The development of computers was originally in response to the human demand for computing, which can be traced back to the invention of abacus by China people thousands of years ago.
1642, French mathematician blaise pascal invented the roller adder.
1822, Charles Babbage of Cambridge University invented the difference extension, which can perform four simple operations.
The analyzer designed by 1833, including input and output, control, operation and storage, is the basic structure of today's computer, so it is honored as "the father of computer".
1890, herman hollerith invented punched cards to record data, and successfully completed the development of computers from early mechanical computers to personal computers now in use. After a long time, the earliest computer can be traced back to Pascal machine invented by French mathematician Gabbas in 1942. This machine consists of many gears and levers.
Generally speaking, our classification of computer generations is based on the different components used to make computers, which are divided into five generations:
The first generation of computers: the vacuum tube era;
Vacuum tube era: vacuum tube is used as material, punch card as external storage medium, magnetic drum as internal storage medium, and programming language as machine language and assembly language.
The second generation computer: the transistor age
In the era of transistor, the invention of magnetic tape disk began to use transistor as material, and a modular high-level language with magnetic core as internal storage medium hardware appeared.
The Third Generation Computer: The Age of Integrated Circuits
The era of integrated circuits uses the concept of upward compatibility of integrated circuits, the emergence of operating systems, the rapid development of software and the emergence of mini-computers.
The Fourth Generation Computer: The Age of VLSI
In the era of VLSI, the emergence of microprocessors and the development of popular microcomputer software packages with semiconductors as internal storage media.
The fifth generation computer:
Japan announced in June 198 1 that it hoped to design an "artificial intelligence" computer with the ability of thinking and dialogue, but it has not yet come out. Computers can handle too many materials and things. In our daily life, clothing, food, housing, transportation, teaching, music and so on are inseparable from the application of computers.
Feeling:
With the development of science and technology, from the vacuum tube era to today's VLSI era, great changes have taken place in both the operation speed and the volume and capacity of computers. Sometimes, when I use the computer again, I always feel that human beings are omnipotent and omnipotent. It is predicted that computers will exert their unparalleled power in the future living environment and create a brand-new "computer-style life".
Electric toys are children's favorite. There is a palm-sized electric toy that can be carried with you when traveling and played at any time. Children, do you have a walkman? This walkman is so light that you can carry it in your pocket. You can not only listen to radio programs, but also listen to music tapes. Very convenient. These scientific and technological products will not be discounted because of their small size and light weight. Similarly, computers are also due to technological progress.
The first generation computer (vacuum tube)
1946, Americans J. Presper Echert and Dr. John W. Machly made the first computer with vacuum tubes as parts. It shares 18000 vacuum tubes and weighs about 30 tons. It takes about two classrooms to install it. The first generation computer consumes a lot of power, is not easy to dissipate heat and has low reliability.
The second generation computer (transistor)
1948, the transistor was invented. 1954, Bell Laboratories completed a computer based on transistors. Compared with the first generation computer, this computer is much smaller, with lower power consumption, better heat dissipation and of course more stable.
The third generation computer (integrated circuit)
The third generation computer is made of integrated circuit (IC), which condenses many transistors into a tiny chip. The advantages of this generation of computers are: small size, durability, low power consumption, extremely fast speed, high reliability and low price. Computers have also begun to enter everyone's daily life.
The Fourth Generation Computer (Chip)
The fourth generation computer is made of VLSI. VLSI integrates more transistors (about hundreds of thousands) on one chip. This is also the computer used now.
The fifth generation computer (computer)
The fifth generation computer is a computer with artificial intelligence. The so-called artificial intelligence computer is to combine human intelligence, reasoning ability, logical judgment, graphics and voice recognition with the computer, so that the computer has the ability to listen, see, write, think and learn. The fifth generation computers often have to deal with complex and massive data. Therefore, this kind of computer needs faster processing speed and larger memory capacity in order to handle a large amount of data.
Computer development from 1950s to now.
Without a computer, there would be no CAM. The function, cost and effect of computer hardware are the main promoters of advanced functions of CAM. World War II created the foundation of the first computer for the needs of cryptography and ballistics. The first commercial computer is Univac, 195 1 year. It is as big as a room and uses vacuum tube circuits. But more modern computers are still a bit inferior. This computer has no images, charts, keyboards or games. Only four companies in the United States can afford this huge computer, and it needs the manpower equivalent to a small army to write programs. It takes thousands of hours to type complex binary computer instructions on a paper card full of holes, and a card can only type one line. Then the whole stack of cards will be sent to a funnel-shaped container. At this time, I can only pray that I can print the desired results. With luck, the operator only needs to perform one or two programs a day. 1960s, the second generation computers developed by early computer companies such as IBM, Control Data and Honeywell based on transistor technology came out. Although the second generation computer is smaller, faster and cheaper, it is still too big and rough by modern standards. At the same time, computer languages such as Fortran and Cobol have replaced binary instructions. By the mid-1960s, due to the application of integrated circuits, smaller and faster computers were produced. There are hundreds of computer brands. However, the program specially written for one computer is not compatible with other different computers. In the 1970 s, large computers became standard commercial computers, and microprocessors came out at this time. Just one integrated circuit chip is loaded with the wisdom of the computer, which once again makes the computer smaller, faster and cheaper. For example, Apple and Commodore introduced the first "personal" computer with CRT monitor and keyboard. The new programming language is basic, and the computer becomes an interactive tool. In the1980s, the application of microcomputers in business became standardized. Unix workstations required for CAD have become very common. IBM's personal computer with a single operating system, MS DOS, even changed the whole world. Now, users can buy computers compatible with IBM to run the same software. Computers based on11990s technology are smaller, faster and cheaper than they were ten years ago. Due to its increasing popularity, personal computers have developed into standard commercial equipment. Microsoft Windows has introduced a user interface for drawing on a personal computer, and established a 3D drawing standard for computer games and CAD/CAM applications.