DCIT21 – Introduction to Computing

Lecture 3 – Components of a Computer

Components of a Computer

Hardware

 Hardware a\may be classified into input devices, output devices, the central processing
unit (CPU) and secondary storage.

Input Devices

 Input hardware consists of external devices – that is, components outside of the
computer’s CPU – that provide information and instruction to the computer used to
input or to enter data or information in the computer.
 Table below shows the different typical input devices:

Input Devices Description

A computer keyboard has alphabetic, numeric and function keys for

the entry of data.

A mouse is a handheld pointing device that is used to move a pointer

on the screen. Underneath is a ball that is rolled on a flat surface to
control the movement of the pointer.

A trackball is similar to a mouse but the ball is the one directly moved
to control the movement of the pointer.

A joystick is a pointing device with a base and a vertical handle that

pivots in all directions. This is usually used in playing computer games.

A touch screen is a display screen that allows users to interact with the
system by touching specific areas on the screen.

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A light pen is a sensitive stylus or pen device that is serves as a virtual

pen that allows freehand drawing.

A flatbed scanner translates images of text, photo and other graphics

into digital form. The digitized image can then be manipulated or
reproduced using a computer.

A barcode scanner translates barcode symbols into digital form and is

usually used in malls and supermarkets.

A web camera (or webcam) is a real-timecamera whose images can be

accessed using the World Wide Web, instant messaging, or a PC video
calling application.

A desktop microphone is a computer device use for communication

that capable of transferring voice to a particular recipient.

Output Devices

 Consists of devices which communicate the result of processing back to the user by
converting electrical signals.

Output Devices Description

Monitors display images using grids of dots called pixels. It is the most
common output device that shows information on the screen.

A printer is common equipment used to output information from the

computer. The digital equivalent of the information shown on the

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screen are transferred or printed on paper.

The three basic types of printers are: dot matrix, inkjet and laser
printers.

A plotter is an output device used to produce high quality drawings. It is

use to print huge images.

Computer speakers, or multimedia speakers, are external speakers that

are use to produce sounds.

A head phone is a receiver, as for a telephone, radio, or stereo, held to

the ear by a headband.

A multimedia or video projector takes a videosignal and projects the

corresponding image on a projection screen using a lens system. Video
projectors are widely used for conference room presentations,
classroom training, and home theatre applications.

Two Types of Output that a Computer System Displays

 Soft copy - Information that is displayed on a screen, given by voice, or stored in a form
that cannot be read directly by a person, as on diskette, compact disc, or flash drive.
 Hard copy - Information printed on paper in contrast to being electronically displayed
on a computer screen. This term is now used by many people to represent all paper
documents.

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Lecture 3 – Components of a Computer

System Unit

 All operations performed by the computer system are controlled by the physical device
called the central processing unit.
 It is the “brain” of the computer system.
 Its main function is to perform arithmetic and logical operations on data taken from the
primary storage or on information entered through any input device.

Basic Components of CPU

1. Main Storage
 Also called the memory of primary storage, it is like an electronic filing cabinet
capable of holding data or instructions.
 This is where instructions and data are stored while processing is being done.
 The two types of memory inside the main storage are the ROM and the RAM.
o Random Access Memory (RAM) – This kind of memory is volatile. RAM
requires electric current to retain information on it. Hence, all information
stored in it are lost or erased when the computer power is turned off or
interrupted.
o Read Only Memory (ROM) – This type of memory is non-volatile; the
instructions still hold even when there is power interruption or shut-off.
2. Registers
 This function as fast accessed temporary memory locations.
 The bits of information taken from the main memory and those that will be placed in
the main memory are temporarily held in the registers while computations are being
performed.
3. Buses
 These are bundles of tiny wires that serve as the communication path between
components of the CPU.
 The three most important buses are the address, data and control buses.
4. Arithmetic/Logic Unit (ALU)
 It performs operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, as
well as moving, shifting, and comparing data (Logical Calculations).
5. Control Unit
 This component is responsible for directing the flow of instructions and data within
the CPU.
 It fetches the instruction from the main memory for execution in the CPU.

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Storage Devices

 The secondary storage is where the data are stored permanently.

 It is outside the primary storage and serves just like a filling cabinet.
 The two classes of secondary storage media are direct access media and sequential
access storage media.
o Direct Access Media – (e.g. floppy disks) supports sequential or random access
where data can be accessed directly.
o Sequential Access Media – (e.g. magnetic tape) where data are accessed in a
specific order.

Secondary Storage Media Description

Magnetic Tape – This is the old traditional medium which is sound,

robust, with high capacity and the cheapest storage medium.

Magnetic Disks

a. Floppy disks (e.g. Diskette 1.44MB) are slower to access than hard
disks and have less storage capacity, but they are much less
expensive. And most importantly, they are portable.

b. Hard Disk 10-100 GB or more - a digitally encoded non-volatile

storage device which stores data on the magnetic surfaces of hard
disk platters.

The term hard is used to distinguish it from a soft, or floppy, disk.

Hard disks hold more data and are faster than floppy disks.

Optical Disc

Is flat and circular. Optical discs were initially used for storing music
and software. An optical disk is a plastic-coated disk that stores
digital data.

 CD 700MB

 DVD 4GB- 17 GB or more

 Mini Disc 200-300 MB

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USB flash drives are typically small, lightweight, removable and

rewritable. They are generally faster, hold more data, and are
considered more reliable (due to their lack of moving parts) than
floppy disks.

 Flash Drive 128MB- 4GB or more

A memory card or flash memory card is a solid-state electronic flash

memorydata storage device used with digital cameras, handheld and
laptop computers, telephones, music players, video game consoles,
and other electronics. They offer high re-recordability, power-free
storage and small form factor. Memory Capacity- same as a flash
drive

Portable Disks

A portable counterpart of a hard disk that is use for storing computer

data. Hard disks generally offer more storage and quicker access to
data than floppy disks do. Memory Capacity- same as an ordinary
hard drive.

A memory card reader is a device, typically having a USB interface,

for accessing the data on a memory card.

Communication Devices

 A communication device is a hardware component that enables a computer to send

(transmit) and receive data, instructions and information to and from one or more
computers.
 Communication occurs over cables, telephone lines, cellular radio networks, satellites
and other transmission media.
 Some transmission media, such as satellites and cellular radio networks are wireless,
which means they have no physical lines or wires.
 The following are some of the most common communication devices used.

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Communication Devices Description

Cables

In the network you will commonly find three types of cables used,
these are the coaxial cable, fiber optic, and twisted pair.

Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) - this is the most popular form of

cables in the network and the cheapest form that you can go with.

Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) is more common in high- speed

networks. The biggest difference you will see in the UTP and STP is
that the DTP use’s metallic shield wrapping to protect the wire from
interference

Coaxial cable consists of a hollow outer cylindrical conductor that

surrounds a single inner wire made of two conducting elements.

Fiber Optic cable is the most expensive network cable. This cable is
smaller and can carry a vast amount of information fast and over
long distances.

Hubs

Hubs are sometimes called concentrators or wiring concentrators

when they are central component in a star topology because they
provide a common connection among devices.

Switch

Switch is a connectivity device similar to a hub, except switches

make intelligent routing decisions on the basis of layer 2 hardware
addresses, whereas hubs are dumb and do not make any routing
decisions.

Routers

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Routers operate at the network layer (layer 3) and therefore, make

forwarding decisions on the basis of network addresses which are
called IP (Internet Protocol) or logical addresses

Modem

A modem (modulator-demodulator) is a device that modulates an

analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also
demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted
information.

Satellite Dish

A satellite dish is a dish-shaped type of parabolic antenna designed

to receive microwaves from communications satellites, which
transmit data transmissions or broadcasts, such as satellite
television.

SOFTWARE

 The set of instructions or programs that tells the computer how to do a specific.
 Software is categorized into two:
o System Software
o Application Software

System Software

 It helps to computer programs or library files whose primary purpose is to help run the
computer system.
 It performs tasks necessary to the efficient management of the hardware.

Types of System Software

1. Operating System
 This are sets of programs which controls and coordinates the whole operation of the
computer system.
 Example: Microsoft Windows NT/XP/2000/98/95/3.1, Disk Operating System (DOS),
UNIX, Mac OS,LINUX OS/2
2. Utility Programs
 are system software service programs that help the operating system efficiently
manage files and do housekeeping functions.
 Example: Norton Utilities, Disk Defragmenter, McAffee Virus Scan, Disk Clean up,
AVG Anti-virus Software
3. Compilers and Interpreters

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 Are programs that translate high-level language programs into object code.
 Compilers translate the whole program as an object code at once while interpreter
translate it one statement at a time.
 Example: COBOL compiler, C compiler, Fortran compiler, BASIC compiler

Application Software

 Programs that help solve and meet user problems and needs directly.
 They are designed to perform specific functions, which make daily activities easier and
facilitate the performance of work efficiently and effectively.
 Examples:
o Productivity Software
o Graphics and Multimedia
o Home, Personal and Educational Use
o Communications

Three Basic Types of Application Software

 Commercial Application Software – comes prepackaged and is available from software

vendors, in short, it must be purchased.
 Shareware – are software developed and released as demonstration versions of their
commercial products.
 Open Source – is created by generous programmers and released to the public domain
for free and for public use.

PEOPLEWARE

 The skilled workers in the Information Technology.

 The major compositions of these IT professionals are the:
o Management group
o Systems and procedures group
o Programming group
o Computers operations group.

Management Group

 Computer Systems Manager - directs and plans programming computer operations and
data processing.

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Systems and Procedure Group

 With expertise on hardware and software design they analyze, develop and apply
principles to produce computer applications and gadgets.
o Computer Scientist
o Computer Engineer
o Systems Analyst

Programming Group

 Computer Programmer - Responsible for writing, testing and maintaining detailed

instruction or programs.

Computer Operations Group

 Computer Operator – The computer operator sets up the processor and related
equipment, loads and unloads programs, and ensures proper and correct operations of
the computer
 Data Encoder/ Data Entry Operator – A data encoder prepares and encodes documents
to transform source documents into machine readable and acceptable inputs.
 Computer Librarian – A computer librarian is responsible for cataloguing, storing and
securing processed storage media like disks and tapes.

References:
Shelly, Gary B., Cashman, Thomas J., Vermaat, Misty E., Discovering Computer Fundamentals.Third
Edition, Thomson Learning Asia Course Technology. 2017.

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