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 Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Computer Organization 1
1.1 Block Diagram of Computer System 2
1.2 Central Processing Unit 3
1.3 Memory Unit 4
1.4 ALU 4
1.5 Control Unit 5
1.6 Input & Output Devices 6
1.7 Input Device Categorizing : Input hardware 7
Scanning Devices 9
Bar Code Reader 9
OCR, OMR, MICR 10-12
Mouse 13
Light Pen 15
Touch Device 6
Web Camera 17
Joystick 18
Digitizing Tablet 19
1.8 Output Devices : Printers 20
Characteristics of printers 21
Dot Matrix 22
Laser 23
Inkjet, Thermal Printers 24
Plotters 25
Monitors: CRT 27
TFT 29
Plasma 30
LCD Projector 30
DLP Projector 31
Speaker 32
Object Type Questions of Chapter 1 33
Review Questions 35
Chapter 2: Evolution and Generation of Computer System 36
2.1 Computer System Characteristics and capabilities: 38
2.2 Types of Computers & its Applications 38
2.3 General & Special Purpose Computer 41
2.4 Computer Generations 41
2.5 Classification of Computer Systems 42-48
2.6 Characteristics of Micros, Minis, Mainframes & Super 49
Computer
2.7 Evolution of micro-computers 51
2.8 Comparative study w.r.t. Micro-processor 52
Clock speed, data bus, controllers, memory, and 52
peripheral interface of PC to Pentium computer systems
Objective Type Question 53
Review Questions 55
Chapter 3: Number System, Codes & Data Representation 56
3.1 Number System 57
3.2 Inter-Conversion 59
3.3 Conversion of Binary Number System to Decimal and
Binary Number Systems to Hexadecimal 64
3.4 Codes used for information exchange between computers 68
3.5 Data Representation 70
Objective Type Question 73
Review Questions 75
Chapter 4: Storage Devices 77
4.1 Storage Fundamentals 77
4.2 Primary & Secondary Storage 79
4.3 RAM 80
4.4 Dynamic and static RAM 81
4.5 PROM 81
4.6 EPROM 81
4.7 EEPROM 82
4.8 Tape Storage Devices 82
4.9 Characteristics & Limitations of Tap Storage Devices 83
4.10 Floppy & their types 83
4.11 Direct access Storage± Hard Disk 85
4.12 Disk Cartridges 86
4.13 Mass Storage Device 86
4.14 Optical Disk 87
4.15 CD ROM 88
4.16 DVD 89
4.17 Flash Drive 90
4.18 ZIP drive 91
Objective Type Questions 92
Review Questions 93
Chapter 5: Computer Softwares & Language 96
5.1 System Software V/s Application Software 96
5.2 Types of System Software 97
5.3 Classification and Characteristics of Languages 103
5.4 Machine language 105
5.6 High-level language 106
5.7 Generations of Computer Language 108
5.8 Application Software 110
5.9 Working with MS-OFFICE components 111
5.10 Creating, Editing, Formatting and Printing documents 112
using MS-WORD
Objective Type Questions 128
Review Questions 130
 Chapter 1
Computer Organization
===============================================================

Key Concepts

9 Block Diagram of Computer System,

9 Central Processing Unit,
9 Memory Unit,
9 ALU,
9 Control Unit,
9 Input & Output devices,
9 Input Device Categorizing

¾ Input hardware:

ƒ Keyboard,
ƒ Card Readers,
ƒ Scanning Devices,
ƒ Bar Code Readers,
ƒ OCR,
ƒ OMR,
ƒ MICR,
ƒ Pointing Device
ƒ Mouse & Its Types,
ƒ Light Pen,
ƒ Touch Devices,
ƒ Web Camera,
ƒ Microphone,
ƒ Joystick,
ƒ Digitizing tablet

¾ Output Device:
ƒ Printers:

R Impact & Non-impact printers,

R Dot Matrix,
R Laser,
R Inkjet,
1
 R Thermal Printers,
ƒ Plotters,
ƒ Monitors:
R CRT,
R TFT,
R Plasma,

ƒ LCD Projector,
ƒ DLP Projector,
ƒ Speaker
==============================================================
=

1.1 Block Diagram of Computer System

A computer is an electronic device which can process the data. The term computer is
derived from the Latin word ³FRPSXWH´. A computer can perform following operations:

1. Accept the data and information supplied by the user.

2. Store data and information into the memory.
3. Process the data and information
4. Output the result of the processed data.
You can understand the working of a computer system with its block diagram, which is
shown in following figure:

Fig. 1.1: Block Diagram of Computer System

2
***Note:
The solid lines are used to indicate flow of data whereas the dotted lines represent the
control flow.

A computer system consists of hardware and software both. The hardware has five
different types of functional units i.e.:
1. Input Unit
2. Memory Unit
3. Control Unit
4. Arithmetic and Logic Unit
5. Output Unit

The input unit is used to accept the data and instructions. The memory unit is used to
store the data and instructions in the computer. The Central Processing Unit (CPU) has
two sections; one is Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU) and Control Unit (CU). CPU
processes the data and instructions and finally desired result is displayed with the help of
output unit.

***Note: Each unit is discussed in detail in upcoming topics.

1.2 Central Processing Unit

Each digital computer consists of a processing unit called as processor. Processor

processes the raw data into useful information. Processor is nothing but a chip of a
computer which is responsible to process the data and instructions received from the
input unit such as keyboard.

The Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU) and Control Unit (CU) are together known as
Central Processing Unit (CPU) or simple processor. CPU acts like a brain of computer.
It's a microprocessor chip that holds a complete computational engine. Its primary
function is to execute data/instruction and programs. Everything that a computer does is
overseen by the CPU.

The Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU) performs the arithmetic operation i.e. addition,
subtraction, multiplication and division and comparison i.e. greater than, less than and
equal to.

The Control Unit (CU) coordinates the flow and execution of data and instruction with
in the computer.
3
1.3 Memory Unit

Memory unit of the computer holds data and instructions that are entered through the
input unit, before they are processed.

All the data/information is initially stored in primary memory of the computer. Primary
memory is the main memory of the computer. The data and instructions are passed from
main memory to ALU or to and from the storage device under the control of the Control
Unit (CU).

Primary memory (main memory) is volatile in nature whereas secondary memory is

permanent. If data is available in main memory of the computer, it can be erased when
the computer power is switched off.

Hard disk is the best example of secondary memory, as the data available on hard disk
remains permanent.

Memory unit can be divided into two categories:

1. Primary Memory,
2. Secondary Memory.

Functions of Memory Unit

1. It receives the data and instructions required for processing from the input unit.
1. It stores the intermediate result.
2. It stores the final result before these result passes to the output unit.
3. It stores the data for future use, whenever required.

1.4 ALU

An Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) is a digital circuit used to perform arithmetic and logic
operations. It represents the fundamental building block of the Central Processing Unit
(CPU) of a computer. Modern CPUs contain very powerful and complex ALUs. In
addition to ALUs, it also contains a Control Unit (CU).

For a given instruction, the exact set of operations required is indicated by the control
signals received from the control unit. Most of the operations of a CPU are performed by
one or more ALUs, which load data from input registers. ALU and control unit have
usually some temporary storage units known as registers.
4
A register is a small amount of storage available as part of a CPU. Each register can be
considered as a fast memory with single location. These registers temporarily store
certain information such as instructions, data, address etc.

The control unit tells the ALU what operation to perform on that data, and the ALU
stores the result in an output register. The control unit moves the data between these
registers, the ALU, and memory. The results of the instructions are stored in memory,
and taken out of the computer through the output unit.

***Remember:

ALU is the place where actual execution of the instructions takes places during the
processing operations.

Basic Operations that are performed in ALU

An ALU performs following basic operations:

1. Arithmetic Operations and

2. Logic operations.

Examples of arithmetic operations are:

a. Arithmetic Addition,
b. Arithmetic subtraction,
c. Arithmetic multiplication, and
d. Arithmetic division.

Examples of logic operations are:

Comparisons of values such as AND, OR and NOT.

3. Evaluates conditions,
4. Makes comparisons of numbers, letters and special characters.

1.5 Control Unit

Control unit obviously controls all other parts of a computer system. It acts as a central
nervous system of the computer. It fetches and analyzes the instructions one-by-one and
issues control signals to all other units to perform various operations. It supervises the
operation of all hardware connected to the computer system.
5
Major task of Control Unit includes:

1. To communicate with other parts of the computer system.

2. To instruct the input unit, where to store the data after receiving it from the user.
3. To control the flow of data and instructions from the memory unit to ALU.
4. To read and interpret the program instructions
5. To direct the computer system to execute stored program instructions
6. To direct the operation of the CPU.

1.6 Input & Output Devices

Whenever a particular problem is solved by the computer, you need to enter the data and
instructions to the computer. This requires an input device through which we can feed
the data. After processing this data, the computer has to produce the result, this need an
output device. Thus you can say that the interaction between the user and computer
requires the input and output devices.

You should note that there are several types of input and out devices which can be
connected to the computer for a specific purpose. The most common input device is the
keyboard and the most common output device is monitor (also known as computer
screen).

Input devices allow the user to get data into the computer. Following are some common
examples of input devices:

Examples of Input Devices

7. Keyboard,
8. Mouse,
9. Scanner,
10. Microphone,
11. Light Pen
12. Joystick,
13. Track-pad
14. Barcode Reader,
15. Optical Mark Reader (OMR),
16. Optical Character Reader (OCR),
17. Magnetic Ink Card Reader (MICR)
18. Digitizer etc.

6
Output devices are the peripherals used to display the result to the user. Following are
some common examples of output devices:

Examples of Output Devices

1. Monitor,
2. Printer,
3. Plotter,
4. Projector,
5. Speaker,
6. Headphones.

1.7 Input Device Categorizing

Input hardware:

The device that accepts data from the user and communicates the same to the CPU is
called an input device.

Keyboard

Keyboard is an input device in a computer system. It is the most common device used to
input both alphabets and numbers. The general layout of a keyboard is shown in
following figure:

Fig.1.2: Keyboard
7
The standard layout of letters, numbers, and punctuation is known as a QWERTY
keyboard because the first six typing keys on the top row of letters spell QWERTY. The
QWERTY keyboard was designed in the 1800s for mechanical typewriters.

A general keyboard may have following types of keys:

1. Alphanumeric Keys,
2. Function Keys,
3. Cursor movement Keys,
4. Modifier Keys
5. Special-purpose Keys.

***Remember A Windows compatible keyboard has 104 to 125 keys.

Card Readers

Card reader is an input device that reads data from a memory card. Card is a storage
medium which can store the data, and can be used for transferring data from one
computer to another.

Fig.1.3: Card Reader

Card Reader quickly transfers all your data ± photos, videos, music etc. It supports a
wide variety of formats such as:

1. microSD,
2. microSDHC,
3. SD,
4. SDHC,
5. SDXC and
6. CompactFlash.

8
Scanning Devices

Scanning devices are used as an input device. An image scanner is the most common
example of scanning device. It is helpful in scanning characters and graphics both. It
scans the image of a photograph or written information and communicates it to the CPU.
A typical scanner uses sensors to acquire complex pictures and photographs.

Scanning devices can translate images of text, drawings, pictures, photographs in a

digital form and can then be stored on a storage media (e.g. CD, DVD, Pen Drive or
Hard Disk), displayed on a monitor, processed by a computer system, , or
communicated/transferred to another computer. An image scanner is shown in following
figure:

Fig.1.4: Image Scanner

Scanning devices include:

1. Bar Code Reader,

2. Image Scanner,
3. Optical Character Recognition (OCR),
4. Optical Mark Recognition (OMR),
5. Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR),
6. Fax Machines etc.

Bar Code Reader

A barcode reader is an electronic device that can read and output printed barcodes to a
computer. It is also known as barcode scanner.

A barcode reader consists of a light source, a lens and a light sensor translating optical
impulses into electrical ones.
9
 Fig. 1.5: Bar Code Reader

OCR

OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition. It is a common method of digitizing

printed texts so that they can be electronically searched, edited, displayed on-line and
stored in a compact form. It uses a scanner and software. The scanner scans an image of
a document of written text and software examines this scanned document and extracts
text from it and then store it in a from that can be processed.

Fig.1.6: Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

With the help of OCR, now people no longer need to manually retype important
documents when entering them into electronic databases. Instead, OCR extracts relevant
information and enters it automatically. The result is approx 95% accurate and it enables
efficient information processing in less time.

10
Optical Character Recognition is useful in following areas:

1. Data entry for business documents, e.g. bank statement and receipt, passport,
invoice etc.
2. Automatic number plate recognition
3. For blind persons,
4. For legal departments,
5. For banking sectors,
6. For retail industry,
7. For education finance and government organizations.

OMR

OMR stands for Optical Mark Recognition. OMR reader is an input device which is
used to read marks made by a pen or pencil on a printed sheet and then feed it into the
computer. It is generally used in multiple choice question (MCQ) based examination. It
is useful in collecting the answers of examinee in examinations of MCQ pattern. OMR
software is used to capture data from OMR sheets. OMR software is application
software that makes OMR possible on a desktop computer by using an Image scanner to
process surveys, tests, attendance sheets, checklists, and other plain printed papers.

Fig.1.7: OMR Sheet

MICR

MICR stands for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition. MICR reader is used as input
device.

11
 Fig.1.8: MICR
It uses special ink which contains iron particles that can be magnetized and then read
when the printed numbers pass through a MICR reader. MICR reader will only
recognize numbers printed in a standard font using the magnetic ink as shown in
following figure:

Fig.1.9: MICR characters

MICR technique is often used in banks. The bank details e.g. the account number; the
cheque number and the branch number are pre-printed onto bank cheques in a special
font with the help of magnetic ink. When you receive a cheque and deposit it in your
bank they print the amount and your account details on the cheque in magnetic ink. It
then sent to a clearing bank to be read by another MICR reader and the correct amounts
are automatically transferred to the mentioned accounts with the help of computer.

Advantage of MICR
1. The advantage of using MICR is that the magnetic characters can be read very
quickly and accurately by MICR readers.
2. It provides a high level of security, because any attempt to alter the magnetic ink
printout with normal ink will be ignored.

Disadvantages
It is fairly expensive.

12
***Remember
1. The MICR is a device that can recognise human readable characters printed on
documents such as cheques using a special magnetic ink.
2. The MICR has a magnetic head which can detect the magnetic pattern for each
character.
3. The MICR reader reads these characters by examining their shapes.
4. Characters are printed in a special font.
5. Each character is formed by a 7 x 10 matrix.

Pointing Device

Pointing device is kind of an input device that allows user to control and provide data to
the computer using movement of a hand-held mouse or similar devices.

The use of pointing devices is to control the position of the pointer or cursor and allow
the user to select options displayed on the screen.

Commonly used pointing devices are:

(i) Mouse,
(ii) Trackball,
(iii) Touchpad,
(iv) Touch Screen,
(v) Pointing Stick,
(vi) Light Pen,
(vii) Digitizer

Mouse & Its Types

The mouse is a computer input device used to move a cursor around the computer
screen. It is a kind of small hand held pointing device connected to the CPU with a
cable. It has two click buttons on the top. Mouse movements are converted into
electrical signals and the same is communicated to the CPU. These movements are
interpreted and displayed on the screen with the help of an arrow, which is known as
mouse pointer.
Based on the technology used the mouse can be categorize into following two types:

1. Mechanical Mouse,
13
2. Optical Mouse.

1. Mechanical Mouse

The mechanical mouse builds with a ball inside the mouse and it touches a surface and
rolls with the mouse. The distance and the speed of the ball inside the mouse determine
how far the mouse cursor moves on the screen. Look at the diagram given below:

Fig.1.10: Mechanical Mouse

2. Optical Mouse

The optical mouse uses special chips to encode data for the computer. It uses Light-
Emitting Diode (LED) to detect the underlying surface. Look at the diagram given
below:

14
 Fig.1.11s Optical Mouse

Light Pen

A light pen is a pencil shaped light-sensitive pointing input device commonly used to
select text or data on a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) screen. Look at the diagram given
below:



Fig.1.12: Light Pen

Why it is used?

It is used to select screen coordinates by detecting the light coming from illuminated
points on the CRT screen. It is useful in graphical applications.
15
How it works?

When an activated light pen, comes in contact with an illuminated spot on the screen, it
generates an electrical signal which is taken as input to the computer. The computer then
responds to it by displaying more information about the pointed text/data.

Touch Devices

A touch devices works as both input and output devices for a computer or an
information processing system. It is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual
display, where a user can give input or control it through simply touching the screen
with one or more fingers.

Fig.1.13: Touch Device

The touch screen devices are very easy to use and operate and do not require much skill.
They are based on either pressure sensitive, electrically sensitive, photo sensitive
material. The user can directly touch the screen with his/her fingertip. When the user
touches the screen, the sensors on the screen detect the touch of a finger.

Example:

ATM (Automated Teller Machine) used for financial transactions.

***Remember:

1. Touch screen also called as touch panel.

2. All ATM machines use the touch screen.

16
Web Camera

Web camera is a small digital device connected to your computer which is capable of
taking pictures as well as high-definition videos and transmits them over the internet. It
is basically an input device that captures digital images/videos.

Fig.1.14: Web Camera

Web camera comes with software that needs to be installed on the computer to help
users record video on or stream it from the Web.
You will need the following to work with web camera:
1. A computer
2. A connection to the internet
3. A driver software
4. A webpage and web host

Microphone

A microphone is an audio input device. It is also called as "mic" or "mike". It captures

audio by converting sound waves into electrical signals and then these signals can be
amplified as analog signals or may be converted to digital signals, which can be
processed by some digital audio devices or computer.

17
 Fig.1.15: Microphone

Microphone is useful in recording some speech as an input and converting this input into
digital form which can be played as and when required. A user can connect a
microphone to the computer and then he/she can play the audio recording which was
stored in digital form to the computer.

***Remember

1. Sound card is used for digitizing voice input.

2. The process of converting an audio signal into digital form is called digitizing.

Joystick

A joystick is an input device that enables its user to control a character or machine with
the help of a computer program. It looks like a control device such as flight simulator.

Joystick consists of a small rod known as stick or lever mounted on a rolling boll. This
stick is used to control the cursor available over the CRT screen. When this stick or
lever is operated, its movement is converted into electrical signals which are then sent to
the Central Processing Unit (CPU) for further processing. The CPU interprets these
signals and displays the movement on the CRT screen. It is mostly used as the game
controller.

18
 Fig.1.16: Joystick

In this diagram:

1. Stick
2. Base
3. Trigger
4. Extra Buttons
5. Auto-fire Switch
6. Throttle
7. Hat Switch
8. Suction Cup

***Remember

The joystick was invented at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory by C. B.

Mirick in 1926.

Digitizing Tablet

Digitizing tablet is a small size notebook kind of input device, which enables you to
enter drawings and sketches into a computer. It is also called as digitizer or graphics
tablet. Because of its portability, it can be carried out easily anywhere we want. It
requires a pen called digital pen or stylus. This pen looks like a simple ballpoint pen but
uses an electronic head instead of ink. It support built in handwriting recognition
software which recognizes the data written over the screen.

19
 Fig.1.17: Digitizing Table

A digitizing tablet has a cursor which is called a puck. This puck is similar to a mouse,
except that it has a window with cross hairs for pinpoint placement with 6 buttons. The
tablet contains electronics that enable it to detect movement of the cursor or pen and
translate them into digital signals that it sends to the computer. Each point on the
digitizing tablet represents a point on the display screen. The static nature of digitizing
tablets makes them particularly effective for tracing drawings.

***Remember
Modern digitizing tablets support a mouse emulation mode, in which the pen or cursor
acts like a mouse.

Output Device

Output devices are the peripherals used to output result to the user.

Printers

Printer is one of the most common output devices of a computer. It is an external output
device that receives data from a computer and generates output in the form of graphics /
text on a paper. The computer sends signals via commands to the printer and printer
works according to those commands.

Printers are made up of two types of materials:

1. Electronic Circuits
2. Mechanical Assemblies.


20
The electronic circuit is mainly used to control the mechanical assembly which consist
of a print head, paper mover, sensor, carriage motor and ribbon.

Characteristics of Printer

The basic characteristics of a printer are as follows:

1. Quality,
2. Speed,
3. Memory,
4. Graphics/font and
5. Type (Printing Mechanism)

Types of Printer

Printers are classified into two categories:

1. Serial Printer,
2. Parallel Printer

Serial printers are those printers in which each bit is transmitted from the computer and
the same is received by the printer. Eight bits makes a character. In such type of printers,
bit-by-bit transmission of characters takes place between computer and printer in a
single communication.

Whereas in case of parallel printer, it has a group of 8 wires to have an interface with the
computer. Each wire is capable to carry one bit of a character at a time, therefore all
eight bits that make a character are transmitted to the printer. Thus we can say parallel
transmission is takes place in case of parallel printers.

Examples of printer

Some common printers used are summarized in following table:

Table 1.1 : Types of printer

Serial Serial Non-impact Parallel Parallel Non-

Impact Impact impact

1. Dot 1. Thermal 1. Line Printer 1. Ink-Jet Printer

21
 Matrix Printer 2. Chain Printer 2. Laser Printer
2. Daisy 2. Electro 3. Drum Printer
Wheel Resistive
Printer Printer

Impact & Non-impact printers

An impact printer makes contact with the paper. It usually forms the print image by
pressing an inked ribbon against the paper using a hammer or pins, whereas non-impact
printers do not use a striking device to produce characters on the paper; and these
printers do not hammer against the paper. These printers can print a complete page at a
WLPHWKDW¶VZK\they are also called as Page Printers.

***Remember

Impact printers are helpful in printing multiple copies at a time.

Dot Matrix

In this type of printers, a character is printed by striking pins against an ink ribbon. Each
pin makes a dot or selected number of dots from a matrix of dots. Pins are arranged in
the form of matrix and combinations of dots, form a character.

Fig.1.18: Dot Matrix Printer

Working Principle

22
When a print command is given by a computer, the printer is activated to print the given
data/information and then the print head starts moving from the leftmost column to the
rightmost column of a paper. You must know that an inked ribbon between the print
head and the paper is available to print. Look at the pattern of printing a character
through dot matrix printer:

Fig.1.19: Character pattern of a dot matrix printer

***Remember

Dot Matrix printers are low cost and high speed printers. But the quality of print is not
so good.

Laser

A laser printer uses a laser beam to produce an image on a photosensitive drum. It

directs a laser beam at a mirror which bounces the beam onto a drum. The drum has a
special coating on it to which toner (that is an ink powder) sticks. Using patterns of
small dots, a laser beam conveys information from the computer to a positively charged
drum to become neutralized. From all those areas of drum which become neutralized,
the toner detaches. As the paper rolls by the drum, the toner is transferred to the paper
printing the letters or other graphics on the paper. A hot roller bonds the toner to the
paper.

23
 Fig.1.20: Laser Printer

Laser printer uses the same technology as copy machines. Laser printers produce very
high quality text and graphics but laser printers are very expensive.

Inkjet

Inkjet printer uses the principle of the dot matrix printer, but instead of pins, it uses an
array of nozzles which spray jets of ink onto the paper in a series of dots that make the
characters and graphics. A print head scans the paper in horizontal strip, using a motor
assembly to move it from left to right and back. Another motor assembly rolls the paper
in vertical steps. A strip of the image is printed, and then the paper moves on, ready for
the next strip.

Fig. 1.21: Inkjet Printer

Inkjet printers are the most affordable colour printers and offers high quality image
print. Printers are expensive in terms of the cost per page is high and these are slow as
compared to laser printer.

Thermal Printers

Thermal Printer is a type of printer that produces a printed image by pushing heated pins
against heat-sensitive paper. When the paper passes over the thermal print head, the
coating turns black in the areas where it is heated and we get the printed image as a
result.

24
 Fig.1.22: Thermal Printer

Thermal printers are widely used in calculators and fax machines.

Plotters

Plotter is an output device which is used to produce the graphical output. It is basically a
kind of printer that interprets commands from a computer to make line drawings on
paper with one or more automated pens. The plotter can draw continuous point-to-point
lines directly from graphics files or commands.

***Remember

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RQWKHSDSHU

Types of Plotters

1. Flat Bed Plotters,

2. Drum Plotters.

1. Flat Bed Plotters

In this type of plotter, the paper on which something has to be plotted is fixed on a flat
rectangular surface. 7KH SDSHU GRHVQ¶W PRYH EXW WKH SHQ-holding mechanism moves
across the paper and plots the corresponding graphical information. The pen holding
mechanism is designed to hold more than one pen. For making any pattern, several pens
of different colours are used when and wherever required. When a command for
drawing anything is given to the plotter, the electronic circuitry activates the pen-

25
holding mechanism and a specific pen is selected from the pen-holder. Thus plotter plots
the pattern accordingly.

2. Drum Plotter

In this type of plotter, the paper on which anything has to be plotted is placed over the
drum. The drum rotates opposite the direction of pen-holder, which moves only in the
horizontal direction and thus plotter plots the pattern accordingly.

Advantages of plotters
Following are some advantages of plotters:
1. They can print on a wide variety of flat materials including cardboard, plywood,
plastic, aluminium sheet or steel.
2. A plotter can draw the same pattern for thousands of times without any image
degradation.
3. Plotters can maintain high resolution.

Disadvantages of plotters
Following are some disadvantages of plotters:
1. Plotter is more expensive than a printer.
2. Plotter is quite large when compared to a traditional printer.

Monitors

Computer Monitor is an output device. It is the most commonly used output device. It is
also called as a computer screen. It displays the video and graphics information (i.e.
images and text) generated by the computer.

A monitor is made up of a screen, a power supply, circuitry, buttons to adjust screen

settings, and casing that holds all of these components.

***Remember

1. Monitors display information at a much higher resolution than a television.

26
 2. It is also referred as a video display unit (VDU), or video display terminal (VDT).

CRT

CRT stands for Cathode Ray Tube. A CRT monitor contains millions of small red,
green, and blue phosphor dots that glow when struck by an electron beam that travels
across the screen to create a visible image.

Fig.1.23: CRT Monitor

In a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), the "Cathode" is a heated filament. The "Ray" is a stream
of electrons generated by an electron gun that naturally pour off a heated cathode into
the vacuum. The heated filament in a vacuum created inside a glass known as "Tube."
As electrons are negative terminal and anode is positive terminal, it attracts the electrons
pouring off the cathode. Screen is coated with phosphor that is an organic material that
glows when struck by the electron beam.

Cathode Ray Tube consists of several components. It is shown in following fig:

27
 Fig.1.24: Cathode Ray Tube

The electron gun generates a beam of electrons which are accelerated by anodes.
Deflecting coils produce an ELF (i.e. Extremely Low Frequency) electromagnetic field
that allows constant direction of the electron beam. CRT has two sets of deflecting coils,
one horizontal and another is vertical. Above figure is showing only one set of coils for
simplicity. The intensity of the beam can be varied. When electron beam strikes the
phosphor-coated screen, it produces a tiny, bright visible spot.

Advantages of CRT Monitors

1. It can easily scale to various resolutions.

2. The contrast ratios and depths of colours of CRT monitor are much greater than
LCD monitor.
3. CRT Monitors are less expensive.

Disadvantages of CRT Monitors

1. The energy needed for the electron beam of CRT monitors is more than LCD
Monitor.
2. CRT monitors generate a lot more heat than the LCD monitors.
3. CRT monitors requires more space.

TFT
28
TFT stands for Thin Film Transistor. It is a type of display in which each pixel is
controlled by one transistor therefore the current that triggers pixel illumination can be
smaller and therefore can be switched on and off more quickly. Because of each pixel
has its own transistor on the glass itself, it offers more control over the images thus it
deliver sharp images

Fig.1.25: TFT Monitor

Advantage

The TFT technology provides the best resolution of all the flat-panel techniques.

Disadvantage

It is the most expensive monitor.

***Remember

TFT is also known as active matrix display technology.

Plasma

Plasma monitor is a display device in which each pixel on the screen is illuminated by
an ionized gas (a mixture of neon and xenon). In this type of monitor, a thin layer of
pixels exists between two transparent glass panels. Each pixel is composed of three gas-
filled cells (one each of red, green and blue colour). A grid of tiny electrodes applies an
electric current to the individual cells, causing the gas in the cells to ionize. This ionized
gas is known as plasma. This emits frequency UV rays, which stimulate the cells
phosphors to glow.

29
 Fig.1.26: Plasma
***Remember

1. Plasma monitors are thinner than CRT monitors.

2. Plasma monitors are brighter than LCD monitors.
3. Plasma monitors are flat rather than slightly curved..
4. Plasma monitors are free of distortion on the edges of the screen.

LCD Projector

An LCD projector is a type of projector based on Liquid Crystal Displays which can
display images, data or video. An LCD projector works on transmissive technology. A
standard lamp is the light source for an LCD projector. An LCD projector allows the
source light to pass through the LCD panels of three colors. The panels allow some
colors to pass through and block some colors to form the images on the screen.

Fig.1.27: LCD Projector

Advantages of LCD Projector

1. LCD projectors are cheaper than other projectors.

2. LCD projectors deliver higher lumen output.
3. It provides greater zoom magnification.
4. LCD projectors do not suffer from rainbow effects.

30
Disadvantages of LCD Projector

1. LCD Projectors do not offer high contrast picture quality.

2. Images may suffer from black and dead pixels.
3. The LCD panels have a limited life.
4. Maintenance cost of LCD projectors is higher.
5. These projectors heat up more quickly than DLP projectors.
ϲ͘ Images can be degrades, if an LCD projector is used frequently over a long period
of time.

DLP Projector

A DLP projector is a type of projector based on Digital Light Processing chip. This
Digital Light Processing chip is called as Digital Micro mirror Device (DMD).

Fig.1.28: DLP Projector

A DLP projector is consists of million tiny mirrors. Each mirror in this chip is capable of
independent adjustment, moving toward or away from the light source to create a dark
or light pixel, however, the image is in gray scale. Color is fed to the DMD by a beam of
light that passes through a spinning color wheel before it reaches the chip. Each segment
of the color wheel delivers one color. After color reaches the DMD, the image is fed
through the lens and onto the projection screen.

31
 Fig.1.29: DLP Projector Technology

Advantages of DLP Projector

1. DLP projector offers a clear image with good contrast.

2. Maintenance cost of DLP projectors is less.
3. No degradation of image quality over time.

Disadvantages of DLP Projector

1. Components of DLP Projector are not sealed so dust can settle on the color wheel
and affect image quality.
2. Most DLP projectors are not compatible with zoom lenses.

Speaker

Speakers are one of the most common output devices used with computer systems. The
purpose of speakers is to produce audio output that can be heard by the listener.

32
 Fig.1.30: Speaker
The sound produced by speakers is defined by frequency and amplitude. The frequency
determines how high or low the pitch of the sound is.

Speakers convert electromagnetic waves into sound waves. The speakers receive audio
input from a device such as a computer or an audio receiver. This input may be either in
analog or digital form. Analog speakers simply amplify the analog electromagnetic
waves into sound waves. Since sound waves are produced in analog form, digital
speakers must first convert the digital input to an analog signal, and then generate the
sound waves.

Speakers typically come in pairs, which allow them to produce stereo sound. This means
the left and right speakers transmit audio on two completely separate channels. Surround
systems may include four to seven speakers plus a woofer.

==============================================================
=
Object Type Questions
==============================================================
=

1. Any data or instruction entered into the memory of a computer is considered

as
(a) Storage (b) Output
(c) Input (d) Information

Answer: (c) Input

2. The processor which performs arithmetical and logical operations is called

(a) Control (b) ALU

(c) Register (d) Cache Memory

Answer: (b) ALU

33
3. The CPU can perform read or write operation at any point in

(a) ROM (b) PROM

(c) EPROMSS (d) RAM

Answer: (d) RAM

4. MICR reader is an ______________ device.

(a) Input (b) Output
(c) Electric (d) Storage

Answer: (a) Input

5. Which of the following device is used for translating information from a
computer into pictorial form on paper?

(a) Mouse (b) Plotter

(c) Touch Panel (d) Card Punch

Answer: (b) Plotter

6. A memory in CPU that holds program instructions, input data, intermediate

results and the output information produced during processing is
__________
(a) System (b) Primary Memory
(c) Secondary Memory (d) None of the above
Answer: (b) Primary Memory
7. A light sensitive device that converts drawing, printed text or other images
into digital form is

(a) Keyboard (b) Plotter

(c) Scanner (d) OMR
Answer: (c) Scanner
8. Dot-matrix, Deskjet, Inkjet and Laser are all types of which computer
peripherals?
(a) Printers (b) Software
(c) Monitors (d) Keyboards

Answer: (a) Printers

34
==============================================================
=
Review Questions
==============================================================
=

1. Draw block diagram of a computer and explain in brief.

2. Explain input and output devices in brief.
3. What are the basic operations that are performed in ALU?
4. Write short note on web camera.
5. Write short note on printer.
6. What do you understand by impact and non-impact printers?
7. Explain working principle of a dot matrix printer.
8. Explain the function and use of bar code reader device.
9. Explain different types of projector in brief.
10. What are different types of monitors? Explain

==============================================================
=

35
 Chapter 2
Evolution and Generation of Computer Systems
===============================================================
Key Concepts

9 Computer System Characteristics and capabilities:

R Speed,
R Accuracy,
R Reliability,
R Memory Capabilities,
R Repeatability,

9 Types of Computers & its Applications

R Analog,
R Digital,
R Hybrid,
R General & Special Purpose Computer,

9 Application of computer system,

9 Computer Generations
9 Classification of Computer Systems:
9 Characteristics of Micros, Minis, Mainframes & Super Computer,
9 Evolution of micro-computers:
9 PCs: Comparative study w.r.t. Micro-processor, clock speed, data bus, controllers,
memory, and peripheral interface of PC to Pentium computer systems.

==============================================================

2.1 Computer System Characteristics and Capabilities:

A computer is an electronic device capable of executing instructions for information

processing. A computer system comes with the following characteristics:

36
2.1.1 Speed

A computer is an extremely fast information processing device. It can compute all

types of computation within a fraction of a second. It is capable in executing millions
of instructions per second. In general, no human being can solve the complex
problems or computation, faster than computer as it takes only few seconds for those
calculations for that we take hours to complete.

2.1.2 Accuracy

Accuracy means the correctness of the processed data. Since computer systems work
with the help of programs, so what ever input we give it, we get the result
accordingly. In other words we can say that it gives results with 100% accuracy, for
correct input. If we enter incorrect data we can not get the correct output using
computer.

***Remember

The computer is applied in scientific and industrial calculation where long range
data is used for information.

2.1.3 Reliability

The computer is a reliable machine because it gives consistent result. It processes

data with high accuracy without any mistakes, every time. It can perform
complicated calculations without any problem and produce reliable results.
Reliability of a computer system is typically as high as 99.99%.

2.1.4 Memory Capabilities

Computers can have a large amount of memory to store a very large amount of data
or information ǁŝƚŚ appropriate format. It has an internal memory called as RAM,
which is the main memory of the computer system which is volatile in nature, as well
as a secondary storage which can store a large amount of data and programs
permanently. These stored data and programs are available any time for processing
further. Similarly data downloaded from the internet can be stored on such storage.

37
 2.1.5 Repeatability

A computer always produces the same result if any number of times calculation is
made by any number of persons. It ensures no variation in the results, if computation
is made at different times and through different persons.

2.2 Types of Computers & its Applications

Based on the type of data they are designed to process and the principle of working,
computers are classified into the following types:

Fig. 2.1: Classification of Computers

2.2.1 Analog

Analog computers are computers that measure physical quantity (i.e. that occurs in a
continuous flow) such as temperature, pressure, length and voltage variations etc and
convert them to a numeric value. Analog computers operate on data which are in the
form of continuously variable physical quantity. Data obtained through measuring
instruments is known as continuous data e.g. speed of a car is measured by the
speedometer or the temperature is measured by a Thermometer.

38
 

Fig.2.2: Analog Computer

2.2.2 Digital

Digital computer is a computer that performs calculations and logical operations with
quantities represented as digits, usually in the binary number system. Digital
computers operate using discrete electric signals rather than continuous. Digital
computers are used to process alphanumeric and graphical data.

Fig. 2.3: Digital Computer

Comparison of Analog and Digital computers

S. Analog Computers Digital Computers

No.
1 Analog Computers Work on
continuous values.
2 Analog computers are used to
calculate / measure analog
quantities like speed and
temperature.
3 Analog Computers have low
memory.
4 Analog computers have Slow
speed.
Digital computers Work on
discrete values.
Digital computers are used to
calculate mathematical and logical
operations like addition,
subtraction, multiplication and
division.
Digital computers have a very
large memory
Digital computers have fast speed.
39
5 Analog computers provide less
accurate results therefore are less
reliable.
6 Normally Analog Computers are
special purpose
7 Examples of Analog computers
are: thermometer, analog clock,
speedometer etc.
Digital computers provide 100%
accurate results therefore are more
reliable.
Digital Computers are general
purpose
Examples of digital computers are:
Personal Computer, laptops, smart
phones etc.

2.2.3 Hybrid

A hybrid computer is an analog computer controlled by a digital computer instead of

human being. Hybrid computers are the combination of both analog and digital
computers. The hybrid computers accept both the analog and/or digital data for
processing. These are basically used in simulation applications.

Fig.2.4: Hybrid Computer

Hybrid computers provide a high degree of precision than analog computers and high
speed and control than digital computers.

Examples of Hybrid Computers

In a hospital ICU, DQDORJGHYLFHLVXVHGWRPHDVXUH DSDWLHQW¶VKHDUWIXQFWLRQVDQG

then converted to numbers and supplied to digital components that monitor the
SDWLHQW¶VYLWDOVLJQV$Q\IOXFWXDWLRQVFDQEHQRWLFHGLPPHGLDWHO\

40
 2.2.4 General & Special Purpose Computer

General purpose computers can be used in different applications since they can store
different sets of instructions and programs.

Special purpose computer can be fixed permanently in the machine e.g. processor that
are installed in automobiles to control fuel, braking system etc.

2.3 Application of Computer System

Different applications of computer system are as follows:

1. Computers are primarily used to access the internet.

2. Computers are helpful in education. Various educational institutions are using
computers to educate the students.
3. Computers are being used in hospitals to keep record of patients and medicines.
4. Computers are also being used in government sectors e.g. Income Tax
Department, Sales Tax Department, Weather Forecasting etc. Aadhaar card, PAN
Card, Driving Licence are the best example of computer application in
government services.
5. Banking is totally dependent on computer systems. Online banking and use of
ATM machines also involved the computer systems.
6. Computer has a lot of business applications e.g. billing, maintaining employee
records, payroll calculations etc.
7. Computers are widely used in different fields of engineering e.g. civil
engineering, mechanical engineering, automobile engineering, industrial
engineering etc.
8. Computer systems are very much useful in defence field. Computers are largely
used in modern weapons and missile control system.
9. Computer systems are used in planes and ships.
10. Computer systems are also used in digital marketing and advertisements.

2.4 Computer Generations

Computer Generation specifies the change in computer based on varying hardware

technology, but nowadays, generation includes both hardware and software, which
together make up an entire computer system.
There are totally five computer generations known till date. Each generation has been
discussed with detail along with their time period, characteristics.

41
First Generation
The first generation computer used vacuum tubes as the basic components for memory
and circuitry for CPU (Central Processing Unit). These vacuum tubes like electric bulbs
produced a lot of heat and were fused frequently, WKDW¶VZK\ they were very expensive
and could not be afforded. These computers were limited to solving one problem at a
time. Input was based on punched cards and paper tape and output came out on
printouts. They used magnetic drums for data storage. In this generation of computer
mainly batch processing were used as an operating system and machine code and
electric wired board were used as programming language.

Example of First Generation Computers

The UNIVAC and ENIAC computers

Fig. 2.5: First Generation Computers

Advantages
1. Vacuum tube technology made possible to make electronic digital computers.
2. These computers could calculate data in millisecond.

42
Disadvantages
1. First generation computers had limited programming capabilities; they used only
machine language and were very slow in speed.
2. They were heated very soon due to thousands of vacuum tubes and were consumed a
large amount of energy, therefore air conditioning was required.
3. First generation computers were not portable as they were very large in size, not
reliable, and they required lots of maintenance.

Second Generation
The second generation computers replaced vacuum tube with transistors, thus the size of
the computers of second generation was decreased as compared to first generation
computers. The transistor were cheaper, consumed less power, more compact in size,
more reliable and faster than the first generation computers based on the technology of
vacuum tubes. In this generation, magnetic cores were used as primary memory and
magnetic tape and magnetic disks as secondary storage devices. In this generation
assembly language and high level programming language like FORTRAN, COBOL
were used.

Example of Second Generation Computers

The IBM 7094 series, IBM 1400 series and CDC 164 etc.

Fig. 2.6: Second Generation Computers

43
Advantages
1. Second generation computers were faster, reliable and smaller as compared to
First generation computers.
2. Second generation computers consumed less electricity and generate less heat
as compared to first generation computers.

Disadvantages
1. Air conditioning was required for cooling,
2. Maintenance was required,
3. Costly,
4. Used only for special purpose.
Third Generation
The third generation computers used the integrated circuits (IC). A single IC chip may
contain thousands of transistors, capacitors and resistors along with the associated
circuitry, called semiconductor. The size of an IC is about ¼ square inch. The main
advantage of IC is not only its small size but also its superior performance and reliability
than the previous generation technology. Magnetic core was replaced by micro-chip.
Also 256 bit RAM was introduced as main memory. The usage of auxiliary storage
devices was started. Size of main memory reached about 4 megabytes and storage drive
capacities increased up to 100 megabytes. Keyboards were used to provide input and
monitors were used to get the output from the machine. In this generation Time-sharing,
Real-time, Multi-programming were used as an operating system and FORTRAN,
COBOL, PASCAL, BASIC, ALGOL etc. were used as high level language.

Example of Third Generation Computers

IBM 370, IBM System/360, UNIVAC 1108 and UNIVAC AC 9000 etc.
 

44
 
Fig. 2.7: Third Generation Computers
Advantages
1. Less maintenance required thus cost has been reduced considerably.
2. Computers of this generation support high level language.

Disadvantages
1. Third generation computers required highly sophisticated technology required for
the manufacturing of IC chips.
2. Cooling still required in computers of this generation.

Fourth Generation
The fourth generation computers used the microprocessor. They made the use of Very
Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuits. VLSI circuits having about 5000 transistors and
other circuit elements and their associated circuits on a single chip called as
microprocessor, made it possible to have microcomputers which made computers of this
generation more powerful, compact, reliable, and affordable. As a result, we got the
computers which we see around us. This is the generation where we are working today.
With this generation the operating systems like M.S. DOS and Windows were developed
and introduced. Windows supported Graphic User Interface (GUI) to make easy the
interaction of user with computer. Middle level language like C and High level language
like C++ are introduced for writing computer programs.

45
Example of Fourth Generation Computers
IBM 3033, HP 3000, PDP ± 11 and CYBER ± 205, Apple, Macintosh, IBM, Pentium
etc.

Fig. 2.8: Fourth Generation Computers

Advantages
1. Fourth generation computers have huge storage capacity and higher calculating
speed.
2. This generation reduced the size, cost and maintenance of the computers,
3. No AC required for cooling,
4. Very chip,
5. Portable and reliable.

Disadvantages
Computers of this generation required the latest technology for manufacturing of
Microprocessors.

46
Fifth Generation
Fifth generation computers are based on artificial intelligence, are still in development,
and scientists are constantly working to increase the processing power of computers.
They are trying to create a computer with real IQ with the help of advanced
programming and technologies. Computers of such technology can understand spoken
words & imitate human reasoning. It can respond to its surroundings using different
types of sensors.
Super computers are being developed with the use of Super Large Scale Integrated
(SLSI) Circuits incorporating ten million electronic components on a single chip.

Artificial intelligence is a reality made possible by using parallel processing and

superconductors. Leaning to the future, computers will be radically transformed again
by quantum computation, molecular and Nano technology. We are transition Fifth
generation computers are conceived as a knowledge processing system. The goal of
fifth-generation computing is to develop machines which can process and respond to
natural language, and have capability to learn and organise themselves i.e. they must be
capable for thinking and taking decisions like human beings or we can say to develop a
µ7KLQNLQJ0DFKLQH¶. The concepts of parallel processing, distributed computing, natural
language processing, expert system are being incorporated with these generation
computers.
Example of Fifth Generation Computers :e.g. CRAY, PARAM-10000.
AI includes robotics, neural networks, game playing, development of expert systems to
make decisions in real life situations, natural language understanding and generation.
Advantages
1. More user friendly interfaces with multimedia features.
2. Availability of very powerful and compact computers at cheaper rates.
Summary of Computer Generations

S. Period of Generation Description

No. Generation
(Approx.)
1 1940-1955
2 1956-1963
3 1964-1971
4 1972-2010
5 2010 onwards
First Generation Vacuum Tubes
Second Generation Transistors
Third Generation Integrated Circuits
Fourth Generation Microprocessors
Fifth Generation Artificial
Intelligence

47
2.5 Classification of Computer Systems
Classification of Computers based on types of data they are designed to process

Fig. 2.10: Classification of Computers types of data they are designed to process

Classification of Computers based on their size and functioning

Fig. 2.11: Classification of Computers based on their size and functioning

Classification of Computers based on types of components they are

designed

Fig. 2.12: Classification of Computers based on types of components

48
2.6 Characteristics of Micros, Minis, Mainframes & Super Computer

Characteristics of Micro Computer

Some important characteristics of Micro Computer are:

1. Micro computers are general purpose computers, are also known as personal
computers (PCs).
2. They are small in sizes, relatively inexpensive and used at our homes.
3. Hardware peripherals can be attached easily.
4. Micro computer can handle one user at a time.
5. These are based on microprocessor technology, a silicon chip containing the
important circuitry to perform operations.
6. They are highly flexible and designed for small scale personal use and business
application.
7. These computers are used for documentation, making power point presentation,
printing tasks and other usual tasks that u all know.
8. Micro computers include Desktop computers, Laptops, tablet PC's, Personal Digital
Assistants (PDA) etc.

Fig.: Micro Computer

Characteristics of Mini Computer

Some important characteristics of Mini Computer are:

1. Mini Computers are bigger than micro-computers but smaller than the mainframes.
2. Minicomputers are multiprocessing system and can support up to 200 users at a time
but the power of processing is not as great as the mainframe and supercomputers.
3. They fill the gap between mainframe and a macro computer.

49
4. They are designed for computerization of data, scientific research, industrial process,
data collection and telephone switches.
5. It integrates commercial and technical operations better than micro computer.
6. Less processing speed than mainframe computers.

Fig.: Mini Computer

Characteristics of Mainframe Computer

Some important characteristics of Mainframe Computer are:

1. Mainframe computers can store huge amount of data.

2. They are large in size and memory,
3. They are powerful and expensive but not powerful as super computers.
4. These are capable to have different operating system on the same time.
5. They support time sharing and virtual memory.
6. Mainframe Computers/Servers are used for transaction process.

Fig.2.4: Mainframe Computer

50
Characteristics of Super Computer

Some important characteristics of Super Computer are:

1. Super computers are one of the fastest computers currently available.

2. Super computers can perform trillion of operations per second.
3. Super computers have high -level of computational capacity.
4. Super computers have great speed and memory and can perform any jobs faster than
the present generation computers.
5. They are very costly.
6. It is generally used for scientific and engineering applications that handle very large
databases or do a great amount of computation e.g. nuclear explosion testing, micro
biology task, sophisticated animations, weather forecasting, space operations etc.
7. Banking financial transactions, stock exchanges, insurance companies, ATM
transactions, are some examples of using mainframe servers for maintaining data.

Fig.: Super Computer

2.7 Evolution of micro-computers

A microcomputer is a small, relatively inexpensive computer with a microprocessor as

its central processing unit (CPU).
³Robert Noyce´ and ³chartered Ted Hoff's´ was the founder of the Intel (a transistor
and memory chip manufacturer) Company. They had to find new applications for silicon
technology in 1969. The microcomputer was the result. Hoff thought it would be neat to
use MOS LSI technology to produce a computer. Because of the ever growing density of
Large Scale Integrated (LSI) Circuits a "computer on a chip" was inevitable. But in 1970
they could only get about 2000 transistors on a chip, and a conventional CPU would
need about 10 times that number. They developed two microcomputers after ten years
by scaling down the requirements.

51
Large-scale integrated circuits appeared in the early 1970s. The development that
allowed the processor to fit on a chip also allowed chips to be used for memory. These
advances led to the invention of the microcomputer

In 1974, Intel came up with the first successful "computer on a chip" design called the
8080. It ran at 2 MHz and performed computing functions via an 8 bit Central
Processing Unit (CPU). The 8080 had a 40 pin design that allowed for a 16 bit bus.

The evolution of microcomputers was based on the Integrated Circuit (or Chip). This
technology allows a 5-millimetre-square chip to contain all the logic needed for a
computer processor to run programs. This technological breakthrough made possible a
massive reduction in the size of computers, especially compared to transistor-based
logic, where components were wired onto boards. The size reduction enabled logic
switching at many millions of times a second.
Microcomputer technology is still evolving. More recently computers have been enabled
to accommodate voice input and output.
2.8 PCs: Comparative study w.r.t. Micro-processor, clock speed, data bus,
controllers, memory, and peripheral interface of PC to Pentium computer
systems.

S. Factors Mini Computers Mainframe Super Computers

No. Computers

1 Micro 16 bit- 32 bit 32 bit- 64 bit 64 bit - 96 bit

Processor processor processor processor

2 Clock Speed Can process 10 ± Can process 30± 100 Can process 400 ±
30 MIPS MIPS 10,000 MIPS

3 Data Bus
4 Controllers
5 Memory 2 GB 1,024,000 GB
6 Peripheral Magnetic Tapes, High end Tapes, Line Mini Computers
Interface Line Printers and Printers, Terminals
Terminals etc.
*MIPS Million instructions per second

52
==============================================================
Objective Type Questions
==============================================================

1. Dedicated computer means:

(A) Does not have operating system (B) Used by single person
(C) Assigned to one and only one task (D) All of these

Answer: (C) Assigned to one and only one task

2. Hybrid computer is:

(A) Digital Computer (B) Analog computer

(C) Mixture of analog and digital (D) None of the above

Answer: (C) Mixture of analog and digital

3. Which of the following is a type of system software used in micro computers?

(A) MS-DOS (B) UNIX

(C) LINUX (D) All of the above

Answer: (D) All of the above

4. Who invented the analytical engine?

(A) Blaise Pascal (B) George Boole

(C) Charles Babbage (D) Dr Herman Hollerith

Answer: (C) Charles Babbage

5. The basic architecture of computer was developed by

(A) John Von Neumann (B) Charles Babbage

(C) Blaise Pascal (D) Garden Moore

Answer: (A) John Von Neumann

53
6. In how many generations a computer can be classified?

(A) 3 (B) 4 (C) 5 (D) 6

Answer: (C) 5

7. First generation of computer was based on which technology?

(A) Transistor (B) Integrated Circuits (ICs)

(C) VLSI (D) Vaccum Tube

Answer: (D) Vaccum Tube

8. Second generation computers are made of:

(A) Transistor (B) Integrated Circuits (ICs)

(C) VLSI (D) Vaccum Tube

Answer: (A) Transistor

9. Microprocessor was introduced in which generation of computer?

(A) Second Generation (B) Fourth Generation

(C) Both (A) and (B) (D) Third Generation

Answer: (B) Fourth Generation

10. Fifth generation computers are based on

(A) Artificial Intelligence (B) Programming Intelligence

(C) System Knowledge (D) VLSI

Answer: (A) Artificial Intelligence

54
==============================================================
Review Questions
==============================================================

1. Write the characteristics of computer.

2. What are Analog, Digital and Hybrid Computer? Explain with the example of
each.
3. Differentiate between analog and digital computers.
4. Classify the computers as micro computers and mainframe computers.
5. Write short note on types of computer systems.
6. Describe the evolution of computers in terms of micro-processor, clock-speed,
data bus, memory and peripherals.
7. Enumerate various cause of a computer system failure.
8. Explain disk defragmentation.
9. What is Buses? Explain Address bus, Data bus and Control bus.
10.Explain various generations of a computer.
11.What is a mainframe computer? Where do you find the use of mainframe
computer?

==============================================================

55
 Chapter 3
Number System, Codes & Data Representation
===============================================================
Key Concepts
9 Number System

ƒ Decimal Number Systems,

ƒ Binary Number Systems,
ƒ Octal Number Systems,
ƒ Hexadecimal Number Systems,

9 Inter-Conversion from

ƒ Decimal to Binary,
ƒ Decimal to Octal,
ƒ Decimal to Hexadecimal,

9 Conversion of

ƒ Binary Number System to Decimal,

ƒ Binary Number System to Hexadecimal,

9 Codes used for information exchange between computers

ƒ ASCII,
ƒ Unicode,

9 Data representation

ƒ Bit,
ƒ Nibble,
ƒ Byte,
ƒ Kilo Byte,
ƒ Mega Byte,
ƒ Giga Byte,
ƒ Tera Byte,
ƒ Peta Byte.
56
3.1 Number System

A number system is a way to represent numbers or we can say number system is a

system for representing numbers of a certain type in certain format. Computers are made
of digital electronics circuitry. And an electronic circuit can exists either in ON or OFF
state. Most of the electronic components of a computer use voltage level to indicate their
present state. This pattern of ON and OFF stored inside the computer are used to encode
numbers. Such numbers are encoded using the binary number system. There are several
number systems to represent numbers.

Some common number systems are:

1. Decimal Number Systems

2. Binary Number Systems
3. Octal Number Systems
4. Hexa-decimal Number Systems

1. Decimal Number Systems

We generally use the base-10 number system, which is also called decimal. The Number
3256 is may be represented as 325610 in Decimal Number system. It consists of the digit
6 in the units position, 5 in the tens position, 2 in the hundreds position, and 3 in the
thousands position.

Its value can be written as:

(3 x 1000) + (2 x 100) + (5 x 10) +(6 x 1) = 3000 + 200 + 50 + 6 = 3256

Now see the following example

In 325610 the digit 6 signifies 6 x 100 = 6

In 326510 the digit 6 signifies 6 x 101 = 60
In 362510 the digit 6 signifies 6 x 102 = 600
In 632510 the digit 6 signifies 6 x 103 = 6000

Here it is clear that the same digit signifies different values, depending on the position it
occupies in the number.

57
2. Binary Number Systems

A binary number is a sequence of the digits 0 and 1, such as 1101001. This binary
number has no fractional part therefore it is called as binary integer.
A binary number having a fractional part contains a binary point (also called a radix
point), as in the number 1001.01.

Base or Radix of a number system

The base of a number system (also called the radix) is equal to the number of digits used
in the system.

The decimal system uses the ten digits 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 and has a base of 10 whereas
the binary system uses two digits 0 1 and has a base of 2.

A binary number is sometimes written with a subscript 2 when there is a chance that the
binary number would otherwise be mistaken for a decimal number for example the
binary number 110 could easily be mistaken for the decimal number 110, unless we
write it as (110)2
Similarly, a decimal number that may be mistaken for binary is often written with a
subscript 10, as (110)10

Long binary numbers are sometimes written with their bits in groups of four for easier
reading.

The number 1001000101000010 is easier to read when written as

1001 0001 0100 0010

3. Octal Number Systems

The octal number system uses eight digits as from 0 to 7, i.e. 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and hence
has a base of eight. In octal number system we represent the binary numbers as a set of 3
digits (23 = 8).

58
4. Hexadecimal Number Systems

Hexadecimal numbers (also known as hex number) can be obtained by making the
group of 4 bits in a binary number and representing each such set by a single number or
letter. A hex number one-fourth the length of the binary number is thus obtained.
Since a 4-bit group of binary digits can have a value between 0 and 15, we need 16
symbols to represent all of these values, thus the base of hexadecimal numbers is 16.
And for this, we use the digits from 0 to 9 and the capital letters from A to F.

***Note:

Look at the conversion table for detail.

3.2 Inter-Conversion from

Decimal to Binary

To convert a given decimal number to its equivalent of binary number, the repeated
³division by 2 method´ is used.

Steps for Decimal to Binary Conversion

1. Divide the given decimal number by two and store the remainder.
2. Repeat step (1) until the quotient is equal to zero (0).
3. The first remainder produced is called as the LSB (i.e. Least Significant Beat)
in the binary number and the last remainder produced is called as MSB (i.e
Most Significant Beat).
4. The binary number is then written from bottom to top, as the MSB comes first.

Example (1)

(42)10 = (?)2

59
 The number is written from below

(42)10 = (101010)2 ANS

***Note:

Here 1 is MSB and 0 is LSB.

Example (2)

(14)10 = (?)2

The number is written from below

(14)10 = (1110)2 ANS

***Note:

Here 1 is MSB and 0 is LSB.

60
Example (3)

Here the number is written from top

(0.125)10 = ( - .001)2 ANS

Decimal to Octal

A decimal number can be converted to octal number by repeated division by 8 (eight)

method. Steps required for conversion from Decimal Number System to Octal Number
System are:
Example 1: (159)10 = ( ? )8

Decimal Number Result of division Remainder After reversing

the remainder
(divide by 8)
159 divide by 8 19 7 2
19 divide by 8 2 3 3
2 divide by 8 0 2 7
Reading the remainder from bottom (237)8
to up :

Reading the remainders from bottom up, we obtained octal equivalent that is 237. Thus
(159)10 = (237)8

61
Example 2: (1792)10 = ( ? )8

Decimal Number Result of division Remainder After reversing

the remainder
(divide by 8)
1792 divide by 8 224 0 3
224 divide by 8 28 0 4
28 divide by 8 3 4 0
3 divide by 8 0 3 0
Reading the remainder from bottom (3400)8
to up :

Reading the remainders from bottom up, we obtained octal equivalent that is 3400. Thus
(1792)10 = (3400)8

Decimal to Hexadecimal

A decimal number can be converted to hexadecimal number by repeated division by 16

(sixteen) method. Steps required for conversion from Decimal Number System to
Hexadecimal Number System are:

1. Repeatedly divide the given decimal number by 16 and convert each remainder
to hex from conversion table.
2. Then write the remainder in reverse order from bottom to up i.e. the last
remainder obtained being the MSB.

62
Example 1: (83759)10 = ( ? )16

Decimal Number Result of division Remainder After conversion

to hex from
(divide by 16)
conversion table
83759 divide by 5235 15 F
16
5234 divide by 16 327 2 2
327 divide by 16 20 7 7
20 divide by 16 1 4 4
1 divide by 16 0 1 1
Reading the remainder from bottom (1472F)16
to up :

Changing the number 15 to hex F and reading them from bottom to up, we obtained our
hex equivalent that is 1472F. Thus (83759)10 = (1472F)16

Example 2: ()10 = ( ? )16

Decimal Number Result of division Remainder After conversion

to hex from
(divide by 16)
conversion table
 divide by 3054 15 F
16
3054 divide by 16 190 14 E
190 divide by 16 11 14 E
11 divide by 16 0 11 B
Reading the remainder from bottom (BEEF)16
to up :

63
Changing the number 15, 14, 14 and 11 to hex F, E, E and B respectively and reading
them from bottom to up, we obtained our hex equivalent that is BEEF. Thus ()10
= (BEEF)16

3.3 Conversion of Binary Number System to Decimal and Binary

Number Systems to Hexadecimal

We use only two numbers i.e. 0 and 1 in binary number system. The base used in binary
number system is 2. Each position in a binary number represents a power of two.

7KHWHUP³bit´VWDQGVIRUbinary digit, which represent either 0 or 1.

Conversion
1. Binary Number System to Decimal Number System

Example (1)

(10101)2 = (?)10

Solution:
=> (1 x 24 ) + (0 x 23 ) + (1 x 22 ) + (0 x 21 ) + (1 x 20 )
=> 16 + 0 + 4 + 0 + 1
=> 21 ANS

Example (2)

(11001)2 = (?)10

Solution:

=> (1 x 24 ) + (1 x 23 ) + (0 x 22 ) + (0 x 21 ) + (1 x 20 )
=> 16 + 8 + 0 + 0 + 1
=> 25 ANS

64
Example (3)

(10100)2 = (?)10

Solution:
=> (1 x 24 ) + (0 x 23 ) + (1 x 22 ) + (0 x 21 ) + (0 x 20 )
=> 16 + 0 + 4 + 0 + 0
=> 20 ANS

Conversion from Binary to Decimal for Fractional Numbers

Example (1)

Solution:

(1.001)2 = (?)10

=> (1 x 20 ) + (0 x 2-1 ) + (0 x 2-2 ) + (1 x 2-3 )

=> 1 + 0 + 0 + 0.125
=> 1.125 ANS
Example (2)

(0.101)2 = (?)10

Solution:

=> (0 x 20 ) + (1 x 2-1 ) + (0 x 2-2 ) + (1 x 2-3 )

=> 0 + 0.5 + 0 + 0.125
=> 0.625 ANS
Example (3)

(10.01)2 = (?)10
Solution:

=> (1 x 21 ) + (0 x 20 ) + (0 x 2-1 ) + (1 x 2-2 )

=> 2 + 0 + 0 + 0.25
=> 2.25 ANS
65
Example (4)

(110.101)2 = (?)10

Solution:
=> (1 x 22 ) + (1 x 21 ) + (0 x 20 ) + (1 x 2-1 ) + (0 x 2-2 ) + (1 x 2-3 )
=> 4 + 2 + 0 + 0.5 + 0 + 0.125
=> 6.625 ANS

Conversion from Binary Number System to Octal Number System

Steps for conversion from Binary Number System to Octal Number System are:

3. Write the bits of the binary number in groups of three, starting from right. (i.e.
DGGLQJ]HURVDVQHHGHGWR¿OORXWWKHJURXSV)
4. Then write the octal equivalent for each group.

Example (1)

(1101000110110)2 = (?)8

Solution:

Grouping the bits in sets of three from the right, we get

001 101 000 110 110

And the octal equivalents are:

1 5 0 6 6

So the octal equivalent of (1101000110110)2 is (15066)8.

Conversion from Binary Number System to Hexadecimal Number

System

Steps for conversion from Binary Number System to Hexadecimal Number System are:

66
 1. Write the bits of the binary number in groups of four, starting from right. (i.e.
DGGLQJ]HURVDVQHHGHGWR¿OORXWWKHJURXSV)
2. Then assign to each group the appropriate letter or number from the conversion
table.

Example (1)

(10110100111001)2 = (?)16

Solution:

Grouping the bits in sets of three from the right, we get

0010 1101 0011 1001

And the hexadecimal equivalents from the conversion table are:

2 D 3 9

So the octal equivalent of (10110100111001)2 is (2D39)16.

Example (2)

(101111.0011111)2 = (?)16

Solution:

Grouping the bits in sets of three from the right, we get

0010 1111.0011 1110

And the hexadecimal equivalents from the conversion table are:

2 F. 3 E

So the octal equivalent of (101111.0011111)2 is (2F.3E)16.

67
Conversion table for Number System
Conversion table for conversion of a number of one number system into another is given
below:

Table: Number System

3.4 Codes used for information exchange between computers

A computer system understands anything and everything only in machine language i.e.
in binary form. When you input any number or any alphabet or a special symbol, it must
be converted into binary form. This form is basically a format or pattern. These pattern
or format has to follow the coding standard. Some common coding standards are as
follows:

ASCII

ASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. It is the most
widely used alphanumeric code for keyboards and as the name suggests, it is a code for
Information interchange. It is used to interchange information because computer doesn't
understand English or high level language. Computer understands binary language
means it understands only 0 and 1. 1 means True and 0 means False.

ASCII is standard that assigns letters, numbers, and other characters in 8-bit code.
ASCII codes represent some text in computers, communications equipment or any other
device that uses text.
68
Using ASCII codes, each alphabetic, numeric, or special character is represented with a
7-bit binary number (a string of seven 0s or 1s). Thus total 128 characters can be defined.
If you press 4 from keyboard, then keyboard send the value 100(value equivalent to 4) to
the main memory which will further be evaluated in secondary memory and then the
output will be 4 in monitor. Similarly if you press "a" the value will be 097 which is
equivalent to 01100001. You can now understand that 100 means True-False-False.

Unicode

The Unicode is nothing but a worldwide character standard which provides a 32 bit text
code (i.e. a unique number) for every character, number and special symbol, no matter
what platform, device, application or language is.

Need of Unicode?

Fundamentally, computers just deal with numbers and store letters and special symbols
by assigning a number for each of them. Before Unicode was invented, there were many
different systems, for assigning these numbers. These systems were known as character
encodings. These character encodings were limited and could not contain enough
characters to cover all the world's languages.
69
 Even for a single language like English no single encoding was enough for all the
letters, punctuation, and technical symbols in common use, even they were conflicted
with one another i.e., two encodings could use the same number for two different
characters, or use different numbers for the same character. A server could need to
support many different encodings. However, when data is passed through different
computers or between different encodings, it may have risk of corruption. Solution to
these problems was Unicode.

Unicode has been adopted by all modern software providers and now allows data to be
transported through many different platforms, devices and applications without
corruption. It supports the representation of languages and symbols in laptops, and smart
phones and even in all major operating systems, search engines, browsers and Internet.

***Remember

With a 32 bit Unicode, we can represent 232 characters in the computer memory.

3.5 Data representation

Computers store data or information in the form of "1" and "0"s in different types of
storages such as memory, hard disk, USB drives etc. These data can be represented
using one of the following memory units:

Bit

'DWDRULQIRUPDWLRQVWRUHGLQFRPSXWHU¶VPHPRU\LVLQWKHIRUPRIVHTXHQFHRI bits. A
bit is a binary digit-either a 1 or 0. The smallest unit of data in a computer is called Bit.
The value of a bit is usually stored as either above or below to a level of electrical
charge in a single capacitor within a memory device. Bits in computer are grouped to
form a larger unit of data or information

A character is a number, letter or a special symbol. Eight bits together make up a
character.

Nibble

A nibble is a combination of four bits or we can say half of a byte is called a nibble.

70
Byte

A byte is a combination of eight bits. Eight bits forms a byte. In most computer systems,
byte is used to represent a character such as a letter, number or symbol (for example,
³m´³2´RU³#´. A byte can also hold a string of bits that need to be used in some
larger unit of application purposes.

It is possible to represent 256 characters that the computer can recognize and process,
using 1 and 0 in a byte.

Two bytes or sixteen bits forms a word.

Kilo Byte

1024 bytes or 1024x8 bits forms 1 Kilo Byte (1 KB).

Mega Byte

1024 Kilo Bytes forms 1 Mega Byte (1 MB).

Giga Byte

1024 Mega Bytes forms 1 Giga Byte (1 GB).

Tera Byte

1024 Giga Bytes forms 1 Tera Byte (1 TB).

Peta Byte

1024 Tera Bytes forms 1 Peta Byte (1 PB).

Now look at the following table to understand the relation between memory units:

71
 Table 3.1: Memory Units

S. No. Smaller Memory Larger Memory

Unit Unit
1 0, 1(Binary digiT) Bit
2 4 Bit 1 Nibble
3 8 Bit 1 Byte
4 16 Bit or 2 Bytes 1 Word
5 1024 Byte 1 Kilo Byte (KB)
6 1024 Kilo Byte (KB) 1 Mega Byte (MB)
7 1024 Mega Byte 1 Giga Byte (GB)
(MB)
8 1024 Giga Byte 1 Tera Byte (TB)
(GB)
9 1024 Tera Byte (TB) 1 Peta Byte (TB)

72
==============================================================
Objective Type Questions
==============================================================

1. A collection of 8 bits is called

(A) byte (B) record

(C) word (D) nibble

Answer: (A) byte

2. A Nibble is:

(A) A group of 8 bits (B) A group of 16 bits

(C) A group of 2 bits (D) A group of 4 bits

Answer: (D) A group of 4 bits

3. Which of the following is largest in memory size?

(A) bit (B) byte

(C) nibble (D) word

Answer: (D) word

4. The ASCII code is for information interchange by a binary code for

(A) Numbers only (B) Alphabets only

(C) Alphanumeric and other common symbols (D) None of these

Answer: (C) Alphanumeric and other common symbols

5. A hexadecimal number µ$2¶LV equivalent decimal value

(A) 80 (B) 256 (C) 100 (D) 160

Answer: (D) 160

73
6. The binary representation of hexadecimal 'C3' is

(A) 1111 (B) 110011 (C) 110001 (D) 11000011

Answer: (D) 11000011

7. ASCII stands for

(A) All purpose scientific code for information interchange

(B) American standard code for information interchange
(C) American security code for information interchange
(D) American Scientific code for information interchange

Answer: (B) American standard code for information interchange

8. What is UNICODE?

(A) Standard Font

(B) Keyboard Layout
(C) Character Encoding System
(D) A Software

Answer: (C) Character Encoding System

9. Choose the correct statement:

(A) 1KB = 1000 Bytes

(B) 1MB = 1000 KB
(C) 1KB = 1024 Bytes
(D) 1 MB = 1024 Bytes

Answer: (C) 1KB = 1024 Bytes

10. Which of the following is largest in memory unit?

(A) PB (B) GB
(C) TB (D) MB

Answer: (A) PB

74
==============================================================
Review Questions
==============================================================

1. Describe decimal, binary and Octal number system with a suitable example
2. What is hexadecimal number system? Explain with example.
3. Solve the following and find values:

(i) (3H5.AB)16=()2
(ii) (90.5625)10=()8
(iii) (10111.11001)2=()16
(iv) (4261)10=()16
(v) (1011011)2=()16

4. Convert the binary number 1100.0111 to hex.

5. Convert the binary number 1100 1010 to decimal.
6. Convert the binary number 110.001 to decimal.
7. Convert the hex number 2B4 to octal.
8. Convert the binary number 110 0111.011 to octal.
9. Convert the decimal number 26.875 to binary.
10.Convert the hexadecimal number 5E.A3 to binary.
11.Convert the octal number 534 to decimal.
12.Convert the octal number 276 to hex.
13.Convert the decimal number 8362 to hex.
14.Convert the decimal number 482 to octal.
15.Convert the octal number 47135 to binary.
16.Convert the hexadecimal number 3D2.A4F to decimal
17.What are ASCII and UNICODE?
18.Explain the following:

(i) bit
(ii) byte
(iii) nibble
(iv) word

19. How a number is converted from decimal number system to binary number
system?
20. How a number is converted from decimal number system to octal number
system?
21. How a number is converted from decimal number system to hexadecimal number
system?
75
22. How a number is converted from binary number system to decimal number
system?
23. How a number is converted from binary number system to octal number system?
24. How a number is converted from binary number system to hexadecimal number
system?

76
 Chapter 4
Storage Devices
===============================================================
Key Concepts

9 Storage Fundamentals,
9 Primary & Secondary Storage,
9 RAM,
9 Dynamic and static ROM,
9 PROM,
9 EPROM,
9 EEPROM,
9 Tape storage Devices,
9 Characteristics & limitations,
9 Floppy & their types.
9 Direct access Storage± Hard Disk,
9 Disk Cartridges,
9 Mass Storage Device
9 Optical Disk,
9 CD Rom,
9 DVD,
9 flash drive,
9 ZIP drive

4.1 Storage Fundamentals

The data storage media is a device that can store the data, information and instructions
for future use. This data can be read from it. All computers use data storage media to
keep the software that makes the hardware work.

A user can store a variety of data and information on storage media. Different types of
data e.g. text, audio, image requires a large amount of storage space. Even corporate
databases are measured in terms of GB (Gigabyte) or in TB (Terabyte) which are the
units of memory. Memory is basically classified into following two types:

1. RAM (Random Access Memory)

2. ROM (Read Only Memory)
77
Random Access Memory is primary or main memory of the computer system. The huge
bulk of data cannot be stored in primary memory, rather they are stored in secondary
storage media like hard disk, optical disk etc.

Examples of storage media

Storage media are the physical materials on which data, information and instructions are
stored. Following are some examples of storage media:

1. Hard Disk
2. CD
3. DVD
4. USB Flash Drive
5. Web based storage

Now look at the classification of computer memory

Computer memory can be classified as given below:

Fig. 4.1: Classification of Computer Memory

78
***Remember:

Memory devices refer to the primary memory whereas storage devices refer to the
secondary storage devices.

4.2 Primary & Secondary Storage

Primary Memory or Main Memory of a Computer System

CPU contains several registers for storing data and instructions of the program being
executed by the CPU, but these registers can only hold only a few bytes at a time. To
hold the data and instructions of large amount of memory, secondary storage is used.
When a program is being executed, these instructions are fetched from the disk and
loaded one by one into the registers of the CPU. In this process the CPU being idle most
of the time, because there is a large speed mismatch between the rate at which CPU can
process the data and the rate at which data can be transferred from disk to CPU register.
Due to this reason, we get slow overall performance, even if computer system used a
very fast CPU. To overcome this problem, there is a need to have a reasonably large
storage space, which can hold the instructions and data of the programs, on which the
CPU is currently working. The time to fetch and load data from this storage space into
the CPU register must also be very small as compared to that for disk storage, to reduce
the speed mismatch problem with the CPU speed. Storage media used in computers, for
this purpose, is known as primary memory or main memory.

Characteristics of Primary Memory

1. It is faster than Secondary Memory.

2. Volatile in nature.
3. Limited storage capacity,
4. Higher cost per bit stored.

Secondary Storage

Primary storage stores the information till the pc is switch on. It also stores necessary
SURJUDPVRIV\VWHPVRIWZDUHZKLFKDUHUHTXLUHGWRH[HFXWHWKHXVHU¶VSURJUDP3ULPDU\
storage is also known as main memory of the computer. RAM is used as main memory.
It is volatile in nature, means when we shut down our system, the information stored in
primary storage become unavailable. Thus our computer system needs to store
information on a permanent storage. The secondary storage stores the information (or
data) permanently even when the electricity to the PC is cut off. It is non-volatile in
nature.
79
Example

1. Hard Disk

4.3 RAM

RAM stands for Random Access Memory. It is volatile in nature means its contents are
lost when power supply is switched off. RAM is the read and write memory. It is just
like a page of a notebook, where you can write something to or read something from.
The data and instructions entered by the user are stored inside RAM. The RAM chip is
made of metal oxide semiconductor (MOS), therefore any memory location is accessed
randomly for reading and writing. This means that the data/instructions stored in any
memory location can be accessed directly without scanning it sequentially. Because of
this reason, it is called Random Access Memory.

Types of RAM
The RAM chips are classified into two types:

1. Static RAM,
2. Dynamic RAM.

***Remember

1. The more RAM a computer has, the more it can do and faster it executes specific
tasks.

2. Table 4.1: Memory Units

S. Memory Unit Abbreviation Size in Bytes

No.
1 Kilo Bytes KB 1024
2 Mega Bytes MB 10485765
3 Giga Bytes GB 1073741824
4 Tera Bytes TB 1099511627776

80
4.4 Dynamic and static RAM

Dynamic RAM

In Dynamic RAM the memory element have less retention period & loses its value
unless it is refreshed. It losses its stored information in a very short time (a few
milliseconds) even power supply is on. It has to be refreshed periodically, generally
every 2 mili seconds. Its power consumption is less.

Static RAM

Static RAM can retain stored information as long as power supply is on. Static RAM
elements once set to their values, do not loose them if the power supply does not go off
.It operates as a switch. In static RAM, a form of flip-flop holds each bit of memory .A
flip-flop for a memory cell takes four or six transistors along with some wiring, but
never has to be refreshed. This makes static RAM significantly faster than dynamic
RAM. However, because it has more parts, a static memory cell takes up a lot more
space on a chip than a dynamic memory cell.

***Remember:Static RAM is costly and consumes more power. It has higher speed
than dynamic RAM.

4.5 PROM

PROM is a type of Read Only Memory (ROM). So let us first we discuss about ROM.:

ROM stands for Read Only Memory. It is non-volatile (i.e. permanent) in nature means
its contents are not lost when power supply is switched off. Data in such memory is
stored by using fuse-links. Once fuse-link is burnt, it is permanent. The data stored in a
ROM chip can only be read and they cannot be changed.

PROM stands for Programmable Read Only Memory. PROM can be programmed only
once. Operations written once cannot be erased. Such information is needed while
executing user programs.

4.6 EPROM
EPROM stands for Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory. EPROM chips can be
rewritten many times. It can be programmed through the use of special electrical pulses.
Erasing an EPROM requires a special tool that emits a certain frequency of ultraviolet
(UV) light. These are used to store programs which are permanent but need to be
updated.
81
***Remember

EPROMs are reliable, cheaper and widely used.

4.7 EEPROM
EEPROM stands for Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory. Instead
of requiring a strong source of UV light EEPROM need only a higher than normal
voltage to erase their contents. The chip does not have to remove to be rewritten. The
entire chip does not have to be completely erased to change a specific portion of it. Each
byte in EEPROM is independently erasable & writable.

Example:Flash Memory

Difference between RAM and ROM

Main differences between RAM and ROM are:

S. No. RAM ROM

1 RAM is Random Access
Memory.
2 This is volatile in nature.
3 RAM is used in the normal
operations of a computer after
starting up and loading the
operating system.
4 Writing data to a RAM is a faster
process.
5 Data of RAM retains till the
computer power is on. When you
power off your computer the
data stored in RAM is deleted.
ROM is Read Only Memory.
This is non-volatile in nature.
A ROM chip is used primarily
in the start up process of a
computer.
Writing data to a ROM chip is
a slow process.
Data in ROM is written
permanently and is not erased
when you power off your
computer.

4.8 Tape Storage Devices

A tape storage drive is a device that stores computer data on magnetic tape. Magnetic
tap is a good example of Tape Storage Device.

82
Magnetic Tape

Magnetic Tap is a memory device which is similar to the audio-tape recorders. It is

convenient and inexpensive memory device which can be used to store large volumes of
data. The Magnetic Tap is made up of plastic material and one side of tape is
PDJQHWL]HG:LGWKRIWDSHLVXVXDOO\¶¶7KHWDSHLVGLYLGHGLQWRYHUWLFDOFROXPQVDQG
rows called frames and tracks respectively. One character of data is stored at a time.

4.9 Characteristics & Limitations of Tap Storage Devices

Characteristics of Magnetic Tape

Characteristics of Magnetic Tape are:

1. Large volume of data can be stored sequentially.

2. Inexpensive Memory Storage Device.
3. Data transfer is not difficult.

Limitations of Magnetic Tape

Limitations of Magnetic Tape are:

The limitation of tape drives is that they are sequential-access devices, which means that
to read any particular block of data, you need to read all the preceding blocks.

4.10 Floppy & their types

A floppy disk is a magnetic storage medium for computer systems which is composed of
a thin, flexible, circular plastic plate coated with magnetic oxide and sealed inside a
square plastic casing. It looks like as given the picture given below:

Fig. 4.2: ´)Ooppy Disk

83
How it works?

A floppy disk is a magnetic media and stores and reads data on the floppy disk using a
read head. The Floppy disk drive has a motor that rotates the disk available inside it. The
disk remains fixed at a spindle and spins at a speed about 300 RPM.

With a floppy diskette is inserted into the drive the metal slide door is opened and
exposes the magnetic disk within the floppy diskette. The read/write head comes in the
contact with the disk surface during the read/write operation. The read/write head uses a
magnetic polarity of 0 or 1. Reading this as binary data, the computer can understand
what the data is on the platter. For the computer to write information to the platter, the
read/write head aligns the magnetic polarities, writing 0's and 1's that can be read later.
The read/write head locates a particular data on the surface of the disk directly. It will
not scan each and every track and sector. This is shown in the following diagram:

Fig.4.3: Working of Floppy Disk

Now look at the diagram given below:

Fig.4.4: Floppy Disk

84
A floppy has two holes on the bottom left and right of the floppy disk. First one
indicates the write protect and second one indicates the high-density slot. If hole found
on floppy disk, it is protected or high density else, if you found covered gap, it is write-
enabled or low density.

Standard size of Floppy Disk

Floppy Disk comes in three basic sizes, i.e.:

1. ´)ORSS\'LVN
2. 51/4´)ORSS\'LVN
3. 8´)ORSS\'LVN

Types of Floppy Disk

Floppy disks are normally available in two types:

1. Mini Floppy Disk,

2. Micro Floppy Disk.

Mini Floppy Disk

A 5.25 inch floppy is called a Mini Floppy. These floppy disks are now out off market
and they do not find any place in the modern personal computers.

Micro Floppy Disk

A 3.5 inch floppy is called a Micro Floppy. These are still in use in the modern personal
computers.

Capacity of Floppy Disk

1.44 MB

4.11 Direct access Storage± Hard Disk

Magnetic Disk (e.g. Hard Disk) is a memory device which provides direct access of data
thus data can be retrieved at very high speed. It has a circular platter used for mass
storage of data. It is a group of thin disks made of metal plates coated with magnetic
material on both sides. These are mounted on a rotary shaft. Each disk has a read/write
head.
85
During a read/write operation, the head is stationary while a platter rotates. Data is
organized in a set of concentric rings called tracks.

The head may be fixed or movable. In a fixed head disk there is one read/write head per
track. The heads are mounted on a rigid arm. In a moveable head disk there is only on
read/write head which is mounted on an arm which can be extended.

4.12 Disk Cartridges

A disk cartridge is portable removable drive, similar to a floppy disk that is capable of
holding large amounts of data. It took the form of an assembly containing a single rigid
magnetic disk permanently housed within a protective plastic cover.

Fig. 4.5: Disk Cartridge

The cover contained apertures to allow fixing of the cartridge to the drive, and a door
that the drive opened to allow insertion of the magnetic heads. Once loaded, the disk
could rotate clear of the covers.

Memory Size of Disk Cartridge

Disk cartridges had storage capacities up to 50 megabytes, depending on track density,

bit density, and disk size, but now a days it has maximum capacity of 3TB (approx).

4.13 Mass Storage Device

Mass Storage Device refers to the device which are capable of storing large amounts of
data. The hard disk is one of the most popular Mass Storage Device, which can store
digital data.

Now look at the following diagram:

86
 Fig. 4.6: Track and Sector of Hard Disk

$+DUGGLVNFDQVWRUHGLJLWDOGDWDRQLWVSODWWHU¶VVXUIDFHLQFRQFHQWULFFLUFOHV known as
tracks. Each track is again divided into a set of sectors. There is a read/write head in
hard disk which is based on following technologies:

1. One recent technology uses magneto resistive read/write head, which has enabled
to have hard disk of more than four gigabits.
2. Another technology uses a solid immersion lens in the read/write head. A laser
beam may be focused on a very small area using this lens and thus it is possible to
create a very small spot on the recording surface. This technology is called near
field recording.

***Remember:

When a user saves information or data to a storage media, he or she is storing a file,
and this process is called writing. When the file is opened, the process is called reading.

4.14 Optical Disk

Optical disk uses optical technology to store data. They use a reflective surface on which
the data is written. This data can be read by a laser beam transmitted from a laser head
mounted on an optical disk drive. They are designed and manufactured to meet the
demands of the growing storage requirements and faster accessing need of the business.
87
Optical disks are used:

1. For taking data backup from a computer system.

2. Transfer data from one computer to another computer or device.
3. Store large amounts of data such as music, images and videos etc.

Advantages of Optical Disk

An optical disk is primarily used as a portable and secondary storage device. It can store
more data than the previous generation of magnetic storage media, and has a relatively
longer lifespan.

Examples of Optical Disk

Most common examples of Optical Disk are

1. CD,
2. DVD,
3. Blu-Ray Disks etc.

4.15 CD ROM

CD stands for Compact Disk. It is a Read Only Memory device. It comes under the
category of Optical Device. It is basically a thin, circular disc of metal and plastic about
4.5 inches in diameter. Most of a CD is made from a tough, brittle plastic called
polycarbonate.

Fig. 4.7: Compact Disc

88
It can store all types of data such as text, audio, video etc.

Storage Capacity of CD

700 MB.

4.16 DVD

sƐƚĂŶĚƐĨŽƌ ŝŐŝƚĂůsĞƌƐĂƚŝůĞŝƐŬ͘/ƚŝƐ ĂZĞĂĚKŶůLJDĞŵŽƌLJĚĞǀŝĐĞ͘/ƚ ŝƐ ĂƚLJƉĞ ŽĨ

KƉƚŝĐĂů ĞǀŝĐĞ͘ /ƚ ŝƐ ĂůƐŽ Ă ƚŚŝŶ͕ ĐŝƌĐƵůĂƌ ĚŝƐĐ ŽĨ ŵĞƚĂů ĂŶĚ ƉůĂƐƚŝĐ ĂďŽƵƚ ϰ͘ϱ ŝŶĐŚĞƐ ŝŶ
ĚŝĂŵĞƚĞƌ͘ DŽƐƚ ŽĨ Ă s ŝƐ ŵĂĚĞ ĨƌŽŵ Ă ƚŽƵŐŚ͕ ďƌŝƚƚůĞ ƉůĂƐƚŝĐ ĐĂůůĞĚ ƉŽůLJĐĂƌďŽŶĂƚĞ͘
ŝĨĨĞƌĞŶĐĞďĞƚǁĞĞŶĂŶĚ sŝƐ ƚŚĂƚĂsŝƐ ĐĂƉĂďůĞŽĨƐƚŽƌŝŶŐůĂƌŐĞĂŵŽƵŶƚƐŽĨ
ĚĂƚĂ ŽŶ ĂƐ ĐŽŵƉĂƌĞƚŽ ƐƚĂŶĚĂƌĚ ŽŵƉĂĐƚ ŝƐĐ ;Ϳ͘ DVDs are now replacing CDs in
most of the computer due to the huge memory capacity of the disk.

It can store all types of data such as text, audio, video, software, databases etc.


Fig. 4.8: Digital Versatile Disc

Storage Capacity of DVD: 4.7 GB.

***Remember

1. CD-RW is a Compact Disk which has rewritable features. You can read, write
and delete data/files from the disk many times.
2. Both CD and DVD can be referred to as WORM (Write Once Read Many times) .
3. Now a days Blu Ray Discs are available in the market, which can store six times
more than a DVD and about 40 times more a than CD.

89
4.17 Flash Drive

A USB flash drive (normally called as Pen Drive) is a small storage device (like a
CD/DVD or Hard Disk) that is specifically designed to write and rewrite data multiple
times via your USB computer port. It is useful to WUDQVSRUWILOHVIURPRQHFRPSXWHU
WRDQRWKHU

Flash drives are easy to use, ultra portable, and connect seamlessly with all personal
computers.


Fig. 4.9: Flash Drive

Advantages of Flash Drive

Flash drives are small and light, use little power, and they don't have any delicate
moving parts. Data stored on flash drives is doest not affected from scratches, dust,
magnetic fields and mechanical shock. This makes them suitable for transporting data
conveniently without any damage.




Fig. 4.10 : Flash Drive

90
How to use a Flash Drive?

A flash drive is easy to use with a computer system or laptop. The data you want to
move can be copied inside flash drive. For this you simply need to plug your flash drive
into a USB port of the computer or laptop. The USB port will appear on the front of a
GHVNWRSFRPSXWHU¶V3&WRZHURURQWKHVLGHRIDODSWRS The USB port is looks like as
follows:

Fig. 4.11 : USB Port


***Remember

Latest available memory size of a Flash Drive is 2 TB.

4.18 ZIP drive

ZIP drive is slightly larger than conventional floppy disks, and about twice as thick.
They can hold 100 to 250 MB of data. Because they're relatively inexpensive and
durable, they have become a popular media for backing up huge data or large files.

Fig. 4.12: ZIP drive

A ZIP drive basically consists of a disk drive with a slot for a ZIP disk and the ZIP disk
itself, also referred to as a ZIP cartridge. A ZIP disk is about the same size as a 3 ½-inch
floppy, but much thicker. The plastic casing is also much stronger.

91
 Fig. 4.13: ZIP Disk

The actual disk itself relies on magnetic storage, much like hard disks and floppy disks.
It was very good alternative for computer users who needed more removable storage
than floppy disks could provide. In addition to a larger storage capacity, the ZIP drive
had several other advantages. The data transfer rate (i.e. how fast data can be moved
between the disk and the RAM), was higher; the seek time (i.e. the time it takes to find a
particular location on the disk to read or write data) was much faster; and the disks
themselves were much stronger against physical damage.

Types of ZIP drive

1. Internal ZIP drive

2. External ZIP drive

Internal ZIP drive

It is a type of ZIP drive in which drive is installed inside the computer cabinet, similar to
CD or DVD drive. The drive is directly connected to the motherboard of the computer.

External ZIP drive

It is a type of ZIP drive in which it has its own separate casing and its own power
supply. it can be connected to the computer using a separate connector (i.e. cable).
Earlier models used a parallel port connection, while current models used a USB
connection

92
==============================================================
Objective Type Questions
==============================================================

1. Which computer memory is used for storing programs and data currently
being processed by the CPU?

(A) Hard Disk (B) Random Access Memory (RAM)

(C) Read Only Memory (ROM) (D) All of these

Answer: (B) Random Access Memory (RAM)

2. Which of the following usually lost its data when power is switched off?

(A) Hard Disk (B) Random Access Memory (RAM)

(C) Read Only Memory (ROM) (D) All of these

Answer: (B) Random Access Memory (RAM)

3. Which one of the following is a secondary storage device?

(A) Hard Disk (B) Random Access Memory (RAM)

(C) Both Hard Disk and RAM (D) None of these

Answer: (A) Hard Disk

4. The density of data stored on magnetic tape is expressed as:

(A) units per inch (B) tracks per inch

(C) packs per inch (D) bytes per inch

Answer: (D) bytes per inch

5. Optical disk technology uses which of the following to read and write data?

(A) Laser Beam (B) Backup

(C) RAID (D) Magnetic Read/Write Head

Answer: (A) Laser Beam

93
6. A laser beam is used to read data from:

(A) Floppy disk (B) Hard disk

(C) Magnetic tape (D) Compact disk

Answer: (D) Compact disk

7. Storage is also referred to as:

(A) Primary Memory (B) Secondary Memory

(C) ROM (C) Virtual Memory

Answer: (B) Secondary Memory

8. 7KHGLIIHUHQFHEHWZHHQPHPRU\DQGVWRUDJHLVWKDWPHPRU\LV«DQGVWRUDJH
LV«

(A) Temporary, permanent (B) Permanent, temporary

(C) Slow, Fast (D) None of these

Answer: (A) Temporary, permanent

9. A floppy disk contains:

(A) Tracks only (B) Sectors only

(C) Both (A) and (B) (D) None of these

Answer: (C) Both (A) and (B)

10. Full form of CD is:

(A) Colored Disk (B) Common Disk

(C) Compact Disk (D) Concise Data

Answer: (C) Compact Disk

94
==============================================================
Review Questions
==============================================================

1. What do you mean by a storage device?

2. Name any two storage media? How you categorize the storage devices?
3. Write short note on CD-ROM.
4. What do you mean by DVD-ROM? How it differs with CD-ROM?
5. Write down various differences between RAM and ROM.
6. Write short note on mass storage device.
7. What is computer memory? Write its types with brief explanation.
8. Explain any two magnetic storage devices.
9. What is floppy disk? How is data stored on the floppy disk?
10.List the advantages and disadvantages of floppy disk.
11.What is a hard disk? How data is read or written on a hard disk?
12.What is a track? How many tracks a floppy disk can have?
13.What do you mean by a sector? How many sectors a floppy disk can have?
14.What are optical disks? How do they work?
15.Differentiate between magnetic storage devices and the optical storage devices?
16.What is the difference between a magnetic disk and magnetic tape?

==============================================================

95
 Chapter 5

Computer Softwares & Language

===============================================================
Key Concepts

9 System Software V/s Application Software,

9 Types of System Software,
ƒ Operating System,
ƒ Loader,
ƒ Linker,
ƒ Language Processor,
ƒ Assembler,
ƒ Compiler and Interpreter,
ƒ Device Driver.
9 Classification and Characteristics of Languages
9 Machine language,
9 Assembly language,
9 High-level language,
9 Generations of Computer Language
9 Application Software:
9 Working with MS-OFFICE components,
9 Creating, Editing, Formatting and Printing documents using MS-WORD,
9 Data Analysis and Charting with MS-EXCEL,
9 Creating and Presenting slide show using MS-POWERPOINT

==============================================================
=

5.1 System Software V/s Application Software

Our computer system cannot perform any task with its own. It needs some instructions
to complete the job. Hence, it is necessary to specify a sequence of instructions, written
in a language, which can be understood by a computer. This sequence of instruction is
known as a computer program. This computer program controls the activity of
processing by the computer.

A set of programs written for a computer to perform a specific task is called as software.
A program is a collection of a sequence of instruction to solve a particular problem.
96
Types of Software

1. System Software
2. Application Software

Fig. Classification of Software

5.2 Types of System Software

Systems Software

System software is the software which deals with the system or hardware. Actually,
system software is any computer software which manages and controls computer
hardware so that application software can perform a task

Examples of System Software

Some common examples of System Software are:

1. Operating System
2. Loader
3. Linker
4. Language Processor
5. Assembler
6. Compiler and Interpreter
7. Device Driver

Types of System Software

Operating System

Operating System is the most important software required to use a computer. It is an

important part of almost every computer system.
97
Operating System is a system software which acts as an interface between user and
computer hardware. It makes the computer hardware to work. Operating system runs on
computer hardware and serves as a platform for other software to run on the computer
system. WKLOH WKH KDUGZDUH SURYLGHV µUDZ FRPSXWHU SRZHU¶ WKH 2SHUDWLQJ 6\VWHP LV
responsible for making the computer power useful for the users. The Operating System
coordinates the activities of various parts of a computer namely, CPU.

Operating System provides following functions to manage resources like CPU, memory,
input and output devices and files:

1. Memory Management
2. Process Management
3. I/O Devise Management
4. File Management

Loader

Loader is a computer program use by an operating system that loads executable codes of
a program into the main memory of a computer system from its secondary storage
device therefore it can be executed. It is basically the part of an Operating System.
/RDGLQJ D SURJUDP¶V PDFKLQH FRGH LQWR PDLQ PHPRU\ is an essential stage in the
process of starting a program, because it places programs into memory and prepares
them for execution. It involves reading the contents of executable file into memory.
Once loading is complete, the operating system starts the program by passing control to
the loaded program code. All operating systems that support program loading have
loaders. The Operating System invokes the loader when needed.

Linker

In High Level Languages (HLL), some predefined built in header files or libraries are
available. These header files may contain basic functions which are essential for
executing the program. These functions are linked to the libraries by a program called
Linker. If linker does not find a library of a function then it informs to compiler and then
compiler generates an error. The compiler automatically invokes the linker as the last
step in compilation process.

98
 Fig.: Linker

Roles of Linker

1. A linker is also responsible to link and combines objects generated by a compiler

into a single executable file.
2. A larger program is divided into smaller subprograms called modules. And these
modules must be combined to execute the program. Linker is also responsible to
link and combine all modules of a program if written separately.
3. It also links the user defined functions to the user defined libraries.
4. It also determines the memory locations that code from each module will occupy.

Language Processor

Special software used to translate high level language to machine language for the
operation of a computer before executing a program is called as Language Processor or
Language Translator.

Example

1. Compiler
2. Interpreter

Assembler

An assembler is a system software which converts an assembly language program into

its equivalent machine language program. Actually a computer can directly execute only
machine language programs, which use numbers for representing instructions and
storage locations. Hence assembly language program must be converted (translated) into
machine language before execution on the computer system. This task of translation is
performed by an assembler.

Assembler is called as ³DVVHPEOHU´ because it also assembles the machine language

program in the main memory of the computer and makes it ready for execution, in
addition to translating an assembly language program into its equivalent machine
language code.

99
 Fig. Assembler

The translation of an assembly language program into its equivalent machine language
program can be illustrated with the process shown in figure.

When an assembly language program is given as an input to the assembler (i.e. referred
as source code), the assembler produces its equivalent machine language program (i.e.
referred as object code)

Compiler and Interpreter

Compiler

A computer can directly execute only machine language programs hence a high level
language program must be converted (translated) into its equivalent machine language
program, before it can be executed on the computer. This translation is done by
compiler.
Look at the diagram shown below:

Fig.3.9 Compiler

Thus compiler is a system program which translates source code written in high-level
language into its equivalent machine language program which is executable code for the
machine.

***Remember

Compiler checks error of the program to be executed. It is more powerful than

assembler.

100
Interpreter

Interpreter is also a translator which translates a high-level language program into object
FRGH VWDWHPHQW ZLVH ,W GRHVQ¶W WUDQVODWH the entire program at a time. It takes up one
statement of a high-level language program at a time, translates it and then executes it
and then takes up the next statement and repeats the whole process till end.

Features of the Interpreter:Some common features of the Interpreter are:

1. Interpreter is cheaper than compiler.

2. It occupies less memory space.

Limitations of the Interpreter

1. Interpreter is slower than compiler.

2. Suitable only for small programs.

Difference between Compiler and Interpreter

S. No. Compiler Interpreter

1 Compiler translates whole
program written in high level
language into equivalent
machine code at a time.
2 It reads all lines of code and
displays all error messages at
once.
3 Compiler is faster than
interpreter
Compiler is costlier than
interpreter
4 Compiler requires more memory
than interpreter.
5 Compiler is a larger system
software as compared to
interpreter
6 Compiler generates permanent
object file which is saved in the
disk
Interpreter translates the program
written in high level language into
equivalent machine code line by
line
It read the lines and if error occurs
in any line, execution of program
halted and it displays the error of
particular line.
Interpreter is slower than compiler
Interpreter is cheaper than
compiler
Interpreter requires less memory
than compiler.
Interpreter is a smaller system
software as compared to compiler
Interpreter generates temporary
object file which is saved in RAM.

101
Device Driver

A computer system is connected with multiple input and output (I/O) devices, so that it
can communicate with the end user. In order to interact with the I/O devices, the
computer system requires special software called device driver.

Fig. : Device Driver

It is basically a program supplied by device manufacturers to read/write data from the

device to a computer's memory. The program is dependent on the operating system
being used by the computer.

Example

For example, printer drivers tell the operating system about exactly how to print data or
information on the page.

Device driver is a software component that lets the operating system and a device
communicate with each other. It may have following two parts:

1. A logical layer to interact with the Operating System.

2. A Physical layer which issues device-specific commands.

***Remember

1. A device driver is also known as hardware driver.

2. A device driver is a group of files that enable one or more hardware devices to
communicate with the computer's operating system.
102
5.3 Classification and Characteristics of Languages
A computer program is written by a programmer. It is very difficult to write in ones and
zeroes, which is what the computer can read, so computer programmers write in a
programming language. Once it is written, the programmer uses a compiler to turn it into
a language that the computer can understand.

Once the planning for a computer program has been done, the next step in its
development is to write the specific steps for solving the problem at hand in a language
and make a form, which is acceptable to a computer system.

A language that is acceptable to a computer system is called a computer language or a

programming language. The process of writing instructions in a computer language for
an already planned program is called programming or coding. Computer languages are
used for writing computer programs.

Computer programming languages are developed with the primary objective of

facilitating a large number of people to use computers without the need to know in detail
the internal structure of the computer. Programming languages are also designed to be
machine-independent. Following diagram is showing the basic classification of
programming languages:

Fig.3.8: Classification of Programming Language

Low level programming language

Low level programming languages have been designed to give a better machine
efficiency.
103
Advantages of Low level programming language

1. Machine oriented language

2. Faster program execution

Examples of Low level programming language

1. Machine Language
2. Assembly Language

Characteristics of Languages

The popularity of any programming language depends upon the useful features that it
provides to its users.

Some important characteristics of a Computer Programming Language are:

1. A Computer Programming Language must be simple to use so that a programmer can

learn it without any training.
2. The language must allow the programmer to write simple, clear and concise
programs.
3. A Computer Programming Language should be portable, means it can be at different
computer platforms.
4. The language must be consistent in terms of both syntax and semantics.
5. The programs developed in the language must make efficient use of memory as well
as other computer resources.
6. The compilation and execution of programs must be faster.
7. The language must be platform independent. That is, the program developed using
the programming language can run on any computer system.
8. A Computer Programming Language should provide handling mechanism of a
Graphical User Interface (GUI).
9. The Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the language must be attractive, user-friendly,
and self-explanatory.
10.The function library used in the language should be well documented so that the
necessary information about a function can be obtained while developing application.
11.Several programming constructs supported by the language must match well with the
application area it is being used for.

104
12.The language must provide necessary tools for development, testing, debugging, and
maintenance of a program. All these tools must be incorporated into a single
environment known as Integrated Development Environment (IDE), which enables
the programmer to use them easily.
13.A computer programming language should be flexible.

5.4 Machine language

Machine language is binary codes that the computer executes. Sometimes it is it is

referred as machine code or object code. Machine language is the only language a
computer is capable of understanding.

Advantages of Machine language

1. Machine language tells the computer what to do and where to do it.
2. Programs written in machine language are specific to that CPU. So the program runs
very fast in the absence of compiler (i.e. it is not needed)

Disadvantages of Machine language

1. Machine language is machine dependent.
2. Programmers are sometimes able to modify machine language.
3. It requires high level of programming skill.
4. Highly error prone.

5.5 Assembly language

In an assembly language, mnemonics are used to represent operation codes, and strings
of characters to represent addresses. It is designed mainly to replace each machine code
with an understandable mnemonic and each address with a simple alphanumeric string.

In order to execute an assembly language program on a computer, it should first be

translated to its equLYDOHQWPDFKLQHODQJXDJHSURJUDPEHFDXVHWKHFRPSXWHU¶VFLUFXLWU\
is designed to execute only the operation codes of the machine. The translator which
does this is known as an assembler.

The input to an assembler is the assembly language program and is known as the source
code. Its output is the equivalent machine language program and is known as the object
code.

105
Advantages of Assembly Language

1. Easy to find the errors while writing assembly language program.

2. Easier to modify, insertion and deletion is also easy.
3. It is not required to keep track of memory locations.

Disadvantages of Assembly Language

1. Assembly language is machine dependent.

2. Coding is time consuming.
3. Program written in assembly language, cannot be executed on small computers.

***Remember:

Assembly language is written by system programmers with great care.

Although both Assembly and Machine Language might look similar, they are in fact two
different types of languages. Assembly consists of both binary and simple words
whereas MaFKLQHFRGHFRPSRVHGRQO\RI¶VDQG¶V

5.6 High-level language

High Level Language is simplest and most widely used language for application
development. One command in a high-level language may translate to tens of machine
language instructions. In this language, statements are more clearly assemble English
and Mathematics than mnemonics. Instructions written in high-level language are called
statement rather than mnemonics.

Examples of High Level Languages are:

1. BASIC
2. COBOL
3. PASCAL
4. ALGOL
5. FORTRAN

Advantages of High-Level Languages Advantages

1. High level languages are machine independent and application oriented.

2. High level language instructions are very clear.
3. Easier and faster to write a program.
106
4. Programs written in high level language are portable.
5. High level language use standard syntax.
6. Fever errors.
7. Modification is easier and straight forward.
8. Easier documentation and maintenance.
9. Programs are independent of the internal structure of a computer.

Disadvantages of High-Level Languages

1. Programmer need to know about standard rules for writing a program in high level
language.
2. Program written in high level language have lower efficiency.
3. High level language programs are less flexible.
4. High level language program requires a compiler which causes large memory space
inside main memory at the time of execution of a program.
5. Required compiler is expensive.
6. Expensive hardware and software supports are required.
7. Compilation time is more due to low speed.

***Remember:

A language translator is needed to translate high-level language into equivalent machine

codes (i.e. compiler and interpreter).

Differences between Assembly Language and High Level Language:

S. No. Assembly Language High Level Language

1 It uses Mnemonics for writing It uses English like statements

instructions
2 It is machine dependent
language
3 It is an efficient language
4 It can not be directly executed. It
first need to translated into
machine language with the help
of assembler
for writing instructions
It is machine independent
language
It is an less efficient language
It can not be directly executed.
It first need to translated into
machine language with the help
of compiler or interpreter

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Differences between Machine Language and High Level Language:

S. No. Machine Language High Level Language

1 It is first generation It is third generation

programming language
2 It uses binary symbols (0,1)
3 It is machine dependent
language
4 It is faster and efficient
5 It is difficult to understand,
write, modify and debug
6 This language can be directly
executed
7 Each instruction is a sequence of
zero and one
programming language
It uses alphabets and digits
It is machine independent
language
It is slower and less efficient
It is easy to understand, write,
modify and debug
This language cannot be
executed directly
Each instruction is English like
statement

5.7 Generations of Computer Language

1. First Generation Computer Programming Language (1 GL)

The First Generation Computer Programming Language, or 1GL, is low-level language

that is machine language. The code that a machine can read and understand according to
its logical design is called machine code. Programmers had to use machine language
because no other option was available.

Machine language is the only programming language that the computer can understand
directly without translation. It is a language made up of entirely with the combination of
¶s and ¶s. However, there is not a single universal machine language because the
language must be written in accordance with the special characteristics of a given
processor. Each type of processor requires its own machine language. For this reason,
machine language is said to be machine-dependent, and therefore this limitation was
need to be overcome with further generation languages.

Advantages of First Generation Computer Programming Language

Machine language programs have the advantage of very fast execution speeds and
efficient use of primary memory.

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Disadvantages of First Generation Computer Programming Language

1. Use of machine language is very tedious, difficult and time consuming method of
programming.
2. Since Machine language is low-level language, the programmer must specify every
detail of an operation.
3. A low-level language requires that the programmer have detailed knowledge of how
the computer works.
4. Programmers had to know a great deal about WKH FRPSXWHU¶V GHVLJQ DQG LWs
functionality.

2. Second Generation Computer Programming Language (2 GL)

The second-generation languages, or 2GL, are also low-level language that is Assembly
languages. They are also classified as low-level languages because detailed knowledge
of hardware is still required. The first step in making software development easier and
more efficient was the creation of Assembly languages.
Objective of Second Generation Computer Programming Language

The objective of developing Second Generation Computer Programming Language is to

making software development easier and more efficient.

Advantages of Second Generation Computer Programming Language

Assembly languages use mnemonic operation codes and symbolic addresses in place of
1s and 0s to represent the operation codes. A mnemonic is an alphabetical abbreviation.
This means a programmer can use abbreviation instead of having to remember lengthy
binary instruction codes. For example, it is much easier to remember L for Load, A for
Add, B for Branch, and C for Compare than the binary equivalents i-e different
combinations of 0s and 1s.

Disadvantages of Second Generation Computer Programming Language

1. Only computer specialists familiar with the architecture of the computer being used
can use Assembly Language.
2. Assembly language is also machine dependent.
3. Assembly language is not easily converted to run on other types of computers.

3. Third Generation Computer Programming Language (3 GL)

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Third generation languages are also known as high-level languages. It improves on
second generation by making a language as architecture independent. 3 GL are designed
to run on a number of different computers with few or no changes. The programmer
spends less time developing software with a high level language than with assembly or
machine language because fewer instructions have to be created.

Objectives of Third Generation Computer Programming Language

1. To reduce tedious task of writing programs in machine language and assembly

languages.
2. To provide programs that can be used on more than one type of machine with very
few changes.
3. To allow the programmer more time to focus on understanding the usHU¶VQHHGVDQG
designing the software required meeting those needs.
Example:
Third Generation Computer Programming Languages are:
C++, Java, JavaScript etc.
4. Fourth Generation Computer Programming Language (4 GL)

Fourth Generation Computer Programming Language (4GL) is non-procedural in nature

in which the concentration is given on what has to be done instead of how is to be done.
Since 4 GL language is designed to be used by the professional experts so the main
objective of designing this language is to minimize the development and maintenance
time. It generally contains some utility software (i.e. software tool) to interact with data
base management system. This database software helps utility software to store,
manipulate and retrieve data needed for user requirement. Fourth generation languages
are commonly used in database programming and scripts.

Example:
Fourth Generation Computer Programming Languages are:
Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby and SQL etc.

110
Objectives of Fourth Generation Computer Programming Language

1. Minimizing maintenance by reducing errors and making programs that are easy to
change.
2. Increasing the speed of developing programs.
3. Decreasing the skill level required of users.

5. Fifth Generation Computer Programming Language (5 GL)

Fifth Generation Computer Programming Languages (5 GL) are designed to make the
computer solve a given problem without the programmer. This way, the programmer
only needs to worry about what problems need to be solved and what conditions need to
be met, without worrying about how to implement a routine or algorithm to solve them.
The text of a natural language statement very closely resembles human speech. Even
misspelling some words or changing the order of the words can give the same result
using such languages7KHVHODQJXDJHVDUHGHVLJQHGWRPDNHWKHFRPSXWHU³VPDUWHU´

Example

Clout, Q & A, Savvy Retriever and HAL (Human Access Language), Mercury, and
Prolog etc.

5.8 Application Software

Application software is designed to solve a specific problem. It helps users with certain
tasks. The Application Software is a software that applies to the real life application.

Example

1) M.S. Office
2) Music Player
3) Antivirus
4) Acrobat Reader

5.9 Working with MS-OFFICE components

Micro Soft Word is an application software which enables us to create, edit, save and
print documents. It is basically a word processing software which is developed by
Microsoft.It is one of the important tools that is primarily designed for word processing.

Different components of MS Office are:

111
1. Microsoft Word,
2. Microsoft Excel,
3. Microsoft Access,
4. Microsoft PowerPoint,
5. Microsoft Publisher, and
6. Microsoft Outlook.

5.10 Creating, Editing, Formatting and Printing documents using MS-WORD

Basic operations that can be performed in MS Word are:

1. Creating a document
2. Saving a document
3. Editing a document
4. Formatting a document
5. Printing a document.

112
Creating document using MS-Word

Following steps are required to create a document using MS-Word

Step 1 í&OLFNWKH Start button and then All Programs option


Step 2 íSearch for Microsoft Office Package

113
Step 3 ± After clicking on Microsoft Office, you will get following options:

Step 4 ± Click on Microsoft Office Word 2007, you will get the window shown below:
114
Editing document using MS-Word

Following steps are required to edit a document using MS-Word

Different editing options are:

1. Insert Text
2. Select Text
3. Delete Text
4. Move Text
5. Copy & Paste
6. Find & Replace
7. Spell Check
8. Zoom In-Out
9. Special Symbols
10.Undo Changes

115
Formatting document using MS-Word

Formatting of a document can be defined as the method which is used to change the
design and the layout of the text according to the requirements.

Different formatting options are:

Formatting Text

1. Format Font Size

2. Format Font Style
3. Format Font Color
4. Change Text Case
5. Format Text Alignment
6. Insert a Text Box
7. Bold, Italic and Underline open link

Formatting Paragraph
1. Create First Line Indent
2. Apply a Style
3. Customize a Style
4. Create a New Style

Modify Page Layout

1. Change Page Orientation
2. Change Page Size
3. Change Page Margins
4. Insert Break
5. Insert Header Footer open link

All above options can be explore here:

Fig.: Formatting options in MS Word

Printing document using MS-Word

116
 Fig.: Printing document using MS-Word

5.11 Data Analysis and Charting with MS-EXCEL

MS Excel stands for Microsoft Excel. It is a component of MS office. It mainly

comprises worksheets. The worksheet is made of rows and columns that intersect each
other to form cells where data is entered. It is capable of performing multiple tasks like
calculations, data analysis and integrating data.

A worksheet is looks like as follows:

117
 


The key operations that are possible on a worksheet in MS Excel include:

1. Creating a worksheet
2. Saving a worksheet
3. Modifying a worksheet
4. Renaming a worksheet
5. Deleting a worksheet
6. Moving a worksheet
7. Editing a worksheet

Data Analysis with MS Excel

If Data Analysis tab is not available in your MS Excel 2007, then it can be added as
follows:

In MS Excel 2007, click the Office Button and select Excel Options.
118
 

Now click on Add-Ins, select Excel Add-Ins in the Manage box and click Go. Select
Analysis ToolPak and click OK.

119
If Analysis ToolPak is not listed in the Add-Ins list, click Browse to locate it. If Excel
notifies you that the Analysis ToolPak is not yet installed, click Yes to install it. After
loading it, you will find Data Analysis on the Data tab as given below:

Now click the Data Analysis tool

120
Select the Analysis Tool and press OK button. If selected Anova: Single Factor then you
will get the following window:

Now you can use the Collapse Dialog button to select a range and the Expand Dialog
button to return. Select the output range. Then Click OK.

Creating Chart

In Excel, it is easy to create professional looking charts simply by choosing a chart type,
a chart layout, and a chart style.

To create a basic chart in Excel, you start by entering the data for the chart on a
worksheet then select the data and go to the insert tab and select a type of chart. These
charts can be modify and format later.

121
5.12 Creating and Presenting slide show using MS-POWERPOINT

MS Power Point is component of MS office (which is an application software) which

enables us to create presentations. It provides a GUI by which we can create attractive
presentation easily. This presentation may contain slides, notes, handouts, outlines,
animations and graphics.

The key operations that are possible on a worksheet in MS Excel include:

1. Creating a new presentation

2. Designing a presentation
3. Saving a new presentation
4. Adding slides to the presentation
5. Printing the presentation

Creating and presenting slide show using MS-Power Point

122
Creating a Power Point Slide is not a difficult task. You have to open Power Point from
MS office, then a slide will appear automatically. The slide has two text boxes. You can
also add additional text boxes in your slide.

Creating Power Point Slide




Saving Power Point Slide

When a Power Point Slide is created, it can be saved by clicking on the Microsoft Office
Button then select Save or Save As from the menu.

123
 

Presenting Slide Show

Once your power point presentation is created with several slides you can select the
View tab to locate the Presentation Views group. It displays four options to view
presentations, as given below:

1. Normal View,
2. Slide Sorter View,
3. Slide Show View and
4. Notes Page View.

Fig. Presentation Views

124
Normal View

The normal view appears by default when we open the PowerPoint window. You can
create and edit slides in Normal View. This view also offers three view options out of
four options in the form of buttons on the status bar.

Fig. Normal View

Slide Sorter View

Slide Sorter View offers thumbnails of all slides. You can see all your slides at one time
in the screen. You can also drag or delete the slides to rearrange them.

125
 Fig.: Slide Sorter View

Slide Show View

Slide Show View displays your presentation in full screen mode. It also offers an
additional menu at the left bottom corner of the slide.

Fig. Slide Show View

126
Notes Page View

Notes Page View offers space to add some notes just below the slide.

Fig. Notes Page View

127
==============================================================
Objective Type Questions
==============================================================

1. The program that translates assembly language to machine language called as:

(A) Compiler (B) Interpreter

(C) Assembler (D) All of the above.

Answer: (C) Assembler

2. Which of the following types of system software used in micro computers?

(A) MS DOS (B) UNIX

(C) LINUX (D) All of the above.

Answer: (D) All of the above.

3. In MS Word, which of the following tool is used to send letter to many peoples
simultaneously?

(A) Hyperlink (B) Macro

(C) Auto Format (D) Mail Merge.

Answer: (D) Mail Merge.

4. Which of the following is used in Excel to enter a formula in cell?

(A) $ (B) @ (C) + (D) =

Answer: (D) =

5. The ability to combine name and addresses with a standard document is called
________

(A) Document Formatting (B) Database Management

(C) Mail Merge (D) Form Letters

Answer: (C) Mail Merge.

128
6. In how many generations a computer programming language can be classified?

(A) 3 (B) 4 (C) 5 (D) 6

Answer: (C) 5

7. Application software is used to:

(A) Control the operating system

(B) Help programmers
(C) Performs specific task for computer users.
(D) All of the above

Answer: (C) Performs specific task for computer users.

8. Which of the following is an example of system software?

(A) Word processor (B) Operating system

(C) Management information system (D) Spreadsheet

Answer: (B) Operating system

9. What is a compiler?

(A) An Application Software (B) A Process

(C) A System Software (D) A Document

Answer: (C) A System Software

10. A software which converts a HLL Program to machine language is:

(A) Compiler (B) Assembler

(C) Linker (D) Loader

Answer: (A) Compiler

129
==============================================================
Review Questions
==============================================================

1. What is documentation software? Explain and write its two examples.

2. What is system software? Explain various types of system software.
3. Define MS Word, Excel and Power Point.
4. Write short note on System Software and Application Software.
5. What is assembler, compiler and interpreter?
6. What is difference between high level and low level language?
7. Explain the following:
(i) Languages
(ii) Packages
8. What is difference between application and system software?
9. Differentiate Linker and Loader.
10.What do you mean by device driver? Explain in brief.
11.How a chart can be created in MS Excel?
12.Define Mail Merge.
13.How can you prepare a power point presentation? Explain.

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