Afro Asian Institute

Introduction to Computer Application

Chapter Notes
Hardware & Software

Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology
Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected]
0300-5368738

Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected] 0300-5368738
Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected] 0300-5368738
Question# 01: What is CPU or Microprocessor?

CPU (Central Processing Unit)

CPU is also called Microprocessor or processor. It is the brain of computer. It has a set
of pins through which all it communicates with the other devices. CPU consists of three
units
1. Control Unit (CU).
2. Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU)
3. Memory Unit(MU)
CPU

CU MU

ALU

1. Control Unit (CU)

● Control Unit is also called supervisor of the computer
● Control unit does not perform execution
● It is used to analyze the instructions
● It interprets the instructions and invokes the appropriate circuit to perform
execution

2. Arithmetic & Logic Unit (ALU)

The part of CPU where data processing takes place is called arithmetic and logic
unit. All arithmetic and logical operations are performed in arithmetic and logic unit.
Arithmetic Operations
Arithmetic operations include:
● Addition operation (+)
● Subtraction operation (-)
● Multiplication operation (*)
● Division operation etc. (/)
Logic Operations
Logic operations include:
● Less than operation (<)
● Greater than operation (>)
● Equal to operation (==)
● Not equal to operation etc. (!=)

Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected] 0300-5368738
3. Memory Unit or CPU Registers (MU)
It is also called registers. It is small and fast memory inside the CPU. It is used by CU
and ALU.
There are two types of registers (special purpose registers and general purpose
registers)
These registers are available in different sizes.
There are following types on registers:
i. Special purpose registers
ii. General purpose registers
iii. Address or segment registers
iv. Index or Pointer Registers

i) Special Purpose Registers

These registers are used by control unit
Special purpose registers are used to receive the instructions from memory and
send them for execution.
These registers are:
PC (Program Counter)
IR (Instruction Register)
MAR (Memory Address Register)
MBR (Memory Buffer Register)
SP (Stack Pointer Register)
ii) General Purpose Registers:
These registers are used by arithmetic ad logical unit to perform different operations.
These registers are from 1 to 4 bytes in size.
These registers are:
AX (Accumulator Register)
BX (Base Register)
CX (Counter Register)
DX (Data Register)
iii) Address or Segment Registers
These registers are used to read data from memory and after execution writes the
instruction back to main memory
These Registers are:
CS (Code Segment)
DS (Data Segment)
ES (Extra Segment)
SS (Stack Segment)

Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected] 0300-5368738
 iv) Index or Pointer Registers
These registers are used to help address or segment registers.
These registers are:
IP (Instruction Pointer)
DI (Destination Index)
SI (Source Index)

Random Access Memory (RAM)

● It is a silicon chip and called user memory
● It is made up of cells. Each cell is a combination of 8 bits or byte
● Each cell has its own unique address
● It is temporary or volatile memory of the computer
● Data and programs can be stored in it when the computer is on and when it is
switched off the data and programs of Ram Lost
● Data only stored on ram when it is used by CPU
Features of RAM
● It is volatile
● It is temporary
● It has unique addresses of data
● It has high capacity as compared to RAM
● It is easier to replace

Types of RAM
1. Dynamic RAM
2. Static RAM

DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory)

● It has a transistor and a capacitor for every bit
● It has to be refreshed hundreds of time in a second.
● Its consumes more power
● It is less expansive.
● Its speed is slower than SRAM.

SRAM (Static Random Access Memory)

● It has five transistors for every bit
● It does not need to be refreshed.
● Its consumes less power
● It is very expensive.
● It is very fast.

Interaction of CPU & RAM

Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected] 0300-5368738
CPU interacts with RAM as follows
Each instruction in CPU must load into memory
CPU reads the instruction from main memory
CU decodes the instructions and after execution returns the instructions back to
main memory.

Fetch, Decode, Execute and Store Cycle/ Machine Cycle

An instruction cycle (sometimes called a fetch–decode–execute cycle) is the basic

operational process of a computer. It is the process by which a computer retrieves a
program instruction from its memory, determines what actions on the instruction to be
performed, and carries out those actions. This cycle is repeated continuously by a
computer's central processing unit (CPU),
CPU follows a fetch decode execute cycle which has the following steps.
Fetch
In this step CU fetches the instruction from RAM and stores it in the register.
Decode
In this step CU interprets (translate) the instruction.
Execute
In this step CU send signals to other components to perform the task.
Store
In this step the result generated is stored in the RAM.

Question# 02: What is Input Devices?

Input
Anything which we have given to the computer for processing is called input.
It can be any text, numeric, image, audio or video.
Input devices

Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected] 0300-5368738
The device through which we can communicate with the computer is called an input
device. We enter data with the help of input devices
There are three types of input devices
i) Keyboard
ii) Source data entry devices
iii) Pointing or draw devices
The details of these are as follow.

Keyboard
The most common device for transferring data to the computer is keyboard. It is used
for typing instructions the button on the keyboard are called keys. It has 101 keys.
There are different types of keys available which are as follows
● Alphabet keys (A-Z, a-z)
● Number keys (0-9)
● Function keys (F1 ….. F12)
● Special character keys (@, %, $,!, &)
● Editing keys etc. (Del, Shift, BKSP,CTRL)

Source Data Entry Devices

The devices which are used to directly enter the data to the computer are called source
data entry devices.
Source data entry devices are: Image scanner, Microphone, Camera, Bar code reader,
Fax machine, MICR, OCR, OMR, Magnetic strip card, Smart card.
Image Scanner
A scanner uses laser technology to scan and copy an image. It scans one line at a time
and transfers it to the computer. The image scanned is translated into an electronic
format. It works like a photocopy machine.
Camera
Cameras are used to input image or video to the computer.
Camera takes input and converts it into digital form
Video cards used to convert data into digital form
There are two types of video card.
i) frame grabber video card
ii) full motion video card
Digital Camera
It allows you to take digital photographs. It can send images straight to a computer
instead of storing it on a camera film.

Bar Code Reader

Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected] 0300-5368738
Bar codes are vertical zebra stripped lines which have information about a product. Bar
code reader is used to read bar codes translate it into digital form and transfer it to the
computer.

Magnetic strip card Magnetic strip card has a magnetic strip on its back which has
magnetically encoded data. A credit card reader reads it and transmits it to the computer.
Example of magnetic strip card is ATM card and driving card.

Smart card
Smart card contains a small silicon chip that has its own microprocessor and memory.
It is used for deduct purchasing from bank account and update the record.

Microphone
It is used for audio input. It records the analog sound and converts it into digital form.
Sound card is required to connect it with the computer.

MICR

MICR stands for magnetic ink character recognition. It is used to recognize the
magnetic ink that is available on the Bank checks.

OCR

it stands for optical character recognition. It is used to scan the documents and convert
data into digital form. It is mostly used to scan the utility bills, price tags etc.

OMR
It stands for optical mark recognition. It is used to scan the exam papers with light
beam. E.g. paper marking.

Pointing devices
These devices are used in Graphical User Interface (GUI) environment. These devices
help in positioning the cursor easily. Following are point and draw devices
Mouse
The mouse is a small device which moves the cursor when it is moved. It has two or
three buttons on it. Now they have a scroll wheel on it and now they laser to sense the
direction of the mouse movement. There are two types of mouse.
i) Mechanical mouse
It has a ball on its back. Mouse is moved to move the ball and cursor move
accordingly. It requires smooth surface.
ii) Laser Mouse
It has a laser technology instead of ball.

Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected] 0300-5368738
Joystick
The joystick is a stick that moves the screen cursor in the direction the stick is pushed. It
is used for playing games.
Trackball
The trackball is a ball in a small external box or fixed on the keyboard. The ball is rolled
to move the cursor. This is mostly used in Laptops.
Touch pad
It has no moving parts. It is a small flat touch sensitive surface. Simply move your finger
on it to move the screen cursor. It is mostly used in Laptops.
Light Pen
Mouse pen works like a mouse but its shape is like a pen. The light emits from the pen
and use to control the movement of cursor on screen.

Pointing Stick
Pointing stick is a device which is look like a pencil eraser and located between the G, H
and B keys on the keyboard. We can move the stick with finger to control the cursor
movement.

Question# 03: What are Output devices?

Output Devices
The devices through which computer can communicate with the user are called output
devices. These devices give results to the user.

There are two types of output devices:

● Softcopy output devices
Soft copy output refers to the output which can only be viewed on the screen. It is
also called intangible output. Softcopy output devices are screens, speakers,
projectors.
● Hard copy output devices
Hard copy output refers to the output which can be printed on paper. This can be
also called physical output. It is tangible output. Hard copy output devices are
printers and plotters.

Hard copy output devices

Printers
Printers are widely used to produce hard copy output of images or text. There are two
categories of printers
● Impact printers
● Non-impact printers.
Impact printers
Impact printers use striking method to print.
Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected] 0300-5368738
There are three types of impact printers:
i) Dot Matrix Printer
ii) Daisy Wheel Printer
iii) Chain/Line Printer

Dot-matrix Printers
It is an impact printer. It works like a type writer. It uses dots to form characters and
images. It has a rectangular print head which has 9 to 24 pins. This head strikes the ink
ribbon and paper. It creates a lot of noise and it is slow in speed.
Daisy Wheel Printers
It is also an impact printer in which petals are used to strike on paper. The characters
are formed on petals and petals strike on paper in front of ink ribbons. It also creates
noise.
Chain or Band Printers
In this type of printers one line is print at a time. The characters are formed on a chain
and this chain is strike on a papers. The main disadvantage is also noise creation.
Non-Impact Printers
These printers do not physically touch or strike the paper.
There are three types of non-impact printers
i) LASER Printer
ii) Ink-jet Printers
iii) Thermal printers

LASER Printers
LASER printers are non-impact printers. These printers’ works like a photocopy
machine. Printers use laser technologies to achieve high-speed hard copy output by
printing one page at a time. All laser printers are capable of producing high quality text
and graphics output. The resolution of laser printers more than 1200 dpi these days.
Ink-Jet Printers
The ink-jet printers are non-impact printers. The ink jet printers throw ink drops on the
paper to form characters and images. Its speed is less than Laser printer. The
resolution of ink-jet printer is 300 dpi.

Thermal Printers
These printers use heat mechanism to print a good quality images. Special waxy paper
is used for printing. This is costly printers.

Plotters
Plotters are used to plot graphs. It is used to draw pictures and diagrams. Plotters are
used by engineers, scientists and architects.
Types of Plotters

Flatbed Plotter
Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected] 0300-5368738
It plots on the paper that lies on a flat surface. Size varies according to the print size.
It has print arm and print head.

Drum Plotter
Paper is mounted over a drum for continuous printing. It is used to track the earthquake
reading.

Soft copy output devices

Monitors
The monitors are output devices. They display images just like television. Output on a
monitor is called softcopy, which means it is temporary and available until another
display is requested.
Monochrome Monitors
Monochrome monitors are type of printers which are very commonly in early days of
computing. These printers display images in a single color such as green, blue or red,
Or black and white.
Color Monitors
Color monitors are also called CRT (cathode ray tube).Most color monitors use RGB
technology to display color images. These monitors mix red, green and blue to produce
a variety of colors and are called RGB monitors. The typical monitor can display images
in 256 colors. These monitors are heavy in weight and consume more power. These
monitors emit harmful rays.
Flat-Panel Monitors
It has screen less than ½ inches thick. It is weightless and consumes less power than
CRT monitors.
It has two polarizing plates with liquid crystal substance in between.
Flat panel monitors use a variety of technologies, the most common is LCD (Liquid
Crystal Display) and TFT (thin filament technology) LED, Gas Plasma or EL screens.
Touch Screen Monitors
Touch screen monitors are special type of video display. It has pressure sensitive
screen. Users simply touch the screen to perform the task. These are most commonly
used in PDA (personal digital assistant) or mobile phones.

Speakers
Speakers are used to output sound. Speakers are used to convert digital signals into
analog form. They require sound card to get connected to the computers. There is a
large variety of speakers available in the market.

Head Phones
It is used to output sound. These are portable and easy to use.

Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected] 0300-5368738
Question# 04: What are storage devices?
Storage Devices
The devices which are used to store data and programs for long time are called storage
devices.

Basic Units of Storage

The smallest unit of storage is bit(Binary digit). Bigger units are as follows
1 Byte = 8 bits
1KB = 1024 Bytes
1MB = 1024 KB
1GB = 1024 MB
1TB = 1024 GB
Types of storage devices
There are two types of storage devices.
i) Primary Storage
ii) Secondary Storage
Primary storage
It is also called main memory. Main memory is also called user memory or working area
of computer.
it has two types:
i) RAM (Random Access Memory)
ii) ROM (Read only memory)

Random Access Memory (RAM)

● It is a silicon chip and called user memory
● It is made up of cells. Each cell is a combination of 8 bits or byte
● Each cell has its own unique address
● It is temporary or volatile memory of the computer
● Data and programs can be stored in it when the computer is on and when it is
switched off the data and programs of Ram Lost
● Data only stored on ram when it is used by CPU

Features of RAM
● It is volatile
● It is temporary
● It has unique addresses of data
● It has high capacity as compared to RAM
● It is easier to replace

Types of RAM
3. Dynamic RAM
4. Static RAM
Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected] 0300-5368738
DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory)
● It has a transistor and a capacitor for every bit
● It has to be refreshed hundreds of time in a second.
● Its consumes more power
● It is less expansive.
● Its speed is slower than SRAM.
● EDO-DRAM stands for Enhanced Data Output Dynamic Random Access
Memory. It is 50% faster than ordinary D-RAM.

SRAM (Static Random Access Memory)

● It has five transistors for every bit
● It does not need to be refreshed.
● Its consumes less power
● It is very expensive.
● It is very fast.
Read-only memory (ROM)
Rom is a type of non-volatile memory used in computers and other electronic devices.
Unlike RAM, ROM stores their contents when the computer is turned off. That’s why
ROM is called nonvolatile memory.
ROM is used to store BIOS of the system. BIOS mean Basic Input Output System.
There are three types of ROM.
i) PROM
ii) EPROM
iii) EEPROM

i) PROM
PROM stands for Programmable Read Only Memory
It is initially blank. Manufacturers write data on it and once data is written cannot be
erased.
ii) EPROM
EPROM stands for Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory.
In this type of ROM data is written and can be erased and reprogrammed. Data is
erased with the help of Ultraviolet rays.

iii) EEPROM
EEPROM stands for Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory.
This type of RAM can also be written and erased with the help of special electrical
devices. To erase data high voltage is applied.

Secondary storage Devices

Secondary storage also called auxiliary or mass storage or mass storage. It stores data
and programs permanently for future use. Secondary storage devices are widely used
to store large amount of data. Examples of secondary storage devices are

Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected] 0300-5368738
Floppy disks, Hard Disks, Compact discs, Magnetic tape, Zip disk, Flash memory,
Memory card.
Magnetic Tape
Magnetic tape has been used as a storage medium for many years. Magnetic
tape is a plastic ribbon with magnetic coating. It stores large volume of data. Magnetic
tape can be a large reel or a small cassette. These are sequential access media.
Floppy Disk
It was invented by IBM (international business machine). The floppy disk is a thin
circular disk with magnetic coating which is enclosed in a plastic jacket .The disk has
tracks and sectors on which data is stored. Floppy drive is required to read and write
data on a floppy disk. Floppy drive has electromagnetic heads to read and write data.
The capacity of floppy disk is 720 KB to 1.44 MB.
Hard Disk
It is most commonly used storage device in computers. A hard disk contains several
magnetic disk plates. The disks have tracks and sectors on which data is stored. There
are heads with every disk which read and write data. The disk is enclosed inside a solid
casing. The capacity of hard disk is about 1TB now-a-days.

Zip Disk
It is also a magnetic storage device. It is like a floppy disk but it is larger in size and can
store more amounts of data and then floppy disk. Zip drive is required to read and write
data on a zip disk. The capacity of zip disk is 100 MB and 512 MB.

Compact Disk (CD)

It is an optical media. The data is stored on compact disk in the form of microscopic
burns on the shiny surface of a plastic disk. The CD is written only once. CD-ROM drive
is required to read data from CD. CD ROM drive has lens to read data from the CD.
Now-a-days there are rewritable CDs also available. The capacity of a single CD-ROM
is about 700 MB.

DVD
It is an optical media. It looks like compact discs but it has a different format and it can
store more amounts of data than CD. The intensity of its laser is very fine. Its capacity is
about 4.7 GB.

USB drive

It is also called Pen Drive or Flash drive. It is a small electronic storage device. It can
store large amount of data. It is connected in USB port. Its capacity is more than 32 GB
now a day.

Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected] 0300-5368738
Memory Card
It is also a small electronic storage device. Its shape is like a small card. Its capacity is
more than 32 GB now a day.

Question# 05: Write a note on software & its types?

Program / Software
A set of instructions given to the computer to solve a particular problem is called a
program.
Software
Computer Software is a set of programs that can be interpreted by a computer and can’t
be touched by the humans. The program makes the computer to perform some
functions.
Types of Software
There are three types of software.
1. System software
2. Application software
3. Utility Programs

System Software
It controls and manages the computer hardware. It has the following features
Control Operations
It controls the operations of the computer and its devices.
e.g. Saving the data on the disk
Printing a document.
Interface
It acts as the interface between user and the computer’s hardware.
General Programs
It does not solve specific problems. It is general purpose software and it is used to help
users.
Examples of system software
1. Operating system
2. Device drivers
3. compiler
4. Interpreters
5. Assembler
Operating system
It is system software. It controls the entire resources computer. It improves the
performance and efficiency of a computer system. Eg WindowsXP, DOS etc.

Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected] 0300-5368738
Compiler
Compiler translates the instructions of a high level language into machine language. It
translates the whole program at a time. Every language has its own compiler. C
language uses compiler.
Interpreter
Interpreter translates the instructions high level language into machine language. It
translates one statement of a high level language into a machine language and
executes it. Visual Basic uses interpreter.
Assembler
It translates an assembly language program into machine language.
Application software
Application software consists of programs deigned to perform specific tasks for users.
Example
Word processing software
Spreadsheet software
Database software
Presentation software.
Word processing Software
This software is used to make documents E.g. Microsoft word.
Spread Sheet Software
A spreadsheet is a rectangular grid of information. It has columns and rows. E.g. MS
Excel.
Presentation software
A presentation program is used to make presentations E.g. MS Power Point.
Database software
A database is an organized collection of data. The computer program used to manage
and query a database is known as a database management system (DBMS). ORACLE,
SQL server are DBMS.

Differences between system software and application software

System Software Application software
It is general purpose software It is designed for specific application
It deals with hardware and software It deals with the user
It is can run by itself It needs system software to perform task

Utility Programs
The programs which are designed to analyze, configure and maintain the computer are
called utility programs. Utility programs are used for effective management of computer
system.
Examples are:
Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected] 0300-5368738
Disk Defragmenter
Back Up
Antivirus
Disk Defragmenter
It defragments the hard disk. Manages the empty spaces and arrange the files.
Back Up
It is used to copy information from hard disk to other storage device. it can be useful in
case of any loss or damage of original files.
Antivirus
It scans computer for viruses. Different types of antiviruses are: Avast, Norton, Kingsoft
etc.

Question# 06: Write a note on operating system?

Operating system
It is system software. It operates the entire computer system and manages all hardware
resources attached to the computer system.it provides the platform to execute
application software. It has the following features.
Control Hardware Resources
It controls the entire resources of computer like disk, memory and CPU.
Improves Performance
It improves the performance and efficiency of a computer system.
Load & Execute
it provides the facility of easily loading program into memory and start execution.
Process management
It manages all the programs running at a time. It also provides the facility of
multitasking.
Memory management
It manages the programs loaded into RAM and executes simultaneously. It also control
the multiprogramming and time sharing.
File Management
It manages all the files and folders.
Security
It provides security to the system. It protects the data from unauthorized access and
illegal use.
Booting
It is a process of starting and restarting of computer.
Network
It helps in making the network. Different software and protocols used to maintain the
network.

Interface to the user

It is an interface between user and computer
There are two types of interfaces:
Command Line interface:

Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected] 0300-5368738
It provides the command prompt to the user. Examples of command prompt operating
system are DOS, UNIX etc.
Graphical user interface:
It provides the graphical interface like consists of windows, menus, icons etc. examples
of graphical user interface are windowsXP, Windows7 etc.

Classification of OS
Operating system can be classified as follows
● Multi-user
● Multi-Processing
● Multi-tasking
● Multi-threading
● Real time
● Network Operating system

Multi-user
It allows two or more users to work at the same time on same operating system.
Multi-processing
It allows two or more processors to work at the same time.
Multi-tasking
It allows two or more programs to run at the same time for example you can use any
entertainment software while typing text in a text editor.
Multi-threading
It allows different parts of a single program to run at the same time.
Real time
It responds to input instantly.
Network Operating system
It has added network features
Examples of OS
1. DOS
2. Windows
3. UNIX
4. Linux
5. Solaris
6. Mac OS

DOS
DOS stands for disk operating system It was created by Microsoft. Instructions were
given by typing commands.

Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems created by Microsoft. It is a GUI
operating system. Popular windows operating system are
Windows 95

Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected] 0300-5368738
Windows 98
Window 2000
Windows XP etc.
Latest windows operating system are Windows 7, Windows 8.

Question# 07: What are computer soft wares? Explain its different
types.

Program / Software
A set of instructions given to the computer to solve a particular problem is called a
program.
Software
Computer Software is a set of programs that can be interpreted by a computer and can’t
be touched by the humans. The program makes the computer to perform some
functions.
Types of Software
There are three types of software.
1. System software
2. Application software
3. Utility Programs

System Software
It controls and manages the computer hardware components. And also provides the
platform to execute application software. It has the following features
Control Operations
It controls the operations of the computer and its devices.
E.g. saving the data on the disk
Printing a document.
Interface
It acts as the interface between user and the computer’s hardware.

General Programs
It does not solve specific problems. It is general purpose software and it is used to help
users.
Examples of system software
● Operating system
● Device Drivers
● Language processors
i. Compiler
ii. Interpreters
iii. Assembler
Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected] 0300-5368738
Operating system
It is system software. It controls the entire resources computer. It improves the
performance and efficiency of a computer system. It provides the platform to execute
the application programs. E.g. WindowsXP, DOS, Unix, Linux etc.
Device Drivers
Device drivers are the small piece of code that tells the computer about the functionality
of attached resources. It tells the computer how peripheral device will work. E.g. of
device drivers are audio drivers, video drivers, Bluetooth drivers.
Compiler
Compiler translates the instructions of a high level language into machine language. It
translates the whole program at a time. Every language has its own compiler. C
language uses compiler.it is a fast language translator.
Interpreter
Interpreter translates the instructions high level language into machine language. It
translates one statement of a high level language into a machine language and
executes it. Visual Basic uses interpreter. It is slow language translator.
Assembler
It translates an assembly language program into machine language.
Application software
Application software consists of programs deigned to perform specific tasks for users.
Example:
● Custom built soft wares
i. Collage admission system
ii. Hospital management system
iii. Inventory management system
● Packaged soft wares
i. Word processing software
ii. Spreadsheet software
iii. Database software
iv. Presentation software.
Word processing Software
This software is used to make documents E.g. Microsoft word.

Spread Sheet Software

A spreadsheet is a rectangular grid of information. It has columns and rows. E.g. MS
Excel.

Presentation software
A presentation program is used to make presentations E.g. MS Power Point.

Database software

Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected] 0300-5368738
A database is an organized collection of data. The computer program used to manage
and query a database is known as a database management system (DBMS). ORACLE,
SQL server are DBMS.

Differences between system software and application software

System Software Application software
It is general purpose software It is designed for specific application
It deals with hardware and software It deals with the user
It is can run by itself It needs system software to perform task

Utility Programs
The programs which are designed to analyze, configure and maintain the computer are
called utility programs. Utility programs are used for effective management of computer
system.
Examples
i. Disk Defragmenter
ii. Back Up
iii. Antivirus

Disk Defragmenter
It defragments the hard disk. It arrange the files and remove the empty spaces.

Back Up
It is used to copy information from hard disk to other storage device.

Antivirus
It scans computer for viruses

Question# 08: What are programming languages? Explain different

types of programming languages.
Programming languages
It is a way of communication between user and computer. It is a set of alphabets,
words, symbols. It used to write programs.

There are two types of computer programming languages.

1. Low level languages
2. High Level languages

Low-level languages
The languages which are close to the computer are called low level languages.
There are two types of low level languages.
1. Machine language
2. Assembly language

Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected] 0300-5368738
Machine language
It is a first generation language.it is the native language of computer. It consists of set of
binary digits (1s and 0s). It does not need any translator. Computer can execute a
machine language program directly at a high speed. It is difficult to write programs in
machine language.it is also difficult to detect errors.

Assembly language
It is considered a second-generation language. It is not a microprocessor's native
language. It is close to machine language. It is a symbolic language. It consists of
symbols or abbreviations called Mnemonics (called Nemonics). An assembly language
programmer must understand the architecture of CPU.
Assembler is required to translate assembly language program into machine language.

High-level Languages
The languages which are close to human language i.e. English Language are called
High-level languages. These languages have English words. High level language is
easy to understand for human and it is also easy to write computer program and debug.
Every high level language has to be translated into machine language before execution.
There are two types of translators.
● Compiler
● Interpreter
Compiler
● Compiler translates the instructions of a high level language into machine
language. It translates the whole program at a time. Every language has its own
compiler. C language uses compiler.
Interpreter
● Interpreter translates the instructions high level language into machine language.
It translates one statement of a high level language into a machine language and
executes it. Visual Basic uses interpreter.
Types of High-level Languages
There are two types of high level languages
1. Procedural languages
2. Non Procedural languages
3. Object Oriented languages

1: Procedural language
These languages are third generation languages. They follow traditional programming
logic. This means that program is designed using procedures. A procedure is a
sequence of instructions with a unique name. Order of instructions is very important.
Examples are:
● C language
● Basic language
● FORTRAN

Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected] 0300-5368738
2: Non Procedural languages

These languages are fourth generation languages. These languages do not follow
traditional programming languages. Order of instructions is not important in these
languages. These languages are easier to use. These languages include Database
Query Languages e.g. SQL

3: Object Oriented Languages

These languages are third generation languages. Their emphasis is on the object.
Program is designed by using objects. An object is a collection of data and function.
These languages makes program easier to design and understand. It handles images
sound etc. better than procedural languages. Examples are JAVA ,C++ etc.

Question# 09: The 3 Basic Types of Programming Language Errors.

There are 3 Basic Types of Programming Language Errors. These are: syntax errors,
logical errors and run-time errors.

Syntax Errors
Any violation of rules and poor understanding of the programming language results in
syntax errors. The compiler can detect such errors. For compiled languages, syntax
errors are detected at compile-time. A program will not compile until all syntax errors are
corrected. For interpreted languages, however, a syntax error may be detected during
program execution, and an interpreter's error messages might not differentiate syntax
errors from errors of other kinds.

Run-time Errors
Runtime errors are the errors that occur during the execution of the program. Some
examples are, dividing by zero error, insufficient memory for dynamic memory
allocation, referencing an out-of-range array element. These are not detected by
compiler while compilation process. A program with these kinds of errors will run but
produce erroneous results or may cause termination of program. Detection and removal
of a run-time error is a difficult task.

Logical Errors
These errors are related to the logic of the program. Logical errors are also not detected
by compiler and cause incorrect results. These errors occur due to incorrect translation
of algorithm into the program, poor understanding of the problem and a lack of clarity of
hierarchy of operators.

Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected] 0300-5368738
Engr.Emran Siddique
Lecturer Department of Information Technology Afro Asian Institute, Lahore
[email protected] 0300-5368738