Types of Computers on the Basis of Application

TYPES OF COMPUTERS :

ON THE  BASIS OF APPLICATION

 According to the application, computers can be classified into three distinct  types :
1- Analog Computers
2- Digital computers
3- Hybrid Computers

1)  Analog Computers –

analog computer

analog computer

An analog computer   continuously measures a particular physical property and performs computations on these measurements. A very simple example of analog function is a car’s speedometer. The position of needle relative to a dial represents the speed of the car in kilometers.

 This is done, not by computing numbers, but by continuous monitoring of the  shaft revolution speed and a conversion of this speed into the dial reading through the device’s physical properties, i.e., gears and cables.

2) Digital Computers –

digital computers

A digital computer essentially is a machine that works on discrete digits or numbers. All processing is carried out in terms of numeric representation o f information that is being processed.

 The numbering system used is Binary , i.e. , making use of two digits only (0 and 1 ). All the information, whether numeric, alphabetic or alphanumeric is being converted into a series of binary  digits  and processed in terms of 0’s and 1’s only . The information is converted back to the numbers and alphabets for output.

3) Hybrid Computers –

These computers incorporate both digital and analog elements. They have the advantage  of  a memory where program instructions can be stored and executed.

 They can  also store  physical variables by converting  them into  digital expressions. 

Hybrid computers convert measurements of physical properties into digital statements involving  the use of analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters.

hybrid computer