Difference between first generation and third generation of operating system?
Answers
First of all, the distinguishing characteristics of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation of computers:
First generation (1940–1956) used vacuum tubes. Examples: ENIAC, UNIVAC I, IBM 650, IBM 701, IBM 704
Second generation (1956-1963) used discrete transistors. Examples: IBM 7090 and 7094, UNIVAC 1107, PDP-1 and PDP-8
Third generation (1964-1971) used integrated circuits (but not microprocessors). Examples: IBM System/360, UNIVAC 1108, PDP-8/I, PDP-11/20 and PDP-11/45
All three generations of mainframe computers used punched cards for input and output, along with reel-to-reel 1/2″ tape drives for mass storage. Punched cards could also be buffered onto a tape first, before they were input to the computer. Line printers were typically used for printed output. Except for early first-generation computers, they used core memory for short-term storage.
Minicomputers (second and third generation) more often used punched paper tape for I/O. Both high-speed readers/writers, and low-speed (Teletypes such as the ASR-33) were used. The latter were also used for printed output, along with line printers in larger systems. Minicomputers typically used smaller format magnetic tapes (e.g. DECtape). And they too used core memory.
Third generation computers started switching to on-line access (called time-sharing), and used video terminals as I/O devices. IBM made some proprietary computer terminals designed for the System/360 such as the IBM 3270. Video terminals like the ADM-3A were also popular with minicomputers.