Where the Word Computer Came from?
The word Computer is taken from the Greek word ‘Computare’ which means to calculate. We can define a computer as a device that performs the calculation at a very high speed. As a computer is a digital automatic machine that takes input from the user, processing it specifies the necessary and gives the Output In desired from.
Parts that Computer has for fully functional work.
- CPU (Central Processing Unit)
- VDU (Visual Display Unit) or monitor
- Mouse
- Keyboard
- Printer
- Scanner etc
Feature’s of the computer
- Speed
- Storage capacity
- Accuracy
- Diligence
- Versatility
- Automatic
- Electronic
- Word length
- Non-intelligence
Speed:
The computers in the past did not have very fast speed. But nowadays due to the Invention of the microprocessor. It has been very fast and performs billions of calculations within a fraction of second-most modern computers perform tasks in a picosecond. 1/1012 the processing speed computer is measured in the Unit of Hertz such as hertz (Hz), kilohertz (kHz), Megahertz (MHz), etc.
Storage Capacity:
A modern commuter can store a large amount of data. Information and program in it. Any data or information can be retrieved at any time. Storage capacity in computers is measured in the following Units.
- 0 or 1 = 1 bit
- 4 bits = 1 Nibble
- 8 bits = 1 Bytes
- 1024 bytes = 1 KB
- 1024 kb = 1MB
- 1024 MB = 1 GB
- 1024 GB = 1 TB
- 1024 TB = 1 PT
Accuracy:
Accuracy means correctness. The computer never does any mistakes if the instruction, input data, and hardware devices are correct It always performs each and every task with 100% accuracy. But sometimes we get the phrase GIGO (Garbage In Garbage Out) is true to computers.
Diligence:
Unlike human beings, the computer never feels tired and bored to do the same task repeatedly. The computer can perform the same task with the same speed and accuracy for a long time if it is provided with a suitable environment and correct instruction.
Versatility:
A modern computer can perform various types of jobs efficiently. The same computer can be used in banks, offices, shopping centers, cyber, schools, homes, etc, for doing different types of tasks.
Automatic:
Being a programmable machine, a modern computer can be programmed in such as way that it can perform a series of tasks automatically after it has been started Modern digital computer does not need a human operator to give different types of commands.
Electronic:
The modern computer works on the basis of electricity only and most of its parts are electronic devices and are made of semiconductor chips.
Word length:
Word length or word size refers to the number of bits that the CPU can process in parallel at one time. Currently used word lengths are 32, 64, or higher bits word length in the measure of the computing power of a computer the longer the word length the more powerful the computer becomes.
Non- Intelligence:
Although the modern computer is much faster reliable accurate and diligent than a human being an artificial machine computer does not have common sense and intelligence and as a result, computers cannot think and decide like human beings many man-made programs have to be installed in the computer to do various kinds of tasks.