COMPUTER

Today’s world is an information-rich world and it has become a necessity for everyone to know about
computers. A computer is an electronic data processing device, which accepts and stores data input, processes
the data input, and generates the output in a required format.
Functionalities of a Computer

All types of computers follow the same basic logical structure and perform the following five basic operations
for converting raw input data into information useful to their users.
Sr. No. Operation Description

The process of entering data and instructions into the

1 Take Input
computer system.

Saving data and instructions so that they are available for

2 Store Data
processing as and when required.

Processing Performing arithmetic, and logical operations on data in

3 Data
order to convert them into useful information.

Output The process of producing useful information or results for

4
Information the user, such as a printed report or visual display.

Control the Directs the manner and sequence in which all of the above
5
workflow operations are performed.
Components of Computers

Input Unit
24
This unit contains devices with the help of which we enter data into the computer. This unit creates a link
between the user and the computer. The input devices translate the data into a form understandable by the
computer.

CPU (Central Processing Unit)

CPU is considered as the brain of the computer. CPU performs all types of data processing operations. It stores
data, intermediate results, and instructions (program). It controls the operation of all parts of the computer.
CPU itself has the following three components:
 ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit)
 Memory Unit
 Control Unit

Output Unit
The output unit consists of devices with the help of which we get the information from the computer. This unit is
a link between the computer and the users. Output devices translate the computer's output into a form
understandable by the users.

Advantages of Computers
Following are certain advantages of computers.

High Speed
 Computer is a very fast device.
 It is capable of performing calculation of very large amount of data.
 The computer has units of speed in microsecond, nanosecond, and even the picosecond.
 It can perform millions of calculations in a few seconds as compared to man who will spend many
months to perform the same task.
Accuracy
 In addition to being very fast, computers are very accurate.
 The calculations are 100% error free.
 Computers perform all jobs with 100% accuracy provided that the input is correct.
Storage Capability
 Memory is a very important characteristic of computers.
 A computer has much more storage capacity than human beings.
 It can store large amount of data.
 It can store any type of data such as images, videos, text, audio, etc.
Diligence
 Unlike human beings, a computer is free from tiredness, and lack of concentration.
 It can work continuously without any error and boredom.
 It can perform repeated tasks with the same speed and accuracy.
Versatility
 A computer is a very versatile machine.
 A computer is very flexible in performing the jobs to be done.
 This machine can be used to solve the problems related to various fields.
 At one instance, it may be solving a complex scientific problem and the very next moment it may be
playing a card game.
Reliability
 A computer is a reliable machine.
 Modern electronic components have long lives.
 Computers are designed to make maintenance easy.
Automation
 Computer is an automatic machine.
 Automation is the ability to perform a given task automatically. Once the computer receives a program
i.e., the program is stored in the computer memory, then the program and instruction can control the
program execution without human interaction.
Reduction in Paper Work and Cost
 The use of computers for data processing in an organization leads to reduction in paper work and results
in speeding up the process.
 As data in electronic files can be retrieved as and when required, the problem of maintenance of large
number of paper files gets reduced.
 Though the initial investment for installing a computer is high, it substantially reduces the cost of each of
its transactions

Application of computers in various fields.

Business
A computer has high speed of calculation, diligence, accuracy,
reliability, or versatility which has made it an integrated part in all
business organizations.
Computer is used in business organizations for:
 Payroll calculations
 Budgeting
 Sales analysis
 Financial forecasting
 Managing employee database
 Maintenance of stocks, etc.

Banking
Today, banking is almost totally dependent on computers.
Banks provide the following facilities:
 Online accounting facility, which includes checking
current balance, making deposits and overdrafts, checking
interest charges, shares, and trustee records.
 ATM machines which are completely automated are
making it even easier for customers to deal with banks.

Insurance
Insurance companies are keeping all records up-to-date with the
help of computers. Insurance companies, finance houses, and stock
broking firms are widely using computers for their concerns.
Insurance companies are maintaining a database of all clients with
information showing:
 Procedure to continue with policies
 Starting date of the policies
 Next due installment of a policy
 Maturity date
 Interests due
 Survival benefits
 Bonus
Education
The computer helps in providing a lot of facilities in the education system.
 The computer provides a tool in the education system known as CBE (Computer Based Education).

 CBE involves control, delivery, and evaluation of learning.

 Computer education is rapidly increasing the graph of

number of computer students.

 There are a number of methods in which educational

institutions can use a computer to educate the students.

 It is used to prepare a database about

performance of a student and analysis is carried out on this basis.
Marketing
In marketing, uses of the computer are following:
 Advertising - With computers, advertising professionals
create art and graphics, write and revise copy, and print and
disseminate ads with the goal of selling more products.
 Home Shopping - Home shopping has been made possible
through the use of computerized catalogues that provide
access to product information and permit direct entry of
orders to be filled by the customers.

Healthcare
Computers have become an important part in hospitals, labs, and dispensaries. They are being used in hospitals
to keep the record of patients and medicines. It is also used in scanning and diagnosing different diseases. ECG,
EEG, ultrasounds and CT scans, etc. are also done by computerized machines.
Following are some major fields of health care in which computers are used.
 Diagnostic System - Computers are used to collect data and identify the cause of illness.
 Lab-diagnostic System - All tests can be done and the
reports are prepared by computer.
 Patient Monitoring System - These are used to check the
patient's signs for abnormality such as in Cardiac Arrest,
ECG, etc.
 Pharma Information System
- Computer is used to check drug labels, expiry dates,
harmful side effects, etc.
 Surgery - Nowadays, computers are also used in performing surgery.

Engineering Design
Computers are widely used for Engineering purpose.
One of the major areas is CAD (Computer Aided Design) that provides creation and modification of images.
Some of the fields are:
 Structural Engineering - Requires stress and strain
analysis for design of ships, buildings, budgets, airplanes,
etc.
 Industrial Engineering - Computers deal with design,
implementation, and improvement of integrated
systems of people, materials, and equipment.
 Architectural Engineering - Computers help in planning
towns, designing buildings, determining a range of
buildings on a site using both 2D and 3D drawings.
Military
Computers are largely used in defense. Modern tanks, missiles,
weapons, etc. Military also employs computerized control systems.
Some military areas where a computer has been used are:
 Missile Control
 Military Communication
 Military Operation and Planning
 Smart Weapons

Communication
Communication is a way to convey a message, an idea, a picture, or speech that is received and understood
clearly and correctly by the person
for whom it is meant. Some main areas in this category are:
 E-mail
 Chatting
 Usenet
 FTP
 Telnet
 Video-conferencing
Government
Computers play an important role in government services. Some major fields in this category are:
 Budgets
 Sales tax department
 Income tax department
 Computation of male/female ratio
 Computerization of voters lists
 Computerization of PAN card
 Weather forecasting
Types of computers
Computers can be broadly classified by their speed and computing power.
Sr.
Type Specifications
No.

PC (Personal It is a single user computer system having moderately

1
Computer) powerful microprocessor

It is also a single user computer system, similar to personal

2 Workstation
computer however has a more powerful microprocessor

It is a multi-user computer system, capable of supporting

3 Mini Computer
hundreds of users simultaneously.

It is a multi-user computer system, capable of supporting

4 Main Frame hundreds of users simultaneously. Software technology is
different from minicomputer.

It is an extremely fast computer, which can execute

5 Supercomputer
hundreds of millions of instructions per second.

PC (Personal Computer)
A PC can be defined as a small, relatively inexpensive computer designed for an individual user. PCs are based
on the microprocessor technology. Businesses use personalcomputers for word processing, accounting, desktop
publishing, and for running spreadsheet and database managementapplications. At home, the most popular use
for personal computers is playing games and surfing the Internet.
Although personal computers are designed as single-user systems,
these systems are normally linked together to form a network.
Workstation
Workstation is a computer used for engineering applications (CAD/CAM), desktop publishing, software
development, and other such types of applications which require a moderate amount of computing power and
relatively high quality graphics capabilities.Like PC, workstations are also single-user computers like PC but are
typically linked together to form a local-area network, although they can also be used as stand-alone systems.
Minicomputer
It is a midsize multi-processing system capable of supporting up to 250 users simultaneously.
Mainframe
Mainframe is very large in size and is an expensive computer capable of supporting hundreds or even thousands
of users simultaneously. Mainframe executes many programs concurrently and supports many simultaneous
execution of programs.
Supercomputer
Supercomputers are one of the fastest computers currently available. Supercomputers are very expensive and are
employed for specialized applications that require immense amount of mathematical calculations (number
crunching).

For example, weather forecasting, scientific simulations, (animated) graphics, fluid dynamic calculations,
nuclear energy research, electronic design, and analysis of geological data .
 COMPUTER-INPUTDEVICES
Input Unit
This unit contains devices with the help of which we enter data into the computer. This unit creates a link
between the user and the computer. The input devices translate the information/data into a form understandable
by the computer.

Following are few of the important input devices which are used in a computer:
Keyboard
Mouse
Joy Stick
Light pen
Track Ball
Scanner
Microphone
Touch screen
Magnetic Ink Card ReaderMICR
Optical Character ReaderOCR
Bar Code Reader
Optical Mark ReaderOMR

Keyboard

Keyboard is the most common and very popular input device which helps in inputting data to the computer.
The layout of the keyboard is like that of traditional typewriter, although there are some additional keys
provided for performing additional functions.

Keyboards are of two sizes 84 keys or 101/102 keys, but now keyboards with 104 keys or 108 keys are also
available.

The keys on the keyboard are as follows:

Sr.No Keys Description

1 TypingKeys Thesekeysincludethe letterkeysA −Zanddigitkeys0−9
which generally give same layout as that of typewriters.
2 Numeric Keypad It is used to enter numeric data or cursor movement.Generally,
it consists of a set of 17 keys that are laid out in the same configuration
used by most adding machines and calculators.
3 FunctionKeys The twelve function keys are present on the keyboardwhich
are arranged in a row at the top of the keyboard. Each function key has
unique meaning and is used for some specific purpose.
4 Controlkeys These keys provide cursor and screen control. It includesfour
directional arrow keys. Control keys also include Home, End,
Insert, Delete, Page Up, Page Down, ControlCtrl, AlternateAlt,
EscapeEsc.

5 Special Purpose Keyboard also contains some special purpose keys such as Enter,
Keys Shift, Caps Lock, Num Lock, Space bar, Tab, and Print Screen.
Mouse

Mouse is most popular pointing device. It is a very famous cursor-control device having a small palm size
box with a round ball at its base which senses the movement of mouse and sends corresponding signals to
CPU when the mouse buttons are pressed.
Generally it has two buttons called left and right button and a wheel is present between the buttons. Mouse
can be used to control the position of cursor on screen, but it cannot be used to enter text into the computer.

Advantages

Easy to use
Not very expensive
Moves the cursor faster than the arrow keys of keyboard.

Joystick

Joystickisalsoapointingdevicewhichisused tomovecursorpositiononamonitorscreen.Itisa stick having a

spherical ball at its both lower and upper ends. The lower spherical ball moves in a
socket.Thejoystickcanbe movedinallfourdirections.
The function of joystick is similar to that of a mouse. It is mainly used in playing computer games.

Light Pen

Lightpenisapointingdevicewhichissimilartoapen.Itisused toselectadisplayedmenuitem or draw pictures on the

monitor screen. It consists of a photocell and an optical system placed in a small tube. When the tip of a light
pen is moved over the monitor screen and pen button is pressed, its photocell sensing

Touch Screen

A touch screen is a display device that allows the user to interact with a computer using their finger. Touch
screens are used on a variety of devices, such as a computer and laptop displays, smartphones, tablets, & cash
registers. Some touch screens use a grid of infrared beams to sense the presence of a finger instead of utilizing
touch-sensitive input.

Tap - A single touch or tap on the screen with a finger opens an app or select an object.
 Double-tap - A double-tap can have different functions depending on where it is utilized. For example, in
a browser, double-tapping the screen zooms the view, centered at the tap location. Double-tapping in a text
editor selects a word or section of words.
Touch and hold - Pressing and holding your finger to a touch screen selects or highlights an object.
Drag - Pressing and holding your finger on a movable object, such as an icon, you can drag your finger to
"pull" the object to a different location.
Swipe - Swiping your finger across the screen scrolls in a certain direction or change pages.

Scanner

Scanner is an input device which works more like a photocopy machine. It is used when some information is
available on a paper and it is to be transferred to the hard disc of the computer for further manipulation.
Scanner captures images from the source which are then converted into the digital form that can be stored on
the disc. These images can be edited before they are printed.

Microphone

Microphone is an input device to input sound that is then stored in digital form. The microphone is used for
various applications like adding sound to a multimedia presentation or for mixing music.

Magnetic Ink Card ReaderMICR

MICR input device is generally used in banks because of a large number of cheques to be processed every
day. The bank's code number and cheque number are printed on the cheques with a special type of ink that
contains particles of magnetic material that are machine readable.
This reading process is called Magnetic Ink Character Recognition MICR. The main advantages of
MICR is that it is fast and less error prone.

Optical Character ReaderOCR

OCR is an input device used to read a printed text. OCR scans text optically character by character, converts
them into a machine readable code and stores the text on the system memory.

Bar Code Readers

Bar Code Reader is a device used for reading bar coded data, data in the form of light and darklines. Bar
coded data is generally used in labelling goods, numbering the books etc. It may be a hand held scanner or
may be embedded in a stationary scanner. Bar Code Reader scans a bar code image, converts it into an
alphanumeric value which is then fed to the computer to which bar code reader is connected.
 Optical Mark ReaderOMR
OMR is a special type of optical scanner used to recognize the type of mark made by pen or
pencil. It is used where one out of a few alternatives is to be selected and marked. It is specially
used for checking the answer sheets of examinations having multiple choice questions.

OUTPUTDEVICES
Following are few of the important output devices which are used in a computer.

Monitors
Graphic Plotter
Printer

Monitors

Monitors, commonly called as Visual Display Unit VDU, are the main output device of a computer. It forms
images from tiny dots, called pixels that are arranged in a rectangular form. The sharpness of the image
depends upon the number of pixels.

There are two kinds of viewing screen used for monitors.

Cathode-Ray Tube CRT

Flat- Panel Display

Cathode-Ray Tube CRT Monitor

The CRT display is made up of small picture elements called pixels. The smaller the pixels, the better the
image clarity, or resolution. It takes more than one illuminated pixel to form whole character.

A finite number of characters can be displayed on a screen at once(approximately 2000 characters. The
screen can be divided into a series of character boxes - fixed location on the screen where a standard
character can be placed. Most screens are capable of displaying 80 characters of data horizontally and 25
lines vertically.

There are some disadvantages of CRT:

Large in Size
High power consumption
 Flat-Panel Display Monitor

The flat-panel display refers to a class of video devices that have reduced volume, weight and power
requirement in comparison to the CRT. You can hang them on walls or wear them on your wrists. Current
uses of flat-panel displays include calculators,monitors, laptop computer, graphics display.
The flat-panel display is divided into two categories:
Emissive Displays - The emissive displays are devices that convert electrical energy into light.
Example are plasma panel and LEDLight− EmittingDiodes.
Non-Emissive Displays - The Non-emissive displays use optical effects to convert sunlight or light
from some other source into graphics patterns. Example is LCDLiquid− CrystalDevice

Printers

Printer is an output device, which is used to print information on paper.

There are two types of printers:

Impact Printers
Non-Impact Printers

Impact Printers
The impact printers print the characters by striking them on the ribbon which is then pressed on the paper.
Characteristics of Impact Printers are the following:
 Very low consumable costs
 Very noisy
 There is physical contact with the paper to produce an image
These printers are of two types

Character printers
Line printers
 Character Printers
Character printers are the printers which print one character ata time.
These are further divided into two types:
Dot Matrix
PrinterDMPDaisy Wheel

Dot Matrix Printer

In the market one of the most popular printers is Dot Matrix Printer. These printers are popular because of
their ease of printing and economical price. Each character printed is in form of
patternofdotsandheadconsistsofaMatrixofPinsofsize5∗7,7∗9, 9∗7or9∗9whichcomeoutto
formacharacterthatiswhyitiscalledDotMatrixPrinter.

Advantages

Inexpensive
Widely Used
Other language characters can be printed

Disadvantages

Slow Speed
PoorQuality

DaisyWheel

Head is lying on a wheel and pins corresponding to characters are like petals of Daisy flowernamethat is
why it is called Daisy Wheel Printer. These printers are generally used for word-processing in offices
which require a few letters to be sent here and there with very nice quality.
 Advantages

More reliable than DMP

Better quality
The fonts of character can be easily changed
Disadvantages

Slower than DMP

Noisy
More expensive than DMP

Line Printers
Line printers are the printers which print one line at a time.

These are of further two types

DrumPrinter
ChainPrinter

Drum Printer

This printer is like a drum in shape so it is called drum printer. The surface of drum is divided into number of
tracks. Total tracks are equal to size of paper i.e. for a paper width of 132 characters, drum will have 132
tracks. A character set is embossed on track. The different character sets available in the market are 48
character set, 64 and 96 characters set. One rotation of drum prints one line. Drum printers are fast in speed
and can print 300 to 2000 lines per minute.

Advantages

Very high speed

Disadvantages

Very expensive
Characters fonts cannot be changed

Chain Printer
In this printer, chain of character sets are used so it is called Chain Printer. A standard character set may
have 48, 64, or 96 characters.

Advantages

Character fonts can easily be changed.

Different languages can be used with the same printer.
 Disadvantages

Noisy

Non-impact Printers

Non-impact printers print the characters without using ribbon. These printers print a complete page at a
time so they are also called as Page Printers.
These printers are of twotypes
LaserPrinters
InkjetPrinters

Characteristics of Non-impact Printers

Faster than impact printers.

They are not noisy.
High quality.
Support many fonts and different character size.

Laser Printers

These are non-impact page printers. They use laser lights to produce the dots needed to form the characters to
be printed on a page.

Advantages
Very high speed
Very high quality output Give
good graphics quality
Support many fonts and different character size

Disadvantages
Expensive.

Cannot be used to produce multiple copies of a document in a single printing.

 Inkjet Printers

Inkjet printers are non-impact character printers based on a relatively new technology. They print
characters by spraying small drops of ink onto paper. Inkjet printers produce high quality output with
presentable features.

They make less noise because no hammering is done and these have many styles of printing modes
available. Color printing is also possible. Some models of Inkjet printers can produce multiple copies
of printing also.

Advantages

High quality printing

More reliable

Disadvantages

Expensive as cost per page is high

Slow as compared to laser printer

Computer Storage
A storage unit is a part of the computer system which is employed to store the information and instructions to
be processed. A storage device is an integral part of the computer hardware which stores information/data to
process the result of any computational work. Without a storage device, a computer would not be able to run
or even boot up. It can also store information/data both temporarily and permanently.

Computer storage is of two types: 

 Primary Storage Devices
 Secondary Storage Devices
Secondary Memory Devices
Motherboard
The motherboard serves as a single platform to connect all of the parts of a computer together. It connects the
CPU, memory, hard drives, optical drives, video card, sound card, and other ports and expansion cards directly
or via cables. It can be considered as the backbone of a computer.

The motherboard is mounted inside the case and is securely attached via small screws through pre-drilled holes.
Motherboard contains ports to connect all of the internal components. 

Processor

A processor is a piece of hardware that interprets the instructions that drive a computer. Processors are the brains
of a computer with good reason. Without a processor, computers could not run programs.

Bus
A bus is a common electrical pathway between multiple devices.

• Can be internal to the CPU to transport data to and from the ALU.

• Can be external to the CPU, to connect it to memory or to I/O devices.

Bus Line • Paths that transport electrical signals

There are three different types of buses:

1. Data bus
2. Address bus
3. Control bus
Data bus is used to hold the data, whatever the data that a processor has to work on, and the processor is going to
send that data to memory and Input/output devices. The number of lines are called as width of a data bus.

Address bus indicates from where we have to send the data and from where we have to get the data. It has
collection of wires these are used to identify the particular location in main memory by the CPU, it is used to
identify the source or destination of data.

Control bus is used to monitor the data and address buses. It always monitors the system. It regulates the
activities of bus, at what time the data has to be put on the data bus all these operations are performed by control
bus.

A data bus is bidirectional, the data is sent from CPU to another devices and another devices to CPU. Address
bus is uni-directional. Whereas control bus is bi-directional.

Adapters
An adapter is a hardware component (device) or software that allows two or more incompatible devices to be
linked together for the purpose of transmitting and receiving data. Given an input, an adapter alters it in order to
provide a compatible connection between the components of a system. Both software and hardware adapters are
used in many different devices.

A software component adapter is a type of software that is logically located between two software components.
 host adapter, host controller or host bus adapter (HBA.
 video adapter .
 A fax adapter,
 Network adapters 
 Terminal adapter
 Channel-to-channel adapter

Ports
A connection point that acts as interface between the computer and external devices like mouse, printer,
modem, etc. is called port. Ports are of two types −
 Internal port − It connects the motherboard to internal devices like hard disk drive, CD drive, internal
modem, etc.
 External port − It connects the motherboard to external devices like modem, mouse, printer, flash
drives, etc.

Hard Drives

HDD is an electro-mechanical storage device, which is an abbreviation of Hard Disk Drive. It uses magnetic
storage for storing and retrieving the digital data.It contains one or more platters, housed inside of an air-sealed
casing. Data is written to the platters using a magnetic head, which moves rapidly over them as they spin.

It is a non-volatile storage device.Hard Disk Drive is a storage device which stores the operation system (OS),
installed software, and the other computer files.HDD means the data is retained when our computer system is
shut down. HDD is also called a fixed disk, hard disk, or hard drive.

The Web
The web is a hypermedia-based structure which provides a source of browsing information over the internet in a
non-sequential format by the use of hyperlinks which redirects users to more resources and information.
The World Wide Web abbreviated as WWW, supply a simple 'point and click' means of exploring and viewing
and also storing a large volume of pages of information that are residing on the Internet.

Internet
The Internet is a global network of billions of computers and other electronic devices.

Network

A network is a collection of computers, servers, network devices, peripherals, or other devices connected to
allow data sharing. An example of a network is the Internet, which connects millions of people all over the
world.
Client -sever Model
The client-server model describes how a server provides resources and services to one or more clients.
Examples of servers include web servers, mail servers, and file servers. Each of these servers provide resources
to client devices, such as desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Most servers have a one-to-
many relationship with clients, meaning a single server can provide resources to multiple clients at one time.

Wired Communication Wireless Communication

There exist physical media between transmitter and There is no existence of physical media between
receiver transmitter and receiver
We don’t need any antennas Need antennas to transmit the signals.
Information is passed in the form of electrical and Information is passed in the form of
optical signals electromagnetic/radio/infrared waves
Always uses in short distance communications Used in long distance communications.
Less complex More complex

Digital Security and privacy

Privacy and security are related. Privacy relates to any rights you have to control your personal information
and how it's used. Think about those privacy policies you're asked to read and agree to when you download new
smartphone apps. Security, on the other hand, refers to how your personal information is protected.

Cloud Computing
Cloud Computing is defined as storing and accessing of data and computing services over the internet. It
doesn’t store any data on your personal computer. It is the on-demand availability of computer services like
servers, data storage, networking, databases, etc. The main purpose of cloud computing is to give access to data
centers to many users. Users can also access data from a remote server.
Examples of Cloud Computing Services: Google Cloud

Data And Information

Program

Programs are a collection or sequence of executable instructions that performs a

specific/particular tasks on a computer. It refers to a set of coded instructions that a computer
can recognize to solve a problem or yield the desired result.

Application/ APP

An application (app) is a program or a collection of programs that have been designed for the
end-users. They help you to perform a set of coordinated tasks, functions, or activities. From the
definition, we deduce that all apps are programs, but not all programs are necessarily apps

Operating System (OS) 

An Operating System (OS) is a software that acts as an interface between computer hardware components and
the user.

Every computer system must have at least one operating system to run other programs. Applications like
Browsers, MS Office, Notepad Games, etc., need some environment to run and perform its tasks.
The OS helps you to communicate with the computer without knowing how to speak the computer’s language. It
is not possible for the user to use any computer or mobile device without having an operating system.
Number System
When we type some letters or words, the computer translates them in numbers as computers can understand
only numbers. A computer can understand the positional number system where there are only a few symbols
called digits and these symbols represent different values depending on the position they occupy in the number.
The value of each digit in a number can be determined using −
 The digit
 The position of the digit in the number
 The base of the number system (where the base is defined as the total number of digits available in the
number system)

Decimal Number System

The number system that we use in our day-to-day life is the decimal number system. Decimal number system
has base 10 as it uses 10 digits from 0 to 9. In decimal number system, the successive positions to the left of the
decimal point represent units, tens, hundreds, thousands, and so on.
Each position represents a specific power of the base (10). For example, the decimal number 1234 consists of
the digit 4 in the units position, 3 in the tens position, 2 in the hundreds position, and 1 in the thousands
position. Its value can be written as
(1 x 1000)+ (2 x 100)+ (3 x 10)+ (4 x l)
(1 x 103)+ (2 x 102)+ (3 x 101)+ (4 x l00)
1000 + 200 + 30 + 4
1234
As a computer programmer or an IT professional, you should understand the following number systems which
are frequently used in computers.

S.No. Number System and Description

1 Binary Number System

Base 2. Digits used : 0, 1

Octal Number System

2
Base 8. Digits used : 0 to 7

Hexa Decimal Number System

3
Base 16. Digits used: 0 to 9, Letters used : A- F

Binary Number System

Characteristics of the binary number system are as follows −
 Uses two digits, 0 and 1
 Also called as base 2 number system
 Each position in a binary number represents a 0 power of the base (2). Example 20
 Last position in a binary number represents a x power of the base (2). Example 2 x where x represents the
last position - 1.

Example: Binary Number: 101012

Calculating Decimal Equivalent −
 Step Binary Number Decimal Number

Step 1 101012 ((1 x 24) + (0 x 23) + (1 x 22) + (0 x 21) + (1 x 20))10

Step 2 101012 (16 + 0 + 4 + 0 + 1)10

Step 3 101012 2110

Note − 101012 is normally written as 10101.

Octal Number System

Characteristics of the octal number system are as follows −
 Uses eight digits, 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7
 Also called as base 8 number system
 Each position in an octal number represents a 0 power of the base (8). Example 80
 Last position in an octal number represents a x power of the base (8). Example 8 x where x represents the
last position - 1
Example: Octal Number: 125708
Calculating Decimal Equivalent −

Step Octal Number Decimal Number

Step 1 125708 ((1 x 84) + (2 x 83) + (5 x 82) + (7 x 81) + (0 x 80))10

Step 2 125708 (4096 + 1024 + 320 + 56 + 0)10

Step 3 125708 549610

Note − 125708 is normally written as 12570.

Hexadecimal Number System

Characteristics of hexadecimal number system are as follows −
 Uses 10 digits and 6 letters, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, F
 Letters represent the numbers starting from 10. A = 10. B = 11, C = 12, D = 13, E = 14, F = 15
 Also called as base 16 number system
 Each position in a hexadecimal number represents a 0 power of the base (16). Example, 160
 Last position in a hexadecimal number represents a x power of the base (16). Example
16x where x represents the last position - 1
Example: Hexadecimal Number: 19FDE16
Calculating Decimal Equivalent −

Step Binary Decimal Number

Number
 Step 1 19FDE16 ((1 x 164) + (9 x 163) + (F x 162) + (D x 161) + (E x 160))10

Step 2 19FDE16 ((1 x 164) + (9 x 163) + (15 x 162) + (13 x 161) + (14 x 160))10

Step 3 19FDE16 (65536+ 36864 + 3840 + 208 + 14)10

Step 4 19FDE16 10646210

Note − 19FDE16 is normally written as 19FDE.

Comparison of different numbering system

Decimal Binary Octal Hexadecimal

0 0000 0 0

1 0001 1 1

2 0010 2 2

3 0011 3 3

4 0100 4 4

5 0101 5 5

6 0110 6 6

7 0111 7 7

8 1000 10 8

9 1001 11 9

10 1010 12 A

11 1011 13 B

12 1100 14 C

13 1101 15 D

14 1110 16 E

15 1111 17 F

4- Bit BCD Code

Binary Coded Decimal or BCD is a 4-bit encoding system used to represent the decimal numbers or digits 0
to 9.
 In this code each decimal digit is represented by a 4-bit binary number. BCD is a way to express each of
the decimal digits with a binary code.For example 12310 = 0001 0010 00112

8-Bit BCD Code

Decima
BCD 8421
l
Code
Number

0 0000 0000

1 0000 0001

2 0000 0010

3 0000 0011

4 0000 0100

5 0000 0101

6 0000 0110

7 0000 0111

8 0000 1000

9 0000 1001

10 (1+0
0001 0000
)

11 (1+1
0001 0001
)

12 (1+2
0001 0010
)

… …

20 (2+0
0010 0000
)

21 (2+1
0010 0001
)

22 (2+2 0010 0010
)

ASCII Code

Computers can understand only the numeric values. But, it is not always certain that all the inputs are given in
numeric form. So, there was a need for an encoding system which could convert the text files into numeric
values. For this ASCII (pronounced as ask ee) was developed. AMERICAN STANDARD CODE FOR
INFORMATION INTERCHANGE (ASCII) is an encoding approach, which is a code for representing 128
characters in English into seven bit integers. 95 out of 128 characters are printable which include digits from 0
to 9, lowercase and uppercase letters from a to z and the punctuation symbols. ASCII is used in electronic
Communication.

Unicode character encoding

The Unicode character encoding standard is a fixed-length, character encoding scheme that includes characters
from almost all of the living languages of the world.

Unicode uses sixteen bits and provides codes or 65,000 characters.

• This is a bonus for representing the alphabets of multiple languages

Unicode uses two encoding forms: 8-bit and 16-bit, based on the data type of the data that is being that is being
encoded. The default encoding form is 16-bit, where each character is 16 bits (2 bytes) wide.
Converting a decimal number to any number system
A decimal number has two parts, integer and fractional part. The integer part is converted by successive division
method and the fractional part is converted by successive multiplication method.

In successive division method,

1. Divide the integer part of the given decimal number by desired base number, store the quotient(Q) and
the remainder(R).
2. Consider the quotient(Q) as the new decimal number and repeat the step 1 until the quotient(Q) becomes
0.
3. List the remainder in the reverse order to get the desired output.

In successive multiplication method,

1. Multiply the fractional part of the given decimal number by the desired base number to get a decimal
number with integer part and fractional part.
2. Store the integer part of the product as Integer value and the factional part as the new fractional part.
3. Repeat the step 1 and 2 until the fractional part of the product becomes 0 or until you obtained the
necessary digits.
4. List the carries downwards to get the desired output.

Example 1: Decimal to Binary number conversion

Convert (23.12)10 to a binary number.

Solution.

Integer part conversion is done by successive division method.

For Integer part, we get, (23)10 = (10111)2

Fractional part conversion is done by successive multiplication method.

For Fractional part, we get, (0.12)10 = (0.0001)2

The solution for the given decimal number (23.12)10 = (10111.0001)2

Example 2: Decimal to Octal number conversion
Convert (263.87)10 to octal number.

Solution.

Integer part conversion is done by successive division method.

For Integer part, we get, (263)10 = (407)8

Fractional part conversion is done by successive multiplication method.

For Fractional part, we get, (0.87)10 = (0.6753)8

The solution for the given decimal number (263.87)10 = (407.6753)8

Example 3: Decimal to Hexadecimal number conversion

Convert (4356.763)10 to hexadecimal number.

Solution.

Integer part conversion is done by successive division method.

For Integer part, we get, (4356)10 = (1104)16

Fractional part conversion is done by successive multiplication method.

For Fractional part, we get, (0.763)10 = (0.C353)16

The solution for the given decimal number (4356.763)10 = (1104.C353)16

 Binary to Octal Number conversion

 For this number system conversion, the base for binary number system is 2 and the base for octal number
system is 8.
 The base for octal number is the third power of the base for binary number.
 So, group 3 bits of binary number, starting from LSB for integer part and start from MSB for fractional
part. Add 0 at the end, if required.
 Write equivalent octal number for each group of 3 bits, to get its octal number.

Example: Convert (10100110.1101)2 to its octal equivalent.

Solution.

In the given binary number, by grouping 3 bits starting from LSB for the integer part, we get 110, 100, 010.
Similarly, grouping 3 bits starting from MSB for fractional part, we get 110, 100.For the grouped bits, write the
equivalent octal numbers to get the value. 

Thus the obtained octal number for (10100110.1101)2 is (246.64)8.

Octal to Binary Number conversion

For this conversion, perform the reverse process of binary to octal conversion. That is, each digit of the given
octal number is individually converted into its binary equivalent to get the desired value. Let’s look at an
example.

Example: Convert the octal number (242.35)8 to its binary equivalent.

Solution. For each digit of the given octal number, write its binary equivalent to get the desired value.

Thus the obtained binary number for (242.35)8 is (10100010.011101)2.

Binary to Hexadecimal Number conversion

 For this number system conversion, the base for the binary number system is 2 and the base for the
Hexadecimal number system is 16.
 The base for the hexadecimal number is the fourth power of the base for binary number.
 So, group 4 bits of a binary number, starting from LSB for the integer part and start from MSB for the
fractional part. Add 0 at the end, if required.
 Write an equivalent hexadecimal number for each group of 4 bits, to get the hexadecimal number.

Example: Convert the binary number(1010011011.1101001)2 to its hexadecimal equivalent.

Solution.

In the given binary number, by grouping 4 bits starting from LSB for the integer part, we get 1011, 1001, 0010.
Similarly, grouping 3 bits starting from MSB for fractional part, we get 1101, 0010.For the grouped bits, write
the equivalent hexadecimal numbers to get the value.
Thus the obtained hexadecimal number for (1010011011.1101001)2 is (29B.D2)16.

Hexadecimal to Binary Number conversion

For this conversion, perform the reverse process of binary to hexadecimal conversion. That is, each digit of the
given hexadecimal number is individually converted into its binary equivalent to get the desired value. Let’s
look at an example.

Example: Convert the hexadecimal number (689.2A)16 to its binary equivalent.

Solution. For each digit of the given hexadecimal number, write its binary equivalent to get the desired value.

Thus the obtained binary number for (689.2A)16 is (11010001001.0010101)2.

BINARY TODECIMAL

Multiply the digit with 2(with place value exponent). Eventually add all the multiplication

becomes the Decimal number.

OCTAL TODECIMAL

The conversion can also be performed in the conventional mathematical way, by showing each digit
place as an increasing power of 8.

345 octal = (3 * 82) + (4 * 81) + (5 * 80) = (3 * 64) + (4 * 8) + (5 * 1) = 229 decimal

Hexadecimal-To-Decimal Conversion
sum of powers method: converts from least significant to most significant digit
310716 = (7*160) + (0*161) + (1*162) + (3*163)
= 7 + 0 + 256 + 12288
= 1255110