WHAT IS A COMPUTER ?

Note: This text was drawn from our handout.

"Nowadays, in most modern societies, almost everybody has an idea about what a computer is. We depend on computers in every aspect of our lives whether we know how to use oneor not. But does everyone really know how a computer inside?

A computer is an electronic machine which processes data and provides the results of the processing as information. There are three basics steps in the computing process. The first one is input, wich consists of feeding data into the computer's memory. Then comes the processing the programis run and the computer process the data by performing a set of instructions. The third and final step is the output furnished by the computer, which allows the user to see the results either in printed form or on the screen.

The world of computers has created a specific language of its own. English words such as software and hardware are usedworldwide and have been borrewed by many different languages. Software is information in the form of data and programs, and hardware refers to the eletronic and mechanical parts that make up a computer system.

Despite the constant presence of computers in most modern societies, it is a great mistake to believe that everybody in the world is computer-literate, i.e., is familiar with computers and knows how to use them properly. In some contemporary societies, many people still have no idea about the existence of computers, and even in the so-called about  what a computer is."