Lesson

Title: Classification of Computers by Generation and Purpose (Uses).

Objectives:

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to 1. Define and classify computers by their generation - features, and other characteristics.

2. Classify computers by their purpose (uses).

What you should know:

You should be familiar with 20th-century computing devices discussed in our previous lesson.

Introduction:

Computers are classified into 5 generations and 2 primary uses.

Presentations / Steps:

Classification of Computers by Generation.

First Generation (1946 - 1959):

Primary electronic component: Vacuum tubes.
Memory: Magnetic drums and magnetic tapes.
Programming language: Machine Language.
Operation Speed: Thousands of instructions per second (KIPs).
Characteristics: Very large and expensive, slow speed, and high power consumption.

Examples: ENIAC, UNIVAC 1, IBM 701.

Second Generation (1959 - 1965):

The primary electronic component is transistors.
Memory: Magnetic cores.
Programming language: Assembly Language.
Operational Speed: Millions of instructions per second (MIPS).
Characteristics: Smaller, faster, and more reliable than first-generation computers and low power consumption.

Examples: IBM 1401, IBM 7094, CDC1604.

Third Generation (1965 - 1971) :

Primary electronic component: Integrated circuits.
Memory: Semi-conductor memory.
Programming language: High-level languages (COBOL, FORTRAN, BASIC).
Operational Speed: Tens of millions of instructions per second (MIPS).
Characteristics: Much smaller, faster, and more reliable than the second-generation computers, and lower power consumption.

Example: IBM 360, DEC PDP-8, UNIVAC 1108.

Fourth Generation (1971- Present) :

Primary electronic component: Microprocessor.
Memory: Large-Scale Integration (LSI) and Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) memory.
Programming language: High-level language (C, C++, Java, Python).
Operational Speed: Hundreds of millions of instructions per second (MIPS).
Characteristics: Very small, fast, reliable, and low power consumption.

Examples: IBM PC, Apple Macintosh, Intel Pentium processor.

Fifth Generation (Present - Future) :

Primary electronic component: Artificial Intelligence (AI) chips.
Memory: High-density memory.
Programming language: Natural language processing (NLP) languages.
Operational Speed: Billions of instructions per second.
Characteristics: Intelligent computers that can learn and adapt,
capable of performing complex tasks such as speech recognition and image processing.

Classification of Computers by Purpose (Uses):

Special Purpose Computers: These are computers that are designed especially for a single task and they are very useful in other fields, e.g. AC, Traffic control, and Pregnancy scanners.

General Purpose Computers: They are used for many purposes, these computers can solve a variety of problems and perform several tasks depending on the needs of the user, and they are very flexible, fast, and have large memory capacity.

Summary /Conclusion :

We've been able to identify computers based on their Generation and Uses, the above classification shows the early computing devices, their features and characteristics, and also how they were designed for specific use.

Exercise :

Mention the features and characteristics of all 5 generations of computing devices.