What was the second stage in the development of computers?

The second stage in the development of computers is the "transistor computer", which refers to computers from the late 1950s to the 1960s; the host uses semiconductor devices such as transistors, assisted by magnetic drums and disks Memory, programmed in algorithmic languages ​​(high-level languages), and operating systems began to appear.

The operating environment of this tutorial: Windows 10 system, Dell G3 computer.

Computer, commonly known as computer, is a modern electronic computing machine used for high-speed calculations. It can perform numerical calculations, logical calculations, and also has storage and memory functions. It is a modern intelligent electronic device that can run according to the program and process massive data automatically and at high speed.

The development of computers has gone through 4 stages:

• The first generation: tube computer ( 1946-1958)

  In terms of hardware, the logic components used vacuum electron tubes, the main memory used mercury delay lines, cathode ray oscilloscope tube electrostatic memories, magnetic drums, and magnetic cores; the external memory used It's a tape. The software uses machine language and assembly language. The application fields are mainly military and scientific computing.

  The disadvantages are large size, high power consumption and poor reliability. The speed is slow (generally thousands to tens of thousands of times per second) and expensive, but it lays the foundation for future computer development.

• 2nd Generation: Transistor Computer (1958-1964)

  Software application fields of operating systems, high-level languages ​​and their compilers Focusing on scientific computing and transaction processing, it has also begun to enter the field of industrial control. It is characterized by reduced size, reduced energy consumption, improved reliability, increased computing speed (generally 100,000 operations per second, and can be as high as 3 million operations), and performance that is greatly improved compared to the first generation computers.

• 3rd Generation: Integrated Circuit Computer (1964-1970)

  In terms of hardware, logic components use medium and small-scale integrated circuits ( MSI, SSI), the main memory still uses magnetic cores. In terms of software, time-sharing operating systems and structured and large-scale programming methods have emerged. It is characterized by faster speed (generally millions to tens of millions of times per second), reliability has been significantly improved, prices have further dropped, and products have become generalized, serialized and standardized. Application fields began to enter the fields of word processing and graphics and image processing.

• 4th Generation: Large Scale Integrated Circuit Computer (1970 to present)

  In terms of hardware, logic components adopt large-scale and ultra-large-scale integration circuits (LSI and VLSI). In terms of software, database management systems, network management systems and object-oriented languages ​​have emerged. In 1971, the world's first microprocessor was born in Silicon Valley, USA, ushering in a new era of microcomputers. The application fields are gradually moving from scientific computing, transaction management, and process control to the home.

Transistor computer

Transistor computer refers to the computer from the late 1950s to the 1960s. The host uses semiconductor devices such as transistors, uses magnetic drums and disks as auxiliary memory, uses algorithmic languages ​​(high-level languages) for programming, and operating systems begin to appear.

Because transistors are used instead of electron tubes, they are very light and the calculation speed is relatively fast, reaching hundreds of thousands of times per second. The basic logic components of transistor computers were changed from electron tubes to transistors. The internal memory used a large number of magnetic cores made of magnetic materials, and the external memory used magnetic disks.

At the same time, computer software technology has also developed greatly, and the concept of operating system has been proposed. In addition to assembly language, high-level programming languages ​​​​such as Ada, FORTRAN, and COBOL have also been developed to make computers more efficient. Work efficiency is greatly improved.

Usually has the following characteristics:

(1) Transistors are used instead of electron tubes. Transistors have a series of advantages: small size, light weight, less heat, low power consumption, fast speed, long life, low price, and strong functionality. Using it as a switching component of a computer has brought a new leap forward in the structure and performance of the computer.

(2) Magnetic core memory is generally used as memory, and magnetic disks and tapes are used as memory. This increases storage capacity and improves reliability, creating conditions for the development of system software.

(3) Many far-reaching features in computer architecture have emerged one after another, such as index registers, floating-point data representation, interrupts, I/O processing, etc.

(4) Assembly language replaced machine language, and high-level languages ​​such as FORTRAN and CDBOL began to appear.

(5) The application scope of computers has further expanded and began to enter fields such as process control.

Compared with tube computers, transistor computers include an operating system, which can provide standardized programs for input and output, memory management, storage and other resource management activities. Developing applications no longer requires writing resource management programs. These operating systems allow programmers to call application software from operating system programs. However, early specialized operating systems developed by IBM and other computer manufacturers could only run on specific computers, and each had its own unique set of commands to call their programs. This means that programmers have to relearn a programming method every time they learn an operating system, which also limits their development to a certain extent.

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