Assignment on Case study

Course Title: Computer Principles & Programming

CASE 1
Ans.a) In today’s digitalization world, computer has become an integral part of our everyday life.
All of us are living in the computer age today, most of our day to day activities cannot be
accomplished without using computers. Basically, computer is a programmable machine to process
data and converts it into information. The history of computer begins with the birth of abacus which
is considered to be the first computer. It was used for numerical calculation. In this modern era,
computer in the form of personal desktop computers, laptops and tablets have become an important
part of our everyday life that it can be difficult to remember a time when the do not exist. Computer
is used in every field; education, business, healthcare, banks etc. It is not possible to use computer
without an operating system. An operating system is a software that communicates with the
hardware and allows other program to run. To run computer smoothly it is essential to have an
operating system in it. However, earlier there was no operating system. When the computer came in
the 1940s, they didn’t use any operating system. The first operating system was developed in 1956.
It was introduced in order to run IBM mainframe computer. The history of the computer goes back
several decades however and there are five generations of computers as explained below:

1. First Generations Computer: The period of first generation was from 1946 to 1959 and was
very expensive and extremely large in size. The computers of first generation used vacuum tubes as
the basic components for memory and circuitry for CPU (Central Processing Unit). In this
generation mainly batch operating system was used. Punch cards, paper tape, and magnetic tape
was used as input and output devices. Features of First generation are -

 Vacuum tube technology

 Supported machine language only
 Huge size and needed AC

Some computer of this generation were: ENIAC, EDVAC etc.

2. Second Generation Computers: The period of second generation was from 1959 to 1965.  In
this generation, transistors were used as the electronic component instead of vacuum tubes. A
transistor is much cheaper, consumed less power, more compact in size, more reliable and faster
than the first generation. In this generation, magnetic cores were used as the primary memory and
magnetic tape and magnetic device as secondary storage devices. Assembly language and high-
level programming languages like FORTRAN, COBOL were used in this generation. The
computers used batch processing and multiprogramming operating system. Features of second
generation are −
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  Reliable in comparison to first generation computers

 Generated less heat and faster as compared to first generation computers

 Still very costly and AC required

 Supported machine and assembly languages

Some computers of this generation were − IBM 1620, CDC 1604, UNIVAC1108 etc.

3. Third Generation Computers: The period of third generation was from 1965-1971. The
computers of third generation used Integrated Circuits (ICs) and was invented by Jack Kilby. The
main advantage of IC is not only its small size but its superior performance and reliability than the
previous circuits. In this generation remote processing, time-sharing, multiprogramming operating
system were used. High-level languages (FORTRAN-II TO IV, COBOL, BASIC, ALGOL-68 etc.)
were used during this generation. The main features of third generation are −

 More reliable and faster in comparison to previous two generations

 Lesser maintenance

 AC required

 Supported high-level language

Some computers of this generation were − IBM-360 series, PDP (Personal Data Processor), IBM-
370/168 etc.

4. Fourth Generation Computers: The period of fourth generation was from 1971-1980.
Computers of fourth generation used Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuits. VLSI circuits
having about 5000 transistors and other circuit elements with their associated circuits on a single
chip made it possible to have microcomputers of fourth generation. This invention led to the dawn
of the personal computer industry. In this generation, time sharing, real time networks, distributed
operating system were used. All the high-level languages like C, C++, DBASE etc., were used in
this generation. The features of fourth generation are −

 Very cheap and small in size

 Portable and reliable

 Use of PCs and no AC required

 Concept of internet was introduced

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Some computers of this generation were – DEC 10, CRAY-1 (Super Computer), CRAY-X-MP
(Super Computer) etc.

5. Fifth Generations Computers: The period of fifth generation is 1980-till date. In the fifth
generation, VLSI technology became ULSI (Ultra Large-Scale Integration) technology, resulting in
the production of microprocessor chips having ten million electronic components. This generation
is based on parallel processing hardware and AI (Artificial Intelligence) software. All the high-
level languages like C and C++, Java, .Net etc., are used in this generation. The main features of
fifth generation are −

 ULSI technology

 Development of true artificial intelligence

 Development of Natural language processing

 Availability of very powerful and compact computers at cheaper rates

Some computer types of this generation are – Desktop, Laptop, Note Book etc.

History of Operating System

(1) First generation (1940’s) – The first computers which came in 1940’s did not have operating
system. Around mid-1940s calculating engines were invented. The first ones used mechanical
relays but were very slow, with cycle times measured in seconds. Relays were later replaced by
vacuum tubes. When the first computer was developed in 1940s, it was built without operating
system. Programming languages were unknown and there were no operating systems so all the
programming was done in machine language. All the problems were simple numerical calculations.

(2) Second generation (1950’s) – In the 2nd Generation, in the 1950s there was some improvement
and it was the time when the first operating systems were introduced. The General Motor Research
Lab implemented the first Operating System in the early 1950s for their computer IBM 701. These
were called single-stream batch processing systems. It was because programs and data were
submitted in groups or batches. The system of 1950s generally ran one job at a time.

(3) Third Generation (1960’s) – In the 1960s advance technologies were developed. The systems
of 1960's were also batch processing systems, but they were able to take better advantage of the
computer's resources by running several jobs at once. The multiprogramming concept was
introduced by the designers in the 1960s. Due to multiprogramming, several jobs was done at the
same time. In the 3rd generation the systems were made in such a way that all the programs can run

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at a fast speed and can get completed fast. It also made the other programs start soon which are
waiting to run.

(4) Fourth Generation (1980’s to till date) – With the development of Large-Scale Integration
circuits, chips, operating system entered in the personal computer. A personal computer was
affordable that it made it possible for a single individual could be able to own one for personal use.
The main factor in developing personal computing was birth of Windows operating system. Bill
Gates and Paul Allen created windows operating system in 1975, they introduced the MS-DOS in
1981. Along with Microsoft, Apple is the other major operating system created in the 1980's. At
present, there are many operating systems which are in use like Linux and Microsoft Windows. For
mobile phones also, we have operating systems like Android and IOS. At present, most of us are
using the Windows Operating System, which was introduced in the year 1985.

Ans.b) An operating system is a software which acts as an interface between the end users and
computer hardware. Every computer must have at least one operating system to run other programs.
without knowing how to speak computer languages, operating system allows you to communicate
with computer.

Open resource Operating system: The term open resource refers to something anyone can get
access to modify and share because it is design publicly accessible. Open resource allows anyone to
get access to inspect, modify, and enhance. Allowing anyone to inspect the source code has many
advantages. Programmers can customise the OS and fix problems. Example- Linux, Android etc.

Proprietary operating system: Proprietary operating system is different from open resource,
instead of being freely open it is own by an individual or a company. In proprietary, the source code
is held secret in order to control customers and markets. In this operating system no one has access
to modify. Other companies can make programs that run on these operating systems, but they can’t
modify the OS itself. Example- Windows, Mac OS etc.

Both Operating system are best in their own way. However, in my opinion when deciding what to
use Open source is better than proprietary because as open source operating system is open to
anyone, anyone can get access so it will be easy to find more vulnerabilities and we can easily
modify it. On the other hand, in proprietary no one has access so it is not possible to see
vulnerabilities even though it is considered as secure but getting rid of some virus attacks like
Trojan and I loveyou virus will be trouble for proprietary system. If any security threats or virus
problem arises in open source anyone can fix and modify it but in proprietary only the vendor has
access. Open source also may make a patching software a bit faster, as there is no need to contact to
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the vendor about the bugs but in case of proprietary you have to wait for next release of the
software that fixed the bugs.

CASE 2

Sol.a) SDLC stands for Software Development Life Cycle. It is a process to design and develop a
software used by the software industries. There are various software development life cycle models;
Waterfall model, Iterative model, Spiral model, V-model, Big Bang model.
Among these several models, for ABC company I will use Iterative model to develop employee
record keeping software. Developers introduced Iterative model as an alternate to Waterfall model.
This model follows all the steps of waterfall model but in repetitive cycle called “Iteration”. This
model is also known as incremental process, because the final product is developed by working
on smaller chunks during each iteration.
I will use Iterative model because:
 Parallel development can be planned
 Testing during smaller iteration is easy
 Easier to test because each iteration can be easily managed
 Easier to manage risk because risk are identified during the iteration
 Less costly to change the requirements
 Results are obtained early and periodically

Sol.b) It is difficult to gauge the exact time required for developing software but we can predict it.
For developing employee record keeping software I will be using Iterative model. The process of
this model is same as waterfall model but in cyclic. Estimate of time is required for each iteration.

Requirements Analysis & Design

Planning
Implementation

Initial Planning Testing

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 Evaluation Deployment

Once the initial planning is complete, Planning and requirements stage starts but it is not much
needed in iterative model as because developers mainly focus in designing and developing rather
than planning so it will take 2-3 days. After planning & requirements, the next step is designing
where all the technical requirements are established like programming languages, data layers etc. it
will take almost 10-14 days. After designing the actual implementation will start and coding process
can begin, it will take minimum 1 months for coding. After coding the product is tested to check
defects and bugs it will take 10-12 days. After testing evaluation phase begins where the entire
teams have to examine the status of project. After this the product is built and the process repeats
again from the top of list planning and requirements to make new version of product. The iteration
cycle that includes development of product will take 5-6 weeks. As ABC company have a plan to
take this software a long way adding new features thus, after iteration cycle project will take 6 to 8
months to complete.

Sol.c) SDLC or Software Development Life Cycle is a process used by software organization to
develop software. It aims to produce highest quality software in the shortest time possible that
meets customer expectations. The SDLC involves six phases:
Step:1 Planning and requirement analysis- This is the most important and fundamental stage in
SDLC which is performed by the senior members of the team. During this phase all the relevant
information is collected with inputs from the customer, sales department, and market surveys. This
relevant information is then used to plan the basic project approach and to conduct product
feasibility in the economical, operational and technical areas.
Step:2 Defining Requirements- After doing planning and requirement analysis the next step is to
clearly define the product requirements and get them approved from the customer or market analyst.
It is done through Software Requirement Specification document which consist of all the product
requirements to be developed during the project life cycle.
Step:3 Designing- In this phase, based on the requirements gathered in SRS usually more than one
design for the product architecture is proposed and documented in DDS Design Document
Specification. After this DDS is reviewed by all the important stakeholders and based on various
parameters as risk assessment, budget and time constraints the best design is selected for the
product. Prototyping may be the part of Design phase; it is like one of the early versions of software
in the Iterative software development model.
Step:4 Developing the product- In the development phase, all the documents from the designing
phase are transformed into the actual system and the product is built. The programming code is

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generated as per DDS during this stage. We must follow the coding guidelines define by the
organizations. Programming tools like compilers, interpreters etc. are used to generate the code and
programming languages such as C, C++, pascal, java are used for coding.
Step:5 Testing the product- In this stage testing starts once the coding is completed. The testing
activities are mostly involved in all stages of SDLC. However, this stage is to test the products
where product defects are reported, tracked, fixed and retested, until the product reaches the quality
standards defined in the SRS.
Step:6 Deployment and maintenance- Once the product testing is over the final deployment
process starts. It is released formally in appropriate market. In this stage, we only deploy the fully
tested final software developed by the developers. Then based on the feedback, the product may be
released to the ABC company.

Sol.d) Prototype is like an early version of an actual product. It is an example that serves as a basis
for future models. It lets developer to gain valuable feedback from the users before the final product
is delivered to the clients.

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After identifying the basic requirements, I will develop the software. Then, I will test the software
to check the defects and bugs. After testing, I will provide the product to the company. Then after
providing the product I will interact with the company for the valuable feedback on additions and
deletions. After then, I will use the feedback from the clients and will implement changes and
improve it.