The computer may seem like a very complicated machine, but it basically does four simple tasks: input, process, store and output.

Input means to put in or into and that is exactly what an input device does. An input device enables one to communicate with the computer. Input devices are used to enter information and issue commands. Examples of input devices are the keyboard, mouse, joystick, scanners, video cameras, microphones, and video cassette recorders.

Information received from the input devices will then be processed in the Central Processing Unit (CPU). The CPU is the main chip in the computer at the center of the action, but the typical computer contains about half a dozen or more separate microprocessors, each doing its own, separate job. The CPU's job is to process instructions, perform calculations and manage the flow of information through a computer system. The CPU not only communicates with the input devices, but also the output and storage devices to perform tasks.

Until the information is acted upon, it stays in the storage. A storage device holds information. For the computer to receive instructions about what processing is to be done to the information, it must be held inside the computer long enough to be acted upon or processed. A hard drive, tape drive, floppy disk, and CD-ROM drive are storage devices. The computer uses information stored on these devices to perform tasks.

After the information has been processed, or the necessary tasks completed on the information, it will be outputted to you. The output device enables a computer to communicate with you. These devices display information on a screen, create printed copies or generate sound. Some of these devices are the monitor, printer and speakers. Depending on how you use the device, it could also be both the input and output device. For example, the floppy disk drives, when you save work to a disk, it can be removed from your computer and be placed to some other computer. This way, you have created some output that some other computer could later use for input.

Well, that's all there is to a computer and what it does. The computer may still seem like the complicated machine that you have to deal with everyday. At least you know now how a computer functions.