INTRODUCTION & CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPUTER

 

INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER

Computer is an electronic device which takes input from user, processes it according to instructions and gives the desired output. It is basically a programmable machine. It works on binary digits, in short binary digit is known as bit. Computer was developed to produce accurate result at a very fast speed.

CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPUTERS

 

1. Speed: A computer is very fast device; it can perform a work in a few second. The amount of work that a human being can do in an entire year, a computer can do in a few minutes or in seconds.

While talking about the speed of a computer we do not talk in terms of seconds or even milliseconds ( but in terms of microseconds (, nanoseconds (, and even picoseconds (. A powerful computer is capable of performing several billion ( simple arithmetic operations per second.

2.  Power of Remembering: As a human being acquires new knowledge, his/her   brain selects what it feels to be important and forgets unimportant things. This is not the case with computers. A computer can store and recall any amount of information because of its secondary storage capacity. It can retain a piece of information as long as a user desires and the user can recall the information whenever required. Even after several years, a user can recall exactly the same information that he/she had stored in the computer several years ago. A computer forgets or looses certain information only when a user asks it to do so. Hence, it is entirely depend upon to the user to make a computer retain or forget some information.

3.   Accuracy: It provides a high degree of accuracy. It can accurately gives the result of division of any two numbers up to 10 decimal places.

4. Diligence: Computer, being a machine, does not suffer from the tiredness and lack of concentration. If millions of calculations to be performed then the computer will perform the last calculation with the same accuracy and speed as the first calculation. 

5.  Intelligence: It has no I.Q. It possesses no intelligence of its own.