Chapter 01

Nell Dale & John Lewis

 Chapter One Goals

Describe the layers of a computer system

Describe the concept of abstraction and its relationship to
computing
Distinguish between systems programmers and
applications programmers
Describe the changing role of the computer user
Distinguish between computing as a tool and computing as
a discipline
Describe the history of computer hardware and software
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 Computing Systems

Computer Science deals with science behind the

interaction between hardware and software systems and
their computational applications.
Computing Systems:
Used to solve problems and interact with its
environment.
Composed of hardware, software, and the data that
they manage.

What is the difference between hardware and software?

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Hardware: The physical elements of a computing
system (printer, circuit boards, wires, keyboard…)

Software: The programs that provide the

instructions for a computer to execute

Data/Information: At the very heart of a computer

system is the information that it manages.

Without data, the hardware and software are

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essentially useless. 3
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Layers of a Computing System

Communication
Application
Operating System
Programming
Hardware
Information

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 Layers of a Computing System
Information Layer: Reflects the way we represent information on a
computer. Information on a computer is managed using binary digits, 1
and 0.
Hardware Layer: Consists of the physical hardware of a computer
system. Electronic circuits: transistors, gates. CPU(Central Processing
Unit) and Memory.
Programming Layer: Deals with software, the instructions used
to accomplish computations and manage data.
Operating System (OS): Help manage the computer’s resources.
Windows, Mac OS, Linux etc.
Applications Layer: Focuses on using the computer to solve specific real-
world problems.
Communication Layer: We use computer technology to communicate,
and that communication is a fundamental layer at which computing
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systems operate.