A brief history of computer development

The world's first computer was born in February 1946 at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States, named ENIAC (read "The Titanic"), namely electronic numerical Internal and calculator abbreviation. The emergence and rapid development of electronic computers is one of the greatest achievements of modern science and technology. Since the first computer ENIAC developed in the United States in 1946, the development of computer has made remarkable achievements in half a century.

The development stages of electronic computers are usually divided into electronic devices that compose computers, which have now undergone four generations and are currently transitioning to the fifth generation. Each stage of development in the technology is a new breakthrough in the performance of a qualitative leap.

1. First generation (1946-1957 years), Electron tube computer

It is an electronic digital integration computer, named ENIAC. This computer is a giant, a total of 18 000 tubes, 1500 relays, weighing 30 tons, covers an area of 170 square meters, power consumption of 140-kilowatt per hour, calculation speed of 5,000 times per second addition operation. Although its function is far inferior to today's computer, but ENIAC as the originator of the computer big family, has opened the human science and technology field the precedent, causes the information processing technology to enter a brand-new time. Its main characteristics are as follows:

(1) Tube components, large size, high power consumption, poor reliability, maintenance difficulties.

(2) The operation speed is slow, generally for 1000 times per second to 10,000 times.

(3) The use of machine language, no system software.

(4) using drum, small magnetic core as memory, storage space is limited.

(5) The input/output equipment is simple, using perforated paper tape or card.

(6) Mainly used for scientific calculation.

2. Second generation (1958-1964 years), transistor computer

The invention of the transistor revolutionized the computer technology. The primary component of the second generation of computers is the transistor, called the transistor computer. Computer software has a larger development, the use of monitoring procedures, this is the embryonic form of the operating system. The second generation of computers has the following characteristics:

(1) Using transistor components as a computer device, the volume is greatly reduced, reliability enhancement, life extension.

(2) Speed of operation, reaching tens of thousands of to hundreds of thousands of times per second.

(3) proposed the concept of operating system, began to appear in assembly language, such as FORTRAN and COBOL, such as Advanced programming language and batch processing system.

(4) Universal use of magnetic cores as internal memory, disk, tape as the external memory, capacity greatly improved.

(5) The field of computer application expands from military research, scientific calculation to data processing and real-time process control, and begins to enter the commercial market.

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