A computer is a programmable machine that receives input, stores and manipulates data,

and provides output in a useful format.

While a computer can, in theory, be made out of almost anything (see misconceptions
section), and mechanical examples of computers have existed through much of recorded
human history, the first electronic computers were developed in the mid-20th century
(1940–1945). Originally, they were the size of a large room, consuming as much power
as several hundred modern personal computers (PCs).[1] Modern computers based on
integrated circuits are millions to billions of times more capable than the early machines,
and occupy a fraction of the space.[2] Simple computers are small enough to fit into
mobile devices, and can be powered by a small battery. Personal computers in their
various forms are icons of the Information Age and are what most people think of as
"computers". However, the embedded computers found in many devices from MP3
players to fighter aircraft and from toys to industrial robots are the most numerous.

History of computing
Main article: History of computing hardware

The first use of the word "computer" was recorded in 1613, referring to a person who
carried out calculations, or computations, and the word continued to be used in that sense
until the middle of the 20th century. From the end of the 19th century onwards though,
the word began to take on its more familiar meaning, describing a machine that carries
out computations.[3]

Limited-function ancient computers

The Jacquard loom, on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester,
England, was one of the first programmable devices.
The history of the modern computer begins with two separate technologies—automated
calculation and programmability—but no single device can be identified as the earliest
computer, partly because of the inconsistent application of that term. Examples of early
mechanical calculating devices include the abacus, the slide rule and arguably the
astrolabe and the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient astronomical computer built by the
Greeks around 80 BC.[4] The Greek mathematician Hero of Alexandria (c. 10–70 AD)
built a mechanical theater which performed a play lasting 10 minutes and was operated
by a complex system of ropes and drums that might be considered to be a means of
deciding which parts of the mechanism performed which actions and when.[5] This is the
essence of programmability.

The "castle clock", an astronomical clock invented by Al-Jazari in 1206, is considered to

be the earliest programmable analog computer.[6][verification needed] It displayed the zodiac, the
solar and lunar orbits, a crescent moon-shaped pointer travelling across a gateway
causing automatic doors to open every hour,[7][8] and five robotic musicians who played
music when struck by levers operated by a camshaft attached to a water wheel. The
length of day and night could be re-programmed to compensate for the changing lengths
of day and night throughout the year.[6]

The Renaissance saw a re-invigoration of European mathematics and engineering.

Wilhelm Schickard's 1623 device was the first of a number of mechanical calculators
constructed by European engineers, but none fit the modern definition of a computer,
because they could not be programmed.

First general-purpose computers

In 1801, Joseph Marie Jacquard made an improvement to the textile loom by introducing
a series of punched paper cards as a template which allowed his loom to weave intricate
patterns automatically. The resulting Jacquard loom was an important step in the
development of computers because the use of punched cards to define woven patterns can
be viewed as an early, albeit limited, form of programmability.

It was the fusion of automatic calculation with programmability that produced the first
recognizable computers. In 1837, Charles Babbage was the first to conceptualize and
design a fully programmable mechanical computer, his analytical engine.[9] Limited
finances and Babbage's inability to resist tinkering with the design meant that the device
was never completed.

In the late 1880s, Herman Hollerith invented the recording of data on a machine readable
medium. Prior uses of machine readable media, above, had been for control, not data.
"After some initial trials with paper tape, he settled on punched cards ..."[10] To process
these punched cards he invented the tabulator, and the keypunch machines. These three
inventions were the foundation of the modern information processing industry. Large-
scale automated data processing of punched cards was performed for the 1890 United
States Census by Hollerith's company, which later became the core of IBM. By the end of
the 19th century a number of technologies that would later prove useful in the realization
of practical computers had begun to appear: the punched card, Boolean algebra, the
vacuum tube (thermionic valve) and the teleprinter.

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.

Alan Turing is widely regarded to be the father of modern computer science. In 1936
Turing provided an influential formalisation of the concept of the algorithm and
computation with the Turing machine, providing a blueprint for the electronic digital
computer.[11] Of his role in the creation of the modern computer, Time magazine in
naming Turing one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century, states: "The
fact remains that everyone who taps at a keyboard, opening a spreadsheet or a word-
processing program, is working on an incarnation of a Turing machine".[11]

The Zuse Z3, 1941, considered the world's first working programmable, fully automatic
computing machine.

The ENIAC, which became operational in 1946, is considered to be the first general-
purpose electronic computer.
EDSAC was one of the first computers to implement the stored program (von Neumann)
architecture.

Die of an Intel 80486DX2 microprocessor (actual size: 12×6.75 mm) in its packaging.

The Atanasoff–Berry Computer (ABC) was among the first fully electronic digital binary
computing devices. Conceived in 1937 by Iowa State College physics professor John
Atanasoff, and built with the assistance of graduate student Clifford Berry,[12] the machine
was not programmable in the modern sense, being designed only to solve systems of
linear equations. The computer did employ parallel computation. A 1973 court ruling in a
patent dispute found that the patent for the 1946 ENIAC computer derived from the
Atanasoff–Berry Computer.

The inventor of the program-controlled computer was Konrad Zuse, who built the first
working computer in 1941 and later in 1955 the first computer based on magnetic
storage.[13]

George Stibitz is internationally recognized as a father of the modern digital computer.

While working at Bell Labs in November 1937, Stibitz invented and built a relay-based
calculator he dubbed the "Model K" (for "kitchen table", on which he had assembled it),
which was the first to use binary circuits to perform an arithmetic operation. Later models
added greater sophistication including complex arithmetic and programmability.[14]
A succession of steadily more powerful and flexible computing devices were constructed
in the 1930s and 1940s, gradually adding the key features that are seen in modern
computers. The use of digital electronics (largely invented by Claude Shannon in 1937)
and more flexible programmability were vitally important steps, but defining one point
along this road as "the first digital electronic computer" is difficult.Shannon 1940 Notable
achievements include.

• Konrad Zuse's electromechanical "Z machines". The Z3 (1941) was the first
working machine featuring binary arithmetic, including floating point arithmetic
and a measure of programmability. In 1998 the Z3 was proved to be Turing
complete, therefore being the world's first operational computer.[15]
• The non-programmable Atanasoff–Berry Computer (commenced in 1937,
completed in 1941) which used vacuum tube based computation, binary numbers,
and regenerative capacitor memory. The use of regenerative memory allowed it to
be much more compact than its peers (being approximately the size of a large
desk or workbench), since intermediate results could be stored and then fed back
into the same set of computation elements.
• The secret British Colossus computers (1943),[16] which had limited
programmability but demonstrated that a device using thousands of tubes could be
reasonably reliable and electronically reprogrammable. It was used for breaking
German wartime codes.
• The Harvard Mark I (1944), a large-scale electromechanical computer with
limited programmability.[17]
• The U.S. Army's Ballistic Research Laboratory ENIAC (1946), which used
decimal arithmetic and is sometimes called the first general purpose electronic
computer (since Konrad Zuse's Z3 of 1941 used electromagnets instead of
electronics). Initially, however, ENIAC had an inflexible architecture which
essentially required rewiring to change its programming.

Stored-program architecture

Several developers of ENIAC, recognizing its flaws, came up with a far more flexible
and elegant design, which came to be known as the "stored program architecture" or von
Neumann architecture. This design was first formally described by John von Neumann in
the paper First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC, distributed in 1945. A number of
projects to develop computers based on the stored-program architecture commenced
around this time, the first of these being completed in Great Britain. The first working
prototype to be demonstrated was the Manchester Small-Scale Experimental Machine
(SSEM or "Baby") in 1948. The Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator
(EDSAC), completed a year after the SSEM at Cambridge University, was the first
practical, non-experimental implementation of the stored program design and was put to
use immediately for research work at the university. Shortly thereafter, the machine
originally described by von Neumann's paper—EDVAC—was completed but did not see
full-time use for an additional two years.
Nearly all modern computers implement some form of the stored-program architecture,
making it the single trait by which the word "computer" is now defined. While the
technologies used in computers have changed dramatically since the first electronic,
general-purpose computers of the 1940s, most still use the von Neumann architecture.

Beginning in the 1950s, Soviet scientists Sergei Sobolev and Nikolay Brusentsov
conducted research on ternary computers, devices that operated on a base three
numbering system of −1, 0, and 1 rather than the conventional binary numbering system
upon which most computers are based. They designed the Setun, a functional ternary
computer, at Moscow State University. The device was put into limited production in the
Soviet Union, but supplanted by the more common binary architecture.

Semiconductors and microprocessors

Computers using vacuum tubes as their electronic elements were in use throughout the
1950s, but by the 1960s had been largely replaced by transistor-based machines, which
were smaller, faster, cheaper to produce, required less power, and were more reliable.
The first transistorised computer was demonstrated at the University of Manchester in
1953.[18] In the 1970s, integrated circuit technology and the subsequent creation of
microprocessors, such as the Intel 4004, further decreased size and cost and further
increased speed and reliability of computers. By the late 1970s, many products such as
video recorders contained dedicated computers called microcontrollers, and they started
to appear as a replacement to mechanical controls in domestic appliances such as
washing machines. The 1980s witnessed home computers and the now ubiquitous
personal computer. With the evolution of the Internet, personal computers are becoming
as common as the television and the telephone in the household[citation needed].

Modern smartphones are fully programmable computers in their own right, and as of
2009 may well be the most common form of such computers in existence[citation needed].

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 carry process them. While some
computers may have strange concepts "instructions" and "output" (see quantum
computing), modern computers based on the von Neumann architecture are 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

A 1970s punched card containing one line from a FORTRAN program. The card reads:
"Z(1) = Y + W(1)" and is labelled "PROJ039" for identification purposes.

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. For example:

mov #0, sum ; set sum to 0

mov #1, num ; set num to 1
loop: add num, sum ; add num to sum
add #1, num ; add 1 to num
cmp num, #1000 ; compare num to 1000
ble loop ; if num <= 1000, go back to 'loop'
 halt ; end of program. stop running

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 about a millionth of a second.[19]

Bugs

Errors in computer programs are called "bugs". Bugs may be benign and not affect the
usefulness of the program, or have only subtle effects. But in some cases they may cause
the program to "hang"—become unresponsive to input such as mouse clicks or
keystrokes, or to completely fail or "crash". Otherwise benign bugs may sometimes may
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.[20]

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. 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,[21] 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. Machine languages and the assembly languages that
represent them (collectively termed low-level programming languages) tend to be unique
to a particular type of computer. For instance, an ARM architecture computer (such as
may be found in a PDA or a hand-held videogame) cannot understand the machine
language of an Intel Pentium or the AMD Athlon 64 computer that might be in a PC.[22]

Higher-level languages and program design

Though 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.[23] 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.

The task of developing large software systems presents a significant intellectual

challenge. Producing software with an acceptably high reliability within a predictable
schedule and budget has historically been difficult; the academic and professional
discipline of software engineering concentrates specifically on this challenge.

Function
Main articles: Central processing unit and Microprocessor

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 busses, 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.

The control unit, ALU, registers, and basic I/O (and often other hardware closely linked
with these) are collectively known as a central processing unit (CPU). Early CPUs were
composed of many separate components but since the mid-1970s CPUs have typically
been constructed on a single integrated circuit called a microprocessor.
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 a series of control signals which activate other parts
of the computer.[24] Control systems in advanced computers may change the order of
some instructions so as 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.[25]

The control system's function is as follows—note that 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).
It is noticeable that 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 that runs a microcode program that causes all of these events to happen.

Arithmetic/logic unit (ALU)

Main article: Arithmetic logic unit

The ALU is capable of performing two classes of operations: arithmetic and logic.[26]

The set of arithmetic operations that a particular ALU supports may be limited to adding
and subtracting or might include multiplying or dividing, trigonometry functions (sine,
cosine, etc.) and square roots. Some can only operate on whole numbers (integers) whilst
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
both for creating complicated conditional statements and processing boolean logic.

Superscalar computers may contain multiple ALUs so that they can process several
instructions at the same time.[27] Graphics processors and computers with SIMD and
MIMD features often provide ALUs that can perform arithmetic on vectors and matrices.

Memory

Main article: Computer data storage

Magnetic core memory was the computer memory of choice throughout the 1960s, until
it was replaced by semiconductor memory.
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
(2^8 = 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 and read-only memory or ROM. RAM can be read and written to anytime the CPU
commands it, but ROM is pre-loaded with data and software that never changes, so 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.[28]

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.[29]
Devices that provide input or output to the computer are called peripherals.[30] 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.

Often, I/O devices are 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.

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.[31]

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.[32]

Before the era of cheap computers, the principle 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. However, 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 at the same time 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 only in 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.[33] They often feature thousands of CPUs, customized high-speed
interconnects, and specialized computing hardware. Such designs tend to be useful only
for specialized tasks due to the large scale of program organization required to
successfully utilize 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.

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 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 like Sabre.[34]

In the 1970s, computer engineers at research institutions throughout the United States
began to link their computers together using telecommunications technology. This effort
was funded by ARPA (now DARPA), and the computer network that it produced was
called the ARPANET.[35] 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 the computer. 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 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 saw computer networking become
almost ubiquitous. In fact, 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.

Misconceptions
A computer does not need to be electric, nor even have a processor, nor RAM, nor even
hard disk. The minimal definition of a computer is anything that transforms information
in a purposeful way.
Required technology

Main article: Unconventional computing

Computational systems as flexible as a personal computer can be built out of almost

anything. For example, a computer can be made out of billiard balls (billiard ball
computer); this is an unintuitive and pedagogical example that a computer can be made
out of almost anything. More realistically, modern computers are made out of transistors
made of photolithographed semiconductors.

Historically, computers evolved from mechanical computers and eventually from vacuum
tubes to transistors.

There is active research to make computers out of many promising new types of
technology, such as optical computing, DNA computers, neural computers, and quantum
computers. Some of these can easily tackle problems that modern computers cannot (such
as how quantum computers can break some modern encryption algorithms by quantum
factoring).

Computer architecture paradigms

Some different paradigms of how to build a computer from the ground-up:

RAM machines
These are the types of computers with a CPU, computer memory, etc., which
understand basic instructions in a machine language. The concept evolved from
the Turing machine.
Brains
Brains are massively parallel processors made of neurons, wired in intricate
patterns, that communicate via electricity and neurotransmitter chemicals.
Programming languages
Such as the lambda calculus, or modern programming languages, are virtual
computers built on top of other computers.
Cellular automata
For example, the game of Life can create "gliders" and "loops" and other
constructs that transmit information; this paradigm can be applied to DNA
computing, chemical computing, etc.
Groups and committees
The linking of multiple computers (brains) is itself a computer

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.

Limited-function computers

Conversely, a computer which is limited in function (one that is not "Turing-complete")

cannot simulate arbitrary things. For example, simple four-function calculators cannot
simulate a real computer without human intervention. As a more complicated example,
without the ability to program a gaming console, it can never accomplish what a
programmable calculator from the 1990s could (given enough time); the system as a
whole is not Turing-complete, even though it contains a Turing-complete component (the
microprocessor). Living organisms (the body, not the brain) are also limited-function
computers designed to make copies of themselves; they cannot be reprogrammed without
genetic engineering.

Virtual computers

A "computer" is commonly considered to be a physical device. However, one can create

a computer program which describes how to run a different computer, i.e. "simulating a
computer in a computer". Not only is this a constructive proof of the Church-Turing
thesis, but is also extremely common in all modern computers. For example, some
programming languages use something called an interpreter, which is a simulated
computer built on top of the basic computer; this allows programmers to write code
(computer input) in a different language than the one understood by the base computer
(the alternative is to use a compiler). Additionally, virtual machines are simulated
computers which virtually replicate a physical computer in software, and are very
commonly used by IT. Virtual machines are also a common technique used to create
emulators, such game console emulators.

Further topics
• Glossary of computers

Artificial intelligence

A computer will solve problems in exactly the way they are programmed to, without
regard to efficiency nor alternative solutions nor possible shortcuts nor possible errors in
the code. Computer programs which learn and adapt are part of the emerging field of
artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Hardware
The term hardware covers all of those parts of a computer that are tangible objects.
Circuits, displays, power supplies, cables, keyboards, printers and mice are all hardware.

Software

Main article: Computer software

Software refers to parts of the computer which do not have a material form, such as
programs, data, protocols, etc. When software is stored in hardware that cannot easily be
modified (such as BIOS ROM in an IBM PC compatible), it is sometimes called
"firmware" to indicate that it falls into an uncertain area somewhere between hardware
and software.

Programming languages

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

Professions and organizations

As the use of computers has spread throughout society, there are an increasing number of
careers involving computers.

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