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During the period of 1956 to 1963 second generation of computers were developed.
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These second generation machines were programmed in languages such as COBOL and FORTRAN and were used for a wide variety of business and scientific tasks. Magnetic disks and tape were often used for data storage.
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John Bardeen , William B. Shockley , and Walter H. Brattain invented the transistor at Bell Telephone Laboratories in the mid-1940s. By it was obvious to many that the transistor would probably replace the vacuum tube in devices such as , and computers.
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Transistors Used in Computers; IBM 7000 Series
The IBM 7000 series was developed throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. They were labeled as computers for “large scale scientific and technological applications.” These computers were much more compatible compared to the IBM 700 series because of their use of transistors. -
Other Transistorized Computers; CDC Computers
Designed by Seymour Cray and others at Control Data Corporation, the CDC 1604 is credited as one of the first successfully transistorized computers. In 1960, the first 1604 was delivered to the US Navy, and by 1964 more than fifty were built. They used 48-bit words of magnetic core memory, and each 48-bit contained 24-bit instructions. In 1604, the CDC 3000 series succeeded the 1604. All second generation CDC computers used core memory. -
The Vacuum Tube's Replacement
Second generation computers can be characterized largely by their use of transistors. They replaced the job of vacuum tubes through the 1950s and 1960s. Vacuum tubes generated too much heat, were very large, and proved to be unreliable. Ultimately, they served as an update for using less power and space. It acted as a transmitter and resistor (ergo its name; ‘trans’, ‘istor'). Its inventors were scientists at the Bell Telephone Laboratories in New Jersey. -
UNIVAC 1107
with UNIVAC 1107 made my Sperry Rand in 1962.The second generation computer UNIVAC was still quite massive, but very quiet. Its central processor was 36bit architecture, which was able to perform arithmetic equations in one 4- microsecond cycle time. It printed cards 600 lines per minute but was known for jamming. All executions were started by reading punch cards. Memory access time was eight microseconds per word. Soon came the UNIVAC 1108, which would mark the start of the third generation.