Modern life cannot be imagined without high-tech gadgets and all kinds of devices. Every home has a personal computer, and even mobile phones today have their own processor and are very slightly inferior in functionality to average computers.
Modern computers are a huge, wonderful world of practically limitless possibilities, but this was not always the case. The history of the development of electronic computers is so complex that it has several important milestones. Experts call the stages of computer development "generations", and today there are five of them.
How it all began
Humanity has always sought to simplify all kinds of calculations and calculations. The first devices for computing began to appear in ancient Greece and other ancient states. But all this simple technique has practically nothing to do with a computer. The most important feature of electronic computers is the ability to program.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the English mathematician Charles Babbage invented a unique and unparalleled machine, which he later named after himself. Babbage's machine differed from other existing calculating tools in that it could save work results and even had output devices. Many experts today consider the invention of a talented mathematician to be the prototype of modern computers.
First generation
The first electronic computer, completely similar in functionality to modern computers, was created back in 1938. An ambitious engineer of German origin, Konrad Zuse, assembled a unit that received the laconic name - Z1. Later, he improved it several times, and as a result, the Z2 and Z3 appeared. Contemporaries often argue that only the Z3 can be considered a full-fledged computer of all Zuse's inventions, and this is quite funny: the only thing that distinguishes the Z3 from the Z1 is the ability to calculate the square root.
In 1944, thanks to intelligence received from Germany, a group of American scientists with the support of IBM managed to repeat the success of Zuse and created their own computer, which was named MARK 1. Just two years later, the Americans made a fantastic leap for those times - they assembled a new machine called ENIAC. The performance of the novelty was a thousand times higher than the previous models.
A characteristic feature of the first generation machines is their technical content. The main element of the computer design of those years was electric vacuum tubes. Also, the first computers were truly enormous - one copy occupied an entire room and looked more like a small factory than some kind of computing unit.
As for the functionality, they were quite modest. The computational capacity of the processors did not exceed several thousand hertz. But at the same time, the first computers already had the ability to save data - this was done using punched cards. The first machines were not only huge, but also extremely difficult to master. To work with them, special skills and knowledge were required, which had to be mastered for more than one month.
Second generation
The beginning of the second milestone in the development of electronic computers is considered the 60s of the twentieth century. Then the technical content of the computer began to gradually change from lamps to transistors. This transition has significantly reduced the size of computers. Their maintenance required significantly less electricity, but the performance of the machines, on the contrary, increased.
Also at this time, programming methods were developing, universal languages for "communication" with computers began to appear - "COBOL", "FORTRAN". Thanks to new software capabilities, it has become much easier to maintain machines, the direct dependence of programming on specific computer models has disappeared. New information storage devices have appeared - magnetic drums and tapes have come to replace punched cards.
Third generation
In 1959, American scientist Jack Kilby made another breakthrough in the development of computers. Under his leadership, a group of scientists created a small plate on which a huge number of semiconductor elements could fit. These designs are called "integrated circuits".
Also, by the end of the 60s, Kilby's company abandoned tube and semiconductor designs and assembled a computer entirely from integrated circuits. The result was obvious: the new computer was more than a hundred times smaller than its semiconductor counterparts, without losing anything in the quality and speed of operations.
Moreover, the hardware components of the third generation not only reduced the size of the computers produced, but also made it possible to significantly increase the power of computers. The clock frequency has crossed the line and was calculated already in megahertz. Ferrite elements in the RAM have significantly increased its volume. External drives became more compact and easier to use, later they began to create and produce floppy disks on their basis.
It was during this period that the most convenient way of interacting with a computer was created - a graphic display. New programming languages have appeared, which are simpler and easier to learn.
Fourth generation
Integrated circuits have found their continuation in large integrated circuits (LSIs), which fit many more transistors in a relatively small size. And in 1971, the legendary Intel company announced the creation of unparalleled microcircuits, which in fact became the brain of all subsequent computers. The Intel microprocessor has become an integral part of the fourth generation of electronic computers.
RAM modules also began to change from ferrite to microcircuit, the working interface of computers was simplified so much that ordinary citizens could now use the previously puzzlingly complex unit. In 1976, a little-known company Apple, led by Steve Jobs, assembled a new machine that became the first personal computer.
A few years later, the leadership in the production of personal computers was intercepted by IBM. Their computer model (IBM PC) has become a benchmark in the production of personal computers in the international market. At the same time, an academic discipline appeared, without which it is difficult to imagine the modern world - computer science.
Fifth generation
Jobs' first computer and IBM's innovative approach to PC manufacturing literally blew up the technology market, but 15 years later, there was another breakthrough that left these legendary machines far behind. In the 90s, the fifth and today the last generation of electronic computers began to flourish.
The next breakthrough in the field of computer technology, in many respects, was facilitated by the creation of completely new types of microcircuits, the parallel-vector architecture of which made it possible to dramatically increase the growth rates of the productivity of computer systems. It was in the nineties of the last century that the most noticeable leap took place from tens of megahertz, which seemed unreal until recently, to gigahertz, which are quite familiar today.
Modern computers allow any user to immerse themselves in the wonderful world of realistic 3D games, independently master programming languages or engage in any other scientific and technical activity. Computing processes inside fifth-generation computers make it possible to create true musical and cinematic masterpieces literally on the knee.
Modern scientists argue that the next generation of electronic computers is not far off, using fundamentally new technologies, materials and programming languages. A fantastic future will come, filled with amazing possibilities that smart cars will give humanity.
