Fourth Generation of Computers(1971-Present)

The significant distinction for the fourth generation is the development of Large Scale
Integration (LSI) and Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI). LSI placed several thousand
transistors onto a single chip. These developments were followed by creation of microprocessors.
Let us consider characteristics of fourth generation:

1. Further miniaturization in which complete circuits are reduced to virtually microscopic sizes.
2. Introduction of microcomputers.
3. Magnetic disks became the primary means of external storage.
4. Further sophistications of operating systems capable of virtual storage, in which the machine can operate as if its main storage were several times its actual size.
5. The beginning of special software for managing large databases.
6. Fourth generation languages emerged and application software for microcomputers became popular.
7. Microcomputers were introduced during this time.
8. Operating system speed was excellent, measured in Pico-second.
9. Compared to previous generation, the fourth generation computer have improved speed, memory size and packing system, CPU and several I/O devices are packed into single chip.