A device or system that is capable of carrying out a sequence of
operations in a distinctly and explicitly defined manner. The
operations are frequently numerical computations or data
manipulations but also include input/output; the operations within
the sequence may depend on particular data values. The definition of
the sequence is called the program. A computer can have either a
stored program or
wired program. A stored program may
exist in an alterable (read-write or
RAM) memory or in a nonalterable (ROM)
memory.
See also digital computer, analog computer.
