Computer science - Architecture, Organization, Algorithms: Computer architecture deals with the design of computers, data storage devices, and networking components that store and run programs, transmit data, and drive interactions between computers, across networks, and with users. Computer architects use parallelism and various strategies for memory organization to design computing systems ...
computer, Programmable machine that can store, retrieve, and process data. A computer consists of the central processing unit (CPU), main memory (or random-access memory, RAM), and peripherals (e.g., a keyboard, a printer, disc drives). Traditional histories of computers assign generations on the basis of technology.
Personal computer, a digital computer designed for use by only one person at a time. A typical personal computer assemblage consists of a central processing unit, which contains the computer’s arithmetic, logic, and control circuitry on an integrated circuit; computer memory; and various peripheral devices.
A computer is a programmable device for processing, storing, and displaying information. Learn more in this article about modern digital electronic computers and their design, constituent parts, and applications as well as about the history of computing.
Computer - History, Technology, Innovation: How did the abacus lead to modern computers? The earliest known calculating device is the abacus, dating back to at least 1100 BCE and still in use today, particularly in Asia. The abacus showed that calculations could be represented physically and manipulated systematically. Its use of discrete bead positions—on or off—anticipated the digital ...
Computer - Technology, Invention, History: By the second decade of the 19th century, a number of ideas necessary for the invention of the computer were in the air. First, the potential benefits to science and industry of being able to automate routine calculations were appreciated, as they had not been a century earlier. Specific methods to make automated calculation more practical, such as ...