Processing
The function that defines the computer is its ability to calculate and make decisions. Without the ability to make decisions, a computer could not follow a program more complex than a simple sequence. If your computer lacked the ability to calculate, you might as well have a footstool next to your desk or a dumbbell in your briefcase. These abilities give the computer its electronic thinking power—or more importantly, help the computer enhance your own thinking power.
Several components make up the thinking function of a computer. The most important is the microprocessor, but by itself a microprocessor couldn't function. It would be like a brain without a spine and blood supply. For the computer, such support functions are handled ...
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