Components of a Digital Computer

A digital Computer can be broadly classified as a collection of four components. They are: Input unit, Output unit, CPU, Memory

Input Unit: The input unit provides an interface between the users and the machine for inputting data and instruction. Data can be input in many more forms – audio, visual, graphical etc.

Some common input devices are : Keyboard, Mouse, Joystick, Scanner, Light pen, Voice data entry etc.

Output Unit: output unit provides an interface between the user and the machine. The output unit receives the data from the cpu in the form of binary bits. This is then converted into a desired form understandable by the user.

Some common output devices are: Monitor (VDU), Printers, Speakers, and Secondary Storage Devices.

Central Processing Unit: The CPU is the brain of the computer system. The input and output devices may vary for different application, but there is only one CPU for a particular computer. The specifications of a computer are basically characterized by its CPU.

Parts of CPU : Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), Control Unit and Memory Unit

Memory Unit: The main memory also known as the primary memory is a part of the central processing unit and is a combination of both RAM and ROM.

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