Generations of Computer

Based on the period of development and the features incorporated, the computer are classified into the following five generation.

1. First Generation Computers (1945-1955) were made-to-order for specific tasks. Each computer had a different binary-coded program called a machine language that told it how to operate. The computers used vacuum tubes and magnetic drums for data storage.
2. Second Generation Computers (1956-1963) used vacuum tubes with transistors and machine language with assembly language. They also contained all the components we associate with the modern day computer. Printers, tape storage, disk storage, memory, operating systems, and stored programs. Throughout the early 1960's, there were a number of commercially successful second-generation computers used in businesses, universities, and government.
3. Third Generation Computers (1964-1971) replaced transistors with integrated circuits (ICs). These computers could be used both scientific and nonscientific applications. These computers allowed to use of an operating system that allowed machines to run many different programs at once with a central program that monitored and coordinate the computer's memory.
4. Fourth Generation Computers (1972 onward) were characterized by their smaller size, the processor (chip) and more processing power. This era also marked the introduction and popularity of the personal computer (PC) and also the popularity of Internet and WWW. The size of the computers shrank and the processing power increased. The computers became easier to operate with new operating systems that supported graphical user interfaces (GUIs) operation.
5. Fifth Generation Computers (Present and future) aim to solve highly complex problems that require reasoning, intelligence, and expertise. They are intended to be able to cope with large subsets of natural languages, and draw on very large knowledge bases. In spite of their complexity, fifth generation computers are being designed to be used by people who are not necessarily computer experts. The parallel processing hardware and AI (Artificial intelligence) based software make the computer of this generation highly advanced. AI is the modern branch of computational science that involves in making computer work and think like humans. High-level languages like C and C++, Java, .Net etc. are being used in this generation of computer.