We explain what a computer system is, its structure and classification. We also explain its characteristics and examples.
What is a computer system?
Computer system (IS) is understood as an automated data storage, processing and retrieval system, which takes advantage of computing and electronic tools to carry out its complex series of processes and operations. In other words, a computer system is a computer of some kind.
Computer systems are types of information systems, that is, systems that are organized around the management of data of various kinds, although not all information systems are computer-based. That is, not all are digital, automated, or electronic.
Computer systems occupy a crucial role in the contemporary world a key place for human organization of its productive processes and of other natures. It is a powerful tool for exchanging information and building computer networks that overcome the difficulty of distances.
See also: History of the Internet
History of computer systems
Computer systems are heirs of various previous technologies.
Each of these technologies revolutionized the way in which human beings understand, store or share information.
They begin with the remote invention of writingand include the invention of the printing press in the mid-15th century and Blaise Pascal’s first mechanical calculator in the 17th century.
The first large-scale computer system was Herman Hollerith’s tabulating machine, created in 1890. It used a series of electrical punch cards, based on Boolean logic.
This apparatus managed to tabulate the national census of the United States of that yearIts success inspired the advent of new and better computers, such as Eniac (1946) or UNIVAC I (1951), developed in that same country for military and accounting purposes respectively.
Since then the discovery of new electrical and electronic materials allowed the appearance of integrated circuits. With them, new possibilities arose for computing devices, which then began their miniaturization.
This is how they came about At the end of the 20th century the first personal computers and the first cyber networks. In this way it forever changed the way we understand and value information in the world.
Structure of computer systems
Every computer system is made up of three integrated instances, also called “resources”:
- Hardware. The “hard” part of the system, which covers its physical components, materials, such as boards, circuits, connectors, screens, keys, screws, etc. Without it the system could not simply turn on.
- Software. The “soft” part of the system refers to the information and programmed, digital, virtual systems, which are intangible but essential for the system to have a purpose beyond turning on.
- Humanware. This name is often used to refer to the human factor in the equation: the various types of users who intervene in a computer network, who use a computer or who program it.
Classification of computer systems
Computer systems are usually classified based on three different criteria:
- According to its use. We can talk about systems for specific use, which deal with specific and very limited tasks; or general-use systems, which offer extensive information management.
- According to its processing volume. We can talk about workstations (workstations) of limited capacity, mainframe computers (of great capacity), microcomputers (such as small servers of little capacity) and supercomputers (with enormous processing capacity).
- According to the computer architecture of your network. If the IS is part of a network, it may have a two-, three-, or four-layer client-server relationship with the server, depending on the quantity and quality of the information transmitted.
- Consistent with its purpose. We can talk about basic information processing systems, decision-making support systems, knowledge management systems, systems based on Web techniques or based on artificial intelligence.
Purpose of computer systems
The purpose of all YES is optimally manage information. It allows you to save it, recover it, change its medium (for example, print it) or share it.
In addition, it enables numerous performances, ranging from making work easier for humans, offer them entertainment or informationcommunicate with other humans at a distance, etc.
Multiplicity of uses
Computer systems are used today in a huge variety of areas. For example, in business work, They have accounting and administrative functions. They are also allies of scientific research, to process large amounts of data.
In all fields is used to safeguard confidential or personal informationOn the other hand, they can also distribute the information across numerous requesters and send it through communication systems over long distances.
The contemporary global world, in which we buy online and generate so much informationcould not exist without vast and complex networks of computer systems.
Comparison with an information system
All computer systems are information systems, since They deal with data written in various languagesbut the opposite is not true.
The big difference there is the presence of computerswhich provide their processing power to the system so that information retrieval is as fast, accurate and massive as possible. However, there are information systems based on paper, the written word or other methods.
More in: Information systems
Databases
Databases are called the immense volumes of data that are stored in different types of computer systems. Its recovery is fast and punctual in response to user requirements.
The coexistence and interrelation of various databases is what, among other things, gave rise to the need for computer networks: interconnections of computers that share access to diverse information and establish certain rules for this purpose.
Telecommunications
Telecommunications or remote communications are a technological field in which computer systems entered at the end of the 20th century. At that time, long-distance communication via telephony was already a common technology throughout the world.
It was discovered the possibility of sending and receiving information through various physical channels: copper cables, fiberglass cables or satellite microwaves. Thanks to these new resources, the world of communications was revolutionized and distances were greatly reduced, allowing the invention of computer networks such as the Internet itself.
Artificial intelligence
One of the most controversial fields of research in computer science is Artificial Intelligence. Its goal is to achieve sufficient complexity in an operating system to provide it with intelligencethat is, capabilities that until now have been reserved for human beings: self-referentiality, decision making, verbal communication, etc.
Follow on: Artificial Intelligence
Examples of computer systems
- A smart cell phone. The latest generation of phones contain computer systems so complex that they are practically computers. They are used beyond making calls and are capable of processing large amounts of information very quickly.
- A local computer network. Such as those used in schools, offices or ministerial buildings. It compromises devices located in different locations but connected and sharing information.