COMPUTER SYSTEM

CHAPTER 1
WHAT IS A COMPUTER?

• The word computer is derived from the word compute which means to calculate.
The computer was originally defined as a superfast calculator. It has the capacity
to solve complex arithmetic and scientific problems at very high speed.
• Todays, computers perform many other tasks like storing, accepting, sorting,
selecting, moving, and comparing various types of information. It also performs
arithmetic and logical operations on alphabetic, numeric, and other types of
information.
• The information provided by the user to the computer is called data.
• The information presented to the computer is called the input data while the information
presented by the computer after performing a process is called the output data.

• The set of instructions given to the computer to perform various operations is

called a computer program and the process of converting the input data into
the required output form is called data processing.
• A computer is composed of a hardware and software.
• The devices which are a means of communication between the computer and
the outside world are called as peripheral devices.
THE HARDWARE & THE SOFTWARE

• A computer hardware is the machinery itself. It is made up of physical parts

or devices of the computer system like the electronic integrated circuits
(ICs), storage media, and input devices, output devices, and other
peripherals.

• A computer software on the other hand is a collection of programs which

utilized and enhances the capability of the hardware to work accurately at a
constant speed at a desired time to finish.
COMPUTER EVOLUTION
Period Year Types of Technology

First Generation 1946 – 1959 Vacuum tube technology

Second Generation 1959 – 1965 Transistor based

Third Generation 1965 – 1971 Integrated Circuit based

Fourth Generation 1971 – 1980 VLSI microprocessor based

Fifth Generation 1980 – onwards ULSI microprocessor based

TYPES OF COMPUTER SYSTEM
PERSONAL COMPUTER
A personal computer is a small unit designed for use of an individual.
It is based on a microprocessor technology that has a central
processing unit (CPU) placed in one chip only.

Mostly used in homes and offices, PC’s are powerful enough to

provide such computing tasks such as word processing, accounting
operations, desktop publishing, surfing the Internet, playing games,
among others.
WORKSTATION
Though also designed for individual use, workstations are much
powerful than PCs because workstations processors have relatively
higher graphic capabilities. They commonly come in a large, high-
resolution graphics screen, large amount of random-access memory
(RAM), inbuilt network support, and a graphical user interface.

A workstation is the usual go-to computer system for those using

engineering applications such as computer-aided design (CAD),
computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), as well as those into desktop
publishing and software development.
MINI COMPUTER
A mini-computer is a system that can be used simultaneously by
hundreds of users because of its midsize multi-processing system.
Unlike a PC and a workstation, a mini-computer has more storage and
higher memory capacities.

It is mainly used in process control systems and applications like

payrolls, financial accounting, computer-aided designs, etc.
MAIN FRAME
A main frame computer comes in a very large size and a costly price.
Due to its large size, it can process data at very high speeds of the
order of several million instructions per second.

It can be linked into a network with smaller computers, micro-

computers, and with each other.
SUPERCOMPUTER
A supercomputer is considered one of the fastest computers available
today. Its multiprocessors are capable of parallel processing or
processing multiple instructions at the same time.

Weather forecasting, processing data, and others that require

computers with very advance applications are some of the fields that
use supercomputers.
APPLICATIONS OF COMPUTER SYSTEM

• Science, Engineering, and Research

• Business
• Medicine
• Information
• Education
• Games & Entertainment
CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT

• A central processing unit (CPU) is the electronic circuitry within a computer that
carries out the instructions of a computer program by performing the basic
arithmetic, logical, control, and input/output operations specified by the
instructions.
• The CPU has three components:
• Memory Storage Unit
• Control Unit
• Arithmetic Logic Unit
MEMORY STORAGE UNIT

• The memory or storage unit can store instructions, data, and intermediate results.
It supplies information to other units of the computer when needed for
instructions.
• The functions of the memory unit are:
• Stores all the data and instructions required for processing.
• Stores immediate results of processing.
• Stores results of processing before these are released to an output device.
• Transmits all inputs and outputs.
CONTROL UNIT

• The control unit controls the operations of all parts of the computer but does not
carry out any actual data processing operations.
• The functions of the control unit include the following:
• Controls the transfer of data and instructions among other units of a computer.
• Manages and coordinates all the units of the computer.
• Obtains the instructions from the memory, interprets them, and directs the operation of the
computer
• Communicates with input/output devices for transfer of data or results from the storage.
ARITHMETIC LOGIC UNIT

• The arithmetic logic unit consists of two subsections:

• The arithmetical section – performs addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
• The logical section – compares, selects, matches, and merges data.