Editing Computer data storage (section)

== Functionality ==
Without a significant amount of memory, a computer would merely be able to perform fixed operations and immediately output the result. It would have to be reconfigured to change its behavior. This is acceptable for devices such as desk [[calculator]]s, [[digital signal processing|digital signal processors]], and other specialized devices. [[von Neumann architecture|Von Neumann]] machines differ in having a memory in which they store their operating [[Instruction set architecture#Instructions|instructions]] and data.<ref name="Patterson"/>{{rp|20}} Such computers are more versatile in that they do not need to have their hardware reconfigured for each new program, but can simply be [[computer programming|reprogrammed]] with new in-memory instructions; they also tend to be simpler to design, in that a relatively simple processor may keep [[State (computer science)|state]] between successive computations to build up complex procedural results. Most modern computers are von Neumann machines.