Sizes of computer generations table. Generations of computers - the history of the development of computing technology

Novruzlu Elnura 10 a

1. Electronic computer (computer)

2.1. Icomputer generation

2.2. IIcomputer generation

2.3. IIIcomputer generation

2.4. IV computer generation

2.5. V computer generation

3. Computer generation (table)

List of used literature

1. GENERATION COMPUTER

Generation	Years	Element base	Performance	Volume of OP	I/O devices	Software	Examples of computers
		Electric lamp	10-20 thousand operations in 1 s.	2 KB	Punched tapes Punch cards	Machine codes	UNIVAC,MESM, BESM, ARROW
	c 1955	Transistor		2 – 32 KB			"Tradis" BESM-6
	c 1966	Integrated Circuit (IC)	1-10 million operations in 1 s.	64 KB	Multi-terminal systems	OS	BESM-6
	c 1975		1-100 million operations in 1 s.	1-64 KB	PC networks	Databases and data banks	Cornet UKSC
	since the 90s of the 20th century.					Expert systems

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MBOU Astrakhan secondary school No. 52

ABSTRACT on the topic:

"ELECTRONIC COMPUTING MACHINE"

Prepared

10th grade student

Novruzlu Elnura

Checked by a computer science and ICT teacher

Komissarova I.M.

Astrakhan, 2013

Page

Electronic computer (computer) 3
Electronic stage of development computer technology

I generation computer 3
II generation computers 4-5
III generation of computers 5-7
IV generation of computers 7-8
V generation computers 8-10

Computer generation (table) 11
References 12

ELECTRONIC COMPUTING MACHINE (COMPUTER)

Electronic computer (computer) - high-speed computers that solve mathematical and logic problems with great accuracy when performing several tens of thousands of operations per second. The technical basis of a computer is electronic circuits. A computer has a storage device (memory) designed to receive, store and output information, an arithmetic device for operations on numbers, and a control device. Each machine has a certain system commands

ELECTRONIC STAGE OF COMPUTER ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT

I generation of computers

It is generally accepted that the first generation of computers appeared during the Second World War after 1943, although the first working representative should be considered the V-1 (Z1) machine of Konrad Zuse, demonstrated to friends and relatives in 1938. It was the first electronic (built on homemade analogues of relays) machine, capricious to use and unreliable in calculations. In May 1941, in Berlin, Zuse presented the Z3 car, which caused delight among specialists. Despite a number of shortcomings, it was the first computer that, under different circumstances, could have been a commercial success. However, the first computers are considered to be the English Colossus (1943) and the American ENIAC (1945). ENIAC was the first vacuum tube computer.

Character traits

Element base –electron vacuum tubes.
Connection of elements –wire mounted installation.
Dimensions – The computer is made in the form of huge cabinets.
Performance –10-20 thousand operations per second.
Operation is difficult due to frequent failure of vacuum tubes.
Programming – machine codes.
RAM – up to 2 KB.
Data input and output usingpunched cards, punched tape.

II generation of computers

The second generation of computers is the transition to a transistor element base, the emergence of the first mini-computers. The principle of autonomy is further developed - it is already implemented at the level of individual devices, which is expressed in their modular structure. I/O devices are equipped with their own control units (called controllers), which made it possible to free the central control unit from managing I/O operations. Improvement and reduction in the cost of computers led to a decrease in the specific cost of computer time and computing resources in the total cost of an automated solution to a data processing problem, while at the same time the costs of program development (i.e. programming) almost did not decrease, and in some cases tended to increase . Thus, there was a trend towards effective programming, which began to be realized in the second generation of computers and is being developed to the present day. Library-based development begins standard programs integrated systems that have the property of portability, i.e. functioning on computers of different brands. The most frequently used software tools are allocated in the software for solving problems of a certain class. The technology for executing programs on a computer is being improved: special software tools are being created - system software. The purpose of creating system software is to speed up and simplify the processor's transition from one task to another. The first systems appeared batch processing, which simply automated the launch of one program after another and thereby increased the processor load factor. Batch processing systems were the prototype of modern operating systems; they became the first system programs, designed to control the computing process. During the implementation of batch processing systems, a formalized task control language was developed, with the help of which the programmer informed the system and the operator what work he wanted to perform on the computer. A collection of several tasks, usually in the form of a deck of punched cards, is called a task package. This element is still alive: the so-called MS DOS batch (or command) files are nothing more than packages of tasks (the extension in their name bat is an abbreviation for the English word batch, which means package). Second-generation domestic computers include Promin, Minsk, Hrazdan, and Mir.

Character traits

Element base –semiconductor elements(transistors).
Connection of elements –printed circuit boards and surface mounting.
Dimensions – .
Performance –100-500 thousand operations per second.
Exploitation - computing centerswith a special staff of service personnel, a new specialty appeared - computer operator.
Programming –in algorithmic languages, the emergence of OS.
RAM - 2 – 32 KB.
Introduced time sharing principle.
Introduced microprogram control principle.
Flaw - software incompatibility.

III generation of computers

The development in the 60s of integrated circuits - entire devices and assemblies of tens and hundreds of transistors made on a single semiconductor crystal (what are now called microcircuits) led to the creation of 3rd generation computers. At the same time, semiconductor memory appeared, which is still used in personal computers as operational memory. The use of integrated circuits has greatly increased the capabilities of computers. Now the central processor has the ability to work in parallel and control numerous peripheral devices. Computers could simultaneously process several programs (the principle of multiprogramming). As a result of the implementation of the multiprogramming principle, it became possible to work in time-sharing mode in an interactive mode. Users remote from the computer were given the opportunity, independently of each other, to quickly interact with the machine. During these years, computer production acquired an industrial scale. IBM, which had become a leader, was the first to implement a family of computers - a series of computers that were fully compatible with each other, from the smallest, the size of a small closet (they had never made anything smaller then), to the most powerful and expensive models. The most common in those years was the System/360 family from IBM. Starting with the 3rd generation computers, the development of serial computers has become traditional. Although machines of the same series were very different from each other in capabilities and performance, they were informationally, software and hardware compatible. For example, the CMEA countries produced computers of a single series (“ES EVM”) “ES-1022”, “ES-1030”, “ES-1033”, “ES-1046”, “ES-1061”, “ES-1066” etc. The performance of these machines reached from 500 thousand to 2 million operations per second, the amount of RAM reached from 8 MB to 192 MB. Computers of this generation also include “IVM-370”, “Electronics - 100/25”, “Electronics - 79”, “SM-3”, “SM-4”, etc. For the computer series, the software (operating systems, programming languages high level, application programs, etc.). The low quality of electronic components was the weak point of third-generation Soviet computers. Hence the constant lag behind Western developments in terms of speed, weight and dimensions, but, as the SM developers insist, not in terms of functionality. In order to compensate for this lag, special processors were developed that made it possible to build high-performance systems for specific tasks. Equipped with a special Fourier transform processor, SM-4, for example, was used for radar mapping of Venus. Back in the early 60s, the first minicomputers appeared - small ones powerful computers, affordable for small firms or laboratories. Minicomputers represented the first step towards personal computers, prototypes of which were released only in the mid-70s. The well-known family of PDP minicomputers from Digital Equipment served as the prototype for the Soviet SM series of machines. Meanwhile, the number of elements and connections between them that fit in one microcircuit was constantly growing, and in the 70s, integrated circuits already contained thousands of transistors. This made it possible to combine most of the computer components into a single small part - which is what Intel did in 1971, releasing the first microprocessor, which was intended for desktop calculators that had just appeared. This invention was destined to create a real revolution in the next decade - after all, the microprocessor is the heart and soul of the modern personal computer. But that’s not all - truly, the turn of the 60s and 70s was a fateful time. In 1969, the first global computer network was born - the embryo of what we now call the Internet. And in the same 1969, the Unix operating system and the C programming language appeared simultaneously, which had a huge impact on the software world and still maintains its leading position.

Character traits

Element base –integrated circuits.
Connection of elements – printed circuit boards .
Dimensions – The computer is made in the form of identical racks.
Performance –1-10 mil. operations per second.
Exploitation - computer centers, display classes, a new specialty - systems programmer.
Programming –algorithmic languages, OS.
RAM - 64 KB.
Applicable principle of time sharing, principle of modularity, principle of microprogram control, principle of trunking.
Appearance magnetic disks, displays, plotters.

IV generation of computers

Unfortunately, starting from the mid-1970s, the orderly picture of generational change has been disrupted. There are fewer and fewer fundamental innovations in computer science. Progress is proceeding mainly along the path of developing what has already been invented and invented - primarily by increasing the power and miniaturization of the element base and the computers themselves. The period since 1975 is generally considered to be the fourth generation of computers. Their elemental base was large integrated circuits (LSI. Up to 100 thousand elements are integrated in one crystal). The speed of these machines was tens of millions of operations per second, and RAM reached hundreds of MB. Microprocessors (1971 by Intel), microcomputers and personal computers appeared. It became possible to communally use the power of different machines (connecting machines into a single computing node and working with time sharing). However, there is another opinion - many believe that the achievements of the period 1975-1985. not large enough to be considered an equal generation. Proponents of this point of view call this decade belonging to the “third and a half” generation of computers. And only since 1985, when super-large-scale integrated circuits (VLSI) appeared. The crystal of such a circuit can accommodate up to 10 million elements. The years of life of the fourth generation itself, which is still alive today, should be counted.

1st direction - the creation of supercomputers - complexes of multiprocessor machines. The speed of such machines reaches several billion operations per second. They are capable of processing huge amounts of information. This includes the complexes ILLIAS-4, CRAY, CYBER, Elbrus-1, Elbrus-2, etc. Multiprocessor computing complexes (MCC) Elbrus-2 were actively used in the Soviet Union in areas requiring a large volume of calculations, before everything in the defense industry. Elbrus-2 computer systems were operated at the Space Flight Control Center and at nuclear research centers. Finally, it was the Elbrus-2 complexes that have been used in the missile defense system and at other military facilities since 1991.

2nd direction - further development based on LSI and VLSI microcomputers and personal computers(PC). The first representatives of these machines are Apple, IBM - PC (XT, AT, PS /2), Iskra, Elektronika, Mazovia, Agat, ES-1840, ES-1841, etc. Starting from this generation, computers began to be called computers everywhere. And the word “computerization” has firmly entered our everyday life. Thanks to the emergence and development of personal computers (PCs), computing technology is becoming truly widespread and accessible to the public. A paradoxical situation arises: despite the fact that personal and minicomputers still lag behind large machines in all respects, the lion's share of innovations is the graphical user interface, new peripheral devices, global networks- owe their appearance and development to precisely this “frivolous” technique. Large computers and supercomputers, of course, have not died out and continue to develop. But now they no longer dominate the computer arena as they once did.

Character traits

Element base –large integrated circuits (LSI).
Connection of elements – printed circuit boards .
Dimensions – compact computers, laptops.
Performance –10-100 million operations per second.
Exploitation - multiprocessor and multi-machine systems, any computer users.
Programming –databases and data banks.
RAM - 2-5 MB.
Telecommunication data processing, integration into computer networks.

V generation of computers

The fifth generation computer is the computer of the future. The development program for the so-called fifth generation of computers was adopted in Japan in 1982. It was assumed that by 1991 fundamentally new computers would be created, focused on solving problems artificial intelligence. With the help of the Prolog language and innovations in computer design, it was planned to come close to solving one of the main problems of this branch of computer science - the problem of storing and processing knowledge. In short, for fifth-generation computers there would be no need to write programs, but it would be enough to explain in “almost natural” language what is required of them. It is assumed that their elemental base will not be VLSI, but devices created on their basis with elements of artificial intelligence. To increase memory and speed, advances in optoelectronics and bioprocessors will be used. The fifth generation computers are posed with completely different tasks than during the development of all previous computers. If the developers of computers from generations I to IV were faced with such tasks as increasing productivity in the field of numerical calculations, achieving large capacity memory, then the main task of the developers of V generation computers is to create artificial intelligence of the machine (the ability to draw logical conclusions from the presented facts), to develop the “intellectualization” of computers - to eliminate the barrier between man and computer.

Unfortunately, the Japanese fifth-generation computer project repeated the tragic fate of early research in the field of artificial intelligence. More than 50 billion yen of investment were wasted, the project was discontinued, and the developed devices turned out to be no higher in performance than mass-produced systems of that time. However, the research conducted during the project and the experience gained in knowledge representation and parallel inference methods have greatly helped progress in the field of artificial intelligence systems in general. Already now, computers are able to perceive information from handwritten or printed text, from forms, from the human voice, recognize the user by voice, and translate from one language to another. This allows all users to communicate with computers, even those who do not have special knowledge in this area. Many of the advances that artificial intelligence has made are being used in industry and the business world. Expert systems and neural networks are effectively used for classification tasks (SPAM filtering, text categorization, etc.). Genetic algorithms conscientiously serve humans (used, for example, to optimize portfolios in investment activities), robotics (industry, production, everyday life - everywhere it has put its cybernetic hand), as well as multi-agent systems. Other areas of artificial intelligence are also not asleep, for example, distributed knowledge representation and problem solving on the Internet: thanks to them, in the next few years we can expect a revolution in a number of areas of human activity.

Software

Examples of computers

since 1946

Electric lamp

10-20 thousand operations in 1 s.

2 KB

Punched tapes

Punch cards

Machine codes

UNIVAC, MESM, BESM, STRELA

since 1955

Transistor

100-1000 thousand operations in 1 s.

2 – 32 KB

Magnetic tape, magnetic drums

Algorithmic languages, operating systems

"Tradis"

M-20

IBM-701

BESM-6

since 1966

Integrated Circuit (IC)

1-10 million operations in 1 s.

64 KB

Multi-terminal systems

EC-1030

IBM-360

BESM-6

since 1975

Large scale integrated circuit (LSI)

1-100 million operations in 1 s.

1-64 KB

PC networks

Databases and data banks

IBM-386

IBM-486

Cornet

UKSC

since the 90s of the 20th century.

Very Large Scale Integrated Circuit (VLSI)

More than 100 million operations in 1 second.

Optical and laser devices

Expert systems

4. LIST OF REFERENCES USED

http://evm-story.narod.ru/#P0

http://www.wikiznanie.ru/ru-wz/index.php/EVM

Introduction

As human society developed, it mastered not only matter and energy, but also information. With the advent and widespread distribution of computers, people received a powerful tool for effective use. information resources, to enhance your intellectual activity. From this moment (mid-20th century) the transition from an industrial society to an information society began, in which information becomes the main resource.

The ability for members of society to use full, timely and reliable information largely depends on the degree of development and mastery of new information technologies, the basis of which are computers. Let's consider the main milestones in the history of their development.

Beginning of an era

The first ENIAC computer was created at the end of 1945 in the USA.

The basic ideas on which computer technology developed over many years were formulated in 1946 by the American mathematician John von Neumann. They were called von Neumann architecture.

In 1949, the first computer with von Neumann architecture was built - the English EDSAC machine. A year later, the American EDVAC computer appeared.

In our country, the first computer was created in 1951. It was called MESM - small electronic calculating machine. The designer of the MESM was Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev. Founder of computer technology in the USSR, director of IT&VT, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1953) and the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences (02/12/1945). Hero of Socialist Labor. Laureate of the Stalin Prize of the third degree, the Lenin Prize and the State Prize of the USSR. In 1996, he was posthumously awarded the “Pioneer of Computer Technology” medal for the development of the MESM (Small Electronic Computing Machine), the first computer in the USSR and continental Europe, as well as for the founding of the Soviet computer industry.

Serial production of computers began in the 50s of the 20th century.

Electronic computer technology is usually divided into generations associated with a change in the element base. In addition, cars different generations differ in logical architecture and software, speed, RAM, method of input and output of information, etc.

First generation

The first generation of computers were tube machines from the 50s. The counting speed of the fastest machines of the first generation reached 20 thousand operations per second. Punched tapes and punched cards were used to enter programs and data. Since the internal memory of these machines was small (it could hold several thousand numbers and program commands), they were mainly used for engineering and scientific calculations not related to the processing of large volumes of data. These were rather bulky structures, containing thousands of lamps, sometimes occupying hundreds of square meters, consuming hundreds of kilowatts of electricity. Programs for such machines were compiled in machine command languages, so programming in those days was accessible to few.

Second generation

In 1949, the first semiconductor device was created in the USA, replacing the vacuum tube. It was called a transistor. In the 60s transistors became the elemental base for second-generation computers. The transition to semiconductor elements has improved the quality of computers in all respects: they have become more compact, more reliable, and less energy-intensive. The speed of most machines has reached tens and hundreds of thousands of operations per second. The volume of internal memory has increased hundreds of times compared to the first generation computer. External (magnetic) memory devices have received great development: magnetic drums, magnetic tape drives. Thanks to this, it became possible to create information and reference documents on a computer, search engines(this is due to the need to store large amounts of information on magnetic media for a long time). During the second generation, high-level programming languages began to actively develop. The first of them were FORTRAN, ALGOL, COBOL. Programming as an element of literacy has become widespread, mainly among people with higher education.

Third generation

The third generation of computers was created on a new element base - integrated circuits: complex electronic circuits were mounted on a small plate of semiconductor material with an area of less than 1 cm 2. They were called integrated circuits (ICs). The first ICs contained dozens, then hundreds of elements (transistors, resistances, etc.). When the degree of integration (number of elements) approached a thousand, they began to be called large integrated circuits - LSI; then ultra-large-scale integrated circuits (VLSI) appeared. Third-generation computers began to be produced in the second half of the 60s, when the American company IBM began producing the IBM-360 machine system. In the Soviet Union, in the 70s, the production of machines of the ES EVM series (Unified Computer System) began. The transition to the third generation is associated with significant changes in computer architecture. It became possible to run several programs simultaneously on one machine. This mode of operation is called multiprogram (multi-program) mode. The operating speed is the most powerful models The computer reached several million operations per second. Appeared on third generation machines new type external storage devices - magnetic disks. New types of input/output devices are widely used: displays, plotters. During this period, the areas of application of computers expanded significantly. Databases began to be created, the first artificial intelligence systems, computer-aided design(CAD) and control (ACS). In the 70s, the line of small (mini) computers received powerful development.

Fourth generation

Another revolutionary event in electronics occurred in 1971, when the American company Intel announced the creation of a microprocessor. A microprocessor is an ultra-large integrated circuit capable of performing the functions of the main unit of a computer - the processor. Initially, microprocessors began to be built into various technical devices: machine tools, cars, airplanes. By connecting a microprocessor with input-output devices and external memory, we got a new type of computer: a microcomputer. Microcomputers are fourth generation machines. A significant difference between microcomputers and their predecessors is their small size (the size of a household TV) and comparative low cost. This is the first type of computer that appeared in retail sales.

The most popular type of computer today is personal computers(PC). The first PC was born in 1976 in the USA. Since 1980, the American company IBM has become a trendsetter in the PC market. Its designers managed to create an architecture that actually became international standard for professional PCs. The machines in this series were called IBM PC (Personal Computer). The emergence and spread of the personal computer in its significance for social development is comparable to the advent of book printing. It was the PC that was made computer literacy a mass phenomenon. With the development of this type of machine, the concept of “ information Technology", without which it is already becoming impossible to do without in most areas of human activity.

Another line in the development of fourth-generation computers is a supercomputer. Machines of this class have speeds of hundreds of millions and billions of operations per second. A supercomputer is a multiprocessor computing complex.

Conclusion

Developments in the field of computer technology continue. Fifth generation computers are machines of the near future. Their main quality should be a high intellectual level. They will allow voice input, voice communication, machine “vision,” and machine “touch.”

Fifth generation machines are realized artificial intelligence.

Comparative characteristics of computer generations

Characteristics	I	I I	I I I	IV
Years of use	1946 – 1958	1958 – 1964	1964 – 1972	1972 – Present
Elementary base	Electronic tubes	Transistors	Integrated Circuits (ICs)	VLSI, microprocessor
Dimensions	Large	Significantly less	Minicomputer	microcomputer
Number of computers in the world	Dozens	Thousands	Tens of thousands	Millions
Performance	10-20 thousand (operations/sec.)	100 thousand (operations/sec.)	10 million (op/sec)	10 9 (operations/sec.)
RAM capacity	100 KB	1 MB	10 MB	1 GB
Typical models	ENIAC, MESM	Setun, BESM-6, Minsk 23	IBM 360	IBM PC, Macintosh
Storage medium	Punched card, Punched tape	Magnetic tape	Disk	Floppy and laser disk

List of references and Internet resources

1. http://gym075.edusite.ru/istoriyavt.html

2. http://chernykh.net/

3. http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/

_______________________________________________________________ Introduction
_______________________________________________________ The beginning of the computer era
___________________________________________________First generation of computers
___________________________________________________Second generation of computers
___________________________________________________ Third generation of computers
________________________________________________Fourth generation of computers
_____________________________________________________________Conclusion
______________________________Comparative characteristics of computer generations
___________________________________ List of references and Internet resources

“Computer” and “computer” are the same thing (synonyms).

Introduction

1. First generation of computers 1950-1960s

2. Second generation of computers: 1960-1970s

3. Third generation of computers: 1970-1980s

4. Fourth generation of computers: 1980-1990s

5. Fifth generation of computers: 1990-present

Conclusion

Introduction

Since 1950, every 7-10 years the design-technological and software-algorithmic principles of constructing and using computers have been radically updated. In this regard, it is legitimate to talk about generations of computers. Conventionally, each generation can be allocated 10 years.

Computers have come a long evolutionary way in terms of the element base (from lamps to microprocessors) as well as in the sense of the emergence of new capabilities, expanding the scope and nature of their use.

The division of computers into generations is a very conditional, loose classification of computing systems according to the degree of development of hardware and software, as well as ways of communicating with a computer.

The first generation of computers includes machines created at the turn of the 50s: vacuum tubes were used in the circuits. There were few commands, the controls were simple, and the RAM capacity and performance indicators were low. Performance is about 10-20 thousand operations per second. Printing devices, magnetic tapes, punched cards and punched paper tapes were used for input and output.

The second generation of computers includes those machines that were designed in 1955-65. They used both vacuum tubes and transistors. RAM was built on magnetic cores. At this time, magnetic drums and the first magnetic disks appeared. So-called high-level languages have appeared, the means of which allow the description of the entire sequence of calculations in a visual, easily understandable form. Appeared big set library programs for solving various mathematical problems. The second generation machines were characterized by software incompatibility, which made it difficult to organize large information systems Therefore, in the mid-60s there was a transition to the creation of computers that were software compatible and built on a microelectronic technological base.

Third generation of computers. These are machines created after the 60s that have a single architecture, i.e. software compatible. Multiprogramming capabilities have appeared, i.e. simultaneous execution of several programs. Third generation computers used integrated circuits.

Fourth generation of computers. This is the current generation of computers developed after 1970. The 4th generation machines were designed based on efficient use modern high-level languages and simplifying the programming process for end user.

In terms of hardware, they are characterized by the use of large integrated circuits as an elemental base and the presence of high-speed random access storage devices with a capacity of several MB.

4th generation machines are multi-processor, multi-machine complexes running on external power. memory and general field ext. devices. Performance reaches tens of millions of operations per second, memory - several million words.

The transition to the fifth generation of computers has already begun. It consists in a qualitative transition from data processing to knowledge processing and in increasing the basic parameters of a computer. The main emphasis will be on “intelligence”.

To date, the actual "intelligence" demonstrated by the most complex neural networks is below the level of an earthworm, however, no matter how limited the capabilities of neural networks are today, many revolutionary discoveries may be just around the corner.

1. First generation of computers 1950-1960s

Logic were created using discrete radio components and electronic vacuum tubes with a filament. Random access memory devices used magnetic drums, acoustic ultrasonic mercury and electromagnetic delay lines, and cathode ray tubes (CRTs). Drives on magnetic tapes, punched cards, punched tapes and plug-in switches were used as external storage devices.

Programming the operation of computers of this generation was carried out in binary system Numbers in machine language, that is, the programs were strictly focused on a specific machine model and “died” along with these models.

In the mid-1950s, machine-oriented languages such as symbolic coding languages (SCLs) appeared, which made it possible to use their abbreviated verbal (letter) notation and decimal numbers instead of binary notation of commands and addresses. In 1956, the first high-level programming language for mathematical problems was created - the Fortran language, and in 1958 - the universal programming language Algol.

Computers, starting from UNIVAC and ending with BESM-2 and the first models of the Minsk and Ural computers, belong to the first generation of computers.

2. Second generation of computers: 1960-1970s

Logic circuits were built on discrete semiconductor and magnetic elements (diodes, bipolar transistors, toroidal ferrite microtransformers). Printed circuit circuits (boards made of foil getinax) were used as a design and technological basis. The block principle of machine design has become widely used, which allows connecting a large number of different devices to the main devices. external devices, which provides greater flexibility in the use of computers. Clock speeds the performance of electronic circuits increased to hundreds of kilohertz.

External drives on hard magnetic disks1 and floppy disks began to be used - an intermediate level of memory between magnetic tape drives and RAM.

In 1964, the first computer monitor appeared - the IBM 2250. It was a monochrome display with a 12 x 12 inch screen and a resolution of 1024 x 1024 pixels. It had a frame rate of 40 Hz.

Control systems created on the basis of computers demanded higher performance from computers, and most importantly, reliability. Error detection and correction codes and built-in control circuits have become widely used in computers.

In second-generation machines, batch processing and teleprocessing modes of information were implemented for the first time.

The first computer that partially used semiconductor devices instead of vacuum tubes, there was a SEAC (Standards Eastern Automatic Computer) machine, created in 1951.

In the early 60s, semiconductor machines began to be produced in the USSR.

3. Third generation of computers: 1970-1980s

In 1958, Robert Noyce invented the small silicon integrated circuit, which could house dozens of transistors in a small area. These circuits later became known as Small Scale Integrated circuits (SSI). And already in the late 60s, integrated circuits began to be used in computers.

The logic circuits of 3rd generation computers were already entirely built on small integrated circuits. Clock frequencies of electronic circuits have increased to several megahertz. The supply voltage (units of volts) and the power consumed by the machine have decreased. The reliability and speed of computers have increased significantly.

Random access memories used smaller ferrite cores, ferrite plates, and magnetic films with a rectangular hysteresis loop. Disk drives have become widely used as external storage devices.

Two more levels of storage devices have appeared: ultra-random access memory devices on trigger registers, which have enormous speed but small capacity (tens of numbers), and high-speed cache memory.

Since the widespread use of integrated circuits in computers, technological progress in computers can be observed using the well-known Moore's law. One of the founders of Intel, Gordon Moore, discovered a law in 1965 according to which the number of transistors in one chip doubles every 1.5 years.

Due to the significant complexity of both the hardware and logical structure of 3rd generation computers, they often began to be called systems.

Thus, the first computers of this generation were models of IBM systems (a number of IBM 360 models) and PDP (PDP 1). In the Soviet Union, in collaboration with the countries of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, East Germany, etc.1), models began to be produced unified system(EC) and small computer (SM) systems.

In third-generation computers, significant attention is paid to reducing the complexity of programming, the efficiency of program execution in machines, and improving communication between the operator and the machine. This is ensured by powerful operating systems, advanced programming automation, efficient program interruption systems, time-sharing operating modes, real-time operating modes, multi-program operating modes and new interactive communication modes. An effective video terminal device for communication between the operator and the machine has also appeared - a video monitor, or display.

Much attention focused on improving the reliability and reliability of computer operation and facilitating their maintenance. Reliability and reliability are ensured by the widespread use of codes with automatic error detection and correction (Hamming and cyclic codes).

The modular organization of computers and the modular construction of their operating systems have created ample opportunities for changing the configuration of computer systems. In this regard, a new concept of “architecture” of a computing system has emerged, which defines the logical organization of this system from the point of view of the user and programmer.

4. Fourth generation of computers: 1980-1990s

A revolutionary event in the development of computer technology of the third generation of machines was the creation of large and very large integrated circuits (Large Scale Integration - LSI and Very Large Scale Integration - VLSI), a microprocessor (1969) and a personal computer. Since 1980, almost all computers began to be created on the basis of microprocessors. The most popular computer has become a personal computer.

Logic integrated circuits in computers began to be created on the basis of unipolar field-effect CMOS transistors with direct connections, operating with smaller amplitudes of electrical voltages (units of volts), consuming less power than bipolar ones, and thereby allowing the implementation of more advanced nanotechnologies (in those years - on a scale units of microns).

The first personal computer was created in April 1976 by two friends, Steve Jobe (b. 1955), an Atari employee, and Stefan Wozniak (b. 1950), who worked at Hewlett-Packard. Based on the integrated 8-bit hard-soldered circuit controller of the popular electronic game, working in the evenings in a car garage, they made a simple Apple gaming computer programmed in BASIC, which was a wild success. In early 1977, Apple Co. was registered, and production of the world's first personal computer, Apple, began.

5. Fifth generation of computers: 1990-present

Features of the architecture of the modern generation of computers are discussed in detail in this course.

Briefly, the basic concept of a fifth-generation computer can be formulated as follows:

1. Computers on ultra-complex microprocessors with a parallel-vector structure that simultaneously perform dozens of sequential instructions programs.

2. Computers with many hundreds of parallel working processors, allowing the construction of data and knowledge processing systems, efficient network computer systems.

Sixth and subsequent generations of computers

Electronic and optoelectronic computers with massive parallelism, neural structure, with a distributed network of a large number (tens of thousands) of microprocessors modeling the architecture of neural biological systems.

Conclusion

All stages of computer development are conventionally divided into generations.

The first generation was created on the basis of vacuum electric lamps, the machine was controlled from a remote control and punch cards using machine codes. These computers were housed in several large metal cabinets that occupied entire rooms.

The third generation appeared in the 60s of the 20th century. Computer elements were made on the basis of semiconductor transistors. These machines processed information under the control of programs in Assembly language. Data and programs were entered from punched cards and punched tapes.

The third generation was performed on microcircuits containing hundreds or thousands of transistors on one plate. An example of a third generation machine is the ES computer. The operation of these machines was controlled from alphanumeric terminals. High-level languages and Assembly were used for control. Data and programs were entered both from the terminal and from punched cards and punched tapes.

The fourth generation was created on the basis of large-scale integrated circuits (LSI). Most prominent representatives fourth generation computers - personal computers (PCs). A universal single-user microcomputer is called personal. Communication with the user was carried out through a color graphic display using high-level languages.

The fifth generation is based on ultra-large-scale integrated circuits (VLSI), which are characterized by colossal placement density logic elements on a crystal.

It is assumed that in the future, input of information into a computer from voice, communication with a machine in natural language, computer vision, machine touch, the creation of intelligent robots and robotic devices will become widespread.

Electronic computer types in our country are divided into several generations. The defining features when assigning devices to a certain generation are their elements and varieties of such important characteristics, such as performance, memory capacity, methods of managing and processing information. The division of computers is conditional - there are a considerable number of models that, according to some characteristics, belong to one type, and according to others - to another type of generation. As a result, these types of computers may belong to different stages of the development of electronic computing technology.

First generation of computers

The development of computers is divided into several periods. The generation of devices of each period differs from each other in their element bases and mathematical type support.

1st generation of computers (1945-1954) - electronic computers on lamps electronic type(similar ones were in the first TV models). This time can be called the era of the formation of such technology.

Most of the machines of the first type of generation were called experimental types of devices, which were created with the aim of testing one or another of the theories. The size and weight of computer units, which often required separate buildings, have long become the stuff of legend. Numbers were entered into the first machines using punched cards, and software control of function sequences was carried out, for example, in ENIAC, as in calculating-analytical machines, using plugs and typesetting fields. Despite the fact that such a programming method required a lot of time in order to prepare the machine, for connections on the typesetting fields (patchboard) of blocks, it provided all the opportunities for implementing the counting “abilities” of ENIAC, and with great benefit had differences from the software method punched tape, which is typical for relay-type devices.

How did these units work?

The employees who were assigned to this machine were constantly near it and monitored the performance of the vacuum tubes. But as soon as at least one lamp burned out, ENIAC immediately rose, and troubles ensued: everyone was in a hurry to search for the burnt out lamp. The main reason(may not be exact) of very frequent replacement of lamps was the following: the heat and glow of the lamps attracted moths, they flew inside the car and contributed to a short circuit. Thus, the 1st generation of computers was extremely vulnerable to external conditions.

If the above is true, then the term “bugs”, which refers to errors in the software and hardware of computer equipment, is gaining a new meaning. Once all the tubes were in working order, the engineering staff could customize the ENIAC for any task by manually changing the connections of the 6,000 wires. All wires had to be switched again if a different type of task was required.

The very first production cars

The first commercially produced computer of the first generation was the UNIVAC computer (Universal Automatic Computer). The developers of this computer were: John Mauchly and J. Prosper Eckert. It was the first type of electronic digital computer general purpose. UNIVAC, whose development work began in 1946 and ended in 1951, had an addition time of 120 μs, a multiplication time of 1800 μs, and a division time of 3600 μs.

These machines occupied a lot of space, used a lot of electricity and consisted of a huge number of electronic lamps. For example, the Strela machine had 6,400 such lamps and 60 thousand pieces of semiconductor type diodes. The performance of this generation of computers did not exceed 2-3 thousand operations per second, the volume of RAM was no more than 2 KB. Only the M-2 machine (1958) had 4 KB of RAM, and its speed was 20 thousand operations per second.

Second generation computers - significant differences

In 1948, theoretical physicists John Bardeen and William Shockley, together with leading experimentalist at Bell Telephone Laboratories Walter Brattain, created the first working transistor. It was a point-contact type device, in which three metal “antennae” were in contact with a block of polycrystalline material. Thus, generations of computers began to improve already at that distant time.

The first types of computers that operated on the basis of transistors mark their appearance in the late 1950s, and by the mid-1960s external types of devices with more compact functions were created.

Architecture Features

One of the amazing abilities of the transistor is that it alone can carry out the work of 40 electronic type lamps, and even in this case have a high operating speed, generate a minimal amount of heat, and practically do not consume electrical resources and energy. Together with lamp replacement processes electric type Transistors have improved ways to store information. There was an increase in memory capacity, and magnetic tape, which was first used in the first generation UNIVAC computer, began to be used for both input and output of information.

In the mid-1960s, disk storage was used. Enormous types of advances in computer architecture have made it possible to achieve rapid actions of a million operations per second! For example, transistor computers of the 2nd generation of computers include “Stretch” (England), “Atlas” (USA). During that period Soviet Union also produced devices that were not inferior to the above-mentioned devices (for example, “BESM-6”).

The creation of computers, which are built with the help of transistors, has led to a reduction in their dimensions, weights, energy costs and prices, and also increased reliability and productivity. This contributed to expanding the range of users and the range of tasks to be solved. Taking into account the improved characteristics that the 2nd generation of computers had, developers began to create algorithmic types of languages for engineering (for example, ALGOL, FORTRAN) and economic (for example, COBOL) types of calculations.

OS value

But even at these stages, the main task of programming technologies was to ensure resource savings - computer time and memory. To solve this problem, they began to create prototypes of modern operating systems (complexes of utility-type programs that provide good distribution of computer resources when executing user tasks).

Types of the first operating systems (OS) contributed to the automation of the work of computer operators, which is associated with the execution of user tasks: entering program texts into the device, calling the necessary translators, calling the library subroutines required for the program, calling the linker to place these subroutines and programs of the main type in the computer memory , entering data of the original type, etc.

Now, in addition to the program and data, it was also necessary to enter instructions into the second generation computer, which contained a list of processing stages and a list of information about the program and its authors. After this, a certain number of tasks for users began to be entered into the devices simultaneously (packages with tasks); in these types of operating systems, it was necessary to distribute the types of computer resources between these types of tasks - a multiprogram mode for data processing arose (for example, while the results of the task of one type, calculations are made for another, and data for a third type of problem can be entered into memory). Thus, the 2nd generation of computers went down in history with the appearance of streamlined operating systems.

Third generation of cars

Due to the creation of production technology integrated circuits(IC) has been able to achieve increases in the speed and reliability levels of semiconductor circuits, as well as reductions in their size, power levels and cost. Integrated types of microcircuits consist of dozens of electronic elements, which are assembled in rectangular silicon wafers, and have a side length of no more than 1 cm. This type of wafer (crystals) is placed in a plastic case of small dimensions, the dimensions of which can only be determined using the number of “legs” "(terminals from the input and output of electronic circuits created on chips).

Thanks to these circumstances, the history of the development of computers (computer generations) made a big breakthrough. This made it possible not only to improve the quality of work and reduce the cost of universal devices, but also to create machines of a small-sized, simple, cheap and reliable type - mini-computers. Such units were initially intended to replace hardware-implemented controllers in control loops of any objects, in automated process control systems of a technological type, experimental data collection and processing systems, various control complexes at mobile objects, etc.

The main point at that time was considered to be the unification of machines with design and technological parameters. The third generation of computers begins releasing its own series or families of compatible model types. Further leaps in the development of mathematical and software contribute to the creation of package-type programs for solvability of standard problems, problem-oriented program language (for solvability of problems individual categories). This is how software systems were created for the first time - types of operating systems (developed by IBM), on which the third generation of computers runs.

Fourth generation cars

Successful development electronic devices led to the creation of large integrated circuits (LSI), where one crystal had a couple of tens of thousands of electrical elements. This contributed to the emergence of new generations of computers, the elemental base of which had a large amount of memory and short cycles for executing commands: the use of memory bytes in one machine operation began to decrease sharply. But, since there were practically no reductions in programming costs, the tasks of saving human resources, rather than machine ones, were put to the fore.

New types of operating systems were created that allowed programmers to debug their programs directly behind the computer displays (in dialog mode), and this helped to facilitate the work of users and speed up the development of new software. This point was completely contrary to the concepts of the initial stages of information technology, which used first-generation computers: “the processor performs only that amount of data processing work that people fundamentally cannot perform - mass counting.” A different type of trend began to emerge: “Everything that can be done by machines, they must do; “People do only that part of the work that cannot be automated.”

In 1971, a large integrated circuit was manufactured, which completely housed the processor of an electronic computer of simple architectures. The possibilities have become real for placing in one large integrated circuit (on one chip) almost all electronic devices that are not complex in the computer architecture, that is, the possibility of serial production of simple devices at affordable prices (not taking into account the cost of the devices external type). This is how the 4th generation of computers was created.

Many cheap (pocket keyboard computers) and control devices have appeared, which are equipped on one or several large integrated circuits containing processors, memory capacity and a system of connections with executive-type sensors in control objects.

Programs that controlled the flow of fuel into car engines, the movements of electronic toys, or given modes washing clothes, installed in computer memory or during the manufacture of similar types of controllers, or directly at enterprises that produce cars, toys, washing machines, etc.

Throughout the 1970s, the production of universal computing systems began, which consisted of a processor, memory capacity, and interface circuits with an input-output device, located in a single large integrated circuit (single-chip computers) or in some large integrated circuits installed on a single printed circuit board. (single board units). As a result, when the 4th generation of computers became widespread, the situation that arose in the 1960s was repeated, when the first mini-computers took over part of the work in large universal electronic computers.

Characteristic properties of fourth generation computers

Multiprocessor mode.
Processing of parallel-sequential type.
High-level types of languages.
The emergence of the first computer networks.

Technical characteristics of these devices

Average signal delays 0.7 ns/v.
The main type of memory is semiconductor. The time it takes to generate data from this type of memory is 100-150 ns. Capacities - 1012-1013 characters.
Application of hardware implementation of operating systems.
Modular constructions have also begun to be used for software-type tools.

The personal computer was first created in April 1976 by Steve Jobs, an employee of Atari, and Stephen Wozniak, an employee of Hewlett-Packard. Based on integrated 8-bit electronic game controllers, they created the simplest computer programmed in BASIC language game type Apple, which was a huge success. At the beginning of 1977, Apple Comp. was registered, and from that time the production of the world's first personal Apple computers. The history of the computer generation marks this event as the most important.

Apple is currently producing personal Macintosh computers, which in most respects are superior to IBM PC computers.

PC in Russia

In our country, IBM PC types of computers are mainly used. This point is explained by the following reasons:

Until the early 90s, the United States did not allow the supply of advanced information technologies, which included powerful Macintosh computers, to the Soviet Union.
Macintosh devices were much more expensive than IBM PCs (they are now about the same price).
A large number of application-type programs have been developed for the IBM PC, which makes them easier to use in a variety of areas.

Fifth type of computer generation

In the late 1980s, the history of the development of computers (computer generations) marked a new stage - machines of the fifth type of generation appeared. The emergence of these devices is associated with the transition to microprocessors. From the point of view of structural constructions, maximum decentralization of management is characteristic, speaking about software and mathematical support - transitions to work in the software sphere and the shell.

Performance of the fifth generation of computers - 10 8 -10 9 operations per second. This type of units is characterized by a multiprocessor structure, which is created on simplified types of microprocessors, of which a plurality is used (decisive field or environment). Electronic computer types are being developed that are focused on high-level types of languages.

During this period, two opposing functions exist and are used: personification and collectivization of resources (collective access to the network).

Due to the type of operating system that ensures ease of communication with fifth-generation electronic computers, a huge database of applied programs from various fields of human activity, as well as low prices, computers become an indispensable accessory for engineers, researchers, economists, doctors, agronomists, teachers, editors, secretaries and even children.

Development today

One can only dream about the sixth and newer generations of computer development. This includes neurocomputers (types of computers that are created on the basis of networks neural type). They cannot yet exist independently, but are actively simulated on modern computers.

Comparison options	Computer generations
			fourth
Period of time
Element base (for control unit, ALU)	Electronic (or electric) lamps	Semiconductors (transistors)	Integrated Circuits	Large scale integrated circuits (LSI)
Main type of computer		Small (mini)
Basic input devices	Remote control, punched card, punched tape input		Alphanumeric display, keyboard	Color graphic display, scanner, keyboard
Main output devices	Alphanumeric printing device (ADP), punched tape output	Plotter, printer
External memory	Magnetic tapes, drums, punched tapes, punched cards		Punched paper tapes, magnetic disk	Magnetic and optical disks
Key software solutions	Universal programming languages, translators	Batch operating systems that optimize translators	Interactive operating systems, structured programming languages	Friendly software, network operating systems
Computer operating mode	Single program	Batch	Time sharing	Personal work and network data processing
Purpose of using a computer	Scientific and technical calculations	Technical and economic calculations	Management and economic calculations	Telecommunications, information services

Table - Main characteristics of computers of various generations

Generation
Period, years				1980-present vr.
Element base	Vacuum tubes	Semiconductor diodes and transistors	Integrated Circuits	Very Large Scale Integrated Circuits
Architecture	Von Neumann architecture	Multiprogram mode	Local computer networks, computing systems collective use	Multiprocessor systems, personal computers, global networks
Performance	10 – 20 thousand op/s	100-500 thousand op/s	About 1 million op/s	Tens and hundreds of millions op/s
Software	Machine languages	Operating systems, algorithmic languages	Operating systems, dialog systems, computer graphics systems	Packages application programs, databases and knowledge, browsers
External devices	Input devices from punched tapes and punched cards,	ATsPU, teleprinters, NML, NMB	Video terminals, HDDs	NGMD, modems, scanners, laser printers
Application	Calculation problems	Engineering, scientific, economic objectives	ACS, CAD, scientific and technical tasks	Management tasks, communications, creation of workstations, text processing, multimedia
Examples	ENIAC, UNIVAC (USA); BESM - 1,2, M-1, M-20 (USSR)	IBM 701/709 (USA) BESM-4, M-220, Minsk, BESM-6 (USSR)	IBM 360/370, PDP -11/20, Cray -1 (USA); EU 1050, 1066, Elbrus 1.2 (USSR)	Cray T3 E, SGI (USA), PCs, servers, workstations from various manufacturers

Over the course of 50 years, several generations of computers have appeared, replacing each other. The rapid development of VT throughout the world is determined only by advanced element base and architectural solutions.
Since a computer is a system consisting of hardware and software, it is natural to understand a generation as computer models characterized by the same technological and software solutions(element base, logical architecture, software). Meanwhile, in a number of cases it turns out to be very difficult to classify VT by generation, because the line between them becomes more and more blurred from generation to generation.
First generation.
The element base is electronic tubes and relays; RAM was performed on flip-flops, later on ferrite cores. Reliability is low, a cooling system was required; Computers had significant dimensions. Performance - 5 - 30 thousand arithmetic op/s; Programming - in computer codes (machine code), later autocodes and assemblers appeared. Programming was carried out by a narrow circle of mathematicians, physicists, and electronics engineers. First generation computers were used mainly for scientific and technical calculations.

Second generation.
Semiconductor element base. Reliability and performance are significantly increased, dimensions and power consumption are reduced. Development of input/output facilities and external memory. A number of progressive architectural solutions and further development of programming technology - time sharing mode and multiprogramming mode (combining the work of the central processor for data processing and input/output channels, as well as parallelization of operations for fetching commands and data from memory)
Within the second generation, the differentiation of computers into small, medium and large began to clearly appear. The scope of application of computers to solve problems - planning, economic, production process management, etc. - has expanded significantly.
Automated control systems (ACS) for enterprises, entire industries and technological processes (ACS) are being created. The end of the 50s is characterized by the emergence of a number of problem-oriented high-level programming languages (HLPs): FORTRAN, ALGOL-60, etc. Software development began in the creation of libraries of standard programs in various programming languages and for various purposes, monitors and dispatchers for controlling computer operating modes, planning its resources, which laid the foundation for the concepts of next-generation operating systems.

Third generation.
Element base on integrated circuits (IC). A series of computer models appear that are software compatible from the bottom up and have increasing capabilities from model to model. The logical architecture of computers and their periphery equipment, which significantly expanded the functionality and computing capabilities. Operating systems (OS) become part of a computer. Many tasks of managing memory, input/output devices and other resources began to be taken over by the OS or directly by the computer hardware. Software is becoming powerful: database management systems (DBMS), design automation systems (CAD) for various purposes are appearing, automated control systems and process control systems are being improved. Much attention is paid to the creation of application program packages (APP) for various purposes.
Programming languages and systems are developing. Examples: - series of IBM/360 models, USA, serial production-since 1964; -EU Computers, USSR and CMEA countries since 1972.
Fourth generation.
The element base is becoming large-scale (LSI) and ultra-large-scale (VLSI) integrated circuits. Computers were already designed for the efficient use of software (for example, UNIX-like computers, best immersed in the UNIX software environment; Prolog machines focused on artificial intelligence tasks); modern nuclear power plants. Telecommunications information processing is rapidly developing by improving the quality of communication channels using satellite communications. National and transnational information and computer networks are being created, which allow us to talk about the beginning of computerization human society generally.
Further intellectualization of computer technology is determined by the creation of more developed human-computer interfaces, knowledge bases, expert systems, parallel programming systems, etc.
The element base has made it possible to achieve great success in miniaturization, increasing the reliability and performance of computers. Micro- and mini-computers have appeared, surpassing the capabilities of medium-sized and large computers of the previous generation at a significantly lower cost. The production technology of VLSI-based processors accelerated the pace of computer production and made it possible to introduce computers to the broad masses of society. With the advent of a universal processor on a single chip (microprocessor Intel-4004, 1971), the era of the PC began.
The first PC can be considered the Altair-8800, created on the basis of the Intel-8080, in 1974. E.Roberts. P. Allen and W. Gates created a translator from the popular Basic language, significantly increasing the intelligence of the first PC (later the famous company Microsoft Inc was founded). The face of the 4th generation is largely determined by the creation of supercomputers characterized by high performance (average speed 50 - 130 megaflops. 1 megaflops = 1 million operations per second with floating point) and non-traditional architecture (the principle of parallelization based on pipelined processing of commands) . Supercomputers are used in solving problems of mathematical physics, cosmology and astronomy, modeling complex systems, etc. Since powerful computers play and will continue to play an important switching role in networks, network issues are often discussed together with questions on supercomputers. Among domestic developments, supercomputers -Computers can be called the Elbrus series machines, the PS-2000 and PS-3000 computer systems, containing up to 64 processors controlled by a common command stream; performance on a number of tasks was achieved on the order of 200 megaflops. At the same time, given the complexity of the development and implementation of modern super-computer projects, which require intensive fundamental research in the field of computer science, electronic technologies, high production standards, and serious financial costs, it seems very unlikely that domestic super-computers will be created in the foreseeable future, according to the main characteristics not inferior to the best foreign models.
It should be noted that with the transition to IP technology for computer production, the defining emphasis of generations is increasingly shifting from the element base to other indicators: logical architecture, software, user interface, application areas, etc.
Fifth generation.
Originates in the depths of the fourth generation and is largely determined by the results of the work of the Japanese Committee scientific research in the field of computers, published in 1981. According to this project, computers and computing systems of the fifth generation, in addition to high performance and reliability at a lower cost, are fully provided by VLSI, etc. the latest technologies, must satisfy the following qualitatively new functional requirements:

· ensure ease of use of computers by implementing voice input/output systems; interactive information processing using natural languages; learning capabilities, associative constructions and logical conclusions;

· simplify the process of creating software by automating the synthesis of programs according to the specifications of the initial requirements for natural languages

· improve the basic characteristics and performance qualities of computers to meet various social objectives, improve the cost-benefit ratio, speed, lightness, and compactness of computers; ensure their diversity, high adaptability to applications and reliability in operation.

Considering the complexity of the implementation of the tasks assigned to the fifth generation, it is quite possible to divide it into more visible and better felt stages, the first of which has been largely implemented within the framework of the current fourth generation.