COMPUTER

APPLICATION
IN
BUSINES
ASSIGNMENT
MADE BY – HARSHIT AHUJA
ROLL NO. – 21822188
BCOM HONS – B
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

QUESTIONS:

Q1) Define Computer. Briefly explain the evolution of computers over the years.
Also explain different types of computers on the basis of Size & capacity,
technology and purpose. ............................................................................................2

Q2) What do you mean by System Software. Explain in detail different

components of System Software. ...............................................................................8

Q3) What is Payment Gateway? Explain the working of it with example. .............10

Q4) What do you mean by a Database System? How is it different from traditional
file system? Also explain with example various keys of a relation used in RDBMS.
..................................................................................................................................11

Reference
REFERENCES : ......................................................................................................15
Q1) Define Computer. Briefly explain the evolution of computers over the
years. Also explain different types of computers on the basis of Size &
capacity, technology and purpose.
Answer 1) -
DEFINITION - Computer is an electronic device for storing and processing data,
typically in binary form, according to instructions given to it in a variable program.

EVOLUTION OF COMPUTER-
There are five apparent generations of computers.

1. First Generation – Vacuum Tubes (1940 – 1956)

These ancient computers utilized vacuum tubes as circuitry and magnetic drums
for recollection. As a result, they were huge, actually taking up entire rooms and
costing resources to run. These were ineffective materials which produce a huge
amount of heat, sucked enormous electricity and subsequently engendered an
abundance of heat which caused perpetual breakdowns.

2. Second Generation – Transistors (1956 – 1963)

The supersession of vacuum tubes by transistors, visualized the onset of the second
generation of computing. Although first invented in 1947, transistors weren’t used
considerably in computers until the cessation of the 1950s. They were a huge
development over the vacuum tube, despite the fact still subjecting computers to
destroying different levels of heat. However, they were extremely superior to the
vacuum tubes, making computers smaller, more expeditious, inexpensive and less
burdensome on electricity use.

3. Third Generation – Integrated Circuits (1964 – 1971)

By this phase, transistors were now being miniaturized and put on silicon chips.
This led to a huge improvement in speed and effectiveness of these machines.
These were the first computers where users interacted utilizing keyboards and
monitors which interfaced with an operating system, a consequential leap up from
the punch cards and printouts. This facilitated these machines to run various
applications at once utilizing a central program which functioned to monitor
memory.

4. Fourth Generation – Microprocessors (1972 – 2010)

This innovation can be defined in one word: Intel. The chip-maker accomplished
the Intel 4004 chip in 1971, which located all components of computer such as
CPU, recollection, input/output controls onto a single chip. What overcrowded a
room in the 1940s now gets fit in the palm of the hand. The Intel chip contained
thousands of unified circuits. The year 1981 saw the first ever computer (IBM)
categorically designed for home use and 1984 saw the Macintosh introduced by
Apple. Microprocessors even transformed beyond the realm of computers and into
an incrementing number of everyday products.

5. Fifth Generation – Artificial Intelligence (2010 Onwards)

Computer devices with artificial potentiality are still in development, but some of
these technologies are commencing to emerge and be used such as voice
recognition. AI is an authenticity, made possible by adopting parallel processing
and superconductors. Inclining to the future, computers will be thoroughly
revolutionized again by quantum computation, molecular and Nano technology.
The essence of fifth generation will be utilizing these technologies to ultimately
engender machines which can proceed and acknowledge natural language, and
have efficiency to determine and organize themselves.
Types of computers-

On basis of size:
1. Supercomputers-
They are types of computers used in solving complex mathematical computations.
They are capable of executing trillions of instructions per second, which is
calculated in floating point operations per second (FLOPS).

2. Mainframes-
Mainframe computers are large sized computer types. They are equally powerful
but fall short in terms of the computation ability in supercomputers. They are like
big file servers, enabling multiple users from nearby and remote locations to access
resources at the same time.

3. Mini-computers-
Minicomputers are general purpose devices without the monumental expenses
associated with a larger system. Their processing power is below that of mainframe
systems but above the capabilities of personal computers.
4. Micro-computers-
Micro computers are the latest technology in the computer which has been
emerged to as reduce the size of the computer so that individual can now have
computer at small offices or at home for use. Along with that, it makes carrying of
computer easy and hence emerged as a very popular type of computer around the
globe.

On the basis of technology:

1. Analog Computer
Analog computers are the first computers being developed and provided the basis
for the development of the modern digital computers. Analog computers are
widely used for certain specialized engineering and scientific applications, for
calculation and measurement of analog quantities. They are frequently used to
control process such as those found in oil refinery where flow and temperature
measurements are important. They are used for example in paper making and in
chemical industry. Analog computers do not require any storage capability because
they measure and compare quantities in a single operation. Output from an analog
computer is generally in the form of readings on a series of dial or a graph on strip
chart.
Example – Speedometer
2. Digital Computer
A Digital Computer, as its name implies, works with digits to represent numerals,
letters or other special symbols. Digital Computers operate on inputs which are
ON-OFF type and its output is also in the form of ON-OFF signal. Normally, an
ON is represented by a 1 and an OFF is represented by a 0. So, we can say that
digital computers process information which is based on the presence or the
absence of an electrical charge or we prefer to say a binary 1 or 0.
A digital computer can be used to process numeric as well as non-numeric data. It
can perform arithmetic operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication and
division and also logical operations. Most of the computers available today are
digital computers.
Examples – Accounting Machines, Calculators.

3. Hybrid Computer
A hybrid is a combination of digital and analog computers. It combines the best
features of both types of computers, i-e. It has the speed of analog computer and
the memory and accuracy of digital computer. Hybrid computers are used mainly
in specialized applications where both kinds of data need to be processed.
Therefore, they help the user, to process both continuous and discrete data. For
example, a petrol pump contains a processor that converts fuel flow measurements
into quantity and price values. In hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU), an analog
device is used which measures patient’s blood pressure and temperature etc, which
are then converted and displayed in the form of digits.
Example – used for scientific calculations in defense and radar systems
On the basis of Purpose:

1. General Purpose Computer

Theses computer can store different programs and can thus be used in countless
application. A General-Purpose Computer can perform any kind of jobs with equal
efficiency simply by changing the application program stored in main memory.

2. Special Purpose Computer

A Special Purpose Computer is the one that is designed to perform only one
special task. The program or instructions set is permanently stored in such a
machine. It does its single task very quickly and it cannot be used for any other
purpose.
These computers are often used to perform specific function such as controlling a
manufacturing process or directing communications.

Q2) What do you mean by System Software. Explain in detail different

components of System Software.

Answer 2)-
Meaning-
System Software is a set of programmed designed for controlling, integrating and
managing the hardware components of a computer system and to extend its
processing capabilities. It acts as an intermediary between hardware and
Application software.
System Software are designed to operate the computer hardware, to provide basic
functionality and to provide a platform for running application software.
Components of System software

1. Operating System:
Operating software is a set of integrated programmed that manage overall
performance and functioning of the computer. It controls the computer sources like
Input-Output devices, CPU, Memory, etc. OS is the most important programmed
which make a computer useable by coordinating its various components. An OS is
a programme which acts as an interface between a user and the hardware.

2. Language Processors/Translators
Assembly language is machine dependent yet mnemonics that are being used to
represent instructions in it are not directly understandable by machine and high-
Level language is machine independent. A computer understands instructions in
machine code, i.e. in the form of 0s and 1s. It is a tedious task to write a computer
program directly in machine code. The programs are written mostly in high level
languages like Java, C++, Python etc. and are called source code. These source
code cannot be executed directly by the computer and must be converted into
machine language to be executed. Hence, a special translator system software is
used to translate the program written in high-level language into machine code is
called Language Processor and the program after translated into machine code
(object program / object code).
The language processors can be any of the following three types:
• Compiler –
The language processor that reads the complete source program written in
high level language as a whole in one go and translates it into an equivalent
program in machine language is called as a Compiler.
Example: C, C++, C#, Java

• Assembler –
The Assembler is used to translate the program written in Assembly
language into machine code. The source program is an input of assembler
that contains assembly language instructions. The output generated by
assembler is the object code or machine code understandable by the
computer.

• Interpreter –
The translation of single statement of source program into machine code is
done by language processor and executes it immediately before moving on
to the next line is called an interpreter. If there is an error in the statement,
the interpreter terminates its translating process at that statement and
displays an error message. The interpreter moves on to the next line for
execution only after removal of the error. An Interpreter directly executes
instructions written in a programming or scripting language without
 previously converting them to an object code or machine code.
Example: Perl, Python and MATLAB.

3. Utility Software:

Utility software are those programmed which perform some specific tasks relating
to managing system resources. Utilities are type of systems software’s which sits
between system and application software. These are programme intended for
diagnostic and maintenance task for the computer.
Examples – Anti-Virus, Disk Defragmentation, firewall, disk cleanup and file
compressor

4. Device Driver
It is a type of system software which operates or controls a particular type of
device attached through computer. Device Driver makes it possible for all
connected components and external add-ons to perform their as directed by OS.
Examples – Mouse, keyboard, Printer and Display Card.

Q3) What is Payment Gateway? Explain the working of it with example.

Answer 3)-
Meaning-
A payment gateway is a merchant service provided by an e-commerce application
service provider that authorizes credit card or direct payments processing for e-
businesses, online retailers, bricks and clicks, or traditional brick and mortar.

How Do Payment Gateways Work?

A payment gateway facilitates the transfer of information between a payment

portal (such as a website, mobile phone) and the Front-End Processor or acquiring
bank. Here is a step by step guide detailing how Payment Gateways work:
Q4) What do you mean by a Database System? How is it different from
traditional file system? Also explain with example various keys of a relation
used in RDBMS.

What is a database?
Answer 4)-
Meaning-
A database (DB) is a collection of data that lives for a long time. Many systems fit
this definition, for example, a paper-based file system, a notebook, or even a string
with knobs for counting.

Difference
The main difference between file system and DBMS is that the file system helps to
store a collection of raw data files into the hard disk while the DBMS helps to
easily store, retrieve and manipulate data in a database.
Keys of relation used in RDBMS-

(I) Super Key – An attribute or a combination of attribute that is used to identify

the records uniquely is known as Super Key. A table can have many Super Keys.

E.g. of Super Key

ID
ID, Name
ID, Address
ID, Department_ID
ID, Salary
Name, Address
Name, Address, Department_ID
So on as any combination which can identify the records uniquely will be a Super
Key.
(II) Candidate Key – It can be defined as minimal Super Key or irreducible Super
Key. In other words, an attribute or a combination of attribute that identifies the
record uniquely but none of its proper subsets can identify the records uniquely.

E.g. of Candidate Key

ID
Name, Address
For above table we have only two Candidate Keys (i.e. Irreducible Super Key)
used to identify the records from the table uniquely. ID Key can identify the record
uniquely and similarly combination of Name and Address can identify the record
uniquely, but neither Name nor Address can be used to identify the records
uniquely as it might be possible that we have two employees with similar name or
two employees from the same house.

(III) Primary Key – A Candidate Key that is used by the database designer for
unique identification of each row in a table is known as Primary Key. A Primary
Key can consist of one or more attributes of a table.

E.g. of Primary Key - Database designer can use one of the Candidate Key as a
Primary Key. In this case we have “ID” and “Name, Address” as Candidate Key,
we will consider “ID” Key as a Primary Key as the other key is the combination of
more than one attribute.

(IV) Foreign Key – A foreign key is an attribute or combination of attribute in one

base table that points to the candidate key (generally it is the primary key) of
another table. The purpose of the foreign key is to ensure referential integrity of the
data i.e. only values that are supposed to appear in the database are permitted.

E.g. of Foreign Key – Let consider we have another table i.e. Department Table
with Attributes “Department_ID”, “Department_Name”, “Manager_ID”,”
Location_ID” with Department_ID as a Primary Key. Now the Department_ID
attribute of Employee Table (dependent or child table) can be defined as the
Foreign Key as it can reference to the Department_ID attribute of the Departments
table (the referenced or parent table), a Foreign Key value must match an existing
value in the parent table or be NULL.

(V) Composite Key – If we use multiple attributes to create a Primary Key then
that Primary Key is called Composite Key (also called a Compound Key or
Concatenated Key).

E.g. of Composite Key, if we have used “Name, Address” as a Primary Key then it
will be our Composite Key.
(VI) Alternate Key – Alternate Key can be any of the Candidate Keys except for
the Primary Key.

E.g. of Alternate Key is “Name, Address” as it is the only other Candidate Key
which is not a Primary Key.

(VII) Secondary Key – The attributes that are not even the Super Key but can be
still used for identification of records (not unique) are known as Secondary Key.

E.g. of Secondary Key can be Name, Address, Salary, Department_ID etc. as they
can identify the records but they might not be unique.

REFERENCES :
Wikipedia
Textbook- “Computer Application in Business” (Sushila Madaan)
https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-filesystem-and-vs-
database/
http://www.vidyagyaan.com/computer-knowledge/language-processors-or-
translators-assembler-compiler-and-interpreter/
http://www.vidyagyaan.com/computer-knowledge/different-types-of-computer/
https://byte-notes.com/four-types-computers/