Chapter One

Introduction to computer
What is a Computer?
• Generally a computer is an electronic device, operating under
the control of instructions stored in its own memory.
• These instructions called programs tell the machine what to
do.
• The computer is capable of accepting data (input),
processing data arithmetically and logically, producing
output from the processing, and storing the results for future
use.
Why we use Computers?

•The following are some of the capabilities and potential of Computers, which are
reasons for using Computers.
 Perform repetitive processes with great ease, speed, and reliability

 Store and process large amount of information with high speed and accuracy;

 Making simple and complex calculation, make comparisons;

 Transmit information across distant location via communication channels;

 Simulate events;
Cont’d
 Monitor on going industrial operations;

 make statistical analysis

 For research purposes

 Listening music and watching movies

 For diagnostic Purposes

 For weather for casts

 For drawing purposes … etc

• Therefore, computers are needed for any functions, task or process that
requires these abilities.
 Computer System/Organization

•A System is a group of components, consisting of subsystems or procedures that work in a coordination fashion
to achieve some objective.
•A computer system composed of components called Computer hardware, Computer software, people,
procedures (manual) and data/ information that work in an organized way to create, use, manipulate and store
electronic data.
Basic components of a computer system
CONT’D
I. Computer Hardware
•Hardware is those components or physical devices using wires, integrated circuits,
circuit boards etc that make up the computer.
•It is the actual computer. Hardware are those things you can touch. Hardware can be
classified generally as:
 Input devices
 Processing device
 Memories devices
 Output devices
 Secondary Storage devices
Cont’d
Input Device
 Input: This is the process of entering data and
programs in to the computer system.
 You should know that computer is an electronic
machine like any other machine which takes as inputs
raw data and performs some processing giving out
processed data.
 Therefore, the input unit takes data from us to the
computer in an organized manner for Processing.
CONTD
 Input devices: a hardware device that sends information into the CPU.

 Without any input devices a computer would simply be a display device

and not allow users to interact with it, much like a TV.

 We use input devices to put information into the computer or convert any
format of information in a format that can be processed by computer.

 Input devices are controlled by the user. Some examples of l input

devices are listed below.
Cont’d
 Keyboard
 Mouse
 Touch Sensitive Screen
 Light Pen
 Digital Stills Camera
 Bar Code Reader
 Voice Data Entry devices
 Joystick
CONT’D
• Keyboard
 It is the most familiar Input Device. A Keyboard is an Input Device that contains
keys users press to enter data into a computer.
 Desktop computer keyboards normally consist from 101 to 105 keys.
• MOUSE
 A Mouse is a pointing device that fits comfortably under the palm of your hand.
The Mouse is the most widely used pointing device on Desktop computers.
Mouse is used to move the cursor on your computer screen, to give instructions
to your computer and to run programs and applications. It can be used to select
menu commands, move icons, size windows, start programs, close windows etc.
• TOUCH SCREEN
 It allows the user to operate a computer by simply touching the display screen.
Example of a Touch Screen includes, ATM at a bank.
 • LIGHT PEN
• It uses a light sensor device to select objects on a display screen.
• To select objects on the screen, a user presses the Light Pen against the surface
of the screen or points the Light Pen at the screen and then presses a button on
the Pen.
• TRACK BALL
• Similar to a Mouse that has a ball. A Track Ball is a pointing device with a
ball on its top. It looks like an upside-down mouse.
•To move the pointer you simply rotate the ball with your thumb, fingers, or the
palm of your hand.
•Tracker Balls have an advantage over the mouse that a flat surface is not
required for its operation and does not require much space because the device is
stationary.
•TOUCHPAD 
•A Touchpad is a device that senses pressure to guide the pointer on the
computer screen.
•It is generally a small square area below the keyboard.
•As the user moves his/her finger across the touchpad, the pointer
moves on the screen.
•Next to the pad are two buttons used for clicking in exactly the same
way as those on a mouse. Example of a Touchpad is Laptop computer.
• BAR CODE READER
•A bar code is a pattern of vertical lines in which the spacing and thickness
can be used to represent data. A bar code reader is a device that can read
and interpret bar codes and input the data into the computer.
• DIGITAL CAMERA
•Instead of film, a digital camera uses a light sensitive screen at the back of
the camera. A small computer inside the camera converts the pattern on the
screen into a standard graphics file which can then be transferred to a
computer.
• MICROPHONE
•A microphone translates speech into an electronic signal. Modern speech
recognition software is able to translate this into either commands or data.
This enables the user to use a microphone as an alternative to the keyboard.
 • SCANNERS
•Some input devices save users time by eliminating manual data entry.
With these devices, users do not type or speak into the computer.
• Instead, these devices capture data from a source document, which is
the original form of the data.
•Because of these reasons they are always called source data input
devices.
•Scanner is one of such devices which is similar to a photocopier,
except that instead of producing a paper copy of the document you place
on it, you get an electronic copy which appears on your computer screen
Processor – CPU
•Processing is the thinking that the computer does - calculations, comparisons, and
decisions.
• The processor the short form for microprocessor also called the CPU of the computer is
the brain of the computer which performs all arithmetic, logical and control operations. It is
responsible for every single thing that a computer does. The function of the CPU is to
execute

•programs stored in the main memory by fetching instructions, examining them, and
executing them one after the other.

• They are processor chips which are very large integrated circuits mainly made up of silicon
and gold. Processor chips vary slightly in look depending on which company has made them.
 The underside of a Pentium processor

CPU - Architecture

The CPU consists of a control unit, an

arithmetic logic unit (ALU), and registers.
A. Control Unit

• Tasks carried out by a CU are listed below:

1. Decoding the instructions within a computer

2. Sequencing the reading and writing of data within the CPU and externally on the data bus

3. Controlling the sequence in which instructions are executed

4. Controlling the operations performed by the ALU

B. ALU (arithmetic and logic unit)
•The arithmetic logical unit (ALU) is responsible for performing arithmetic and logical operations and comparisons of
data.
•This is the part that executes the computer's commands.
•A command must be either a basic arithmetic operation: +,   - , *, / or one of the logical comparisons: >, <, =, not =.
Everything else has to be broken down into these few operations.
• Only one operation is done in each Cycle.
•The ALU can only do one thing at a time but can work very, very fast.

C. CPU - Registers

•The CPU also contains a small high speed memory which is used to store temporary results and control information.
 OUTPUT DEVICES
Visual Display Unit (VDU)
• Virtually all computers use some type of screen as their primary output device. There are
two categories of screen: cathode ray tube and LCD.
PRINTERS
• Printers produce a hard copy of the output on paper. There are three main types of printer:
Dot matrix, Inkjet and Laser. The following table compares the three types.
PLOTTERS
• A Plotter consists of a device that can move paper both backwards and forwards. On the
top of the device one or more pens are able to move horizontally across the paper.
•The combined movement of the pens horizontally across the paper and the vertical movement
of the paper allow complex continuous diagrams to be drawn.
 SPEAKERS
• Modern computers using the appropriate software can turn
text in a document into audible speech.
• This is known as speech synthesis.
• Other types of software allow music and other sounds to be
created and played back
 Memory

•The memory of a computer is the part used to hold /store/ programs and data.

• The memory of a computer is constructed from microchips.

•Memory can be thought of as a set of pigeon holes or cells with each one having a unique address. Each pigeon
hole can store 8 bits of data.

•A computer contains two types of main memory, Random Access Memory (RAM) and Read Only Memory
(ROM).
•The cycle (input - processing - output) would not be possible without a holding place for the instructions and
data that the processor (CPU) can easily reach. This holding place is known as memory.
•There are three basic types of memory:
1. RAM - Random Access Memory
2. ROM - Read Only Memory
3. Secondary Storage Devices
1. Random Access Memory (RAM)
•It is the primary memory that holds data and instructions while the
computer is in use.
•It is described as volatile memory as the contents of RAM chips can be
lost when the computer is turned off or when new data is being written
to RAM while other data is being processed.
• It can be written to and read from type of memory.
• Important to remember that if you do not save the information in RAM
to a storage device (such as a floppy disk or hard drive) before turning
off the computer the information will be lost.
• It is a semiconductor integrated circuit on a chip.
•This is what modern computers use for memory. Pictured below is a
72-pin SIMM.
1.Read Only Memory (ROM)
• ROM is responsible for storing permanent data and instructions.
• ROM is more straight forward than RAM.
• It is built in memory that permanently stores instructions and data.
• The instructions and data in ROM are created when it is manufactured
and it cannot be changed.
 We can see the part of secondary storage as 5th part of computer
hardware
SECONDARY STORAGE
•You are now clear that the operating speed of primary memory or main memory should
be as fast as possible to cope up with the CPU speed.
•These high-speed storage devices are very expensive and hence the cost per bit of
storage is also very high. Again the storage capacity of the main memory is also very
limited.
• Often it is necessary to store hundreds of millions of bytes of data for the CPU to
process.
• Therefore additional memory is required in all the computer systems. This memory is
called auxiliary memory or secondary storage.
•In this type of memory the cost per bit of storage is low.
•However, the operating speed is slower than that of the primary storage.
•Huge volume of data are stored here on permanent basis and transferred to the primary
storage as and when required. Some example of secondary storage device is
DISKETTE, CD ROM, DVD, FLASH MEMORY AND MEMORY STICKS e.tc.
• Computer software
•Is a collection of programs and routines that support the
operations of performing a task using a computer. Software
also includes documentations, rules and operational
procedures. Software makes the interface between the user and
the electronic components of the computer.
•We can classify software in two major parts

1. System Software: includes programs that perform the basic operations

that make a computer usable. For example, an important piece of system
software is the operating system, which contains programs that manage
the data stored on the computer's disks.

2. Application software: Application software refers to programs designed

to provide a particular task or service, such as word processors, computer
games, spreadsheet programs, and Web browsers.
1.System software
• The important categories of system software are:
• a) Operating system
• b)Language software
• c) Utility software
a)Operating system
• Operating system coordinates the activity between the user
and the computer. An operating system has three major
functions.
i. Controlling operations (control program )
ii. Input/output Management
iii.Command Processing ( command Interpreter)
a) Utility programs: this is another category for system software generally used
to support , enhance , or expand existing programs in a computer system.
Many operating systems have utility programs built in for common purposes.
Additional utility programs are available separately. Some of examples of the
utility programs are the following.
Backup software it is a type of software which facilitate to a user to have a
recovery copy if his/her computer suddenly stop.
Data recovery: it is used to restore data that has been physically damaged or
corrupted. Data can be damaged by viruses, bad software, and hardware failure
and power fluctuation.
Virus protection if there is an attack of computer viruses on your computer
system there may be a need to have antivirus utility software.
Data compression utilities remove redundant elements, gaps and unnecessary
data from the computer storage space so that you will have enough space to
work and to transport data.
a) Language Software.
 Language software: it is the other subdivision of system software which is normally
used by the programmer to develop application program. It is a generic name
consisting of various programs that serves as compliers and translators to develop
program in a number of different programming language.
 is software which is used by programmers to develop application software and
translate programs to machine code.
 Includes:- Translators, general purpose routines and utilities & high level languages
 Translator: -is a program that converts one or more languages to another language.
Three types of translators are assemblers, Compilers & interpreters.
 Interpreter: - is a program that translates each instruction of high level language &
executes the instruction before translating the next instruction.
 Assemblers: - is a program that translates assembly languages into machine code.
 Compiler: - is a program that translates a high level language into machine code.
(Pascal, Fortran Cobol)
The general-purpose routine and utilities include programs
which are used to handle file processing, editing and
debugging.
High level language software is software which has their
own compilers to detect syntax errors of the user’s program
code.
• Example: COBOL, FORTRAN, Pascal. Etc.
• Application Software
 Is software that is designed to perform tasks for the specific area or areas? But for use
in more than one installation.
 Are usually called application packages as they may include a number of programs
along with operating instruction, documentation and so forth.
 Depending on their function or task they are categorized in to the following:
1. Word Processors/ Word processing
• Is a computerized typewriter which permits the electronic creation, editing, formatting,
filing and printing text?
• Example: WordStar, WordPerfect, Microsoft word
1. Spreadsheet: is an electronic worksheet display on the VDU.
• Example: Lotus 1-2-3, Microsoft Excel, Quatropro
1. Database management system. Example: Dbase IV, FoxPro, Microsoft Access, SQL,
• Oracle.