Chapter 1: The Discipline of Computing arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and control unit (CU), input-
output unit and a memory for storing data and instructions.
Abacus: Considered as the first computer for basic
arithmetical calculations. Discovered by the
Mesopotamians around 3000 BC.
Napier’s bones: A set of numbering rods by which a
multiplication problem could be easily performed.
Invented by John Napier, a mathematician in 1617 AD.
Pascaline: A computing machine that was capable of
adding and subtracting two numbers directly and that could
multiply and divide by repetition. Developed by Blaise
Pascal.
Leibniz’s Calculator: The Step Reckoner expanded on
Pascal’s ideas and extended the capabilities to perform
multiplication and division as well.
Difference Engine: In 1822, Babbage invented this
machine that could perform arithmetic calculations and
print results automatically.
Analytical Engine: Its input/output devices were in the
form of punched cards containing instructions. These
instructions were written by Babbage’s assistant, Agusta
Ada King, the first programmer in the world. Charles
Babbage’s great inventions – the Difference Engine and
the Analytical Engine earned Charles Babbage the title
‘Father of Computer’.
Generations of Computers:
Von Neumann architecture:
The mathematician John Von Neumann designed computer
architecture. It is known as Von Neumann architecture. It
consists of a central processing unit (CPU) containing
This model implements the ‘Stored Program Concept’ in
which the data and the instructions are stored in the
memory.
Artificial Intelligence: AI is the ability to simulate human
intelligence. Such intelligent systems are still in the
development stage, though there are some applications,
such as speech recognition, face recognition and robotic
vision and movement that are already available.
Programming language: It is an artificial language
designed to communicate instructions to a computer. The
first programming language developed for use in
computers was called machine language. Machine
language consisted of strings of the binary digits 0 and 1.
Algorithm: a step by step procedure to get the solution for
a given problem.
Turing Machine: A model of a computer proposed by
Alan Turing. He is regarded as the Father of Modern
Computer Science as well as Artificial Intelligence.
Chapter 2: Data Representation and Boolean Algebra
Base of a number system: The number of symbols used in
a number system is called base or radix of a number
system
MSD and LSD: Left most digit of a number is MSD and
right most digit of a number is LSD.
Different Number Systems:
Number Conversion procedure:
Number representation methods: (i) Sign and magnitude
representation (ii) 1’s complement representation (iii) 2’s
complement representation.
ASCII: American Standard Code for Information
Interchange.
EBCDIC: Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange
Code. This is similar to ASCII and is an 8 bit code. It can
represent 256 characters.
ISCII: Indian Standard Code for Information Interchange
or Indian Script Code for Information Interchange. It uses
8-bits and can represent various writing systems of India.
Unicode: Unicode can represent characters in almost all
written languages of the world.
Boolean operations: The operations performed on the
Boolean values 0s and 1s. The operations are OR (Logical
Addition), AND (Logical Multiplication), NOT (Logical
Negation).
Logic gate: It is a physical device that can perform logical
operations on one or more logical inputs and produce a
single logical output.
Truth Table: It is a table that shows Boolean operations
and their results.
Universal Gates: The NAND and NOR gates are called
universal gates. A universal gate is a gate which can
implement any Boolean function without using any other
gate type.
NAND: It is an inverted AND operation. NAND gate is an
inverted AND gate.
NOR: It is an inverted OR operation. NOR gate is an
inverted OR gate.
Chapter 3: Computer System Organisation
Data processing: It refers to the operations or activities
performed on data to generate information. Data
processing proceeds through six stages –
Capturing data, Input of data, Storage of data, Processing /
manipulating data, Output of information, and Distribution
of information.
Functional Units of a computer: Input Unit, Central
Processing Unit (CPU), Storage Unit and Output Unit.
Computer: An electronic machine designed to accept the
data and instructions, performs arithmetic and logical
operations on the data according to a set of instructions and
output the results or information.
Characteristics of computer: Speed, accuracy, diligence,
versatility, huge memory, no IQ, lack of decision making.
Important registers inside a CPU:
i. Accumulator:, ii. Memory Address Register (MAR): , iii.
Memory Buffer Register (MBR):, iv. Instruction Register
(IR):, v. Program Counter (PC
Measuring units of memory:
Binary Digit = 1 Bit 1 MB (Mega Byte) = 1024 KB
1 Nibble = 4 Bits 1 GB (Giga Byte) = 1024 MB
1 Byte = 8 Bits 1 TB (Tera Byte) = 1024 GB
1 KB = 1024 Bytes 1 PB (Peta Byte) = 1024 TB
RAM Vs ROM:
Cache memory: It is a small and fast memory between the
processor and RAM
Storage unit of computer: Two types – primary and
secondary.
i. Primary storage: It is also known as main memory. It is
again divided into two – Random Access Memory (RAM)
and Read Only Memory (ROM).
ii. Secondary storage: It is also known as auxiliary
storage. It has huge storage capacity and the storage is
permanent - . Hard disk, CDs, DVDs, memory sticks,
Input devices: These devices feed data and instructions
from the user into the computer.
1. Keyboard: Allows the user to input text data consisting
of alphabets, numbers and other characters.
2. Mouse: A small handheld device used to position the
cursor or move the pointer on the computer screen
3. Light pen: A pointing device shaped like a pen. Has
the advantage of ‘drawing’ directly onto the screen.
4. Touch screen: Allows the user to operate/make
selections by simply touching on the display screen.
5. Graphic tablet: Consists of an electronic writing area
and a special ‘pen’ that works with it. Allows artists to
create graphical images with actions similar to
traditional drawing tools.
6. Joystick: Used to play video games, control training
simulators and robots.
7. Microphone: Accepts sound in analogue nature as
input and converts it to digital format.
8. Scanner: Allows capturing of information, like pictures
or text and converting it into a digital format that can be
edited using a computer.
9. OMR: Scanning device that reads predefined positions
and records where marks are made on the printed form.
Useful for applications such as objective type tests and
questionnaires.
10. Bar Code Reader: A bar code is a set of vertical lines
of different thicknesses and spacing that represent a
 number. Barcode readers are used to input data from
such set of barcodes.
11. QR (Quick Response) code is similar to barcodes.
Barcodes are single dimensional where as QR codes are
two dimensional.
12. Biometric sensor: Identifies unique human physical
features like fingerprints, retina, iris patterns, etc. to
identify, verify and authenticate the identity of the user.
13. Smart card reader: These are used to access data in a
smart card. Smart card is a plastic card that stores and
transacts data. Used in banking, healthcare, telephone
calling, electronic cash payments and other
applications.
14. Digital camera: Takes pictures and videos and
converts it to the digital format. Web camera is a
compact and less expensive version of a digital camera.
Output devices: These devices present information from a
computer system to the user.
1. Monitor: Display devices include CRT monitors, LCD
monitors, TFT monitors, LED monitors, gas plasma
monitors, Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED)
Monitors, etc.
2. LCD projector: An LCD projector is a type of video
projector for displaying video, images or computer data
on a large screen or other flat surface.
3. Printer: Used to produce hardcopy output. The output
printed on paper is known as hardcopy. Classified as
Impact or Non-impact printers.
Dot-matrix uses impact mechanism. It can print
carbon copies with less printing cost. These printers
are slow and noisy.
Inkjet printers, Laser printers and thermal printers
are non-impact printers
4. Plotter: A plotter is an output device used to produce
hardcopies of graphs and designs on the paper.
5. 3D printer: A 3D printer is an output device used to
print 3D objects. It can produce different kinds of
objects, in different materials, using the same printer.
e-Waste: Electronic waste may be defined as discarded
computers, office electronic equipment, entertainment
devices, mobile phones, television sets and refrigerators.
e-Waste disposal methods: Re-use, incineration
(combustion process in which the waste is burned in
incinerators at a high temperature), recycling, (the process
of making new products from a product that has originally
served its purpose) and land filling.
Software: A general term used to denote a set of programs
that help us to use the computer system. Two types -
system software, application software.
System software: A set of programs which aids in the
execution of a general user’s computational requirements
on a computer system.
The components of system softwareare Operating system,
Language processors and Utility software.
Operating system (OS): A set of programs that acts as an
interface between the user and computer hardware.
Function of OS: Process management, memory
management, file management, device management,
security management and command interpretation.
Computer languages: Machine language, assembly
language and High Level Languages
Language processors: These are the system programs that
translate programs written in high level language or
assembly language into its equivalent machine language.
Types of language processors:
1. Assembler (translates the program code written
in assembly language to machine language), 2. Interpreter
(converts a HLL program into machine language line by
line) and 3. Compiler (translates a program written in high
level language into machine language).
Utility software:
1. Compression utility: Large files can be compressed so
that they take less storage area.
2. Disk defragmenter: A program that rearranges files on
a computer hard disk.
3. Backup utility: These programs facilitate the backing
up of disk.
4. Antivirus programs: A utility program that scans the
computer system for viruses.
General purpose software: These are used to perform
tasks in a particular application area.
1. Word processing software: It is designed for creating
and modifying documents. Eg: MS Word, Open Office
Writer, Apple iWork Pages, etc.
2. Spreadsheet software: This software allows users to
perform calculations. Eg: Microsoft Excel, Open Office
Calc, Lotus 1-2-3 and Apple iWork Numbers.
3. Presentation software: The software is used to display
information in the form of a slide show. Eg: Microsoft
PowerPoint, Apple iWork Keynote and Open Office Impress.
4. Database software: Database is an organised collection
of data arranged in tabular form. Eg: Microsoft Access,
Oracle, Postgres SQL, My SQL, etc.
5. Multimedia software: Multimedia is the integration of
multiple forms of media. Eg: VLC Player, Adobe
Flash, Real Player, Media Player, etc.
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) defines the four
freedoms for free and open source software:
Freedom 0 : The freedom to run program.
Freedom 1 : The freedom to study
Freedom 2 : The freedom to distribute copies
Freedom 3 : The freedom to improve the program
Chapter 4 – Principles of Programming and
Problem Solving
Computer program: A sequence of instructions given to a
computer to solve a problem.
Program instruction: It is an action oriented statement
and it tells the computer what operation it should perform.
Top down design: It is the process of solving a complex
problem by breaking it down into different tasks and
solving each task from main to sub.
Bottom up design: It is the process of breaking a complex
problem into smaller sub tasks and solving each task from
sub to main.
Stages of problem solving:
(i) Problem identification
(ii) Preparing algorithms and flowcharts
(iii) Coding the program using programming language
(iv) Translation
(v) Debugging
(vi)Execution and Testing and
(vii) Documentation
Algorithm: It is a step-by-step procedure to solve a
problem, where each step represents a specific task to be
carried out.
Flowchart: The pictorial representation of an algorithm
with specific symbols for instructions and arrows showing
the sequence of operations.
Input / Process
Flowchart Symbols: Start/Stop Output
Decisi
Flow line
on
Advantages of flowcharts: Better communication,
Effective analysis, Effective synthesis, Efficient coding.
Translation: It is the process of converting a program
written in high level language into its equivalent version in
machine language.
Debugging: It is the process of detecting and correcting
the errors in a program.
Syntax errors: The errors occur when the rules or syntax
of the programming language are not followed.
Logical error: It is due to improper planning of the
program's logic and revealed during the execution of the
program.
Run time error: These errors occur unexpectedly when
computer becomes unable to process some improper data.
Documentation: 1. Internal documentation is done
through comments in programs. 2. Various manuals
provide external documentation.
Chapter 5: Introduction to C++ Programming
Character set: The fundamental unit of C++ language.
The character set of C++ is categorized as (i) Letters (A –
Z, a – z), (ii) Digits (0 – 9), (iii) Special characters
(iv)White spaces.
Tokens: The fundamental building blocks of the program.
C++ has five types of tokens – Keywords, Identifiers,
Literals, Punctuators and Operators.
Keywords: The words (tokens) that convey a specific
meaning to the language compiler. These are also known
as reserved words.
Identifiers: These are the user-defined words used to name
different program elements such as memory locations,
statements, functions, objects, classes etc. The identifiers
of
memory locations are called variables.
Rules for naming identifiers: An arbitrary long sequence
of letters, digits and underscores.
The first character must be a letter or underscore ( _ ).
White space and special characters are not allowed.
Keywords cannot be used. Upper and lower case letters are
treated
differently.
Literals: Data items that never change their value during
the program run. They are often referred to as constants.
Literals are of four types – Integer literals, Floating
point literals, Character literals(‘) and String literals.(“)
Escape sequences: These special character constants that
represent non-graphic symbols. It consists of a backslash
(\) followed by one or more specific characters.
.
Chapter 6: Data Types and Operators
Data types: These are the means to identify the nature of
the data and the set of operations that can be performed on
the data.
Fundamental data types: The five fundamental data types
in C++ are char (1byte), int (4byte), float (4byte), double
(8byte) and void (0byte).
Data type modifiers: The keywords used to alter the size,
range or precision of data supported by the basic data
types. Important modifiers are signed, unsigned, long and
short.
Variables: The names given to memory locations.
Operators: The tokens or symbols that trigger computer to
carry out operations. The data on which an operation are
called operands. An operand may be either a constant or a
variable. Classified into three –unary, binary and ternary.
Arithmetic operators: Used to perform basic arithmetic
operations.
Modulus operator (%): Also called as mod operator. It
gives the remainder value during arithmetic division.
Relational operators: Used for comparing numeric data.
These are binary operators. The result of any relational
operation will be either True or False.
Expression: Composed of operators and operands.
Classified into arithmetic expressions, relational
expressions and logical expressions.
Type conversion: Conversion of the data type of an
operand into another type. Done in two ways: implicitly
and explicitly.
Type promotion: It is the implicit type conversion is
performed by C++ compiler internally.
Type casting: It is the explicit type conversion and is done
by the programmer by specifying the data type within
parentheses to the left of the operand.
Variable declaration: data_type <variable1>,<variable2>;
Variable initialisation: Supplying value to a variable at
the time of its declaration.
Pre-processors: These are the compiler directive
statements which give instruction to the compiler to
process the information provided before actual compilation
starts. These lines always start with a # (hash) symbol.
Header files: Files available along with compiler
using namespace statement: It tells the compiler about a
namespace where it should search for the elements used in
the program.
main() function: An essential function in every C++
program. The execution starts at main() and ends within
main().
Chapter 7: Control Statements
Decision making statements or Selection statements. if
and switch are the two types of selection statements in
C++. The selection will be based on conditions.
if statement
The if statement is used to select a set of statements for
execution based on a condition.
if – else statement
The syntax is:
if (test expression)
statement block 1;
else
statement block 2;
When we write an if statement inside another if block, it is
called nesting.
The else if ladder
When we want to select one action from more than two
actions, different conditions will be given and each
condition will decide which statement is to be selected for
execution.
if (test expression 1)
statement block 1;
else if (test expression 2)
statement block 2;
switch statement
This selection statement successively tests the value of a
variable or an expression against a list of integers or
character constants.
switch(expression)
{case constant_1 : statement block 1;
break;
case constant_2 : statement block 2;
break;
default : statement block n;}
The conditional operator (?:)
C++ has a ternary operator. It is the conditional operator
(?:) consisting of the symbols ? and : (a question mark and
a colon). It requires three operands.
Looping (Iteration) Statements
Four elements of a loop:
1. Initialisation: The loop control variable (Variable
used in the condition) gets its first value..
2. Test expression: It is a relational or logical
expression whose value is either True or False.
3. Update statement: The update statement modifies
the loop control variable by changing its value..
4. Body of the loop: The statements that need to be
executed repeatedly constitute the body of the loop.
while statement
It is an entry-controlled loop. The condition is checked first
and if it is True the body of the loop will be executed.
for statement
It is also an entry-controlled loop in C++. All the three
loop elements (initialisation, test expression and update
statement) are placed together in for statement.
do...while statement
It is also an exit-controlled loop. The body of the loop will
execute at least once.
Nesting of a loop: Placing a loop inside the body of A string can be input using the statement:
another loop. When we nest two loops, the outer loop
cin >> my_name;
counts the number of completed repetitions of the inner
loop. This statement can store a string without any white space
(that is, only one word). If we want store strings containing
white spaces (strings having more than one word) we can
use gets() function, getline() function or get() function.
Similarly to display string data we can use puts() function
and write() function.
There are functions to perform input output operation:
Type of Console Stream Operation
data (stdio.h) (iostream.h)
Character getchar() cin.get() Character input
Chapter 8: Arrays functions putchar() cout.put() Character output
String gets() cin.getline() String input
An array is a collection of elements of the same type
Functions puts() out.write() String output
placed in contiguous memory locations. Arrays are used to
store a set of values of the same type under a single
variable name. Each element in an array can be accessed
using its position in the list called index number or Chapter 10: Functions
subscript.
The process of breaking large programs into smaller sub
Syntax: data_type array_name[size]; programs is called modularisation. The sub programs
Eg: int num[10]; are generally called functions.
int score[5] = {98, 87, 92, 79, 85}; Merits of modular programming
• Reduces the size of the program.
total_bytes = sizeof(array_type) × size_of_array
• Less chance of error occurrence.
Array Operations: • Reduces programming complexity.
1. Traversal • Improves reusability.
2. Searching Function is a named unit of statements in a program to
a. Linear Serach b. Binary Search perform a specific task as part of the solution.
3. Sorting
Predefined functions
a. Selection Sort b. Bubble Sort
C++ provides a number of functions for various tasks.
While using these functions, some of them require
data for performing the task assigned to it. We call
them parameters or arguments and are provided
within the pair of parentheses of the function name.
There are certain functions which give results after
Two dimensional (2D) arrays performing the task. This result is known as value
A two dimensional array is an array in which each element returned by the function. Some functions do not return
itself is an array. For instance, an array AR[m][n] is a 2D any value; rather they perform the specified task.
array containing m rows and n columns.
data_type array_name[rows][columns];
The indices (subscripts) of rows and columns, start at 0 and
ends at (rows–1) and (columns–1) respectively.
int marks[5][4];

Chapter 9: String Handling and I/O Functions

A character array can be used to store a string, since it is a
sequence of characters. The array char my_name[10]; can
store a string of 9 characters. One location will be used to
store ‘\0’ (null character) as string terminator.
 Type Functions Syntax / Example Operation

strlen() strlen(string) To find the length of a string.

String Functions

strcpy() strcpy(string1, To copy one string into another

string2) To compare two strings.
(string.h)

strcmp() strcmp(string1,
string2) • Returns 0 if string1 and string2 are same.
• Returns a –ve value if string1 is alphabetically lower than
string2.
• Returns a +ve value if string1 is alphabetically higher than
string2.
abs() To find the absolute value of an integer.
Mathematical

abs(int)
Functions
(math.h)

To find the square root of a number.

sqrt() sqrt(double)
pow() pow(double, int) To find the power of a number. It takes two arguments x and y.
Returns the value of xy.

isupper() isupper(char) To check whether a character is in upper case or not. The function
returns non-zero if the given character is in uppercase, and 0 otherwise.
islower() islower(char) To check whether a character is in lower case or not. The function
Character Functions (ctype.h)

returns non-zero if the given character is in lowercase, and 0 otherwise.

isalpha() isalpha(char) To check whether a character is alphabet or not. The function
returns non-zero if the given character is an alphabet, and 0 otherwise.
isdigit() isdigit(char) To check whether a character is digit or not. The function returns non-
zero if the given character is a digit, and 0 otherwise.
isalnum() isalnum(char) To check whether a character is alphanumeric or not. The function
returns non-zero if the given character is alphanumeric, and 0
otherwise.
toupper() toupper(char c) This function is used to convert the given character into its uppercase.
tolower() tolower(char c) This function is used to convert the given character into its lowercase.
Function (stdlib.h)

itoa() itoa(int n, char c[], This function is used to convert an integer value to string type. It
requires three arguments. The first one is the number to be
Conversion

int len)
converted. The second argument is the character array where the
converted string value is to be stored and the last argument is the
size of the character array.
atoi() int atoi(char c[]); This function is used to convert a string value to integer. It takes a
string as argument returns the integer value of the string.
setw() setw(int size) This function is used to set the width for the subsequent string.
The word hello will be displayed right aligned within a span of 10
Function (iomanip.h)
I/O Manipulating

character positions. Similarly, the word friends will also be

displayed right aligned within a span of 10 character positions.
User defined functions
The syntax of a function definition is given below: data
type function_name(argument_list)
{ communication between devices. Cell phones, laptops,
statements in the body;
}
A function prototype is the declaration of a function by
which compiler is provided with the information about the
function such as the name of the function, its return type,
the number and type of arguments, and its accessibility.
The following is the format:
data_type function_name(argument_list);
Arguments or parameters are the means to pass values
from the calling function to the called function. The
variables used in the function definition as arguments are
known as formal arguments. The constants, variables or
expressions used in the function call are known as actual
(original) arguments. If variables are used in function
prototype, they are known as dummy arguments.
Two type of Function Calling
Chapter 11: Computer Networks
Computer network is a group of computers and other
computing hardware devices.
Advantages: Resource sharing, Price-performance ratio,
Communication, Reliability, Scalability.
Data communication is the exchange of digital data
between any two devices through a medium of
transmission.
Five basic elements of data communication system:
Message, Sender, Receiver, Medium and Protocol.
Communication channel or communication medium:
The medium for data transmission over a computer
network.
Two types of communication media: Guided (wired)
and unguided (wireless).
Guided media: physical wires or cables are used. Coaxial
cable, twisted pair cable (Ethernet cable) and optical fibre
cable are examples.
Unguided media: Wireless medium is used. Radio waves,
microwaves or infrared signals are examples.
Bluetooth technology uses radio waves for short range
mouse, keyboard, tablets, headsets, cameras, etc.
Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidility) makes use of radio waves to
transmit information across a network like cell phones,
televisions and radios.
Wi-MAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave
Access) uses radio waves to provide high-speed wireless
Internet access over very long distances (a whole city).
Satellite links use radio waves for long distance wireless
communication systems.
Communication devices: NIC, Hub, Switch, Repeater,
Bridge, Router, Gateway.
Network Interface Card (NIC): A device that enables a
computer to connect to a network and communicate.
Hub: A device used in a wired network to connect
computers/devices of the same network.
Switch: An intelligent device that connects several
computers to form a network.
Repeater: A device that regenerates incoming electrical,
wireless or optical signals through a communication
medium
Bridge: A device used to split a network into different
segments and interconnected.
Router: A device that can interconnect two networks of
the same type using the same protocol. It is more
intelligent than bridge.
Gateway: A device that interconnects two different
networks having different protocols.
Data Terminal Equipments: Modem, Multiplexer
Modem: It converts digital signals to analog signals and
converts the analog signals back to digital signals.
Multiplexer: It combines (multiplexes) the inputs from
different sources and sends them through different
channels of a medium.
Topology: The way in which the nodes are physically
interconnected to form a network. Major topologies are
Bus, Star, Ring, and Mesh Topology
Types of network: PAN (Personal Area Network), LAN
(Local Area Network), MAN (Metropolitan Area
Network) and WAN (Wide Area Network).

Logical Classification: Peer-to-peer and Client server
Peer-to-peer network: No dedicated servers. Here a
number of computers are connected together for the
purpose of sharing information or devices.
Client-server: It consists of high-end computer (called
server) serving lower configuration machines called
clients.
Protocol: The set of rules to be followed in a network for
data transmission. TCP/IP, HTTP, FTP and DNS
HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. It is a
standard protocol for transferring requests from client-side
and to receive responses from the server-side.
FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. It is a standard for
exchanging of data and program files across a network.
DNS stands for Domain Name System. DNS returns the
IP address of the domain name, that we type in our web
browser’s address bar.
Media Access Control (MAC) address: A universally
unique address (12 digit hexadecimal number) assigned to
each NIC (Network Interface Card) by its manufacturer.
IP address: A unique 4 part numeric address assigned to
each node on a network, for their unique identification.
URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. URL is a
formatted text string used by web browsers to identify a
network resource on the Internet. URL string can be
divided into three parts – Network protocol, Domain
name, File name.
Chapter 12 – Internet and Mobile Computing
Internet is an interconnected system of computer
networks that serves the users all over the world. Vinton
Gray Cerf is considered as the father of Internet. Tim
Berners Lee proposed the idea of World Wide Web
(WWW).
Intranet is considered as a private computer network
similar to Internet
Hardware and software requirements for connecting
to the Internet: (i) A computer with Network Interface
Card (wired/wireless) facility and an operating system that
supports TCP/IP protocol (ii) Modem (iii) An Internet
account given by an Internet Service Provider (ISP)
(iv)Software like browser, client application for e-mail,
chat, etc.
Dial-up connectivity Vs Wired broadband
connectivity:
Popular broadband technologies: Integrated Services
Digital Network (ISDN), Cable Internet, Digital
Subscriber Line (DSL), Leased Lines and Fiber to the
Home (FTTH).
Wireless broadband connectivity: It provides almost the
same speed as that of a wired broadband connection. The
popular wireless broadband accesses are Mobile
Broadband, Wi-MAX, Satellite Broadband and Wi-Fi.
Sharing an Internet connection: Internet connection can
be shared among several computers using a LAN, Wi-Fi
network or Li-Fi network.
Services on the Internet: Services like WWW, e-mail,
search engines, social media, etc. are widely used
throughout the globe.
World Wide Web (WWW): It is a system of interlinked
hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. It is a huge
client-server system consisting of millions of clients and
servers connected together.
Web browser: It is a software use to retrieve or present
information and to navigate through web pages in the
World Wide Web. Eg: Google Chrome, Internet Explorer,
Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and Safari.
Web browsing procedure:
Search engines: Internet search engine websites are
special programs that are designed to help people to find
information available in World Wide Web. Search engine
web sites use programs called web crawlers or spiders or
robots to search the web.
Electronic mail or e-mail: It is a method of exchanging
digital messages between computers over Internet.
Sections of e-mail: To (Recipient Address), Cc (Carbon
copy to the secondary recipients), Bcc (Blind carbon copy
to the tertiary recipients), Subject, Content, Attachments.
Advantages of e-mail: Speed, easy to use, provision of
attachments, environment friendly, easy reply to an e-
mail, cost-effective, available anywhere anytime.
Types of social media: Internet forums, social blogs,
micro blogs, wikis, social networks, content communities
and a lot more.
Internet forums: It is an online discussion website where
people can engage in conversations in the form of posted
messages. Eg: Ubuntu Forum
Social blogs: It is a discussion or informational website Man-in-the-middle attack: It refers to an attack in which
consisting of entries or posts displayed in the reverse an attacker secretly intercepts electronic messages
chronological order i.e., the most recent post appears first. between the sender and the receiver and then captures,
Eg: Blogger.com, Wordpress.com. inserts and modifies messages during message
transmission.
Microblogs: They allow users to exchange short
sentences, individual images or video links. It offers a Firewall: It is a system of computer hardware and
communication mode that is spontaneous and can software that provides security to the computer network in
influence public opinion. Twitter.com is a popular micro an organisation. It denies malicious data from entering
blogging site. into the computer networks.
Wikis: Wikis allow people to add content or edit existing Antivirus programs: These tools are used to detect
information in a web page, to form a community viruses and cure the infected system. It scans files in the
document. Wiki is a type of content management system. computer system for known viruses and removes them if
Eg: wikipedia.org. found.
Social networks: These sites allow people to build Cookies: These are small text files that are created when
personal web pages and then connect with friends to we use a browser to visit a website.
communicate and share content. We can share text,
Mobile computing: It is a technology that has computing
pictures, videos, etc. and comment to the posts. Eg:
capability and can transmit/receive data while in motion..
facebook.com, linkedin.com.
Generations of mobile communication: 1G mobile
Content communities: These are websites that organise
phones were based on the analog system and provided
and share contents like photos, videos, etc. Eg:
basic voice facility only. 2G networks follow digital
Youtube.com, flickr.com.
system for communication. Picture messages and MMS
Advantages of social media: Bring people together, help (Multimedia Messaging Service) were introduced in 2G.
to plan and organise events, promoting business, enhance 3Gnetworks offered multimedia services combining
social skills. voice and data. It has the facility to send and receive large
amounts of data using a mobile phone. 4G system, also
Limitation of social media: Intrusion to privacy,
called Long Term Evolution (L.T.E.), provides mobile
addiction, spread rumours.
ultra-broadband Internet access to mobile devices.
Computer virus: It is a program that attaches itself to
Mobile communication technologies: SMS, MMS, GPS
another program or file enabling it to spread from one
and smart cards. Short Message Service
computer to another without our knowledge and interferes
with the normal operation of a computer. Mobile Operating System: The software that manages
the hardware, multimedia functions, Internet connectivity,
Computer worm: It is a stand-alone malware (malicious
etc. in a mobile device. Eg: Android from Google, iOS
software) program that replicates itself in order to spread
from Apple, BlackBerry OS from BlackBerry and
to other computers.
Windows Phone from Microsoft.
Trojan horse: It will appear to be a useful software but
will actually do damage once installed or run on your
computer. Prepared by
Spams or junk mails: These are unsolicited e-mails sent Sajan Mathew, HSST Computer
St Mary’s HSS, Kaliyar, Idukki.
indiscriminately to persons to promote a product or
service.
Hacking: It is a technical effort to manipulate the normal
behaviour of network connections and connected systems.
Computer experts perform hacking to test the security and
find the vulnerabilities in computer networks and
computer systems. ‘white hats’, ‘black hats’. and‘grey
hat hackers’,.
Denial of Service (DoS): It is a network attack is usually
aimed at a web server. Such an attack forces the
server/computer to restart.
Phishing:Phishing websites have URLs and home pages
similar to their original ones. The act of creating such a
misleading website is called spoofing.