A computer is a machine that can be programmed to automatically carry

out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation). Modern digital

electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These
programs enable computers to perform a wide range of tasks. The term computer
system may refer to a nominally complete computer that includes
the hardware, operating system, software, and peripheral equipment needed and used
for full operation; or to a group of computers that are linked and function together, such
as a computer network or computer cluster.

A broad range of industrial and consumer products use computers as control systems,
including simple special-purpose devices like microwave ovens and remote controls,
and factory devices like industrial robots. Computers are at the core of general-purpose
devices such as personal computers and mobile devices such as smartphones.
Computers power the Internet, which links billions of computers and users.

Early computers were meant to be used only for calculations. Simple manual
instruments like the abacus have aided people in doing calculations since ancient times.
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,
both electromechanical and using thermionic valves. The
first semiconductor transistors in the late 1940s were followed by the silicon-
based MOSFET (MOS transistor) and monolithic integrated circuit 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 (Moore's
law noted that counts doubled every two years), leading to the Digital Revolution during
the late 20th and 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, together 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, joysticks, etc.), output devices
(monitors, printers, etc.), and input/output devices that perform both functions
(e.g. touchscreens). Peripheral devices allow information to be retrieved from an
external source, and they enable the results of operations to be saved and retrieved.

Etymology
 A human computer, with microscope and calculator, 1952
It was not until the mid-20th century that the word acquired its modern definition;
according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known use of the
word computer was in a different sense, in a 1613 book called The Yong Mans
Gleanings by the English writer Richard Brathwait: "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 to have 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.[1] By 1943, most human computers were women.[2]

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".[3] The name
has remained, although modern computers are capable of many higher-level functions.

History
Main articles: History of computing and History of computing hardware
For a chronological guide, see Timeline of computing.
Pre-20th century
 The Ishango bone, a bone tool dating back to prehistoric Africa
Devices have been used to aid computation for thousands of years, mostly using one-
to-one correspondence with fingers. The earliest counting device was most likely a form
of tally stick. Later record keeping aids throughout the Fertile Crescent included calculi
(clay spheres, cones, etc.) which represented counts of items, likely livestock or grains,
sealed in hollow unbaked clay containers.[a][4] The use of counting rods is one example.

The Chinese suanpan (算盘). The number represented on

this abacus is 6,302,715,408.
The abacus was initially used for arithmetic tasks. The Roman abacus was developed
from devices used in Babylonia as early as 2400 BCE. Since then, many other forms of
reckoning boards or tables have been invented. In a medieval European counting
house, a checkered cloth would be placed on a table, and markers moved around on it
according to certain rules, as an aid to calculating sums of money.[5]

The Antikythera mechanism, dating back to ancient Greece circa

150–100 BCE, is an early analog computing device.
The Antikythera mechanism is believed to be the earliest known mechanical analog
computer, according to Derek J. de Solla Price.[6] It was designed to calculate
astronomical positions. It was discovered in 1901 in the Antikythera wreck off the Greek
island of Antikythera, between Kythera and Crete, and has been dated to
approximately c. 100 BCE. Devices of comparable complexity to the Antikythera
mechanism would not reappear until the fourteenth century.[7]

Many mechanical aids to calculation and measurement were constructed for

astronomical and navigation use. The planisphere was a star chart invented by Abū
Rayhān al-Bīrūnī in the early 11th century.[8] The astrolabe was invented in
the Hellenistic world in either the 1st or 2nd centuries BCE and is often attributed
to Hipparchus. A combination of the planisphere and dioptra, the astrolabe was
effectively an analog computer capable of working out several different kinds of
problems in spherical astronomy. An astrolabe incorporating a
mechanical calendar computer[9][10] and gear-wheels was invented by Abi Bakr
of Isfahan, Persia in 1235.[11] Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī invented the first mechanical
geared lunisolar calendar astrolabe,[12] an early fixed-wired knowledge processing
machine[13] with a gear train and gear-wheels,[14] c. 1000 AD.

The sector, a calculating instrument used for solving problems in

proportion, trigonometry, multiplication and division, and for various functions, such as
squares and cube roots, was developed in the late 16th century and found application in
gunnery, surveying and navigation.

The planimeter was a manual instrument to calculate the area of a closed figure by
tracing over it with a mechanical linkage.

A slide rule
The slide rule was invented around 1620–1630, by the English clergyman William
Oughtred, shortly after the publication of the concept of the logarithm. It is a hand-
operated analog computer for doing multiplication and division. As slide rule
development progressed, added scales provided reciprocals, squares and square roots,
cubes and cube roots, as well as transcendental functions such as logarithms and
exponentials, circular and hyperbolic trigonometry and other functions. Slide rules with
special scales are still used for quick performance of routine calculations, such as
the E6B circular slide rule used for time and distance calculations on light aircraft.

In the 1770s, Pierre Jaquet-Droz, a Swiss watchmaker, built a mechanical doll

(automaton) that could write holding a quill pen. By switching the number and order of
its internal wheels different letters, and hence different messages, could be produced. In
effect, it could be mechanically "programmed" to read instructions. Along with two other
complex machines, the doll is at the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire of Neuchâtel, Switzerland,
and still operates.[15]
In 1831–1835, mathematician and engineer Giovanni Plana devised a Perpetual
Calendar machine, which through a system of pulleys and cylinders could predict
the perpetual calendar for every year from 0 CE (that is, 1 BCE) to 4000 CE, keeping
track of leap years and varying day length. The tide-predicting machine invented by the
Scottish scientist Sir William Thomson in 1872 was of great utility to navigation in
shallow waters. It used a system of pulleys and wires to automatically calculate
predicted tide levels for a set period at a particular location.

The differential analyser, a mechanical analog computer designed to solve differential

equations by integration, used wheel-and-disc mechanisms to perform the integration.
In 1876, Sir William Thomson had already discussed the possible construction of such
calculators, but he had been stymied by the limited output torque of the ball-and-disk
integrators.[16] In a differential analyzer, the output of one integrator drove the input of the
next integrator, or a graphing output. The torque amplifier was the advance that allowed
these machines to work. Starting in the 1920s, Vannevar Bush and others developed
mechanical differential analyzers.

In the 1890s, the Spanish engineer Leonardo Torres Quevedo began to develop a
series of advanced analog machines that could solve real and complex roots
of polynomials,[17][18][19][20] which were published in 1901 by the Paris Academy of Sciences.
[21]

First computer

Charles Babbage
 A diagram of a portion of Babbage's Difference engine

The Difference Engine Number 2 at the Intellectual Ventures laboratory in Seattle

Charles Babbage, an English mechanical engineer and polymath, originated the

concept of a programmable computer. Considered the "father of the computer",[22] he
conceptualized and invented the first mechanical computer in the early 19th century.

After working on his difference engine he announced his invention in 1822, in a paper to
the Royal Astronomical Society, titled "Note on the application of machinery to the
computation of astronomical and mathematical tables".[23] He also designed to aid in
navigational calculations, in 1833 he realized that a much more general design,
an analytical engine, was possible. The input of programs and data was to be provided
to the machine via punched cards, a method being used at the time to direct
mechanical looms such as the Jacquard loom. For output, the machine would have a
printer, a curve plotter and a bell. The machine would also be able to punch numbers
onto cards to be read in later. The engine would incorporate an arithmetic logic
unit, control flow in the form of conditional branching and loops, and integrated memory,
making it the first design for a general-purpose computer that could be described in
modern terms as Turing-complete.[24][25]

The machine was about a century ahead of its time. All the parts for his machine had to
be made by hand – this was a major problem for a device with thousands of parts.
Eventually, the project was dissolved with the decision of the British Government to
cease funding. Babbage's failure to complete the analytical engine can be chiefly
attributed to political and financial difficulties as well as his desire to develop an
increasingly sophisticated computer and to move ahead faster than anyone else could
follow. Nevertheless, his son, Henry Babbage, completed a simplified version of the
analytical engine's computing unit (the mill) in 1888. He gave a successful
demonstration of its use in computing tables in 1906.

Electromechanical calculating machine

 Electro-mechanical calculator (1920) by Leonardo Torres
Quevedo.
In his work Essays on Automatics published in 1914, Leonardo Torres Quevedo wrote a
brief history of Babbage's efforts at constructing a mechanical Difference Engine and
Analytical Engine. The paper contains a design of a machine capable to calculate
formulas like , for a sequence of sets of values. The whole machine was to be controlled
by a read-only program, which was complete with provisions for conditional branching.
He also introduced the idea of floating-point arithmetic.[26][27][28] In 1920, to celebrate the
100th anniversary of the invention of the arithmometer, Torres presented in Paris the
Electromechanical Arithmometer, which allowed a user to input arithmetic problems
through a keyboard, and computed and printed the results,[29][30][31][32] demonstrating the
feasibility of an electromechanical analytical engine.[33]

Analog computers
Main article: Analog computer

Sir William Thomson's third tide-predicting machine design,

1879–81
During the first half of the 20th century, many scientific computing needs were met by
increasingly sophisticated analog computers, which used a direct mechanical or
electrical model of the problem as a basis for computation. However, these were not
programmable and generally lacked the versatility and accuracy of modern digital
computers.[34] The first modern analog computer was a tide-predicting machine, invented
by Sir William Thomson (later to become Lord Kelvin) in 1872. The differential analyser,
a mechanical analog computer designed to solve differential equations by integration
using wheel-and-disc mechanisms, was conceptualized in 1876 by James Thomson,
the elder brother of the more famous Sir William Thomson.[16]

The art of mechanical analog computing reached its zenith with the differential analyzer,
built by H. L. Hazen and Vannevar Bush at MIT starting in 1927. This built on the
mechanical integrators of James Thomson and the torque amplifiers invented by H. W.
Nieman. A dozen of these devices were built before their obsolescence became
obvious. By the 1950s, the success of digital electronic computers had spelled the end
for most analog computing machines, but analog computers remained in use during the
1950s in some specialized applications such as education (slide rule) and aircraft
(control systems).

Digital computers
Electromechanical
Claude Shannon's 1937 master's thesis laid the foundations of digital computing, with
his insight of applying Boolean algebra to the analysis and synthesis of switching
circuits being the basic concept which underlies all electronic digital computers.[35][36]

By 1938, the United States Navy had developed an electromechanical analog computer
small enough to use aboard a submarine. This was the Torpedo Data Computer, which
used trigonometry to solve the problem of firing a torpedo at a moving target.
During World War II similar devices were developed in other countries as well.

Replica of Konrad Zuse's Z3, the first fully automatic, digital

(electromechanical) computer
Early digital computers were electromechanical; electric switches drove mechanical
relays to perform the calculation. These devices had a low operating speed and were
eventually superseded by much faster all-electric computers, originally using vacuum
tubes. The Z2, created by German engineer Konrad Zuse in 1939 in Berlin, was one of
the earliest examples of an electromechanical relay computer.[37]

Konrad Zuse, inventor of the modern computer[38][39]

In 1941, Zuse followed his earlier machine up with the Z3, the world's first working
electromechanical programmable, fully automatic digital computer.[40][41] The Z3 was built
with 2000 relays, implementing a 22 bit word length that operated at a clock
frequency of about 5–10 Hz.[42] Program code was supplied on punched film while data
could be stored in 64 words of memory or supplied from the keyboard. It was quite
similar to modern machines in some respects, pioneering numerous advances such
as floating-point numbers. Rather than the harder-to-implement decimal system (used
in Charles Babbage's earlier design), using a binary system meant that Zuse's
machines were easier to build and potentially more reliable, given the technologies
available at that time.[43] The Z3 was not itself a universal computer but could be
extended to be Turing complete.[44][45]

Zuse's next computer, the Z4, became the world's first commercial computer; after initial
delay due to the Second World War, it was completed in 1950 and delivered to the ETH
Zurich.[46] The computer was manufactured by Zuse's own company, Zuse KG, which
was founded in 1941 as the first company with the sole purpose of developing
computers in Berlin.[46] The Z4 served as the inspiration for the construction of
the ERMETH, the first Swiss computer and one of the first in Europe.[47]

Vacuum tubes and digital electronic circuits

Purely electronic circuit elements soon replaced their mechanical and
electromechanical equivalents, at the same time that digital calculation replaced analog.
The engineer Tommy Flowers, working at the Post Office Research Station in London in
the 1930s, began to explore the possible use of electronics for the telephone exchange.
Experimental equipment that he built in 1934 went into operation five years later,
converting a portion of the telephone exchange network into an electronic data
processing system, using thousands of vacuum tubes.[34] In the US, John Vincent
Atanasoff and Clifford E. Berry of Iowa State University developed and tested
the Atanasoff–Berry Computer (ABC) in 1942,[48] the first "automatic electronic digital
computer".[49] This design was also all-electronic and used about 300 vacuum tubes, with
capacitors fixed in a mechanically rotating drum for memory.[50]

Colossus, the first electronic digital programmable

computing device, was used to break German ciphers during World War II. It is seen here in use
at Bletchley Park in 1943.
During World War II, the British code-breakers at Bletchley Park achieved a number of
successes at breaking encrypted German military communications. The German
encryption machine, Enigma, was first attacked with the help of the electro-
mechanical bombes which were often run by women.[51][52] To crack the more
sophisticated German Lorenz SZ 40/42 machine, used for high-level Army
communications, Max Newman and his colleagues commissioned Flowers to build
the Colossus.[50] He spent eleven months from early February 1943 designing and
building the first Colossus.[53] After a functional test in December 1943, Colossus was
shipped to Bletchley Park, where it was delivered on 18 January 1944[54] and attacked its
first message on 5 February.[50]

Colossus was the world's first electronic digital programmable computer.[34] It used a
large number of valves (vacuum tubes). It had paper-tape input and was capable of
being configured to perform a variety of boolean logical operations on its data, but it was
not Turing-complete. Nine Mk II Colossi were built (The Mk I was converted to a Mk II
making ten machines in total). Colossus Mark I contained 1,500 thermionic valves
(tubes), but Mark II with 2,400 valves, was both five times faster and simpler to operate
than Mark I, greatly speeding the decoding process.[55][56]

ENIAC was the first electronic, Turing-complete device, and performed ballistics trajectory
calculations for the United States Army.
The ENIAC[57] (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was the first
electronic programmable computer built in the U.S. Although the ENIAC was similar to
the Colossus, it was much faster, more flexible, and it was Turing-complete. Like the
Colossus, a "program" on the ENIAC was defined by the states of its patch cables and
switches, a far cry from the stored program electronic machines that came later. Once a
program was written, it had to be mechanically set into the machine with manual
resetting of plugs and switches. The programmers of the ENIAC were six women, often
known collectively as the "ENIAC girls".[58][59]

It combined the high speed of electronics with the ability to be programmed for many
complex problems. It could add or subtract 5000 times a second, a thousand times
faster than any other machine. It also had modules to multiply, divide, and square root.
High speed memory was limited to 20 words (about 80 bytes). Built under the direction
of John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert at the University of Pennsylvania, ENIAC's
development and construction lasted from 1943 to full operation at the end of 1945. The
machine was huge, weighing 30 tons, using 200 kilowatts of electric power and
contained over 18,000 vacuum tubes, 1,500 relays, and hundreds of thousands of
resistors, capacitors, and inductors.[60]

Modern computers
Concept of modern computer
The principle of the modern computer was proposed by Alan Turing in his seminal 1936
paper,[61] On Computable Numbers. Turing proposed a simple device that he called
"Universal Computing machine" and that is now known as a universal Turing machine.
He proved that such a machine is capable of computing anything that is computable by
executing instructions (program) stored on tape, allowing the machine to be
programmable. The fundamental concept of Turing's design is the stored program,
where all the instructions for computing are stored in memory. Von
Neumann acknowledged that the central concept of the modern computer was due to
this paper.[62] Turing machines are to this day a central object of study in theory of
computation. Except for the limitations imposed by their finite memory stores, modern
computers are said to be Turing-complete, which is to say, they
have algorithm execution capability equivalent to a universal Turing machine.

Stored programs
Main article: Stored-program computer

A section of the reconstructed Manchester Baby, the first

electronic stored-program computer
Early computing machines had fixed programs. Changing its function required the re-
wiring and re-structuring of the machine.[50] With the proposal of the stored-program
computer this changed. A stored-program computer includes by design an instruction
set and can store in memory a set of instructions (a program) that details
the computation. The theoretical basis for the stored-program computer was laid out
by Alan Turing in his 1936 paper. In 1945, Turing joined the National Physical
Laboratory and began work on developing an electronic stored-program digital
computer. His 1945 report "Proposed Electronic Calculator" was the first specification
for such a device. John von Neumann at the University of Pennsylvania also circulated
his First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC in 1945.[34]

The Manchester Baby was the world's first stored-program computer. It was built at
the University of Manchester in England by Frederic C. Williams, Tom Kilburn and Geoff
Tootill, and ran its first program on 21 June 1948.[63] It was designed as a testbed for
the Williams tube, the first random-access digital storage device.[64] Although the
computer was described as "small and primitive" by a 1998 retrospective, it was the first
working machine to contain all of the elements essential to a modern electronic
computer.[65] As soon as the Baby had demonstrated the feasibility of its design, a
project began at the university to develop it into a practically useful computer,
the Manchester Mark 1.

The Mark 1 in turn quickly became the prototype for the Ferranti Mark 1, the world's first
commercially available general-purpose computer.[66] Built by Ferranti, it was delivered to
the University of Manchester in February 1951. At least seven of these later machines
were delivered between 1953 and 1957, one of them to Shell labs in Amsterdam.[67] In
October 1947 the directors of British catering company J. Lyons & Company decided to
take an active role in promoting the commercial development of computers.
Lyons's LEO I computer, modelled closely on the Cambridge EDSAC of 1949, became
operational in April 1951[68] and ran the world's first routine office computer job.

Transistors
Main articles: Transistor and History of the transistor
Further information: Transistor computer and MOSFET

Bipolar junction transistor (BJT)

The concept of a field-effect transistor was proposed by Julius Edgar Lilienfeld in
1925. John Bardeen and Walter Brattain, while working under William Shockley at Bell
Labs, built the first working transistor, the point-contact transistor, in 1947, which was
followed by Shockley's bipolar junction transistor in 1948.[69][70] From 1955 onwards,
transistors replaced vacuum tubes in computer designs, giving rise to the "second
generation" of computers. Compared to vacuum tubes, transistors have many
advantages: they are smaller, and require less power than vacuum tubes, so give off
less heat. Junction transistors were much more reliable than vacuum tubes and had
longer, indefinite, service life. Transistorized computers could contain tens of thousands
of binary logic circuits in a relatively compact space. However, early junction transistors
were relatively bulky devices that were difficult to manufacture on a mass-
production basis, which limited them to a number of specialized applications.[71]

At the University of Manchester, a team under the leadership of Tom Kilburn designed
and built a machine using the newly developed transistors instead of valves.[72] Their
first transistorized computer and the first in the world, was operational by 1953, and a
second version was completed there in April 1955. However, the machine did make use
of valves to generate its 125 kHz clock waveforms and in the circuitry to read and write
on its magnetic drum memory, so it was not the first completely transistorized computer.
That distinction goes to the Harwell CADET of 1955,[73] built by the electronics division of
the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell.[73][74]

MOSFET (MOS transistor), showing gate (G), body (B),

source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer
(pink).
The metal–oxide–silicon field-effect transistor (MOSFET), also known as the MOS
transistor, was invented at Bell Labs between 1955 and 1960[75][76][77][78][79][80] and was the
first truly compact transistor that could be miniaturized and mass-produced for a wide
range of uses.[71] With its high scalability,[81] and much lower power consumption and
higher density than bipolar junction transistors,[82] the MOSFET made it possible to
build high-density integrated circuits.[83][84] In addition to data processing, it also enabled
the practical use of MOS transistors as memory cell storage elements, leading to the
development of MOS semiconductor memory, which replaced earlier magnetic-core
memory in computers. The MOSFET led to the microcomputer revolution,[85] and
became the driving force behind the computer revolution.[86][87] The MOSFET is the most
widely used transistor in computers,[88][89] and is the fundamental building block of digital
electronics.[90]

Integrated circuits
Main articles: Integrated circuit and Invention of the integrated circuit
Further information: Planar process and Microprocessor

Integrated circuits are typically packaged in plastic, metal, or

ceramic cases to protect the IC from damage and for ease of assembly.
The next great advance in computing power came with the advent of the integrated
circuit (IC). The idea of the integrated circuit was first conceived by a radar scientist
working for the Royal Radar Establishment of the Ministry of Defence, Geoffrey W.A.
Dummer. Dummer presented the first public description of an integrated circuit at the
Symposium on Progress in Quality Electronic Components in Washington, D.C., on 7
May 1952.[91]

The first working ICs were invented by Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments and Robert
Noyce at Fairchild Semiconductor.[92] Kilby recorded his initial ideas concerning the
integrated circuit in July 1958, successfully demonstrating the first working integrated
example on 12 September 1958.[93] In his patent application of 6 February 1959, Kilby
described his new device as "a body of semiconductor material ... wherein all the
components of the electronic circuit are completely integrated".[94][95] However, Kilby's
invention was a hybrid integrated circuit (hybrid IC), rather than a monolithic integrated
circuit (IC) chip.[96] Kilby's IC had external wire connections, which made it difficult to
mass-produce.[97]

Noyce also came up with his own idea of an integrated circuit half a year later than
Kilby.[98] Noyce's invention was the first true monolithic IC chip.[99][97] His chip solved many
practical problems that Kilby's had not. Produced at Fairchild Semiconductor, it was
made of silicon, whereas Kilby's chip was made of germanium. Noyce's monolithic IC
was fabricated using the planar process, developed by his colleague Jean Hoerni in
early 1959. In turn, the planar process was based on Carl Frosch and Lincoln Derick
work on semiconductor surface passivation by silicon dioxide.[100][101][102][103][104][105]

Modern monolithic ICs are predominantly MOS (metal–oxide–semiconductor) integrated

circuits, built from MOSFETs (MOS transistors).[106] The earliest experimental MOS IC to
be fabricated was a 16-transistor chip built by Fred Heiman and Steven Hofstein
at RCA in 1962.[107] General Microelectronics later introduced the first commercial MOS
IC in 1964,[108] developed by Robert Norman.[107] Following the development of the self-
aligned gate (silicon-gate) MOS transistor by Robert Kerwin, Donald Klein and John
Sarace at Bell Labs in 1967, the first silicon-gate MOS IC with self-aligned gates was
developed by Federico Faggin at Fairchild Semiconductor in 1968.[109] The MOSFET has
since become the most critical device component in modern ICs.[106]

Die photograph of a MOS 6502, an early 1970s

microprocessor integrating 3500 transistors on a single chip
The development of the MOS integrated circuit led to the invention of
the microprocessor,[110][111] and heralded an explosion in the commercial and personal use
of computers. While the subject of exactly which device was the first microprocessor is
contentious, partly due to lack of agreement on the exact definition of the term
"microprocessor", it is largely undisputed that the first single-chip microprocessor was
the Intel 4004,[112] designed and realized by Federico Faggin with his silicon-gate MOS
IC technology,[110] along with Ted Hoff, Masatoshi Shima and Stanley Mazor at Intel.[b]
[114]
In the early 1970s, MOS IC technology enabled the integration of more than 10,000
transistors on a single chip.[84]

System on a Chip (SoCs) are complete computers on a microchip (or chip) the size of a
coin.[115] They may or may not have integrated RAM and flash memory. If not integrated,
the RAM is usually placed directly above (known as Package on package) or below (on
the opposite side of the circuit board) the SoC, and the flash memory is usually placed
right next to the SoC. This is done to improve data transfer speeds, as the data signals
do not have to travel long distances. Since ENIAC in 1945, computers have advanced
enormously, with modern SoCs (such as the Snapdragon 865) being the size of a coin
while also being hundreds of thousands of times more powerful than ENIAC, integrating
billions of transistors, and consuming only a few watts of power.

Mobile computers
The first mobile computers were heavy and ran from mains power. The 50 lb
(23 kg) IBM 5100 was an early example. Later portables such as the Osborne
1 and Compaq Portable were considerably lighter but still needed to be plugged in. The
first laptops, such as the Grid Compass, removed this requirement by incorporating
batteries – and with the continued miniaturization of computing resources and
advancements in portable battery life, portable computers grew in popularity in the
2000s.[116] The same developments allowed manufacturers to integrate computing
resources into cellular mobile phones by the early 2000s.

These smartphones and tablets run on a variety of operating systems and recently
became the dominant computing device on the market.[117] These are powered
by System on a Chip (SoCs), which are complete computers on a microchip the size of
a coin.[115]

Types
See also: Classes of computers
Computers can be classified in a number of different ways, including:

By architecture

 Analog computer
 Digital computer
 Hybrid computer
 Harvard architecture
 Von Neumann architecture
 Complex instruction set computer
 Reduced instruction set computer
By size, form-factor and purpose
See also: List of computer size categories

 Supercomputer
 Mainframe computer
 Minicomputer (term no longer used),[118] Midrange computer
 Server
 Rackmount server
 Blade server
 Tower server
 Personal computer
 Workstation
  Microcomputer (term no longer used)[119]
 Home computer (term fallen into disuse)[120]
 Desktop computer
 Tower desktop
 Slimline desktop
 Multimedia computer (non-linear editing system computers, video editing
PCs and the like, this term is no longer used)[121]
 Gaming computer
 All-in-one PC
 Nettop (Small form factor PCs, Mini PCs)
 Home theater PC
 Keyboard computer
 Portable computer
 Thin client
 Internet appliance
 Laptop computer
 Desktop replacement computer
 Gaming laptop
 Rugged laptop
 2-in-1 PC
 Ultrabook
 Chromebook
 Subnotebook
 Smartbook
 Netbook
 Mobile computer
 Tablet computer
 Smartphone
 Ultra-mobile PC
 Pocket PC
 Palmtop PC
 Handheld PC
 Pocket computer
 Wearable computer
 Smartwatch
 Smartglasses
 Single-board computer
 Plug computer
 Stick PC
 Programmable logic controller
 Computer-on-module
 System on module
 System in a package
 System-on-chip (Also known as an Application Processor or AP if it lacks circuitry
such as radio circuitry)
 Microcontroller
Hardware
Main articles: Computer hardware, Personal computer hardware, Central processing
unit, and Microprocessor
Video demonstrating the standard components of a "slimline" computer
The term hardware covers all of those parts of a computer that are tangible physical
objects. Circuits, computer chips, graphic cards, sound cards, memory (RAM),
motherboard, displays, power supplies, cables, keyboards, printers and "mice" input
devices are all hardware.

History of computing hardware

Main article: History of computing hardware

Pascal's
calculator, Arithmometer, Differen
Calculators
ce engine, Quevedo's analytical
machines
First generation
(mechanical/electromechanic
al)
Jacquard loom, Analytical
Programmable engine, IBM ASCC/Harvard Mark
devices I, Harvard Mark II, IBM
SSEC, Z1, Z2, Z3

Atanasoff–Berry Computer, IBM

Calculators
604, UNIVAC 60, UNIVAC 120

Second generation Colossus, ENIAC, Manchester

(vacuum tubes) Baby, EDSAC, Manchester Mark
Programmable 1, Ferranti Pegasus, Ferranti
devices Mercury, CSIRAC, EDVAC, UNIV
AC I, IBM 701, IBM 702, IBM
650, Z22

Third generation Mainframes IBM 7090, IBM 7080, IBM

(discrete transistors and SSI, System/360, BUNCH
 HP 2116A, IBM System/32, IBM
Minicomputer
System/36, LINC, PDP-8, PDP-11
MSI, LSI integrated circuits)
Desktop
HP 9100
Computer

Minicomputer VAX, IBM AS/400

4-bit microcomput
Intel 4004, Intel 4040
er

Intel 8008, Intel 8080, Motorola

8-bit microcomput
6800, Motorola 6809, MOS
er
Technology 6502, Zilog Z80

16-bit microcomp Intel 8088, Zilog Z8000, WDC

uter 65816/65802

Fourth generation 32-bit microcomp Intel 80386, Pentium, Motorola

(VLSI integrated circuits) uter 68000, ARM

64-bit microcomp Alpha, MIPS, PA-RISC, PowerPC,

uter[c] SPARC, x86-64, ARMv8-A

Embedded
Intel 8048, Intel 8051
computer

Desktop computer, Home

computer, Laptop
Personal computer, Personal digital
computer assistant (PDA), Portable
computer, Tablet PC, Wearable
computer
 Quantum
IBM Q System One
computer

Chemical
computer

DNA computing
Theoretical/experimental
Optical computer

Spintronics-
based computer

Wetware/Organic
computer

Other hardware topics

Mouse, keyboard, joystick, image

Input scanner, webcam, graphics
tablet, microphone

Peripheral device
(input/output) Output Monitor, printer, loudspeaker

Floppy disk drive, hard disk drive, optical

Both
disc drive, teleprinter

Short range RS-232, SCSI, PCI, USB

Computer buses
Long range
(computer Ethernet, ATM, FDDI
networking)

A general-purpose computer has four main components: the arithmetic logic unit (ALU),
the control unit, the memory, and the input and output devices (collectively termed I/O).
These parts are interconnected by buses, often made of groups of wires. Inside each of
these parts are thousands to trillions of small electrical circuits which can be turned off
or on by means of an electronic switch. Each circuit represents a bit (binary digit) of
information so that when the circuit is on it represents a "1", and when off it represents a
"0" (in positive logic representation). The circuits are arranged in logic gates so that one
or more of the circuits may control the state of one or more of the other circuits.

Input devices
When unprocessed data is sent to the computer with the help of input devices, the data
is processed and sent to output devices. The input devices may be hand-operated or
automated. The act of processing is mainly regulated by the CPU. Some examples of
input devices are:

 Computer keyboard
 Digital camera
 Graphics tablet
 Image scanner
 Joystick
 Microphone
 Mouse
 Overlay keyboard
 Real-time clock
 Trackball
 Touchscreen
 Light pen
Output devices
The means through which computer gives output are known as output devices. Some
examples of output devices are:

 Computer monitor
 Printer
 PC speaker
 Projector
 Sound card
 Graphics card
Control unit
Main articles: CPU design and Control unit
 Diagram showing how a particular MIPS
architecture instruction would be decoded by the control system
The control unit (often called a control system or central controller) manages the
computer's various components; it reads and interprets (decodes) the program
instructions, transforming them into control signals that activate other parts of the
computer.[d] Control systems in advanced computers may change the order of execution
of some instructions to improve performance.

A key component common to all CPUs is the program counter, a special memory cell
(a register) that keeps track of which location in memory the next instruction is to be
read from.[e]

The control system's function is as follows— this is a simplified description, and some of
these steps may be performed concurrently or in a different order depending on the type
of CPU:

1. Read the code for the next instruction from the cell indicated by the program
counter.
2. Decode the numerical code for the instruction into a set of commands or signals
for each of the other systems.
3. Increment the program counter so it points to the next instruction.
4. Read whatever data the instruction requires from cells in memory (or perhaps
from an input device). The location of this required data is typically stored within
the instruction code.
5. Provide the necessary data to an ALU or register.
6. If the instruction requires an ALU or specialized hardware to complete, instruct
the hardware to perform the requested operation.
7. Write the result from the ALU back to a memory location or to a register or
perhaps an output device.
8. Jump back to step (1).
Since the program counter is (conceptually) just another set of memory cells, it can be
changed by calculations done in the ALU. Adding 100 to the program counter would
cause the next instruction to be read from a place 100 locations further down the
program. Instructions that modify the program counter are often known as "jumps" and
allow for loops (instructions that are repeated by the computer) and often conditional
instruction execution (both examples of control flow).

The sequence of operations that the control unit goes through to process an instruction
is in itself like a short computer program, and indeed, in some more complex CPU
designs, there is another yet smaller computer called a microsequencer, which runs
a microcode program that causes all of these events to happen.

Central processing unit (CPU)

Main articles: Central processing unit and Microprocessor
The control unit, ALU, and registers are collectively known as a central processing
unit (CPU). Early CPUs were composed of many separate components. Since the
1970s, CPUs have typically been constructed on a single MOS integrated circuit chip
called a microprocessor.

Arithmetic logic unit (ALU)

Main article: Arithmetic logic unit
The ALU is capable of performing two classes of operations: arithmetic and logic.[122] The
set of arithmetic operations that a particular ALU supports may be limited to addition
and subtraction, or might include multiplication, division, trigonometry functions such as
sine, cosine, etc., and square roots. Some can operate only on whole numbers
(integers) while others use floating point to represent real numbers, albeit with limited
precision. However, any computer that is capable of performing just the simplest
operations can be programmed to break down the more complex operations into simple
steps that it can perform. Therefore, any computer can be programmed to perform any
arithmetic operation—although it will take more time to do so if its ALU does not directly
support the operation. An ALU may also compare numbers and return Boolean truth
values (true or false) depending on whether one is equal to, greater than or less than
the other ("is 64 greater than 65?"). Logic operations involve Boolean
logic: AND, OR, XOR, and NOT. These can be useful for creating
complicated conditional statements and processing Boolean logic.

Superscalar computers may contain multiple ALUs, allowing them to process several
instructions simultaneously.[123] Graphics processors and computers
with SIMD and MIMD features often contain ALUs that can perform arithmetic
on vectors and matrices.

Memory
Main articles: Computer memory and Computer data storage
 Magnetic-core memory (using magnetic cores) was
the computer memory of choice in the 1960s, until it was replaced by semiconductor
memory (using MOS memory cells).
A computer's memory can be viewed as a list of cells into which numbers can be placed
or read. Each cell has a numbered "address" and can store a single number. The
computer can be instructed to "put the number 123 into the cell numbered 1357" or to
"add the number that is in cell 1357 to the number that is in cell 2468 and put the
answer into cell 1595." The information stored in memory may represent practically
anything. Letters, numbers, even computer instructions can be placed into memory with
equal ease. Since the CPU does not differentiate between different types of information,
it is the software's responsibility to give significance to what the memory sees as
nothing but a series of numbers.

In almost all modern computers, each memory cell is set up to store binary numbers in
groups of eight bits (called a byte). Each byte is able to represent 256 different numbers
(28 = 256); either from 0 to 255 or −128 to +127. To store larger numbers, several
consecutive bytes may be used (typically, two, four or eight). When negative numbers
are required, they are usually stored in two's complement notation. Other arrangements
are possible, but are usually not seen outside of specialized applications or historical
contexts. A computer can store any kind of information in memory if it can be
represented numerically. Modern computers have billions or even trillions of bytes of
memory.

The CPU contains a special set of memory cells called registers that can be read and
written to much more rapidly than the main memory area. There are typically between
two and one hundred registers depending on the type of CPU. Registers are used for
the most frequently needed data items to avoid having to access main memory every
time data is needed. As data is constantly being worked on, reducing the need to
access main memory (which is often slow compared to the ALU and control units)
greatly increases the computer's speed.

Computer main memory comes in two principal varieties:

 random-access memory or RAM

 read-only memory or ROM
RAM can be read and written to anytime the CPU commands it, but ROM is preloaded
with data and software that never changes, therefore the CPU can only read from it.
ROM is typically used to store the computer's initial start-up instructions. In general, the
contents of RAM are erased when the power to the computer is turned off, but ROM
retains its data indefinitely. In a PC, the ROM contains a specialized program called
the BIOS that orchestrates loading the computer's operating system from the hard disk
drive into RAM whenever the computer is turned on or reset. In embedded computers,
which frequently do not have disk drives, all of the required software may be stored in
ROM. Software stored in ROM is often called firmware, because it is notionally more
like hardware than software. Flash memory blurs the distinction between ROM and
RAM, as it retains its data when turned off but is also rewritable. It is typically much
slower than conventional ROM and RAM however, so its use is restricted to applications
where high speed is unnecessary.[f]

In more sophisticated computers there may be one or more RAM cache memories,
which are slower than registers but faster than main memory. Generally computers with
this sort of cache are designed to move frequently needed data into the cache
automatically, often without the need for any intervention on the programmer's part.

Input/output (I/O)
Main article: Input/output

Hard disk drives are common storage devices used with

computers.
I/O is the means by which a computer exchanges information with the outside world.
[125]
Devices that provide input or output to the computer are called peripherals.[126] On a
typical personal computer, peripherals include input devices like the keyboard
and mouse, and output devices such as the display and printer. Hard disk drives, floppy
disk drives and optical disc drives serve as both input and output devices. Computer
networking is another form of I/O. I/O devices are often complex computers in their own
right, with their own CPU and memory. A graphics processing unit might contain fifty or
more tiny computers that perform the calculations necessary to display 3D graphics.[citation
needed]
Modern desktop computers contain many smaller computers that assist the main
CPU in performing I/O. A 2016-era flat screen display contains its own computer
circuitry.

Multitasking
Main article: Computer multitasking
While a computer may be viewed as running one gigantic program stored in its main
memory, in some systems it is necessary to give the appearance of running several
programs simultaneously. This is achieved by multitasking i.e. having the computer
switch rapidly between running each program in turn.[127] One means by which this is
done is with a special signal called an interrupt, which can periodically cause the
computer to stop executing instructions where it was and do something else instead. By
remembering where it was executing prior to the interrupt, the computer can return to
that task later. If several programs are running "at the same time". then the interrupt
generator might be causing several hundred interrupts per second, causing a program
switch each time. Since modern computers typically execute instructions several orders
of magnitude faster than human perception, it may appear that many programs are
running at the same time even though only one is ever executing in any given instant.
This method of multitasking is sometimes termed "time-sharing" since each program is
allocated a "slice" of time in turn.[128]

Before the era of inexpensive computers, the principal use for multitasking was to allow
many people to share the same computer. Seemingly, multitasking would cause a
computer that is switching between several programs to run more slowly, in direct
proportion to the number of programs it is running, but most programs spend much of
their time waiting for slow input/output devices to complete their tasks. If a program is
waiting for the user to click on the mouse or press a key on the keyboard, then it will not
take a "time slice" until the event it is waiting for has occurred. This frees up time for
other programs to execute so that many programs may be run simultaneously without
unacceptable speed loss.

Multiprocessing
Main article: Multiprocessing

Cray designed many supercomputers that used

multiprocessing heavily.
Some computers are designed to distribute their work across several CPUs in a
multiprocessing configuration, a technique once employed in only large and powerful
machines such as supercomputers, mainframe computers and servers. Multiprocessor
and multi-core (multiple CPUs on a single integrated circuit) personal and laptop
computers are now widely available, and are being increasingly used in lower-end
markets as a result.

Supercomputers in particular often have highly unique architectures that differ

significantly from the basic stored-program architecture and from general-purpose
computers.[g] They often feature thousands of CPUs, customized high-speed
interconnects, and specialized computing hardware. Such designs tend to be useful for
only specialized tasks due to the large scale of program organization required to use
most of the available resources at once. Supercomputers usually see usage in large-
scale simulation, graphics rendering, and cryptography applications, as well as with
other so-called "embarrassingly parallel" tasks.

Software
Main article: Software
Software refers to parts of the computer which do not have a material form, such as
programs, data, protocols, etc. Software is that part of a computer system that consists
of encoded information or computer instructions, in contrast to the
physical hardware from which the system is built. Computer software includes computer
programs, libraries and related non-executable data, such as online
documentation or digital media. It is often divided into system software and application
software. Computer hardware and software require each other and neither can be
realistically used on its own. When software is stored in hardware that cannot easily be
modified, such as with BIOS ROM in an IBM PC compatible computer, it is sometimes
called "firmware".

UNIX System V, IBM AIX, HP-

Unix and BSD UX, Solaris (SunOS), IRIX, List of BSD
operating systems

List of Linux distributions, Comparison of Linux

Linux
distributions

Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows

Microsoft NT, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows
Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows
8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11
Operating
system /System
86-DOS (QDOS), IBM PC DOS, MS-DOS, DR-
Software DOS
DOS, FreeDOS

Macintosh
Classic Mac OS, macOS (previously OS X and
operating
Mac OS X)
systems

Embedded and r
List of embedded operating systems
eal-time

Amoeba, Oberon–AOS, Bluebottle, A2, Plan 9

Experimental
from Bell Labs

Library Multimedia DirectX, OpenGL, OpenAL, Vulkan (API)

 Programming
C standard library, Standard Template Library
library

Protocol TCP/IP, Kermit, FTP, HTTP, SMTP

Data
File format HTML, XML, JPEG, MPEG, PNG

Microsoft
Graphical user
Windows, GNOME, KDE, QNX Photon, CDE, G
interface (WIMP)
EM, Aqua
User interface
Text-based user
Command-line interface, Text user interface
interface

Application Soft Word processing, Desktop

ware publishing, Presentation program, Database
Office suite management system, Scheduling & Time
management, Spreadsheet, Accounting
software

Browser, Email client, Web server, Mail transfer

Internet Access
agent, Instant messaging

Computer-aided design, Computer-aided

Design and
manufacturing, Plant management, Robotic
manufacturing
manufacturing, Supply chain management

Raster graphics editor, Vector graphics

editor, 3D modeler, Animation editor, 3D
Graphics
computer graphics, Video editing, Image
processing

Digital audio editor, Audio

Audio playback, Mixing, Audio synthesis, Computer
music

Software Compiler, Assembler, Interpreter, Debugger, Te

engineering xt editor, Integrated development
environment, Software performance
analysis, Revision control, Software
configuration management
 Edutainment, Educational game, Serious
Educational
game, Flight simulator

Strategy, Arcade, Puzzle, Simulation, First-

Games person shooter, Platform, Massively
multiplayer, Interactive fiction

Artificial intelligence, Antivirus

Misc software, Malware scanner, Installer/Package
management systems, File manager

Languages
There are thousands of different programming languages—some intended for general
purpose, others useful for only highly specialized applications.

Programming languages

Lists of Timeline of programming languages, List of programming languages by

programmin category, Generational list of programming languages, List of
g languages programming languages, Non-English-based programming languages

Commonly
used assem
ARM, MIPS, x86
bly
languages

Commonly
used high-
Ada, BASIC, C, C++, C#, COBOL, Fortran, PL/I, REXX, Java, Lisp, Pa
level
scal, Object Pascal
programmin
g languages

Commonly
used scriptin Bourne script, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP, Perl
g languages

Programs
The defining feature of modern computers which distinguishes them from all other
machines is that they can be programmed. That is to say that some type
of instructions (the program) can be given to the computer, and it will process them.
Modern computers based on the von Neumann architecture often have machine code in
the form of an imperative programming language. In practical terms, a computer
program may be just a few instructions or extend to many millions of instructions, as do
the programs for word processors and web browsers for example. A typical modern
computer can execute billions of instructions per second (gigaflops) and rarely makes a
mistake over many years of operation. Large computer programs consisting of several
million instructions may take teams of programmers years to write, and due to the
complexity of the task almost certainly contain errors.

Stored program architecture

Main articles: Computer program and Computer programming

Replica of the Manchester Baby, the world's first

electronic stored-program computer, at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester,
England
This section applies to most common RAM machine–based computers.

In most cases, computer instructions are simple: add one number to another, move
some data from one location to another, send a message to some external device, etc.
These instructions are read from the computer's memory and are generally carried out
(executed) in the order they were given. However, there are usually specialized
instructions to tell the computer to jump ahead or backwards to some other place in the
program and to carry on executing from there. These are called "jump" instructions
(or branches). Furthermore, jump instructions may be made to happen conditionally so
that different sequences of instructions may be used depending on the result of some
previous calculation or some external event. Many computers directly
support subroutines by providing a type of jump that "remembers" the location it jumped
from and another instruction to return to the instruction following that jump instruction.

Program execution might be likened to reading a book. While a person will normally
read each word and line in sequence, they may at times jump back to an earlier place in
the text or skip sections that are not of interest. Similarly, a computer may sometimes
go back and repeat the instructions in some section of the program over and over again
until some internal condition is met. This is called the flow of control within the program
and it is what allows the computer to perform tasks repeatedly without human
intervention.

Comparatively, a person using a pocket calculator can perform a basic arithmetic

operation such as adding two numbers with just a few button presses. But to add
together all of the numbers from 1 to 1,000 would take thousands of button presses and
a lot of time, with a near certainty of making a mistake. On the other hand, a computer
may be programmed to do this with just a few simple instructions. The following
example is written in the MIPS assembly language:
 begin:
addi $8, $0, 0 # initialize sum to 0
addi $9, $0, 1 # set first number to add = 1
loop:
slti $10, $9, 1000 # check if the number is less than 1000
beq $10, $0, finish # if odd number is greater than n then exit
add $8, $8, $9 # update sum
addi $9, $9, 1 # get next number
j loop # repeat the summing process
finish:
add $2, $8, $0 # put sum in output register

Once told to run this program, the computer will perform the repetitive addition task
without further human intervention. It will almost never make a mistake and a modern
PC can complete the task in a fraction of a second.

Machine code
In most computers, individual instructions are stored as machine code with each
instruction being given a unique number (its operation code or opcode for short). The
command to add two numbers together would have one opcode; the command to
multiply them would have a different opcode, and so on. The simplest computers are
able to perform any of a handful of different instructions; the more complex computers
have several hundred to choose from, each with a unique numerical code. Since the
computer's memory is able to store numbers, it can also store the instruction codes.
This leads to the important fact that entire programs (which are just lists of these
instructions) can be represented as lists of numbers and can themselves be
manipulated inside the computer in the same way as numeric data. The fundamental
concept of storing programs in the computer's memory alongside the data they operate
on is the crux of the von Neumann, or stored program, architecture.[130][131] In some cases,
a computer might store some or all of its program in memory that is kept separate from
the data it operates on. This is called the Harvard architecture after the Harvard Mark
I computer. Modern von Neumann computers display some traits of the Harvard
architecture in their designs, such as in CPU caches.

While it is possible to write computer programs as long lists of numbers (machine

language) and while this technique was used with many early computers,[h] it is
extremely tedious and potentially error-prone to do so in practice, especially for
complicated programs. Instead, each basic instruction can be given a short name that is
indicative of its function and easy to remember – a mnemonic such as ADD, SUB,
MULT or JUMP. These mnemonics are collectively known as a computer's assembly
language. Converting programs written in assembly language into something the
computer can actually understand (machine language) is usually done by a computer
program called an assembler.
 A 1970s punched card containing one line from
a Fortran program. The card reads: "Z(1) = Y + W(1)" and is labeled "PROJ039" for
identification purposes.
Programming language
Main article: Programming language
Programming languages provide various ways of specifying programs for computers to
run. Unlike natural languages, programming languages are designed to permit no
ambiguity and to be concise. They are purely written languages and are often difficult to
read aloud. They are generally either translated into machine code by a compiler or
an assembler before being run, or translated directly at run time by an interpreter.
Sometimes programs are executed by a hybrid method of the two techniques.
Low-level languages
Main article: Low-level programming language
Machine languages and the assembly languages that represent them (collectively
termed low-level programming languages) are generally unique to the particular
architecture of a computer's central processing unit (CPU). For instance, an ARM
architecture CPU (such as may be found in a smartphone or a hand-held videogame)
cannot understand the machine language of an x86 CPU that might be in a PC.
[i]
Historically a significant number of other CPU architectures were created and saw
extensive use, notably including the MOS Technology 6502 and 6510 in addition to the
Zilog Z80.
High-level languages
Main article: High-level programming language
Although considerably easier than in machine language, writing long programs in
assembly language is often difficult and is also error prone. Therefore, most practical
programs are written in more abstract high-level programming languages that are able
to express the needs of the programmer more conveniently (and thereby help reduce
programmer error). High level languages are usually "compiled" into machine language
(or sometimes into assembly language and then into machine language) using another
computer program called a compiler.[j] High level languages are less related to the
workings of the target computer than assembly language, and more related to the
language and structure of the problem(s) to be solved by the final program. It is
therefore often possible to use different compilers to translate the same high level
language program into the machine language of many different types of computer. This
is part of the means by which software like video games may be made available for
different computer architectures such as personal computers and various video game
consoles.
Program design
Program design of small programs is relatively simple and involves the analysis of the
problem, collection of inputs, using the programming constructs within languages,
devising or using established procedures and algorithms, providing data for output
devices and solutions to the problem as applicable.[132] As problems become larger and
more complex, features such as subprograms, modules, formal documentation, and
new paradigms such as object-oriented programming are encountered.[133] Large
programs involving thousands of line of code and more require formal software
methodologies.[134] The task of developing large software systems presents a significant
intellectual challenge.[135] Producing software with an acceptably high reliability within a
predictable schedule and budget has historically been difficult;[136] the academic and
professional discipline of software engineering concentrates specifically on this
challenge.[137]

Bugs
Main article: Software bug

The actual first computer bug, a moth found trapped on a relay

of the Harvard Mark II computer
Errors in computer programs are called "bugs". They may be benign and not affect the
usefulness of the program, or have only subtle effects. However, in some cases they
may cause the program or the entire system to "hang", becoming unresponsive to input
such as mouse clicks or keystrokes, to completely fail, or to crash.[138] Otherwise benign
bugs may sometimes be harnessed for malicious intent by an unscrupulous user writing
an exploit, code designed to take advantage of a bug and disrupt a computer's proper
execution. Bugs are usually not the fault of the computer. Since computers merely
execute the instructions they are given, bugs are nearly always the result of
programmer error or an oversight made in the program's design.[k] Admiral Grace
Hopper, an American computer scientist and developer of the first compiler, is credited
for having first used the term "bugs" in computing after a dead moth was found shorting
a relay in the Harvard Mark II computer in September 1947.[139]

Networking and the Internet

Main articles: Computer networking and Internet
 Visualization of a portion of the routes on the Internet
Computers have been used to coordinate information between multiple physical
locations since the 1950s. The U.S. military's SAGE system was the first large-scale
example of such a system, which led to a number of special-purpose commercial
systems such as Sabre.[140]

In the 1970s, computer engineers at research institutions throughout the United States
began to link their computers together using telecommunications technology. The effort
was funded by ARPA (now DARPA), and the computer network that resulted was called
the ARPANET.[141] The technologies that made the Arpanet possible spread and evolved.
In time, the network spread beyond academic and military institutions and became
known as the Internet.

The emergence of networking involved a redefinition of the nature and boundaries of

computers. Computer operating systems and applications were modified to include the
ability to define and access the resources of other computers on the network, such as
peripheral devices, stored information, and the like, as extensions of the resources of an
individual computer. Initially these facilities were available primarily to people working in
high-tech environments, but in the 1990s, computer networking become almost
ubiquitous, due to the spread of applications like e-mail and the World Wide Web,
combined with the development of cheap, fast networking technologies
like Ethernet and ADSL.

The number of computers that are networked is growing phenomenally. A very large
proportion of personal computers regularly connect to the Internet to communicate and
receive information. "Wireless" networking, often utilizing mobile phone networks, has
meant networking is becoming increasingly ubiquitous even in mobile computing
environments.

Unconventional computers
Main article: Human computer
See also: Harvard Computers
A computer does not need to be electronic, nor even have a processor, nor RAM, nor
even a hard disk. While popular usage of the word "computer" is synonymous with a
personal electronic computer,[l] a typical modern definition of a computer is: "A device
that computes, especially a programmable [usually] electronic machine that performs
high-speed mathematical or logical operations or that assembles, stores, correlates, or
otherwise processes information."[142] According to this definition, any device
that processes information qualifies as a computer.

Future
There is active research to make unconventional computers out of many promising new
types of technology, such as optical computers, DNA computers, neural computers,
and quantum computers. Most computers are universal, and are able to calculate
any computable function, and are limited only by their memory capacity and operating
speed. However different designs of computers can give very different performance for
particular problems; for example quantum computers can potentially break some
modern encryption algorithms (by quantum factoring) very quickly.

Computer architecture paradigms

There are many types of computer architectures:

 Quantum computer vs. Chemical computer

 Scalar processor vs. Vector processor
 Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA) computers
 Register machine vs. Stack machine
 Harvard architecture vs. von Neumann architecture
 Cellular architecture
Of all these abstract machines, a quantum computer holds the most promise for
revolutionizing computing.[143] Logic gates are a common abstraction which can apply to
most of the above digital or analog paradigms. The ability to store and execute lists of
instructions called programs makes computers extremely versatile, distinguishing them
from calculators. The Church–Turing thesis is a mathematical statement of this
versatility: any computer with a minimum capability (being Turing-complete) is, in
principle, capable of performing the same tasks that any other computer can perform.
Therefore, any type of computer (netbook, supercomputer, cellular automaton, etc.) is
able to perform the same computational tasks, given enough time and storage capacity.

Artificial intelligence
A computer will solve problems in exactly the way it is programmed to, without regard to
efficiency, alternative solutions, possible shortcuts, or possible errors in the code.
Computer programs that learn and adapt are part of the emerging field of artificial
intelligence and machine learning. Artificial intelligence based products generally fall
into two major categories: rule-based systems and pattern recognition systems. Rule-
based systems attempt to represent the rules used by human experts and tend to be
expensive to develop. Pattern-based systems use data about a problem to generate
conclusions. Examples of pattern-based systems include voice recognition, font
recognition, translation and the emerging field of on-line marketing.
Professions and organizations
As the use of computers has spread throughout society, there are an increasing number
of careers involving computers.

Computer-related professions

Electrical engineering, Electronic engineering, Computer

Hardware-
engineering, Telecommunications engineering, Optical
related
engineering, Nanoengineering

Computer science, Computer engineering, Desktop publishing, Human–

Software- computer interaction, Information technology, Information
related systems, Computational science, Software engineering, Video game
industry, Web design

The need for computers to work well together and to be able to exchange information
has spawned the need for many standards organizations, clubs and societies of both a
formal and informal nature.

Organizations

Standards groups ANSI, IEC, IEEE, IETF, ISO, W3C

Professional societies ACM, AIS, IET, IFIP, BCS

Free/open source Free Software Foundation, Mozilla Foundation, Apache

software groups Software Foundation

See also
 Computability theory
 Computer security
 Glossary of computer hardware terms
 History of computer science
 List of computer term etymologies
 List of computer system manufacturers
 List of fictional computers
 List of films about computers
 List of pioneers in computer science
 Outline of computers
 Pulse computation
 TOP500 (list of most powerful computers)
 Unconventional computing