4. The computers were huge- up to the size of a room
5. The computers were slow
6. The computers were expensive
7. The computers were unreliable
8. The computers were produce large amount of heat
1.1.2. The Second Generation Computers: era of transistors- the period between 1959-1964
Features of second generation computers
Some of the basic features of the second generation computers are:
1. In second generation computers transistors (Figure 143) replaced vacuum tubes- One transistor replaced the equivalent of 40 vacuum tubes
2. The second generation computers have the Von Neumann architecture. That means the computers have internally stored programs. And these internally stored programs and data they can process and store data within them
3. Storage- Punched cards were used for data storage
4. Input device- Removable disk pack replaced punched cards
5. Out-put device- printouts are use as outputs.
6. Some of developments in the second generation were:
7. Development of concept of Central Processing Unit (CPU)
8. Development of concept of memory- some of the second generation computers had a memory size of 32 bytes and speed of 10mbps
9. Development of programming language- COBOL, FORTRAN
10. Development of concept of input and output units.
Examples of second generation computers are IBM 1620, CDC 3600 etc.
Advantages of second generation computers
Some of the advantages of second generation computers are:
i. The computers were reduced in size
ii. The speed of the computers increased
iii. The computers become cheaper and affordable
iv. The computers were fast
v. The computers consume less energy |