COMP 105 Introduction to Computer Science

Kalamazoo College Computer Science Program Fall 2008

Chapter 6: History of Computers

The history of computers is commonly divided into generations, each with its own defining technology tha tprompted drastic improvements in computer design, efficiency, and ease of use.

• Generation 0 (1642-1945): Mechanical Devices
  Includes Pascal's calculator, Jacquard's loom, Babbage's Difference Engine, Babbage's Analytical Engine, Hollerith's tabulating machine, Aiken's Mark I, electromagnetic relays.
• Generation 1 (1945-1954): Vacuum tubes
  Includes COLOSSUS, ENIAC, UNIVAC, John von-Neumann's idea of a stored-program computer.
• Generation 2 (1954-1963): Transistors
  Includes more affordable computers, development of high-level languages such as FORTRAN, LISP and COBOL.
• Generation 3 (1963-1973): Integrated Circuits
  Includes large scale integration, microprocessors, such as the Intel 4004 and Intel 8080, Moore's Law, creation of ARPAnet
• Generation 4 (1973-1985): VLSI (Very large scale integration)
  Includes affordable computers, development of desktop computers, such as the MITS Altair 8800, Apple II, IBM PC, development of GUIs, growth of software industry.
• Generation 5 (1985-???): Parallel Processing and Networking
  Scope of this generation remains a debated issue, but parallel processing and networking have been two of the major advances, leading to increased scope of the Internet, and the development of the World Wide Web.