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Computer
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Acomputerisadevicethatcanbeinstructedtocarryout
anarbitrarysetofarithmeticorlogicaloperations Computer
automatically.Theabilityofcomputerstofollow
generalizedsequencesofoperations,calledprograms,
enablethemtoperformawiderangeoftasks.

Suchcomputersareusedascontrolsystemsforaverywide
varietyofindustrialandconsumerdevices.Thisincludes
simplespecialpurposedeviceslikemicrowaveovensand
remotecontrols,factorydevicessuchasindustrialrobots
andcomputerassisteddesign,butalsoingeneralpurpose
deviceslikepersonalcomputersandmobiledevicessuchas
smartphones.TheInternetisrunoncomputersandit
connectsmillionsofothercomputers.

Sinceancienttimes,simplemanualdevicesliketheabacus Computersandcomputingdevicesfromdifferenteras
aidedpeopleindoingcalculations.EarlyintheIndustrial
Revolution,somemechanicaldeviceswerebuilttoautomatelongtedioustasks,suchasguidingpatternsfor
looms.Moresophisticatedelectricalmachinesdidspecializedanalogcalculationsintheearly20thcentury.The
firstdigitalelectroniccalculatingmachinesweredevelopedduringWorldWarII.Thespeed,power,andversatility
ofcomputershasincreasedcontinuouslyanddramaticallysincethen.

Conventionally,amoderncomputerconsistsofatleastoneprocessingelement,typicallyacentralprocessingunit
(CPU),andsomeformofmemory.Theprocessingelementcarriesoutarithmeticandlogicaloperations,anda
sequencingandcontrolunitcanchangetheorderofoperationsinresponsetostoredinformation.Peripheral
devicesincludeinputdevices(keyboards,mice,joystick,etc.),outputdevices(monitorscreens,printers,etc.),and
input/outputdevicesthatperformbothfunctions(e.g.,the2000seratouchscreen).Peripheraldevicesallow
informationtoberetrievedfromanexternalsourceandtheyenabletheresultofoperationstobesavedand
retrieved.

Contents
1 Etymology
2 History
2.1 Pre20thcentury
2.2 Firstcomputingdevice
2.3 Analogcomputers
2.4 Digitalcomputers
2.5 Moderncomputers
2.6 Mobilecomputersbecomedominant
3 Types
3.1 Basedonuses
3.2 Basedonsizes
4 Hardware
4.1 Historyofcomputinghardware

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4.2 Otherhardwaretopics
4.3 Inputdevices
4.4 Outputdevices
4.5 Controlunit
4.6 Centralprocessingunit(CPU)
4.7 Arithmeticlogicunit(ALU)
4.8 Memory
4.9 Input/output(I/O)
4.10 Multitasking
4.11 Multiprocessing
5 Software
5.1 Operatingsystems
5.2 Languages
5.3 ApplicationSoftware
5.4 Programs
6 Firmware
7 NetworkingandtheInternet
8 Misconceptions
8.1 Humancomputer
8.2 Unconventionalcomputing
9 Future
9.1 Computerarchitectureparadigms
9.2 Artificialintelligence
10 Professionsandorganizations
11 Seealso
12 References
13 Notes
14 Externallinks

Etymology
AccordingtotheOxfordEnglishDictionary,thefirstknownuseoftheword"computer"wasin1613inabook
calledTheYongMansGleaningsbyEnglishwriterRichardBraithwait:"Ihaue[sic]readthetruestcomputerof
Times,andthebestArithmeticianthateuer[sic]breathed,andhereduceththydayesintoashortnumber."This
usageofthetermreferredtoapersonwhocarriedoutcalculationsorcomputations.Thewordcontinuedwiththe
samemeaninguntilthemiddleofthe20thcentury.Fromtheendofthe19thcenturythewordbegantotakeonits
morefamiliarmeaning,amachinethatcarriesoutcomputations.[1]

TheOnlineEtymologyDictionarygivesthefirstattesteduseof"computer"inthe"1640s,[meaning]"onewho
calculates,"thisisan"...agentnounfromcompute(v.)".TheOnlineEtymologyDictionarystatesthattheuseof
thetermtomean"calculatingmachine"(ofanytype)isfrom1897."TheOnlineEtymologyDictionaryindicates
thatthe"modernuse"oftheterm,tomean"programmabledigitalelectroniccomputer"datesfrom"...1945under
thisname[ina]theoretical[sense]from1937,asTuringmachine".[2]

History
Pre20thcentury

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Deviceshavebeenusedtoaidcomputationforthousandsofyears,mostlyusingonetoone
correspondencewithfingers.Theearliestcountingdevicewasprobablyaformoftallystick.
LaterrecordkeepingaidsthroughouttheFertileCrescentincludedcalculi(clayspheres,
cones,etc.)whichrepresentedcountsofitems,probablylivestockorgrains,sealedinhollow
unbakedclaycontainers.[3][4]Theuseofcountingrodsisoneexample.

Theabacuswasinitiallyusedforarithmetictasks.The
Romanabacuswasdevelopedfromdevicesusedin
Babyloniaasearlyas2400BC.Sincethen,many
otherformsofreckoningboardsortableshavebeen TheIshango
invented.InamedievalEuropeancountinghouse,a bone
checkeredclothwouldbeplacedonatable,and
markersmovedaroundonitaccordingtocertainrules,
asanaidtocalculatingsumsofmoney.
TheChineseSuanpan()(the
numberrepresentedonthisabacusis TheAntikytheramechanismis
6,302,715,408) believedtobetheearliest
mechanicalanalog"computer",
[5]
accordingtoDerekJ.deSollaPrice. Itwasdesignedtocalculate
astronomicalpositions.Itwasdiscoveredin1901intheAntikytherawreck
offtheGreekislandofAntikythera,betweenKytheraandCrete,andhas
beendatedtocirca100BC.Devicesofalevelofcomplexitycomparable
tothatoftheAntikytheramechanismwouldnotreappearuntilathousand
yearslater.

Manymechanicalaidstocalculationandmeasurementwereconstructed
forastronomicalandnavigationuse.Theplanispherewasastarchart TheancientGreekdesigned
inventedbyAbRayhnalBrnintheearly11thcentury.[6]The Antikytheramechanism,dating
astrolabewasinventedintheHellenisticworldineitherthe1stor2nd between150and100BC,isthe
centuriesBCandisoftenattributedtoHipparchus.Acombinationofthe world'soldestanalogcomputer.
planisphereanddioptra,theastrolabewaseffectivelyananalogcomputer
capableofworkingoutseveraldifferentkindsofproblemsinspherical
astronomy.Anastrolabeincorporatingamechanicalcalendarcomputer[7][8]andgearwheelswasinventedbyAbi
BakrofIsfahan,Persiain1235.[9]AbRayhnalBrninventedthefirstmechanicalgearedlunisolarcalendar
astrolabe,[10]anearlyfixedwiredknowledgeprocessingmachine[11]withageartrainandgearwheels,[12]circa
1000AD.

Thesector,acalculatinginstrumentusedforsolvingproblemsinproportion,trigonometry,multiplicationand
division,andforvariousfunctions,suchassquaresandcuberoots,wasdevelopedinthelate16thcenturyand
foundapplicationingunnery,surveyingandnavigation.

Theplanimeterwasamanualinstrumenttocalculatetheareaofaclosedfigurebytracingoveritwitha
mechanicallinkage.

Thesliderulewasinventedaround16201630,shortlyafterthepublication
oftheconceptofthelogarithm.Itisahandoperatedanalogcomputerfor
doingmultiplicationanddivision.Asslideruledevelopmentprogressed,
addedscalesprovidedreciprocals,squaresandsquareroots,cubesand
cuberoots,aswellastranscendentalfunctionssuchaslogarithmsand Asliderule
exponentials,circularandhyperbolictrigonometryandotherfunctions.

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Aviationisoneofthefewfieldswheresliderulesarestillinwidespreaduse,particularlyforsolvingtimedistance
problemsinlightaircraft.Tosavespaceandforeaseofreading,thesearetypicallycirculardevicesratherthanthe
classiclinearslideruleshape.ApopularexampleistheE6B.

Inthe1770sPierreJaquetDroz,aSwisswatchmaker,builtamechanicaldoll(automata)thatcouldwriteholdinga
quillpen.Byswitchingthenumberandorderofitsinternalwheelsdifferentletters,andhencedifferentmessages,
couldbeproduced.Ineffect,itcouldbemechanically"programmed"toreadinstructions.Alongwithtwoother
complexmachines,thedollisattheMused'Artetd'HistoireofNeuchtel,Switzerland,andstilloperates.[13]

ThetidepredictingmachineinventedbySirWilliamThomsonin1872wasofgreatutilitytonavigationinshallow
waters.Itusedasystemofpulleysandwirestoautomaticallycalculatepredictedtidelevelsforasetperiodata
particularlocation.

Thedifferentialanalyser,amechanicalanalogcomputerdesignedtosolvedifferentialequationsbyintegration,
usedwheelanddiscmechanismstoperformtheintegration.In1876LordKelvinhadalreadydiscussedthe
possibleconstructionofsuchcalculators,buthehadbeenstymiedbythelimitedoutputtorqueoftheballanddisk
integrators.[14]Inadifferentialanalyzer,theoutputofoneintegratordrovetheinputofthenextintegrator,ora
graphingoutput.Thetorqueamplifierwastheadvancethatallowedthesemachinestowork.Startinginthe1920s,
VannevarBushandothersdevelopedmechanicaldifferentialanalyzers.

Firstcomputingdevice

CharlesBabbage,anEnglishmechanicalengineerandpolymath,originated
theconceptofaprogrammablecomputer.Consideredthe"fatherofthe
computer",[15]heconceptualizedandinventedthefirstmechanical
computerintheearly19thcentury.Afterworkingonhisrevolutionary
differenceengine,designedtoaidinnavigationalcalculations,in1833he
realizedthatamuchmoregeneraldesign,anAnalyticalEngine,was
possible.Theinputofprogramsanddatawastobeprovidedtothemachine
viapunchedcards,amethodbeingusedatthetimetodirectmechanical
loomssuchastheJacquardloom.Foroutput,themachinewouldhavea
printer,acurveplotterandabell.Themachinewouldalsobeabletopunch
numbersontocardstobereadinlater.TheEngineincorporatedan
arithmeticlogicunit,controlflowintheformofconditionalbranchingand
loops,andintegratedmemory,makingitthefirstdesignforageneral
purposecomputerthatcouldbedescribedinmoderntermsasTuring
complete.[16][17]

Themachinewasaboutacenturyaheadofitstime.Allthepartsforhis AportionofBabbage'sDifference
machinehadtobemadebyhandthiswasamajorproblemforadevice engine.
withthousandsofparts.Eventually,theprojectwasdissolvedwiththe
decisionoftheBritishGovernmenttoceasefunding.Babbage'sfailureto
completetheanalyticalenginecanbechieflyattributedtodifficultiesnotonlyofpoliticsandfinancing,butalsoto
hisdesiretodevelopanincreasinglysophisticatedcomputerandtomoveaheadfasterthananyoneelsecould
follow.Nevertheless,hisson,HenryBabbage,completedasimplifiedversionoftheanalyticalengine'scomputing
unit(themill)in1888.Hegaveasuccessfuldemonstrationofitsuseincomputingtablesin1906.

Analogcomputers

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Duringthefirsthalfofthe20thcentury,manyscientificcomputingneedswere
metbyincreasinglysophisticatedanalogcomputers,whichusedadirect
mechanicalorelectricalmodeloftheproblemasabasisforcomputation.
However,thesewerenotprogrammableandgenerallylackedtheversatility
andaccuracyofmoderndigitalcomputers.[18]Thefirstmodernanalog
computerwasatidepredictingmachine,inventedbySirWilliamThomsonin
1872.Thedifferentialanalyser,amechanicalanalogcomputerdesignedto
solvedifferentialequationsbyintegrationusingwheelanddiscmechanisms,
wasconceptualizedin1876byJamesThomson,thebrotherofthemore
famousLordKelvin.[14]
SirWilliamThomson'sthirdtide Theartofmechanicalanalogcomputingreacheditszenithwiththedifferential
predictingmachinedesign,1879 analyzer,builtbyH.L.HazenandVannevarBushatMITstartingin1927.
81 ThisbuiltonthemechanicalintegratorsofJamesThomsonandthetorque
amplifiersinventedbyH.W.Nieman.Adozenofthesedeviceswerebuilt
beforetheirobsolescencebecameobvious.Bythe1950sthesuccessofdigitalelectroniccomputershadspelledthe
endformostanalogcomputingmachines,butanalogcomputersremainedinuseduringthe1950sinsome
specializedapplicationssuchaseducation(controlsystems)andaircraft(sliderule).

Digitalcomputers

Electromechanical

By1938theUnitedStatesNavyhaddevelopedanelectromechanicalanalogcomputersmallenoughtouseaboard
asubmarine.ThiswastheTorpedoDataComputer,whichusedtrigonometrytosolvetheproblemoffiringa
torpedoatamovingtarget.DuringWorldWarIIsimilardevicesweredevelopedinothercountriesaswell.

Earlydigitalcomputerswereelectromechanicalelectricswitchesdrove
mechanicalrelaystoperformthecalculation.Thesedeviceshadalow
operatingspeedandwereeventuallysupersededbymuchfasterallelectric
computers,originallyusingvacuumtubes.TheZ2,createdbyGerman
engineerKonradZusein1939,wasoneoftheearliestexamplesofan
electromechanicalrelaycomputer.[19]

In1941,ZusefollowedhisearliermachineupwiththeZ3,theworld'sfirst
workingelectromechanicalprogrammable,fullyautomaticdigital
ReplicaofZuse'sZ3,thefirst
computer.[20][21]TheZ3wasbuiltwith2000relays,implementinga22bit
fullyautomatic,digital
(electromechanical)computer. wordlengththatoperatedataclockfrequencyofabout510Hz.[22]Program
codewassuppliedonpunchedfilmwhiledatacouldbestoredin64wordsof
memoryorsuppliedfromthekeyboard.Itwasquitesimilartomodern
machinesinsomerespects,pioneeringnumerousadvancessuchasfloatingpointnumbers.Ratherthantheharder
toimplementdecimalsystem(usedinCharlesBabbage'searlierdesign),usingabinarysystemmeantthatZuse's
machineswereeasiertobuildandpotentiallymorereliable,giventhetechnologiesavailableatthattime.[23]The
Z3wasTuringcomplete.[24][25]

Vacuumtubesanddigitalelectroniccircuits

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Purelyelectroniccircuitelementssoonreplacedtheirmechanicalandelectromechanicalequivalents,atthesame
timethatdigitalcalculationreplacedanalog.TheengineerTommyFlowers,workingatthePostOfficeResearch
StationinLondoninthe1930s,begantoexplorethepossibleuseofelectronicsforthetelephoneexchange.
Experimentalequipmentthathebuiltin1934wentintooperationfiveyearslater,convertingaportionofthe
telephoneexchangenetworkintoanelectronicdataprocessingsystem,usingthousandsofvacuumtubes.[18]Inthe
US,JohnVincentAtanasoffandCliffordE.BerryofIowaStateUniversitydevelopedandtestedtheAtanasoff
BerryComputer(ABC)in1942,[26]thefirst"automaticelectronicdigitalcomputer".[27]Thisdesignwasalsoall
electronicandusedabout300vacuumtubes,withcapacitorsfixedinamechanicallyrotatingdrumformemory.[28]

DuringWorldWarII,theBritishatBletchleyParkachievedanumberof
successesatbreakingencryptedGermanmilitarycommunications.The
Germanencryptionmachine,Enigma,wasfirstattackedwiththehelpof
theelectromechanicalbombes.TocrackthemoresophisticatedGerman
LorenzSZ40/42machine,usedforhighlevelArmycommunications,Max
NewmanandhiscolleaguescommissionedFlowerstobuildthe
Colossus.[28]HespentelevenmonthsfromearlyFebruary1943designing
andbuildingthefirstColossus.[29]AfterafunctionaltestinDecember
1943,ColossuswasshippedtoBletchleyPark,whereitwasdeliveredon Colossuswasthefirstelectronic
18January1944[30]andattackeditsfirstmessageon5February.[28] digitalprogrammablecomputing
device,andwasusedtobreak
Colossuswastheworld'sfirstelectronicdigitalprogrammable GermanciphersduringWorldWarII.
computer.[18]Itusedalargenumberofvalves(vacuumtubes).Ithadpaper
tapeinputandwascapableofbeingconfiguredtoperformavarietyof
booleanlogicaloperationsonitsdata,butitwasnotTuringcomplete.NineMkIIColossiwerebuilt(TheMkI
wasconvertedtoaMkIImakingtenmachinesintotal).ColossusMarkIcontained1,500thermionicvalves
(tubes),butMarkIIwith2,400valves,wasboth5timesfasterandsimplertooperatethanMarkI,greatlyspeeding
thedecodingprocess.[31][32]

TheU.S.builtENIAC[33](ElectronicNumericalIntegratorandComputer)
wasthefirstelectronicprogrammablecomputerbuiltintheUS.Although
theENIACwassimilartotheColossus,itwasmuchfaster,moreflexible,
anditwasTuringcomplete.LiketheColossus,a"program"ontheENIAC
wasdefinedbythestatesofitspatchcablesandswitches,afarcryfromthe
storedprogramelectronicmachinesthatcamelater.Onceaprogramwas
written,ithadtobemechanicallysetintothemachinewithmanual
resettingofplugsandswitches.

Itcombinedthehighspeedofelectronicswiththeabilitytobe
ENIACwasthefirstelectronic, programmedformanycomplexproblems.Itcouldaddorsubtract5000
Turingcompletedevice,and timesasecond,athousandtimesfasterthananyothermachine.Italsohad
performedballisticstrajectory modulestomultiply,divide,andsquareroot.Highspeedmemorywas
calculationsfortheUnitedStates limitedto20words(about80bytes).BuiltunderthedirectionofJohn
Army. MauchlyandJ.PresperEckertattheUniversityofPennsylvania,ENIAC's
developmentandconstructionlastedfrom1943tofulloperationattheend
of1945.Themachinewashuge,weighing30tons,using200kilowattsofelectricpowerandcontainedover
18,000vacuumtubes,1,500relays,andhundredsofthousandsofresistors,capacitors,andinductors.[34]

Moderncomputers

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Conceptofmoderncomputer

TheprincipleofthemoderncomputerwasproposedbyAlanTuringinhisseminal1936paper,[35]OnComputable
Numbers.Turingproposedasimpledevicethathecalled"UniversalComputingmachine"andthatisnowknown
asauniversalTuringmachine.Heprovedthatsuchamachineiscapableofcomputinganythingthatiscomputable
byexecutinginstructions(program)storedontape,allowingthemachinetobeprogrammable.Thefundamental
conceptofTuring'sdesignisthestoredprogram,wherealltheinstructionsforcomputingarestoredinmemory.
VonNeumannacknowledgedthatthecentralconceptofthemoderncomputerwasduetothispaper.[36]Turing
machinesaretothisdayacentralobjectofstudyintheoryofcomputation.Exceptforthelimitationsimposedby
theirfinitememorystores,moderncomputersaresaidtobeTuringcomplete,whichistosay,theyhavealgorithm
executioncapabilityequivalenttoauniversalTuringmachine.

Storedprograms

Earlycomputingmachineshadfixedprograms.Changingitsfunction
requiredtherewiringandrestructuringofthemachine.[28]Withthe
proposalofthestoredprogramcomputerthischanged.Astored
programcomputerincludesbydesignaninstructionsetandcanstore
inmemoryasetofinstructions(aprogram)thatdetailsthe
computation.Thetheoreticalbasisforthestoredprogramcomputer
waslaidbyAlanTuringinhis1936paper.In1945Turingjoinedthe
NationalPhysicalLaboratoryandbeganworkondevelopingan
electronicstoredprogramdigitalcomputer.His1945report"Proposed
ElectronicCalculator"wasthefirstspecificationforsuchadevice.
AsectionoftheManchesterSmallScale
JohnvonNeumannattheUniversityofPennsylvaniaalsocirculated
ExperimentalMachine,thefirststored
hisFirstDraftofaReportontheEDVACin1945.[18] programcomputer.

TheManchesterSmallScaleExperimentalMachine,nicknamedBaby,
wastheworld'sfirststoredprogramcomputer.ItwasbuiltattheVictoriaUniversityofManchesterbyFredericC.
Williams,TomKilburnandGeoffTootill,andranitsfirstprogramon21June1948.[37]Itwasdesignedasa
testbedfortheWilliamstube,thefirstrandomaccessdigitalstoragedevice.[38]Althoughthecomputerwas
considered"smallandprimitive"bythestandardsofitstime,itwasthefirstworkingmachinetocontainallofthe
elementsessentialtoamodernelectroniccomputer.[39]AssoonastheSSEMhaddemonstratedthefeasibilityofits
design,aprojectwasinitiatedattheuniversitytodevelopitintoamoreusablecomputer,theManchesterMark1.

TheMark1inturnquicklybecametheprototypefortheFerrantiMark1,theworld'sfirstcommerciallyavailable
generalpurposecomputer.[40]BuiltbyFerranti,itwasdeliveredtotheUniversityofManchesterinFebruary1951.
Atleastsevenoftheselatermachinesweredeliveredbetween1953and1957,oneofthemtoShelllabsin
Amsterdam.[41]InOctober1947,thedirectorsofBritishcateringcompanyJ.Lyons&Companydecidedtotakean
activeroleinpromotingthecommercialdevelopmentofcomputers.TheLEOIcomputerbecameoperationalin
April1951[42]andrantheworld'sfirstregularroutineofficecomputerjob.

Transistors

Thebipolartransistorwasinventedin1947.From1955onwardstransistorsreplacedvacuumtubesincomputer
designs,givingrisetothe"secondgeneration"ofcomputers.Comparedtovacuumtubes,transistorshavemany
advantages:theyaresmaller,andrequirelesspowerthanvacuumtubes,sogiveofflessheat.Siliconjunction
transistorsweremuchmorereliablethanvacuumtubesandhadlonger,indefinite,servicelife.Transistorized
computerscouldcontaintensofthousandsofbinarylogiccircuitsinarelativelycompactspace.
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AttheUniversityofManchester,ateamundertheleadershipofTom
Kilburndesignedandbuiltamachineusingthenewlydevelopedtransistors
insteadofvalves.[43]Theirfirsttransistorisedcomputerandthefirstinthe
world,wasoperationalby1953,andasecondversionwascompletedthere
inApril1955.However,themachinedidmakeuseofvalvestogenerateits
125kHzclockwaveformsandinthecircuitrytoreadandwriteonits
magneticdrummemory,soitwasnotthefirstcompletelytransistorized
computer.ThatdistinctiongoestotheHarwellCADETof1955,[44]builtby
theelectronicsdivisionoftheAtomicEnergyResearchEstablishmentat
Harwell.[44][45] Abipolarjunctiontransistor

Integratedcircuits

Thenextgreatadvanceincomputingpowercamewiththeadventoftheintegratedcircuit.Theideaofthe
integratedcircuitwasfirstconceivedbyaradarscientistworkingfortheRoyalRadarEstablishmentofthe
MinistryofDefence,GeoffreyW.A.Dummer.Dummerpresentedthefirstpublicdescriptionofanintegrated
circuitattheSymposiumonProgressinQualityElectronicComponentsinWashington,D.C.on7May1952.[46]

ThefirstpracticalICswereinventedbyJackKilbyatTexasInstrumentsandRobertNoyceatFairchild
Semiconductor.[47]KilbyrecordedhisinitialideasconcerningtheintegratedcircuitinJuly1958,successfully
demonstratingthefirstworkingintegratedexampleon12September1958.[48]Inhispatentapplicationof6
February1959,Kilbydescribedhisnewdeviceas"abodyofsemiconductormaterial...whereinallthe
componentsoftheelectroniccircuitarecompletelyintegrated".[49][50]Noycealsocameupwithhisownideaofan
integratedcircuithalfayearlaterthanKilby.[51]HischipsolvedmanypracticalproblemsthatKilby'shadnot.
ProducedatFairchildSemiconductor,itwasmadeofsilicon,whereasKilby'schipwasmadeofgermanium.

Thisnewdevelopmentheraldedanexplosioninthecommercialandpersonaluseofcomputersandledtothe
inventionofthemicroprocessor.Whilethesubjectofexactlywhichdevicewasthefirstmicroprocessoris
contentious,partlyduetolackofagreementontheexactdefinitionoftheterm"microprocessor",itislargely
undisputedthatthefirstsinglechipmicroprocessorwastheIntel4004,[52]designedandrealizedbyTedHoff,
FedericoFaggin,andStanleyMazoratIntel.[53]

Mobilecomputersbecomedominant

Withthecontinuedminiaturizationofcomputingresources,andadvancementsinportablebatterylife,portable
computersgrewinpopularityinthe2000s.[54]Thesamedevelopmentsthatspurredthegrowthoflaptopcomputers
andotherportablecomputersallowedmanufacturerstointegratecomputingresourcesintocellularphones.These
socalledsmartphonesandtabletsrunonavarietyofoperatingsystemsandhavebecomethedominantcomputing
deviceonthemarket,withmanufacturersreportinghavingshippedanestimated237milliondevicesin2Q
2013.[55]

Types
Computersaretypicallyclassifiedbasedontheiruses:

Basedonuses
Analogcomputer
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Digitalcomputer
Hybridcomputer

Basedonsizes
Smartphone
Microcomputer
Personalcomputer
Laptop
Minicomputer
Mainframecomputer
Supercomputer

Hardware
Thetermhardwarecoversallofthosepartsofacomputerthataretangible
physicalobjects.Circuits,computerchips,graphiccards,soundcards,
memory(RAM),motherboard,displays,powersupplies,cables,keyboards,
printersand"mice"inputdevicesareallhardware.

Historyofcomputinghardware

Videodemonstratingthestandard
componentsofa"slimline"computer

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Pascal'scalculator,Arithmometer,Difference
Calculators
engine,Quevedo'sanalyticalmachines
Firstgeneration
(mechanical/electromechanical) Jacquardloom,Analyticalengine,IBM
Programmabledevices ASCC/HarvardMarkI,HarvardMarkII,IBM
SSEC,Z1,Z2,Z3
AtanasoffBerryComputer,IBM604,UNIVAC60,
Calculators
UNIVAC120
Secondgeneration(vacuum Colossus,ENIAC,ManchesterSmallScale
tubes) ExperimentalMachine,EDSAC,ManchesterMark
Programmabledevices 1,FerrantiPegasus,FerrantiMercury,CSIRAC,
EDVAC,UNIVACI,IBM701,IBM702,IBM650,
Z22
Thirdgeneration(discrete Mainframes IBM7090,IBM7080,IBMSystem/360,BUNCH
transistorsandSSI,MSI,LSI HP2116A,IBMSystem/32,IBMSystem/36,LINC,
integratedcircuits) Minicomputer
PDP8,PDP11
Minicomputer VAX,IBMSystemi
4bitmicrocomputer Intel4004,Intel4040
Intel8008,Intel8080,Motorola6800,Motorola
8bitmicrocomputer
6809,MOSTechnology6502,ZilogZ80
16bitmicrocomputer Intel8088,ZilogZ8000,WDC65816/65802
Fourthgeneration(VLSI 32bitmicrocomputer Intel80386,Pentium,Motorola68000,ARM
integratedcircuits)
Alpha,MIPS,PARISC,PowerPC,SPARC,x8664,
64bitmicrocomputer[56] ARMv8A
Embeddedcomputer Intel8048,Intel8051
Desktopcomputer,Homecomputer,Laptop
Personalcomputer computer,Personaldigitalassistant(PDA),Portable
computer,TabletPC,Wearablecomputer
Quantumcomputer,
Chemicalcomputer,DNA
Theoretical/experimental computing,Optical
computer,Spintronics
basedcomputer

Otherhardwaretopics

Mouse,keyboard,joystick,imagescanner,webcam,
Input
graphicstablet,microphone
Peripheraldevice
Output Monitor,printer,loudspeaker
(input/output)
Floppydiskdrive,harddiskdrive,opticaldiscdrive,
Both
teleprinter
Shortrange RS232,SCSI,PCI,USB
Computerbuses Longrange(computer
Ethernet,ATM,FDDI
networking)

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Ageneralpurposecomputerhasfourmaincomponents:thearithmeticlogicunit(ALU),thecontrolunit,the
memory,andtheinputandoutputdevices(collectivelytermedI/O).Thesepartsareinterconnectedbybuses,often
madeofgroupsofwires.Insideeachofthesepartsarethousandstotrillionsofsmallelectricalcircuitswhichcan
beturnedofforonbymeansofanelectronicswitch.Eachcircuitrepresentsabit(binarydigit)ofinformationso
thatwhenthecircuitisonitrepresentsa"1",andwhenoffitrepresentsa"0"(inpositivelogicrepresentation).The
circuitsarearrangedinlogicgatessothatoneormoreofthecircuitsmaycontrolthestateofoneormoreofthe
othercircuits.

Inputdevices

Whenunprocesseddataissenttothecomputerwiththehelpofinputdevices,thedataisprocessedandsentto
outputdevices.Theinputdevicesmaybehandoperatedorautomated.Theactofprocessingismainlyregulated
bytheCPU.Someexamplesofhandoperatedinputdevicesare:

Computerkeyboard
Digitalcamera
Digitalvideo
Graphicstablet
Imagescanner
Joystick
Microphone
Mouse
Overlaykeyboard
Trackball
Touchscreen

Outputdevices

Themeansthroughwhichcomputergivesoutputareknownasoutputdevices.Someexamplesofoutputdevices
are:

Computermonitor
Printer
PCspeaker
Projector
Soundcard
Videocard

Controlunit

Thecontrolunit(oftencalledacontrolsystemorcentralcontroller)
managesthecomputer'svariouscomponentsitreadsandinterprets
(decodes)theprograminstructions,transformingthemintocontrolsignals
thatactivateotherpartsofthecomputer.[57]Controlsystemsinadvanced
computersmaychangetheorderofexecutionofsomeinstructionsto
improveperformance. Diagramshowinghowaparticular
MIPSarchitectureinstructionwould
AkeycomponentcommontoallCPUsistheprogramcounter,aspecial bedecodedbythecontrolsystem
memorycell(aregister)thatkeepstrackofwhichlocationinmemorythe
nextinstructionistobereadfrom.[58]

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Thecontrolsystem'sfunctionisasfollowsnotethatthisisasimplifieddescription,andsomeofthesestepsmay
beperformedconcurrentlyorinadifferentorderdependingonthetypeofCPU:

1.Readthecodeforthenextinstructionfromthecellindicatedbytheprogramcounter.
2.Decodethenumericalcodefortheinstructionintoasetofcommandsorsignalsforeachoftheother
systems.
3.Incrementtheprogramcountersoitpointstothenextinstruction.
4.Readwhateverdatatheinstructionrequiresfromcellsinmemory(orperhapsfromaninputdevice).The
locationofthisrequireddataistypicallystoredwithintheinstructioncode.
5.ProvidethenecessarydatatoanALUorregister.
6.IftheinstructionrequiresanALUorspecializedhardwaretocomplete,instructthehardwaretoperformthe
requestedoperation.
7.WritetheresultfromtheALUbacktoamemorylocationortoaregisterorperhapsanoutputdevice.
8.Jumpbacktostep(1).

Sincetheprogramcounteris(conceptually)justanothersetofmemorycells,itcanbechangedbycalculations
doneintheALU.Adding100totheprogramcounterwouldcausethenextinstructiontobereadfromaplace100
locationsfurtherdowntheprogram.Instructionsthatmodifytheprogramcounterareoftenknownas"jumps"and
allowforloops(instructionsthatarerepeatedbythecomputer)andoftenconditionalinstructionexecution(both
examplesofcontrolflow).

Thesequenceofoperationsthatthecontrolunitgoesthroughtoprocessaninstructionisinitselflikeashort
computerprogram,andindeed,insomemorecomplexCPUdesigns,thereisanotheryetsmallercomputercalleda
microsequencer,whichrunsamicrocodeprogramthatcausesalloftheseeventstohappen.

Centralprocessingunit(CPU)

Thecontrolunit,ALU,andregistersarecollectivelyknownasacentralprocessingunit(CPU).EarlyCPUswere
composedofmanyseparatecomponentsbutsincethemid1970sCPUshavetypicallybeenconstructedonasingle
integratedcircuitcalledamicroprocessor.

Arithmeticlogicunit(ALU)

TheALUiscapableofperformingtwoclassesofoperations:arithmeticandlogic.[59]Thesetofarithmetic
operationsthataparticularALUsupportsmaybelimitedtoadditionandsubtraction,ormightinclude
multiplication,division,trigonometryfunctionssuchassine,cosine,etc.,andsquareroots.Somecanonlyoperate
onwholenumbers(integers)whilstothersusefloatingpointtorepresentrealnumbers,albeitwithlimited
precision.However,anycomputerthatiscapableofperformingjustthesimplestoperationscanbeprogrammedto
breakdownthemorecomplexoperationsintosimplestepsthatitcanperform.Therefore,anycomputercanbe
programmedtoperformanyarithmeticoperationalthoughitwilltakemoretimetodosoifitsALUdoesnot
directlysupporttheoperation.AnALUmayalsocomparenumbersandreturnbooleantruthvalues(trueorfalse)
dependingonwhetheroneisequalto,greaterthanorlessthantheother("is64greaterthan65?").Logic
operationsinvolveBooleanlogic:AND,OR,XOR,andNOT.Thesecanbeusefulforcreatingcomplicated
conditionalstatementsandprocessingbooleanlogic.

SuperscalarcomputersmaycontainmultipleALUs,allowingthemtoprocessseveralinstructions
simultaneously.[60]GraphicsprocessorsandcomputerswithSIMDandMIMDfeaturesoftencontainALUsthat
canperformarithmeticonvectorsandmatrices.

Memory

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Acomputer'smemorycanbeviewedasalistofcellsintowhichnumbers
canbeplacedorread.Eachcellhasanumbered"address"andcanstorea
singlenumber.Thecomputercanbeinstructedto"putthenumber123into
thecellnumbered1357"orto"addthenumberthatisincell1357tothe
numberthatisincell2468andputtheanswerintocell1595."The
informationstoredinmemorymayrepresentpracticallyanything.Letters,
numbers,evencomputerinstructionscanbeplacedintomemorywithequal
ease.SincetheCPUdoesnotdifferentiatebetweendifferenttypesof
information,itisthesoftware'sresponsibilitytogivesignificancetowhat
thememoryseesasnothingbutaseriesofnumbers.
Magneticcorememorywasthe
Inalmostallmoderncomputers,eachmemorycellissetuptostorebinary computermemoryofchoice
numbersingroupsofeightbits(calledabyte).Eachbyteisableto throughoutthe1960s,untilitwas
replacedbysemiconductormemory.
represent256differentnumbers(28=256)eitherfrom0to255or128to
+127.Tostorelargernumbers,severalconsecutivebytesmaybeused
(typically,two,fouroreight).Whennegativenumbersarerequired,theyareusuallystoredintwo'scomplement
notation.Otherarrangementsarepossible,butareusuallynotseenoutsideofspecializedapplicationsorhistorical
contexts.Acomputercanstoreanykindofinformationinmemoryifitcanberepresentednumerically.Modern
computershavebillionsoreventrillionsofbytesofmemory.

TheCPUcontainsaspecialsetofmemorycellscalledregistersthatcanbereadandwrittentomuchmorerapidly
thanthemainmemoryarea.Therearetypicallybetweentwoandonehundredregistersdependingonthetypeof
CPU.Registersareusedforthemostfrequentlyneededdataitemstoavoidhavingtoaccessmainmemoryevery
timedataisneeded.Asdataisconstantlybeingworkedon,reducingtheneedtoaccessmainmemory(whichis
oftenslowcomparedtotheALUandcontrolunits)greatlyincreasesthecomputer'sspeed.

Computermainmemorycomesintwoprincipalvarieties:

randomaccessmemoryorRAM
readonlymemoryorROM

RAMcanbereadandwrittentoanytimetheCPUcommandsit,butROMispreloadedwithdataandsoftwarethat
neverchanges,thereforetheCPUcanonlyreadfromit.ROMistypicallyusedtostorethecomputer'sinitialstart
upinstructions.Ingeneral,thecontentsofRAMareerasedwhenthepowertothecomputeristurnedoff,but
ROMretainsitsdataindefinitely.InaPC,theROMcontainsaspecializedprogramcalledtheBIOSthat
orchestratesloadingthecomputer'soperatingsystemfromtheharddiskdriveintoRAMwheneverthecomputeris
turnedonorreset.Inembeddedcomputers,whichfrequentlydonothavediskdrives,alloftherequiredsoftware
maybestoredinROM.SoftwarestoredinROMisoftencalledfirmware,becauseitisnotionallymorelike
hardwarethansoftware.FlashmemoryblursthedistinctionbetweenROMandRAM,asitretainsitsdatawhen
turnedoffbutisalsorewritable.ItistypicallymuchslowerthanconventionalROMandRAMhowever,soitsuse
isrestrictedtoapplicationswherehighspeedisunnecessary.[61]

InmoresophisticatedcomputerstheremaybeoneormoreRAMcachememories,whichareslowerthanregisters
butfasterthanmainmemory.Generallycomputerswiththissortofcachearedesignedtomovefrequentlyneeded
dataintothecacheautomatically,oftenwithouttheneedforanyinterventionontheprogrammer'spart.

Input/output(I/O)

I/Oisthemeansbywhichacomputerexchangesinformationwiththeoutsideworld.[62]Devicesthatprovideinput
oroutputtothecomputerarecalledperipherals.[63]Onatypicalpersonalcomputer,peripheralsincludeinput
deviceslikethekeyboardandmouse,andoutputdevicessuchasthedisplayandprinter.Harddiskdrives,floppy
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diskdrivesandopticaldiscdrivesserveasbothinputandoutputdevices.
ComputernetworkingisanotherformofI/O.I/Odevicesareoften
complexcomputersintheirownright,withtheirownCPUandmemory.A
graphicsprocessingunitmightcontainfiftyormoretinycomputersthat
performthecalculationsnecessarytodisplay3Dgraphics.Moderndesktop
computerscontainmanysmallercomputersthatassistthemainCPUin
performingI/O.A2016eraflatscreendisplaycontainsitsowncomputer
circuitry.
Harddiskdrivesarecommonstorage
Multitasking
devicesusedwithcomputers.
Whileacomputermaybeviewedasrunningonegiganticprogramstored
initsmainmemory,insomesystemsitisnecessarytogivetheappearanceofrunningseveralprograms
simultaneously.Thisisachievedbymultitaskingi.e.havingthecomputerswitchrapidlybetweenrunningeach
programinturn.[64]Onemeansbywhichthisisdoneiswithaspecialsignalcalledaninterrupt,whichcan
periodicallycausethecomputertostopexecutinginstructionswhereitwasanddosomethingelseinstead.By
rememberingwhereitwasexecutingpriortotheinterrupt,thecomputercanreturntothattasklater.Ifseveral
programsarerunning"atthesametime".thentheinterruptgeneratormightbecausingseveralhundredinterrupts
persecond,causingaprogramswitcheachtime.Sincemoderncomputerstypicallyexecuteinstructionsseveral
ordersofmagnitudefasterthanhumanperception,itmayappearthatmanyprogramsarerunningatthesametime
eventhoughonlyoneiseverexecutinginanygiveninstant.Thismethodofmultitaskingissometimestermed
"timesharing"sinceeachprogramisallocateda"slice"oftimeinturn.[65]

Beforetheeraofinexpensivecomputers,theprincipaluseformultitaskingwastoallowmanypeopletosharethe
samecomputer.Seemingly,multitaskingwouldcauseacomputerthatisswitchingbetweenseveralprogramsto
runmoreslowly,indirectproportiontothenumberofprogramsitisrunning,butmostprogramsspendmuchof
theirtimewaitingforslowinput/outputdevicestocompletetheirtasks.Ifaprogramiswaitingfortheusertoclick
onthemouseorpressakeyonthekeyboard,thenitwillnottakea"timeslice"untiltheeventitiswaitingforhas
occurred.Thisfreesuptimeforotherprogramstoexecutesothatmanyprogramsmayberunsimultaneously
withoutunacceptablespeedloss.

Multiprocessing

SomecomputersaredesignedtodistributetheirworkacrossseveralCPUs
inamultiprocessingconfiguration,atechniqueonceemployedonlyin
largeandpowerfulmachinessuchassupercomputers,mainframe
computersandservers.Multiprocessorandmulticore(multipleCPUsona
singleintegratedcircuit)personalandlaptopcomputersarenowwidely
available,andarebeingincreasinglyusedinlowerendmarketsasaresult.

Supercomputersinparticularoftenhavehighlyuniquearchitecturesthat
differsignificantlyfromthebasicstoredprogramarchitectureandfrom
generalpurposecomputers.[66]TheyoftenfeaturethousandsofCPUs,
Craydesignedmanysupercomputers
customizedhighspeedinterconnects,andspecializedcomputinghardware.
thatusedmultiprocessingheavily.
Suchdesignstendtobeusefulonlyforspecializedtasksduetothelarge
scaleofprogramorganizationrequiredtosuccessfullyutilizemostofthe
availableresourcesatonce.Supercomputersusuallyseeusageinlargescalesimulation,graphicsrendering,and
cryptographyapplications,aswellaswithothersocalled"embarrassinglyparallel"tasks.

Software
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Softwarereferstopartsofthecomputerwhichdonothaveamaterialform,suchasprograms,data,protocols,etc.
Softwareisthatpartofacomputersystemthatconsistsofencodedinformationorcomputerinstructions,in
contrasttothephysicalhardwarefromwhichthesystemisbuilt.Computersoftwareincludescomputerprograms,
librariesandrelatednonexecutabledata,suchasonlinedocumentationordigitalmedia.Computerhardwareand
softwarerequireeachotherandneithercanberealisticallyusedonitsown.Whensoftwareisstoredinhardware
thatcannoteasilybemodified,suchaswithBIOSROMinanIBMPCcompatiblecomputer,itissometimes
called"firmware".

Operatingsystems

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Unixand UNIXSystemV,IBMAIX,HPUX,Solaris(SunOS),IRIX,ListofBSD
BSD operatingsystems
GNU/Linux ListofLinuxdistributions,ComparisonofLinuxdistributions
Microsoft Windows95,Windows98,WindowsNT,Windows2000,WindowsMe,
Operating Windows WindowsXP,WindowsVista,Windows7,Windows8,Windows10
system/System
DOS 86DOS(QDOS),IBMPCDOS,MSDOS,DRDOS,FreeDOS
Software
MacOS ClassicMacOS,macOS(previously"OSX"and"MacOSX")
Embedded
Listofembeddedoperatingsystems
andrealtime
Experimental Amoeba,Oberon/Bluebottle,Plan9fromBellLabs
Multimedia DirectX,OpenGL,OpenAL,Vulkan(API)
Library Programming
Cstandardlibrary,StandardTemplateLibrary
library
Protocol TCP/IP,Kermit,FTP,HTTP,SMTP
Data
Fileformat HTML,XML,JPEG,MPEG,PNG
Graphicaluser
interface MicrosoftWindows,GNOME,KDE,QNXPhoton,CDE,GEM,Aqua
Userinterface (WIMP)
Textbased
Commandlineinterface,Textuserinterface
userinterface
Wordprocessing,Desktoppublishing,Presentationprogram,Database
Officesuite managementsystem,Scheduling&Timemanagement,Spreadsheet,Accounting
software
Internet
Browser,Emailclient,Webserver,Mailtransferagent,Instantmessaging
Access
Designand Computeraideddesign,Computeraidedmanufacturing,Plantmanagement,
manufacturing Roboticmanufacturing,Supplychainmanagement
Rastergraphicseditor,Vectorgraphicseditor,3Dmodeler,Animationeditor,3D
Graphics
Application computergraphics,Videoediting,Imageprocessing
Software Audio Digitalaudioeditor,Audioplayback,Mixing,Audiosynthesis,Computermusic
Compiler,Assembler,Interpreter,Debugger,Texteditor,Integrateddevelopment
Software
environment,Softwareperformanceanalysis,Revisioncontrol,Software
engineering
configurationmanagement
Educational Edutainment,Educationalgame,Seriousgame,Flightsimulator
Strategy,Arcade,Puzzle,Simulation,Firstpersonshooter,Platform,Massively
Games
multiplayer,Interactivefiction
Artificialintelligence,Antivirussoftware,Malwarescanner,Installer/Package
Misc
managementsystems,Filemanager

Languages

Therearethousandsofdifferentprogramminglanguagessomeintendedtobegeneralpurpose,othersusefulonly
forhighlyspecializedapplications.

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Programminglanguages
Timelineofprogramminglanguages,Listofprogramminglanguagesbycategory,
Listsofprogramming
Generationallistofprogramminglanguages,Listofprogramminglanguages,Non
languages
Englishbasedprogramminglanguages
Commonlyused
ARM,MIPS,x86
assemblylanguages
Commonlyusedhigh
Ada,BASIC,C,C++,C#,COBOL,Fortran,PL/1,REXX,Java,Lisp,Pascal,Object
levelprogramming
Pascal
languages
Commonlyused
Bournescript,JavaScript,Python,Ruby,PHP,Perl
scriptinglanguages

ApplicationSoftware

Programs

Thedefiningfeatureofmoderncomputerswhichdistinguishesthemfromallothermachinesisthattheycanbe
programmed.Thatistosaythatsometypeofinstructions(theprogram)canbegiventothecomputer,anditwill
processthem.ModerncomputersbasedonthevonNeumannarchitectureoftenhavemachinecodeintheformof
animperativeprogramminglanguage.Inpracticalterms,acomputerprogrammaybejustafewinstructionsor
extendtomanymillionsofinstructions,asdotheprogramsforwordprocessorsandwebbrowsersforexample.A
typicalmoderncomputercanexecutebillionsofinstructionspersecond(gigaflops)andrarelymakesamistake
overmanyyearsofoperation.Largecomputerprogramsconsistingofseveralmillioninstructionsmaytaketeams
ofprogrammersyearstowrite,andduetothecomplexityofthetaskalmostcertainlycontainerrors.

Storedprogramarchitecture

ThissectionappliestomostcommonRAMmachinebasedcomputers.

Inmostcases,computerinstructionsaresimple:addonenumberto
another,movesomedatafromonelocationtoanother,sendamessageto
someexternaldevice,etc.Theseinstructionsarereadfromthecomputer's
memoryandaregenerallycarriedout(executed)intheordertheywere
given.However,thereareusuallyspecializedinstructionstotellthe
computertojumpaheadorbackwardstosomeotherplaceintheprogram
andtocarryonexecutingfromthere.Thesearecalled"jump"instructions
(orbranches).Furthermore,jumpinstructionsmaybemadetohappen ReplicaoftheSmallScale
conditionallysothatdifferentsequencesofinstructionsmaybeused ExperimentalMachine(SSEM),the
dependingontheresultofsomepreviouscalculationorsomeexternal world'sfirststoredprogram
event.Manycomputersdirectlysupportsubroutinesbyprovidingatypeof computer,attheMuseumofScience
jumpthat"remembers"thelocationitjumpedfromandanotherinstruction andIndustryinManchester,England
toreturntotheinstructionfollowingthatjumpinstruction.

Programexecutionmightbelikenedtoreadingabook.Whileapersonwillnormallyreadeachwordandlinein
sequence,theymayattimesjumpbacktoanearlierplaceinthetextorskipsectionsthatarenotofinterest.
Similarly,acomputermaysometimesgobackandrepeattheinstructionsinsomesectionoftheprogramoverand
overagainuntilsomeinternalconditionismet.Thisiscalledtheflowofcontrolwithintheprogramanditiswhat
allowsthecomputertoperformtasksrepeatedlywithouthumanintervention.

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Comparatively,apersonusingapocketcalculatorcanperformabasicarithmeticoperationsuchasaddingtwo
numberswithjustafewbuttonpresses.Buttoaddtogetherallofthenumbersfrom1to1,000wouldtake
thousandsofbuttonpressesandalotoftime,withanearcertaintyofmakingamistake.Ontheotherhand,a
computermaybeprogrammedtodothiswithjustafewsimpleinstructions.Thefollowingexampleiswrittenin
theMIPSassemblylanguage:

begin:
addi$8,$0,0#initializesumto0
addi$9,$0,1#setfirstnumbertoadd=1
loop:
slti$10,$9,1000#checkifthenumberislessthan1000
beq$10,$0,finish#ifoddnumberisgreaterthannthenexit
add$8,$8,$9#updatesum
addi$9,$9,1#getnextnumber
jloop#repeatthesummingprocess
finish:
add$2,$8,$0#putsuminoutputregister

Oncetoldtorunthisprogram,thecomputerwillperformtherepetitiveadditiontaskwithoutfurtherhuman
intervention.ItwillalmostnevermakeamistakeandamodernPCcancompletethetaskinafractionofasecond.

Machinecode

Inmostcomputers,individualinstructionsarestoredasmachinecodewitheachinstructionbeinggivenaunique
number(itsoperationcodeoropcodeforshort).Thecommandtoaddtwonumberstogetherwouldhaveone
opcodethecommandtomultiplythemwouldhaveadifferentopcode,andsoon.Thesimplestcomputersareable
toperformanyofahandfulofdifferentinstructionsthemorecomplexcomputershaveseveralhundredtochoose
from,eachwithauniquenumericalcode.Sincethecomputer'smemoryisabletostorenumbers,itcanalsostore
theinstructioncodes.Thisleadstotheimportantfactthatentireprograms(whicharejustlistsofthese
instructions)canberepresentedaslistsofnumbersandcanthemselvesbemanipulatedinsidethecomputerinthe
samewayasnumericdata.Thefundamentalconceptofstoringprogramsinthecomputer'smemoryalongsidethe
datatheyoperateonisthecruxofthevonNeumann,orstoredprogram,architecture.Insomecases,acomputer
mightstoresomeorallofitsprograminmemorythatiskeptseparatefromthedataitoperateson.Thisiscalled
theHarvardarchitectureaftertheHarvardMarkIcomputer.ModernvonNeumanncomputersdisplaysometraits
oftheHarvardarchitectureintheirdesigns,suchasinCPUcaches.

Whileitispossibletowritecomputerprogramsaslonglistsofnumbers(machinelanguage)andwhilethis
techniquewasusedwithmanyearlycomputers,[67]itisextremelytediousandpotentiallyerrorpronetodosoin
practice,especiallyforcomplicatedprograms.Instead,eachbasicinstructioncanbegivenashortnamethatis
indicativeofitsfunctionandeasytorememberamnemonicsuchasADD,SUB,MULTorJUMP.These
mnemonicsarecollectivelyknownasacomputer'sassemblylanguage.Convertingprogramswritteninassembly
languageintosomethingthecomputercanactuallyunderstand(machinelanguage)isusuallydonebyacomputer
programcalledanassembler.

Programminglanguage

Programminglanguagesprovidevariouswaysofspecifyingprogramsforcomputerstorun.Unlikenatural
languages,programminglanguagesaredesignedtopermitnoambiguityandtobeconcise.Theyarepurelywritten
languagesandareoftendifficulttoreadaloud.Theyaregenerallyeithertranslatedintomachinecodebya
compileroranassemblerbeforebeingrun,ortranslateddirectlyatruntimebyaninterpreter.Sometimesprograms
areexecutedbyahybridmethodofthetwotechniques.

Lowlevellanguages

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Machinelanguagesandtheassemblylanguagesthatrepresentthem
(collectivelytermedlowlevelprogramminglanguages)tendtobeunique
toaparticulartypeofcomputer.Forinstance,anARMarchitecture
computer(suchasmaybefoundinasmartphoneorahandheld
videogame)cannotunderstandthemachinelanguageofanx86CPUthat
mightbeinaPC.[68]
A1970spunchedcardcontainingone
Highlevellanguages/thirdgenerationlanguage linefromaFORTRANprogram.The
cardreads:"Z(1)=Y+W(1)"andis
Thoughconsiderablyeasierthaninmachinelanguage,writinglong labeled"PROJ039"foridentification
programsinassemblylanguageisoftendifficultandisalsoerrorprone. purposes.
Therefore,mostpracticalprogramsarewritteninmoreabstracthighlevel
programminglanguagesthatareabletoexpresstheneedsofthe
programmermoreconveniently(andtherebyhelpreduceprogrammererror).Highlevellanguagesareusually
"compiled"intomachinelanguage(orsometimesintoassemblylanguageandthenintomachinelanguage)using
anothercomputerprogramcalledacompiler.[69]Highlevellanguagesarelessrelatedtotheworkingsofthetarget
computerthanassemblylanguage,andmorerelatedtothelanguageandstructureoftheproblem(s)tobesolvedby
thefinalprogram.Itisthereforeoftenpossibletousedifferentcompilerstotranslatethesamehighlevellanguage
programintothemachinelanguageofmanydifferenttypesofcomputer.Thisispartofthemeansbywhich
softwarelikevideogamesmaybemadeavailablefordifferentcomputerarchitecturessuchaspersonalcomputers
andvariousvideogameconsoles.

Fourthgenerationlanguages

These4Glanguagesarelessproceduralthan3Glanguages.Thebenefitof4GListhattheyprovidewaystoobtain
informationwithoutrequiringthedirecthelpofaprogrammer.Anexampleofa4GLisSQL.

Programdesign

Programdesignofsmallprogramsisrelativelysimpleandinvolvestheanalysisoftheproblem,collectionof
inputs,usingtheprogrammingconstructswithinlanguages,devisingorusingestablishedproceduresand
algorithms,providingdataforoutputdevicesandsolutionstotheproblemasapplicable.Asproblemsbecome
largerandmorecomplex,featuressuchassubprograms,modules,formaldocumentation,andnewparadigmssuch
asobjectorientedprogrammingareencountered.Largeprogramsinvolvingthousandsoflineofcodeandmore
requireformalsoftwaremethodologies.Thetaskofdevelopinglargesoftwaresystemspresentsasignificant
intellectualchallenge.Producingsoftwarewithanacceptablyhighreliabilitywithinapredictablescheduleand
budgethashistoricallybeendifficulttheacademicandprofessionaldisciplineofsoftwareengineering
concentratesspecificallyonthischallenge.

Bugs

Errorsincomputerprogramsarecalled"bugs".Theymaybebenignandnotaffecttheusefulnessoftheprogram,
orhaveonlysubtleeffects.Butinsomecases,theymaycausetheprogramortheentiresystemto"hang",
becomingunresponsivetoinputsuchasmouseclicksorkeystrokes,tocompletelyfail,ortocrash.Otherwise
benignbugsmaysometimesbeharnessedformaliciousintentbyanunscrupuloususerwritinganexploit,code
designedtotakeadvantageofabuganddisruptacomputer'sproperexecution.Bugsareusuallynotthefaultofthe
computer.Sincecomputersmerelyexecutetheinstructionstheyaregiven,bugsarenearlyalwaystheresultof
programmererrororanoversightmadeintheprogram'sdesign.[70]AdmiralGraceHopper,anAmericancomputer

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scientistanddeveloperofthefirstcompiler,iscreditedforhavingfirstused
theterm"bugs"incomputingafteradeadmothwasfoundshortingarelay
intheHarvardMarkIIcomputerinSeptember1947.[71]

Firmware
Firmwareisthetechnologywhichhasthecombinationofbothhardware
andsoftwaresuchasBIOSchipinsideacomputer.Thischip(hardware)is
locatedonthemotherboardandhastheBIOSsetup(software)storedinit.
Theactualfirstcomputerbug,amoth
NetworkingandtheInternet foundtrappedonarelayofthe
HarvardMarkIIcomputer
Computershavebeenusedto
coordinateinformationbetweenmultiplelocationssincethe1950s.The
U.S.military'sSAGEsystemwasthefirstlargescaleexampleofsucha
system,whichledtoanumberofspecialpurposecommercialsystemssuch
asSabre.[72]Inthe1970s,computerengineersatresearchinstitutions
throughouttheUnitedStatesbegantolinktheircomputerstogetherusing
telecommunicationstechnology.TheeffortwasfundedbyARPA(now
DARPA),andthecomputernetworkthatresultedwascalledthe
ARPANET.[73]ThetechnologiesthatmadetheArpanetpossiblespreadand
evolved.

Intime,thenetworkspreadbeyondacademicandmilitaryinstitutionsand
Visualizationofaportionofthe becameknownastheInternet.Theemergenceofnetworkinginvolveda
routesontheInternet redefinitionofthenatureandboundariesofthecomputer.Computer
operatingsystemsandapplicationsweremodifiedtoincludetheabilityto
defineandaccesstheresourcesofothercomputersonthenetwork,suchas
peripheraldevices,storedinformation,andthelike,asextensionsoftheresourcesofanindividualcomputer.
Initiallythesefacilitieswereavailableprimarilytopeopleworkinginhightechenvironments,butinthe1990sthe
spreadofapplicationslikeemailandtheWorldWideWeb,combinedwiththedevelopmentofcheap,fast
networkingtechnologieslikeEthernetandADSLsawcomputernetworkingbecomealmostubiquitous.Infact,the
numberofcomputersthatarenetworkedisgrowingphenomenally.Averylargeproportionofpersonalcomputers
regularlyconnecttotheInternettocommunicateandreceiveinformation."Wireless"networking,oftenutilizing
mobilephonenetworks,hasmeantnetworkingisbecomingincreasinglyubiquitouseveninmobilecomputing
environments.

Misconceptions
Humancomputer

Acomputerdoesnotneedtobeelectronic,norevenhaveaprocessor,norRAM,norevenaharddisk.While
popularusageoftheword"computer"issynonymouswithapersonalelectroniccomputer,themodern[74]
definitionofacomputerisliterally:"Adevicethatcomputes,especiallyaprogrammable[usually]electronic
machinethatperformshighspeedmathematicalorlogicaloperationsorthatassembles,stores,correlates,or
otherwiseprocessesinformation."[75]Anydevicewhichprocessesinformationqualifiesasacomputer,especially
iftheprocessingispurposeful.

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Unconventionalcomputing

Historically,computersevolvedfrommechanicalcomputersandeventually
fromvacuumtubestotransistors.However,conceptuallycomputational
systemsasflexibleasapersonalcomputercanbebuiltoutofalmost
anything.Forexample,acomputercanbemadeoutofbilliardballs
(billiardballcomputer)anoftenquotedexample.Morerealistically,
moderncomputersaremadeoutoftransistorsmadeofphotolithographed
semiconductors.

WomenascomputersinNACAHigh
Future SpeedFlightStation"Computer
Room"
Thereisactiveresearchtomakecomputersoutofmanypromisingnew
typesoftechnology,suchasopticalcomputers,DNAcomputers,neural
computers,andquantumcomputers.Mostcomputersareuniversal,andareabletocalculateanycomputable
function,andarelimitedonlybytheirmemorycapacityandoperatingspeed.Howeverdifferentdesignsof
computerscangiveverydifferentperformanceforparticularproblemsforexamplequantumcomputerscan
potentiallybreaksomemodernencryptionalgorithms(byquantumfactoring)veryquickly.

Computerarchitectureparadigms

Therearemanytypesofcomputerarchitectures:

Quantumcomputervs.Chemicalcomputer
Scalarprocessorvs.Vectorprocessor
NonUniformMemoryAccess(NUMA)computers
Registermachinevs.Stackmachine
Harvardarchitecturevs.vonNeumannarchitecture
Cellulararchitecture

Ofalltheseabstractmachines,aquantumcomputerholdsthemostpromiseforrevolutionizingcomputing.[76]
Logicgatesareacommonabstractionwhichcanapplytomostoftheabovedigitaloranalogparadigms.The
abilitytostoreandexecutelistsofinstructionscalledprogramsmakescomputersextremelyversatile,
distinguishingthemfromcalculators.TheChurchTuringthesisisamathematicalstatementofthisversatility:any
computerwithaminimumcapability(beingTuringcomplete)is,inprinciple,capableofperformingthesame
tasksthatanyothercomputercanperform.Therefore,anytypeofcomputer(netbook,supercomputer,cellular
automaton,etc.)isabletoperformthesamecomputationaltasks,givenenoughtimeandstoragecapacity.

Artificialintelligence

Acomputerwillsolveproblemsinexactlythewayitisprogrammedto,withoutregardtoefficiency,alternative
solutions,possibleshortcuts,orpossibleerrorsinthecode.Computerprogramsthatlearnandadaptarepartofthe
emergingfieldofartificialintelligenceandmachinelearning.

Professionsandorganizations
Astheuseofcomputershasspreadthroughoutsociety,thereareanincreasingnumberofcareersinvolving
computers.

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Computerrelatedprofessions
Hardware Electricalengineering,Electronicengineering,Computerengineering,Telecommunications
related engineering,Opticalengineering,Nanoengineering
Computerscience,Computerengineering,Desktoppublishing,Humancomputerinteraction,
Software
Informationtechnology,Informationsystems,Computationalscience,Softwareengineering,Video
related
gameindustry,Webdesign

Theneedforcomputerstoworkwelltogetherandtobeabletoexchangeinformationhasspawnedtheneedfor
manystandardsorganizations,clubsandsocietiesofbothaformalandinformalnature.

Organizations
Standardsgroups ANSI,IEC,IEEE,IETF,ISO,W3C
Professionalsocieties ACM,AIS,IET,IFIP,BCS
Free/opensourcesoftwaregroups FreeSoftwareFoundation,MozillaFoundation,ApacheSoftwareFoundation

Seealso
Glossaryofcomputers
Computabilitytheory
Computerinsecurity
Computersecurity
Glossaryofcomputerhardwareterms
Historyofcomputerscience
Listofcomputertermetymologies
Listoffictionalcomputers
Listofpioneersincomputerscience
Pulsecomputation
TOP500(listofmostpowerfulcomputers)

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57.Thecontrolunit'sroleininterpretinginstructionshasvariedsomewhatinthepast.Althoughthecontrolunitissolely
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