What is The Computer. & Introduction of Computer

Introduction To Computer

Today's computers Come in many different forms. They range from massive, multipurpose mainframes and supercomputers to desktop-size minicomputers, personal computers. Between these extremes is a vast middle ground of arid. workstations. Large minicomputers approach mainframes in computing power, whereas workstations are powerful personal computers.

Mainframes and large minicomputers are used by many businesses, universities, hospitals and government agencies to carry out sophisticated scientific and business calculations. These computers are expensive (large computers can cost millions of dollars) and may require a sizable staff of supporting personnel and a special, carefully controlled environment.

• Personal computers, on the other hand, are small and inexpensive. In fact, portable, battery-powered "laptop" computers weighing less than 5 or 6 pounds are now widely used by many students and traveling professionals. Personal computers are used extensively in most schools and businesses and they are rapidly becoming common household items. Most students use personal computers when learning to program with C.

Figure 1.1 shows a student using a laptop computer.

Despite their small size and low cost, modern personal computers approach minicomputers in computing power. They are now used for many applications that formerly required larger, more expensive computers. Moreover, their performance continues to improve dramatically as their cost continues to drop. The design of a personal computer permits a high level of interaction between the user and the computer. Most applications (e.g., word processors, graphics programs, spreadsheets and database management programs) are specifically designed to take advantage of this feature, thus providing the skilled user with a wide variety of creative tools to write, draw or carry out numerical computations. Applications involving high-resolution graphics are particularly common.

• Many organizations connect personal computers to larger computers or to other personal computers, thus permitting their use either as stand-alone devices or as terminals within a computer network. Connections /. over telephone lines are also common. When viewed in this context, we see that personal computers often r complement, rather than replace, the use of larger computers.

What is Computer

A computer is a device that accepts information (in the form of digitized data) and manipulates it for some result based on a program or sequence of instructions on how the data is to be processed. Computer is an electronic device that is designed to work with Information. You may already know that you can use a computer to type documents, send email, play games, and browse the Web. You can also use it to edit or create spreadsheets, presentations, and even videos. It represents the decimal numbers through a string of binary digits. The Word 'Computer' usually refers to the Center Processor Unit plus Internal memory.

Block diagram of computer