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Digital Computer, Any of A Class of Devices Capable of Solving

Digital computers are devices capable of solving problems by processing discrete data, such as numbers, letters, and symbols, represented using binary code. A typical digital computer system has four main functional elements - input/output equipment, main memory, a control unit, and an arithmetic-logic unit. The control unit selects instructions from memory and synchronizes operation between units to ensure proper data flow. Development of the digital computer began in the 17th century with mechanical calculating machines, but it was Charles Babbage in the 1830s who first conceived the concept of an automatic programmable computer through his plans for the Analytical Engine, which embodied elements like program control and storage that are fundamental to modern computers.

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330 views3 pages

Digital Computer, Any of A Class of Devices Capable of Solving

Digital computers are devices capable of solving problems by processing discrete data, such as numbers, letters, and symbols, represented using binary code. A typical digital computer system has four main functional elements - input/output equipment, main memory, a control unit, and an arithmetic-logic unit. The control unit selects instructions from memory and synchronizes operation between units to ensure proper data flow. Development of the digital computer began in the 17th century with mechanical calculating machines, but it was Charles Babbage in the 1830s who first conceived the concept of an automatic programmable computer through his plans for the Analytical Engine, which embodied elements like program control and storage that are fundamental to modern computers.

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keithevaristo
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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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—i.e., using only the two digits 0 and 1. By counting, comparing, and
manipulating these digits or their combinations according to a set of
instructions held in its memory, a digital computer can perform such tasks
as to control industrial processes and regulate the operations of machines;
analyze and organize vast amounts of business data; and simulate the
behaviour of dynamic systems (e.g., global weather patterns and chemical
reactions) in scientific research.

A typical digital computer system has four basic functional elements:


(1) input-output equipment, (2) main memory, (3) control unit, and
(4) arithmetic-logic unit. Any of a number of devices is used to enter data
and program instructions into a computer and to gain access to the results
of the processing operation. Common input devices include keyboards and
optical scanners; output devices include printers and monitors. The
information received by a computer from its input unit is stored in the main
memory or, if not for immediate use, in an auxiliary storage device. The
control unit selects and calls up instructions from the memory in
appropriate sequence and relays the proper commands to the appropriate
unit. It also synchronizes the varied operating speeds of the input and
output devices to that of the arithmetic-logic unit (ALU) so as to ensure the
proper movement of data through the entire computer system. The ALU
performs the arithmetic and logic algorithms selected to process the
incoming data at extremely high speeds—in many cases in nanoseconds
(billionths of a second). The main memory, control unit, and ALU together
make up the central processing unit (CPU) of most digital computer
systems, while the input-output devices and auxiliary storage
units constitute peripheral equipment.
Development Of The Digital Computer
Blaise Pascal of France and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz of Germany invented
mechanical digital calculating machines during the 17th century. The
English inventor Charles Babbage, however, is generally credited with
having conceived the first automatic digital computer. During the 1830s
Babbage devised his so-called Analytical Engine, a mechanical device
designed to combine basic arithmetic operations with decisions based on its
own computations. Babbage’s plans embodied most of the fundamental
elements of the modern digital computer. For example, they called for
sequential control—i.e., program control that included branching, looping,
and both arithmetic and storage units with automatic printout. Babbage’s
device, however, was never completed and was forgotten until his writings
were rediscovered over a century later.

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