Generation Of Computer

1940 – 1950:  First Generation – Vacuum Tubes

First Generation: Vacuum Tubes (1940-1956) the first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and were often enormous, taking up entire rooms. ... The UNIVAC and ENIAC computers are examples of first-generation computing devices

1950 – 1960: Second Generation – Transistors

The "first generation" of electronic computers used vacuum tubes, which generated large amounts of heat, were bulky, and were unreliable. A "second generation" of computers, through the late 1950s and 1960s featured boards filled with individual transistors and magnetic memory cores (see History of computing hardware).

1960 – 1971: Third Generation – Integrated Circuits

The period of third generation was from 1965-1971. The computers of third generation used Integrated Circuits (ICs) in place of transistors. A single IC has many transistors, resistors, and capacitors along with the associated 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, multiprogramming operating system was used.

1971 – Now : Fourth Generation – Microprocessors

The period of fourth generation was from 1971-Now. Computers of fourth generation used Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuits. VLSI circuits having about 5000 transistors and other circuit elements with their associated circuits on a single chip made it possible to have microcomputers of fourth generation.

2010-  : Fifth Generation – Artificial Intelligence

Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in development, though there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today. The use of parallel processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a reality.