Chapter 1: Computer Systems

1.1 Introduction

A computer (or computer system) is basically an electronic machine that can carry out specific tasks by following sequences of instructions. A program includes such a sequence of instructions together with data definitions. The computer executes the program by performing one instruction after the other in the specified order.

The first part of this chapter describes the general structure of a computer system, which includes its hardware and software components. The programs constitute the software components. Most of this book is about constructing user computer programs, so the second part of the chapter explains program compilation and program execution.