Sunday, August 5, 2012

First Generation Computers(1940s-1950s)

ENIAC

First electronic computer used vacuum tubes, and they were huge and complex. The first general purpose electronic computer was the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer). It was digital, although it didn't operate with binary code, and was reprogrammable to solve a complete range of computing problems. It was programmed using plugboards and switches, supporting input from an IBM card reader, and output to an IBM card punch. It took up 167 square meters, weighed 27 tons, and consuming 150 kilowatts of power. It used thousands of vacuum tubes, crystals diodes, relays, resistors, and capacitors.
       The first non-general purpose computer was ABC(Atanasoff-Berry Computer), and other similar computer of this era include german Z3, ten British Colossus computers, LEO, Harvard Mark I, and UNIVAC.


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