stored program computer

computer:
A device that accepts data, processes the data in accordance with a stored program, generates results, and usually consists of input, output, storage, arithmetic, logic, and control units.

Computers have been loosely classified into microcomputers, minicomputers, and main-frame computers, based on their size.


A stored-program computer is one which stores program instructions in electronic memory.Often the definition is extended with the requirement that the treatment of programs and data in memory be interchangeable or uniform.

A von Neumann architecture is a stored-program computer in which the program data and instruction data are stored in the same memory; a Harvard architecture is one which has separate memories for storing program and data.

Stored-program computer is sometimes used as a synonym for von Neumann architecture.The stored-program computer idea can be traced back to the 1936 theoretical concept of a universal Turing machine.Many early computers, such as the Atanasoff–Berry Computer, were not reprogrammable. They executed a single hardwired program. As there were no program instructions, no program storage was necessary.
A stored-program computer is one which stores program instructions in electronic memory. A von Neumann architecture is a stored-program computer in which the program data and instruction data are stored in the same memory; a Harvard architecture is one which has separate memories for storing program and data.
Stored-program computer is sometimes used as a synonym for von Neumann architecture. The stored-program computer idea can be traced back to the 1936 theoretical concept of a universal Turing machine. As there were no program instructions, no program storage was necessary. Other computers, though programmable, stored their programs on punched tape which was physically fed into the machine as needed