There are over 7000 different spoken languages in the world. On top of that you have sign languages.
And. On top of that you have good old computing languages.
Which seem to create a new variant every so often. All trying to out do each other in terms of either what it can do. Or having varying degrees of efficiency to enable it to run quicker but usually on very specific machines.
As most of us involved in computing know.
All computer languages need to be compiled into machine code also known as binary code. In order to run. This is why you get such numbers as 1024 being a kilobyte all due to the binary counting system.
1 = 1
10=2
11=3
100=4
101=5
110=6
111=7
1000=8
1001=9
1010=10
1011=11
1100=12
1101=13
1110=14
1111=15
10000=16
you should begin to see the sequence of adding a 1 to the register.
Register is a technical term in computing referring to the places where the binary numbers are stored.
You will also here the term 8bit/16bit/32bit/64bit. This refers to the processor at the heart of the machine. 8 bits were all we had when I was a lad. If we were lucky of course.
The sequence continues
10001 = 17
....
so a
1 with 5 zeros in binary is what?
10010 = 18
10011 = 19
10100 = 20
10101 = 21
10110 = 22
10111 = 23
11000 = 24
11001 = 25
11010 = 26
11011 = 27
11100 = 28
11101 = 29
11110 = 30
11111 = 31
100000 = 32
Every time we had a 1 to the end of the binary number the number it represents doubles.
1 = 1
10 = 2
100 = 4
1000 = 8
10000 = 16
100000 = 32
So a 1 with 6 0's in binary is?
1000000 = 64.
A 1 with 7 0's?
10000000 = 128
A 1 with 8 0's?
100000000 = 512
A 1 with 9 0's
1000000000 = 1024
Counting in binary is different than decimal but can be followed quite logically.
As said the binary numbers are stored in various registers depending on their function.
Some binary numbers are there to be stored.
Some numbers are to be added or subtracted.
Some represent an image.
Some represent characters or strings.
Depending on what register the number is stored in. Affects what the number it will be used for. Put it in a register associated with the arithmetic unit and an arithmetic function such as add and subtract can be applied to it.
These numbers can be stored. Then passed through an arithmetic processing unit to process the numbers into new numbers. You can tell the arithmetic unit to add and subtract. You can set up specific processes to multiply and divide and perform all kinds of arithmetic functions.
The numbers can also represent characters if stored as a string. Each character that can be used is specified a specific character and be stored. The characters can be stored together to create words, sentences, paragraphs and documents.
The numbers can also represent images and colours as well. All stored in different areas to carry out specific tasks.
Simple
The complexity happens due to the speed, consistency and accuracy of the operations it can do on the various data.
This speed of operation is where the computer becomes magic. The computer can do things multiple times faster than humans.
The ramping up of speeds within the last decade has transformed computers that struggled to do simple tasks quicker than humans. To the computer being able to do, more and more complex tasks quicker than humans and slowly more accurately and reliably.
Where as when I was growing up computers being able to beat humans at chess was never a possibility. The transformation that has occurred In the 21st century has made the possibility of a human beating a computer at chess next to zero, if the computer is playing at its maximum power setting.
This has made computers more and more essential to our lives and they have slowly been making their way into the physical world in terms of self driving vehicles. That both fly in the form of drones and drive in self driving vehicles.
Understanding this transformation is important in the 21st century as the legacy of the previous generation who viewed technology with suspicion and fear thanks to movies like Terminator and its sequels. Versus people people particularly from the 1980's onwards who have lived and interacted with computers in their home all their lives.
This creates a barrier of understanding between those who fear or feared computers in the past. With those that understand the benefits. They are aware of the fears. Take on board these fears and mitigate these fears be rigorous testing of the machines. To do their best to answer and alley these fears that others might still have.
Don't forget robots can explore places humans cannot go. At present there are robots all over the solar system and beyond. Sending back signals to tell humans what they are finding and whether places are habitable or not. Whether that be on Mars or in the Cosmos.
SpaceX, and others, including Blue Origin are also on the quest to transport humans to these places. Exploring the cosmos like no one before.
So strap on board, and let us go.
With the rise of the online community which began life in the 1990's though historically it began earlier. The internet did not reach the home of the average person until the 1990's. When bulletin boards where anyone in the world could post messages and ideas for the world to view. People could reply and communities would grow and evolve. Slowly evolving and becoming the thousands of social networks that we see today.
Computers are very good at storing numbers, counting and making use of numbers. Formulas and complex algorithms can and began to make use of this data. Making it more and more presentable and accessible to more and more people. Eventually when the community reached a critical size and as the internet grew to incorporate more and more countries around the world. Commercial and advertisers began to find ways to buy and sell things online. One of the earliest was Amazon and Ebay. Amazon began as a way of buying and selling books. Ebay began as a way of selling second hand goods. These commercial enterprises expanded and were a major commercial success. Eventually others would try to compete and these commercial enterprises would evolve in the massive success stories we see to this day. Some would merge and expand into other market places. Shopping need no longer be a physical enterprise but be done at a click of a button with the necessary infrastructure in place to deliver the goods.
One of the main uses of computers these days is in assisting people in the realm of problem solving.