First we will start off with the dictionary definition of what a computer is. So here goes…

A computer is an electronic device which is capable of receiving information (data) in a particular form and of performing a sequence of operations in accordance with a predetermined but variable set of procedural instructions (program) to produce a result in the form of information or signals. <– BORING 🙂

Ok, so let us define a computer in a way that hopefully we all can understand. So what it boils down too, is the following. It is an electronic device that allows an individual to perform a wide range of different tasks. A computer allows an individual to perform these tasks by doing the following:

1. Accept data          (a person gives the computer data maybe through an external source (mouse click, keyboard, voice…))

2. Process data        (the computer process the data using a “computer program” which we will talk about in the next section”)

3. produce output    (the computer will output the result after executing the computer program)

4. store the results  (the computer may store that result to retrieve at a later time or for record keeping purposes)

So there you have it. A high-level interpretation of what a computer is used for. We will get more in depth on what components make up a computer, how they work individually and with each other.