ABSTRACT
A digital computer is a device capable of solving problems and manipulating information under the direction of a given program of instructions. The hardware of a digital computer is a set of digital logic circuits that receives information from one or more sources, processes this information, and sends the results to one or more destinations. The primary hardware elements of a digital computer are a central processing unit, memory, and assorted input and output (I/O) devices. The instruction set architecture of a computer refers to the organization of a computer instruction set as seen from a programmer’s point of view. Every instruction set architecture is unique in how it supports different data types; operations on data; and access to information in registers, memories, and I/O devices. Computer software comprises programs of instructions that specify how the computer hardware is to be utilized to manipulate data. Programs can be classified as application or system programs.
