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The storage of computer programs is key to the operation of modern computers and is the connection between computer hardware and software. [7] Even prior to this, in the mid-19th century mathematician George Boole invented Boolean algebra —a system of logic where each proposition is either true or false.
A technology consisting of computer components and recording media used to retain digital data. It is a core function and fundamental component of computers. [1] device memory local memory associated with a hardware device such as a graphics processing unit or OpenCL compute device, distinct from main memory. Digital Video Disc (DVD)
A human computer, with microscope and calculator, 1952. It was not until the mid-20th century that the word acquired its modern definition; according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first known use of the word computer was in a different sense, in a 1613 book called The Yong Mans Gleanings by the English writer Richard Brathwait: "I haue [] read the truest computer of Times, and the best ...
For hardware functions such as input and output and memory allocation, the operating system acts as an intermediary between programs and the computer hardware, [1] [2] although the application code is usually executed directly by the hardware and frequently makes system calls to an OS function or is interrupted by it.
A driver provides a software interface to hardware devices, enabling operating systems and other computer programs to access hardware functions without needing to know precise details about the hardware being used. A driver communicates with the device through the computer bus or communications subsystem to which the hardware connects.
The first computer to have multiple parallel discrete single-bit ALU circuits was the 1951 Whirlwind I, which employed sixteen such "math units" to enable it to operate on 16-bit words. In 1967, Fairchild introduced the first ALU-like device implemented as an integrated circuit, the Fairchild 3800, consisting of an eight-bit arithmetic unit ...
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Also simply application or app. Computer software designed to perform a group of coordinated functions, tasks, or activities for the benefit of the user. Common examples of applications include word processors, spreadsheets, accounting applications, web browsers, media players, aeronautical flight simulators, console games, and photo editors. This contrasts with system software, which is ...