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As fundamental hardware technology of Computers evolved, each new generation of computer had greater speed, larger memory, and smaller size.

1. First Generation (1945-54) :

   Computers of this generation were marked by following                              characteristics:            

• central control by single CPU.
• ferrite core main memory.
• use of vacuum tubes which were very large.
• punched cards as input device.
• magnetic tapes and drums as secondary storage.
• machine language and assembly language for programming.
• access to one programmer at a time.

Examples- ENIAC, Whirlwind I, EDSAC, UNIVAC I

2. Second Generation (1955-1964) :

     It started with invention of semi- conductor technology.

• Use of transistors which were very smaller than vacuum tubes.
• Floating point arithmetic hardware.
• High level programming languages like FORTRAN, COBOL, ALGOL.
• Magnetic disk was introduced as storage medium.

Examples- IBM 700, UNIVAC 1108, IBM 1620, IBM 7090

3. Third Generation (1965-1974) : 

     It was started with era of micro-electronics.

• Use of Integrated Circuits (ICs) which had many components like transistors and capacitors on a single chip. Small Scale Integration (SSI) was used.
• Magnetic disks, tapes of greater capacity.
• Very low cost, highly reliable, less power consumption and much smaller size.
• Use of MICR, scanners and plotters.

Examples- DEC PDP/8, IBM System / 360 family.

4. Fourth Generation (1975-1989) :

    It started with Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) techniques.

• Microprocessors were used as CPU.
• Parallel processing and multiprocessing.
• General purpose software were developed.
• Concept of Personal Computers developed.
• Semiconductor memories for storage.

Examples- VAX-9000, Cray X-MP, IBM 3090.

5. Fifth Generation (1991- present) :

• Use of Ultra Large Scale Integration (ULSI), gallium-arsenic and optical technologies.
• Intelligent programming, knowledge based problem solving.
• Improved human-machine interface.
• Target of very high speed, very small size, and artificial Intelligence in computers.

Examples- Intel family, Cray Research, Paragon, VPP500

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