We live in an era where our morning starts with checking out our smartphones. Everything we do, be it listening to music, watching movies, reading news, alarm, and what-not! Everything comes in a single smartphone and computers. It is used in various fields like business, medical, entertainment, education, engineering, defense, transportation, and so many areas as they help to ease certain tasks, provide information faster, and speed up the work. As computers are widely used today, acquiring computer education is the need of the day to day life.

 

What is computer?

Computer is an advanced electronic device that takes raw data as input from the user and processes these data under the control of set of instructions (called program) and gives the result (output) and saves output for the future use. It can process both numerical and non-numerical (arithmetic and logical) calculations.

 

Father of computer

Mr. Charles Babbage is the father of computer. He was a professor of mathematics at Cambridge University in London. He was invented two types of computers.

The Difference engine (1822)

The Analytical engine (1842)

 

The Difference Engine: - Charles Babbage completed a model of the difference engine, a device that linked adding and subtracting mechanisms to one another to calculate the values of more complex mathematical functions.

 

The Analytical Engine: - The Analytical Engine was a proposed mechanical general-purpose computer designed by English mathematician and computer pioneer Charles Babbage, with the assistance of Ada Lovelace (the first computer programmer). It is far more ambitious than difference engine. A machine that embodied in its design most of the features of a modern digital computer.

 

Advantage of computers

Automatic: - As we know computer is an electronic device, so it performs of task automatically based on given data with specific program by the user that is calculation or storage of data.

 

Speed: - One of the main advantages of computer is its incredible speed, which helps human to complete their task in few seconds. All the operations can be performed very fast just because of its speed elsewise it takes a long time to perform the task.

 

Accuracy: - Computer calculates the data are very accurate and very high. The degree of accuracy of a particular computer depends on the instructions and the type of processor.

Diligence: - The capacity of computer of performing repetitive task without getting tired is called diligence. A computer is free from tiredness, lack of concentration, fatigue etc, therefore it can work for hours without creating any errors.

 

Versatility: - The capacity of computer of performing more than one task at the same time is called versatility of computer. Versatility means the capacity to perform different types of work completely.

 

Limitations of computers

No I.Q: - Computer has no I.Q. It has to be told what do and in what sequence. Hence the user can determine what task a computer will perform.

No feelings: - Lack of feeling is another limitation of computer. A Computer cannot feel like us. It does not have emotions, feelings, knowledge etc.