Concept and characteristics of a computer system

In this age of computers, there is no such activity that cannot be achieved without computers. The computer has become an indispensable and multipurpose tool. We are breathing in the computer age and gradually computer has become such a desire necessity of life that it is difficult to imagine life without it. This chapter will help you to gain an understanding of the basic as well as advanced concepts of computers.

CONCEPT OF COMPUTER SYSTEM 

A computer is an advanced electronic device that takes raw data as input from the user and processes this data under the control of a set of instructions (called program) and gives the result (output) and saves output for the future reference and usage. To know about the working of a computer, first need to understand various terms such as Data, Processing, and Information.
First of all, let's start with three basic terms:

1. Data: Data is a collection of basic facts and figure without any sequence. This data is also called as raw data. When the data is collected as facts and figures, there is no meaning to it, at that time, for example, the name of people, names of employees etc. 
2. Processing: Processing is the set of instructions given by the user to the related data that was collected earlier to output meaningful information. The computer does the required processing by making the necessary calculations, comparisons, and decisions. 
3. Information: Information is the end point or the final output of any processed work. This meaningful output data is called information.

following diagram explains it all.

  CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPUTER

 The major characteristics of computers are the following: ·
Speed: A powerful computer is capable of executing about 3 million calculations per second. ·

• Accuracy: A computer’s accuracy is consistently high; if there are errors, they are due to errors in instructions given by the programmer. · 
• Reliability: The output generated by the computer is very reliable as long as the data is reliable. · Memory/Storage
•  Capacity: The computer can store large volumes of data and makes the retrieval of data an easy task. 
• Versatility: The computer can accomplish many different things. It can accept information through various input-output devices, perform arithmetic and logic operations, generate a variety of outputs in a variety of forms, etc. 
• Automation: Once the instructions are fed into a computer it works automatically without any human intervention. 
• Diligence: A computer will never fail to perform its task due to distraction or laziness.  Convenience: Computers are usually easy to access, and allow people to find information easily that without a computer would be very difficult. 
• Flexibility: Computers can be used for entertainment, for business, by people who hold different ideas or who have varied goals. Almost anyone can use a computer, and computers can be used to assist with almost any goal.