A digital computer is a machine that operates on discrete (digital) representations of information. It accepts input, processes it according to stored instructions, and produces output — all by manipulating sequences of binary digits. This definition covers everything from a pocket calculator to a supercomputer cluster, but the machines most relevant here are general-purpose programmable computers: devices whose behavior is determined by software rather than fixed circuitry.
Digital computers are tools for managing information and connections. They translate thoughts and commands into computational operations and return results that extend what a person can do alone. Through this relationship, we expand our capabilities to communicate, learn, create virtual environments, and relate more fully with both the material world and the realm of ideas.
The digital computer is also the substrate on which the fediverse, MUDs, and other networked environments run. Its capacity for simulation makes it the natural medium for virtual world-building — a connection explored in emsenn’s interest in world-building as programming.