Charles Babbage is considered the father of computers. He designed the Difference Engine and Analytical Engine in the 1820s and 1830s, respectively, which provided a basis for modern computers. A computer processes data into information using hardware and software. Hardware is the physical components, while software contains instructions. Computers have evolved through five generations from vacuum tubes to transistors to integrated circuits to microprocessors and now artificial intelligence. Computers are versatile machines that can rapidly perform calculations with high accuracy and store large amounts of data.