Fourth Generation of Computers Definition/Meaning:
A designation covering machines that were
designed after 1970 (approximately) and are characterized by use of integrated
circuit technology and very large (more than one megabyte) main memory. In
addition to these prominent characteristics, fourth generation systems nearly
all have extensive support for networking. Other characteristics are essentially
those of the third
generation. A proliferation of languages are available from most vendors.
Systems to simplify the creation of certain classes of applications (e.g. IBM's CICS) have been introduced. This generation has also seen
the introduction of
database management systems for organizing and accessing large collections of
interrelated data.
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