What is a Computer?
Get introduced to the basics of computer systems.
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Nowadays, we are introduced to computers at a very early age. Whether it is for playing games on a smartphone or listening to music on a sound system, we’re surrounded by computer technology. But how can the same computer display such a variety of information and formats? Let’s get started and find out.
Computer basics
A computer is a machine that manipulates information to assist humans with different sorts of computations, including, but not limited to adding two numbers, online shopping, and building virtual reality systems.
A machine that provides such diverse functionalities might be challenging to comprehend at first, right? But any computer system can be built with only four basic functionalities, shown in the figure below:
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Input: A device that can capture the information from the real world such as a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, or even a heart rate monitor.
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Storage: A physical space that can store the information from the input device.
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Processor: An electronic circuit that can process the information stored in storage.
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Output: A device that displays the processed information, e.g., a monitor, a printer, or a speaker.