电脑

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电脑(computer)，亦称计算机。可编程式的机器，能够储存、提取、处理资料。现今的电脑至少有一个中央处理器，来进行所有的计算，也包括一个主记忆体、一个控制单位、一个算术逻辑单位。辅助的资料储存通常由机载的硬碟提供，并由软碟或光碟等其他媒介辅助。周边设备包括输入装置（例如键盘、滑鼠）和输出装置（例如显示器、印表机），还有连接全部组件的线路及管线。现代电脑的世代以其技术为特徵。第一代电脑大致在第二次世界大战後发展於美国，使用真空管，体型很大。第二代约在1960年引进，使用电晶体，属於第一批成功的商业电脑。第三代电脑（1960年代晚期和1970年代）的特徵是组件细微化，而使用积体电路。1974年首度引进微处理器晶片，界定了第四代电脑。第五代强调人工智慧，着重於机器推理和逻辑程式语言。早期机器属於类比电脑，但如今大部分是数位电脑。在先前五十年中，电脑已经改变人们生活及工作的方式，它们的发展使得资讯时代成为可能。

English version：

computer

Programmable machine that can store, retrieve, and process data. Today's computers have at least one CPU that performs all calculations and includes a main memory, a control unit, and an arithmetic logic unit. Auxiliary data storage is usually provided by an on-board hard disk and may be supplemented by other media such as floppy disks or CD-ROMs. Peripheral equipment includes input devices (e.g. keyboard, mouse) and output devices (e.g. monitor, printer), as well as the circuitry and cabling that connect all the components. Generations of modern computers are characterized by their technology. First-generation computers, developed mostly in the U.S. after World War II, used vacuum tubes and were enormous. The second generation, introduced c. 1960, used transistors and were the first successful commercial computers. Third-generation computers (late 1960s and 1970s) were characterized by miniaturization of components and use of integrated circuits. The microprocessor chip, first introduced in 1974, defines fourth-generation computers. The fifth generation emphasizes artificial intelligence, focusing on machine reasoning and logic programming languages. Early machines were analog computers, but most today are digital computers. In the last 50 years computers have changed the way people live and work, and their development has made the information age possible.

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