What is a Computer?

What is a Computer?

A computer is an electronic device that manipulates information, or data. It has the ability to store, retrieve, and process data. You probably 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.

Computer is a device that transforms data into meaningful information. Data can be anything like marks obtained by you in various subjects. It can also be name, age, sex, weight, height, etc. of all the students in a class. 

Computer can also be defined in terms of functions it can perform. A computer can i) accept data, ii) store data, iii) process data as desired, and iv) retrieve the stored data as and when required and v) print the result in desired format.

The major characteristics of a computer are high speed, accuracy, diligence, versatility and storage.

Simply put, a computer is a machine that performs mathematical and logical calculations.

Brief History?

Computers, by our above definition, have been around for thousands of years. One of the earliest computers was the abacus, a series of beads arranged on metal rods. Beads could be slid back and forth to operate on numbers. This was a very rudimentary device and is not commonly thought of as a computer in modern times. Our idea of computers involves electricity and electronics.

Electricity makes computers much more efficient. The first computers used an incredible amount of electricity, which changed voltages in vacuum tubes to operate the computer. These computers were given instructions using punch cards, and were behemoths, taking up entire floors of buildings. Only the more privileged universities and government facilities had access to them.

In the 1960's, the vacuum tube was replaced by the integrated circuit and transistor. These greatly reduced the size and power consumption of computers. They were still very large by today's standards, but more institutions had access to computing power than ever before. At the end of the decade, the microchip was invented, which reduced the size of the computer even more.

By the end of the 1970's, computers were widespread in businesses. Using a computer involved typing on a terminal (a keyboard and monitor connected to a large central computer). Soon, parts became small enough to allow many users to have a computer at their home. Thus the Personal Computer, or PC, was born.

Since then, personal computer has have become tremendously more efficient. They are much smaller, and yet have seen extreme performance gains. In addition to these improvements, computers have become affordable enough for many families worldwide.