Use of Computers
HISTORY AND APPLICATIONS OF COMPUTERS
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INTRODUCTION
When more than one thing is needed to work together before an action can take place, we say we have a system. The computer needs several things before it can be used to solve problems. Therefore, we say the computer is a system. We may have systems around us even in our body.
How we eat or what happens to the food we eat is a system. This is called the Digestive System. We need mouth, tongue, teeth and stomach for us to make good use of the food we eat. In explanation of this; food is put in the mouth as INPUT; the food is digested and changed into useful things that our body needs; this is called PROCESSING, the undigested food from the body in the form of waste passed out; this is called OUTPUT.
In the same way, relating this to computer, data is given to computer as INPUT, computer acts on the input by performing some operations on them; this called PROCESSING, the computer produces something after processing; this is called OUTPUT.
These three stages of input, process and output are called COMPUTING and it gives the reason for referring to the computation as an I-P-O system. (Gbadeyan Et.al 2007)
6.1|WHAT IS A COMPUTER?|
A computer is an electronic device which accepts and processes data by following a set of instructions (PROGRAM) to produce a result (INFORMATION). Since the ultimate aim of a computer is to produce information, the art of computing is often referred to as information processing. (Ayo, 1994)
6.2|HISTORY OF COMPUTERS|
It is difficult to identify any one device as the earliest computer, partly because the term "computer" has been subject to varying interpretations over time. Originally, the term "computer" referred to a person who performed numerical calculations (a human computer), often with the aid of a mechanical calculating device.
The history of the modern computer begins with two separate technologies - that of automated calculation
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INTRODUCTION
When more than one thing is needed to work together before an action can take place, we say we have a system. The computer needs several things before it can be used to solve problems. Therefore, we say the computer is a system. We may have systems around us even in our body.
How we eat or what happens to the food we eat is a system. This is called the Digestive System. We need mouth, tongue, teeth and stomach for us to make good use of the food we eat. In explanation of this; food is put in the mouth as INPUT; the food is digested and changed into useful things that our body needs; this is called PROCESSING, the undigested food from the body in the form of waste passed out; this is called OUTPUT.
In the same way, relating this to computer, data is given to computer as INPUT, computer acts on the input by performing some operations on them; this called PROCESSING, the computer produces something after processing; this is called OUTPUT.
These three stages of input, process and output are called COMPUTING and it gives the reason for referring to the computation as an I-P-O system. (Gbadeyan Et.al 2007)
6.1|WHAT IS A COMPUTER?|
A computer is an electronic device which accepts and processes data by following a set of instructions (PROGRAM) to produce a result (INFORMATION). Since the ultimate aim of a computer is to produce information, the art of computing is often referred to as information processing. (Ayo, 1994)
6.2|HISTORY OF COMPUTERS|
It is difficult to identify any one device as the earliest computer, partly because the term "computer" has been subject to varying interpretations over time. Originally, the term "computer" referred to a person who performed numerical calculations (a human computer), often with the aid of a mechanical calculating device.
The history of the modern computer begins with two separate technologies - that of automated calculation