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Contents
Chapter 14 Computer
Introduction
The word computer has been derived from the Latin word ‘COMPUTARE’, which means
to compute or to calculate. A computer can be defined as an electronic device used to
calculate and manipulate the data (i.e. input) and generates an output in the form of
useful information by following a set of procedural instructions. British scientist Charles
Babbage is considered as the Father of Computer. He invented the first mechanical
computer in early 19th century and further in 1833, he conceived a automatic analytical
engine for performing arithmetic functions. AlanMathison Turing is widely regarded as the
Father of Modern Computers or Father of theortical computer science and Artificial
Intelligence (AI).
Characteristics of Computer
▸ Speed ▸ Accuracy
▸ Diligence ▸ Versatility
Applications of Computer
▸ Education
▸ Hospitals
▸ Business
▸ Weather forecasting
▸ Entertainment
▸ Organisations
Generations of Computer
Types of Computer
Computer can be classified on three basis
▸ Analog Computers This is a type of computer that reads data using measurement and
some program scale. It calculates by measuring continuous changes in the physical
quantities. e.g. Mechanical integrators, nomogram, speedometer etc.
▸ Digital Computers This is a computer that performs calculations and logical operations
with quantities represented as binary digits. e.g. Desktop, mainframe etc.
▸ Hybrid Computers These computers are the combination of both analog and digital
computers. It works by measuring quantity and calculating logical operations. e.g. ECG
monitors, HRS-100 etc.
▸ General Purpose Computers This type of computers are designed in order to work in
all environments. They are versatile computers but are not efficient and also consume a
large amount of time in generating the results. e.g. ENIAC, desktops etc.
▸ Special Purpose Computers They are designed to perform only a specified task. They
are not versatile and their speed and size depends on the task. They are efficient and
consume less time in generating results. e.g. ATM, aircraft controllers etc.
▸ Mini Computers This type of computers are more powerful than micro computers, but
less powerful than mainframe computers. They are also termed as mid-range computers.
▸ Mainframe Computers It is a very large computer and is used for handling major
applications in large business organisations. They can also be used as centralised
computers with several terminal users connected to it. They can contain large databases
and are also known as super servers.
▸ They can handle huge amount of input/output (I/O) operations at the same time. They
are very expensive. e.g. Fujitsu’s ICL VME, Hitachi’s Z800 etc.
▸ NASA (National Aeronautics for Space Administration) uses super computers for
launching space shuttles, controlling them and for space exploration purpose.
▸ PARAM is the first super computer in India. It is a series of gigaflops developed by the
Centre of Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune.
Components of Computer
The computer system comprises of the following four main components
1. Input Unit
It consists of those devices through which user can enter the data into a computer. It links
a computer to the external environment. It translates the data into computers
understandable form. Some input devices are
▸ Mouse is a pointing device which provides a means to input data and commands in
graphic form by selecting through moving an arrow called pointer.
▸ Joystick is an input device that moves in all directions and controls the movement of
the cursor.
▸ Scanner is an optical input device and uses light as an input source to convert an
image into an electronic form that can be stored on the computer.
▸ Touch Screen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location
of a touch within the display area.
2. Output Unit
This unit contains those devices that provide the desired output (results) in the human
acceptable format. Some output devices are
▸ Monitor is also known as Visual Display Unit (VDU). The monitor is provided along with
the computer to view the display result. The popular types of monitor are
▸ LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a special type of liquid is sandwiched between two
plates. It is a thin, flat and light weight screen made up of any number of colour or
monochrome pixels arranged in front of a light source.
▸ LED (Liquid/Light Emitted Diode) is an electronic device that emits light when electrical
current is passed through it.
▸ TFT (Thin Film Transistor) is a LCD with active-matrix displays, each pixel is controlled
by one to four transistors that can make the screen faster, brighter, more colorful than
passive-matrix and capable of being viewed at different angles.
▸ 3-D Monitors describe an image that provides the perception of length. When 3-D
images are made interactive then user feel involved with the scene, and this experience
is called virtual reality.
▸ Printer prints information and data from the computer onto a paper. It can print
documents in colour as well as in black and white.
▸ Plotter is a special kind of output channel, like a printer, that produces images on
paper. They are mainly used to produce large drawings or images.
▸ Speaker is an output device that receives sound in the form of electric current. It needs
a sound card connected to a CPU, that generates sound.
CPU is considered as the ‘Brain of Computer’. It is responsible for all the manipulations
and processing of the data provided to the computer. It is further categorised basically
into two main components
▸ Arithmetic Logical Unit (ALU) This unit performs both arithmetical and logical
operations. Arithmetic operations involves addition, subtraction, multiplication, division etc
and the logical operations involves AND, OR, NOT, NOR, NAND etc.
▸ Control Unit (CU) It is an important part that instructs, maintains and controls the flow
of information but does not store the data. It tells the memory, ALU and I/O devices that
how they have to respond to the program’s instructions.
4.Memory Unit
This unit stores the data and instructions, intermediate results or the processed data and
thus, provides the relevant information whenever required by the other units of computer.
It consists of two types
▸ Primary Memory It is considered to be the main memory of computer that stores the
data which is currently in use by the computer.
▸ RAM (Random Access Memory) is a volatile memory, which losses the data when the
power gets switched OFF. There are basically two types of RAM: Static RAM and
Dynamic RAM.
▸ ROM (Read Only Memory) is a nonvolatile memory, which retains the data even when
the power gets switched OFF.
▸ Program and data that cannot be altered are stored in ROM. There are basically three
types of ROM: Programmable ROM(PROM), Erasable PROM(EPROM) and Electrically
EPROM(EEPROM).
▸ Secondary Memory The computer system uses secondary memory to store data,
program instruction and information. It stores the data permanently. User can access or
retrieve the data whenever required. Types of Secondary Memory:
Cache Memory
It is a type of memory used to hold the frequently used data. It acts as a buffer between
the CPU and the main memory. It consumes less access time as compared to main
memory and thus, is used to match up the speed of fast running processor.
Registers
These are defined as the special memory units used by the CPU to speed up the rate of
accessing information. There are some special type of registers used for specific work.
e.g. Program Counter (PC) is used to hold the address of the next instruction for
execution. Some other examples are Accumulator, Memory Buffer Register (MBR),
Instruction Register (IR) etc.
Hardware
It can be defined as the physical components of a computer i.e. the parts that can be
seen and touched. The four main categories of hardware are
Software
The term software can be defined as the set of programs and procedures that enable a
computer to perform a specific task or to process the information. Software can be
classified into three types :
SystemSoftware
▸ Interpreter It converts a high level language into machine language by converting it line
by line.
▸ Complier It also converts high level language program into machine language at one
go.
Utility Software
It is a type of system software, which is used to support, secure and enhance the existing
programs and data in the computer system. It is also used to debug the software errors.
e.g. antivirus software, backup software etc.
Programming Language
It is a set of keywords, symbols and a system of rules for constructing statements, by
which human can communicate, to be executed by a computer. Programming languages
are mainly categorised into two parts:
Low Level Languages These languages are designed to operate and handle the entire
hardware and instruction set architecture of a computer system directly. It is divided into
two parts:
High Level Languages These languages are not limited by the computer, designed for a
specific task and are easier to read, write and understand. e.g. BASIC, C, FORTRAN,
JAVA etc.
Application Software
It is a set of one or more programs designed to carry out operations for a specific
application. It cannot run on itself, but it is dependent on system software to get executed.
It is written in high level language.
Database Used for storing information, e.g. the names and Microsoft SQL
Management addresses of the clients. Server, Oracle
System
Accounting They generate extensive financial reports, Tally (all
Program produce invoices and statements to customers, versions)
handle accounts payable and receivable, print
payroll checks and payroll reports and track
inventories.
Networking
Computer networking relates to the communication between a group of two or more
computers linked together. When we communicate on a network, we share information or
data through a communication medium. E-mailing, instant messaging and web pages all
are dependent on communication that take place across an underlying computer network.
Benefits of Networking
▸ Software sharing
▸ Hardware sharing
▸ Reliability
Network Devices
These are required to amplyfy the signal to restore the original strength of signal and to
provide an interface to connect multiple computers in a network. Many types of Network
Devices
▸ Repeater is a device that amplifies the signals when they are transported over a long
distance so that the signal can be as strong as the original signal.
▸ Hub is like a repeater with multiple ports used to connect the network channels.
▸ Bridge reduces the amount of traffic on a LAN by dividing it into two segments.
▸ Modem is a device that converts digital signal to analog signal and vice-versa.
▸ Local Area Network (LAN) In this, computers can be connected with a geographical
area spread over 1 km to 10 km or we can say within a same building. All the terminals
are connected to a main computer called server.
▸ Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) It is a data network designed for a town or city. Its
main purpose is to share hardware and software resources among the various users.
▸ Wide Area Network (WAN) In this, the computers are farther apart and are connected
by radiowaves. Such a network may spread over countries.
Communication Media
▸ Ethernet Cable or Twisted Pair A type of cable that consists of two independently
insulated wires twisted around one another. The use of two wires twisted together helps
to reduce crosstalk and electromagnetic induction.
▸ Coaxial Cable A type of wire that consists of a center wire surrounded by insulation
and then a grounded shield of braided wire. The shield minimizes electrical and radio
frequency interference.
▸ Fiber-Optic Cable A type of wire that containing one or more optical fibers that are
used to carry light. The optical fiber elements are typically individually coated with plastic
layers and contained in a protective tube suitable for the environment.
▸ Radio Wave Transmission There are two principal ways in which electromagnetic
(radio) energy travels from a transmitting antenna to a receiving antenna. One way is by
GROUND WAVES that are radio waves that travel near the surface of the Earth (surface
and space waves) and the other is by SKYWAVES that are radio waves that are reflected
back to Earth from the ionosphere.
▸ Bluetooth It is a wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances
from fixed and mobile devices and to create a Personal Area Networks (PANs).
Topology
It is defined as the way in which several nodes of the network are linked together. It
represents the physical path between the connected nodes. e.g. Bus, Ring, Star, Tree,
Mesh etc.
It is the world’s collection of inter connected voice oriented public telephone networks. It
provides landline phone service to residence and many other establishments. Thats why
is also referred as Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS).
It provides Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) facility. It acts as a regional post office that
examines the from and to information. It subscribes services like invoices sale purchase
order etc.
It is a set of communication standards for digital transmission of voice, videos and other
data services. It combines both circuit switching and packet switching for the purpose of
transmitting data.
Firewall
Internet
Internet is defined as network of networks that consists of millions of private and public
computer networks linked together and sharing information using client server
relationship. Data is shared by packet switching through standardised Internet Protocol
Suite (TCP/IP).
It is a set of rules for transmitting files such as text, images, sound, videos etc, on the
WorldWideWeb (WWW). As soon as a web user opens the web browser, the user is
indirectly making use of HTTP. Its primary function is to establish a connection with the
server.
It is dial account which puts the computer directly on the Internet. Using this protocol
each computer on the server has its own name and IP address.
Telnet
It is a network protocol that allows a user on one computer to log into another computer
that is part of the same network. It is an underlying TCP/IP protocol for accessing remote
computers.
WorldWideWeb (WWW)
Web Server
It is a program that serves the files to the web user with the use of client server model
approach and WWW’s http. It contains the web pages corresponding to the website
available on the Internet.
Client Server
It is a network architecture which separates the client from the server. Each instance of
the client software can send request to server.
Webpage
It is a resource onWWW, usually written in HTML/XHTML with hypertext links that enable
navigation from one page to another.
Website
It is a collection of web pages, grouped under a same domain name on the WWW or
Internet.
Web Browser
It is an application software that runs over the client computer connect it with the server
or to access the Internet and the WWW. e.g. Opera, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox etc.
Domain Name
It is a way to identify and locate computers connected to the Internet. It always have two
or more parts, separated by dots(.). e.g. google.com, yahoo.com etc.
WAP is a technical standard for accessing information over a mobile wireless network. A
WAP browser is a web browser used by the mobile devices that are based on this
protocol.
IP Address
Along with the physical address stored in NICs, Internet requires and additional
addressing that identifies the connection of a host to its network which is known as the IP
address. No two hosts on the Internet can have the same IP address. Each IP address
consists of 4 bytes i.e. 32 bits defining 3 fields: Class, Network ID and Host ID.
It is an organisation that provides the Internet connection services to the people, who
want to used Internet.
It is a service provided by the Internet that allows the exchange of digital messages
through a network. It provides a communication medium through which people can
communicate with each other.
InstantMessaging
There are several applications (apps) provided for instant messaging such as Viber,
WeChat, Line, WhatsApp etc. Among all, WhatsApp is considered to be the most globally
popular messaging app. It was bought by facebook in 2014. The messengers are only
available for Android, Black berry, iOS and Windows phone mobile operating system.
It is a platform to build social networks or social relations among people who share
interests, activities, events etc., within their individual networks. e.g. Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn, Instagram etc.
▸ Facebook It is a very popular social networking site among the users. It allows the
users to share their ideas, activities, images, videos, events etc., within their individual
network.
Wireless Communication
The origin of wireless communication goes back to 1896, when Marconi invented the
wireless telegraphy. Wireless communication is the transfer of information over a distance
without the use of electrical conductors or wires. The distance involed may be short or
long. e.g. GPS units, wireless computer mice, keyboards and headsets, satellite
television etc.
It was commercially launched for the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication)
standard in 1991 by Radiolinja in Finland. It was allowed for enhanced data services and
also introduced the Short Messaging Services (SMSs).
It was introduced by NTT DoCoMo in Japan in 2001. Its data transfer rates are 384 K
bit/sec to 2M bits/sec. So, it allows for never before services like video calls, video
conferencing, mobile, TV etc.
TeliaSonera was the first operator in the world to commercially launch 4G in late 2009 in
the City Centre of Stockholm and Oslo and a year later it was launched in Finland. Bharti
Airtel had launched 4G on mobiles in Bangalore, thus becoming the first in India to offer
such a service on 14th February 2014.
It will be a successor for 4G. It is a term used in some research papers and projects to
denote the next major phase. Alliance feels that 5G should be rolled out by 2020 to meet
business and consumer demands.
Security Threats
Phishing
Intruders
The attacker who would constantly find their way for breaking and entering into a secured
system to access confidential or users information are called intruders.
Virus
It is defined as a program or a piece of code that gets loaded onto the computer without
users knowledge and replicates itself. Various kinds of virus are Boot sector virus, Macro
virus, Resident virus, Polymorphic virus, Direct action virus etc. e.g. Creeper, Stuxnet,
Melissa, Conficker, Code red, SQL Slammer, Nimda (derived from the word ‘Admin’) etc.
▸ Creeper is generally accepted to be the first computer virus written by Bob Thomas at
BBN (Bolt Beranak and Newman) in 1971.
Worm
Spam
It is an unsolicited message sent over the Internet in the form of E-mails, to a large
number of users for the purpose of spreading malware, advertising phishing etc.
Spyware
Malware
Botnet
Antivirus
▸ Identifying suspicious behaviour from any computer program which might indicate
infection.
Bill Gates
Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs was an American businessman, inventor and industrial designer and the co-
founder of Apple Inc with Stephen Wozniak. He was the Chairman and CEO of Apple Inc.
TimCook
Tim Cook is the CEO of Apple Inc. He has filled the seat of Steve Jobs. He is the decision
maker in a company that has revolutionized the way humans see and use technology.
TimBerners Lee
TimBerners Lee also known as TimBL is a British computer scientist and the inventor of
the World Wide Web (WWW). He implemented the first successful communication
between a Hypertext Transfer Protocol client and server via the Internet.
Jan Koum
iOS (iphone OS) It is the Apple’s, mobile operating system developed originally for the
iphone and later deployed on the iPod Touch and iPad as well.
Apple It is a prominent hardware and software company best known for its series of PCs,
iPods, iPads, iphones etc. It was founded by Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak. Recently,
Apple has launched large screen iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which has advanced features
including health control apps, 4.7 and 5.5 inches display, better image quality and good
battery backup.
CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans
Apart) It is a type of challenge response test used in computing as an attempt to ensure
that the response is generated by a human being. The process usually involves a
computer asking a user to complete simple test which the computer is able to grade the
user.
Rail Radar It is an online application that was launched by the CRIS (Centre for Railway
Information Systems) on 10th October 2012 to find out the location of a large no of trains.
E-mail Triage It is a structured technique for processing E-mail. It is helpful for the user in
order to make rapid, effective decisions about the mails stored in the Inbox of the user. At
the end of the process, user is left with only the bits that require attention.
Deep Blue It was a chess playing super computer developed by IBM. This computer is
able to do the work equivalent to the work of 32 computers and can think 20 crore steps
of chess in one second. This was the computer which had defeated world chess
champion Garry Kasparov in 1997. HP, Google, Microsoft and Apple have one thing in
common that all of them were started in garages.
Glossary
▸ Artificial Intelligence It is a branch of science that deals with helping machines find
solutions to complex problems in a more human like fashion.
▸ Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) It is also known as ROM BIOS. It is a consistent
way for application programs and operating system to interact with input/ouput devices.
▸ Biometric Device A device used for user authentication that verifies some physical
characteristics of a user such as the person’s appearance, finger print etc.
▸ Blu-ray Disc It can be defined as a digital optical disc data storage medium, storing
high definition video resolution. It contains 25 GB per layer and 50 GB dual layer. It is a
plastic disc with 120 mm diameter and 1.2 mm thickness, the same size as of DVDs and
CDs.
▸ Cloud Computing It is a general term for the delivery of hosted services over the
Internet whereby shared resources, softwares and information are provided to computers
and devices as a utility over the network.
▸ Cookies These are often used to store information on the computer system to track
the browsing pattern on a particular site.
▸ Firmware It is defined as the program that has been written on to ROM.It cannot be
changed or deleted by an end user. They are in the non-volatile memory. Firmware is the
combination of both software and hardware.
▸ Flow Chart It is the graphical representation formed with specified symbols (fig) and
shows the flow of data, operations performed and the sequence of their execution.
▸ Motherboard The biggest piece of silicon housed in the system unit of a computer is
motherboard. All the other electronic devices and circuits of computer system are
attached to this board like, processor, ROM, RAM, expansion slots and USB ports. It also
includes controllers for devices like the hard drive, keyboard and mouse.
▸ Multimedia It refers to the use of several medias such as text, audio, graphics, video
etc, to convey information. It simply means, being able to communicate in more than one
way.
▸ Robotics It is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction,
operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots and computer
systems for their control, sensury feedback and information processing.
Abbreviations