
Computer | Definition, History, Operating Systems, & Facts | Britannica
Feb 6, 2026 · A computer is a programmable device for processing, storing, and displaying information. Learn more in this article about modern digital electronic computers and their design, constituent …
What is a computer? | Britannica
A computer is a machine that can store and process information. Most computers rely on a binary system, which uses two variables, 0 and 1, to complete tasks such as storing data, calculating …
Computer - Technology, Invention, History | Britannica
Feb 6, 2026 · Computer - Technology, Invention, History: By the second decade of the 19th century, a number of ideas necessary for the invention of the computer were in the air.
computer summary | Britannica
Computer, device for processing, storing, and displaying information. Computer once meant a person who did computations, but now the term almost universally refers to automated electronic machinery.
Computer - Time-sharing, Minicomputers, Multitasking | Britannica
Feb 6, 2026 · Computer - Time-sharing, Minicomputers, Multitasking: In 1959 Christopher Strachey in the United Kingdom and John McCarthy in the United States independently described something …
Computer - History, Technology, Innovation | Britannica
Feb 6, 2026 · It is not too great a stretch to say that, in the Jacquard loom, programming was invented before the computer. The close relationship between the device and the program became apparent …
Computer - Home Use, Microprocessors, Software | Britannica
Feb 6, 2026 · Computer - Home Use, Microprocessors, Software: Before 1970, computers were big machines requiring thousands of separate transistors. They were operated by specialized …
Personal computer (PC) | Definition, History, & Facts | Britannica
personal computer (PC), a digital computer designed for use by only one person at a time.
Computer - Networking, Digitalization, Automation | Britannica
Feb 6, 2026 · What it took to turn a network of computers into something more was the idea of the hyperlink: computer code inside a document that would cause related documents to be fetched and …
Computer - Miniaturization, Transistors, Chips | Britannica
Feb 6, 2026 · Computer chips themselves are designed with CAD programs that let an engineer write a specification for part of a chip, simulate its behavior in detail, test it thoroughly, and then generate the …