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Computer Concepts Lesson 1 - Introduction ?

This document provides an introduction to computer concepts related to data representation and digital formats. It explains that data refers to symbols that represent people, events, etc., and that digital devices store data using binary digits (bits) represented as 0s and 1s. It also discusses how different data types like text and numbers are encoded digitally using codes like ASCII and Unicode. Finally, it covers related topics like bits and bytes, file formats, compression techniques, and terminology used to describe digital data storage and transmission speeds.

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Diva Prestia
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
15 views

Computer Concepts Lesson 1 - Introduction ?

This document provides an introduction to computer concepts related to data representation and digital formats. It explains that data refers to symbols that represent people, events, etc., and that digital devices store data using binary digits (bits) represented as 0s and 1s. It also discusses how different data types like text and numbers are encoded digitally using codes like ASCII and Unicode. Finally, it covers related topics like bits and bytes, file formats, compression techniques, and terminology used to describe digital data storage and transmission speeds.

Uploaded by

Diva Prestia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Computer Concepts Lesson 1 - Introduction 💻

● Section A: Digital Basics


● Data Representation Basics
● Data refers to the symbols that represent people, events, things, and ideas. Data
can be a name, a number, the colors in a photograph, or the notes in a musical
composition
● Data Representation refers to the form in which data is stored, processed, and
transmitted
● Devices such as smartphones, iPods, and computers store data in digital formats
that can be handled by electronic circuitry
● Digitization is the process of converting information, such as text, numbers,
photo, or music, into digital data that can be manipulated by electronic devices
● The digital revolution has evolved through four phases, beginning with big,
expensive, standalone computers, and progressing to today’s digital world in
which small, inexpensive digital devices are everywhere
● The 0s and 1s used to represent digital data are referred to as binary digits → from this
term we get the word bitthat stands for binary digit
● A bit is a 0 or 1 used in the digital representation of data
● A digital file, usually referred to simply as a file, is a named collection of data that
exists on a storage medium, such as a hard disk, CD, DVD, or flash drive
● Representing Numbers
● Numeric data consists of numbers that can be used in arithmetic operations
● Digital devices represent numeric data using the binary number system, also
called base 2
● The binary number system only has two digits: 0 and 1
● No numeral like 2 exists in the system, so the number “two” is represented in
binary as 10 (pronounced “one zero”)
● Representing Text
● Character data is composed of letters, symbols, and numerals that are not used
in calculations
● Examples of character data include your name, address, and hair color
● Character data is commonly referred to as “text”
● Digital devices employ several types of codes to represent character data,
including ASCII, Unicode, and their variants
● ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange, pronounced “ASK
ee”) requires seven bits for each character
● The ASCII code for an uppercase Ais 1000001
● Extended ASCII is a superset of ASCII that uses eight bits for each character
● For example, Extended ASCII represents the uppercase letter Aas 01000001
● Using eight bits instead of seven bits allows Extended ASCII to provide codes for
256 characters
● Unicode (pronounced “YOU ni code”) uses sixteen bits and provides codes or
65,000 characters
● This is a bonus for representing the alphabets of multiple languages
● UTF-8 is a variable-length coding scheme that uses seven bits for common
ASCII characters but uses sixteen-bit Unicode as necessary
● ASCII codes are used for numerals, such as Social Security numbers and phone
numbers
● Plain, unformatted text is sometimes called ASCII Text and is stored in a so-
called text file with a name ending in .txt
● On Apple devices these files are labeled “Plain Text.” In Windows, these files are
labeled “Text Document”
● ASCII text files contain no formatting
● To create documents with styles and formats, formatting codes have to be
embedded in the text
● Microsoft Word produces formatted text and creates documents in DOCX format
● Apple Pages produces documents in PAGES format
● Adobe Acrobat produces documents in PDF format
● HTML markup language used for Web pages produces documents in HTML
format
● Bits and Bytes
● All of the data stored and transmitted by digital devices is encoded as bits
● Terminology related to bits and bytes is extensively used to describe storage
capacity and network access speed
● The word bit, an abbreviation for binary digit, can be further abbreviated as a
lowercase b
● A group of eight bits is called a byte and is usually abbreviated as an uppercase
B
● When reading about digital devices, you’ll frequently encounter references such
as 90 kilobits per second, 1.44 megabytes, 2.8 gigahertz, and 2 terabytes
● Kilo, mega, giga, tera, and similar terms are used to quantify digital data
● Use bits for data rates, such as Internet connection speeds, and movie download
speeds
● Use bytes for file sizes and storage capacities
● 56 Kbps: Kilobit (Kb or Kbit) can be used for slow data rates, such as a 56 Kbps
(kilobits per second) dial-up connection.
● 104 KB: Kilobyte (KB or Kbyte) is often used when referring to the size of small
computer files.
● 50 Mbps: Megabit (Mb or Mbit) is used for faster data rates, such as a 50 Mbps
(megabits per second) Internet connection.
● 3.2MB: Megabyte (MB or MByte) is typically used when referring to the size of
files containing photos and videos.
● 100 Gbit: Gigabit (Gb or Gbit) is used for really fast network speeds.
● 16 GB: Gigabyte (GB or GByte) is commonly used to refer to storage capacity.
● Compression
● To reduce file size and transmission times, digital data can be compressed
● Data compression refers to any technique that recodes the data in a file so that
it contains fewer bits
● Compression is commonly referred to as “zipping”
● Compression techniques divided into two categories: lossless and lossy
● Lossless compression provides a way to compress data and reconstitute it into
its original state; uncompressed data stays exactly the same as the original data
● Lossy compression throws away some of the original data during the
compression process; uncompressed data is not exactly the same as the original
● Software for compressing data is sometimes referred to as a compression utility
or a zip tool
● On laptops and desktop computers, the compression utility is accessed from the
same screen used to manage files
● The process of reconstituting files is called extracting or unzipping
● Compressed files may end with a .zip, .gz, .pkg, or.tar.gz

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