WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ANALOG AND A DIGITAL COMPUTER?

The basic difference between analog and digital computers lies in the different
approaches they take to handling data. Analog computers are able to deal with
continuously varying inputs for complex phenomena such as voltage changes and
temperature fluctuations. Digital computers must have their inputs reduced to a simple
binary language in order to accurately model the world.

An analog computer is a form of computer that uses the continuously changeable

aspects of physical phenomena such as electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic quantities to
model the problem being solved. In contrast, digital computers represent varying
quantities symbolically, as their numerical values change. As an analog computer does
not use discrete values, but rather continuous values, processes cannot be reliably
repeated with exact equivalence, as they can with Turing machines. Unlike digital signal
processing, analog computers do not suffer from the quantization noise, but are limited
by analog noise.

Analog computers were widely used in scientific and industrial applications where
digital computers of the time lacked sufficient performance. Analog computers can have
a very wide range of complexity. Slide rules and monographs are the simplest, while
naval gunfire control computers and large hybrid digital/analog computers were among
the most complicated. Systems for process control and protective relays used analog
computation to perform control and protective functions.

The advent of digital computing made simple analog computers obsolete as early as the
1950s and 1960s, although analog computers remained in use in some specific
applications, like the flight computer in aircraft, and for teaching control systems in
universities. More complex applications, such as synthetic aperture radar, remained the
domain of analog computing well into the 1980s, since digital computers were
insufficient for the task

Analog computers haven't died out, however. Oscilloscopes, of the kind used by
electrical and sound engineers, are examples of analog computer technology. Slide rules
are another example of a computation device that runs essentially on an analog input
and output system. Perhaps the most ubiquitous example of an analog computer in the
world is the brain itself. Brains are actually a combination of digital and analog systems.
While the firing of a single neuron can be regarded as a simple on/off function, the
communication between neurons is accomplished chemically by means of
neurotransmitters that vary in concentration and intensity.

Analog systems were once favored by engineers who lacked modern digital technology
to run calculations on. As digital technology advanced, however, it came to be preferred
for its higher precision and the flexibility of the programs that could be run on digital
machines. Modern electronic computers are virtually all digital and express their
models in terms of 1s and 0s.
Digital computers can be built to take the solution of equations to almost unlimited
precision, but quite slowly compared to analog computers. Generally, complex
mathematical equations are approximated using iterative methods which take huge
numbers of iterations, depending on how good the initial "guess" at the final value is
and how much precision is desired. (This initial guess is known as the numerical
"seed".) For many real-time operations in the 20th century, such digital calculations
were too slow to be of much use (e.g., for very high frequency phased array radars or for
weather calculations), but the precision of an analog computer is insufficient.

Hybrid computers are computers that exhibit features of analog computers and digital
computers. The digital component normally serves as the controller and provides
logical and numerical operations, while the analog component often serves as a solver
of differential equations and other mathematically complex equations. The first desktop
hybrid computing system was the Hycomp 250, released by Packard Bell in 1961.
Another early example was the HYDAC 2400, an integrated hybrid computer released
by EAI in 1963. Late in the 20th century, hybrids dwindled with the increasing
capabilities of digital computers including digital signal processors.

Hybrid computers can be used to obtain a very good but relatively imprecise 'seed'
value, using an analog computer front-end, which is then fed into a digital computer
iterative process to achieve the final desired degree of precision. With a three or four
digit, highly accurate numerical seed, the total digital computation time to reach the
desired precision is dramatically reduced, since many fewer iterations are required. One
of the main technical problems to be overcome in hybrid computers is minimizing
digital-computer noise in analog computing elements and grounding systems.

Consider that the nervous system in animals is a form of hybrid computer. Signals pass
across the synapses from one nerve cell to the next as discrete (digital) packets of
chemicals, which are then summed within the nerve cell in an analog fashion by
building an electro-chemical potential until its threshold is reached, whereupon it
discharges and sends out a series of digital packets to the next nerve cell. The
advantages are at least threefold: noise within the system is minimized (and tends not
to be additive), no common grounding system is required, and there is minimal
degradation of the signal even if there are substantial differences in activity of the cells
along a path (only the signal delays tend to vary). The individual nerve cells are
analogous to analog computers; the synapses are analogous to digital computers.

Hybrid computers should be distinguished from hybrid systems. The latter may be no
more than a digital computer equipped with an analog-to-digital converter at the input
and/or a digital-to-analog converter at the output, to convert analog signals for ordinary
digital signal processing, and conversely, e.g., for driving physical control systems, such
as servomechanisms.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COMPUTER AND CALCULATOR

Computer vs Calculator

Difference Between Computer and Calculator is that a computer is an electronic

device, operating under the control of instructions stored in its own memory, that can
accept data, process the data according to specified rules, produce results, and store the
results for future use. While calculator is a small electronic approach by which anyone
can calculate any basic arithmetic operations or other mathematical calculations can be
done in milliseconds.

Computer

A computer is an electronic device, operating under the control of instructions stored

in its own memory, that can accept data, process the data according to specified rules,
produce results, and store the results for future use.

Data and Information

Computers process data into information. Data is a collection of unprocessed items,

which can include text, numbers, images, audio, and video. Information conveys
meaning and is useful to people. Computers process several data items to print
information in the form of a cash register receipt.

Information Processing Cycle

Computers process data (input) into information (output). Computers carry out
processes using instructions, which are the steps that tell the computer how to perform
a particular task. A collection of related instructions organized for a common purpose is
referred to as software. A computer often holds data, information, and instructions in
storage for future use. Some people refer to the series of input, process, output, and
storage activities as the information processing cycle. Recently, communications also
has become an essential element of the information processing cycle.
Calculator

Calculator is a small electronic approach by which anyone can calculate any basic
arithmetic operations or other mathematical calculations can be done in milliseconds.
Even many complex mathematical operations can be completed by scientific calculator.
In 1960s, the first calculator was invented which was the solid state electronic
calculator. This calculator was built based on the history of tools such as abacus, and the
mechanical calculator which was developed in 17th century.

And when the first microprocessor were developed by Intel in 1970s, pocket sized
calculators were going to be available on the market for calculations in your hands. The
first pocket-sized calculator was built with the first microprocessor and owned by
company named Busicom.

After that a calculator was invented with new technology and then are cheap and get
commonly used in schools. Now, a student can get too much help from a calculator. Like
with scientific calculator, we can perform arithmetic operations, we can calculate
square root, square of any value, and many other complex mathematical operations can
be done.

Computers and calculators originated from the same source, so it is not surprising they
share similar features. While they both are programmable electronic devices, able to
complete basic math operations, computers are more complex and can perform
multiple calculations at the same time.We know that a calculator can work only with
numbers. But so can a computer. Modern calculators are extremely fast in carrying out
complex calculations. But so are computers. Then what is the difference between the
two?

Simply put, calculators can carry only one function at a time. Even when you need to
solve a small problem, you need to press a number of buttons to arrive at the solution.
On the contrary, a computer is capable of carrying out many operations at the same
instant. Computer programs are series of instructions that are given to computers and it
can perform complex calculations without assistance with them. So if the necessary
program is installed on the computer, you do not need to tell the computer what to do
next as it can perform all the steps required in getting to the answer. It will come with
the answer at a lightning fast speed without you having to press any buttons, or mouse
clicks in this instance. On the other hand, you need to keep on pushing buttons to solve
even easy math problems when using a calculator.The word computer has become very
broad in modern times and has come to include smart devices such as Smartphone, MP3
players, desktops, laptops. These devices all have a basic calculator that can perform
simple math operations, but they are capable of many more operations which are
beyond the capacity of a calculator.