A general-purpose machine that processes data according to a set of instructions that are stored internally either temporarily or permanently.The computer and all equipment attached to it are called hardware.The instructions that tell it what to do are called "software." A set of instructions that perform a particular task is called a "program" or "software program." we

What a Computer Does

The instructions in the program direct the computer to input,process and output as follows:

Input/Output

The computer can selectively retrieve data into its main memory (RAM) from any peripheral device (terminal,disk,tape,etc.) connected to it.After processing the data internally,the computer can send a copy of the results from its memory out to any peripheral device.The more memory it has,the more programs and data it can work with at the same time.