Editing Computer

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The '''computer''', or as the French say, '''''l'ordinateur''''', is a device that computes. Especially, say, a programmable electronic machine that performs high-speed mathematical or logical operations or that assembles, stores, correlates, or otherwise processes information. Computers have a [[central processing unit]], and will often come in a variety of form factors and colors.

==Definition==
For encyclopaedic purposes, ''{{SITENAME}}'' defines a "computer" as a [[Personal computer|Personal Computer]]. In essence all video game [[console]]s are computers, each capable of logical operations, but a Personal Computer differs because it offers a full Keyboard & Mouse setup, in addition to a few other customization aspects that most consoles do not offer.

Similarly for [[arcade game]]s, [[arcade system board]]s are also technically computers and were precursors to the upgradable nature of modern PC systems, but they differ in the sense that they are dedicated game machines, whereas personal computers are general-purpose machines that can be used for practical as well as entertainment purposes.

==History==
===Digital circuits===
In the 1930s, Japanese [[NEC]] engineer [[Akira Nakashima]] introduced [[switching circuit theory]]. In a series of papers published from 1934 to 1936, he formulated a [[Wikipedia:Two-element Boolean algebra|two-valued Boolean algebra]], which he discovered independently, as a way to analyze and design circuits by algebraic means.<ref>[https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ieejfms/124/8/124_8_720/_article History of Research on Switching Theory in Japan], ''IEEJ Transactions on Fundamentals and Materials'', Vol. 124 (2004) No. 8, pp. 720-726, [[Wikipedia:Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan|Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan]]</ref><ref>[http://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/computer/dawn/0002.html Switching Theory/Relay Circuit Network Theory/Theory of Logical Mathematics], IPSJ Computer Museum, [[Wikipedia:Information Processing Society of Japan|Information Processing Society of Japan]]</ref><ref name="historical">Radomir S. Stanković ([[Wikipedia:University of Niš|University of Niš]]), Jaakko T. Astola (Tampere University of Technology), Mark G. Karpovsky ([[Wikipedia:Boston University|Boston University]]), [http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.66.1248 Some Historical Remarks on Switching Theory], 2007, DOI 10.1.1.66.1248</ref><ref name="nakashima">Radomir S. Stanković, Jaakko Astola (2008), [http://ticsp.cs.tut.fi/reports/reprint-nakashima-rr.pdf Reprints from the Early Days of Information Sciences: TICSP Series On the Contributions of Akira Nakashima to Switching Theory], TICSP Series #40, Tampere International Center for Signal Processing, [[Wikipedia:Tampere University of Technology|Tampere University of Technology]]</ref>

Nakashima's work was later cited and elaborated on by American engineer Claude Shannon,<ref name="historical"/> who showed a one-to-one correspondence between the concepts of [[Wikipedia:Boolean logic|Boolean logic]] and certain electrical circuits, now called [[Wikipedia:Logic gate|logic gates]], which are now ubiquitous in digital computers.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Shannon | first1 = Claude | year = 1938 | title = A Symbolic Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits | url = | journal = Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers | volume = 57 | issue = | pages = 713–723 | doi=10.1109/t-aiee.1938.5057767}}</ref> He showed that electronic relays and switches can realize the expressions of [[Wikipedia:Boolean algebra (logic)|Boolean algebra]].<ref>{{Citation  | first = Claude E.  | last =  Shannon  | title = A symbolic analysis of relay and switching circuits  | publisher = Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering  | year= 1940}}</ref> The work of Nakashima and Shannon laid the foundations for practical [[Wikipedia:Digital circuit|digital circuit]] design, providing the mathematical foundations and tools for digital system design in almost all areas of modern technology.<ref name="nakashima"/>

===Mainframe computers===
The first electronic [[transistor computer]] was built in the United Kingdom, by the University of Manchester in 1953.

Early electronic transistor computers were initially not stored-program computers. The first transistorized [[Wikipedia:Stored-program computer|stored-program computer]] was the ETL Mark III, developed by [[Japan]]'s Electrotechnical Laboratory.<ref name="dawn">[http://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/computer/dawn/index.html Early Computers], Information Processing Society of Japan</ref><ref name="etl3">[http://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/computer/dawn/0011.html 【Electrotechnical Laboratory】 ETL Mark III Transistor-Based Computer], Information Processing Society of Japan</ref><ref name="ipsj-history">[http://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/computer/dawn/history.html Early Computers: Brief History], Information Processing Society of Japan</ref> It began development in 1954,<ref name="fransman">Martin Fransman (1993), [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=_6DMnS1Y12cC&pg=PA19 ''The Market and Beyond: Cooperation and Competition in Information Technology'', page 19], [[Wikipedia:Cambridge University Press|Cambridge University Press]]</ref> and was completed in 1956.<ref name="etl3"/>

===Microprocessors===
{{Main|Central processing unit}}

The first single-chip microprocessor [[central processing unit]] was the Intel 4004.<ref>{{harvnb|Intel_4004|1971}}</ref> It originated in Japan with the "Busicom Project"<ref name="ieee">Federico Faggin, [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=4776530 The Making of the First Microprocessor], ''IEEE Solid-State Circuits Magazine'', Winter 2009, IEEE Xplore</ref> as [[Masatoshi Shima]]'s three-chip CPU design in 1968,<ref name=tout1>{{cite web|url=http://www.vintagecalculators.com/html/busicom_141-pf_and_intel_4004.html|title=The Busicom 141-PF calculator and the Intel 4004 microprocessor|author=Nigel Tout|accessdate=November 15, 2009}}</ref><ref name="ieee"/> before [[Sharp Corporation|Sharp]]'s [[Tadashi Sasaki]] conceived of a single-chip microprocessor, which he discussed with [[Busicom]] and [[Intel]] in 1968.<ref name="sasaki">{{cite web |url        = http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Oral-History:Tadashi_Sasaki |title      = Oral-History: Tadashi Sasaki |last       = Aspray |first      = William |date       = 1994-05-25 |work       = Interview #211 for the Center for the History of Electrical Engineering |publisher  = The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. |accessdate = 2013-01-02}}</ref> The Intel 4004 was then designed and realized as a single-chip 4-bit microprocessor in 1970, by Intel's Federico Faggin and Busicom's Masatoshi Shima.

The first 8-bit microprocessor was the Intel 8008 in 1972. It was followed in 1974 by the Intel 8080, a more general-purpose 8-bit microprocessor designed by Federico Faggin and Masatoshi Shima.

The first single-chip 16-bit microprocessor was introduced in 1975. [[Panafacom]], a conglomerate formed by Japanese companies [[Wikipedia:Fujitsu|Fujitsu]], [[Wikipedia:Fuji Electric|Fuji Electric]], and [[Wikipedia:Panasonic|Matsushita]], introduced the MN1610, a commercial 16-bit microprocessor.<ref>{{cite web|title=16-bit Microprocessors|url=http://www.cpu-museum.com/161x_e.htm|publisher=CPU Museum|accessdate=5 October 2010}}</ref><ref name="fujitsu">http://www.pfu.fujitsu.com/en/profile/history.html</ref><ref>[http://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/heritage/PANAFACOM_Lkit-16.html PANAFACOM Lkit-16], Information Processing Society of Japan</ref> According to Fujitsu, it was "the world's first 16-bit microcomputer on a single chip".<ref name="fujitsu"/>

===Personal computers===
{{Main|Personal computer}}

The invention of the microprocessor led to the development of microcomputers, also known as [[personal computer]]s. The first microcomputer was Japan's [[Sord Computer Corporation|Sord]] SMP80/08, developed in April 1972.<ref name="ipsj">[http://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/computer/personal/0086.html 【Sord】 SMP80/x series], Information Processing Society of Japan</ref> It was soon followed by several other unique hobbyist systems.

The first commercial microcomputer kits were based on the Intel 8080: the Sord SMP80/x series, released in May 1974,<ref name="ipsj"/> and the [[Altair 8800]], introduced in 1975.

The first pre-assembled desktop home computers to come equipped with monitors appeared in 1977: the [[Apple II]], the [[Sord M200]] Smart Home Computer,<ref>[http://museum.ipsj.or.jp/en/computer/personal/0087.html 【Sord】 M200 Smart Home Computer Series], Information Processing Society of Japan</ref> and the [[Commodore International Corporation|Commodore]] PET.

===Laptops===
{{Main|Laptop}}

==See also==
* [[Floppy disk]]
* [[Hard drive]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}