Computer Modern

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Computer Modern is the family of typefaces used by default by the typesetting program TeX.

It
was created by Donald Knuth with his METAFONT program, and was most recently updated in
1992. However, the family font was superseded by CM-Super (Computer Modern-super), the
latest release dating 2002. The latter was complemented by CM-LGC, which provides support for
Latin, Greek and Cyrillic, with the latest release dating 2005. Both CM-Super and CM-LGC are
included in TeXLive, a modern TeX distribution.

The Computer Modern typefaces are described in great detail (including full source code) in the
book Computer Modern Typefaces, volume E in the Computers and Typesetting series, which is
unique in the history of font design: in Knuth's words, they "belong to the class of sets of books
that describe precisely their own appearance."

As implied by the name, Computer Modern is a modern font. Modern, or "Didone", fonts have
high contrast between thick and thin elements, and their axis of "stress" or thickening is perfectly
vertical. Computer Modern, specifically, is based on Monotype Modern 8a, and like its immediate
model it has a large x-height relative to the length of ascenders and descenders.

The most unusual characteristic of Computer Modern, however, is the fact that it is a complete
type family designed with the METAFONT system. The Computer Modern source files are
governed by 62 distinct parameters, controlling the widths and heights of various elements, the
presence of serifs or old-style numerals, whether dots such as the dot on the "i" are square or
rounded, and the degree of "superness" in the bowls of lowercase letters such as "g" and "o".
Computer Modern is by no means the only METAFONT-designed typeface, but it is the most
mature and widely used by far.

The advance of printer technology has reduced the need for software rasterizers like
METAFONT. Outline fonts (to be rendered by the printer or display system) are now generally
preferred. As a result, many users have now migrated to Postscript-based replacements, mostly
Type 1 implementation of Computer Modern, maintained by the American Mathematical Society,
or Latin Modern, instead of the original METAFONT-based Computer Modern.

Classes of Computers

Analog Computer is a form of computer that uses the continuously-changeable aspects of


physical phenomena such as electrical,[1] mechanical, or hydraulic quantities to model the
problem being solved. In contrast, digital computers represent varying quantities incrementally, as
their numerical values change. Analog computers can have a very wide range of complexity.
Slide rules and nomographs are the simplest, while naval gun fire control computers and large
hybrid digital/analogue computers were among the most complicated.
Digital Computer can be built to take the solution of equations to almost unlimited precision, but
quite slowly compared to analog computers. Generally, complex equations are approximated
using iterative numerical methods which take huge numbers of iterations, depending on how
good the initial "guess" at the final value is and how much precision is desired. (This initial guess
is known as the numerical seed for the iterative process.) For many real-time operations, the
speed of such digital calculations is too slow to be of much use (e.g., for very high frequency
phased array radars or for weather calculations), but the precision of an analog computer is
insufficient.
Hybrid Computer. computers that exhibit features of analog computers and digital computers. The
digital component normally serves as the controller and provides logical operations, while the
analog component normally serves as a solver of differential equations. Hybrid computers can be
used to obtain a very good but relatively imprecise 'seed' value, using an analog computer front-
end, which is then fed into a digital computer iterative process to achieve the final desired degree
of precision. With a three or four digit, highly accurate numerical seed, the total digital
computation time necessary to reach the desired precision is dramatically reduced, since many
fewer iterations are required.

Types of Computers

Supercomputers is a computer that is at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of
calculation. Supercomputers were introduced in the 1960s and were designed primarily by Seymour Cray at
Control Data Corporation (CDC), which led the market into the 1970s until Cray left to form his own
company, Cray Research. He then took over the supercomputer market with his new designs, holding the
top spot in supercomputing for five years (1985–1990). In the 1980s a large number of smaller competitors
entered the market, in parallel to the creation of the minicomputer market a decade earlier, but many of
these disappeared in the mid-1990s "supercomputer market crash"
Mainframes often colloquially referred to as Big Iron[1]) are powerful computers used mainly by
large organizations for critical applications, typically bulk data processing such as census,
industry and consumer statistics, enterprise resource planning, and financial transaction
processing.
Microcomputers is a computer with a microprocessor as its central processing unit. They are
physically small compared to mainframe and minicomputers. Many microcomputers (when
equipped with a keyboard and screen for input and output) are also personal computers (in the
generic sense).[2][3]
Handheld Computers is a pocket-sized computing device, typically having a display screen with
touch input or a miniature keyboard. In the case of the personal digital assistant (PDA) the input
and output are combined into a touch-screen interface. Smartphones and PDAs are popular
amongst those who require the assistance and convenience of a conventional computer, in
environments where carrying one would not be practical. Enterprise digital assistants can further
extend the available functionality for the business user by offering integrated data capture devices
like barcode, RFID and smart card readers.

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