Which one among the following generation computers used microprocessors in their hardware technology?
- A.Second Generation
- B.Third Generation
- C.Fourth Generation
- D.Fifth Generation
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, Fourth Generation. Fourth-generation computers, from about 1971, were built around the microprocessor, a whole CPU on a single chip.
Computer generations are named after the main switching technology of the time. The first generation (about 1940–1956) used vacuum tubes, the second (about 1956–1963) used transistors, and the third (about 1964–1971) used integrated circuits. The fourth generation began with very large scale integration (VLSI), which put thousands of transistors on one chip; Intel's 4004 of 1971 was the first commercial microprocessor. This made personal computers such as the IBM PC and the Apple machines possible.
A is wrong: second-generation computers used transistors.
B is wrong: third-generation computers used integrated circuits, not complete microprocessors.
D is wrong: the fifth generation is defined by artificial intelligence and parallel processing, built on the microprocessor technology the fourth generation introduced.
Exam tip: vacuum tubes → transistors → ICs → microprocessors (VLSI) → AI; first microprocessor Intel 4004, 1971.
Practice Questions
View allIn C++, members of a class declared as private can be accessed
- A.From anywhere in the program
- B.Only within the same class
- C.Within the class and its derived classes
- D.Only from the main function
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Private is the most restricted access specifier and is also the default for a C++ class, so private data members can be read or changed only by the member functions of that class, and by a friend function or friend class if one is declared.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following languages does NOT support multiple inheritance through classes?
- A.C++
- B.Java
- C.Python
- D.Eiffel
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Java deliberately leaves out multiple inheritance of classes to avoid the ambiguity that arises when two base classes supply a member of the same name, the problem often called the diamond problem, and it provides interfaces so that a class can still take behaviour from more than one source.
Read the full explanation →Which special member function is executed automatically when an object of a class is created?
- A.Destructor
- B.Constructor
- C.Friend function
- D.Virtual function
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A constructor carries the same name as its class, is called automatically the moment an object is created and is normally used to give the data members their initial values; it returns no value at all, not even void, and it can be overloaded.
Read the full explanation →The feature by which a new class acquires the properties and behaviour of an existing class is
- A.Inheritance
- B.Polymorphism
- C.Abstraction
- D.Message passing
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Inheritance lets a derived, child or sub class take the members of a base, parent or super class and add its own, which is the main route to code reuse in object-oriented programming; its forms are single, multiple, multilevel, hierarchical and hybrid.
Read the full explanation →Which statement about a class and an object is correct?
- A.A class is an instance of an object
- B.An object is a blueprint and a class is its instance
- C.A class is a blueprint and an object is its instance
- D.A class and an object both occupy memory in the same way
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A class only describes the data members and member functions that its objects will have, while an object is created from the class, occupies memory and holds actual values; one class may have any number of objects.
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