Computer

Computer

A computer is an electronic data-processing machine that has three components where the input and output may be digital or analogue and the process would involve storage, control and arithmetical operations. A computer differs from most other machines because it is versatile and not restricted to doing one particular job. Analogue computes are machines designed to work on data which is represented by some physical quantity which varies continuously; for example, the turning of a wheel or changes in voltage can be used as input. They are thus said to be operating in real time because they respond as things happen and are widely used for research in design where many different shapes and speeds can be tried out quickly. A computer model of a car suspension allows the designer to see the effects of changing size, stiffness and damping. Although analog computers are commonly found in such forms as speedometers and watt-hour meters, they largely have become obsolete for general-purpose mathematical computations and data storage by digital computers. These computers deal only with data represented in a digital form (usually binary 0s and 1s). Computers can also be classified in term of mainframe, micro or mini computer but the common ones used by families and small businesses are the microcomputers.

Computers have played a great role in the development of communication and nowadays they can even be linked to others by means of cables or satellites thus forming LANs (Local Area Network) and WANs (Wide Area Network). A good example of a network is the Internet, a network of networks, which is used by more than 30 million persons.

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