Unit 1

Introduction to computer system and

programming
 Computer

The word “Computer” comes from the word “Compute” which means
to calculate. Computer can be used to perform arithmetic as well as logical calculations, so
it is much better than Calculator.

“ Computer is an Electronic Device which accepts the data from the user, process
on it and generates result according to user’s instructions.”
A computer does this by performing arithmetic and logical operations at
enormous speed.

Data : A data is a raw fact, figure or a symbol.

Information : Organized, meaningful and useful data is known as information.

→ A computer captures the input data, then manipulates it and then messages the output
results as and when required.
 History of Computer

The first Mechanical Calculator was invented by Blaise Pascal, a French

Mathematician in 1642.

The first Analytical Machine was designed by Charles Babbage, a British

mathematician in 1822, which was very similar to first modern computer. Charles
Babbage is also known as “Father of Computer”.

ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Calculator) was the first

Modern Electronic Computer designed in 1946 at Moore School of Engineering ,
USA. ENIAC was a big machine with 20 X 40 feet in size and used 18000
Vacuum Tubes for data storage.
 History of Computer

EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer) was

developed by Dr. John Von Neumann in 1945. Dr. Neumann uses the technique
to store both data and information in binary form instead of decimal numbers.

UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer) was the first digital Computer

developed by Remington Rand in 1951 for commercial purpose.
 Characteristics of computer

The characteristics of computer are

➢ Speed
➢ Accuracy
➢ Memory
➢ Diligence
➢ Versatility
➢ Reliability
➢ Low Cost & Reduced Size
➢ Automatic
➢ No Feeling & No IQ
 Block Diagram of Computer:

➢ A Computer can process data, pictures, sound and

graphics. They can solve highly complicated problems
quickly and accurately. A computer as shown in
Fig. performs basically five major computer operations or
functions irrespective of their size and make. These are

1) it accepts data or instructions by way of input,

2) it stores data,
3) it can process data as required by the user,
4) it gives results in the form of output, and
5) it controls all operations inside a computer.
 Component of Computer

INPUT UNIT
Input unit perform the following functions.
1) It accepts the list of instructions and data from the outside world.
2) It converts to these instructions and data in computer acceptable forms.
3) It supplies to these converted data to the computer system for further processing.

CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU)

1. Central processing unit (CPU) contains the memory unit, control unit (CU) and
arithmetic and logical unit (ALU).
2. Central processing unit (CPU) is the brain of computer system.
3. In human body, all major decision are taken by brain so similarly in computer system,
all major functions are taken by central processing unit (CPU).
 Component of Computer

Central processing unit (CPU) can be divided into 3 parts like

➢ Memory Unit
➢ Control Unit (CU)
➢ Arithmetic and Logical Unit (ALU)

Memory Unit (MU)

➢ An input device supplies the data, program or information to the Central processing unit
(CPU).
➢ Central processing unit (CPU) stores to these data, program or information by using
Memory unit.
➢ In central processing unit (CPU), this type of memory is also known as primary memory.
 Component of Computer

ARITHMETIC AND LOGICAL UNIT (ALU)

❖ This is the unit in which all calculations are performed and all decisions are taken.
❖ Arithmetic and Logical Unit (ALU) can perform basic functions such as addition,
subtraction, multiplication, division and comparison.
❖ For addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and comparison functions, arithmetic
and logical unit (ALU) accepts the necessary data from memory and after that it applies
the process into that data and it creates the result and it supplies to these result to the
memory and after that memory stores that result.
 Component of Computer

CONTROL UNIT (CU)

Control unit (CU) is used to control, manage and compile to the input unit, output unit,
memory unit and arithmetic and logical unit (ALU).
❖ Control unit (CU) gives information to the input unit, output unit, memory unit and
arithmetic and logical unit (ALU) for control, manage and compile process.

OUTPUT UNIT
Output unit perform the following functions.
➢ It accepts the result that produced by the computer in binary coded forms.
➢ It converts to these binary coded results into human readable forms.
➢ It supplies to these converted result to the outside world.
 Concept of Hardware and Software

Hardware

The term hardware refers to mechanical

device that makes up computer. Computer hardware
consists of interconnected electronic devices that we
can use to control computer’s operation, input and
output.
In Simple terms, The device which have
physical existence are known as hardware.
Examples of hardware are CPU, keyboard, mouse,
hard disk, etc.
 Concept of Hardware and Software

Software

Computer software, on the other hand, is not something you can touch.
Software is a set of instructions for a computer to perform specific operations.

Computer hardware is any physical device used in or with your machine,

whereas software is a collection of code installed onto your computer's hard drive. For
example, the computer monitor you are using to read this text and the mouse you are using
to navigate this web page are computer hardware. The internet browser that allows you to
visit the page and the operating system that the browser is running on are considered
software.
 Concept of Hardware and Software

Software
A set of instructions that drives computer to do stipulated tasks is called a program.
Software instructions are programmed in a computer language, translated into machine language, and
executed by computer. Software can be categorized into two types:
➢ System software
➢ Application software

➢ System Software :
System software operates directly on hardware devices of computer. It provides a platform to run an
application. It provides and supports user functionality. Examples of system software include Device
drivers, utilities, operating systems such as Windows, Linux, Unix, etc.

➢ Application Software :
An application software is designed for benefit of users to perform one or more tasks. Examples of
application software include Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Oracle, Turbo C, Java etc.
 Basic Terminologies
Program
A computer program is a collection of instructions that can be executed by a computer
to perform a specific task.
A computer program is usually written by a computer programmer in a programming
language. From the program in its human-readable form of source code, a compiler or assembler can
derive machine code—a form consisting of instructions that the computer can directly execute.
Alternatively, a computer program may be executed with the aid of an interpreter.

Operating System
An operating system is the most important software that runs on a computer. It
manages the computer's memory and processes, as well as all of its software and hardware.
It also allows you to communicate with the computer without knowing how to speak the
computer's language. Without an operating system, a computer is useless. For ex. MS-
DOS, MS-Windows, Linux, Unix, etc.
 Basic Terminologies

Process
A process is a program that is running on your computer. This can be anything
from a small background task, such as a spell-checker or system events handler to a full-
blown application like Internet Explorer or Microsoft Word. All processes are composed
of one or more threads.

Since most operating systems have many background tasks running, your
computer is likely to have many more processes running than actual programs. For
example, you may only have three programs running, but there may be twenty active
processes. You can view active processes in Windows by opening the Task Manager
(press Ctrl-Alt-Delete and click Task Manager).
 Basic Terminologies
I/O Devices
Alternatively referred to as an IO device, an input/output device
is any hardware used by a human operator or other systems to communicate with a
computer. As the name suggests, input/output devices are capable of sending data (output)
to a computer and receiving data from a computer (input).
Input devices are used to input the data to the system. Following are few of the
important input devices which are used in Computer Systems. For Ex., Keyboard, Mouse,
Scanner, Light Pen, Joy Stick, Microphone, Touch Screen, Optical Character
Reader(OCR), Optical Mark Reader(OMR), Bar Code Reader, Magnetic Ink Card
Reader(MICR) etc.
The devices which are used to generate the data to the user either in the form of
hard copy or soft copy are called output devices. For Ex., Monitor, Printer, Speaker,
Plotter, Projectors etc.
 Number System

A set of values used to represent different quantities is known as Number System.

For example, a number system can be used to represent the number of students in a class or number
of viewers watching a certain TV program etc. The language we use to communicate with each other
is comprised of words and characters. We understand numbers, characters and words. But this type of
data is not suitable for computers. Computers only understand the numbers. The digital computer
represents all kinds of data and information in binary numbers. It includes audio, graphics, video, text
and numbers. The total number of digits used in a number system is called its base or radix. The base
is written after the number as subscript such as (512)10.
So, when we enter data, the data is converted into electronic pulse. Each pulse is identified
as code and the code is converted into numeric format by ASCII. It gives each number, character and
symbol a numeric value (number) that a computer understands. So to understand the language of
computers, one must be familiar with the number systems.
 Number System
The Number Systems used in computers are:
1. Binary number system 2. Octal number system
3. Decimal number system 4. Hexadecimal number system

1. Binary number system

It has only two digits '0' and '1' so its base is 2. Accordingly, In this number system, there are
only two types of electronic pulses; absence of electronic pulse which represents ‘0’ and presence of
electronic pulse which represents '1'. Each digit is called a bit. A group of four bits (1101) is called a nibble
and group of eight bits (11001010) is called a byte. The position of each digit in a binary number represents
a specific power of the base (2) of the number system.
2. Octal number system
It has eight digits (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) so its base is 8. Each digit in an octal number represents a
specific power of its base (8). As there are only eight digits, three bits (2 3=8) of binary number system can
convert any octal number into binary number. This number system is also used to shorten long binary
numbers. The three binary digits can be represented with a single octal digit.
 Number System

3. Decimal number system

This number system has ten digits (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) so its base is 10. In this number
system, the maximum value of a digit is 9 and the minimum value of a digit is 0. The position of each digit in
decimal number represents a specific power of the base (10) of the number system. This number system is
widely used in our day to day life. It can represent any numeric value.

4. Hexadecimal number system

This number system has 16 digits that ranges from 0 to 9 and A to F. So, its base is 16. The A to
F alphabets represent 10 to 15 decimal numbers. The position of each digit in a hexadecimal number
represents a specific power of base (16) of the number system. As there are only sixteen digits, four bits of
binary number system can convert any hexadecimal number into binary number. It is also known as
alphanumeric number system as it uses both numeric digits and alphabets.