La Compu En Ingles

THE COMPUTER CHARACTERISTICS

Computers are electronic machines that process information. They are capable of communicating with the user, of doing five kinds of arithmetic operations, and of making three kinds of decisions. However, they are incapable of thinking. They accept data and instructions as input, and after processing the information, they output the results.
When talking aboutcomputers, both hardware and software need to be considered. The former refers to the actual machinery, whereas the latter refers to the programs that control and coordinate the activities of the hardware.
Computers are machines designed to process electronically specially prepared pieces of information, which are termed data. Handling or manipulating the information that has been given to thecomputer, in such ways as doing calculations, adding information or making comparisons is called processing. Computers are made up of millions of electronic devices capable of storing data or moving them at enormous speeds, through complex circuits with different functions.
All computers have several characteristics in common, regardless of make or design. Information, in the form of instructions anddata, is given to the machine, after which the machine acts on it, and a result is then returned. The information presented to the machine is the input; the internal operations, the processing; and the result, the output. These three basic concepts of input, processing, and output occur in almost every aspect of human life whether at work or at play.
The centrepiece is called either the computer,the processor, or, usually, the central processing unit (CPU). The term "computer" includes those parts of hardware in which calculations and other data manipulations are performed and the high-speed internal memory in which data and calculations are stored during actual execution of programs. When data or programs need to be saved for long periods of time, they are stored on various secondarymemory devices or storage devices.
Computers have often been thought of as extremely large adding machines, but this is a very narrow view of their functions. Although a computer can only respond to a certain number of instructions it is not a single-purpose machine since these instructions can be combined in an
infinite number of sequences. Therefore, a computer has no known limit on the kinds ofthings it can do; its versatility is limited only by the imagination of those using it.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s computers were very expensive to own and run. Moreover, their size and reliability were such that a large number of support personnel were needed to keep the equipment operating. This has all changed now that computing power has become portable, more compact, and cheaper.
Inonly a very short period of time, computers have greatly changed the way in which many kinds of work are performed. Computers can remove many of the routine and boring tasks from our lives, thereby leaving us with more time for interesting, creative work. It goes without saying that computers have created whole new areas of work that did not exist before their development.

COMPUTER CAPABILITIESAND LIMITATIONS

Like all machines, a computer needs to be directed and controlled in order to perform a task successfully. Until such time as a program is prepared and stored in the computer's memory, the computer 'knows absolutely nothing, not even how to accept or reject data. Even the most sophisticated computer, no matter how capable it is, must be told what to do. Until the capabilitiesand the limitations of a computer are recognised, its usefulness cannot be thoroughly understood.
In the first place, it should be recognised that computers are capable of doing repetitive operations. A computer can perform similar operations thousands of times, without becoming bored, tired, or even careless.
Secondly, computers can process information at extremely rapid rates.
Thirdly,...