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Both.

Overall, computers are generally referred to as electronic devices but they are a combination of electronic and mechanical parts. The most common hard drives read a magnetic storage disc mechanically, though the new solid state drives that are taking over have no moving parts. Optical drives, CD/DVD, have mechanical parts to read the disc and the cooling fan is mechanical as well. I suppose a computer with a solid state drive and no optical or floppy disc drive or fan could be nearly totally electronic.

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14y ago
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10y ago

They could be (e.g. Charles Babbage's Analytical Enginea digital computer designed circa 1840 that was never built, Antikythera Mechanism an analog computer built circa 100 BC) but all modern computers are electronic.

The main defining criteria for computers is that they must be able to fully automate calculations without further human interaction, once initially set up. If a device can do this neither the technology nor mode of calculation used (digital or analog) used in it matter its a computer, if it cannot do this its not a computer.

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Q: Is computer mechanical
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