Characteristics of Computers | Computer Basics | BCA , BSc , B. Tech CS | #DDU #Computer

Characteristics of Computers : (Part 1)

Computers have the following characteristics , depending on their type and use :

(a) Fast speed of calculations and storing of information.

(b) The ability to take in information and store it for future use.

(c) The ability to take a variety of instructions for execution of tasks.

(d) The ability to use simple logical rules to make decisions for their own internal control or for the control of some external activity.

(e) The ability to communicate with other computer systems.

(f) To carry out computations and analyse accurately and with speed.

Further elaborating the above mentioned characteristics below : 

Faster Calculation Speed and Information Storage

Computers work at a fast speed without losing their accuracy. Their speed of working is measured in terms of Mips, which is an abbreviation of Mega instructions per second. Thus, when we say that the speed of a computer is 10 Mips, it means that it can process or understand 10 x 10^6 ( 10 to the power 6 ) instructions in one second and execute them accordingly. Another measure of computer speed is in terms of the speed of the microprocessor. Microprocessor is the heart of a computer and execution speed of a computer will depend on the speed of operation of the processor. When we say that the processor operates at 133 MHz speed, it means that the frequency at which the pulses are generated and processed is equivalent to 133 x 10^6 ( 10 to the power 6 ) per second. This frequency of pulses generated is known as the computer’s clock speed. A microprocessor based computer with a higher clock frequency will operate faster than the one with a lesser clock frequency.

Ability to take Variety of Instructions

With the advances made in the field of computers, a programs can be written by using a small set of instructions which can perform very complex manipulations. Some of the application pack ages have pre-defined functions and procedures. You will need to give the argument for these functions or procedures and they will immediately execute and give you the results. For instance, the spreadsheet package namely, MS Excel has built-in-functions which can calculate standard deviation and variance on a set of data items. Such functions can take a lot of time when calculated manually. However, with a computer one can do all such calculations in a split of a second. These software programs also contain sets of instructions to develop macros. Macros can be developed even by those who know very little about programming.

Carry Out Computations Accurately

Computers can be relied upon for accurate results. However, the accuracy depends on the method of programming and the way the results are interpreted. The accuracy also depends on the type of machine you employ. For instance, a microcomputer may give accuracy of results upto 16 decimal places only whereas a mini computer may give an accuracy up to 32 decimal places.