Jun 16, 2025 · A computer is a programmable device for processing, storing, and displaying information. Learn more in this article about modern digital electronic computers and their design, constituent parts, and applications as well as about the history of computing.

A computer is a machine that can store and process information. Most computers rely on a binary system, which uses two variables, 0 and 1, to complete tasks such as storing data, calculating algorithms, and displaying information.

Jun 16, 2025 · By the second decade of the 19th century, a number of ideas necessary for the invention of the computer were in the air. First, the potential benefits to science and industry of being able to automate routine calculations were appreciated, as they had not been a …

3 days ago · personal computer (PC), a digital computer designed for use by only one person at a time.

Jun 16, 2025 · The history of the solving of these problems is the history of the computer. That history is covered in this section, and links are provided to entries on many of the individuals and companies mentioned.

3 days ago · Computer science is the study of computers and computing, including their theoretical and algorithmic foundations, hardware and software, and their uses for processing information.

A computer network consists of two or more computers that are connected to each other to communicate data electronically. Two basic network types are local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs).

A computer consists of the central processing unit (CPU), main memory (or random-access memory, RAM), and peripherals (e.g., a keyboard, a printer, disc drives).

Digital computer, any of a class of devices capable of solving problems by processing information in discrete form. It operates on data, including magnitudes, letters, and symbols, that are expressed in binary code—that is, using only the two digits 0 and 1.

Jun 25, 2025 · Analog computer, any of a class of devices in which continuously variable physical quantities are represented in a way analogous to the corresponding quantities in the problem to be solved. By the 1970s, analog computers had been …