Introduction to

Information Technology
Unit 1
BASIC TERMINOLOGIES RELATED TO A
COMPUTER
Data: Raw facts having no significance by themselves
Information: Processed data which is meaningful to
the user
Instruction: Statement which represents the task to
performed
Software: Set of instructions tell the computer what
task is to be performed and how it is to be performed.
Set of instructions is a program and a set of programs is
called a software
Hardware: Physical devices which make up the
computer as a machine
WHAT IS A COMPUTER?
Derived from the word compute which means to
calculate
A computer is an electronic device used for
performing diverse operations with the help of
instructions to process the given data in order to
achieve the required information

INPUT PROCESS
OUTPUT
CHARACTERISTICS OF A
COMPUTER
Speed
Accuracy
Diligence
Storage Capacity
Versatile
HISTORY OF COMPUTER
ABACUS Napiers
Bones(1617 AD)
(developed in period 27002300 BC)

Pascals Adding and Subtraction Punch
Card
Machine

Leibnizs Multiplication and Dividing Machine(AD)

Babbages Analytical Engine:
Developed by Charles Babbage
Charles Babbage is also called Father of
computers
Developed difference engine in 1822

ENIAC(Electronic Numerical Integrator And
Computer):
Developed in1946
It was the first electronic computer

UNIVAC(UNIVersal Automatic Computer):
Developed in 1950s

GENERATIONS OF COMPUTER
First Generation(1940-1956):
used vacuum tubes for circuitry
Were enormous, taking up entire rooms
Very expensive
Large amount of heat produced
Relied on machine language
Input was based on punched cards and paper
tape
UNIVAC and ENIAC were first generation
computers

Second Generation(1956-1963):
Transistors replaced vacuum tubes
Transistors allowed computers to become smaller,
faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient and more
reliable
Assembly language was used
But still used punched tapes for input

Third Generation(1963-1971):
Integrated circuit(IC) was developed
Silicon chips were used
Speed and efficiency increased
High storage capacity
Keyboards and monitors were used for input and
output
Cheaper

Fourth Generation(1971-present):
Thousands of integrated circuits were built onto a
single silicon chip called microprocessor
In 1981 IBM introduced its first computer for the
home users
Computers were smaller, faster, powerful, had
more data storage capacity and supported the
use of Internet

Fifth Generation(present-beyond):
Computing devices based on artificial intelligence
are still in development

BLOCK DIAGRAM OF A
COMPUTER
MEMORY
UNIT
INPUT
UNIT
OUTPUT
UNIT
CP
U
The 3 components of a computer:
Input/Output(I/O) unit
Central Processing Unit(CPU)
Memory Unit

CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT
Also called the processor/microprocessor
Fabricated as a single IC chip
Is the brain of the computer
Further consists of:
Arithmetic Logic Unit(ALU)
Control Unit(CU)
Registers

CU
ALU

Registers
Central Processing
Unit
ARITHMETIC LOGIC UNIT
Has 2 units: Arithmetic unit and Logic unit
The arithmetic unit performs arithmetic
operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication
and division) on the data provided to it
Logic unit performs logical operations (like less
than, greater than, equal to, etc.)
ALU uses registers to store data which is being
processed

REGISTERS
High-speed storage areas within CPU
Have least storage capacity
Directly accessed and manipulated by the CPU
Used for storing data, addresses, instructions and
intermediate results
The data and instructions to be processed must
be brought in the registers before being
processed
The number of registers varies according to the
complexity of the processor


DIFFERENT TYPES OF REGISTERS
Each register has a specific purpose
The size of a register is called word size(the
amount of data which can be processed at one
time)
Some of the important registers are:
AC
IR
PC
MAR
MBR
DR
AC(Accumulator):
Stores the result of arithmetic and logical
operations
IR(Instruction Register):
Stores the current instruction(recently fetched) to
be executed
PC(Program Counter): Contains the address of
the next instruction to be executed
MAR(Memory Address Register): Contains the
address of the next location in the memory to be
accessed
MBR(Memory Buffer Register): Temporarily
stores data from memory or data to be sent to
the memory
DR(Data Register): Stores the operands
CONTROL UNIT
Does not do the actual data processing
Supervises, controls and coordinates the activity
of the other units of the computer
INPUT/OUTPUT UNIT
INPUT UNIT

Input unit gets the data and programs from
various input devices, which needs to be
processed
Input data is provided through input devices(like,
keyboard, mouse, joy stick)
The work of the input unit is to transform the
input data into a form that is understandable by
the computer

The input data can be in the form of text, audio,
video, graphics
The various data input devices are:
Keyboard, mouse, trackball, joy stick
Light pen, touch screen
Scanner, barcode reader
OMR (Optical Mark Reader)
MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Reader)
OCR (Optical Character Reader)
Microphone
OUTPUT UNIT

Output unit gets the processed data from the
processor and sends it to various output devices
to make them available to the user
The various output devices are printers, plotters,
speakers, etc.
The processed data is in machine language. The
work of the output unit is to convert the
processed data into human readable format
The various data output devices are:
Printer
Impact(Dot Matrix, Daisy wheel) and non-
impact(Inkjet, laser) printers
Plotter
Monitor
Speakers
Headset
SOFTWARE
Software is a set of programs that
instructs the computer about the
tasks to be performed
Types:
System Software
Application Software
SYSTEM SOFTWARE
It is required for the working of a
computer
The functions of a system software
are:
To provide basic functionality to the
computer
To control computer hardware
To provide an interface between user,
application software and computer
hardware
Types of System Softwares
System Software for management and
functionality of computer:
Required for managing the operations
performed by the
various components
Example Operating system, system utilities
Operating System is a system software that:
Acts as an intermediate between the user and
the computer hardware
Manages different resources
Provides an environment in which application
softwares can work
Example MS-DOS, Windows 7, Windows 8

System Software for the development of
application software:
Provides services required for of application
program
Example programming languages, linkers


APPLICATION SOFTWARE
The software used by the computer
user to accomplish a specific task
Example word processors, media
players, database applications
NUMBER SYSTEM
A number system specifies the way
A number system in base/radix r
uses r number of symbols for
representing any character
A number in a particular base is
written as
(number)
base
Types:
Decimal Number System
Binary Number System
Octal Number System
Hexadecimal Number System
DECIMAL NUMBER SYSTEM
Has base 10, i.e., 10 symbols are
used for representing any character
Consists of 10 symbols:
0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
All the numbers in this number
system are represented as a
combination of symbols 0-9
Example
(57)
10

BINARY NUMBER SYSTEM
Has base 2, i.e., 2 symbols are used
for representing any character
Consists of 2 symbols: 0,1
All the numbers in this number
system are represented as a
combination of symbols 0 and 1
Example
(100101)
2

OCTAL NUMBER SYSTEM
Has base 8, i.e., 8 symbols are used
for representing any character
Consists of 8 symbols:
0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7
All the numbers in this number
system are represented as a
combination of symbols 0-7
Example
(35)
8

HEXADECIMAL NUMBER
SYSTEM
Has base 16, i.e., 16 symbols are
used for representing any character
Consists of 16 symbols:
0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E,F
All the numbers in this number
system are represented as a
combination of symbols 0-F
Example
(18D)
16

CONVERSIONS
Decimal to Binary, Octal, Hexadecimal
To convert a decimal number to binary, octal or
hexadecimal
number, divide the number by 2, 8 or 16
respectively, and
record the remainder at each step

Q. Perform the following conversions:
(43)
10
=(?)
2
(54)
10
=(?)
8
(962)
10
=(?)
16
(735)
10
=(?)
2
Decimal Fraction to Binary, Octal,
Hexadecimal
To convert a decimal fraction(number less than 1)
to binary,
octal or hexadecimal number, multiply the number
by 2, 8 or
16 respectively
Multiplication should be done successively and
the non-fractional part at each step has to be
recorded

Q. Perform the following
conversions:
(0.58)
10
=(?)
2
(0.46)
10
=(?)
8
(0.52)
10
=(?)
16
(2.46)
10
=(?)
8
(4.03)
10
=(?)
16
(3.27)
10
=(?)
2
Binary, Octal and Hexadecimal to
Decimal
The position of digits in a number
varies in the following way:
Integer . Fraction


Example
(11 . 01)

Position 1 position 0 position -1 position -2

Suppose (integer.fraction)
r
is to be
converted to decimal---
For integer part: Each digit of integer part is
multiplied to
r
(position of the digit)
and then they are added
together

For fraction part: Each digit of fraction part
is multiplied to r
-(position of the digit)
and then
they are added together
Q. Perform the following
conversions:
(45)
8
=(?)
10
(1101.011)
2
=(?)
10
(4D)
16
=(?)
10
(3A1.9C)
16
=(?)
10
(32.43)
8
=(?)
10
TYPES OF COMPUTERS
Super computers
Mainframe computers
Mini computers
Micro computers
Super Computers
Were introduced in the 1960s
The fastest and most powerful type of
computers
They are huge computers installed in space
centres,
nuclear power stations etc.
Are task specific, multi-user
Used for performing complex mathematical
calculations
Have huge memories & tremendous
processing speed
used for weather forecasting, climate
research, oil and gas exploration etc.
Mainframe Computers
They are big computer systems
Qualified & trained operators are required to
operate them
Smaller than super computers
Are multi-user
They have large storage capacity
They can use wide variety of softwares
Are installed in large commercial places or
government organizations
They can be used for mathematical calculations

Minicomputers
They have less storage capacity than
mainframe computers
Are multi-user
Used by small businesses & firms
Limited range of peripherals
The end users can directly operate it
They are used for data processing

Microcomputers
They are also known as Personal
Computers
They are cheap and user friendly
Have limited peripherals attached
can use wide range of softwares
used in offices or even homes
Their operation can be easily learnt by
anyone
APPLICATIONS OF
COMPUTER
Education
Entertainment
Advertising
Medicine
Science & Engineering
Government
Home
LIMITATIONS OF COMPUTERS
Needs clear and complete
instructions to perform a task
accurately
Cannot work independently; Heavily
dependent on human beings
Needs controlled environments
Does not have I.Q.