Group E

Questions:

1. Why did Japan’s Ministry of International Trade and Administration, together with eight leading Japanese computer companies, launch a project? How are the fifth-generation computers expected to be used?

2. What is its real significance?

The Fifth Generation: Japan’s Challenge

In 1982, Japan’s Ministry of International Trade and Administration, together with eight leading Japanese computer companies, launched a project to develop the fifth-generation computers. So far the Japanese government and Japanese private industry have each contributed $300 million toward the project, in an attempt to develop radically new forms of computer systems. The real significance is not the money itself, however, but the cooperation among government and Japanese industries and the writing of blank check for computer development. Afraid of being left behind, other countries including the United States have started similar projects. The following are some of the expected characteristics of the fifth-generation computers. Only time will tell, of course, whether these expectations are correct.

Most computers of the fourth and earlier generations can carry out only one arithmetical or Boolean operation at a time. A key to the fifth-generation computers is expected to be the parallel processing, in which hundreds or thousands of operations are carried out simultaneously.

The Japanese believed that the fifth-generation computers will be based on logical inference rather than on arithmetical and Boolean calculations. The Japanese fifth-generation project has adopted the programming language PROLOG (PROgramming in LOGic), which is based on logical inference.

The fifth-generation computer systems are expected to make extensive use of the techniques of artificial intelligence, which simulate some aspects of human thought. Such systems might communicate with users and programmers in natural languages, rather than in specialized computer languages. They might solve problems without having to be told step-by-step how to arrive at the solution. Instead, they would draw on knowledge and problem-solving techniques previously collected from human experts in the fields in which the problem arises. Such expert systems have already come in use.

ІI. Match the words with their definition.

III. Identify whether the following statements are true or false:

1. Large computers disappeared just because small computers entered the market.

2. Magnetic core was the secondary form of primary storage technology.

3. In 1957 magnetic disk was introduced as a faster, more compact method of storing data.

4. In the third generation the use of magnetism for data storage was pioneered.

5. The first language to receive widespread acceptance was FORTRAN.

6. The chips had four desirable characteristics: reliability, compactness, low cost, low power use.

7. Turning over control of the computer to the OS made possible models of Operation that would have been impossible with manual control.

8. The early generations of computers were used primarily for business data processing applications.

IV. Continue the following sentences using the following words and expressions: extension, higher-level languages, difficult and time-consuming, 3 inches in diameter, principal form, small chip of silicon, more compact method, simultaneously, frequent burnout.

1. In addition all tubes had to be working..., they were subject to...

2. Programming with numbers alone made using the computer...

3. For primary storage, magnetic core was the... of technology used.

4. In 1957 magnetic tape was introduced as a faster,... of storing data.

5. Alter the development of the symbolic languages came...

6. An integrated circuit is a complete electronic on a...

7. A cylinder of silicon is sliced into wafers, each about..., and wafer is “etched” repeatedly with a pattern of electrical circuitry.

8. The fourth generation was, in fact, an... of third-generation techno­logy.

V. Fill in the prepositions if necessary.

An integrated circuit (IC) is a collection of electronic components fabricated... a semiconductor device or chip. Integrated circuits are widely used... consumer, commercial and industrial applications. With high developments... technology, integrated circuits have become the most important unit in electric products. Integrated circuits are used in a wide area... commercial and consumer technology, including, for example, calculators, computers, video games, digital watches, and the like. Integrated circuit technology has made significant progress over the last forty years. Integrated circuits are now manufactured... much lower costs, with lower power consumption, higher speeds, and smaller sizes. An integrated circuit is a complete electronic circuit, containing transistors, diodes, resistors, and capacitors, along with their interconnecting electrical conductors, contained entirely... a single chip of silicon. An integrated circuit includes multiple layers... wiring that interconnect its electronic and circuit components. These layers made... metal, semiconductor and insulator material, each configured so that it cooperates... other layers to define circuit elements, such as buffers, memory devices, gates and routing wires. Each layer is stacked or overlaid on a prior layer and patterned to form the shapes that define devices and connect the devices into circuits. The metal layers define routing wires for connecting together various elements, including memory matrices. Generally, integrated circuits are mainly divided... two categories: logic device and memory, wherein the logic device, such as a microprocessor of a computer, is used to execute logic operations, and the memory is a semiconductor device used... storing data.

VI. Answer the following questions:

1. What is the characteristic feature of the 1^st generation computers?

2. What are the advantages of the 1^st generation?

3. What are the disadvantages of this generation?

4. What was the principal form of primary storage technology?

5. What important development came with the second generation computing?

6. When did higher-level languages appear?

7. What higher-level languages do you know?

8. What are the advantages of higher-level languages?

9. When did the electronics industry begin to make silicon chips?

10. Why did the integrated circuit begin to replace the transistor?

11. Why is silicon so widely used?

12. What are the most important characteristics of the chips?

13. What is an important form of multiprogramming?

14. What is the most important development of the 4^th generation computers?

15. What did two innovations in LSI technology lead to?

16. When was VLSI achieved?

17. When did the development of the 5^th generation begin?

18. Enumerate all the desired features of the 5^th computer generation.