Kwamfuta

[[Category:articles

with short description]]

Computers and computing devices from different eras – clockwise from top left:

• Early vacuum tube computer (ENIAC)
• Mainframe computer (IBM System 360)
• Desktop computer (IBM ThinkCentre S50 with monitor)
• Supercomputer (IBM Summit)
• Video game console (Nintendo GameCube)
• Smartphone (LYF Water 2)

Kwamfuta wata na'ura ce da za a iya tsara ta don aiwatar da jerin ayyukan ƙididdiga ko aiki na hankali (lissafi) ta atomatik. Kwamfutocin lantarki na zamani na dijital na iya yin nau'ikan ayyuka da aka sani da shirye-shirye. Waɗannan shirye-shiryen suna ba kwamfutoci damar yin ayyuka da yawa. Kalmar tsarin kwamfuta na iya nufin wata cikakkiyar kwamfyuta mai suna wanda ya haɗa da hardware, tsarin aiki, software, da kayan aikin da ake buƙata kuma ana amfani da su don cikakken aiki; ko zuwa ga rukunin kwamfutoci waɗanda ke da alaƙa kuma suna aiki tare, kamar cibiyar sadarwar kwamfuta ko cluster na kwamfuta.

Yawancin samfuran masana'antu da masu amfani suna amfani da kwamfutoci azaman tsarin sarrafawa. Ana haɗa na'urori masu sauƙi na musamman na musamman kamar tanda na microwave da na'urori masu nisa, haka kuma na'urorin masana'anta kamar robots masana'antu da ƙirar kwamfuta, da na'urori na gaba ɗaya kamar kwamfutoci na sirri da na'urorin hannu kamar wayoyi. Kwamfutoci suna amfani da Intanet, wanda ke haɗa biliyoyin kwamfutoci da masu amfani da su.

An yi nufin amfani da kwamfutoci na farko don lissafi kawai. Sauƙaƙan kayan aikin hannu kamar abacus sun taimaki mutane wajen yin lissafin tun zamanin da. A farkon juyin juya halin masana'antu, an gina wasu na'urori na injina don sarrafa dogayen ayyuka masu wahala, kamar ja-gorancin ƙirar saƙa. Ingantattun injunan lantarki sun yi ƙididdiga na musamman na analog a farkon ƙarni na 20. An kera na'urorin lissafin lantarki na farko na dijital a lokacin yakin duniya na biyu, duka na lantarki da kuma amfani da bawuloli na thermionic. Na farko semiconductor transistor a cikin ƙarshen 1940s sun biyo bayan MOSFET na tushen silicon (MOS transistor) da fasahar haɗaɗɗen guntu na monolithic a ƙarshen 1950s, wanda ke haifar da microprocessor da juyin juya halin microcomputer a cikin 1970s. Gudu, ƙarfi da juzu'i na kwamfutoci suna ƙaruwa sosai tun daga wannan lokacin, tare da ƙididdigar transistor suna ƙaruwa cikin sauri (Dokar Moore ta lura cewa ana ninka sau biyu duk bayan shekaru biyu), wanda ya haifar da juyin juya halin dijital a ƙarshen 20th zuwa farkon ƙarni na 21st.

A al'ada, kwamfuta ta zamani ta ƙunshi aƙalla nau'ikan sarrafawa guda ɗaya, yawanci rukunin sarrafawa ta tsakiya (CPU) a cikin nau'in microprocessor, tare da wasu nau'ikan ƙwaƙwalwar kwamfuta, galibi semiconductor memory chips. Rukunin sarrafawa yana aiwatar da ayyuka na lissafi da ma'ana, kuma jerin abubuwa da naúrar sarrafawa na iya canza tsarin aiki don amsa bayanan da aka adana. Na'urori na gefe sun haɗa da na'urorin shigar da bayanai (allon madannai, mice, joystick, da dai sauransu), na'urorin fitarwa (na'urorin saka idanu, firinta, da dai sauransu), da na'urorin shigarwa / fitarwa waɗanda ke yin ayyuka biyu (misali, 2000s-era touchscreen). Na'urori na gefe suna ba da damar dawo da bayanai daga tushen waje kuma suna ba da damar adana sakamakon ayyuka da kuma dawo da su. Samfura: Iyakar TOC

Etymology

A human computer, with microscope and calculator, 1952

A cewar ƙamus na Ingilishi na Oxford, farkon sanannen amfani da kwamfuta shine a cikin wani littafi na 1613 mai suna Yong Mans Gleanings na marubuci ɗan Ingilishi Richard Brathwait: “Na karanta mafi kyawun kwamfutar Times, kuma mafi kyawun ilimin Arithmetician har abada. sic] ya hura, kuma ya rage kwanakinku kaɗan." Wannan amfani da kalmar yana nufin kwamfutar ɗan adam, mutumin da ya aiwatar da lissafi ko ƙididdiga. Kalmar ta ci gaba da ma'ana guda har zuwa tsakiyar karni na 20. A karshen wannan lokaci ana daukar mata aiki a matsayin kwamfuta saboda ana iya biyansu kasa da takwarorinsu maza. A shekara ta 1943, yawancin kwamfutocin mutane mata ne.

The Online Etymology Dictionary ya ba da shaidar farko ta amfani da kwamfuta a cikin 1640s, ma'ana 'wanda ya yi lissafi'; wannan "wakili suna daga lissafin (v.)". The Online Etymology Dictionary ya bayyana cewa amfani da kalmar don nufin Samfura:" 'na'ura mai ƙididdigewa' (na kowane nau'i) ta fito ne daga 1897." The Online Etymology Dictionary yana nuna cewa "amfani na zamani" na kalmar, don nufin 'kwamfutar lantarki na dijital mai shirye-shirye' daga "1945 a ƙarƙashin wannan sunan; [a cikin] theoretical [sense] from 1937, as Turing machine".

Tarihi

Pre-20th century

The Ishango bone, a bone tool dating back to prehistoric Africa

An yi amfani da na'urori don taimakawa ƙididdiga tsawon dubban shekaru, galibi suna amfani da wasiƙa ɗaya zuwa ɗaya tare da yatsunsu. Na'urar kirga ta farko ta kasance nau'i na tsayin tsayi. Daga baya bayanan rikodi a ko'ina cikin Crescent Mai Haihuwa sun haɗa da kalkuli (bangaren yumbu, mazugi, da sauransu) waɗanda ke wakiltar ƙididdiga na abubuwa, wataƙila dabbobi ko hatsi, an rufe su a cikin kwandon yumbu mara ganuwa. Amfani da sandunan ƙidaya misali ɗaya ne.

The Chinese suanpan (算盘). The number represented on this abacus is 6,302,715,408.

An fara amfani da abacus don ayyukan lissafi. An kirkiro abacus na Romawa daga na'urorin da aka yi amfani da su a Babila a farkon 2400 KZ. Tun daga wannan lokacin, an ƙirƙira wasu nau'ikan alluna ko teburi da yawa. A cikin gidan kirga na Turai na tsakiyar zamanai, za a sanya rigar da aka zana a kan teburi, kuma alamomi suna zagayawa bisa wasu ƙa'idodi, a matsayin taimako don ƙididdige adadin kuɗi.

The Antikythera mechanism, dating back to ancient Greece circa 150–100 BCE, is an early analog computing device.

An yi imanin tsarin Antikythera shine farkon sanannen kwamfyuta analog na inji, a cewar Derek J. de Solla Price. An tsara shi don ƙididdige matsayi na sararin samaniya. An gano shi a cikin 1901 a cikin ɓarkewar Antikythera a tsibirin Antikythera na Girka, tsakanin Kythera da Crete, kuma an yi kwanan watan kusan c. 100 KZ. Na'urori masu kamanceceniya da tsarin Antikythera ba za su sake bayyana ba sai karni na sha huɗu.

Yawancin kayan taimako na inji don ƙididdigewa da aunawa an gina su don amfani da sararin samaniya da kewayawa. Planisphere tauraro ne da Abū Rayhān al-Bīrunī ya ƙirƙira a farkon ƙarni na 11. Astrolabe an ƙirƙira shi ne a cikin duniyar Hellenistic a cikin ƙarni na farko ko na biyu KZ kuma galibi ana danganta shi ga Hipparchus. Haɗin planisphere da dioptra, astrolabe ɗin ya kasance daidai kwamfutocin analog wanda ke iya yin aiki da nau'ikan matsaloli daban-daban a cikin sararin samaniya. Abi Bakr na Isfahan, Farisa ne ya ƙirƙira wani tauraro mai haɗa na'urar kalandar inji da kuma ƙafafu na gear a shekara ta 1235. Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī ya ƙirƙira na'urar tauraro na farko mai amfani da lunisolar kalanda, injin sarrafa ilmin da aka kafa da wuri tare da jirgin kasan gear. gira-girgiza, c. 1000 AD.

Sashin, kayan aikin lissafin da ake amfani da shi don magance matsaloli daidai gwargwado, trigonometry, ninkawa da rarrabawa, da ayyuka daban-daban, kamar murabba'ai da tushen cube, an haɓaka shi a ƙarshen karni na 16 kuma an sami aikace-aikacen a cikin bindigogi, bincike da kewayawa.

Planimeter kayan aikin hannu ne don ƙididdige yankin rufaffiyar siffa ta hanyar bibiyarsa tare da haɗin injina.

A slide rule

Wani limamin Ingila William Oughtred ne ya ƙirƙira wannan ƙa'idar ta zamewa a kusa da 1620-1630, jim kaɗan bayan buga manufar logarithm. Kwamfuta ta analog ce ta hannu don yin ninkawa da rarrabawa. Yayin da ci gaban ƙa'idar nunin faifai ya ci gaba, ƙarin ma'auni ya ba da ma'auni, murabba'ai da tushen murabba'i, cubes da tushen cube, da kuma ayyuka masu wuce gona da iri kamar logarithms da fa'idodi, madauwari da trigonometry hyperbolic da sauran ayyuka. Har yanzu ana amfani da ƙa'idodin zamewa tare da ma'auni na musamman don saurin aiwatar da ƙididdigewa na yau da kullun, kamar ka'idar madauwari ta E6B da aka yi amfani da ita don lissafin lokaci da nisa akan jirgin sama mai haske.

A cikin 1770s, Pierre Jaquet-Droz, mai agogon Swiss, ya gina wata yar tsana (atomatik) wanda zai iya rubuta rike da alkalami. Ta hanyar canza lamba da tsari na ƙafafunta na ciki haruffa daban-daban, don haka ana iya samar da saƙonni daban-daban. A zahiri, ana iya "shirya shi" da injina don karanta umarnin. Tare da wasu injunan hadaddun inji guda biyu, ɗan tsana yana a Musée d'Art et d'Histoire na Neuchâtel, Switzerland, kuma har yanzu yana aiki.

A cikin 1831-1835, masanin lissafi kuma injiniya Giovanni Plana ya ƙera na'ura ta Perpetual Calendar, wanda, ta hanyar tsarin juzu'i da silinda da ƙari, zai iya yin hasashen kalandar har abada a kowace shekara daga 0 CE (wato 1 KZ) zuwa 4000 CE. kiyaye shekarun tsalle-tsalle da tsayin rana daban-daban. Na'urar tsinkayar igiyar ruwa da masanin kimiyya dan Scotland Sir William Thomson ya kirkira a shekarar 1872 yana da matukar amfani wajen kewaya cikin ruwa mara zurfi. Ya yi amfani da tsarin juzu'i da wayoyi don ƙididdige matakan da aka annabta ta atomatik don saita lokaci a wani wuri.

Mai nazarin bambance-bambance, kwamfutar analog na inji wanda aka ƙera don warware ma'auni daban-daban ta hanyar haɗawa, yayi amfani da hanyoyin dabaran-da-faifai don aiwatar da haɗin kai. A cikin 1876, Sir William Thomson ya riga ya tattauna yiwuwar gina irin waɗannan na'urorin ƙididdiga, amma ƙarancin ƙarfin fitarwa na masu haɗa ball-da-disk ya ruɗe shi. A cikin na'urar tantancewa daban-daban, fitowar mai haɗawa ɗaya ta motsa shigar da na'ura mai haɗawa ta gaba, ko fitarwar zane. Ƙarfin wutar lantarki shine ci gaba wanda ya ba da damar waɗannan injuna suyi aiki. Tun daga shekarun 1920s, Vannevar Bush da sauransu sun ƙera na'urori masu bambance-bambancen inji.

A cikin 1890s, injiniyan Mutanen Espanya Leonardo Torres Quevedo ya fara haɓaka jerin injunan analog na ci gaba waɗanda za su iya magance ainihin tushen tushen polynomials, waɗanda Cibiyar Nazarin Kimiyya ta Paris ta buga a 1901.

Kwamfuta ta farko

Charles Babbage c. 1850

A diagram of a portion of Babbage's Difference engine

The Difference Engine Number 2 at the Intellectual Ventures laboratory in Seattle

Charles Babbage, injiniyan injiniya na Ingilishi kuma masanin ilimin lissafi, ya samo asali ne na tsarin kwamfuta. An yi la'akari da "mahaifin kwamfuta", ya ƙirƙira kuma ya ƙirƙira na'urar kwamfuta ta farko a farkon karni na 19.

Bayan ya yi aiki akan injin ɗinsa na bambance-bambancen ya sanar da ƙirƙirarsa a cikin 1822, a cikin wata takarda ga Royal Astronomical Society, mai take "Note on the application of machinery to the computation of astronomical and mathematical tables", ya kuma ƙera don taimakawa wajen lissafin kewayawa, a cikin 1833 ya gane cewa mafi yawan zane-zane, injin bincike, yana yiwuwa. Za a ba da shigar da shirye-shirye da bayanai zuwa na'ura ta katunan naushi, hanyar da ake amfani da ita a lokacin don jagorantar mashinan inji kamar Jacquard loom. Don fitarwa, injin ɗin zai sami firinta, mai lanƙwasa makirci da ƙararrawa. Na'urar kuma za ta iya buga lambobi a kan katunan don karantawa daga baya. Injin ya haɗa na'ura mai mahimmanci na lissafi, sarrafawa mai gudana a cikin nau'i na reshe na yanayi da madaukai, da kuma haɗaɗɗen ƙwaƙwalwar ajiya, yana mai da shi zane na farko don kwamfuta mai mahimmanci wanda za'a iya kwatanta shi a cikin sharuddan zamani a matsayin Turing-complete.

Injin ya kasance kusan karni daya kafin lokacinsa. Dole ne a yi dukkan sassan injinsa da hannu - wannan babbar matsala ce ga na'urar da ke da dubban sassa. A ƙarshe, an rushe aikin tare da shawarar da gwamnatin Burtaniya ta yanke na dakatar da bayar da kuɗi. Ana iya danganta gazawar Babbage don kammala injin na’urar tantancewa, musamman ga matsalolin siyasa da na kuɗi da kuma sha’awarsa na haɓaka na’ura mai kwakwalwa da kuma ci gaba da sauri fiye da yadda kowa zai iya bi. Duk da haka, dansa, Henry Babbage, ya kammala sassauƙan juzu'in na'ura mai sarrafa kwamfuta ta injina (niƙa) a cikin 1888. Ya ba da nasarar nuna yadda ake amfani da shi a cikin tebur na kwamfuta a cikin 1906.

Injin lissafin Electromechanical

Electro-mechanical calculator (1920) by Leonardo Torres Quevedo.

A cikin aikinsa na Essays on Automatics da aka buga a 1914, Leonardo Torres Quevedo ya rubuta taƙaitaccen tarihin ƙoƙarin Babbage na gina Injin Difference Engine da Injin Analytical. Ya bayyana Injin Analytical a matsayin misali na tunaninsa game da yuwuwar karfin injin, kuma ya dauki matsalar kera irin wannan injin a matsayin kalubale ga kwarewarsa a matsayinsa na mai kirkirar na’urorin lantarki. Takardar tana ƙunshe da ƙirar na'ura mai iya ƙididdige ƙimar dabara ta atomatik gaba ɗaya $a^{x}(y-z)^{2}$

, don jerin jeri na ƙima na masu canjin da ke ciki. Za a sarrafa dukkan injin ɗin ta tsarin karantawa kawai, wanda ya cika tare da tanade-tanade don reshe na sharadi. Ya kuma gabatar da ra'ayin lissafin lissafi. A shekara ta 1920, don bikin cika shekaru 100 da ƙirƙira na'urar lissafi, Torres ya gabatar a birnin Paris na'urar Electromechanical Arithmometer, wanda ya ƙunshi na'ura mai ƙididdigewa da aka haɗa da na'urar bugawa (wataƙila mai nisa), wanda za'a iya buga umarni kuma a buga sakamakon ta atomatik. yana nuna yuwuwar injin nazari na lantarki.

Kwamfutar analog

Sir William Thomson's third tide-predicting machine design, 1879–81

A farkon rabin ƙarni na 20, yawancin buƙatun ƙididdiga na kimiyya sun sami biyan buƙatun kwamfutocin analog masu haɓaka, waɗanda suka yi amfani da ƙirar injina ko lantarki kai tsaye na matsalar a matsayin tushen ƙidayar. Koyaya, waɗannan ba su kasance masu shirye-shirye ba kuma gabaɗaya ba su da iyawa da daidaiton kwamfutocin dijital na zamani. Kwamfutar analog ta farko ta zamani itace injin tsinkayar igiyar ruwa, wanda Sir William Thomson (daga baya ya zama Lord Kelvin) ya kirkira a shekarar 1872. Mai nazari na banbance-banbance, kwamfutar analog na injina wanda aka tsara don warware ma'auni daban-daban ta hanyar haɗawa ta amfani da injin ƙafa da diski. James Thomson, ɗan'uwan ɗan'uwan sanannen Sir William Thomson ne ya tsara shi a cikin 1876.

Fasahar lissafin analog ta injina ta kai matsayinta tare da na'urar nazari daban-daban, wanda H.L. Hazen da Vannevar Bush suka gina a MIT tun daga 1927. Wannan ya ginu akan injinan injinan James Thomson da na'urori masu karfin juyi da H.W. Nieman ya kirkira. An gina dozin daga cikin waɗannan na'urori kafin tsufansu ya fito fili. A cikin shekarun 1950, nasarar kwamfutocin lantarki na dijital ya kawo ƙarshen mafi yawan injunan lissafin analog, amma ana amfani da kwamfutocin analog a cikin shekarun 1950 a wasu ƙa'idodi na musamman kamar ilimi (Dokar zamewa) da jirgin sama (tsarin sarrafawa).

Kwamfutan Zamani

Electromechanical

A shekara ta 1938, Rundunar Sojan Ruwa ta Amurka ta ƙera na'ura mai kwakwalwa ta analog ɗin ƙarami da za ta yi amfani da shi a cikin jirgin ruwa. Wannan shi ne Torpedo Data Computer, wanda yayi amfani da trigonometry don magance matsalar harba torpedo a wani wuri mai motsi. A lokacin yakin duniya na biyu an samar da irin wadannan na'urori a wasu kasashe ma.

Replica of Konrad Zuse's Z3, the first fully automatic, digital (electromechanical) computer

Kwamfutocin dijital na farko sun kasance injin lantarki; na'urorin lantarki sun kori relays na inji don yin lissafin. Waɗannan na'urori suna da ƙarancin saurin aiki kuma a ƙarshe an maye gurbinsu da kwamfutoci masu saurin aiki duka, da farko suna amfani da bututun ruwa. Z2, wanda injiniyan Jamus Konrad Zuse ya ƙirƙira a cikin 1939 a Berlin, yana ɗaya daga cikin misalan farko na na'ura mai ba da hanya tsakanin hanyoyin sadarwa na lantarki.

Konrad Zuse, inventor of the modern computer

A cikin 1941, Zuse ya bi na'urarsa ta farko tare da Z3, na'urar lantarki ta farko da ta fara aiki a duniya, kwamfutar dijital mai cikakken atomatik. An gina Z3 tare da relays 2000, yana aiwatar da tsawon kalma 22 bit wanda ke aiki a mitar agogo na kusan 5-10 Hz. An ba da lambar shirin akan fim ɗin da aka buga yayin da za a iya adana bayanai a cikin kalmomi 64 na ƙwaƙwalwar ajiya ko kuma a kawo su daga madannai. Ya yi kama da na'urori na zamani ta wasu fannoni, suna yin majagaba da yawa ci gaba kamar lambobi masu iyo. Maimakon tsarin ƙayyadaddun ƙayyadaddun aiwatarwa (wanda aka yi amfani da shi a ƙirar farko na Charles Babbage), yin amfani da tsarin binary yana nufin cewa injinan Zuse sun fi sauƙi don ginawa kuma suna da aminci, idan aka yi la'akari da fasahar da ake da su a lokacin. Z3 ba ita kanta kwamfuta ce ta duniya ba amma ana iya tsawaita ta zama Turing cikakke.

Kwamfuta ta Zuse ta gaba, wato Z4, ta zama kwamfutar kasuwanci ta farko a duniya; bayan jinkiri na farko saboda yakin duniya na biyu, an kammala shi a cikin 1950 kuma an kai shi zuwa ETH Zurich. Kamfanin Zuse na kansa ne ya kera kwamfutar, Zuse KG, wanda aka kafa a shekarar 1941 a matsayin kamfani na farko da ke da manufar bunkasa kwamfutoci a Berlin.

Vacuum tubes da na'urorin lantarki na dijital

Ba da daɗewa ba abubuwan da'ira na lantarki za su maye gurbin injiniyoyinsu da na lantarki, a daidai lokacin da lissafin dijital ya maye gurbin analog. Injiniya Tommy Flowers, wanda ke aiki a Ofishin Bincike na Post Office a Landan a cikin 1930s, ya fara bincika yiwuwar amfani da kayan lantarki don musayar tarho. Na’urorin gwaji da ya gina a shekarar 1934 ya fara aiki bayan shekaru biyar, inda ya mai da wani bangare na hanyar sadarwa ta wayar tarho zuwa tsarin sarrafa bayanan lantarki, ta hanyar amfani da dubban bututun iska. A Amurka, John Vincent Atanasoff da Clifford E. Berry na Jami'ar Jihar Iowa sun haɓaka kuma sun gwada Kwamfuta ta Atanasoff–Berry (ABC) a cikin 1942, "kwamfutar dijital ta atomatik ta farko". Wannan ƙirar kuma ta kasance ta na'urar lantarki kuma an yi amfani da kusan bututun iska guda 300, tare da kafaffun capacitors a cikin ganga mai jujjuya injina don ƙwaƙwalwar ajiya.

Colossus, the first electronic digital programmable computing device, was used to break German ciphers during World War II. It is seen here in use at Bletchley Park in 1943.

A lokacin Yaƙin Duniya na Biyu, masu satar lambar Birtaniyya a filin shakatawa na Bletchley sun sami nasarori da dama wajen karya ɓoyayyun hanyoyin sadarwar sojan Jamus. An fara kai wa na'urar boye bayanan sirri ta Jamus Enigma hari tare da taimakon bama-bamai masu amfani da makamashin lantarki da mata ke amfani da su. Don fasa injin Lorenz SZ 40/42 na Jamus, wanda ake amfani da shi don sadarwar Sojoji masu girma, Max Newman da abokan aikinsa sun ba Flowers damar gina Colossus. Ya shafe watanni goma sha ɗaya daga farkon Fabrairu 1943 yana ƙira da gina Colossus na farko. Bayan gwajin aiki a cikin Disamba 1943, an tura Colossus zuwa Bletchley Park, inda aka isar da shi a ranar 18 ga Janairu 1944 kuma ya kai hari kan saƙonsa na farko a ranar 5 ga Fabrairu.

Colossus ita ce kwamfuta ta farko da za ta iya yin shirye-shiryen dijital na lantarki a duniya. Ya yi amfani da babban adadin bawuloli (vacuum tubes). Yana da shigar da kaset-tape kuma yana iya daidaita shi don aiwatar da ayyuka iri-iri na boolean akan bayanan sa, amma bai cika Turing ba. An gina Mk II Colossi tara (An canza Mk I zuwa Mk II yana yin inji goma gaba ɗaya). Colossus Mark I ya ƙunshi 1,500 thermionic bawuloli (tubes), amma Mark II tare da 2,400 bawuloli, biyu sau biyar sauri da kuma sauki aiki fiye da Mark I, matuƙar gudun aiwatar da decoding.

ENIAC was the first electronic, Turing-complete device, and performed ballistics trajectory calculations for the United States Army.

ENIAC (Electronic Number Integrator and Computer) ita ce kwamfuta ta farko da za a iya tsara tsarin lantarki da aka gina a cikin Amurka. Duk da cewa ENIAC ta yi kama da Colossus, tana da sauri da sauƙi, kuma tana da Turing-complete. Kamar Colossus, "shirin" akan ENIAC an bayyana shi ta jihohin kebul na facinsa da masu sauyawa, kuka mai nisa daga na'urorin lantarki da aka adana a cikin shirin da suka zo daga baya. Da zarar an rubuta shirin, dole ne a sanya shi cikin injina cikin injin tare da sake saita filogi da maɓalli da hannu. Masu shirye-shiryen na ENIAC mata shida ne, wadanda aka fi sani da suna "'yan matan ENIAC".

Ya haɗu da babban saurin na'urorin lantarki tare da ikon tsarawa don matsaloli masu rikitarwa da yawa. Yana iya ƙara ko raguwa sau 5000 a cikin daƙiƙa, sau dubu cikin sauri fiye da kowace na'ura. Hakanan yana da nau'ikan nau'ikan don ninka, rarraba, da tushen murabba'i. Ƙwaƙwalwar ƙwaƙƙwarar gudu ta iyakance ga kalmomi 20 (kimanin bytes 80). An gina shi a ƙarƙashin jagorancin John Mauchly da J. Presper Eckert a Jami'ar Pennsylvania, ci gaban ENIAC da ginin ya kasance daga 1943 zuwa cikakken aiki a ƙarshen 1945. Na'urar tana da girma, tana da nauyin 30, ta amfani da 200 kilowatts na wutar lantarki da wutar lantarki. ya ƙunshi fiye da 18,000 vacuum tubes, 1,500 relays, da kuma dubban daruruwan resistors, capacitors, da inductor.

Kwamfutoci na zamani

Manufar kwamfuta ta zamani

Alan Turing ne ya gabatar da ƙa'idar kwamfuta ta zamani a cikin takardarsa ta 1936, On Lambobin Ƙirar Ƙira. Turing ya gabatar da wata na'ura mai sauki wacce ya kira "Universal Computing Machine" wanda a yanzu ake kiranta da injin Turing na duniya. Ya tabbatar da cewa irin wannan na’ura tana iya yin lissafin duk wani abu da za a iya lissafta ta hanyar aiwatar da umarni (shirin) da aka adana a kan tef, wanda zai ba da damar na’urar ta kasance da shirye-shirye. Mahimmin ra'ayi na ƙirar Turing shine shirin da aka adana, inda aka adana duk umarnin don ƙididdigewa a cikin ƙwaƙwalwar ajiya. Von Neumann ya yarda cewa babban manufar kwamfuta ta zamani ta kasance saboda wannan takarda. Turing inji har wa yau wani babban abu ne na nazari a ka'idar lissafi. Ban da iyakokin da ƙayyadaddun wuraren ajiyar ƙwaƙwalwar ajiyar su suka sanya, kwamfutocin zamani an ce Turing-complete ne, wanda ke nufin, suna da ikon aiwatar da algorithm daidai da injin Turing na duniya.

Shirye-shiryen da aka adana

A section of the reconstructed Manchester Baby, the first electronic stored-program computer

Na'urorin kwamfuta na farko suna da tsayayyen shirye-shirye. Canza aikinsa yana buƙatar sake kunna wayoyi da sake fasalin injin. Tare da shawarar kwamfutar shirin da aka adana wannan ya canza. Kwamfutar shirin da aka adana ta haɗa ta ƙira saitin umarni kuma za ta iya adana saitin umarni (shiri) a cikin ƙwaƙwalwar ajiya tsarin umarni (tsarin) wanda ke yin cikakken bayani game da lissafin. Alan Turing ne ya shimfida tushen ka'idar tsarin kwamfuta a cikin takardarsa ta 1936. A cikin 1945, Turing ya shiga dakin gwaje-gwaje na Jiki na ƙasa kuma ya fara aiki don haɓaka na'ura mai kwakwalwa ta dijital da aka adana-shirin. Rahoton na 1945 mai suna "Proposed Electronic Calculator" shine bayanin farko na irin wannan na'urar. John von Neumann a Jami'ar Pennsylvania shi ma ya ba da rahotonsa na Farko na Rahoton kan EDVAC a cikin 1945.

The Manchester Baby ita ce kwamfuta ta farko da aka adana-shirye-shirye a duniya. Frederic C. Williams, Tom Kilburn da Geoff Tootill ne suka gina shi a Jami'ar Manchester a Ingila, kuma ya gudanar da shirinsa na farko a ranar 21 ga Yuni 1948. An tsara shi azaman wurin gwaji don bututun Williams, ma'ajiyar dijital ta farko bazuwar-hankali. na'urar. Ko da yake an kwatanta kwamfutar a matsayin "kanana kuma ta dadewa" a shekarar 1998, ita ce na'ura mai aiki ta farko da ta ƙunshi dukkanin abubuwan da ke da mahimmanci ga kwamfutar lantarki ta zamani. Da jaririn ya nuna yiwuwar ƙirarsa, an fara wani aiki a jami'a don haɓaka ta zuwa kwamfuta mai amfani a zahiri, Manchester Mark 1.

Mark 1 bi da bi da sauri ya zama samfur na Ferranti Mark 1, kwamfuta na farko da aka samu na gama-gari na kasuwanci a duniya. Ferranti ne ya gina shi, an kai shi Jami’ar Manchester a watan Fabrairun 1951. Akalla na’urori bakwai daga baya an kai su tsakanin 1953 zuwa 1957, daya daga cikinsu zuwa labs Shell a Amsterdam. A cikin Oktoba 1947 darektocin kamfanin sarrafa abinci na Burtaniya J. Lyons & Kamfanin sun yanke shawarar yin rawar gani wajen inganta ci gaban kasuwanci na kwamfutoci. Kwamfuta ta Lyons ta LEO I, wacce aka kera ta a kan Cambridge EDSAC na 1949, ta fara aiki a cikin Afrilu 1951 kuma ta gudanar da aikin kwamfuta na ofis na farko a duniya.

Grace Hopper ita ce ta fara haɓaka mai haɗawa don harshen shirye-shirye.

Transistors

Bipolar junction transistor (BJT)

Julius Edgar Lilienfeld ne ya gabatar da manufar transistor mai tasirin filin a cikin 1925. John Bardeen da Walter Brattain, yayin da suke aiki a ƙarƙashin William Shockley a Bell Labs, sun gina transistor na farko na aiki, transistor mai lamba, a cikin 1947, wanda ya biyo baya. ta Shockley's bipolar junction transistor a cikin 1948. Daga 1955 zuwa gaba, transistor sun maye gurbin vacuum tubes a cikin ƙirar kwamfuta, wanda ya haifar da "ƙarni na biyu" na kwamfutoci. Idan aka kwatanta da bututun injin, transistor suna da fa'idodi da yawa: sun fi ƙanƙanta, kuma suna buƙatar ƙarancin ƙarfi fiye da bututun injin, don haka ba da ƙarancin zafi. Junction transistor sun fi dogaro da yawa fiye da bututun iska kuma suna da tsayi, mara iyaka, rayuwar sabis. Kwamfutoci masu jujjuyawa zasu iya ƙunsar dubun dubatar da'irorin dabaru na binary a cikin ƙaramin sarari. Koyaya, farkon junction transistor sun kasance ƙananan na'urori masu girman gaske waɗanda ke da wahalar kera akan tsarin samarwa da yawa, waɗanda ke iyakance su ga wasu ƙa'idodi na musamman.

A Jami'ar Manchester, wata ƙungiya a ƙarƙashin jagorancin Tom Kilburn ta kera tare da gina na'ura ta amfani da sababbin transistor da aka ƙera maimakon bawuloli. Kwamfutarsu ta farko da aka canza ta kuma ta farko a duniya, ta fara aiki a shekara ta 1953, kuma an kammala sigar ta biyu a can a cikin Afrilu 1955. Duk da haka, na'urar ta yi amfani da bawuloli don samar da agogon agogon 125 kHz kuma a cikin kewayawa don karantawa da karantawa. rubuta akan memorin drum ɗinta na maganadisu, don haka ba ita ce farkon kwamfuta da aka canza ta gaba ɗaya ba. Wannan bambance-bambance yana zuwa Harwell CADET na 1955, wanda sashin lantarki na Cibiyar Binciken Makamashi ta Atomic ta gina a Harwell.

MOSFET (MOS transistor), showing gate (G), body (B), source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer (pink).

Mohamed M. Atalla da Dawon Kahng ne suka kirkiro na'ura mai sarrafa karfe-oxide-silicon filin-tasirin transistor (MOSFET), wanda kuma aka sani da MOS transistor, Mohamed M. Atalla da Dawon Kahng ne suka kirkira a Bell Labs a cikin 1959. Shi ne na farko da ya zama karamin transistor na gaske wanda za a iya rage girmansa da yawa. - ana samarwa don amfani da yawa. Tare da girman girman sa, da ƙarancin wutar lantarki da yawa fiye da transistor junction bipolar, MOSFET ta ba da damar gina manyan da'irori masu yawa. Baya ga sarrafa bayanai, ya kuma ba da damar yin amfani da MOS transistor a aikace a matsayin abubuwan ajiyar ƙwayoyin sel, wanda ke haifar da haɓaka ƙwaƙwalwar ƙwaƙwalwar ƙwaƙwalwa ta MOS, wacce ta maye gurbin ƙwaƙwalwar ajiyar Magnetic-core a cikin kwamfutoci. MOSFET ta jagoranci juyin juya halin na'ura mai kwakwalwa, kuma ya zama karfi da ke haifar da juyin juya halin kwamfuta. MOSFET ita ce transistor da aka fi amfani da shi a cikin kwamfutoci, kuma shine tushen ginin na'urorin lantarki na dijital.

Haɗin kai

Integrated circuits are typically packaged in plastic, metal, or ceramic cases to protect the IC from damage and for ease of assembly.

Babban ci gaba mai girma na gaba a cikin ikon sarrafa kwamfuta ya zo tare da zuwan haɗakarwa (IC). Wani masanin kimiyyar radar ne ya fara tunanin ra'ayin da'irar da'irar da ke aiki ga Royal Radar Establishment of the Ministry of Defence, Geoffrey W.A. Dummer. Dummer ya gabatar da bayanin farko na jama'a na haɗaɗɗiyar da'ira a Taron Taro kan Ci gaba a Ingantattun Kayan Wutar Lantarki a Washington, D.C., a ranar 7 ga Mayu 1952.

Jack Kilby ya kirkiro ICs na farko a Texas Instruments da Robert Noyce a Fairchild Semiconductor. Kilby ya rubuta ra'ayoyinsa na farko game da haɗaɗɗun da'ira a cikin Yuli 1958, cikin nasarar nuna aikin haɗin gwiwa na farko a ranar 12 ga Satumba 1958. A cikin aikace-aikacen sa na haƙƙin mallaka na 6 Fabrairu 1959, Kilby ya bayyana sabuwar na'urarsa a matsayin "jiki na kayan semiconductor ... a ciki dukkan abubuwan da ke cikin na’urar lantarki sun hade gaba daya”. Koyaya, ƙirƙirar Kilby ta kasance haɗaɗɗiyar haɗaɗɗiyar da'ira (matasan IC), maimakon guntu mai haɗaɗɗiyar haɗaɗɗiyar hanya (IC). Kilby's IC yana da haɗin waya na waje, wanda ya sa ya zama da wahala a samar da yawa.

Noyce kuma ya zo da nasa ra'ayin game da haɗaɗɗen da'ira bayan rabin shekara fiye da Kilby. Ƙirƙirar Noyce ita ce guntu IC na gaskiya ta farko ta monolithic. Chip ɗinsa ya warware matsaloli masu amfani da yawa waɗanda Kilby's bai samu ba. An yi shi a Fairchild Semiconductor, an yi shi da silicon, yayin da guntu Kilby an yi shi da germanium. Noyce's monolithic IC an ƙirƙira shi ne ta hanyar amfani da tsarin tsarin, wanda abokin aikinsa Jean Hoerni ya haɓaka a farkon 1959. Bi da bi, tsarin tsarin ya dogara ne akan aikin Mohamed M. Atalla akan passivation surface na semiconductor ta silicon dioxide a ƙarshen 1950s.

ICs monolithic na zamani galibi sune MOS (karfe-oxide–semiconductor) hadedde da'irori, wanda aka gina daga MOSFETs (MOS transistor). MOS IC na farko na gwaji da za a ƙirƙira shine guntu mai transistor 16 da Fred Heiman da Steven Hofstein suka gina a RCA a cikin 1962. Janar Microelectronics daga baya ya gabatar da MOS IC na farko na kasuwanci a 1964, wanda Robert Norman ya haɓaka. Bayan ci gaban gate mai haɗin kai (Silicon-gate) MOS transistor na Robert Kerwin, Donald Klein da John Sarace a Bell Labs a cikin 1967, MOS IC na farko na silicon-gate MOS IC tare da ƙofofin haɗin kai ya haɓaka ta Federico Faggin a Fairchild. Semiconductor a cikin 1968. MOSFET tun daga lokacin ya zama mafi mahimmancin kayan aikin a cikin ICs na zamani.

Die photograph of a MOS 6502, an early 1970s microprocessor integrating 3500 transistors on a single chip

Ci gaban da'irar haɗin gwiwar MOS ya haifar da ƙirƙirar microprocessor, kuma ya ba da sanarwar fashewa a cikin kasuwanci da amfani da kwamfuta. Duk da yake batun ainihin abin da na'urar ta kasance farkon microprocessor yana da cece-kuce, wani bangare saboda rashin yarjejeniya kan ainihin ma'anar kalmar "microprocessor", babu shakka cewa na'ura mai sarrafa guntu na farko shine Intel 4004, wanda aka tsara kuma ya gane. ta Federico Faggin tare da fasahar sa na silicon-gate MOS IC, tare da Ted Hoff, Masatoshi Shima da Stanley Mazor a Intel. A farkon shekarun 1970, fasahar MOS IC ta ba da damar haɗa transistor fiye da 10,000 akan guntu ɗaya.

System on a Chip (SoCs) cikakkun kwamfutoci ne akan microchip (ko guntu) girman tsabar kudi. Wataƙila ko ba su haɗa RAM da ƙwaƙwalwar filashi ba. Idan ba a haɗa shi ba, RAM yawanci ana sanya shi kai tsaye a sama (wanda aka sani da Kunshin akan kunshin) ko ƙasa (a gefen allon kewayawa) SoC, kuma ƙwaƙwalwar filasha yawanci ana sanya shi daidai kusa da SoC, duk ana yin haka zuwa inganta saurin canja wurin bayanai, saboda ba dole sai siginonin su yi tafiya mai nisa ba. Tun daga ENIAC a cikin 1945, kwamfutoci sun ci gaba da yawa, tare da SoCs na zamani (Kamar Snapdragon 865) girman tsabar kudi yayin da kuma sun fi ENIAC ƙarfi sau dubu ɗari, suna haɗa biliyoyin transistor, kuma suna cinye watts kaɗan kawai. na iko.

Kwamfutocin tafi-da-gidanka

Kwamfutocin tafi-da-gidanka na farko sun yi nauyi kuma suna aiki daga wutar lantarki. 50 lb (23 kg) IBM 5100 shine farkon misali. Daga baya na'urorin tafi-da-gidanka kamar Osborne 1 da Compaq Portable sun fi sauƙi amma har yanzu suna buƙatar shigar da su. Kwamfutocin farko, kamar Grid Compass, sun cire wannan buƙatu ta haɗa batura - kuma tare da ci gaba da haɓaka albarkatun lissafi da ci gaba a cikin šaukuwa. rayuwar batir, kwamfutoci masu ɗaukuwa sun girma cikin shahara a cikin 2000s. Irin wannan ci gaban ya baiwa masana'antun damar haɗa albarkatun kwamfuta cikin wayoyin hannu a farkon 2000s.

Wadannan wayoyi da Allunan suna aiki akan nau'ikan tsarin aiki da yawa kuma kwanan nan sun zama na'urar sarrafa kwamfuta da ta mamaye kasuwa. Ana yin amfani da waɗannan ta hanyar System on Chip (SoCs), waɗanda cikakkun kwamfutoci ne akan microchip mai girman tsabar kuɗi.

Nau'ukan

See also: Classes of computers

Computers can be classified in a number of different ways, including:

Ta hanyar gine-gine

• Analog computer
• Digital computer
• Hybrid computer
• Harvard architecture
• Von Neumann architecture
• Complex instruction set computer
• Reduced instruction set computer

Ta girman, tsari-factor da manufa

• Supercomputer
• Mainframe computer
• Minicomputer (term no longer used), Midrange computer
• Server
  • Rackmount server
  • Blade server
  • Tower server
• Personal computer
  • Workstation
  • Microcomputer (term no longer used)
    • Home computer (term fallen into disuse)
  • Desktop computer
    • Tower desktop
    • Slimline desktop
      • Multimedia computer (non-linear editing system computers, video editing PCs and the like, this term is no longer used)
      • Gaming computer
    • All-in-one PC
    • Nettop (Small form factor PCs, Mini PCs)
    • Home theater PC
    • Keyboard computer
    • Portable computer
    • Thin client
    • Internet appliance
  • Laptop
    • Desktop replacement computer
    • Gaming laptop
    • Rugged laptop
    • 2-in-1 PC
    • Ultrabook
    • Chromebook
    • Subnotebook
    • Smartbook
    • Netbook
  • Mobile computers:
    • Tablet computer
    • Smartphone
    • Ultra-mobile PC
    • Pocket PC
    • Palmtop PC
    • Handheld PC
    • Pocket-sized computer
    • Pocket computer
  • Wearable computer
    • Smartwatch
    • Smartglasses
• Single-board computer
• Plug computer
• Stick PC
• Programmable logic controller
• Computer-on-module
• System on module
• System in a package
• System-on-chip (Also known as an Application Processor or AP if it lacks circuitry such as radio circuitry)
• Microcontroller

Hardware

Video demonstrating the standard components of a "slimline" computer

Kalmar hardware ta ƙunshi duk waɗancan sassa na kwamfuta waɗanda ke zahiri ne na zahiri. Da'irori, kwakwalwan kwamfuta, katunan hoto, katunan sauti, ƙwaƙwalwar ajiya (RAM), motherboard, nuni, kayan wuta, igiyoyi, maɓallan madannai, firintocin da na'urorin shigar da “mice” duk kayan aiki ne.

Tarihin kayan aikin kwamfuta

First generation (mechanical/electromechanical)	Calculators	Pascal's calculator, Arithmometer, Difference engine, Quevedo's analytical machines
	Programmable devices	Jacquard loom, Analytical engine, IBM ASCC/Harvard Mark I, Harvard Mark II, IBM SSEC, Z1, Z2, Z3
Second generation (vacuum tubes)	Calculators	Atanasoff–Berry Computer, IBM 604, UNIVAC 60, UNIVAC 120
	Programmable devices	Colossus, ENIAC, Manchester Baby, EDSAC, Manchester Mark 1, Ferranti Pegasus, Ferranti Mercury, CSIRAC, EDVAC, UNIVAC I, IBM 701, IBM 702, IBM 650, Z22
Third generation (discrete transistors and SSI, MSI, LSI integrated circuits)	Mainframes	IBM 7090, IBM 7080, IBM System/360, BUNCH
	Minicomputer	HP 2116A, IBM System/32, IBM System/36, LINC, PDP-8, PDP-11
	Desktop Computer	HP 9100
Fourth generation (VLSI integrated circuits)	Minicomputer	VAX, IBM AS/400
	4-bit microcomputer	Intel 4004, Intel 4040
	8-bit microcomputer	Intel 8008, Intel 8080, Motorola 6800, Motorola 6809, MOS Technology 6502, Zilog Z80
	16-bit microcomputer	Intel 8088, Zilog Z8000, WDC 65816/65802
	32-bit microcomputer	Intel 80386, Pentium, Motorola 68000, ARM
	64-bit microcomputer	Alpha, MIPS, PA-RISC, PowerPC, SPARC, x86-64, ARMv8-A
	Embedded computer	Intel 8048, Intel 8051
	Personal computer	Desktop computer, Home computer, Laptop computer, Personal digital assistant (PDA), Portable computer, Tablet PC, Wearable computer
Theoretical/experimental	Quantum computer	IBM Q System One
	Chemical computer
	DNA computing
	Optical computer
	Spintronics-based computer
	Wetware/Organic computer

Sauran batutuwan hardware

Peripheral device (input/output)	Input	Mouse, keyboard, joystick, image scanner, webcam, graphics tablet, microphone
	Output	Monitor, printer, loudspeaker
	Both	Floppy disk drive, hard disk drive, optical disc drive, teleprinter
Computer buses	Short range	RS-232, SCSI, PCI, USB
	Long range (computer networking)	Ethernet, ATM, FDDI

Kwamfuta ta gama-gari tana da manyan abubuwa guda huɗu: sashin ilimin lissafi (ALU), sashin sarrafawa, ƙwaƙwalwar ajiya, da na'urorin shigarwa da fitarwa (wanda ake kira I/O tare). Waɗannan sassan suna haɗuwa ta hanyar bas, galibi ana yin su da ƙungiyoyin wayoyi. A cikin kowane ɗayan waɗannan sassa akwai dubunnan zuwa tiriliyan na ƙananan na'urorin lantarki waɗanda za'a iya kashewa ko kunna su ta hanyar wutan lantarki. Kowane da'irar tana wakiltar ɗan ƙaramin bayanai (lambobin binary) ta yadda idan da'irar ke kan ta tana wakiltar "1", kuma lokacin da aka kashe ta tana wakiltar "0" (a cikin ma'anar ma'ana mai kyau). Ana jera da’irorin a cikin ƙofofin dabaru ta yadda ɗaya ko fiye na da’irori za su iya sarrafa yanayin ɗaya ko fiye na sauran.

Na'urorin shigarwa

Lokacin da aka aika bayanan da ba a sarrafa su zuwa kwamfuta tare da taimakon na'urorin shigarwa, ana sarrafa bayanan kuma a aika zuwa na'urorin fitarwa. Na'urorin shigarwa na iya zama da hannu ko kuma na atomatik. Ayyukan sarrafawa galibi CPU ne ke tsara shi. Wasu misalan na'urorin shigarwa sune:

• Computer keyboard
• Digital camera
• Graphics tablet
• Image scanner
• Joystick
• Microphone
• Mouse
• Overlay keyboard
• Real-time clock
• Trackball
• Touchscreen
• Light pen

Na'urorin fitarwa

Hanyoyin da kwamfuta ke ba da fitarwa an san su da na'urorin fitarwa. Wasu misalan na'urorin fitarwa sune:

• Computer monitor
• Printer
• PC speaker
• Projector
• Sound card
• Video card

Naúrar sarrafawa

Diagram showing how a particular MIPS architecture instruction would be decoded by the control system

Ƙungiyar sarrafawa (wanda aka fi sani da tsarin sarrafawa ko tsakiya) yana sarrafa nau'o'in nau'in kwamfutar; yana karantawa da fassara (decodes) umarnin shirin, yana mai da su zuwa siginar sarrafawa waɗanda ke kunna sauran sassan kwamfutar. Tsarin sarrafawa a cikin manyan kwamfutoci na iya canza tsarin aiwatar da wasu umarni don inganta aiki.

Maɓalli mai mahimmanci ga duk CPUs shine counter na shirye-shirye, ƙwayar ƙwaƙwalwa ta musamman (rejista) wanda ke lura da wane wuri a cikin ƙwaƙwalwar ajiya umarni na gaba za a karanta daga.

Ayyukan tsarin sarrafawa shine kamar haka-wannan siffa ce mai sauƙi, kuma ana iya yin wasu daga cikin waɗannan matakan a lokaci ɗaya ko a cikin wani tsari dabam dangane da nau'in CPU:

1. Karanta lambar don umarni na gaba daga tantanin halitta wanda ma'aunin shirin ya nuna.
2. Yanke lambar lamba don koyarwar zuwa saitin umarni ko sigina na kowane tsarin.
3. Ƙara ma'aunin shirin don ya nuna wa koyarwa ta gaba.
4. Karanta duk bayanan da umarnin ke buƙata daga sel a ƙwaƙwalwar ajiya (ko watakila daga na'urar shigarwa). Wurin wannan bayanan da ake buƙata yawanci ana adana shi a cikin lambar koyarwa.
5. Bayar da mahimman bayanai ga ALU ko rajista.
6. Idan umarnin yana buƙatar ALU ko kayan aiki na musamman don kammalawa, umurci kayan aikin don yin aikin da ake nema.
7. Rubuta sakamakon daga ALU baya zuwa wurin ƙwaƙwalwar ajiya ko zuwa rajista ko watakila na'urar fitarwa.
8. Komawa zuwa mataki na (1).

Tun da counter ɗin shirin shine (a zahiri) kawai wani saitin ƙwayoyin ƙwaƙwalwar ajiya, ana iya canza shi ta lissafin da aka yi a cikin ALU. Ƙara 100 zuwa ma'aunin shirin zai sa a karanta umarni na gaba daga wurare 100 a ƙasan shirin. Umurnin da ke gyara ma'aunin shirin galibi ana kiran su "tsalle" kuma suna ba da izinin madaukai (umarnin da kwamfutar ke maimaitawa) da sau da yawa aiwatar da umarni na sharadi (duka misalan sarrafa kwarara).

Jerin ayyukan da na'ura mai sarrafawa ke bi don aiwatar da umarni a cikin kanta kamar gajeriyar shirye-shiryen kwamfuta ne, kuma hakika, a cikin wasu abubuwan da suka fi rikitarwa na CPU, akwai wata karamar kwamfuta mai suna microsequencer, wacce ke gudanar da tsarin microcode wanda ke haifar da shi. duk wadannan abubuwan da zasu faru.

Ƙungiyar sarrafawa ta tsakiya (CPU)

Naúrar sarrafawa, ALU, da masu rijista gabaɗaya an san su da rukunin sarrafawa ta tsakiya (CPU). CPUs na farko sun ƙunshi abubuwa daban-daban. Tun daga 1970s, CPUs yawanci ana gina su akan guntun da'ira na MOS guda ɗaya da ake kira microprocessor.

Unithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)

ALU yana da ikon yin ayyuka guda biyu: lissafi da dabaru. Saitin ayyukan lissafin da wani ALU ke goyan bayan yana iya iyakance shi ga ƙari da ragi, ko yana iya haɗawa da ninkawa, rarrabawa, ayyukan trigonometry kamar sine, cosine, da sauransu, da tushen murabba'i. Wasu na iya aiki akan lambobi gaba ɗaya kawai (integers) yayin da wasu ke amfani da ma'aunin iyo don wakiltar lambobi na gaske, kodayake suna da ƙayyadaddun daidaito. Duk da haka, duk kwamfutar da ke iya yin ayyuka mafi sauƙi kawai za a iya tsara su don rushe ayyuka masu rikitarwa zuwa matakai masu sauƙi da za ta iya yi. Don haka, kowace kwamfuta za a iya tsara ta don yin kowane aikin lissafi-ko da yake zai ɗauki ƙarin lokaci don yin hakan idan ALU ɗinta ba ta goyi bayan aikin kai tsaye ba. Hakanan ALU na iya kwatanta lambobi kuma ya dawo da ƙimar gaskiya ta Boolean (gaskiya ko ƙarya) dangane da ko ɗaya daidai yake, mafi girma ko ƙasa da ɗayan ("shine 64 ya fi 65?"). Ayyukan dabaru sun ƙunshi dabaru na Boolean: AND, KO, XOR, da BA. Waɗannan na iya zama da amfani don ƙirƙirar rikitattun maganganun yanayi da sarrafa ma'anar Boolean.

Kwamfutocin Superscalar na iya ƙunsar ALUs da yawa, yana basu damar aiwatar da umarni da yawa a lokaci guda. Na'urori masu sarrafa hoto da kwamfutoci masu fasalin SIMD da MIMD galibi suna ɗauke da ALUs waɗanda zasu iya yin lissafi akan vectors da matrices.

Kwakwalwa

Magnetic-core memory (using magnetic cores) was the computer memory of choice in the 1960s, until it was replaced by semiconductor memory (using MOS memory cells).

Ana iya kallon memorin kwamfuta azaman jerin sel waɗanda za'a iya sanya lambobi ko karanta su. Kowane tantanin halitta yana da “adireshi” mai lamba kuma yana iya adana lamba ɗaya. Ana iya umurtar kwamfutar da ta "saka lamba 123 a cikin tantanin halitta mai lamba 1357" ko kuma "ƙara lambar da ke cikin cell 1357 zuwa lambar da ke cikin cell 2468 kuma a saka amsar a cikin cell 1595." Bayanan da aka adana a ƙwaƙwalwar ajiya na iya wakiltar kusan komai. Haruffa, lambobi, har ma da umarnin kwamfuta ana iya sanya su cikin ƙwaƙwalwar ajiya tare da sauƙi daidai. Tun da CPU ba ya bambanta tsakanin nau'ikan bayanai daban-daban, alhakin software ne ya ba da mahimmanci ga abin da ƙwaƙwalwar ajiya ke gani ba komai bane illa jerin lambobi.

A kusan dukkan kwamfutoci na zamani, ana saita kowace tantanin ma’adana don adana lambobin binary a rukuni guda takwas (wanda ake kira byte). Kowane byte yana iya wakiltar lambobi daban-daban 256 (28 = 256); ko dai daga 0 zuwa 255 ko -128 zuwa +127. Don adana manyan lambobi, ana iya amfani da bytes da yawa a jere (yawanci, biyu, huɗu ko takwas). Lokacin da ake buƙatar lambobi mara kyau, yawanci ana adana su a cikin bayanin ma'auni guda biyu. Wasu shirye-shirye na yiwuwa, amma yawanci ba a ganin su a wajen aikace-aikace na musamman ko mahallin tarihi. Kwamfuta na iya adana kowane irin bayanai a cikin ƙwaƙwalwar ajiya idan ana iya wakilta ta ta lambobi. Kwamfutoci na zamani suna da biliyoyin ko ma tiriliyan na bytes na ƙwaƙwalwar ajiya.

CPU yana ƙunshe da sel na ƙwaƙwalwar ajiya na musamman da ake kira rajista waɗanda za a iya karantawa da rubuta su cikin sauri fiye da babban wurin ƙwaƙwalwar ajiya. Akwai yawanci tsakanin rajista guda biyu zuwa ɗari dangane da nau'in CPU. Ana amfani da masu yin rajista don abubuwan da ake buƙata akai-akai don guje wa samun damar shiga babban ma'adana a duk lokacin da ake buƙatar bayanai. Yayin da ake aiki da bayanai akai-akai, rage buƙatar samun damar shiga babban ƙwaƙwalwar ajiya (wanda galibi yana jinkiri idan aka kwatanta da ALU da na'urori masu sarrafawa) yana ƙara saurin kwamfutar.

Babban memorin kwamfuta ya zo cikin manyan nau'i biyu:

Ƙwaƙwalwar damar shiga bazuwar ko RAM

ƙwaƙwalwar karatu-kawai ko ROM

Ana iya karantawa da rubuta RAM a duk lokacin da CPU ya umarce shi, amma ROM an riga an loda shi da bayanai da software waɗanda ba su taɓa canzawa ba, don haka CPU kawai ke iya karantawa daga gare ta. Ana amfani da ROM yawanci don adana umarnin farawa na farko na kwamfutar. Gabaɗaya, abubuwan da ke cikin RAM suna gogewa lokacin da aka kashe wutar lantarki, amma ROM yana riƙe da bayanansa har abada. A cikin PC, ROM ɗin yana ɗauke da wani shiri na musamman mai suna BIOS wanda ke tsara loda masarrafar kwamfuta daga rumbun kwamfutarka zuwa RAM a duk lokacin da kwamfutar ta kunna ko sake saitawa. A cikin kwamfutoci, waɗanda galibi ba su da faifai, duk software ɗin da ake buƙata ana iya adana su a cikin ROM. Software da aka adana a cikin ROM galibi ana kiransa firmware, saboda a zahiri yana kama da hardware fiye da software. Ƙwaƙwalwar ƙwaƙwalwa ta Flash tana ɓata bambance-bambance tsakanin ROM da RAM, saboda yana riƙe da bayanansa lokacin da aka kashe amma kuma ana iya sake rubutawa. Yawanci yana da hankali fiye da ROM na al'ada da RAM duk da haka, don haka amfani da shi yana iyakance ga aikace-aikace inda babban gudun ba dole ba ne.

A cikin mafi nagartattun kwamfutoci za a iya samun ƙwaƙwalwar ajiya ɗaya ko fiye da RAM, waɗanda suke a hankali fiye da rajista amma sauri fiye da babban ƙwaƙwalwar ajiya. Gabaɗaya, kwamfutoci masu irin wannan cache an ƙera su ne don matsar da bayanan da ake buƙata akai-akai cikin ma'ajiyar ta atomatik, sau da yawa ba tare da buƙatar wani sa hannun mai shirye-shirye ba.

Input/fitarwa (I/O)

Hard disk drives are common storage devices used with computers.

I/O ita ce hanyar da kwamfuta ke musayar bayanai da duniyar waje. Na'urorin da ke ba da shigarwa ko fitarwa zuwa kwamfutar ana kiran su peripherals. A kan kwamfutoci na yau da kullun, abubuwan da ke kewaye sun haɗa da na'urorin shigarwa kamar keyboard da linzamin kwamfuta, da na'urorin fitarwa kamar nuni da firinta. Hard faifai, floppy faifai da faifai na gani suna aiki azaman na'urorin shigarwa da fitarwa. Sadarwar kwamfuta wani nau'i ne na I/O. Na'urorin I/O galibi kwamfutoci ne masu rikitarwa a nasu dama, tare da CPU da ƙwaƙwalwar ajiya. Ƙungiyar sarrafa hoto na iya ƙunsar ƙananan kwamfutoci hamsin ko fiye waɗanda ke yin lissafin da ake bukata don nuna zane-zane na 3D. [Ana bukatan hujja] Kwamfutocin tebur na zamani sun ƙunshi ƙananan kwamfutoci da yawa waɗanda ke taimakawa babban CPU wajen aiwatar da I/O. Nunin fuskar bangon waya na zamani na 2016 ya ƙunshi na'urorin sarrafa kwamfuta.

Multitasking

Template:Main Duk da yake ana iya kallon kwamfuta a matsayin mai gudanar da babban shiri guda ɗaya da aka adana a cikin babban ƙwaƙwalwar ajiyarta, a wasu tsarin ya zama dole a ba da bayyanar da gudanar da shirye-shirye da yawa a lokaci guda. Ana samun hakan ne ta hanyar yin ayyuka da yawa wato samun saurin sauya kwamfuta tsakanin tafiyar da kowane shiri bi da bi. Wata hanyar da ake yin hakan ita ce ta sigina na musamman da ake kira katsewa, wanda zai iya sa kwamfuta lokaci-lokaci ta daina aiwatar da umarni a inda take sai ta yi wani abu a maimakon haka. Ta tuna inda take aiwatarwa kafin katsewa, kwamfutar zata iya komawa wannan aikin daga baya. Idan shirye-shirye da yawa suna gudana "a lokaci guda". sannan janareta na katsewa na iya haifar da katsewa ɗari da yawa a cikin daƙiƙa guda, yana haifar da sauya shirin kowane lokaci. Tunda kwamfutoci na zamani sukan aiwatar da umarni da yawa cikin sauri fiye da tsinkayen ɗan adam, yana iya bayyana cewa yawancin shirye-shirye suna gudana a lokaci guda duk da cewa ɗaya ne kawai ke aiwatarwa a kowane lokaci. Wannan hanya ta multitasking wani lokaci ana kiranta "sharing-lokaci" tunda kowane shiri an ware shi "yanki" na lokaci bi da bi.

Kafin zamanin kwamfutoci marasa tsada, babban abin da ake amfani da shi don yin ayyuka da yawa shi ne ba da damar mutane da yawa su raba kwamfuta ɗaya. Ga alama, multitasking zai sa kwamfutar da ke musanya tsakanin shirye-shirye da yawa su yi aiki a hankali, daidai da adadin shirye-shiryen da take gudana, amma yawancin shirye-shiryen suna ɗaukar lokaci mai yawa suna jiran na'urorin shigarwa / fitarwa a hankali don kammala ayyukansu. Idan shirin yana jiran mai amfani ya danna linzamin kwamfuta ko danna maɓalli a kan maballin, to ba zai ɗauki "lokacin yanki" ba har sai taron da ake jira ya faru. Wannan yana ba da lokaci don wasu shirye-shirye don aiwatarwa ta yadda za a iya gudanar da shirye-shirye da yawa a lokaci guda ba tare da asarar saurin da ba za a yarda da shi ba.

Multiprocessing

Cray designed many supercomputers that used multiprocessing heavily.

Wasu kwamfutoci an ƙera su ne don rarraba ayyukansu a kan CPUs da yawa a cikin tsarin sarrafawa da yawa, dabarar da aka taɓa amfani da ita a cikin manyan injina masu ƙarfi kamar supercomputers, manyan kwamfutoci da sabar. Multiprocessor da Multi-core (yawan CPUs akan haɗaɗɗiyar da'irar guda ɗaya) kwamfutocin sirri da na kwamfutar tafi-da-gidanka yanzu suna da yawa, kuma ana ƙara amfani da su a cikin ƙananan kasuwanni a sakamakon haka.

Supercomputer musamman sau da yawa suna da keɓaɓɓun keɓaɓɓun gine-gine waɗanda suka bambanta sosai da ainihin tsarin gine-ginen da aka adana da kuma kwamfutoci na gaba ɗaya. Sau da yawa suna nuna dubunnan CPUs, keɓantattun hanyoyin haɗin kai mai sauri, da na'urorin kwamfuta na musamman. Irin waɗannan ƙirar suna da amfani don ayyuka na musamman kawai saboda girman tsarin ƙungiyar da ake buƙata don amfani da yawancin albarkatun da ake da su a lokaci ɗaya. Supercomputers yawanci suna ganin amfani a cikin babban siminti, zane-zane, da aikace-aikacen cryptography, da kuma tare da sauran abubuwan da ake kira "ayyukan layi daya".

Software

Template:Main Software yana nufin sassan kwamfuta waɗanda ba su da sigar kayan aiki, kamar shirye-shirye, bayanai, ka'idoji, da sauransu. an gina tsarin. Software na kwamfuta ya ƙunshi shirye-shiryen kwamfuta, ɗakunan karatu da bayanan da ba za a iya aiwatar da su ba, kamar takaddun kan layi ko kafofin watsa labarai na dijital. Yawancin lokaci ana rarraba shi zuwa software na tsarin da software na aikace-aikace. Kayan aikin kwamfuta da software suna buƙatar juna kuma ba za a iya amfani da su ta zahiri ba. Lokacin da aka adana software a cikin kayan masarufi waɗanda ba za a iya gyara su cikin sauƙi ba, kamar su BIOS ROM a cikin kwamfutar IBM PC mai jituwa, wani lokaci ana kiranta “firmware”.

Operating system /System Software	Unix and BSD	UNIX System V, IBM AIX, HP-UX, Solaris (SunOS), IRIX, List of BSD operating systems
	Linux	List of Linux distributions, Comparison of Linux distributions
	Microsoft Windows	Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11
	DOS	86-DOS (QDOS), IBM PC DOS, MS-DOS, DR-DOS, FreeDOS
	Macintosh operating systems	Classic Mac OS, macOS (previously OS X and Mac OS X)
	Embedded and real-time	List of embedded operating systems
	Experimental	Amoeba, Oberon–AOS, Bluebottle, A2, Plan 9 from Bell Labs
Library	Multimedia	DirectX, OpenGL, OpenAL, Vulkan (API)
	Programming library	C standard library, Standard Template Library
Data	Protocol	TCP/IP, Kermit, FTP, HTTP, SMTP
	File format	HTML, XML, JPEG, MPEG, PNG
User interface	Graphical user interface (WIMP)	Microsoft Windows, GNOME, KDE, QNX Photon, CDE, GEM, Aqua
	Text-based user interface	Command-line interface, Text user interface
Application Software	Office suite	Word processing, Desktop publishing, Presentation program, Database management system, Scheduling & Time management, Spreadsheet, Accounting software
	Internet Access	Browser, Email client, Web server, Mail transfer agent, Instant messaging
	Design and manufacturing	Computer-aided design, Computer-aided manufacturing, Plant management, Robotic manufacturing, Supply chain management
	Graphics	Raster graphics editor, Vector graphics editor, 3D modeler, Animation editor, 3D computer graphics, Video editing, Image processing
	Audio	Digital audio editor, Audio playback, Mixing, Audio synthesis, Computer music
	Software engineering	Compiler, Assembler, Interpreter, Debugger, Text editor, Integrated development environment, Software performance analysis, Revision control, Software configuration management
	Educational	Edutainment, Educational game, Serious game, Flight simulator
	Games	Strategy, Arcade, Puzzle, Simulation, First-person shooter, Platform, Massively multiplayer, Interactive fiction
	Misc	Artificial intelligence, Antivirus software, Malware scanner, Installer/Package management systems, File manager

Harsunan Magana

Akwai dubunnan harsunan shirye-shirye daban-daban—wasu an yi su ne don maƙasudi gabaɗaya, wasu kuma suna da amfani don aikace-aikace na musamman kawai.

Programming languages

Lists of programming languages	Timeline of programming languages, List of programming languages by category, Generational list of programming languages, List of programming languages, Non-English-based programming languages
Commonly used assembly languages	ARM, MIPS, x86
Commonly used high-level programming languages	Ada, BASIC, C, C++, C#, COBOL, Fortran, PL/I, REXX, Java, Lisp, Pascal, Object Pascal
Commonly used scripting languages	Bourne script, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP, Perl

Shirye-shirye

Siffar da ke tattare da kwamfutoci na zamani wanda ke bambanta su da duk sauran injina shine ana iya tsara su. Wato ana iya ba da wasu nau'ikan umarni (program) ga kwamfutar, kuma za ta sarrafa su. Kwamfutoci na zamani bisa tsarin gine-ginen von Neumann galibi suna da lambar inji a cikin nau'in yaren shirye-shirye masu mahimmanci. A zahiri, shirin kwamfuta na iya zama ƴan umarni ko kuma ƙara zuwa miliyoyin umarni, kamar yadda shirye-shiryen masu sarrafa kalmomi da masu binciken gidan yanar gizo suke yi a misali. Kwamfuta ta yau da kullun na iya aiwatar da biliyoyin umarni a sakan daya (gigaflops) kuma da wuya ta yi kuskure cikin shekaru masu yawa na aiki. Manyan shirye-shiryen kwamfuta da suka ƙunshi umarni miliyan da yawa na iya ɗaukar ƙungiyar masu shirye-shirye shekaru da yawa don rubutawa, kuma saboda sarƙaƙƙiyar aikin kusan tabbas suna ɗauke da kurakurai.

Tsarin gine-ginen shirin da aka adana

Replica of the Manchester Baby, the world's first electronic stored-program computer, at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, England

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 anThis 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. The following example is written in the MIPS assembly language:

  begin:
  addi $8, $0, 0           # initialize sum to 0
  addi $9, $0, 1           # set first number to add = 1
  loop:
  slti $10, $9, 1000       # check if the number is less than 1000
  beq $10, $0, finish      # if odd number is greater than n then exit
  add $8, $8, $9           # update sum
  addi $9, $9, 1           # get next number
  j loop                   # repeat the summing process
  finish:
  add $2, $8, $0           # put sum in output register

d a modern PC can complete the task in a fraction of a second.

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, 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.

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

Programming language

Template:Main 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.

Low-level languages

Template:Main Machine languages and the assembly languages that represent them (collectively termed low-level programming languages) are generally unique to the particular architecture of a computer's central processing unit (CPU). For instance, an ARM architecture CPU (such as may be found in a smartphone or a hand-held videogame) cannot understand the machine language of an x86 CPU that might be in a PC. Historically a significant number of other cpu architectures were created and saw extensive use, notably including the MOS Technology 6502 and 6510 in addition to the Zilog Z80.

High-level languages

Template:Main Although 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. 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.

Program design

Program design of small programs is relatively simple and involves the analysis of the problem, collection of inputs, using the programming constructs within languages, devising or using established procedures and algorithms, providing data for output devices and solutions to the problem as applicable. As problems become larger and more complex, features such as subprograms, modules, formal documentation, and new paradigms such as object-oriented programming are encountered. Large programs involving thousands of line of code and more require formal software methodologies. 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.

Bugs

The actual first computer bug, a moth found trapped on a relay of the Harvard Mark II computer

Errors in computer programs are called "bugs". They may be benign and not affect the usefulness of the program, or have only subtle effects. However, in some cases they may cause the program or the entire system to "hang", becoming unresponsive to input such as mouse clicks or keystrokes, to completely fail, or to crash. Otherwise benign bugs may sometimes 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. Admiral Grace Hopper, an American computer scientist and developer of the first compiler, is credited for having first used the term "bugs" in computing after a dead moth was found shorting a relay in the Harvard Mark II computer in September 1947.

Networking and the 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 such as Sabre. In the 1970s, computer engineers at research institutions throughout the United States began to link their computers together using telecommunications technology. The effort was funded by ARPA (now DARPA), and the computer network that resulted was called the ARPANET. 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.

Unconventional computers

See also: Harvard Computers

A computer does not need to be electronic, nor even have a processor, nor RAM, nor even a hard disk. While popular usage of the word "computer" is synonymous with a personal electronic computer, a typical modern definition of a computer is: "A device that computes, especially a programmable [usually] electronic machine that performs high-speed mathematical or logical operations or that assembles, stores, correlates, or otherwise processes information." According to this definition, any device that processes information qualifies as a computer.

Gaba

There is active research to make non-classical computers out of many promising new types of technology, such as optical computers, DNA computers, neural computers, and quantum computers. Most computers are universal, and are able to calculate any computable function, and are limited only by their memory capacity and operating speed. However different designs of computers can give very different performance for particular problems; for example quantum computers can potentially break some modern encryption algorithms (by quantum factoring) very quickly.

Computer architecture paradigms

There are many types of computer architectures:

• Quantum computer vs. Chemical computer
• Scalar processor vs. Vector processor
• Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA) computers
• Register machine vs. Stack machine
• Harvard architecture vs. von Neumann architecture
• Cellular architecture

Of all these abstract machines, a quantum computer holds the most promise for revolutionizing computing. 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.

Artificial intelligence

A computer will solve problems in exactly the way it is programmed to, without regard to efficiency, alternative solutions, possible shortcuts, or possible errors in the code. Computer programs that learn and adapt are part of the emerging field of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Artificial intelligence based products generally fall into two major categories: rule-based systems and pattern recognition systems. Rule-based systems attempt to represent the rules used by human experts and tend to be expensive to develop. Pattern-based systems use data about a problem to generate conclusions. Examples of pattern-based systems include voice recognition, font recognition, translation and the emerging field of on-line marketing.

Professions and organizations

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

Computer-related professions

Hardware-related	Electrical engineering, Electronic engineering, Computer engineering, Telecommunications engineering, Optical engineering, Nanoengineering
Software-related	Computer science, Computer engineering, Desktop publishing, Human–computer interaction, Information technology, Information systems, Computational science, Software engineering, Video game industry, Web design

The need for computers to work well together and to be able to exchange information has spawned the need for many standards organizations, clubs and societies of both a formal and informal nature.

Organizations

Standards groups	ANSI, IEC, IEEE, IETF, ISO, W3C
Professional societies	ACM, AIS, IET, IFIP, BCS
Free/open source software groups	Free Software Foundation, Mozilla Foundation, Apache Software Foundation

Duba

• Computability theory
• Computer security
• Glossary of computer hardware terms
• History of computer science
• List of computer term etymologies
• List of computer system manufacturers
• List of fictional computers
• List of films about computers
• List of pioneers in computer science
• Pulse computation
• TOP500 (list of most powerful computers)
• Unconventional computing

Mahadan Waje

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