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# Computer

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A computer is a programmable machine? that processes data. As currently defined, a computer consists of at least one central processor units or CPU's that almost always follow the Von Neumann model with an arithmetic/logical unit (ALU) for simple calculations, and a sequencer that takes the instructions and converts them to electrical signals to control the ALU and data movement operations. Additionally, there is a place to keep the instructions for the sequencer, and the data to be operated on, which is called computer storage or memory, and a way to get the information in and out of the machine, using input and output devices or I/O. Current memory and I/O devices are semiconductor RAM, [Disk drive]?s, [CD Rom]?s, keyboards, [video display terminal]?s or monitors?, and audio speakers.

Memory can be either volatle or non volatile, which means that it can be tempoary or perminant depending on the requirements. Usually data is collected onto a perminant memory such as [Disk drive]?, or CD ROM and then transfered to RAM which is the short tearm volatle memory used for storing the data being processed and the instructions that the computer follows.

Then there are peripheral devices. These consist of input devices to send data from the outside world to the computer, output devices for the computer to send data back to the outside world, and often long term memory devices.

Computers have become cheap plentiful and pervasive in the last few years of the 20th century. Their economic, social and political effects have been enormous.

The word "computer"

Over the years there has been several slightly different meanings to the word computer, and several different words for the thing we now usually call a computer.

For instance "computer" was once commonly used to mean a person employed to do arithmetic calculations, with or without mechanical aids. Charles Babbage designed one of the first computing machines called the Analytical engine, but due to technological problems it was not built in his lifetime. Various simple mechanical devices such as the [slide rule]? kind have also been called computers. In some cases they were referred to as "analogue computers", as there was no discrete or digital computational ability. What are now called simply "computers" were once commonly called "digital computers" to distinguish them from these other devices.

In thinking of other words for the computer, it is worth noting that in other languages the word chosen does not always have the same literal meaning as the English language word. In French for example, the word is "ordinateur", which means approximately "organizer", or "sorting machine". The Spanish word is "ordinador", with the same meaning. In Italian, computer is "calcolatore", calculator, emphasizing its computational uses over logical ones like sorting.

(Would anyone like to tell us and attempt to explain the Chinese language word, or others?)

In English too, other words and phrases have been used, such as "data processing machine".

There is also a quote (not sure who from, any takers?): "They are called computers because computing is the only non-trivial use they have been put to so far." That was said quite a long time ago, when "computing" just meant "arithmetic calculating". Since then, data storage and retrieval, communications applications, and many embedded processing tasks have become important uses of "computers".

This page needs a bit of wikification. In the meantime, if you are looking for links to more detail on the stuff touched on here, see Computing.

/Talk

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Last edited August 10, 2001 7:13 am (diff)
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