Unit 1 – Information Technology

Concepts
1.1 – Computer System

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Computer system

A system is a collection of elements that work together to

achieve a common objective.

A computer system consists of:

Hardware
Software elements Information
that Processing
Firmware
support
Liveware

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What is a Computer?
▪ A programmable machine that inputs, processes and
outputs data
▪ A computer is an electronic device that can store
and process data, converting it into information

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Data vs Information

Data Information

Raw data are numbers,

Information is derived when raw
characters, images
facts are transformed into a form
collected from an original
that is useful to the recipient
source

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Information Technology (IT)
▪ IT relates to the use of a computer for managing information
▪ Typically done by IT departments in organizations
▪ Data capturing and input
▪ Data and information representation /
Typical IT storage
Functions
▪ Data processing
▪ Information presentation and output
▪ Data transmission

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A Computer System

Earlier we said a Computer System consists of

following 4 elements:

▪ Hardware
▪ Software
▪ Firmware
▪ Liveware

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Hardware
Hardware refers to the physical components of a
computer system such as:

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Software
▪ Software is a collection of programs or applications, which
contain the instructions that make the computer work.
▪ Software is held either on your computer’s hard disk, CD-ROM,
DVD and is loaded (i.e. copied) from the disk into the computer
RAM as and when required.
▪ There are 2 types of Software:
1. System Software
2. Application Software
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System vs Application Software
System Software
Are used to control the computer
hardware and develop and run
applications
System software can be
categorized as Operating
systems and Utility software
Application Software
A set of computer programs designed to
permit the user to perform a group of
coordinated functions or tasks
Application software cannot run on itself
but is dependent on system software to
execute.
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Firmware
▪ A computer memory consists of two parts:

▪ Random-Access Memory (RAM) and

Read Only Memory (ROM)

▪ ROM contains some programs written by the computer

manufacturer, which can only be read but not written.

▪ These programs are called firmware and they are used to start
up the machine (also called booting) with the necessary checks.

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Liveware
The human expertise needed in the field of IT.
These people include:
▪ Software Engineers
▪ Hardware Engineers
▪ IT Managers
▪ Project Managers
▪ Database Engineers
▪ Network Administrators
▪ All Users of Computers

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Summary
▪ A System - Definition
▪ A Computer System
▪ Data vs Information
▪ Main function of IT
▪ Hardware Elements
▪ System vs Application software
▪ Firmware and Liveware

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