WHAT IS A COMPUTER?

Computer is an electronic device. As mentioned in the introduction it can do arithmetic calculations faster. But as you
will see later it does much more than that. It can be compared to a magic box, which serves different purpose to
different people. For a common man computer is simply a calculator, which works automatic and quite fast. For a
person who knows much about it, computer is a machine capable of solving problems and manipulating data. It
accepts data, processes the data by doing some mathematical and logical operations and gives us the desired output.
Therefore, we may define computer as a device that transforms data. Data can be anything like marks obtained by you
in various subjects. It can also be name, age, sex, weight,  height, etc. of all the students in your class or income,
savings, investments, etc., of a country. Computer can be defined in terms of its functions. It can i) accept data ii) store
data, iii) process data as desired, and iv) retrieve the stored data as and when required and v) print the result in
desired format. You will know more about these functions as you go through the later lessons

OBJECTIVES

After going through this lesson you will be in a position to
• define a computer
• identify characteristics of computer
• know the origin and evolution of computer
• identify capability of computer in terms of speed and accuracy
• distinguish computer from human beings and calculator
• identify the role of computer
• appreciate the evolution of computer through five generation

INTRODUCTION OF COMPUTER FUNDA

Let us begin with the word ‘compute’. It means ‘to calculate’. We all are familiar with calculations in our day to day life.
We apply mathematical operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, etc. and many other formulae for
calculations. Simpler calculations take less time. But complex calculations take much longer time. Another factor is
accuracy in calculations. So man explored with the idea to develop a machine which can perform this type of arithmetic
calculation faster and with full accuracy. This gave birth to a device or machine called ‘computer’.
The computer we see today is quite different from the one made in the beginning. The number of applications of a
computer has increased, the speed and accuracy of calculation has increased. You must appreciate the impact of
computers in our day to day life. Reservation of tickets in Air Lines and Railways, payment of telephone and electricity
bills, deposits and withdrawals of money from banks, business data processing, medical diagnosis, weather
forecasting, etc. are some of the areas where computer has become extremely useful.
However, there is one limitation of the computer. Human beings do calculations on their own. But computer is a dumb
machine and it has to be given proper instructions to carry out its calculation. This is why we should know how a
computer works.