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Computer: Etymology

A computer is a machine that can perform arithmetic and logical operations automatically according to programmed instructions. Modern computers follow generalized programs to perform a wide variety of tasks. A computer system includes the hardware, operating system, and peripheral devices required for full operation. Computers are used for control and automation in industrial and consumer devices as well as general purpose devices like personal computers and smartphones. Early computers were mechanical calculators, while modern computers consist of processing components like CPUs and memory to perform operations and peripheral devices for input/output.

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56 views

Computer: Etymology

A computer is a machine that can perform arithmetic and logical operations automatically according to programmed instructions. Modern computers follow generalized programs to perform a wide variety of tasks. A computer system includes the hardware, operating system, and peripheral devices required for full operation. Computers are used for control and automation in industrial and consumer devices as well as general purpose devices like personal computers and smartphones. Early computers were mechanical calculators, while modern computers consist of processing components like CPUs and memory to perform operations and peripheral devices for input/output.

Uploaded by

bunny
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Computer

A computer is a machine that can be instructed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical
operations automatically via computer programming. Modern computers have the ability to
follow generalized sets of operations, called programs. These programs enable computers to
perform an extremely wide range of tasks. A "complete" computer including the hardware, the
operating system (main software), and peripheral equipment required and used for "full"
operation can be referred to as a computer system. This term may as well be used for a group of
computers that are connected and work together, in particular a computer network or computer
cluster.

Computers are used as control systems for a wide variety of industrial and consumer devices.
This includes simple special purpose devices like microwave ovens and remote controls, factory
devices such as industrial robots and computer-aided design, and also general purpose devices
like personal computers and mobile devices such as smartphones. The Internet is run on
computers and it connects hundreds of millions of other computers and their users.

Early computers were only conceived as calculating devices. Since ancient times, simple manual
devices like the abacus aided people in doing calculations. Early in the Industrial Revolution,
some mechanical devices were built to automate long tedious tasks, such as guiding patterns for
looms. More sophisticated electrical machines did specialized analog calculations in the early
20th century. The first digital electronic calculating machines were developed during World War
II. The first semiconductor transistors in the late 1940s were followed by the silicon-based
MOSFET (MOS transistor) and monolithic integrated circuit (IC) chip technologies in the late
1950s, leading to the microprocessor and the microcomputer revolution in the 1970s. The speed,
power and versatility of computers have been increasing dramatically ever since then, with
transistor counts increasing at a rapid pace (as predicted by Moore's law), leading to the Digital
Revolution during the late 20th to early 21st centuries.

Conventionally, a modern computer consists of at least one processing element, typically a


central processing unit (CPU) in the form of a microprocessor, along with some type of computer
memory, typically semiconductor memory chips. The processing element carries out arithmetic
and logical operations, and a sequencing and control unit can change the order of operations in
response to stored information. Peripheral devices include input devices (keyboards, mice,
joystick, etc.), output devices (monitor screens, printers, etc.), and input/output devices that
perform both functions (e.g., the 2000s-era touchscreen). Peripheral devices allow information to
be retrieved from an external source and they enable the result of operations to be saved and
retrieved.

Etymology

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known use of the word "computer" was in
1613 in a book called The Yong Mans Gleanings by English writer Richard Braithwait: "I haue
[sic] read the truest computer of Times, and the best Arithmetician that euer [sic] breathed, and
he reduceth thy dayes into a short number." This usage of the term referred to a human computer,
a person who carried out calculations or computations. The word continued with the same
meaning until the middle of the 20th century. During the latter part of this period women were
often hired as computers because they could be paid less than their male counterparts. By 1943,
most human computers were women.The Online Etymology Dictionary gives the first attested
use of "computer" in the 1640s, meaning "one who calculates"; this is an "agent noun from
compute (v.)". The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the use of the term to mean
"'calculating machine' (of any type) is from 1897." The Online Etymology Dictionary indicates
that the "modern use" of the term, to mean "programmable digital electronic computer" dates
from "1945 under this name; [in a] theoretical [sense] from 1937, as Turing machine".

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