
Computer | Definition, History, Operating Systems, & Facts | Britannica
Dec 22, 2025 · 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
Dec 22, 2025 · 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, …
Computer - History, Technology, Innovation | Britannica
Dec 22, 2025 · 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 - Technology, Invention, History | Britannica
Dec 22, 2025 · 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.
Personal computer (PC) | Definition, History, & Facts | Britannica
personal computer (PC), a digital computer designed for use by only one person at a time.
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 science | Definition, Types, & Facts | Britannica
Jan 23, 2026 · Computer science is the study of computers and computing, including their theoretical and algorithmic foundations, hardware and software, and their uses for processing information.
computer - Kids | Britannica Kids | Homework Help
Computer software is divided into two basic types—the operating system and application software. The operating system controls how the different parts of hardware work together. Application software …
Computer - Networking, Digitalization, Automation | Britannica
Dec 22, 2025 · 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 - Time-sharing, Minicomputers, Multitasking | Britannica
Dec 22, 2025 · It was built by Fernando Corbato and Robert Jano at MIT, and it connected an IBM 709 computer with three users typing away at IBM Flexowriters. This was only a prototype for a more …