A computer is a general purpose device which can be programmed
to carry out a finite set of arithmetic or logical operations.
The first use of the word "computer" was recorded in 1613, referring to a person who carried out calculations, or computations, and the word continued with the same meaning until the middle of the 20th century. From the end of the 19th century the word began to take on its more familiar meaning, a machine that carries out computations.
Since a sequence of operations can be readily changed, the computer can solve more than one kind of problem. The essential point of a computer is to implement an idea, the terms of which are satisfied by Alan Turing's Universal Turing machine.
Conventionally, a computer consists of at least one processing element and some form of memory. The processing element carries out arithmetic and logic operations, and a sequencing and control unit that can change the order of operations based on stored information. Peripheral devices allow information to be retrieved from an external source, and the result of operations saved.
The first use of the word "computer" was recorded in 1613, referring to a person who carried out calculations, or computations, and the word continued with the same meaning until the middle of the 20th century. From the end of the 19th century the word began to take on its more familiar meaning, a machine that carries out computations.
Since a sequence of operations can be readily changed, the computer can solve more than one kind of problem. The essential point of a computer is to implement an idea, the terms of which are satisfied by Alan Turing's Universal Turing machine.
Conventionally, a computer consists of at least one processing element and some form of memory. The processing element carries out arithmetic and logic operations, and a sequencing and control unit that can change the order of operations based on stored information. Peripheral devices allow information to be retrieved from an external source, and the result of operations saved.
