AN OVERVIEW OF

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

TECHNOLOGY
 PRINTERS
A printer is an output device that prints characters, symbols, and perhaps
graphics on paper.
Printers translate information that has been processed by the system unit on a
paper.

Printers output is often called HARDCOPY

Examples are:
Ink-jet Printer. Laser Printer
Thermal Printer Dot Matrix Printers
Plotters

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 CLASSIFICATION OF PRINTERS

Printers are categorized according to whether the printers have contact or not
with the medium on which the document is to be placed.

Therefore printers can be classified as;

• Impact printers and
• Non-impact printers.

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 NON-IMPACT PRINTERS
Non-impact printers form characters and images without direct physical contact
between the printing mechanism and the paper.

Two types of non- impact printers often used with microcomputers are laser
printers and ink-jet printers.

Example: laser, ink-jet, bubble jet, etc.

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• Printers could also be classified due to how they transfer letters
unto a paper. They are

• Character Printer

• Line Printer

• Page Printer
 IMPACT PRINTERS
These printers use mechanisms resembling those of a typewriter. It forms
characters or images by striking a mechanism such as a print hammer or
wheel against an inked ribbon, leaving an image on paper.

Examples are Dot Matrix, Daisy Wheel, Band and Chain printer as well as Braille
Printer

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 PLOTTERS

A plotter is a specialized output device designed to produce high-quality

graphic in a variety of colours.

Plotters are used for creating large hardcopy items, such as maps,
architectural drawings, charts and 3-D illustrations. Such items are usually
too large to be printed on regular printers.

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 AUDIO-OUTPUT DEVICES

These are mechanisms that translates audio information from the computer
into sounds that people can understand.

The most widely used audio-output devices are the Speakers and the Head-
phones.

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 INPUT/OUTPUT DEVICES
• Input devices provide input to a computer, while output devices
provide a way for a computer to output data for communication
with users or other computers.

• An I/O device is a device with both functionalities.

NB: I/O device is/are bi-directional, such devices are usually
categorized under storage or communications.

• Examples of I/O devices are CD/DVD-ROM drives, USB flash

drives and hard disk drives. Examples of communication I/O devices
are network adapters, Bluetooth adapters/dongles and modems.
 THE SYSTEM UNIT
The system unit is a case that contains electronic components of the computer
used to process data. System units are available in a variety of shapes and
sizes.

The case of the system unit,

sometimes called the chassis
 What are the common components inside the system unit?
power supply drive bays

 Processor
 Memory
 Adapter cards processor

 Sound card
 Video card
 Ports
 Drive bays ports memory

 Power supply

sound card
video card
 THE MOTHERBOARD
The motherboard, sometimes called a system
board, is the main circuit board of the system unit. Most of the electronic
components in the system unit is attached on the motherboard; while others
are built into it.

 It Contains adapter cards, processor chips, and

memory chips.
 Bus
Channel that allows devices inside computer to communicate with each other.
In other words a BUS is an electronic path on which data travels.

 System bus connects processor and RAM

 Bus width determines number of bits transmitted at one time

 Word size is the number of bits processor can interpret

and execute at a given time
 CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (C.P.U.)

The CPU is the main brain of the computer of a computer system. It reads and
interprets software instructions and coordinates activities that must take
place.

It is a device that interprets and executes instructions, it is a chip that functions

as the brain of the computer
Intel Processor Desired Clock Speed

Itanium or Xeon 1.3 GHz and up

3.0 GHz and up

2.4 GHz to 3.0 GHz

Pentium family
Up to 2.4 GHz

2.2 GHz and up

Celeron
CPU is made up of two main categories namely:

The Control Unit

The Arithmetic/Logic Unit

 THE ARITHMETIC & LOGIC UNIT

This unit is sometimes called ALU and is responsible for Arithmetic and Logic
operations.

Arithmetic operations refers to the basic mathematical operations such as

“addition”, “subtraction”, “multiplication” and “division”.
Logical operations involve making comparisons.

The ALU compares two data to find the “greater”, “less than” or “equal to”
 THE CONTROL UNIT
The control unit contains circuitry that uses electrical signal to direct the entire
computer system to carry out operation.
The control unit direct the flow of data to-and – from all parts of the computer.

It coordinates and controls all operations and task within the computer
environment.

It relates hardware and software components as well as instructions respectively.

The control unit has a role much like a traffic
Cop; it interprets each instruction issued by a program and then
initiates the appropriate action to carry out the instruction.

Types of internal components that the control unit directs include the
arithmetic/logic unit, registers, and buses,
 Processor

Control
Control Arithmetic
Arithmetic
Unit
Unit Logic Unit
Logic Unit (ALU)
(ALU)

Instructions
Data
Information

Input Output
Data Memory Information
Devices Devices

Instructions
Data
Information

Storage
Devices
The operations of the processor or the CPU brings about the machine
cycle.

The machine cycle is a series of similar steps that the processor goes
through in order to process data. The steps are;

• Fetching
• Decoding
• Executing
• Storing.
Fetch: the programs code is “fetched” from its temporary location in
the RAM to the CPU

Decode: the programs binary code is decoded or changed into

commands that the CPU understands.
Execute: this is the point where manipulations are performed
on the codes or the data.

Store: this is when the results are written to or stored in the

registers
 Step 1. Fetch
Obtain program instruction
or data item from memory

Memory
Step 2.
Decode
Step 4. Store Translate
Write result to memory instruction into
commands

Processor

ALU Control Unit

Step 3. Execute
Carry out command
 THE MEMORY
This allow information to be stored and retrieved. It is an electronic storage
area/space in the computer.

The Memory is a circuitry device that makes the storage of data and
programs possible. It is the primary storage area.
 Functions of the main memory

The Main Memory has 3 functions.

• It stores all or part of the programs being executed

• it stores the operating system programs that manage the operating of the
computer

• and holds data that are being used by the programs. The main memory is
volatile.
Memory is measured by number of bytes available for storage.

KilobyteKB or thousand bytes

Megabyte MB 1 million bytes
Gigabyte GB 1 billion bytes
Terabyte TB 1 trillion bytes
 TYPES OF MEMORY

Basically there are two types of memory:

Internal memory

External memory
 THE INTERNAL MEMORY

The internal memory is in-built and therefore already in the system unit.

The Internal Memory is of two types namely:

RAM (Random Access memory)

ROM (Read Only Memory)

 RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY

RAM is a Memory chips that can be read from and written to by processor.

This part of the computer memory holds data/information only when the
computer is turned on. This means when the computer is turned off, all data
and information is lost.

RAM is therefore a temporarily/primary storage area and hence volatile.

• The size of the RAM determines how fast and capable a computer is as far as
working with complex programs are concern.

• The larger the RAM size, the more capable a computer is.
 TYPES OF RAM

SRAM: (Static Random Access Memory

DRAM: (Dynamic Random Access Memory)

CMOS: (Complementary Metallic Oxides Semi-conductor.)

RAM chips usually reside on a memory module, which is a small circuit board.

Memory slots on the motherboard hold memory modules.

Three types of memory modules are

• SIMMs,
• DIMMs,
• RIMMs.
A SIMM (single inline memory module)

• DIMM (dual inline memory module),

• A RIMM (Rambus inline memory module)

 REGISTERS

Temporary high-speed storage area that holds data and instructions.

A processor contains small, high-speed storage locations, called registers, that

temporarily hold data and instructions.

Registers are part of the processor, not part of memory or a permanent storage
device.
Processors have many different types of registers, each with a specific storage
function.

Memory, or RAM, is located external to the CPU. Generally speaking, data has to
be loaded into a CPU register from memory before the CPU can process it,
RAM is much slower than registers.

Register functions include storing the location from where an instruction was
fetched, storing an instruction while the control unit decodes it, storing data
while the ALU computes it, and storing the results of a calculation.
 CACHE MEMORY
A cache is a small, fast memory that acts as a buffer between a device that uses
a large amount of memory and a large, slower main memory.

Cache memory is an extremely fast memory type that acts as a buffer between
RAM and the CPU. It holds frequently requested data and instructions so that
they are immediately available to the CPU when needed.

The cache's purpose is to reduce average memory-access time.

The CPU uses cache memory to store instructions that are repeatedly required
to run programs, improving overall system speed.
• Levels of memory:

• Level 1 or Register –
It is a type of memory in which data is stored and accepted that are immediately
stored in CPU. Most commonly used register is accumulator, Program counter,
address register etc.
• Level 2 or Cache memory –
It is the fastest memory which has faster access time where data is temporarily stored
for faster access.

• Level 3 or Main Memory –

It is memory on which computer works currently. It is small in size and once power is
off data no longer stays in this memory.

• Level 4 or Secondary Memory –

It is external memory which is not as fast as main memory but data stays permanently
in this memory.
 READ ONLY MEMORY

ROM is a memory on which data has been pre-recorded. Once the data has
been written onto a ROM chip, it can only be read.
Thus the computer cannot write – encode – or change – information the on
ROM.

ROM is non-volatile, since even if the computer is off it still keeps its content.
ROM chips typically contains special instructions for detailed computer
operations.

E.g ROM instructions are needed to start the computer, give keyboard keys
their special control capabilities and put characters on the screen. ROM is
also called firmware
 TYPES OF ROM

PROM (Programmable Read Only Memory)

EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory)

EAPROM (Electrically Alterable Programmable Read Only Memory)

 FLASH MEMORY

Flash memory is a type of nonvolatile memory that can be erased

electronically and
rewritten, similar to EEPROM.

Most computers use flash memory to hold their startup instructions because it
allows the computer easily to update its contents.
Used with PDAs, smart phones, printers, digital cameras,
automotive devices, audio players, digital voice recorders, etc

You can change a removable flash memory device without having

to open the system unit or restart the computer..
 MEMORY CARD

A memory card is a removable flash memory device, usually not bigger than
1.5" in height or width, that you insert and remove from a slot in a personal
computer, game console, mobile device, or card reader/writer.
 STORAGE
(EXTERNAL STORAGE)
WHAT IS STORAGE

Storage is a means in which the computer holds data, instructions, and

information for future use.

A storage medium (media is the plural), also called secondary storage, is the
physical material on which a computer keeps data, instructions, and
information.

Examples of storage media are:

 CHARACTERISTICS OF SECONDARY STORAGE
• They are relatively long term storage medium

• It is outside the central processing unit;

• They are non-volatile.

• They are slower than the primary storage devices because of their
electromechanical component; and

• They are able to transfer large amount of data to the central processing unit.
 WHAT IS A STORAGE DEVICE
A storage device is the computer hardware that records and/or retrieves
items to and from storage media.

Hardware that
Reading records and Writing
Process of transferring retrieves items Process of transferring
items from storage to and from items from memory
media to memory storage media to storage media

Functions as source Creates output

of input
Writing is the process of transferring data, instructions, and information
from memory to a storage medium.

Reading is the process of transferring these items from a storage medium

into memory
 CRITERIA FOR RATING STORAGE DEVICES

The criteria for rating storage devices are the storage

• Capacity,
• Access time and
• Transfer rate
 CAPACITY
Capacity is the number of bytes (characters) a storage medium can
hold or the amount of data that can be stored.
 TRANSFER RATE

The transfer rate, or “data rate” refers to the speed with which data is transferred
from its source to its destination, such as from one computer to another over a
network, or from the computer to the disk drive. It’s measured like we would
measure any rate of speed-in units of information per the unit of time, like miles
per hour

Transfer rate is often related to data, as in data transfer rate (DTR), which is often
tied to a specific technology such as the kind of network and communication
infrastructure being used. Newer tec
 ACCESS TIME

• In a computer, it is the time interval between the instant at which

an instruction control unit initiates a call for data or a request
to store data, and the instant at which delivery of the data is
completed or the storage is started.
 MAGNETIC STORAGE

• Magnetic storage or magnetic recording is the storage of data on

a magnetized medium.

• Magnetic storage media and devices store data in the form of

tiny magnetized dots. These dots are created, read and erased using
magnetic fields created by very tiny electromagnets.

EXAMPLES: Hard Disk, Floppy Disk, Tape.

 THE HARD DISK

• Hard-drives have a very large storage capacity (up to 1TB). They can be used
to store vast amounts of data.

• Hard-drives are random access devices and can be used to store all types of
films, including huge files such as movies. Data access speeds are very fast.

Data is stored inside a hard-drive on rotating metal or glass discs (called

‘platters’).
 THE HARD DISK
The hard drive is the primary device that a computer uses to store information
.

The hard disk is made up of thin steel platter with iron oxide coating.

The hard drive, magnetically stores data on stacks of rotating disks called
platters.

Several disks may be mounted together on a vertical shaft where they rotate as
wheel of approximately 3500 revolutions per minute
PARTS OF HARD DISK
THE PLATERS
The hard drive serves as a storage space for all of your documents, old email,
and all applications (including the operating system).

Hard drives are measured in terms of megabytes and gigabytes

THE READ AND WRITE HEAD

 CHARACTERISTICS OF HARD DISK

hard disk consist of metallic platters

Uses the cylinder method for storing data

Data is stored in sectors and also in tracks

It tightly sealed to prevent foreign matter from getting inside

The platters spin continuously

It stores all of your documents

 FACTORS AFFECTING HARD DISK’s PERFORMANCE

• Seek time or positioning performance – How quickly the read/write head

positions itself and begins transferring information. It is measured in
milliseconds (ms).

• Spindle speed or transfer performance – How quickly the drive transfers

data. It is measured in rotations per minute (RPM).
 MAGNETIC TAPE
Magnetic tape is a large capacity, serial access medium. Because it is
a serial access medium, accessing individual files on a tape is slow.

Tapes are used where large amounts of data need to be stored, but
where quick access to individual files is not required. A typical use is
for data back-up (lots of data, but rarely only accessed in an
emergency)

Tapes are also used and in some batch-processing applications (e.g.

to hold the list of data that will be processed).
 MAGNETIC TAPE
A tape is a magnetically coated plastic ribbon capable of storing
large amounts of data at low cost

Primarily used for backup.

 FLOPPY DISK
This is a removable device used to transfer smaller amount of data.

They are called floppy because data is stored on a very thin flexible plastic disk

It is also described as a circular piece of oxide-coated plastic that stores data as

magnetic spots.

There are two kinds – 5.25inch in drive “B” and the 3.5inch in used in drive “A”.
 OPTICAL DISC
In optical disk technology, a LASER beam alters the surface of a plastic disc to
represent data.

Data representation on optical disc is done by the use of reflected light. Data is
stored on these discs in different ways or different formats, such as CD and
DVD.

Today’s optical disks can hold over 4.7 GB of data, which is the equivalent of
over 1 million typewritten pages. Therefore, Optical disks have a great impact
on storage
 TYPES OF OPTICAL DISC

• CD- ROM = Compact Disc Read Only Memory

• CD-R = CD–Recordable

• CD-RW = compact disk re-writable

• DVD = “Digital Video Disk” or “Digital Versatile Disk”.

 What are CD-Rs and CD-RWs?

Must have
CD recorder
or CD-R drive

CD-R (compact disc-recordable)

— disc you can write on once
c

Cannot erase
disc’s contents
CD-RW (compact disc-rewritable)
— erasable disc you can write on
ce

multiple times
Must have
CD-RW software
and CD-RW drive
 WHAT IS SOFTWARE?

Software is a set of electronic instructions that commands or tells the computer

what to do.

Software Consists of series of programs (instructions) that tells the computer

what to do

The two most common types of programs are system software and application
software.
 WHAT IS SYSTEM SOFTWARE?

The System software consists of the programs

that control or maintain the operations of the
computer and its devices.

It also Serves as the interface between the user, the application

software, and the computer’s hardware
 CATEGORIES OF SYSTEM SOFTWARE
There are four basic categories of system software. They are:

 Operating systems,
Utility programs
Language translators.
Device drivers
 WHAT IS AN OPERATING SYSTEM?
An operating system is a set of programs that coordinates all the
activities among computer hardware devices.

It provides a means for users to communicate

with the computer and other software.
In other words this is a computer program that control the application software
and manages how your hardware devices work together.

It is the basic software of any computer system

Examples include:
• WINDOWS, LINUX, DOS, Mac OS, UNIX and Ubuntu
 ROLE OF THE OPERATING SYSTEM
Recognizes input from the peripherals
(keyboard, scanner, camera, etc)
Sends output to the display screen

Keep track of files and directories on disk

Allows the user to control peripherals

Controls Disk Space

 THE USER INTERFACE
A user interface is the method by which the user and the computer exchange
information and instructions.

This is how the computer's operating system presents information to the user, and
how the user also interacts and communicates with the computer.

There are three kinds of User Interfaces

Text Interface

Graphic user Interface

Menu Driven Interface

 TEXTLINE INTERFACE
(command line interface)
In a command-line interface, a user types commands or presses special keys on
the keyboard (such as function keys or key combinations) to enter
data and instructions

The Text Interface presents information to the user in the form of text.

Thus one have to type in commands or select commands from a display as text
on the screen.
 GRAPHIC USER INTERFACE (GUI)

Allows you to interact with the software using graphics and icons

Controls how you enter data and how the screen displays
information

GUI presents information to the user in the graphical form.

 Menu Driven Interfaces

In Menu Driven Interface, the user is offered a simple menu from which to
choose an option. One menu often leads to a further menu. Part of the screen may
have an instruction followed by a numbered list of options to choose from.
 FUNCTIONS OF OPERATING SYSTEM
• Processor Management: It means assigning processor to different tasks
which has to be performed by the computer system.

• Memory Management: It means allocation of main memory and secondary

storage areas to the system programs, as well as user programs and data.
 Categories of Operating Systems

1. Stand-alone
• Windows 7
• Early Windows versions (Windows
3.x, Windows 95,Windows NT, • Mac OS X
Windows 98, Windows • UNIX
2000Professional, Windows • Linux
Millennium Edition, Windows XP,
Windows Vista)
 2. Server

• Early Windows Server versions (Windows NT Server,

• Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server 2003)
• Windows Server 2008
• UNIX
• Linux
• Solaris
• NetWare
 3. Embedded

• Windows Embedded CE
• Windows Mobile
• Palm OS
• iPhone OS
• BlackBerry
• Google Android
• Embedded Linux
The operating system of PCs consists of two parts.

• One part is called the BIOS (Basic Input Output system) which are stored
in a ROM (Read Only Memory).

• The other part called the DOS (Disk Operating System) is stored in a
floppy disk or a hard disk.
 BIOS

This means Basic Input Output System.

When power is turned on BIOS takes control. It does what is known as power-
on self test (POST).

The test is to see whether memory is OK and all other relevant units function.

This means the BIOS contain instructions and setup that show how your
system should boot and how it operates.
 FUNCTIONS OF BIOS
• Post Test: Test the computer hardware and make sure no errors exist before
loading the operating system

• BootStrap Loader: Locate the operating system. If a capable operating system

is located, the BIOS will pass control to it.

• Bios Drivers: Provides low level drivers that give the computer basic
operational control over your computer's hardware.
 UTI LITY SOFTWARE

A utility program is a type of system software that allows a user to perform

maintenance-type tasks, usually related to managing a computer, its devices,
or its programs. Most operating systems include several built-in utility
programs

These are programs generally used to support, enhance or expand existing

programs in a computer system.
Functions provided by utility programs
include the following:
• managing files, • securing a computer from
• searching for files, unauthorized access,
• viewing images, • protecting against viruses,
• uninstalling programs, • filtering Internet content,
• cleaning up disks, • compressing files,
• defragmenting disks, • playing media files,
• backing up files and disks • burning optical discs, etc.
• maintaining a personal computer
 LANGUAGE TRANSLATORS

This is a software that translates programs into a machine language, for the
computer to understand.

All system software and application software must be turned into machine
language for the execution by the computer.

Examples are:
C++, J ava, Q - basic, Cobol, etc.
 DEVICE DRIVERS

These are software that enables the computer communicate with other
peripherals.

A device driver essentially converts the more general input/output instructions

of the operating system to messages that the device type can understand.
 WHAT IS APPLICATION SOFTWARE

Programs designed to make users more productive and/or assist them with
personal tasks

This is a computer program designed to perform specific functions or task.

 USES OF APPLICATION SOFTWARE

To make business activities more efficient

To assist with graphics and multimedia projects
To support home, personal, and educational
tasks
To facilitate communications
CATEGORIES OF APPLICATION SOFTWARE

Pls read about them

DATA COMMUNICATION