Basic Computer Programming

By Tadesse M (MSc).
 Chapter One
Introduction to Computer
 Contents
 What is computer?
 Over view of computer
 Uses of computer
 Classification of computer
 Characteristics of computer
The Computer Systems
Data Representation
Number Systems and Coding System
Computer maintenances
Computer network
 What is Computer

There are a lot of definitions used to describe

computer:
 a device that receives input from the user through
input devices, processes in some fashion and
displays the result on output devices.
 programmable electronic machines capable of
accepting data , processing , storing and then
displays the output to the user.
a device that has a microprocessor.
 Applications of computers
Defense application
 Education Sector
 Banking
 Government & Information Broad Casting
 In Industries and manufacturing
 In Medical Areas and so on.
 Making simple and complex calculation
To make statistical chars
 For research purposes
Listening music and watching movies
For diagnostic Purposes
For weather for casts
For drawing purposes, Etc.
 Classification of computer

According to purpose

1. General Purpose :
 General-purpose computers are designed to solve a
large variety of problems.
• That is they can be given different programs to
solve different types of problems
 Most digital computers are general computers.

E.g. Personal Computers

 2 - Special Purpose:
 Special purpose computers are designed to solve a specific

problems.
 Most analogue computers are special purpose computers.

– E.g. video recorders, automotive ignition systems, Public

Phone…
 By their working Principles/Data used

1, Analog Computer
 Analog computer is that computer, which is use to process

continuously varying data.

 Everything we see and hear is change continuously.

This changeable continuous stream of data is called analog

data.
It is very limited memory

It perform certain task

It is difficult to use

 2, Digital
 Digital computers works with discrete value(0,1).

 It can works only with digits.

 These are high speed electronic devices

It can store large amount of data.

Its speed of calculation is very high

It is easy to use.

 3. Hybrid
  hybrid computer is a combination of digital and analog
computers.
 It combines the best features of both types of
computers.
   For example a petrol pump contains a processor that
converts fuel flow measurement into quantity and price.
  Hybrid computer is used in hospitals to measure the
heartbeat of the patient.
 Hybrid computers are also used in scientific
applications or in controlling industrial processes.
 The first desktop hybrid computing system was the
Hycomp 250, released by Packard Bell in 1961.
 According to size and Capacity:
 Based on speed, size, storage capacity, price: there

are four types of computers

– Microcomputer (Personal Computer)

– Minicomputer

– Mainframe computer

– Super computer
 1, Microcomputer
An antiquated term, a microcomputer is now

primarily called a personal computer (PC), or a

device based on a single-chip microprocessor.
A microcomputer is a complete computer on a

small scale, designed for use by one person at a time.

Common microcomputers include laptops and

desktops
 2, Minicomputer
Minicomputer, Computer that is smaller, less expensive,

and less powerful than a mainframe.

Minicomputers are used for scientific and engineering

computations, business-transaction processing, file

handling, and database management, and are often now
referred to as small or midsize servers.

Examples of mini computer

Apple iPad, Samsung tab,Netbook, iPod.

Apple iPhone, Samsung Galaxy series.

 3, mainframe computer
A mainframe computer, informally called a big iron, is

a computer used primarily by large organizations for

critical applications, bulk data processing (such as the
census and industry and consumer statistics, enterprise
resource planning, and large-scale).
Mainframe computer contains the large memory, huge

storage space, multiple high grade processors, so it has

ultra processing power compare to standard 
computer systems.
 4, Super computer
 Supercomputer, any of a class of extremely powerful
computers.
 The term is commonly applied to the fastest high-
performance systems available at any given time.
 Such computers have been used primarily for
scientific and engineering work requiring
exceedingly high-speed computations.
 Common applications for supercomputers include
testing mathematical models for complex physical
phenomena or designs, such as climate and weather,
evolution of the, nuclear weapons and reactors, new 
chemical compounds (especially for pharmaceutical
purposes), and cryptology. 
 Characteristics of computer

1. Speed of Computer
The computer is capable of performing many tasks per

second.
Computers are much faster to perform mathematical

calculations than human.

It takes an hour or a day for a person to do a

mathematical calculation or any work, to do the same

calculation or work to a computer do in microseconds or
nanoseconds.
 2. Accuracy of Computer
 A computer is very accurate.

It does not make any kind of mistake in calculating.

Sometimes we get some error but these are because of

the mistake performed by us.

The Accuracy Of the computer is constantly high and it

can perform hundred of operation with the carry-out

calculation and analysis accurately and speedily.
 3. Diligence of Computer
 A person gets tired of doing some work in a few hours

and a computer has the ability to do any work

continuously for many hours, days, months. 
Even after the computer has worked for such a long

time, there is no decrease in its ability to work and the

accuracy of the result.
The computer does work without any discrimination.

A computer is free from monetary and tiredness.

 4, Versatility of Computer
Versatility is the Characteristics of a computer. Its

means is that the computer is capable of working in

almost every field.
Today computers are being used almost everywhere like

schools, colleges, hospitals, offices, railway stations,

hotels etc.
A computer system is multitasking so that you can do

two tasks very easily at the same time.

 5, Storage Capacity of Computer
Computer systems have a very large capacity to store

any type of data.  

Computers have the ability to store all types of data

such as data, pictures, files, programs, games, and sound

for many years and later we can get any data in a few
seconds at any time for taking that information and for
future retrieval.
 Computer system
System is a group of components, consisting of
subsystem or procedures that work in a coordination
fashion to achieve some objective
A computer System consists of:
– Hardware:
• the electronic and the electromechanical parts, or
the physical parts of a computer.
• Or Parts of the computer that you can see or
touch.
– Software:-
• it is a collection of instructions or programs that
tells the computer how to perform a task.
 Computer Hardware
Hardware can be classified as:
– Input Devices
– Processing hardware
– Output device
– Storage Hardware
Input Devices
– Devices that take data and programs that people can
read or comprehend and convert them to a form the
computer can processes.
– Some of input devices are:
– E.g. Keyboard, mouse, scanner, touchpad, Mice, …
 Output Devices
– Hardware that allows the user to see the final data.
– Some of them are:
• Printer, Monitor, Plotter, Speakers, modem and
so on.
Storage Devices
 Primary Storage Devices (Main memory)
» RAM
» ROM
 Secondary Storage Devices
 Primary Storage Devices (Main memory
–RAM (Random Access Memory)
–Is the working storage area for the CPU.
–The term Random access comes from the fact that data
can be stored and retrieved as random-from anywhere in
the electronic RAM chips- in approximately equal
amounts of time, no matter what the specific data
locations are.
–Its contents are temporary and thus it is said to be
volatile.
–Its capacity varies in different computers.
 ROM (Read Only Memory):
–ROM memory is used to store permanent information, which
is non-erasable.
–The BIOS software helps the processor transfer information
between the keyboard, printer, screen, and other peripheral
devices to make sure all units are functioning properly.
–A ROM chip is used mainly in the start-up process of a
modern computer
 Secondary/permanent storage areas.
Is a storage medium that holds information until it is

deleted or overwritten regardless if the computer has

power
Alternatively referred to as external memory and

auxiliary storage
some of them are:

 E.g. Hard disk, floppy disk, CD-ROM, Flash disk

and so on.
 CPU (Central Processing Unit):
– Brain of computer
Made up of:
• ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit): performs
arithmetic operations and logical comparisons.
– Arithmetic operations are the fundamental
math operations: addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and division.
• Control Unit: tells the rest of the computer
system how to carry out a program’s instructions.
• Registers: special high-speed circuitry areas that
temporarily store data during processing and
provide working areas for computation.
 Computer Software
It is a collection of instructions or programs that tells
the computer how to perform a task.
Basically there are two types of software:
Application software.
System software and
Application software
 Designed for specific tasks
consists of computer programs designed to satisfy a
user’s needs.
E.g.: Ms Excel, Ms Word, Ms Access, Ms music
players, etc.
 System software
 These programs start up the computer and function as the
principal coordinator of all hardware components as well
as application software programs.
 How to communicate with peripheral equipment like
printer, keyboards and disk drives.
 How to manage files and Without system software loaded
into the RAM of your computer, your hardware and
applications software are useless.
Three categories of system software are:
Operating System
Utilities: software designed to help to analyze, configure,
optimize or maintain a computer( Example Disk
defragmenters, System Profilers, Network Managers,
Application Launchers)
Programming languages
 Data representation
Computers only identifies signals in the form of digital
pulses.
Digital pulses can be represented either a high voltage
state ‘on’ or a low voltage state ‘off’
The ‘on’ and ‘off’ states are commonly labeled with the
numbers 1 and 0 respectively.
This two state system is called binary number system.
Each latter, number, or symbol that we enter from the
keyboard should be uniquely represented by the
combination of 0s and 1s before it can be used by the
computer.
 Number System
 Data and instructions are stored in computer memory
using the digits 0 and 1
 Data can be a number, a character a picture element,
or a piece of music.
A general number system should comprise of the
following features.
– A set of symbols used for the formation of numbers
– A set of rules which may be used to form number
from the symbols and assign a value to them
– A set of rules for performing common arithmetic
operation in this number system
Number System
Any number can be represented using a positional
number system. It associates weight at each position.
Depending on the number of symbols used, we have
decimal(10), binary(2), octal(8), hexadecimal(16) etc., as
shown below.

Number System Base Symbols used for forming numbers

Binary 2 0,1
Ternary 3 0,1,2
Octal 8 0,1,2,3,…,7
Decimal 10 0,1,2,3,…,9
Hexadecimal 16 0,1,2,3,...,9, A,B,C,D,E,F
Number System Base Symbols used for forming numbers
ASCII code
 What is maintenance?
 Maintenance is a schedule of planned maintenance
actions aimed at the prevention of breakdowns and
failures.
The primary goal of maintenance is to prevent the failure
of equipment before it actually occurs.
It is a well-known fact of life that failures occur at the
most inopportune times.
A little maintenance can minimize the impact by either
catching and repairing the failure before it happens, or
preventing it altogether.
The concepts of maintenance and safety have been
emphasized throughout this book.
Maintenance reduces number of problems to extend the
useful life of computer hardware.
 1.2 What is Maintenance included?
 including tests

 measurements

 adjustments

repair

 replacement

performed specifically to prevent faults from occurring.

Types of Maintenances

1, Preventative Maintenances

2, Corrective Maintenances
Preventive maintenance can be described as
maintenance of equipment or systems before fault
occurs. It can be divided into two subgroups:
A, Planned maintenance and,
B, Condition-based maintenance.
The main difference of subgroups is
a, Determination of maintenance time or
b, Determination of moment when maintenance should
be performed.
Preventive maintenance is conducted to keep
equipment working and/or extend the life of the
equipment.
Corrective maintenance, sometimes called "repair",
is conducted to get equipment working again.
 Goals of preventive maintenance
Is conducted to keep working and /or extending the life of

the equipment
To prevent the failure of equipment before it occurs.

 To minimize the possibility of unanticipated production

interruption or major breakdown

To make plant, equipment and machinery always available

and ready for use.

To reduce the work content of maintenance jobs.

To achieve maximum production at minimum repair cost.

 Features of Preventive Maintenance

i, Proper identification of all items to be included in the

maintenance programe.

ii, Adequate records covering, volume of work,

associated costs etc.

iii, Use of checklists by inspectors.

iv, An inspection frequency schedule

v, Administrative procedures which provide necessary

fulfilment as well as follow up on programme.
 Procedure of Preventive Maintenance:
1, Proper identification of machines/equipment’s and tools:
2, Breakdown/Failures Data
3, Adequate past records must be available for all
equipment’s being utilized
4, Secondary data: In fact it is a sort of experienced data for
similar equipment being utilized.
5, Manufacturer’s utilization recommendations
6, Service manuals, instruction and maintenance sheets
7, Consumables and replacable parts/components should be
available as and when needed
8, Users feedback and cooperation
9, Management Support
 Advantage of preventive maintenance

Preventive maintenance has the following long term benefits:

Improves system reliability

Decreases cost of replacement

Decreases system downtime

Better spares inventory management.

Preventive maintenance save money

Preventive maintenance save time

Preventive maintenance help safeguard your data

Preventive maintenance improve performance

 Hardware Maintenance
Computer hardware maintenance involves taking care

of the computer's physical components, such as its

keyboard, hard drive and internal CD or DVD drives, etc
Maintaining hardware helps to extend the computer's

lifespan.
It helps to prevent wear and tear, and keeps the system

functioning smoothly.

What Hardware Maintenances Included ?

 Software Maintenance
Software maintenance is a par of Software Development
Life Cycle.
 Its main purpose is to modify and
update software application after delivery to correct faults
and to improve performance.
The essential part of software maintenance requires
preparation of an accurate plan during the development
cycle.
Use the tasks listed on the slide as a guide to create a
software maintenance schedule that fits the needs of your
computer equipment.
 SECURITY THREATS
Importance of Security
Computer and network security help to keep data and
equipment functioning and provide access only to
appropriate people.
 Everyone in an organization should give high priority
to security because everyone can be affected by a lapse in
security.
Damage or loss of equipment can mean a loss of
productivity.
Repairing and replacing equipment can cost the
company time and money.
 Unauthorized use of a network can expose confidential
information and reduce network resources.
 Security Threats

To successfully protect computers and the network,

a technician must understand both types of threats
to computer security:

Physical – Events or attacks that steal, damage, or

destroy equipment, such as servers, switches, and
wiring.

Data – Events or attacks that remove, corrupt, deny

access, allow access, or steal information
 Sources of Threats
A, Internal – Employees have access to data, equipment,
and the network
– Malicious threats are when an employee intends to
cause damage.
– Accidental threats are when the user damages data
or equipment unintentionally.
B, External – Users outside of an organization that do not
have authorized access to the network or resources
– Unstructured – Attackers use available resources,
such as passwords or scripts, to gain access and run
programs designed to vandalize
– Structured – Attackers use code to access operating
systems and software
VIRUSES, WORMS, AND TROJANS
Viruses
A software virus is a parasitic program written intentionally
to alter the way your computer operates without your
permission or knowledge.
A virus attaches copies of itself to other files such as
program files or documents and is inactive until you run an
infected program or open an infected document.
When activated, a virus may damage or delete files, cause
erratic system behaviour, display messages or even erase your
hard disk.
A virus may spread through email and instant messenger
attachments, through infected files on floppy disks or CD-
ROMs, or by exploiting a security flaw in Microsoft
Windows.
 
 Worm
A worm is a self-replicating program that is
harmful to networks.
 A worm uses the network to duplicate its code
to the hosts on a network, often without any user
intervention.
 It is different from a virus because a worm does
not need to attach to a program to infect a host.
 Even if the worm does not damage data or
applications on the hosts it infects, it is harmful to
networks because it consumes bandwidth.
 Trojan horse
The Trojan does not need to be attached to other

software.
Instead, a Trojan threat is hidden in software

that appears to do one thing, and yet behind the

scenes it does another.
The Trojan program can reproduce like a virus

and spread to other computers.

 DENIAL OF SERVICE
Denial of service (DoS) is a form of attack that
prevents users from accessing normal services, such
as e-mail and a web server, because the system is
busy responding to abnormally large amounts of
requests. DoS works by sending enough requests for a
system resource that the requested service is
overloaded and ceases to operate.
Common DoS attacks include the following:
Ping of death – A series of repeated, larger than
normal pings that crash the receiving computer
E-mail bomb – A large quantity of bulk e-mail that
overwhelms the e-mail server preventing users from
accessing it
 Security Strategies

1, Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to

seclude themselves or information about themselves and
thereby reveal themselves selectively. The boundaries
and content of what is considered private differ among
cultures and individuals, but share basic common themes.

2, Authentication is the act of confirming the truth of an

attribute of a datum or entity.

3, Authorization is the process of giving someone

permission to do or have something.
The Ultimate Preventive Maintenance Checklist
Here's a checklist of 29 things you can do to keep your
users happy and online.
1, E-mail your computer users. Let your clients know in
advance what will be happening on the preventive
maintenance visit. Users get attached to their systems, and
seeing something change can be upsetting to them. In the e-
mail, ask them if anything strange is going on with their
system or if they have any questions for you. Often a user
may be hesitant to let you know something is wrong,
thinking it's no big deal or afraid of having a finger pointed
at them for being the problem. One of the most common
complaints you’ll receive is that the computer is getting
slower. More often than not, the user is becoming a power
user, becoming more familiar with the software they are
using.
3, Empty the Recycle Bin. Some users need to be
reminded to periodically empty the Recycle Bin.
4, Delete .tmp files. Before running ScanDisk and
Defragmenter, delete all *.tmp files that have been
created prior to the current day. It will surprise most
people to learn how much hard drive space has been used
by .tmp files.
5, Delete files that begin with a tilde. When cleaning
the system of garbage files, readers might also like to
check for any files beginning with a tilde (~). Make sure
that all your application programs, such as word-
processing, spreadsheet, and graphics programs, are
closed first since sometimes the temporary file you are
currently viewing uses a tilde.
6, Delete old .zip files. Users tend to unzip the files but
then leave the zipped file on their computer.
7, Delete .chk files, and switch the swap file. For those
with permanent swap files, it’s sometimes a good idea to
set the swap file back to temporary and then permanent
again. This cleans out any garbage (and therefore any
possible corruption).Preventive Maintenance Checklist
8, Run ScanDisk and defrag the drive as needed. If
your Windows 95 users aren't running these utilities
themselves, it doesn't hurt to check the disk and make
sure the number of disk errors and the percentage of
fragmentation are within acceptable limits.
9, Clean out Windows temporary Internet files. If
the browser is Microsoft's Internet Explorer, clean
out the c:\Windows\Temporary Internet files folder.
10, Confirm that backups are being done. Do you
have a network solution for automatically backing up
user files to a server? If not—and if you're relying on
end users to back up their own files—ask users when
their last backups were done. Make sure they're
rotating their disks.
11, Update drivers as needed. Make sure you’ve
installed the latest drivers for printers, modems,
sound cards, video cards, and other devices.
What is Data Loss?