Computerization is a phenomenon that is now observed, probably, in all countries of the world. Her pace is impressive. It is interesting to trace the conditions under which it was carried out historically. Is it possible to say that computerization is the result of the systematic development of computer technologies and software for them? What are the historical stages of technological improvement of computers?
What happened to computers?
It is interesting to know what type of device was historically preceded by computers. So, it can be noted that in the 17th century, the legendary French scientist Pascal invented, as it is believed, the first calculating machine, which operated by a mechanical principle. At the beginning of the 19th century, the British researcher Babbage invented the first analytical machine. A few decades later, the American engineer Hollerith created a tabulator - an electric machine with which you can calculate statistics. Subsequently, the development of the world's leading laboratories in the direction of creating devices close to computers in the modern sense, continued actively.
First computers
One of the world's first computers was invented by another American researcher, Bush, in 1930. The history of computers, which are full-fledged digital devices, has been counted by many scientists since 1944, when the American professor Aiknem designed the Mark-1 computer. In fact, it was a device related to computers of the 1st generation. What features can be noted? First of all, probably, the dimensions of the structure. The sizes of the 1st generation of computers were outstanding. So, “Mark-1” had a length of about 15 meters and a height of about 2.5 m. The performance of the first digital computer was relatively modest by modern standards, but its role in the history of the global computer technology industry can hardly be overestimated. In 1946, the US military designed the Eniak computer. The sizes of the 1st generation of computers using the example of this device may seem even more impressive. The Eniak computer had a length of about 30 m and weighed 30 tons.
We will be interested, of course, not only the sizes of the 1st generation of computers, but also other characteristics of the corresponding type of machines. Consider them, as well as the subsequent history of computers in more detail.
Features of a computer of the 1st generation
Functioned computers of the 1st generation based on electron tubes - a device that works by changing the flow of particles moving from the cathode to the anode. The basic principle of the corresponding movement is thermionic emission. From the very beginning, computers began to be constructed according to the principle of allocating logical commands to 0 and 1. This scheme is still being implemented. How did it function when lamps were used as the main component of a PC? Very simple. A voltage was generated at the lamp input, for example 2 V. At the output, it was less, for example 1 V. The first state of the lamp was fixed as 1, the second as 0. The combination of these states on the basis of a combination of tens of thousands of lamps formed a machine code.
Tube computers, that is, those belonging to the 1st generation, could perform about 20 thousand operations per second. Is this a lot or not? For comparison, the indicator for modern PCs is billions of operations per second. But the basic tasks of those years, including in the military sphere, the characteristics of the first generation computers were quite possible to fulfill.
Computers of this type were not characterized by high reliability. Just because the lamps often burned out, they had to be changed. About the gigantic size of computers, we have already said above. This predetermined very great difficulties with their transportation, with the optimization of their location in the building. The cost of first-generation computers was very high - only large businesses and government agencies with a large budget could afford their purchase. Also, tube computers were characterized by high operating costs - mainly in terms of energy consumption. Work on them required the involvement of highly qualified personnel with the subsequent payment of a large salary to them. A man who knew at least a computer device, not to mention the ability to program a computer, was a sought-after and expensive specialist.
The specificity of first-generation computers is also that separate programming languages were used on these machines. In addition, the set of machine instructions was quite simple. As such, programs, in the usual sense, were not used when working with computers of the corresponding type. This was caused not only by the modest performance of computers, but also by the rather low technological effectiveness of storage devices - most often these were punched cards and magnetic tapes, which are completely incomparable in speed with the usual disks.
However, engineers began to adapt to the noted inconveniences, mainly through the development of various algorithms for automating work with machine code. Despite the low productivity of the first generation computers, the efficiency of their operation still gradually increased.
Computer 2 generations
After the noted inventions, the global computer industry continued to develop rapidly. The invention of Mark-1, Eniak and other machines was only the beginning. Computers of 2 generations appeared in the early 60s. Their main feature is that transistors were used instead of lamps in them. As a result, machine performance has grown. In addition, we remember that the dimensions of the 1st generation of computers were impressive. Machines on transistors, in turn, decreased significantly. How obvious was the advantage of using appropriate technological solutions in the structure of computers? It is enough to say that 1 transistor was able to replace about 40 lamps. Media carriers have also improved . The second-generation computer device could involve the use of magnetic disks, similar in structure and concept to those devices that are familiar to the modern user.
In terms of enabling software, the global computer industry has also taken a step forward, thanks to the capabilities of the respective type of machines. There are languages classified as high-level. Programmers developed translators, the means by which the corresponding algorithms were translated into the language used in computer machine instructions. The principles of advancing the execution of certain computer program scripts were also implemented. Library applications began to appear, various monitor systems that became prototypes of modern OS.
However, despite some attempts to unify the use of software algorithms in different machines, different computers were characterized by limited compatibility. It was very difficult to combine them, relatively speaking, into a single network and build a corporate information system on its basis.
Computer 3 generations
The history of 3-generation computers begins with machines in the construction of which integrated circuits were used, each of which, as it turned out, could replace about 1000 transistors. Computer performance has grown significantly. Now you can run on a computer several software algorithms at the same time. What is an integrated circuit? This is a silicon crystal that has an area of about 10 square meters. mm In terms of performance, as was calculated, one IC was actually equal to the Eniak computer. Among the most famous computers of 3 generations - computers developed by IBM - System 360 machines.
Computers of this type were characterized by a much greater degree of mutual compatibility than the devices considered by us above, including in the software aspect. In computers of 3 generations, the first full-fledged operating systems were implemented, capable of performing several tasks simultaneously. Many of the hardware features began to be transferred to the software level.
4 generation computer
In the 70s, the so-called large integrated circuits were launched into mass production. What feature can be noted? First of all, the fact that their performance corresponded to approximately 1000 conventional integrated circuits. As a result, the global computer industry was able to produce devices that are comparable in size and performance to those that we are used to using today.
Due to the increased productivity of factory lines for the production of large integrated circuits and other key computer components, computers gradually became cheaper. If the first and second (in the 50s and 60s) computer generations were available, as we noted above, mainly only to large businesses and government agencies, then in the 1970s ordinary citizens began to actively buy computers.
Computerization Factors
Computerization has become a mass phenomenon, especially with the advent of the Internet in the late 80s. Its pace was all the more dynamic, the lower the price of devices became and the smaller their size. So, the first PCs, in many respects and technological structure similar to those that are familiar to us today, appeared in the mid-70s and early 80s. Among these devices - IBM PC, which has become the prototype of the most common computer platform today. They became the closest competitor to PCs, which were already actively released by Apple. The fundamental difference between the two is the openness of the IBM concept and the closed platform of Apple. From the point of view of the hardware and software structure, the difference between the corresponding types of PCs is generally small. The structure of the IBM platform includes such key components as a processor, RAM, hard disk, video and sound card, motherboard. Moreover, they can be replaced by others - as an option, more productive.
The modern generation of computers
The technological groundwork, which was laid by engineers in the 70s, turned out to be so significant that experts and analysts characterize the further development of computers as passing through the same 4 generations. That is, modern high-performance PCs function, in general, according to the same principles as devices 40 years ago. In certain aspects, such as, for example, the size of a computer, modern computers, of course, are seen as much more technological. The device, the size of a small notebook, can accommodate computing power that is much higher than that of, for example, the first PCs from Apple in the 70s.
Continuity of concepts
But conceptually, the PCs that we use today operate according to the schemes first introduced in 4 generations of computers. There are no clear criteria that would allow us to say that, relatively speaking, the first IBM PC and modern iMac laptop are computers of different generations. Performance varies greatly, but the concept is generally the same.
Based on the platform proposed by IBM, most modern desktops, laptops, monoblocks are implemented. According to many criteria, mobile devices - smartphones and tablets - are also quite consistent with the IBM platform, which appeared in the 70s. So, in each of them, like in a PC, there is a processor, RAM, a data storage device - an analogue of a hard disk.
It is difficult to even say that the level of comfort in using computers has fundamentally increased if we compare the first 4-generation PC models with modern models. The basic computer hardware controls - keyboard, mouse - in principle, have not changed over the years. There were, of course, all kinds of touchscreens, contactless displays and other exotic solutions. But not all users relate to them sufficiently positively.
Of course, software solutions have also improved - OS (on the first computers of the 4th generation there were samples controlled from the command line, today operating systems include functional graphical interfaces), application types of software. The first types of relevant programs in the 70s were very simple in structure.
Today they are powerful tools for the implementation of production tasks. If we talk about games, the difference is also noticeable. In the 70s, these were the simplest arcades, today they allow you to make fascinating dives into virtual space. However, games, OS, and application software were created using the same algorithms as the corresponding solutions in the early years of computer development of the 4th generation, often in the same programming languages.
Comparison of computer generations
Let us try to visually display the comparative characteristics of computer generations. How can I do that? A quite convenient option is a comparative table of computer generations. It can be represented in a structure that reflects a key characteristic of a computer - performance, as well as the technological base on which the calculations are based.
Computer generation | Performance (operations per second) | Technological base |
one | About 20 thousand | Lamps |
2 | About 200 thousand | Transistors |
3 | About 1-2 million | Integrated circuits |
four | About 2-3 billion or more (modern PC models) | Large integrated circuits |
These are the comparative characteristics of computer generations. We see how rapidly computer technology has developed. Computers of different generations are vivid examples of the emergence and successful implementation of the most innovative and high-tech engineering concepts in production - both at the level of hardware components and in the field of software.
On the one hand, we can conclude that computerization is a phenomenon that has developed gradually, in relation to the growth of PC performance, their cheapening and ease of use. But there is a point of view according to which the process in question is characterized by 2 periods, when it went at a really galloping pace, namely after the advent of 4-generation computers, and also after the Internet turned into a global network. These two factors became, in the opinion of a number of researchers, the key drivers of computerization.