Full Form of “COMPUTER”
What
is the full form of COMPUTER ?Is
this question comes to your mind,Don’t
worry I will clear this question with best answer.
Most of the time we hear that COMPUTER stands for “Common
Operating Machine Purposely Used for Technological and Educational Research”.
But according to me its not true because first this definition
does not make any sense and second when the computer were invented they worked
as a calculating machine.
So knowing this we easily
understand that the COMPUTER is not an acronym, it is a word derived from word
“COMPUTE”, which means to CALCULATE and the word Compute is derived from the Latin word ‘Computare’, which means "arithmetic, accounting". . So we can say that COMPUTER is an electronic
device which is invented for fast calculation.
But today COMPUTER is not
only a calculating device but its became a multitasking device.COMPUTER has become an very advance device.
So today the
definition of COMPUTER is different from its previous definition.
its definition
is,
A computer is an electronic device which is used to perform
arithmetic and logical operations automatically. A computer consists of a
central processing unit and some form of memory.
Components of Computer
There are two most
important components of Computer is
1.
Hardware
2.
Software
·
Hardware - The
actual machinery (wires, transistors, and circuits) is called hardware.
·
Software – The
instructions and data are called software.
All general-purpose
computer requires the following hardware components –
CPU (Central processing unit) – CPU is called the heart of the computer.This is
the component that actually executes instructions organized in programs
("software") which tell the computer what to do.
Memory (fast, expensive, short-term memory) - It enables a computer to store, at least
temporarily, data,programs, and intermediate results. Ex. – RAM (Random Access Memory).
Mass storage device (slower, cheaper, long-term
memory) - It allows a computer to permanently
retain large amount of data and programs. Common mass storage devices include
disk drives and tape drives.
Input device - Input device is the conduit through which data and
instructions enter a computer. Ex. – Keyboard, Mouse etc.
Output device – Output device that lets you see what the computer has
accomplished. Ex. – Monitor, Printer etc.
Types of Computer
Computer is classified in
many types.
There are few types I have
mentioned.
Microcomputers (personal computers) - Microcomputers are the most common kind of
computers in use. The term “microcomputer” was introduced with the advent of
systems based on single chip
microprocessors. The best-known
early system was the Altair 8800, introduced in 1975. The term “microcomputer”
has practically become an anachronism.
Microcomputers include –
Desktop computers – A case and a display, put under and on a desk.
In-car computers (carputers) – Built into a car, for entertainment,
navigation, etc.
Game consoles – Fixed computers specialized for entertainment purposes
(video games).
Smaller microcomputers are
also called mobile devices:
Laptops and notebook computers – Portable and all in one case.
Tablet computer – Like laptops, but with a touchscreen, entirely replacing
the physical keyboard.
Smartphones, smartbooks, PDAs and palmtop computers – Small hand held computers with limited
hardware.
Programmable calculator– Like small hand helds, but specialized on
mathematical work.
Handheld game consoles – The same as game consoles, but small and
portable.
Minicomputers (midrange computers) – Minicomputers are a class of multi-user computers
that lie in the middle range of the computing spectrum, in between the smallest
mainframe computers and the largest single-user systems (microcomputers or
personal computers).
The term superminicomputer
or supermini was used to distinguish more powerful minicomputers that
approached mainframes in capability.
Superminis were usually
32-bit at a time when most minicomputers were 16-bit.
The contemporary term for
minicomputer is midrange computer, such as the higher-end SPARC, POWER and Itanium-based
systems from Oracle Corporation, IBM and Hewlett-Packard.
Mainframe computers - The term mainframe computer was created to
distinguish the traditional, large, institutional computer intended to service
multiple users from the smaller, single user machines. These computers are
capable of handling and processing very large amounts of data quickly. Mainframe
computers are used in large institutions such as government, banks and large corporations.
They are measured in MIPS (million instructions per second) and respond to up
to 100s of millions of users at a time.
Supercomputers - A Supercomputer is focused on performing tasks
involving intense numerical calculations such as weather forecasting, fluid
dynamics, nuclear simulations, theoretical astrophysics, and complex scientific
computations. A supercomputer is a computer that is at the front-line of
current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation. The term
supercomputer itself is rather fluid, and the speed of today’s supercomputers
tends to become typical of tomorrow’s ordinary computer. Supercomputer processing
speeds are measured in floating point operations per second, or FLOPS.
An example of a floating point
operation is the calculation of mathematical equations in real numbers. In
terms of computational capability, memory size and speed, I/O technology, and
topological issues such as bandwidth and latency, supercomputers are the most
powerful, are very expensive, and not cost-effective just to perform batch or
transaction processing. Transaction processing is handled by less powerful
computers such as server computers or mainframes.
In this post I tried to
give some information about COMPUTER, I hope you like this post.
Thank You.
