Categories of Computers
CATEGORIES OF COMPUTERS Computers can be categorized according to the process they use to represent data. People communicate through speech by combining words into sentences. Human speech is analog because it uses continuous (wave form) signals that vary in strength and quality. Most computers are digital. Computer categories are basically three: 1. Digital computers 2. Analog computers 3. Hybrid computers Analog computers An Analog Computer is a computing device that uses continuously changing values to represent information. It generally deals with physical variables such as temperature, weight, voltage, pressure, speed, etc. The results given by the analog computers are approximate since they deal with quantities that vary continuously. Almost all of the measuring devices are “Analog computers”. Examples of Analog computers . Thermometers, . Voltmeters, and Ammeters . Speedometers, Barometers . Traditional automatic watches . The slide rule is a hand-operated analog computer for doing multiplication and division, square roots, cubes and cube roots etc. Digital Computers These are computers that use discrete (discontinuous) values, especially binary digits (0, 1) to represent data. The binary digits simply mean the presence or absence of an electric pulse/ voltage. The state of being on is represented by 1 and off is represented by 0. Although digital representations are discrete, the information represented can be either discontinuous, such as numbers, and letters, or continuous, such as sounds, images, and other measurements of continuous systems. Digital computers are more accurate and work at a very fast rate. Examples of Digital Computers . All Personal computers (PCs) . Laptops, . Digital Watches Page 1 of 76 Computer Teaching Notes for Secondary School Hybrid Computers A hybrid computer combines the desirable features of analog and digital computers.
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