A calculator is a device for performing numerical calculations. The type is considered distinct from both a calculating machine and a computer in that the calculator is a special-purpose device that may not qualify as a Turing machine. Although modern calculators often incorporate a general purpose computer, the device as a whole is designed for ease of use to perform specific operations, rather than for flexibility. Also, modern calculators are far more portable than most other devices called computers, though many PDAs are comparable in size to handheld calculators.

Overview

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In the near past, mechanical and clerical aids such as abacuses, comptometers, Napier's bones, books of mathematical tables, slide rules, or adding machines were used for serious numeric work, and the word "calculator" denoted a person who did such work for a living using such aids as well as pen and paper. This semi-manual process of calculation was tedious and error-prone.

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