ICS 2174 INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE

Computer: Definition
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to manipulate symbols. Its principal characteristics
are:
 It responds to a specific set of instructions in a well-defined manner.
 It can execute a prerecorded list of instructions (a program).
 It can quickly store and retrieve large amounts of data.
Therefore computers can perform complex and repetitive procedures quickly, precisely and reliably.
Modern computers are electronic and digital. The actual machinery (wires, transistors, and circuits) is
called hardware; the instructions and data are called software.

GENERATION OF COMPUTERS
The first electronic computer was designed and built at the University of Pennsylvania based on
vacuum tube technology. Vacuum tubes were used to perform logic operations and to store data.
Generations of computers has been divided into five according to the development of technologies used
to fabricate the processors, memories and I/O units.

First Generation - 1945 – 55 (ENIAC - Electronic Numerical Integrator And Calculator

EDSAC – Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator

EDVAC – Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer

UNIVAC – Universal Automatic Computer

IBM 701)

Characteristics:

 Vacuum tubes were used – basic arithmetic operations took few milliseconds

 Bulky

 Consume more power with limited performance

 High cost

 Uses assembly language – to prepare programs. These were translated into machine level
language for execution.

 Mercury delay line memories and Electrostatic memories were used

 Fixed point arithmetic was used

  100 to 1000 fold increase in speed relative to the earlier mechanical and relay based
electromechanical technology

 Punched cards and paper tape were invented to feed programs and data and to get results.

 Magnetic tape / magnetic drum were used as secondary memory

 Mainly used for scientific computations.

Second Generation - 1955 – 65 (Manufacturers – IBM 7030, Digital Data Corporation’s PDP 1/5/8
Honeywell 400)

Characteristics:

 Transistors were used in place of vacuum tubes. (invented at AT&T Bell lab in 1947)

 Small in size

 Lesser power consumption and better performance

 Lower cost

 Magnetic ferrite core memories were used as main memory which is a random-access
nonvolatile memory

 Magnetic tapes and magnetic disks were used as secondary memory

 Hardware for floating point arithmetic operations was developed.

 Index registers were introduced which increased flexibility of programming.

 High-level languages such as FORTRAN, COBOL etc were used - Compilers were developed
to translate the high-level program into corresponding assembly language program which was
then translated into machine language.

 Separate input-output processors were developed that could operate in parallel with CPU.

 Punched cards continued during this period also.

 1000 fold increase in speed.

 Increasingly used in business, industry and commercial organizations for preparation of payroll,
inventory control, marketing, production planning, research, scientific & engineering analysis
and design etc.

Third Generation - 1965 – 75 (System 360 Mainframe from IBM, PDP-8 Mini Computer from
Digital Equipment Corporation)

Characteristics:

 ICs were used

 Small Scale Integration and Medium Scale Integration technology were implemented in CPU,
I/O processors etc.

 Smaller & better performance

 Comparatively lesser cost

 Faster processors

 In the beginning magnetic core memories were used. Later they were replaced by
semiconductor memories (RAM & ROM)

 Introduced microprogramming

 Microprogramming, parallel processing (pipelining, multiprocessor system etc),

multiprogramming, multi-user system (time shared system) etc were introduced.

 Operating system software were introduced (efficient sharing of a computer system by several
user programs)

 Cache and virtual memories were introduced (Cache memory makes the main memory appear
faster than it really is. Virtual memory makes it appear larger)

 High level languages were standardized by ANSI eg. ANSI FORTRAN, ANSI COBOL etc

 Database management, multi-user application, online systems like closed loop process control,
airline reservation, interactive query systems, automatic industrial control etc emerged during
this period.

Fourth Generation - 1975 – 89 : (Intel’s 8088,80286,80386,80486 .., Motorola’s 68000, 68030,

68040, Apple II, CRAY I/2/X/MP etc)

Characteristics:

 Microprocessors were introduced as CPU– Complete processors and large section of main
memory could be implemented in a single chip

 Tens of thousands of transistors can be placed in a single chip (VLSI design implemented)

 CRT screen, laser & ink jet printers, scanners etc were developed.
  Semiconductor memory chips were used as the main memory.

 Secondary memory was composed of hard disks – Floppy disks & magnetic tapes were
used for backup memory

 Parallelism, pipelining cache memory and virtual memory were applied in a better way

 LAN and WANS were developed (where desktop work stations interconnected)

 Introduced C language and Unix OS

 Introduced Graphical User Interface

 Less power consumption

 High performance, lower cost and very compact

 Much increase in the speed of operation

Fifth Generation - 1989 to present: (IBM notebooks, Pentium PCs-Pentium 1/2/3/4/Dual core/Quad
core.. SUN work stations, Origin 2000, PARAM 10000, IBM SP/2)

Characteristics:

 Generation number beyond IV, have been used occasionally to describe some current computer
system that have a dominant organizational or application driven feature.

 Computers based on artificial intelligence are available

 Computers use extensive parallel processing, multiple pipelines, multiple processors etc

 Massive parallel machines and extensively distributed system connected by communication

networks fall in this category.

 Introduced ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration) technology – Intel’s Pentium 4 microprocessor
contains 55 million transistors millions of components on a single IC chip.

 Superscalar processors, Vector processors, SIMD processors, 32 bit micro controllers and
embedded processors, Digital Signal Processors (DSP) etc have been developed.

 Memory chips up to 1 GB, hard disk drives up to 180 GB and optical disks up to 27 GB are
available (still the capacity is increasing)

 Object oriented language like JAVA suitable for Internet programming has been developed.

 Portable notebook computers introduced

  Storage technology advanced – large main memory and disk storage available

 Introduced World Wide Web. (and other existing applications like e-mail, e Commerce, Virtual
libraries/Classrooms, multimedia applications etc.)

 New operating systems developed – Windows 95/98/XP/…, LINUX, etc.

 Got hot pluggable features – which enable a failed component to be replaced with a new one
without the need to shutdown the system, allowing the uptime of the system to be very high.

 The recent development in the application of internet is the Grid technology which is still in its
upcoming stage.

 Quantum mechanism and nanotechnology will radically change the phase of computers.

Components:
 Central processing unit (CPU): The heart of the computer, this is the component that actually
executes instructions organized in programs ("software") which tell the computer what to do.
 Memory (fast, expensive, short-term memory): Enables a computer to store, at least
temporarily, data, programs, and intermediate results.
 Mass storage device (slower, cheaper, long-term memory): Allows a computer to permanently
retain large amounts of data and programs between jobs. Common mass storage devices
include disk drives and tape drives.
 Input device: Usually a keyboard and mouse, the input device is the conduit through which
data and instructions enter a computer.
 Output device: A display screen, printer, or other device that lets you see what the computer
has accomplished.
In addition to these components, many others make it possible for the basic components to work
together efficiently. For example, every computer requires a bus that transmits data from one part of
the computer to another.
System Software

System software is a program that manages and supports the computer resources and operations of a
computer system while it executes various tasks such as processing data and information, controlling
hardware components, and allowing users to use application software. That is, systems software functions
as a bridge between computer system hardware and the application software. System software is made up
of many control programs, including the operating system, communications software and database
manager. There are many kinds of computers these days. Some of them are easier to learn than others.
Some of them perform better than others. These differences may come from different systems software.

Three Kinds of Programs

Systems software consists of three kinds of programs. The system management programs, system support
programs, and system development programs. These are explained briefly.

System Management Programs

These are programs that manage the application software, computer hardware, and data resources of the
computer system. These programs include operating systems, operating environment programs, database
management programs, and telecommunications monitor programs. Among these, the most important
system management programs are operating systems. The operating systems needs to be studied in more
details. There are two reasons. First, users need to know their functions first. For the second, there are
many kinds of operating systems available today.

Telecommunications monitor programs are additions of the operating systems of microcomputers. These
programs provide the extra logic for the computer system to control a class of communications devices.

System Support Programs

These are the programs that help the operations and management of a computer system. They provide a
variety of support services to let the computer hardware and other system programs run efficiently. The
major system support programs are system utility programs, system performance monitor programs, and
system security monitor programs (virus checking programs).

System Development Programs

These are programs that help users develop information system programs and prepare user programs for
computer processing. These programs may analyze and design systems and program itself. The main
system development programs are programming language translators, programming environment
programs, computer-aided software engineering packages.

 
Computer sizes and power
Computers can be generally classified by size and power as follows, though there is considerable
overlap:
 Personal computer: A small, single-user computer based on a microprocessor.
  Workstation: A powerful, single-user computer. A workstation is like a personal computer, but
it has a more powerful microprocessor and, in general, a higher-quality monitor.
 Minicomputer: A multi-user computer capable of supporting up to hundreds of users
simultaneously.
 Mainframe: A powerful multi-user computer capable of supporting many hundreds or
thousands of users simultaneously.
 Supercomputer: An extremely fast computer that can perform hundreds of millions of
instructions per second.
Supercomputer and Mainframe
Supercomputer is a broad term for one of the fastest computers currently available. Supercomputers
are very expensive and are employed for specialized applications that require immense amounts of
mathematical calculations (number crunching). For example, weather forecasting requires a
supercomputer. Other uses of supercomputers scientific simulations, (animated) graphics, fluid
dynamic calculations, nuclear energy research, electronic design, and analysis of geological data (e.g.
in petrochemical prospecting). Perhaps the best known supercomputer manufacturer is Cray
Research.
Mainframe was a term originally referring to the cabinet containing the central processor unit or
"main frame" of a room-filling Stone Age batch machine. After the emergence of smaller
"minicomputer" designs in the early 1970s, the traditional big iron machines were described as
"mainframe computers" and eventually just as mainframes. Nowadays a Mainframe is a very large and
expensive computer capable of supporting hundreds, or even thousands, of users simultaneously. The
chief difference between a supercomputer and a mainframe is that a supercomputer channels all its
power into executing a few programs as fast as possible, whereas a mainframe uses its power to
execute many programs concurrently. In some ways, mainframes are more powerful than
supercomputers because they support more simultaneous programs. But supercomputers can execute
a single program faster than a mainframe. The distinction between small mainframes and
minicomputers is vague, depending really on how the manufacturer wants to market its machines.
 
Minicomputer
It is a midsize computer. In the past decade, the distinction between large minicomputers and small
mainframes has blurred, however, as has the distinction between small minicomputers and
workstations. But in general, a minicomputer is a multiprocessing system capable of supporting from
up to 200 users simultaneously.
 
Workstation
It is a type of computer used for engineering applications (CAD/CAM), desktop publishing, software
development, and other types of applications that require a moderate amount of computing power
and relatively high quality graphics capabilities. Workstations generally come with a large, high-
resolution graphics screen, at large amount of RAM, built-in network support, and a graphical user
interface. Most workstations also have a mass storage device such as a disk drive, but a special type of
workstation, called a diskless workstation, comes without a disk drive. The most common operating
systems for workstations are UNIX and Windows NT. Like personal computers, most workstations are
single-user computers. However, workstations are typically linked together to form a local-area
network, although they can also be used as stand-alone systems.
N.B.: In networking, workstation refers to any computer connected to a local-area network. It could be
a workstation or a personal computer.
 
Personal computer:
It can be defined as a small, relatively inexpensive computer designed for an individual user. In price,
personal computers range anywhere from a few hundred dollers to over five thousand dollers. All are
based on the microprocessor technology that enables manufacturers to put an entire CPU on one
chip. Businesses use personal computers for word processing, accounting, desktop publishing, and for
running spreadsheet and database management applications. At home, the most popular use for
personal computers is for playing games and recently for surfing the Internet.
Personal computers first appeared in the late 1970s. One of the first and most popular personal
computers was the Apple II, introduced in 1977 by Apple Computer. During the late 1970s and early
1980s, new models and competing operating systems seemed to appear daily. Then, in 1981, IBM
entered the fray with its first personal computer, known as the IBM PC. The IBM PC quickly became
the personal computer of choice, and most other personal computer manufacturers fell by the
wayside. P.C. is short for personal computer or IBM PC. One of the few companies to survive IBM's
onslaught was Apple Computer, which remains a major player in the personal computer marketplace.
Other companies adjusted to IBM's dominance by building IBM clones, computers that were internally
almost the same as the IBM PC, but that cost less. Because IBM clones used the same microprocessors
as IBM PCs, they were capable of running the same software. Over the years, IBM has lost much of its
influence in directing the evolution of PCs. Therefore after the release of the first PC by IBM the term
PC increasingly came to mean IBM or IBM-compatible personal computers, to the exclusion of other
types of personal computers, such as Macintoshes. In recent years, the term PC has become more and
more difficult to pin down. In general, though, it applies to any personal computer based on an Intel
microprocessor, or on an Intel-compatible microprocessor. For nearly every other component,
including the operating system, there are several options, all of which fall under the rubric of PC
Today, the world of personal computers is basically divided between Apple Macintoshes and PCs. The
principal characteristics of personal computers are that they are single-user systems and are based on
microprocessors. However, although personal computers are designed as single-user systems, it is
common to link them together to form a network. In terms of power, there is great variety. At the
high end, the distinction between personal computers and workstations has faded. High-end models
of the Macintosh and PC offer the same computing power and graphics capability as low-end
workstations by Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, and DEC.
Personal Computer Types
Actual personal computers can be generally classified by size and chassis / case. The chassis or case is
the metal frame that serves as the structural support for electronic components. Every computer
system requires at least one chassis to house the circuit boards and wiring. The chassis also contains
slots for expansion boards. If you want to insert more boards than there are slots, you will need an
expansion chassis, which provides additional slots. There are two basic flavors of chassis designs–
desktop models and tower models–but there are many variations on these two basic types. Then
come the portable computers that are computers small enough to carry. Portable computers include
notebook and subnotebook computers, hand-held computers, palmtops, and PDAs.
Tower model
The term refers to a computer in which the power supply, motherboard, and mass storage devices are
stacked on top of each other in a cabinet. This is in contrast to desktop models, in which these
components are housed in a more compact box. The main advantage of tower models is that there are
fewer space constraints, which makes installation of additional storage devices easier.
Desktop model
A computer designed to fit comfortably on top of a desk, typically with the monitor sitting on top of
the computer. Desktop model computers are broad and low, whereas tower model computers are
narrow and tall. Because of their shape, desktop model computers are generally limited to three
internal mass storage devices. Desktop models designed to be very small are sometimes referred to
as slimline models.
Notebook computer
An extremely lightweight personal computer. Notebook computers typically weigh less than 6 pounds
and are small enough to fit easily in a briefcase. Aside from size, the principal difference between a
notebook computer and a personal computer is the display screen. Notebook computers use a variety
of techniques, known as flat-panel technologies, to produce a lightweight and non-bulky display
screen. The quality of notebook display screens varies considerably. In terms of computing power,
modern notebook computers are nearly equivalent to personal computers. They have the same CPUs,
memory capacity, and disk drives. However, all this power in a small package is expensive. Notebook
computers cost about twice as much as equivalent regular-sized computers. Notebook computers
come with battery packs that enable you to run them without plugging them in. However, the
batteries need to be recharged every few hours.
Laptop computer
A small, portable computer -- small enough that it can sit on your lap. Nowadays, laptop computers
are more frequently called notebook computers.
Subnotebook computer
A portable computer that is slightly lighter and smaller than a full-sized notebook computer. Typically,
subnotebook computers have a smaller keyboard and screen, but are otherwise equivalent to
notebook computers.
Hand-held computer
A portable computer that is small enough to be held in one’s hand. Although extremely convenient to
carry, handheld computers have not replaced notebook computers because of their small keyboards
and screens. The most popular hand-held computers are those that are specifically designed to
provide PIM (personal information manager) functions, such as a calendar and address book. Some
manufacturers are trying to solve the small keyboard problem by replacing the keyboard with an
electronic pen. However, these pen-based devices rely on handwriting recognition technologies,
which are still in their infancy. Hand-held computers are also called PDAs, palmtops and pocket
computers.
Palmtop
A small computer that literally fits in your palm. Compared to full-size computers, palmtops are
severely limited, but they are practical for certain functions such as phone books and calendars.
Palmtops that use a pen rather than a keyboard for input are often called hand-held computers or
PDAs. Because of their small size, most palmtop computers do not include disk drives. However, many
contain PCMCIA slots in which you can insert disk drives, modems, memory, and other devices.
Palmtops are also called PDAs, hand-held computers and pocket computers.
PDA
Short for personal digital assistant, a handheld device that combines computing, telephone/fax, and
networking features. A typical PDA can function as a cellular phone, fax sender, and personal
organizer. Unlike portable computers, most PDAs are pen-based, using a stylus rather than a keyboard
for input. This means that they also incorporate handwriting recognition features. Some PDAs can also
react to voice input by using voice recognition technologies. The field of PDA was pioneered by Apple
Computer, which introduced the Newton MessagePad in 1993. Shortly thereafter, several other
manufacturers offered similar products. To date, PDAs have had only modest success in the
marketplace, due to their high price tags and limited applications. However, many experts believe that
PDAs will eventually become common gadgets.
 PDAs are also called palmtops, hand-held computers and pocket computers.

Parts of Computer:

INPUT/OUTPUT UNITS

Input unit accepts coded information from human operators through electromechanical devices such as
the keyboard or from other computers over digital communication lines. The information received is
either stored in the memory for later reference or immediately used by the Arithmetic and Logic
circuitry to perform the desired operation. Finally the result is sent back to the outside through the
output unit.

The keyboard is wired so that whenever a key is pressed, the corresponding letter or digit is
automatically translated into its corresponding code and sent directly to either the memory or the
processor.

Other kinds of input devices: Joy stick, track ball, mouse (pointing devices), scanner etc.

Objectives
• Serve the intended purpose
• Deliver the right quantity of i/o
• Deliver it to the right place
• Provide i/o on time
• Choose the right method

Types of Outputs
• Internal outputs stay inside the system to support the system's users and managers
• External outputs leave the system to trigger actions on the part of their recipients or
confirm actions to their recipients
• Turnaround outputs are those which are typically implemented as a report eventually
re-enters the system as an input
• Detailed Reports:
– Present information with little or no filtering or restrictions.
– Some detailed reports are historical in nature.
– Detailed reports confirm and document the successful processing of transactions and
serve as an audit trail for subsequent management inquiry.
• Exception Reports:
 – Filter data before it is presented to the manager as information.
– Exception reports only report exceptions to some condition or standard.

Output Media
E.g. Monitors, Printer, Video terminals (provides both input & output functions), graphic displays etc

• Paper
• Screen
• Microfilm/Microfiche
• Video/Audio
• CDROM, DVD
• Other electronic media

MEMORY UNIT

The memory unit stores program and data. There are two classes of memory devices :- Primary memory
and Secondary memory.

Primary memory (Main memory)

 Contains a large number of semiconductor cells each capable of storing one bit of information

 These cells are processed in group of fixed size called words containing ‘n’ bits. The main
memory is organized such that the contents of one word can be stored or retrieved in one basic
operation.

 For accessing data, a distinct address is associated with each word location.

 Data and programs must be in the primary memory for execution.

 Number of bits in each word is called the word length and it may vary from 16 to 64 bits.

 Fast memory

 Expensive

 Time required to access one word is called Memory Access Time - 10nS to 100nS. This time is
fixed and independent of the location.

Secondary Storage
The purpose of secondary storage is to store data and programs on a long-term basis. (Hence, all forms
of secondary storage are non-volatile, meaning that they retain the data stored on them (for a long
period of time) without the need for electrical power.) As data (or a program) is needed in RAM (e.g.,
when a program is called upon to be executed, such as when the user double clicks upon an icon
representing that program), it is copied from secondary storage into RAM, where it can be accessed
quickly.

Among the types of secondary storage media are these:

 Solid-State: For example, flash memory sticks; these usually are attached to a computer via a
USB port and have a capacity in the hundreds of MB or a few GB's. They are highly mobile and
have largely supplanted floppy disks in recent times. This kind of storage is widely used in
devices such as PDA's and digital cameras.
 Magnetic Disk: These are disks on which data is recorded on a set of concentric rings (or
"tracks") (see the figure about 4/5-ths of the way through How Hard Disks Work) using
properties of magnetism.

 Hard disk: high storage capacity (in early 2008, typically in the range of 80 to 320
GB) and much cheaper than RAM (in early 2008, about $0.25 per GB, which is about
1/100 the price of RAM)

 Removable/portable disk: zip disk, disk cartridge, floppy disk

 Optical Disc: These are discs on which data is represented by a spiraling track of "pits and lands"
(or valleys and bumps, if you prefer). A laser beam is used to "read" the data on the surface.

 CD-ROM: "Read Only" (used for distribution of commercial software, for example)
Standard storage capacity is 640MB.

 CD-R (or CD-WORM): "Write Once, Read Many" times

 CD-RW: rewritable multiple times (but you can't really delete a file without deleting
all of them!)

 DVD: similar to CD, but with significantly larger storage capacity

 Magnetic Tape: usually used for making backup copies of disk (so that if the disk fails, a recent
copy of its contents can be recovered and written onto a new replacement disk) or for archival
storage. Tapes that are kept offline (meaning that they sit on a shelf and are "mounted" onto a
tape drive (by a human or a robotic device) only when needed) are sometimes put into the
category of tertiary, as opposed to secondary, storage. Tape drives are what you see spinning in
the background in numerous scenes in movies and TV shows depicting a large computer.
As for why there are so many varieties of storage devices, it boils down mostly to considerations of cost,
mobility (removability), and advances in technology.
As a general rule of thumb (and not surprisingly), the cost of memory/storage (in dollars per unit of
storage) varies with the "speed" of the storage device: the faster the device, the higher the cost (per
MB). For example, main memory costs much more than an equal quantity of space in secondary storage,
by a factor in the hundreds. (In early 2008, space on a hard disk cost about $0.25 per GB, but RAM was
$25 per GB, making RAM about 100 times as expensive.) Hence, even if RAM were designed to be non-
volatile (and hence suitable for storing data on a long-term basis) it would be prohibitively expensive to
replace hundreds of gigabytes of hard disk storage space with an equal quantity of RAM. (Do the
calculation: 100GB of RAM would cost about $2500 compared to $25 for 100GB of hard disk space.
Hence, substituting non-volatile RAM for hard disk would increase the cost of a PC substantially!)
On the other hand, if, in an effort to minimize storage costs, we reduced main memory to a bare-bones
level, we would find that performance would suffer terribly, because it would be necessary to
store/retrieve data onto/from secondary storage more often, and the ratio between access times to
secondary storage and main memory is on the order of hundreds of thousands to one.
 Virtual memory:
The purpose of RAM is to store the programs that are currently running and the data that those
programs are processing, so that instructions and data needed by the CPU can be copied into registers
(where the CPU can actually make use of them) quickly.
However, it often happens that RAM is not large enough to fit all running programs and their data. To
alleviate this situation, many modern operating systems implement virtual memory, which basically
means that some secondary storage (typically some segment of a hard disk) is used for holding portions
of programs/data that, logically speaking, are considered to be in RAM. Whenever the CPU attempts to
fetch an instruction or data item from virtual memory, first it must be confirmed that that instruction or
data item is actually in RAM. If it is, access proceeds normally. If not, whatever "page" of virtual memory
holds the desired item must first be "swapped" into RAM (from the disk), replacing some page of data
that was already there, which itself gets written to the disk. The effect of virtual memory, then, is to, in a
sense, make RAM seem much larger than it actually is.
The relationship between RAM and virtual memory is analagous to that between cache and RAM.
Among the benefits of virtual memory is that it gives programmers the freedom to develop programs
without worrying too much about how much memory a program (or its data) will occupy. From the
user's point of view, it makes it possible to run lots of programs simultaneously without having to worry
about the machine "crashing" due to a lack of space in RAM.
Sometimes, when virtual memory is being stretched to its limit, page swapping becomes so frequent
that system performance degrades very badly. (Note that swapping one page for another is a very time-
consuming operation, which, in the context of an electronic digital computer, can mean a duration of as
little as a hundredth or thousandth of a second.) This is referred to as thrashing. Of course, the larger
RAM's capacity, the less will be the need for swapping and hence the less likely that thrashing will occur.
If bouts of thrashing are adversely affecting you, don't buy a faster CPU. Rather, install more RAM!!
What kinds of storage devices are found in computer systems?

The answer may be a bit more involved than you would expect, because there are a perhaps surprisingly
large number of different kinds of storage devices. The outline below seeks to identify these and to
provide a logical way of organizing them.
Primary (or Main) Memory
 Registers: These are memory cells (typically four or eight bytes in size) that are part of the
processor itself, so that operations (e.g. addition, comparison, etc.) can be performed directly
upon data stored therein (and usually within a single clock cycle, which is less than a billionth of
a second!). Indeed, only data items (including instructions) that are being held in a register can
be operated upon by the processor. Hence, any data item in RAM that is to be used for some
purpose first must be transferred into a register.
In order to keep the electronic circuitry of the processor at a reasonable level of complexity, the
number of registers is quite small, typically no more than a few dozen.
 Cache: This is a block of very high-speed (and expensive) memory cells (typically four bytes in
length) used for storing copies of data items also being held in RAM (see below) that have been
accessed very recently or are anticipated to be accessed in the very near future. Due to its high
cost, cache capacity is typically limited (this is in early 2009) to the neighborhood of 512KB (one-
half MB) to 4MB.
Some processors have multiple levels of cache (usually referred to as L1 and L2, for example),
with L1 being faster (access within a few clock cycles) but having lower capacity (e.g., tens of KB)
than L2 (access to which requires tens of cycles).
 Random Access Memory (RAM): This is a block of fairly high-speed memory cells that are used
for storing (portions of) currently-executing programs and data that those programs are using.
In early 2008, it was typical for a "desktop" or "laptop" computer to have RAM with a capacity of
between 512MB (0.5GB) and 4GB. The price of RAM at that time was about $25 per GB.
The term "random" is meant to suggest that the time required to access any particular memory
location in RAM is independent of which memory location was accessed most recently. (This is
in contrast to accessing the "data" on a VHS or audio cassette tape, which are "sequential"
(rather than "random") storage devices. Suppose, for example, that a VHS tape is fully rewound;
then to get to the fifth hour of video stored on that tape, you must fast forward past the first
four hours. On the other hand, if the tape were already at the beginning of the fourth hour, you
could get to the fifth hour by fast forwarding past only one hour of video.
 Regarding the interplay between cache and RAM: Roughly speaking, whenever the CPU needs to
fetch the data occupying some particular memory cell in RAM, first it looks in cache to see if a
copy is already there. If so, it accesses that copy in a fraction of the time that would have been
required to access the corresponding cell in RAM. If not, it accesses the desired cell of RAM;
also, anticipating that that same cell of RAM will need to be accessed again in the near future,
the CPU copies that cell's contents (as well as that of a block of neighoring cells) into cache
(replacing some block of data items that hasn't been accessed recently).
The introduction of cache is a relatively new development, motivated by the fact that (as
processor and memory technology has advanced over the years) the ratio between the time
needed to transfer data between RAM and a register and the time needed to perform an
operation on data (that is necessarily already in a register) has been steadily growing, to the
point where, without cache, the CPU would be spending the vast majority of its time waiting for
data to be transferred between RAM and registers. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to
as the processor-memory bottleneck.
The term transitory can be used to describe the kinds of main memory listed so far. This term is
apt because their intended purpose is not to store anything for long, but rather to provide fast
access to data (and instructions) currently being used (i.e., related to applications currently
running and whatever data they are using). Because there is no need to store data in main
memory permanently (see exception below), and because it is cheaper to do so, registers,
cache, and RAM are designed to be volatile, meaning that, absent a constant application of
electrical power, they lose their contents relatively quickly.
 Read-only Memory (ROM): A small block of (non-volatile) memory having as one of its
purposes to store instructions that are executed whenever the computer is turned on,
commencing the so-called "boot-strapping" process by which (crucial components of) the
operating system is loaded into RAM, thereby allowing the computer to begin functioning.
(From this description, it should be fairly clear why it is vital for ROM to be non-volatile.)
Definition of: memory capacity 

The total memory (RAM) that can be added to a computer depends on the address registers built into
the CPU. For example, most 32-bit CPUs can address only up to 4 gigabytes (GB) of memory.

The reason the maximum capacity in a 64-bit computer is limitless for all intents and purposes (see chart
below) is that 64-bit hardware manipulates (calculates, compares and copies) 64 bits, or 8 bytes, of data
at a time. However, the actual memory is addressed with far fewer bits. Look up the number 64
in binary values, and note that a 64 bit register could address 16 exabytes of memory, which is 16
million terabytes. That many memory chips in 2011 U.S. dollars would cost approximately $8 billion.
See memory.
CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT ( CPU )

The heart of the computer system is the Processor unit.

It consists of Arithmetic and Logic Unit and Control Unit.

Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU)

 Most computer operations (Arithmetical and logical) are executed in ALU of the processor.

 For example: Suppose two numbers (operands) located in the main memory are to be
added. These operands are brought into arithmetic unit – actual addition is carried. The
result is then stored in the memory or retained in the processor itself for immediate use.

 Note that all operands may not reside in the main memory. Processor contains a number of
high speed storage elements called Registers, which may be used for temporary storage of
frequently used operands. Each register can store one word of data.

 Access times to registers are 5 to 10 times faster than access time to memory.

Control Unit
 The operations of all the units are coordinated by the control unity (act as the nerve centre
that sends control signal to other units)

 Timing signal that governs the I/O transfers are generated by the Control Unit.

 Synchronization signals are also generated by the Control Unit

 By selecting, interpreting and executing the program instructions the program instructions
the control unit is able to maintain order and direct the operation of the entire system.

The control unit and ALU’s are usually many times faster than other devices connected to a computer
system. This enabled a single processor to control a number of external devices such as video terminals,
magnetic taped, disk memories, sensors, displays and mechanical controllers which are much slower
than the processor.
INTERNAL MEMORY ORGANIZATION OF THE CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT

Processor contains a number of registers used for temporary storage of data other than ALU and Control
circuitry

Instruction Register (IR) – holds the instruction that is currently being executed – its output is available
to the control circuits which generate the timing signals that control the various processing elements
involved in executing the instruction.

Program Counter (PC) – It contains the address of the instruction currently being executed. During the
execution of an instruction, the contents of the program counter are updated to hold the address of the
next instruction to be executed. i.e. PC points to the next instruction that is to be fetched from the
memory.

General Purpose Registers (GPR) – Facilitates communication with the main memory. Access to data in
these registers is much faster than to data stored in memory locations because the registers are inside
the processor. Most modern computers have 8 to 32 general purpose registers.

Memory Address Register (MAR) – holds the address of the location to or from which data are to be
transferred

Memory Data Register (MDR) – contains the data to be written into or read out of the address location.

Utility software .

Utility software is system software designed to help analyze, configure, optimize or maintain a

computer. A single piece of utility software is usually called a utility or tool.

Utility software usually focuses on how the computer infrastructure (including the computer

hardware, operating system, application software and data storage) operates. Due to this focus, utilities
are often rather technical and targeted at people with an advanced level of computer knowledge - in
contrast to application software, which allows users to do things like creating text documents, playing
games, listening to music or viewing websites.

Utility software categories

 Anti-virus utilities scan for computer viruses.

 Backup utilities can make a copy of all information stored on a disk, and restore either the
entire disk (e.g. in an event of disk failure) or selected files (e.g. in an event of accidental
deletion).

 Data compression utilities output a shorter stream or a smaller file when provided with a
stream or file.

 Disk checkers can scan operating hard drive.

 Disk cleaners can find files that are unnecessary to computer operation, or take up
considerable amounts of space. Disk cleaner helps the user to decide what to delete when
their hard disk is full.

 Disk compression utilities can transparently compress/uncompress the contents of a disk,

increasing the capacity of the disk.

 Disk defragmenters can detect computer files whose contents are broken across several

locations on the hard disk, and move the fragments to one location to increase efficiency.

 Disk partitions can divide an individual drive into multiple logical drives, each with its own
file system which can be mounted by the operating system and treated as an individual
drive.

 Disk space analyzers for the visualization of disk space usage by getting the size for each
folder (including sub folders) & files in folder or drive. showing the distribution of the used
space.

 Disk storage utilities

 Archive utilities output a stream or a single file when provided with a directory or a set of
files. Archive utilities, unlike archive suites, usually do not include compression or encryption
capabilities. Some archive utilities may even have a separate un-archive utility for the
reverse operation.

 File managers provide a convenient method of performing routine data management tasks,

such as deleting, renaming, cataloging, uncataloging, moving, copying, merging, generating
and modifying data sets.

 Cryptographic utilities encrypt and decrypt streams and files.

 Hex editors directly modify the text or data of a file. These files could be data or an actual
program.

 Memory testers check for memory failures.

  Network utilities analyze the computer's network connectivity, configure network settings,
check data transfer or log events.

 Registry cleaners clean and optimize the Windows registry by removing old registry keys
that are no longer in use.

 Screensavers were desired to prevent phosphor burn-in on CRT and plasma computer

monitors by blanking the screen or filling it with moving images or patterns when the
computer is not in use. Contemporary screensavers are used primarily for entertainment or
security.

 System monitors for monitoring resources and performance in a computer system.

 System profilers provide detailed information about the software installed and hardware
attached to the computer.

Operating system .

An operating system, or OS, is a software program that enables the computer hardware to communicate
and operate with the computer software. Without a computer operating system, a computer would be
useless.

Operating systems provide a software platform on top of which other programs, called application
programs, can run. The application programs must be written to run on top of a particular operating
system. Your choice of operating system, therefore, determines to a great extent the applications you
can run. For PCs, the most popular operating systems are DOS, OS/2, and Windows, but others are
available, such as Linux.

FUNCTIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF OPERATING SYSTEMS

i. Job sequencing: - the OS carries out the sequence of steps necessary to read in, compile, load
and execute one or more programs.

ii. Job control or command language interpretation: - since all jobs do not necessarily require the
same sequencing operations (some jobs for example may not need compilation), the OS needs
 to infer precisely which operations are to be performed in any particular case. The OS must
therefore be capable of interpreting a job control language.

iii. Error handling: - the OS must not allow the errors which inevitably occur in some jobs to affect
jobs later in the sequence.

iv. I/O handling: The OS handles the conversion of input (from e.g. keyboard) to output (e.g.
printed output.

v. Interrupt handling: - the OS implements multiprogramming through a system of interrupts. An

interrupt is a signal which transfers control of the central processor (CPU) to some fixed
location, while at the same time storing the previous value of the program counter. Thus the
program execution is temporarily abandoned, but can be resumed later at the point where it
was interrupted.

vi. Scheduling: - This is a method of organizing the jobs stored on disk so as to decide which one is
to be run next. This is a method of organizing the sharing of the CPU to the several jobs stored
on disk so that each is given a fair chance to run.

vii. Resource Control (mgt): - resources are allocated by an OS according to user needs and system
capabilities under the usual constraints of efficient and reliable operations. Examples of
resources to be allocated include – processor time, peripheral devices e.g. printer, backing store,
files etc.

viii. Protection: - in a multiprogramming environment, the OS protects one job from the activities of
another.

ix. Multi-access: - the OS shares the computing resources among the various users so that it
appears as if each user has exclusive use of the entire machine.

x. Allow programs to store and retrieve information.

xi. Establish a user interface: - the OS should be easy to run from the users’ point of view.

xii. Accounting of computing resources: - the OS should be easy to control from the system
manager’s point of view i.e. taking logs.

Operating System Characteristics

i. Concurrency:- is the existence of several simultaneous or parallel activities such as the
coexistence n memory of several user programs. Problems associated with concurrency include:

 Switching from one activity to another.

 Protecting one activity from the effects of another.

  Synchronizing activities which depend on each other.

ii. Sharing: - concurrent activities may be required to share resources (e.g. printer) or information
(e.g. in memory). The advantages of sharing resources include:

 Cost – it is wasteful to provide resources for all users separately.

 Building on the work of others – it is useful to use other people’s programs or routines.

 Sharing data – it may be necessary to use the same data for several different programs
or users.

 Removing redundancy – it is economical to share a single copy of a program (e.g. an

editor or compiler) among several users rather than provide a separate copy for each
user or process.

Problems associated with sharing include:

 Resource allocation

 Simultaneous access to data

 Simultaneous execution of programs

 Protection against corruption

iii. Long-term storage – the need for sharing programs and data implies the need for long term
storage of information in the computer. Long term storage also allows users the convenience of
keeping their programs or data in the computer rather than on some external medium. The
problems associated with long term storage include:

 Providing easy access

 Protection against interference (malicious or otherwise)

 Protection against system failure

iv. Non-determinacy – the OS must be determinate in that the same program, run today or
tomorrow with the same data, should provide the same results. On the other hand it is
indeterminate in that it must respond to events which will occur in unpredictable order.
Examples of such events are resource requests, run-time errors in programs, and interrupts
from peripheral devices. It is unreasonable to expect to write the OS to cater for all individual
 contingencies that can arise. Instead the system must be written to handle any sequence of
events.

Desirable features
The following are the desirable features for an OS to display:

i. Efficient – the OS should be efficient i.e.

 Minimize CPU idle time

 Minimize response time ( in interactive systems)

 Minimize turn-around times for batch jobs.

 Minimize mean time between batch jobs where applicable.

 Maximize throughput (batch jobs per hour, rate at which work can be done
interactively).

 Maximize resource utilization.

ii. Reliable – the OS should be completely or almost free of errors and able to handle all
contingencies (i.e. possible events).

iii. Easy to maintain – it should be possible to enhance an OS or correct errors without

involving an army of systems programmers. The system should therefore be modular in
construction with clearly defined interfaces between the modules and be well documented.

iv. Small size – the space to hold the OS (e.g. in memory) should be small so that enough space
is available for productive computing. Additionally, a large system is more prone to error
and takes longer to develop than a small one.

v. Platform independent – it should be possible to run it in different h/w and s/w combination
that comprise the basic functionality of a computer.

Operating systems can be classified as follows:

 Multi-user - A multi-user operating system allows for multiple users to use the same computer at the
same time and different times. Below are some examples of multi-user operating systems.
Linux
Unix
Windows 2000
Multiprocessing - An operating system capable of supporting and utilizing more than one computer
processor. Below are some examples of multiprocessing operating systems.

Linux
Unix
Windows 2000

Multitasking - An operating system that is capable of allowing multiple software processes to run at the
same time. Below are some examples of multitasking operating systems.

Unix
Windows 2000

Multithreading - Operating systems that allow different parts of a software program to run
concurrently. Operating systems that would fall into this category are:

Linux
Unix
Windows 2000

 
What is a computer program?
Programs are a series of instructions to the computer. When a software programmer (a person who
writes programs to run on a computer system) develops a program, it is converted into a long list of
instructions that is executed by the computer system.
In operating systems we talk more of a process (part of a program that is in some stage of execution)
than a program. This is because in modern operating systems, only a portion of a program is loaded at
any one time. The rest of the program sits waiting on a disk unit till it is needed. This saves memory
space.
Processors execute computer programs. A processor is a chip in the computer that executes program
instructions. Processors execute millions of instructions per second.
Bit
In computing, a bit can be defined as a variable or computed quantity that can have only two possible
values. These two values are often interpreted as binary digits and are usually denoted by the numerical
digits 0 and 1. The two values can also be interpreted as logical values (true/false, yes/no), algebraic
signs (+/−), activation states (on/off), or any other two-valued attribute. The correspondence between
these values and the physical states of the underlying storage or device is a matter of convention, and
different assignments may be used even within the same device or program. The length of a binary
number may be referred to as its "bit-length".

Byte

In most computer systems, a byte is a unit of data that is eight bit long. A byte is the unit most computers use
to represent a character such as a letter, number, or typographic symbol (for example, "g", "5", or "?"). A
byte can also hold a string of bits that need to be used in some larger unit for application purposes (for
example, the stream of bits that constitute a visual image for a program that displays images or the string of
bits that constitutes the machine code of a computer program).

In some computer systems, four bytes constitute a word, a unit that a computer processor can be designed
to handle efficiently as it reads and processes each instruction. Some computer processors can handle two-
byte or single-byte instructions.

A byte is abbreviated with a "B". (A bit is abbreviated with a small "b".) Computer storage is usually measured
in byte multiples. For example, an 820 MB hard drive holds a nominal 820 million bytes - or megabytes - of
data. Byte multiples are based on powers of 2 and commonly expressed as a "rounded off" decimal number.
For example, one megabyte ("one million bytes") is actually 1,048,576 (decimal) bytes. (Confusingly,
however, some hard disk manufacturers and dictionary sources state that bytes for computer storage should
be calculated as powers of 10 so that a megabyte really would be one million decimal bytes.)

Data vs Information - Differences in meaning

Data are plain facts. When data are processed, organized, structured or presented in a given context so
as to make them useful, they are called Information.
Data on its own carries no meaning. For data to become information, it must be interpreted and take on
a meaning.It is not enough to have data (such as statistics on the economy). Data in themselves are
fairly useless. But when these data are interpreted and processed to determine its true meaning, they
become useful and can be called Information. Data is the computer's language. Information is our
translation of this language.
Bit
 Introduction to Computer Network

 
A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of computers and devices
interconnected by communications channels that facilitate communications and allow sharing of resources
and information among interconnected devices.

Examples of different network methods are:

 Local area network (LAN), which is usually a small network constrained to a small geographic area.
An example of a LAN would be a computer network within a building.

 Metropolitan area network  (MAN), which is used for medium size area. examples for a city or a
state.

 Wide area network  (WAN) that is usually a larger network that covers a large geographic area.

 Wireless LANs and WANs  (WLAN & WWAN) are the wireless equivalent of the LAN and WAN.

Networks may be classified according to a wide variety of characteristics such as,

  Topology,

 Connection method,

 Scale. – LAN, WAN, MAN

All networks are interconnected to allow communication with a variety of different kinds of media,
including twisted-pair copper wire cable, coaxial cable, optical fiber, power lines and various wireless
technologies.[The devices can be separated by a few meters (e.g. via Bluetooth) or nearly unlimited distances
(e.g. via the interconnections of the Internet).

Networking, routers, routing protocols, and networking over the public Internet have their specifications

defined in documents called RFCs.

Purpose

Computer networks can be used for a variety of purposes:

Facilitating communications. Using a network, people can communicate efficiently and easily via email,
instant messaging, chat rooms, telephone, video telephone calls, and video conferencing.

Sharing hardware.  In a networked environment, each computer on a network may access and use hardware
resources on the network, such as printing a document on a shared network printer

Sharing files, data, and information. In a network environment, authorized user may access data and
information stored on other computers on the network. The capability of providing access to data and
information on shared storage devices is an important feature of many networks.
Sharing software. Users connected to a network may run application programs on remote computers.

Network classification

By connection methods.

Computer networks can be classified according to the hardware and software technology that is used to
interconnect the individual devices in the network, such as optical fiber, Ethernet, wireless LAN, Home
PNA, power line communication.

Ethernet as it is defined by IEEE 802 utilizes various standards and mediums that enable communication
between devices. Frequently deployed devices include hubs, switches, bridges, or routers. Wireless LAN
technology is designed to connect devices without wiring. These devices use radio waves or infrared signals
as a transmission medium. ITU-T G.hn technology uses existing home wiring (coaxial cable, phone lines
and power lines) to create a high-speed (up to 1 Gigabit/s) local area network.
Component of a network:

 At least two computers Server or Client workstation.

 Networking Interface Card's (NIC)

 A connection medium, usually a wire or cable, although wireless communication between networked
computers and peripherals is also possible.

 Network Operating system software, such as Microsoft Windows NT or 2000, Novell NetWare, Unix
and Linux.

Network Administration
 Aiding users.
 Providing connectivity.

 Security.

 Providing and managing network services.

 Troubleshooting and debugging.

 Capacity planning.

Network Administrator
A Network Administrator is a professional in charge of the maintenance of the computer hardware and
software systems that make up a computer network. This includes activities such as the deployment,
configuration, maintenance and monitoring of active network equipment.

The Network Administrator is typically a mid to senior level of technical/network staff in an organization and
is not typically involved with direct user support. The Network Administrator will concentrate on the overall
health of the network, server deployment, security, ensuring network connectivity throughout and
company's LAN/WAN infrastructure, and all other technical considerations at the network level of an
organizations technical hierarchy. Network Administrators are considered Tier 3 support personnel that only
work on break/fix issues that could not be resolved at the Tier1 (helpdesk) or Tier 2 (desktop/network
technician) levels.

In some companies, the Network Administrator may also design and deploy networks. Usually, though, these
tasks would be assigned to a Network Engineer if the company is large enough.

The actual role of the Network Administrator will vary from company to company, but usually includes tasks
such as network address assignment, assignment of routing protocols and routing table configuration as well
as configuration of authentication and authorization – directory services. It often includes maintenance of
network facilities in individual machines, such as drivers and settings of personal computers as well as
printers and such. It sometimes also includes maintenance of certain network servers: file servers, VPN
gateways, intrusion detection systems, etc.

Types of Networks:

LANs (Local Area Networks)

LAN network is any collection of independent computers that communicate with one another over a shared
network medium. LANs are networks usually confined to a geographic area, such as a single building or a
college campus. LANs can be small, linking as few as three computers, but often link hundreds of computers
used by thousands of people. The development of standard networking protocols and media has resulted in
worldwide proliferation of LANs throughout business and educational organizations.

WANs (Wide Area Networks)

Wide area networking combines multiple LANs that are geographically separate. This is accomplished by
connecting the different LANs using services such as dedicated leased phone lines, dial-up phone lines (both
synchronous and asynchronous), satellite links, and data packet carrier services. Wide area networking can
be as simple as a modem and remote access server for employees to dial into, or it can be as complex as
hundreds of branch offices globally linked using special routing protocols and filters to minimize the expense
of sending data sent over vast distances.

Internet

The Internet is a system of linked networks that are worldwide in scope and facilitate data communication
services such as remote login, file transfer, electronic mail, the World Wide Web and newsgroups.

With the meteoric rise in demand for connectivity, the Internet has become a communications highway for
millions of users. The Internet was initially restricted to military and academic institutions, but now it is a full-
fledged conduit for any and all forms of information and commerce. Internet websites now provide personal,
educational, political and economic resources to every corner of the planet.
Intranet

With the advancements made in browser-based software for the Internet, many private organizations are
implementing intranets. An intranet is a private network utilizing Internet-type tools, but available only
within that organization. For large organizations, an intranet provides an easy access mode to corporate
information for employees.

MANs (Metropolitan area Networks)

This refers to a network of computers with in a City.

VPN (Virtual Private Network)

VPN uses a technique known as tunneling to transfer data securely on the Internet to a remote access server
on your workplace network. Using a VPN helps you save money by using the public Internet instead of
making long–distance phone calls to connect securely with your private network. There are two ways to
create a VPN connection, by dialing an Internet service provider (ISP), or connecting directly to Internet.

Word Processing

1. Word Processing is using a computer to create, edit, and print documents. Of all computer applications,
word processing is the most common software packages.

2. To perform word processing, you need a computer, a special program called a word processor, and a
printer.

3. A word processor enables you to create a document, store it electronically on a disk, display it on a
screen, modify it by entering commands and characters from the keyboard, and print it on a printer.

4. The great advantage of word processing over using a typewriter is that you can make changes without
retyping the entire document. If you make a typing mistake, you simply back up the cursor and correct
your mistake. If you want to delete a paragraph, you simply remove it, without leaving a trace. It is
equally easy to insert a word, sentence, or paragraph in the middle of a document. Word processors also
make it easy to move sections of text from one place to another within a document, or between
documents. When you have made all the changes you want, you can send the file to a printer to get a
hardcopy. Using word processing software is an efficient way of storing documents because many
documents can be stored on a disk. One of the benefits of word processing software is the ability to print
the same document many times, with each copy looking just like the first

5. Word processors vary considerably, but all word processors support the following basic features:

insert text: Allows you to insert text anywhere in the document.

delete text: Allows you to erase characters, words, lines, or pages as easily as you can cross them
out on paper.
cut and paste : Allows you to remove (cut) a section of text from one place in a document and insert
(paste) it somewhere else.

copy : Allows you to duplicate a section of text.

page size and margins : Allows you to define various page sizes and margins, and the word
processor will automatically readjust the text so that it fits.

scrolling: is the process of moving different portions of a document on the screen into view.

search and replace : Allows you to direct the word processor to search for a particular word or
phrase. You can also direct the word processor to replace one group of characters with another
everywhere that the first group appears.

word wrap : The word processor automatically moves to the next line when you have filled one line
with text, and it will readjust text if you change the margins. Word wrap allows you to type words in
a paragraph without pressing the ENTER key at the end of each line.

Note: Microsoft considers you create a paragraph every time you pressed the ENTER key. To create a
paragraph in Word 2007, press the ENTER key.

print: Allows you to send a document to a printer to get hardcopy.

The Ribbon is the control center in Word 2007. The Home Tab, called the primary tab, contains the
more frequently used commands. Contextual tabs display when certain objects like table or pictures
are selected.

6. Word processors that support only basic word processing features (and maybe a few others) are
called text editors. Most word processors, however, support additional features that enable you to
manipulate and format documents in more sophisticated ways. These more advanced word
processors are sometimes called full-featured word processors. Microsoft Word 2007 is a full
featured word processing program. Full-featured word processors usually support the following
features:

file management : Many word processors contain file management capabilities that allow you to
create, delete, move, and search for files.

font styles: Allows you to change fonts within a document. For example, you can specify bold,
italics, and underlining. Most word processors also let you change the font size and even the
typeface. There are two types of typeface serif fonts, such as Times New Roman and sans-serif fonts
such as Arial and Impact. Serif fonts are good for paragraphs because the extensions guide your eyes
as you read the paragraph. Sans-serif fonts are good for titles and headings.

footnotes and cross-references: Automates the numbering and placement of footnotes and enables
you to easily cross-reference other sections of the document.
 graphics: Allows you to embed illustrations and graphs into a document. Some word processors let
you create the illustrations within the word processor; others let you insert an illustration produced
by a different program.

headers , footers , and page numbering: Allows you to specify customized headers and footers that
the word processor will put at the top and bottom of every page. The word processor automatically
keeps track of page numbers so that the correct number appears on each page.

layout : Allows you to specify different margins within a single document and to specify various
methods for indenting paragraphs.

Search: feature, in combination with the replace feature, allows users of word processing software
to substitute existing characters or words with new ones

spell checker : A utility that allows you to check the spelling of words. It will highlight any words that
it does not recognize.

tables of contents and indexes: Allows you to automatically create a table of contents and index
based on special codes that you insert in the document.

thesaurus: A built-in thesaurus that allows you to search for synonyms without leaving the word
processor.

windows : Allows you to edit two or more documents at the same time. Each document appears in a
separate window. This is particularly valuable when working on a large project that consists of
several different files.

WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get): is the capability to display a document on the display
screen exactly as it will look when printed.

7. The height of a character is measured in points. A point is about 1/72 of one inch in height. A character
with a font size of 12 is 12/72 or 1/6 of one inch in height. On most computers the default font size is 12.

8. A formatting character or a nonprinting character is a character that displays on the screen but is not
visible on a printed document.

9. As you create a document in Word, the computer stores it in RAM or memory. Before you save a
document, it is stored in RAM. If you turn off the computer or if you lose electrical power, the document
in memory is lost. When producing a document using word processing software, the document should be
saved frequently so work will not be lost.

10. Saving is the process of copying a document from memory to a storage medium such as a floppy disk or
hard drive. When you save a document in Word, you can give it a filename that has up to 255 characters,
including spaces. The only invalid characters are:
 \/<>:*?“|

11. Word contains a series of predefined graphics called clip art that you can insert into a Word document.

12. A header is text you want that prints at the top of each page. Footer is text that prints at the bottom of
each page.

13. AutoCorrect is a feature that automatically corrects common spelling errors as you type. Word indicates
a possible spelling error with a wavy red underline. Word indicates a possible grammatical error with a
wavy green underline.

14. Copy and Paste is a very powerful command. If you want to copy a selection of text, you would click the
copy button.

15. There are two types of page break. A soft page break is automatically created when the text exceeds
the capacity of the page. A hard page break is inserted by the user to start a new page.

16. To save a document in a different format or with a different name, click the Office Button and select
Save as.

17. Word 2007 can be used to create Internet web pages, high quality memos, forms and resumes. To
convert your document to a web page in Word 2007, you would select the Save as Web page on the File
menu.

18. Editing is the process of making changes to the document’s content.

19. A hyperlink is a shortcut that allows you to jump to

a. Another document

b. Another document on your network

c. a page on the world wide web

20. To print a specific page of a multi-page document, use the print command under the Office button
window menu. For example to print page 3 and pages 5 – 10 you would specify 3, 5 – 10 in the print
dialogue box. There are 2 printing orientations: portrait and landscape. In portrait orientation the page is
taller than it is wider. In landscape orientation the paper is wider than it is taller. Portrait is used for
letters, memos and most documents. Landscape is normally used when the page has a table to wide to
print in portrait orientation.

21. Print Screen copies the image on the screen to the clipboard. Alt-Print Screen copies the active window
to the clipboard.
22. The content of the clipboard is cleared when the content is replaced or when the computer is turned off.
Office Clipboard can hold up to 24 items. The Windows clipboard can only hold one item.

23. Font styles include bold, italicize and underline.

24. When a program is run, a copy of the program is loaded from secondary storage (hard disk or floppy) to
RAM.

25. To move text in a document, you could use cut and paste or drag and drop.

26. Keyboard Shortcuts:

a. Ctrl-C Copy

b. Ctrl-X Cut

c. Ctrl-V Paste

d. Ctrl-Z Undo

e. Ctrl-Y Redo/Repeat

f. Ctrl-A Select All

g. Ctrl-F Find

h. Ctrl-H Replace

27. A template is a document that contains the formatting necessary for a specific document type

28. Metadata is defined as data about data.

                                                                                                                                                                                            
                       
Spreadsheets
Spreadsheet: A grid of rows and columns containing numbers and text that allows the user to manage,
predict, and present information. An electronic spreadsheet is a computer application program that can
also hold formulas in a cell that serve as a calculator. These formulas allow the electronic spreadsheet to
perform calculations much faster and more accurately that spreadsheets created with pencil, paper, and
calculator. An electronic spreadsheet is a computer application program that can also hold formulas in a
cell that serve as a calculator. These formulas allow the electronic spreadsheet to perform calculations
much faster and more accurately that spreadsheets created with pencil, paper, and calculator. 

Formula Bar: Appears directly below the toolbar on the spreadsheet. On the far left side of the Formula
Bar is the cell reference box that identifies the active cell.

Row: Horizontal lines of data across the spreadsheet that are identified by numbers on the left side of
the spreadsheet window.

Cell: The intersection of a row and a column on a spreadsheet that is identified by a cell reference, the
column letter and the row number (C2, E8, D1).

Column: Vertical lines of data in a spreadsheet that are identified by letters at the top of the
spreadsheet window. (A, B, C, AB, AC, AD....).

Range: A selected group of cells that touch each other and form a rectangle. Operations can be
performed on a range of cell.; A defined block of cells on a spreadsheet.

Enter: type in or record data in a spreadsheet.

Label: text symbols, dates or numbers(not used in calculations).

Values: a number that is entered on a spreadsheet and used for calculations.

Edit: to change the original entry in a spreadsheet.

Formula: Arthmetic equation with symbols(+-*/) for mathematical operations: A3+B3-C3*4

Function: Functions create shortcut formulas for the user: Sum (auto addition) and Avg (auto averaging
of numbers).; A special formula that does not use operators to calculate a result

Operand: a number, cell reference, or field name used in a calculation in the formulas of spreadsheets
or databases; in a database the operands are field names.

Operator: Tells Works what to do with the operands in a formula.

Order of Operation: The sequence used to calculate the value of a formula.

Order of  Operations

Parenthesis 
Exponents ^
Multiplication *
Division /
Addition +
Subtraction -
Relative Cell Reference: A cell reference that adjusts to a new location when copied or moved.

Absolute Cell Reference: A cell reference that does not adjust to the new cell location when copied or
moved

Mixed Cell Reference: A cell reference containing both relative and absolute references

Advantages of Computer Spreadsheet:

Can answer, "What is? " (determines current information)
 Students current grade
 Individual athlete statistics

 Transportation schedule

 Current $ available for spending

 Census results

Can answer "What if?" (predicts future events/information)

 Student population increases
 Win/loss record changes

 Product sales decrease-hourly wage rate changes

 US immigration rate increases

Various Uses for Spreadsheets

 School: student grades, payroll, future budgets, class sizes, and schedules
 Sports: individual and team statistics current and future budget

 Personal: checkbook, household expenses, investments, income taxes

 Business: payroll, investments, inventory, product sales and delivery

 Government: taxes, census, loans, investments, budgets

Charts

 Charts illustrate data

 Charts can be created from spreadsheet

 Three types of charts are:

o BAR
 o LINE

o PIE

Bar Chart
 Used to compare individual or sets of values to each other.
 The height of each bar being proportional to its corresponding value.

 Uses rectangles of varying height to illustrate values in a spreadsheet.

Pie Chart
 Used to show relationship of one set of data to the entire data.
 The size of each wedge represents the percentage that each value adds to the Total.

 Show the relationship of a part to a whole.

 Each part is presented as a "slice" of pie.

Scatter Chart
 Sometimes called XY charts
 Show the relationship between two categories of data.

 One category is represented on the vertical axis and the other category is represented on the
horizontal axis.

 The result is a "cloud" of data points that may or may not have a recognizable shape.

 It is not practical to connect the data points with a line because points on a scatter chart usually do
not relate to each other.

Line Chart
 Used to show trends since the lines connect points of data.
 Used to show changes over a period of time.

 Similar to the bar chart except bars are replaced by points connected by a line.

Steps to create a chart

 Highlight the data to be charted.
  Determine the chart type

 Enhance the chart with titles

ASCII

Stands for "American Standard Code for Information Interchange." ASCII character encoding provides a the
standard for representing all upper-case and lower-case Latin letters, numbers, punctuations, etc as a code
number used by computers.

ASCII uses 7 bits to represent each character. For example, a capital "T" is represented by the number 84 and
a lowercase "t" is represented by 116. Other keyboard keys are also mapped to standard ASCII values. For
example, the Escape (ESC) key is represented as 27 and the Delete (DEL) key is represented as 32. ASCII codes
may also be displayed as hexadecimal values instead of the decimal numbers listed above. For example, the
ASCII value of the Escape key in hexadecimal is "1B" and the hexadecimal value of the Delete key is "7F."

Since ASCII uses 7 bits, it only supports 2^7, or 128 values. Therefore, the standard ASCII character set is
limited to 128 characters. While this is enough to represent all standard English letters, numbers, and
punctuation symbols, it is not sufficient to represent all special characters or characters from other
languages. Even Extended ASCII, which supports 8 bit values, or 256 characters, does not include enough
characters to accurately represent all languages. Therefore, other character sets, such as Latin-1 (ISO-8859-
1), UTF-8, and UTF-16 are commonly used fordocuments and webpages that require more characters.

Integer

An integer is a number that can be written without a fractional or decimal component. For example, 21, 4,
and −2048 are integers; 9.75, 5½, and √2 are not integers. The set of integers is a subset of the real numbers,
and consists of the natural numbers (0, 1, 2, 3, ...) and the negatives of the non-zero natural numbers (−1, −2,
−3, ...).

The name derives from the Latin integer (meaning literally "untouched," hence "whole": the word entire
comes from the same origin, but via French[1]). The set of all integers is often denoted by a boldface Z (or
blackboard bold , Unicode U+2124 ℤ), which stands for Zahlen (German for numbers, pronounced
[2]
[ˈtsaːlən]).

The integers (with addition as operation) form the smallest group containing the additive monoid of the
natural numbers. Like the natural numbers, the integers form a countably infinite set. In algebraic number
theory, these commonly understood integers, embedded in the field of rational numbers, are referred to as
rational integers to distinguish them from the more broadly defined algebraic integers.
 Binary Numbers

How Computers Store Numbers

Computer systems are constructed of digital electronics. That means that their electronic circuits can
exist in only one of two states: on or off. Most computer electronics use voltage levels to indicate their
present state. For example, a transistor with five volts would be considered "on", while a transistor with
no voltage would be considered "off." Not all computer hardware uses voltage, however. CD-ROM's, for
example, use microscopic dark spots on the surface of the disk to indicate "off," while the ordinary shiny
surface is considered "on." Hard disks use magnetism, while computer memory uses electric charges
stored in tiny capacitors to indicate "on" or "off."

These patterns of "on" and "off" stored inside the computer are used to encode numbers using
thebinary number system. The binary number system is a method of storing ordinary numbers such as
42 or 365 as patterns of 1's and 0's. Because of their digital nature, a computer's electronics can easily
manipulate numbers stored in binary by treating 1 as "on" and 0 as "off." Computers have circuits that
can add, subtract, multiply, divide, and do many other things to numbers stored in binary.

How Binary Works

The decimal number system that people use every day contains ten digits, 0 through 9. Start counting in
decimal: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, Oops! There are no more digits left. How do we continue counting with
only ten digits? We add a second column of digits, worth ten times the value of the first column. Start
counting again: 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 (Note that the right column goes back to zero
here.), 21, 22, 23, ... , 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, Oops! Once again, there are no more digits left. The only
way to continue counting is to add yet another column worth ten times as much as the one before.
Continue counting: 100, 101, 102, ... 997, 998, 999, 1000, 1001, 1002, .... You should get the picture at
this point.

Another way to make this clear is to write decimal numbers in expanded notation. 365, for example, is
equal to 3×100 + 6×10 + 5×1. 1032 is equal to 1×1000 + 0×100 + 3×10 + 2×1. By writing numbers in this
form, the value of each column becomes clear.

The binary number system works in the exact same way as the decimal system, except that it contains
only two digits, 0 and 1. Start counting in binary: 0, 1, Oops! There are no more binary digits. In order to
keep counting, we need to add a second column worth twice the value of the column before. We
continue counting again: 10, 11, Oops! It is time to add another column again. Counting further: 100,
101, 110, 111, 1000, 1001, 1010, 1011, 1100, 1101, 1110, 1111.... Watch the pattern of 1's and 0's. You
will see that binary works the same way decimal does, but with fewer digits.
Binary uses two digits, so each column is worth twice the one before. This fact, coupled with expanded
notation, can be used convert between from binary to decimal. In the binary system, the columns are
worth 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, etc. To convert a number from binary to decimal, simply write it in
expanded notation. For example, the binary number 101101 can be rewritten in expanded notation as
1×32 + 0×16 + 1×8 + 1×4 + 0×2 + 1×1. By simplifying this expression, you can see that the binary number
101101 is equal to the decimal number 45.

An easy way to convert back and forth from binary to decimal is to use Microsoft Windows Calculator.
You can find this program in the Accessories menu of your Start Menu. To perform the conversion, you
must first place the calculator in scientific mode by clicking on the View menu and selecting Scientific
mode. Then, enter the decimal number you want to convert and click on the "Bin" check box to convert
it into binary. To convert numbers from binary to decimal, click on the "Bin" check box to put the
calculator in binary mode, enter the number, and click the "Dec" check box to put the calculator back in
decimal mode.

How Hexadecimal Works

Binary is an effective number system for computers because it is easy to implement with digital
electronics. It is inefficient for humans to use binary, however, because it requires so many digits to
represent a number. The number 76, for example, takes only two digits to write in decimal, yet takes
seven digits to write in binary (1001100). To overcome this limitation, the hexadecimal number system
was developed. Hexadecimal is more compact than binary but is still based on the digital nature of
computers.

Hexadecimal works in the same way as binary and decimal, but it uses sixteen digits instead of two or
ten. Since the western alphabet contains only ten digits, hexadecimal uses the letters A-F to represent
the digits ten through fifteen. Here are the digits used in hexadecimal and their equivalents in binary
and decimal:

Hex 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E
Decimal 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Binary 0000 0001 0010 0011 0100 0101 0110 0111 1000 1001 1010 1011 1100 1101 1110

Let's count in hexadecimal. Starting from zero, we count 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, F. At this

point there are no more digits, so we add another column. Continue counting: 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16,
17 18, 19, 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F. Once again, we are out of digits in the first column, so we add one to
the next column. Continue counting once again: 20, 21, 22, ..., 29, 2A, 2B, 2D, 2E, 2F, 30, 31, 32, ..., 3E,
3F, 40, 41, 42, ... 99, 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D, 9E, 9F, A0, A1, A2, ... F9, FA, FB, FC, FD, FE, FF, 100, 101, 102, ....
Watch the pattern of numbers and try to relate this to the way you count in decimal or binary. You will
see that it is the same procedure, but with sixteen digits instead of 10 or 2.

Each column in hexadecimal is worth 16 times the column before, while each column in binary is worth
2 times the column before. Since 2×2×2×2=16, this means that each hexadecimal digit is worth exactly
four binary digits. This fact makes it easy to convert between binary and hexadecimal.

To convert from hexadecimal to binary, simply look at the chart above and replace each digit in the
hexadecimal number with its corresponding four-digit binary number. For example, 8F in hexadecimal is
10001111 in binary, since 8=1000 and F=1111.

To converty from binary to hexadecimal, reverse the procedure and break the binary number into blocks
of four digits. Then, replace each block of four digits with its corresponding hexadecimal digit. If you
cannot divide the binary number evenly into blocks of four digits, add zeros to the left side of the
number to make it work. For example, to convert 110101 to hexadecimal, first add two zeros at the
beginning of the number to make it 00110101. Since 00110101 has eight digits, it can be divided into
two blocks of four digits, 0011 and 0101. Since 0011=3 and 0101=5, the corresponding hexadecimal
number is 35.

Octal Numbers

The octal numeral system, or oct for short, is the base-8 number system, and uses the digits 0 to 7. Octal
numerals can be made from binary numerals by grouping consecutive binary digits into groups of three
(starting from the right). For example, the binary representation for decimal 74 is 1001010, which can be
grouped into (00)1 001 010 – so the octal representation is 112.
In the decimal system each decimal place is a power of ten. For example:
 In the octal system each place is a power of eight. For example:

By performing the calculation above in the familiar decimal system we see why 112 in octal is equal
to 64+8+2 = 74 in decimal.

Hypermedia

Hypermedia is used as a logical extension of the term hypertext, in which graphics, audio, video, plain text
and hyperlinks intertwine to create a generally nonlinear medium of information. This contrasts with the
broader term multimedia, which may be used to describe non-interactive linear presentations as well as
hypermedia.

The World Wide Web is a classic example of hypermedia, whereas a non interactive

cinema presentation is an example of standard multimedia due to the absence of hyperlinks. Most modern
hypermedia is delivered via electronic pages from a variety

of systems. Audio hypermedia is emerging with voice command devices and voice browsing.

World Wide Web 

The World Wide Web (abbreviated as WWW or W3 commonly known as the Web), is a system of

interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. With a web browser, one can view web
pages that may contain text, images, videos, and other multimedia, and navigate between them
via hyperlinks.

The terms Internet and World Wide Web are often used in everyday speech without much distinction.
However, the Internet and the World Wide Web are not one and the same. The Internet is a global system
of interconnected computer networks. In contrast, the Web is one of the services that runs on the Internet.
It is a collection of text documents and other resources, linked by hyperlinks and URLs, usually accessed
by web browsers from web servers. In short, the Web can be thought of as an application "running" on the
Internet.
Viewing a web page on the World Wide Web normally begins either by typing the URL of the page into
a web browser or by following a hyperlink to that page or resource. The web browser then initiates a
series of communication messages, behind the scenes, in order to fetch and display it. As an example,
consider accessing a page with the URLhttp://example.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web.
First, the browser resolves the server-name portion of the URL (example.org) into an Internet Protocol
address using the globally distributed database known as the Domain Name System (DNS); this lookup
returns an IP address such as 208.80.152.2. The browser then requests the resource by sending
an HTTP request across the Internet to the computer at that particular address. It makes the request to a
particular application port in the underlying Internet Protocol Suite so that the computer receiving the
request can distinguish an HTTP request from other network protocols it may be servicing such as e-mail
delivery; the HTTP protocol normally uses port 80. The content of the HTTP request can be as simple as
the two lines of text.
Components of World Wide Web

There are essentially three components which together form the World Wide Web, the medium which has
brought this document to your screen. They are the Internet, the Information Servers which contain and
dispense information, and the Web Browser which the individual uses to obtain information and pages from
the web. This page briefly describes each of these components.

The quick explanation of the web is this: web browsers use the Internet to access Servers that contain the
pages, images, and other files that the web user is interested in receiving.

The Internet

The Internet, on the technological level, consists of the wires, cables, machines, and networking software
which connect millions of computers around the world. This complex infrastructure of computer networks is
the pavement of the "Information Superhighway" that allows web browsers to communicate with servers,
request, send, and receive information from around the world, regardless of global location.

Information Servers

Information servers run on computers connected to the Internet all over the world. Information servers are
processes (executing computer software) which dish out information as requested from users connected to the
same network (in the case of the WWW, the public Internet). The most common information types of servers
on the Internet today are:

World Wide Web servers;

Also called http servers for the underlying protocol with which they communicate with Web browsers, the
HyperText Transport Protocol. These servers primarily deliver data for immediate human consumption,
primarily web pages. WebCom allows people to have their own websites by giving people the abiliity to create
pages that are served by WebCom's World Wide Web servers. See also: hypertext and multimedia.

Gopher servers;

The immediate predecessors of World Wide Web servers, gopher servers present files in distributed archives to
you as hierarchical menus. Using a gopher client, you would select a file from a menu. If that file were text, it
would next appear on your screen for you to read or browse. If it were any other form of data, such as an
image, the file would be transferred to your local computer where you would have to use a separate program to
view or use it. After you were done reading or downloading a file, a gopher client would always return you to
the previous menu from which you had selected the file.

FTP, or File Transport Protocol Servers;

Whose only function is to allow FTP clients to copy files of any kind (programs, images, text, etc.) between
the client and server machines. FTP allows you to enter commands and filenames to send to, receive from, and
otherwise manage files and directories on a remote computer. (If you log in to read files other than your own,
you have to log in as "anonymous" or "ftp", which allows you to read all public files but not alter or delete
them, or create new ones.) When you retrieve a file from a remote computer using FTP, you have to invoke a
separate program after your FTP session to view that file (a text editor, an image viewer, etc.). WebCom
customers use FTP to maintain their WebCom file directories. Graphical FTP clients for Windows or
Macintosh relieve the user of the need to learn most of the FTP commands, allowing the user instead to simply
drag and drop files to and from their WebCom directory as though it were a local drive on their machine.

NNTP, or Network News Transport Protocol servers;

Which deliver Usenet newsgroups and articles.

SMTP, Simple Mail Transport Protocol servers;

Which send and receive electronic mail messages.

Archie;

Which searches indices of FTP archives for files when given a file name or name fragment.

Veronica;

Which searches gopher menus for words or phrases.

Telnet servers;

Which allow you to login and conduct a terminal session on the remote computer running the server from
anywhere on the net. These sessions are normally UNIX terminal sessions conducted via "VT100" terminal
emulators - programs that allow your computer to emulate a DEC VT100 terminal to the remote host.

WAIS, Wide Area Information Servers;

Which search distributed volumes of text (which have been pre-indexed for this purpose) for words and
phrases, and rank results based on a score - how closely each document satisfied the search criterion.

In the past, accessing these servers required using a separate program for each server type. To access a gopher
server, you had to run a gopher client program. To access an FTP server, you had to run your FTP client. To
search for a file using Archie or Veronica, you had to run either an Archie or a Veronica client.

Web Browsers
The third component of the World Wide Web, a new generation of Internet information clients called Web
Browsers, such as Mosaic and Lynx have recently been developed. These browsers have three new capabilities
which revolutionize searching and browsing the Internet:

1. World Wide Web browsers are multilingual; they can communicate with all of the servers listed above
and more. This relieves the user of the complexities of having to learn and run a separate client for
each server they wish to use. There is still some value to understanding the functionality of the
underlying servers, however this is less of a requirement when using a WWW browser. Also, for some
of these servers it is often more convenient to use a specialized client, such as a threaded news reader
to read Usenet news, an Email program to send and receive Email messages, or an FTP client when,
for instance, you want to send a file from your computer to a remote computer, or you want to retrieve
a large number of files in one bulk copy operation.
2. World Wide Web browsers employ a graphical user interface. Many of the above servers require you
to learn an arcane command language or enter UNIX commands. With a WWW browser, you just use
your mouse or arrow keys to point at what you want, and click or press return. The browser takes care
of the underlying network communications, interfaces, and commands, to bring to you what you
clicked on.

3. WWW browsers allow the free-form organization and cross linking and referencing of information
called hypertext, hypermedia, or hyperlinking. In this form of information organization, any item of
information (a word, a phrase, an image) can also function as a "hotlink" to any other item of
information. Underneath every hotlink, hidden to the reader, is a URL, or Uniform Resource Locator,
which tells your browser where to find the resource pointed to by that hotlink; all you do is point and
click. Furthermore, anybody can create hotlinks in their documents to any other publicly accessible
resource (you can create hotlinks to your own resources or anybody elses, and anybody else can create
hotlinks to your information). This structure creates freedom to organize and share information in
myriad and novel ways, resulting in an anarchic, loosely structured web of information, art, music,
data, software, literature, and just about anything else which can be represented in digital form and
which some person or organization has a desire to share with the world. This is the World Wide Web.

As World Wide Web browsers greatly simplify the browsing and retrieval information from the Web, we at
WebCom aim to greatly simplify your ability to be a provider of information and services on the Web.