Information Processing—Why and How?

Abstract

The first entry above implies that the purpose of a computer is to perform operations, with a strong hint that these operations are likely to be mathematical in nature. Indeed, compute is a synonym for ‘calculate’, and the initial development of the modern computer in the 1940s and 1950s was as a device for speeding up lengthy and complex calculations. The second definition indicates, however, that nowadays this definition must be considered as out of date.

Computer: A calculating-machine; esp. an automatic electronic device for performing mathematical or other operations.

Shorter Oxford English Dictionary

Computer: A machine which, under the control of a stored program, automatically accepts and processes data, and supplies the results of that processing.

BCS: A glossary of computing terms