present | Microprocessors (VLSI) | IBM PC, Apple Mac | C, C++, Java |
| 5th | Present–Future | AI, Parallel Processing | Quantum computers, Robotics | Python, Prolog |
📝Key Facts & Firsts
- •Charles Babbage: Father of Computer (Analytical Engine, 1837)
- •Ada Lovelace: First computer programmer (wrote program for Babbage's engine)
- •ENIAC (1946): 18,000 vacuum tubes, weighed 30 tons, consumed 150 kW power
- •UNIVAC (1951): first commercial computer in USA
- •Transistor invented by Bardeen, Brattain, Shockley (1947, Nobel 1956)
- •IC (Integrated Circuit) invented by Jack Kilby (1958, Nobel 2000)
- •First microprocessor: Intel 4004 (1971) — 4-bit processor
- •India's first computer: HEC-2M, installed at ISI Kolkata (1956)
- •PARAM: India's first supercomputer series by C-DAC (1991)