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A human computer, with microscope and calculator, 1952. It was not until the mid-20th century that the word acquired its modern definition; according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known use of the word computer was in a different sense, in a 1613 book called The Yong Mans Gleanings by the English writer Richard Brathwait: "I haue [] read the truest computer of Times, and the best ...
Another track of development is to combine reconfigurable logic with a general-purpose CPU. In this scheme, a special computer language compiles fast-running subroutines into a bit-mask to configure the logic. Slower, or less-critical parts of the program can be run by sharing their time on the CPU.
These computers are capable of handling and processing very large amounts of data quickly. Mainframe computers are used in large institutions such as government, banks, and large corporations. They are measured in MIPS (million instructions per second) and can respond to hundreds of millions of users at a time [citation needed].
Babbage also designed a general-purpose computer that was never built. Much of the design was incorporated into the earliest computers: punch cards for input and output, memory, an arithmetic unit analogous to central processing units, and even a primitive programming language similar to assembly language. [5]
A collection of computers and other devices connected by communications channels, e.g. by Ethernet or wireless networking. network interface controller. Also LAN card or network card. [6] network on a chip (NOC) A computer network on a single semiconductor chip, connecting processing elements, fixed-function hardware, or even memories and caches.
The advantage of physicality in education and playfulness has been reflected in diverse informal learning environments. The Exploratorium, a pioneer in inquiry based learning, developed some of the earliest interactive exhibitry involving computers, and continues to include more and more examples of physical computing and tangible interfaces as associated technologies progress.
In the second generation, it became common for computers to have multiple addressable accumulators. On some computers, e.g., PDP-6, the same registers served as accumulators and index registers, making them an early example of general-purpose registers.
However, its paper card writer/reader was unreliable and the regenerative drum contact system was mechanical. The machine's special-purpose nature and lack of changeable, stored program distinguish it from modern computers. [92] Computers whose logic was primarily built using vacuum tubes are now known as first generation computers.