TOPIC: INTRODUCTION TO DATA

DEFINITION OF DATA The term data means any basic fact which may be input
to some processing system. A processing system is one where computations,
comparisons and general manipulation of data are done. The processing may be
people or machine e.g the computer. Information on the other hand, is the end –
result of a processing system. The information is needed by management for
decision making. The relationship between data and information is shown in the
diagram below:

INPUT PROCESSING OUTPUT

WHAT IS DATA PROCESSING? Data processing is the task of using a
collection of basic facts to produce information, usually it has no value in itself
until it is subjected to analysis, validations and comparisons with other data to
produce result (information), for example a collection of weights of individuals do
not turn useful information for decision making. However when the set of data is
processed such as searching for individual with a maximum or minimum weight or
the weight of all concerned in the study, information is produced. Management can
decide on the basis of each information to assign special duties to the fellow with
the maximum or minimum weight. Other use could be made on such information
depending upon the situation prevailing on the organization and their special
needs. Therefore, data processing is an operation on computer data which involves
the entering, sorting, updating and retrieving of information using computer.

DATA PROCESSING CYCLE The data processing cycle describes the stages of
data processing. It involves the following stages:
• Data gathering
• Data collation
• Input stage
• Processing stage
• Storage stage
• Output stage

Element of data processing; INPUT PROCESSING OUTPUT

Data is often required for various purposes. Even the same item of data may be
used in a great variety of ways depending upon the user’s objectives. Most data
processing work may be viewed as consisting of data, processor and output.
Usually, storage also features since both data and program instructions need to be
stored.
WEEK TWO
TOPIC: HISTORY OF COMPUTING

 EARLY COUNTING/CALCULATING DEVICES

1. Fingers 2. Toes 3. Stone 3. Stick 4. Cowries 5. Pebbles
 EARLY MECHANICAL COUNTING/CALCULATING DEVICES
1. Abacus 2. Slide rule 3. Astrolabe 4. Pascaline
ABACUS The first calculating device was probably Abacus. The
Chinese invented it. It is still in use in some countries because of its
simple operation. It is made up of a frame divided into two parts by a
horizontal bar and vertical threads. Each thread contains some beads. It
was used to calculate simple addition and subtraction.

PASCALINE The first mechanical calculating machine was invented in

1642, by Blaize Pascal, a French mathematician. Numbers were entered
by dialling a series of numbered wheels in this machine. A sequence of
wheels transferred the movements to a dial, which showed the result.
Through addition and subtraction were performed the normal way, the
device could perform division by repeated subtraction and multiplication
by repeated addition.

 EARLY ELECTRO-MECHANICAL COUNTING DEVICES

1. John Napier bone 2. Blaize Pascal machine 3. Gottfried Leitbnitz machine 4.
Joseph Jacquard Loom 5. Charles Babbage analytical machine

NAPIER’S BONE The need for a better calculating device was felt as time
passed. John Napier, a Scottish mathematician, invented a set of eleven rods,
with four sides each which was used as a multiplication tool. These rods
were made from bones and this was the reason why they were called Napier
Bones. The rods had numbers marked in such a way that, by placing them
side by side, products and quotients of large numbers can be obtained.

LEIBNITZ CALCULATING MACHINE Gottfried Wilhelm Von

Leibnitz invented a computer that was built in 1694. It could add and after
changing some things around, it could multiply. Leibnitz invented a special
stepped gear mechanism for introducing the added digits and this is still
being used.
 EARLY ELECTRONIC COUNTING DEVICES:
1. Herman Hollerith punch card 2. John Von Neumann machine Man
has put in every effort to have better methods of calculations. As a result of
man’s search for fast and accurate calculating devices, the computer was
developed. Essentially, there are three kinds of calculating devices: manual,
mechanical and automatic.
 WEEK THREE
TOPIC: DIGITALIZATION OF DATA
Digitalization is the process of converting information into digital format. This
information may represent an object, image, sound, document or a signal (usually
an analog signal) organized into discrete set of its points or samples. This is the
binary data that computers and many devices with computing capacity (such as
digital camera and digital hearing aids) can process. Digitalization can also be
defined as the integration of digital technologies into everyday life.
BENEFITS OF DIGITALIZATION
1. Long term preservation of documents 2. Orderly archiving of documents 3.
Easy and customized access to information 4. Easy information dissemination
through images and text, CD-ROM, Internet, Intranet and extranets.

TECHNOLOGY OF DIFFERENT INFORMATION AGE

The ages are: 1. Stone age 2. Iron age 3. Middle age 4. Industrial age 5. Electronic
age

COMPONENTS OF A COMPUTER SYSTEM

A computer system consists of three main parts otherwise called components. They
are: 1. Hardware 2. Software 3. People ware
1. HARDWARE COMPONENT
The computer hardware could be defined as the physical parts of the computer that
we see, feel and handle. It consists of device for input, processing, storage, output
and communications. Hardware can be divided into two sections: i. System Unit
ii. Peripherals
2. SOFTWARE is the set of instructions that is used to direct the computer
hardware to perform its tasks. That is, it is a set of instructions that makes the users
to do work and allow the computer to operate. Software is basically programs i.e
another name for software is program. Program is the sequence of instructions
given to computer to solve a given problems or accomplish a given task. There are
two main classes of software which are: i. System software ii. Application software
System Software these are programs written by the manufacturer to control the
smooth running of the computer.
Application Software These are programs written by programmers to instruct the
computer to perform a particular task.
PEOPLE WARE These are people who make and use the computer. They range
from professional users to operational users. A user could also be anyone who
makes use of computer. Without people, the computer cannot work. There two
main classes of people ware: i. Computer professionals. ii. Computer users.
PERIPHERALS are in three categories:
i. Input Devices ii. Output Devices iii. Auxiliary Storage Devices
WEEK FOUR
TOPIC: DATA AND INFORMATION

Data is raw, unorganized or unprocessed facts that need to be processed. Data can
be something simple and seemingly random and useless until it is organized.
TYPES OF DATA
• Qualitative data: is descriptive information (it describes something).
• Quantitative data: is numerical information.
CLASSIFICATION OF QUANTITATIVE DATA
• Continuous data
• Discrete data
EXAMPLES OF DATA

1. Numbers 2. Name of thing, place or animal 3. Words 4. Measurements

Descriptions of things
SOURCES OF DATA

1. Television 2. Internet 3. Articles 4. Government documents 5. Newspapers and

Magazines 6. Textbooks

INFORMATION can be defined as a processed data that is meaningful to the

user. Information can be used in the decision making process.
EXAMPLES OF INFORMATION

1. Student ID card 2. Weather report 3. Student’s Report card 4. National passport

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

1. Internet 2. Database 3. Magazine/Newspaper 4. Document 5. Census Board

WAYS OF HANDLING DATA

1. Electronic Methods 2. Non – Electronic Methods

WEEK FIVE
TOPIC: HISTORY OF COMPUTERS
Sub-topic: Generations of Computers The history of computer development is
often referred to in reference to the different generations of computing devices. We
have five generations of computers. A generation refers to the state of
improvement in the product development process. With each new generation, the
circuitry has gotten smaller or miniaturized hence speed, power, and computer
memory has proportionally increased leading to new discoveries in the tech world
that affect the way we live, work and play.
FIRST GENERATION Electronic machine which was distinct from mechanical
computers evolved about 1945. UNIVAC is a good example of this generation of
computers. Computers of this generation were characterized by: 1. They used
Vacuum tubes. 2. They were very large and expensive. 3. They were very bulky. 4.
They had a low retentive memory. 5. They generated a lot of heat.
SECOND GENERATION Second generation computers were the replacement of
vacuum tubes. Second generation computers utilized primary discrete
TRANSISTORS. They had limited capability but were more advanced than the
first generation computers.
FEATURES 1. They were more reliable than the first generation. 2. They could
perform calculations. 3. They had a more efficient storage facility. 4. They
generated lesser heat compared with the first generated computers.
THIRD GENERATION Third generation computers utilized INTEGRATED
CIRCUIT [ICs] technology, Small Scale Integration [SSI] with more sophisticated
software capability like multi-programming, multi-processing and operating
systems as resource managers. The following can be noted in third generation
computers: 1. Faster input and output. 2. Increased storage capability 3. Increased
process capability 4. Ability to display pictures and musical sound

FOURTH GENERATION Fourth generation computers appeared at about 1975.

The technologies that characterized these machines were LARGE SCALE
INTEGRATION (LSI) and VERY LARGE SCALE INTEGRATION (VLSI). The
computers produced at this period were of a higher capability in terms of speed,
storage and of superior performance over their counterparts of the third generation.
FIFTH GENERATION These generations of computers made use of
ARTFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AL). This category of computer was built around
the following objects. 1. To build super computer i.e computers which could
perform operation in the range of 10 billion instructions per seconds? 2. They were
designed to have capacities like sight and hearing as well as capability to stimulate
human thoughts e.g robots.

WEEK SIX
TOPIC: CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER I
Computers can be classified based on the following:
1. Type
2. Size
3. Functionality/purpose
CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER BY TYPE (Type of Data handled):
Computers can be classified by types into THREE major types. They are:
DIGITAL COMPUTER
ANALOGUE COMPUTER
HYBRID COMPUTER
• DIGITAL COMPUTER This is the most common type of computer today. It
measures physical quantities by counting. Examples are calculator, digital wrist
watches, digital fuel dispenser etc.
• ANALOGUE COMPUTER This type of computer is used to measure and
process continuous data such as speed, temperature, heartbeat etc. Examples are
speedometer, thermometer etc.
• HYBRID COMPUTER This type of computer combines the features of digital
and analogue computers together. It is a combinations of digital and analogue
computers.

CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER BY FUNCTIONALITY Classification

of computer according to purpose can be grouped into two (2), namely: 1. General
purpose computers 2. Special purpose computers
• SPECIAL PURPOSE COMPUTERS These are computers designed solely to
solve a restricted class of problem e.g computer for medical diagnosis, weapon
guidance, traffic control, weather study and forecast etc.
• GENERAL PURPOSE COMPUTERS These are computers designed solely to
solve a vast variety of problems e.g it can be used for Word processing and at the
same time used for graphics, database, spreadsheet etc.