IDENTIFYING TYPES

OF COMPUTER
 WHAT ARE COMPUTERS?
• COMPUTERS ARE ELECTRONIC DEVICES THAT
ARE CAPABLE OF PROCESSING
DATA/INFORMATION GIVEN IN THE FORM OF
NUMBERS, WORDS, PICTURES, AND EVEN
SOUNDS.
• THEY CAN BE PROGRAMMED (GIVEN
INSTRUCTION) TO CARRY OUT VARIOUS KINDS OF
INFORMATION PROCESSING JOBS.
 DIFFERENT KINDS OF COMPUTERS

1. MAINFRAME COMPUTERS
2. MINICOMPUTERS
3. MICROCOMPUTERS OR
PERSONAL COMPUTERS
 MAINFRAME COMPUTERS
•LARGE AND POWERFUL COMPUTERS
THAT ARE USED BY MANY PEOPLE
(USERS) AT THE SAME TIME;
TYPICALLY INSTALLED IN LARGE
ORGANIZATIONS/COMPANIES.
B
 SUPER COMPUTERS
•EXTREMELY POWERFUL
MAINFRAME COMPUTERS
USED IN SCIENTIFIC AND
ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS.
 MINI COMPUTERS
•MINI COMPUTERS ARE MEDIUM
SIZED-COMPUTERS– BETWEEN
MAINFRAME COMPUTERS AND
MICROCOMPUTERS.
B
 THE COMPONENTS OF A
COMPUTER ARE CLASSIFIED INTO
THREE MAIN CATEGORIES
•HARDWARE
•SOFTWARE
•FIRMWARE/DOCUMENTATION
 HARDWARE
•THE MECHANICAL AND
ELECTRONIC PARTS THAT
PERFORM THE VARIOUS
TASKS OF THE COMPUTER.
 SOFTWARE
•THE PROGRAMS OR
INSTRUCTIONS THAT TELL
THE HARDWARE WHAT TASKS
ARE TO BE DONE AND HOW.
FIRMWARE/DOCUMENTATION

• INSTRUCTIONS IN
READ ONLY MEMORY
(ROM).
 THE HARDWARE OF A
TYPICAL COMPUTER
SYSTEM, IRRESPECTIVE
OF ITS SIZE, CONSISTS
OF THE FOLLOWING
COMPONENTS:
CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT
(CPU)
 CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT
(CPU)
• THIS IS THE PART OF A COMPUTER THAT HANDLES
THE DATA AND ACTIVITIES OF THE VARIOUS
PHYSICAL COMPONENTS OF THE COMPUTER.
• IT TRANSFERS INSTRUCTIONS BETWEEN A
COMPUTER'S HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE.
• IT IS ALSO KNOWN AS A PROCESSOR,
MICROPROCESSOR, OR CENTRAL PROCESSOR.
MEMORY
 MEMORY
• COMPUTER MEMORY IS ANY PHYSICAL DEVICE
CAPABLE OF STORING INFORMATION TEMPORARILY,
LIKE RAM (RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY), OR
PERMANENTLY, LIKE ROM (READ-ONLY MEMORY).

• MEMORY DEVICES UTILIZE INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

AND ARE USED BY OPERATING SYSTEMS, SOFTWARE,
AND HARDWARE.
STORAGE
COMPUTER SOFTWARE
 COMPUTER SOFTWARE/
PROGRAM
• A SOFTWARE/ PROGRAM IS A SEQUENCE OF
COMMANDS WRITTEN IN A COMPUTER
PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE THAT SPECIFIES A
TASK THAT COMPUTER WILL PERFORM.
• SOME OF THE COMPUTER PROGRAMMING
LANGUAGES ARE:
VISUAL BASIC, C, C++, JAVA
CLASSIFICATION OF
COMPUTER
SOFTWARE
COMPUTER SOFTWARE CAN BE CLASSIFIED
INTO FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:

•OPERATING SYSTEM
•USER PROGRAMS
•APPLICATION PROGRAMS
 OPERATING SYSTEM
• OPERATING SYSTEM (OS) IS THE BASIC
SOFTWARE RESPONSIBLE FOR INTERACTING
WITH THE HARDWARE.

• IT IS THE FOUNDATION IN WHICH THE USER

PROGRAMS AND APPLICATION PROGRAMS
ARE BUILT.
• IT HELPS THE USER TO ENTER PROGRAMS OR
DATA, STORE THEM IN FILES AND EXECUTE
PROGRAMS.
• TWO POPULAR OPERATING IN USED TODAY
ARE:
UNIX- FOR MAINFRAMES AND
MINICOMPUTERS.
LINUX- USED FOR PERSONAL COMPUTERS.
WINDOWS
 USER PROGRAMS
•WRITTEN BY USERS OR
PROGRAMMERS FOR
THEMSELVES OR FOR
THEIR ORGANIZATION.
 APPLICATION PROGRAMS
• COMPUTERS ARE INCREASINGLY BEING USED IN ALMOST
EVERY ACTIVITY – BUSINESS, INDUSTRY, COMMERCE,
HEALTH, EDUCATION, ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS, ETC.

• WORD PROCESSING
• DESKTOP PUBLISHING
• SPREADSHEETS
 FIRMWARE
•IS THE PROGRAM THAT IS
EMBEDDED IN A SILICON
CHIP RATHER THAT
STORED ON A FLOPPY DISK.