What is a Computer?
A computer is an electronic device that solves problems by accepting data, performing a certain
operation, and presenting the result as step-by-step instructions. A computer can also be defined as an
electronic device that stores and processes data turning it into information.
Parts of a computer:
Computer components or parts are divided into two parts or sections
1. The Hardware
2. The software
HARDWARE:
Hardware refers to the physical parts of a computer, in better sense parts of a computer that can be seen
and can be physically touched. It can also be referred to as the components of the computer.
The major components of a computer:
The CPU
Main Memory
Secondary Storage Devices
Input Devices
Output devices
The CPU
CPU – Central Processing Unit
This is considered the heart of the computer. The work of a CPU is to fetch instructions, follow the
instructions, and produce some resulting data. The central processing consists of three parts:
1. The CU
2. The ALU
3. Registers
CU – Control unit. The control unit fetches instructions, decodes the instruction, and causes the
instruction to be carried out.
, ALU – Arithmetic Logic Unit. The ALU performs arithmetic operations and logic operations on data.
Example of logical operations:
Addition
Subtraction
Division
Exponentials
Multiplications etc.
Examples of logic operation:
< (Less than)
> (Greater than)
= (Equals to)
<= (Less than or equals to)
>= (Greater than or equals to) etc.
Registers: are circuits, and special storage locations needed to perform the arithmetic – logic and control
functions, and high-speed memory cells. They vary in number and purpose on different machines.
Main Memory
Main memory commonly known as R.A.M(Random Access Memory) is a temporary storage system; the
main memory of a computer holds the information. The RAM holds the sequence of instructions and the
data the program is using. The RAM is a volatile type of memory thereby making it only temporary
storage, this is because once the computer system goes off all data is lost.
Secondary storage
Secondary storage is a type of storage that holds a memory for a long period, even when the computer
system has no means of power supply. The data that are frequently used are the ones stored in the
secondary storage memory. Most of the time I like to divide secondary storage into two, which are:
The Internal Secondary Storage: This is the secondary storage that is already installed into the computer.
This kind of secondary storage is known as a disk drive. A disk drive magnetically encodes data into a
circular disk, an example and the most common form of a disk drive is a hard drive.
The Hard Drives have a very large storage capacity and data can easily be accessed on them.
External Secondary Storage: This means of storage is often used as a means of backing up files that are
A computer is an electronic device that solves problems by accepting data, performing a certain
operation, and presenting the result as step-by-step instructions. A computer can also be defined as an
electronic device that stores and processes data turning it into information.
Parts of a computer:
Computer components or parts are divided into two parts or sections
1. The Hardware
2. The software
HARDWARE:
Hardware refers to the physical parts of a computer, in better sense parts of a computer that can be seen
and can be physically touched. It can also be referred to as the components of the computer.
The major components of a computer:
The CPU
Main Memory
Secondary Storage Devices
Input Devices
Output devices
The CPU
CPU – Central Processing Unit
This is considered the heart of the computer. The work of a CPU is to fetch instructions, follow the
instructions, and produce some resulting data. The central processing consists of three parts:
1. The CU
2. The ALU
3. Registers
CU – Control unit. The control unit fetches instructions, decodes the instruction, and causes the
instruction to be carried out.
, ALU – Arithmetic Logic Unit. The ALU performs arithmetic operations and logic operations on data.
Example of logical operations:
Addition
Subtraction
Division
Exponentials
Multiplications etc.
Examples of logic operation:
< (Less than)
> (Greater than)
= (Equals to)
<= (Less than or equals to)
>= (Greater than or equals to) etc.
Registers: are circuits, and special storage locations needed to perform the arithmetic – logic and control
functions, and high-speed memory cells. They vary in number and purpose on different machines.
Main Memory
Main memory commonly known as R.A.M(Random Access Memory) is a temporary storage system; the
main memory of a computer holds the information. The RAM holds the sequence of instructions and the
data the program is using. The RAM is a volatile type of memory thereby making it only temporary
storage, this is because once the computer system goes off all data is lost.
Secondary storage
Secondary storage is a type of storage that holds a memory for a long period, even when the computer
system has no means of power supply. The data that are frequently used are the ones stored in the
secondary storage memory. Most of the time I like to divide secondary storage into two, which are:
The Internal Secondary Storage: This is the secondary storage that is already installed into the computer.
This kind of secondary storage is known as a disk drive. A disk drive magnetically encodes data into a
circular disk, an example and the most common form of a disk drive is a hard drive.
The Hard Drives have a very large storage capacity and data can easily be accessed on them.
External Secondary Storage: This means of storage is often used as a means of backing up files that are
