The use of the computer has changed our life , we could say that as much as the fire or the wheel, each of them being the protagonists of its moment. So much so that the invention and the development of these machines is divided into generations. Today we will see how was the First Generation of Computers.
Think that what for you is now another element of your room, a few decades ago was a discovery that changed the way you work r, to live, coming to offer us countless and uncorrectable comforts that nobody wants to sacrifice.
Therefore, the history of computing deserves special interest and this time we will tell you how it starts by making know what this first stage of computers consisted of , how it He developed and what were the personalities and, of course, the most prominent machines. See all computer generations in full.
Index:
What characteristics define the first generation of computers?
This period covers from 1940 to 1952 , always considering the commercial, recognition or launch dates of the pieces. If, otherwise, we attend to the base in the operation of the devices, this extends until 1958 , well it is true that it was until that year that the main characteristic of this revolution.
Its characteristics, by the way, are few and simple:
- Assumes the change from manual and semi-manual calculating machines at the start of automatic and digital work calculation and computation.
- These machines were built with vacuum valve systems . We give vacuum tubes to replace the mechanical, relays, punch cards, magnetic core memories …
- Its size was colossal, as was its energy consumption.
- The language used to program them was machine language , the simplest of the invented, a code system that a circuit could interpret.
- Its purpose was specific (academic and military, basically) and were designed to order.
What was the evolution and history of the 1st generation of computers?
The origin of computing is attributed to the Analytical Machine , of the mathematical inventor C. Babbage . Its design spoke of giving orders to a machine to take charge of calculations as well as data storage.
Although similar ideas were around the planet and discoveries were made at the same time, the truth is that, historically, the first computer machine recognized as such is the ENIAC , which is the mother of the previous idea and that was precedent, in turn, of the first commercial design computer, UNIVAC I.
With that milestone, in addition, the compiler was introduced in this model to be able to interpret two different languages . Another great advance that incorporated was his system of magnetic tapes, interpretable in two directions and with the evident dressing of being able to detect errors with great ease.
When the stored program computers are created the sector begins to shake in the face of a “fervent” demand of a few tens, as this meant not having to reprogram the machine by hand (which came to be almost completely disassembled and reassembled with the corresponding parts differentiated and programmed for the purpose in question) but to be able to use it for different purposes, making it much more versatile and interesting for a growing audience.
Best inventors of the first generation of computers
Of course, behind all this evolution there were great people who did everything possible:
- Von Neumann: Pioneer in the use of binary arithmetic in electric computers . Together with other great thinking minds he developed concepts that caused sensation and that are still useful today, as is the case with the “core concept”.
- J . Presper and J. Mauchly : Engineer and physicist respectively, formed a company and were the builders of UNIVAC I, an automatic computer that had an important census work.
- Howard Aiken : He was the engineer who designed the ASCC electromechanical equipment , which, at the beginning, worked to solve part of several differential equations. Its computing capacity caused much interest in IBM, which ended up financing a computer redesign project, the Harvard Mark I.
He continued working on the successor models, introducing more and more electronic components (until the construction of the first electronic computer) and other elements such as drum memory or magnetic core.
He won two awards, the Harry H. Goode Medal in 1964 and the Edison IEEE Medal in 1070 , which reflected and thanked his continuous pioneering contributions in large-scale digital management and in your education.
What featured computers appeared in the 1st generation of computers?
As for the machines that saw the light in these years, we have to highlight the following:
Z1 Computer
It was the first machine of the combined type (electromechanical), completed in 1938. It gave problems on a physical level but was fully functional. She was overshadowed by the bad reputation of the German nationality of its inventor, Konrad Zuse .
Colossus
A set of 10 machines created with the sole purpose of deciphering messages from the Germans during World War II. These were destroyed by order of Churchil but, with more than a decade of work, one of them could be rebuilt, which is currently exhibited in London. Physically, it is interesting to highlight the use of 15000 vacuum tubes .
ABC
The Atanasoff Berry Computer was the first automatic digital electronic type computer . It was developed between 1937 and 1942.
Its two creators made this machine capable of solving equations of 29 unknowns with complete accuracy. At present it may not seem too much but at that time it was, without a doubt, an unprecedented feat.
MARK I
In this case we find a machine that combines electronics and mechanics that came from the hand of the well-known IBM and being director of the Howard Aiken project. It is worth mentioning that it was designed with a clear inspiration in the analytical machine.
It measured nothing more and nothing less than 15 meters in length and its height reached 2.4 meters, conforming to 800,000 pieces . It had r storage wheels, electromagnetic relays, rotary switches and calculators working in parallel . Although it was not as fast as expected, it was really successful, to the point of building the Mark II and the Mark III .
ENIAC
His name was Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer and was designed between 1943 and 1946. The idea was to serve as a calculation element to work on artillery shooting > during the war but it ended earlier.
It is, without a doubt, the first outstanding electronic computer, validating the use of electronic elements for large-scale computational use , capable of solving mathematical problems of various kinds and more than 100,000 simple operations at second.
It could be reprogrammed (realambrar rather) with ease, which made it “versatile”, something of obvious appeal during the time. Thus, it is considered one of the first for general purposes. It was even bigger than the previous one, matching it in length but with a depth of 9 meters. It included 40 panels. Its weight exceeded 30 tons.
Manchester Baby
This is designed together by several scientists who work at the University of the city that gives it its name, back in the year 1948 . It was a revolution because it was the first to work with a program that was stored in the data space and, therefore, could be used as such.
UNIVAC I
The Universal Automatic Computer, from 1951 came from the same hands as ENIAC but, on this occasion, what was intended to be achieved with it was a commercial machine to process large amounts of data (it was the first one, in fact).
Highlights, of its design, the inclusion of mercury delay lines , which allowed the number of vacuum tubes to be reduced considerably to 5000, which allowed it to also be reduced the dimension of the device.
As for its capacity, we have more than a thousand complex calculations per second and hundreds of thousands in the case of simpler operations.
LEO
Leo is a computer that, despite not introducing anything new at the physical level or in terms of programming or use of elements, has gone down in history to be used in solving business problems, which in its moment was a closer approach to the population and an injection in terms of research , beginning what would be a process of bestial development, of decades and decades of duration and in which we are still immersed.