Il computer

1) What is a Computer? The computer is an electronic machine which can accept data in a certain form, process the data and give the results of the processing in a specified format as information. A computer is made up of two parts: Hardware, which is made up by electronic and mechanical parts and Software, which consists in information in the form of data and programs. Hardware is divided as well in three parts: The Cpu (Central Processing Unit), the main memory and the peripherals. The Cpu is called also the ‘brain’ of the computer, its function is to execute program instructions and coordinate the activities of all the other units. The main memory holds the instructions and data which are currently being processed by the cpu. The peripherals are the physical units attached to the computer. They include storage devices and Input/Output devices. Storage devices, like floppies, hard and optical disks provide a permanent storage of data and programs. Input devices enable data to go into the computer’s memory like the mouse and the keyboard, and Output devices enable us to extract the finished product from the system.