Elements in Computer science and engineering

COURSE OUTCOMES:

 Know the working principles of functional units of a basic computer.

 Understand program development, the use of data structures and algorithms in
problem solving.
 Know the need and type of operating system, database systems.
 Understand the significance of networks, WWW and cyber security.
 Understand autonomous systems, the application of artificial intelligence.

UNIT-1:

Computer:

Computer is invented by Charles Babbage. Computer is an electronic device that takes

the input from the user, processes it, provides proper information know as output.

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

Data: is a collection of raw facts or instructions that do not have much meaning to the
user.

Information: processed data. i.e., nothing but useful information

Characteristics / Features of a Computer.

Speed:A computer works with much higher speed and accuracy compared to humans
while performing mathematical calculations. Computers can process millions
(1,000,000) of instructions per second. The time taken by computers for their operations
is microseconds and nanoseconds.

Accuracy: Computers perform calculations with 100% accuracy. Errors may occur due
to data inconsistency or inaccuracy.

Diligence : A computer can perform millions of tasks or calculations with the same
consistency and accuracy. It doesn’t feel any fatigue or lack of concentration. Its
memory also makes it superior to that of human beings.

Versatility : Versatility refers to the capability of a computer to perform different kinds of

works with same accuracy and efficiency.

Reliability : A computer is reliable as it gives consistent result for similar set of data i.e.,
if we give same set of input any number of times, we will get the same result.

Automation : Computer performs all the tasks automatically i.e. it performs tasks
without manual intervention.

Memory : A computer has built-in memory called primary memory where it stores data.
Secondary storage are removable devices such as CDs, pen drives, etc., which are also
used to store data.

Hardware and software:

Hardware

The term hardware refers to mechanical device that makes up computer. Computer
hardware consists of interconnected electronic devices that we can use to control
computer’s operation, input and output. Examples of hardware are CPU, keyboard,
mouse, hard disk, etc.

Hardware Components

Computer hardware is a collection of several components working together. Some parts

are essential and others are added advantages. Computer hardware is made up of CPU
and peripherals as shown in image below.
Software:

A set of instructions that drives computer to do stipulated tasks is called a program.

Software instructions are programmed in a computer language, translated into machine
language, and executed by computer. Software can be categorized into two types −

 System software
 Application software
System Software
System software operates directly on hardware devices of computer. It provides a
platform to run an application. It provides and supports user functionality. Examples of
system software include operating systems such as Windows, Linux, Unix, etc.
Application Software
An application software is designed for benefit of users to perform one or more tasks.
Examples of application software include Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Oracle,
etc.
Generations of Computers:
The Generation of Computer Evolution is Generally Divided Into 5 Categories.

The First Generation of Computers- (the 1940s-1950s):

The main electronic component used in the computers of the 1940s to 1950s era were
vacuum tubes.The main memory storing units were magnetic tapes and magnetic
drums.The machine language was used as the programming language.The sizes used
to be very large which could take up entire rooms and the speed was very slow.The
only input/output devices were paper tape and punched cards.Around 100 different
vacuum tubes were used in order to produce the computers.
The Second Generation of Computers- (the 1950s-1960s):

The main electronic component used in the computers of the 1950s to 1960s era were
transistors.

The main memory storing units were magnetic tape or disk and magnetic core.

The assembly language was used as the programming language.

The sizes were smaller as compared to those of the first generation and they used to
consume low power and generate less heat.

There was an improvement in speed.

The input/output devices were magnetic tape and punched cards.

The Third Generation of Computers- (the 1960s-1970s)

The main electronic components used in the computers of the era 1060s to 1970s were
integrated circuits ICs.

The memory storing units were the magnetic disk or take and a large magnetic core.

High-level languages such as BASIC, COBOL, Pascal were used as the programming
language.

The sizes were smaller and efficient and the computers were called minicomputers.

There was an improvement in reliability and speed as compared to the second

generation of computers.

The input/output devices were keyboards, magnetic tape monitor, printer, etc.

The Fourth Generation of Computers- (1970s-present)

The main electronic components used in the fourth generation of computers are
microprocessors and very large scale integration (VLSI).

When thousands of transistors are attached to a single microchip, it is known as VLSI.

Semiconductor memory storage units such as RAM, ROM, etc were introduced.

RAM (random-access memory)- Temporarily stores the programs and data and the
contents are lost when the computer is shut down.
ROM (read-only memory)- Permanently stores the data and programs and the contents
are retained even after shutting down the computer.

High-level languages such as C#, JAVA, Python, JavaScript are used as programming
languages.The sizes are smaller and the speed has improved.

The input/output devices are a monitor, mouse, keyboard, printer, and so on.

Examples are STAR 1000, APPLE II, IBM PC, and so on.

The Fifth Generation of Computers- (present and the future)

The main electronic components that are used in the present generation of computers is
Artificial Intelligence which uses the parallel processing method and the Ultra-Large
Scale Integration (ULSI).

The fifth generation of computers understands the natural human language.

The speeds are really fast and the sizes are also small.

The fifth-generation computers are portable and have a huge storage capacity.

The input/output devices are keyboards, monitors, touchscreen pens, printers, light
scanners, and so on.

Examples are laptops, desktops, tablets, smartphones, etc.

Generations of
S.no Time-period Evolving Hardware
Computer

1 1940-1950 First-generation Vacuum-Tube Based

2 1950-1960 Second generation Transistor Based

3 1960-1970 Third generation Integrated-Circuit Based

4 1970-Present Fourth Generation Microprocessor-Based

5 Present-Future Fifth Generation Artificial Intelligence Based

Block Diagram of Computer with Description

Block diagram of a computer gives you the pictorial representation of a computer that
how it works inside. Or you can say that, in computer's block diagram, we will see how
computer works from feeding the data to getting the result.

Here is the block diagram of a computer system:

In the above diagram, both control (control unit or CU) and arithmetic & logic unit
(ALU) combinely called as Central Processing Unit (CPU).

Let's describe about all the parts as included in the above diagram one by one.

The Processor Unit (CPU)

It is the brain of a computer system.

All major calculation and comparisons are made inside the CPU and it is also
responsible for activation and controlling the operation of other unit.

This unit consists of two major components, that are arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and
control unit (CU).

Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)

Here arithmetic logic unit performs all arithmetic operations such as addition,
subtraction, multiplication and division. It also uses logic operation for comparison.

Control Unit (CU)

And the control unit of a CPU controls the entire operation of a computer. It also
controls all devices such as memory, input/output devices connected to the CPU.

CU fetches instructions from memory, decodes the instruction, interprets the instruction
to know what the task are to be performed and sends suitable control signals to the
other components to perform for the necessary steps to executes the instruction.

Input/Output Unit

The input/output unit consists of devices used to transmit information between the
external world and computer memory.

The information fed through the input unit is stored in computer's memory for processing
and the final result stored in memory can be recorded or display on the output medium.

Memory Unit

Memory unit is an essential component of a digital computer. It is where all data

intermediate and final results are stored.

The data read from the main storage or an input unit are transferred to the computer's
memory where they are available for processing.
This memory unit is used to hold the instructions to be executed and data to be
processed.

Disk Storage Unit

Data and instruction enters into a computer system through input device have to stored
inside the computer before actual processing start.

Two types of storage unit are primary and secondary storage unit.

Primary Storage Unit

Primary memory has direct link with input unit and output unit. It stores the input data,
calculation result.

Secondary Storage Unit

The primary storage is not able to store data permanently for future use. So some other
types of storage technology is required to store the data permanently for long time, it is
called secondary or auxiliary storage.

Memory Hierarchy Design and its Characteristics

In the Computer System Design, Memory Hierarchy is an enhancement to organize

the memory such that it can minimize the access time. The Memory Hierarchy was
developed based on a program behavior known as locality of references.The figure
below clearly demonstrates the different levels of memory hierarchy :
This Memory Hierarchy Design is divided into 2 main types:

External Memory or Secondary Memory :

Comprising of Magnetic Disk, Optical Disk, Magnetic Tape i.e. peripheral storage
devices which are accessible by the processor via I/O Module.

Internal Memory or Primary Memory :

Comprising of Main Memory, Cache Memory & CPU registers. This is directly
accessible by the processor.

We can infer the following characteristics of Memory Hierarchy Design from above
figure:

Capacity:
It is the global volume of information the memory can store. As we move from top to
bottom in the Hierarchy, the capacity increases.

Access Time:
It is the time interval between the read/write request and the availability of the data. As
we move from top to bottom in the Hierarchy, the access time increases.

Performance:
Earlier when the computer system was designed without Memory Hierarchy design,
the speed gap increases between the CPU registers and Main Memory due to large
difference in access time. This results in lower performance of the system and thus,
enhancement was required. This enhancement was made in the form of Memory
Hierarchy Design because of which the performance of the system increases. One of
the most significant ways to increase system performance is minimizing how far down
the memory hierarchy one has to go to manipulate data.

Cost per bit:

As we move from bottom to top in the Hierarchy, the cost per bit increases i.e. Internal
Memory is costlier than External Memory

Random Access Memory (RAM) and Read Only Memory (ROM)

Memory is the most essential element of a computing system because without it

computer can’t perform simple tasks. Computer memory is of two basic types –
Primary memory(RAM and ROM) and Secondary memory (hard drive, CD, etc).
Random Access Memory (RAM) is primary-volatile memory and Read-Only Memory
(ROM) is primary-non-volatile memory.
Software and its Types

In a computer system, the software is basically a set of instructions or

commands that tells a computer what to do. Or in other words, the software is a
computer program that provides a set of instructions to execute a user’s
commands and tell the computer what to do. For example like MS-Word, MS-
Excel, PowerPoint, etc. The chart below describes the types of software:

System Software
System software is software that directly operates the computer hardware and
provides the basic functionality to the users as well as to the other software to operate
smoothly. Or in other words, system software basically controls a computer’s internal
functioning and also controls hardware devices such as monitors, printers, and
storage devices, etc. It is like an interface between hardware and user applications, it
helps them to communicate with each other because hardware understands machine
language(i.e. 1 or 0) whereas user applications are work in human-readable
languages like English, Hindi, German, etc. so system software converts the human-
readable language into machine language and vice versa.
Features of system software :
Let us discuss some of the features of System Software:
1. System Software is closer to the computer system.
2. System Software is written in a low-level language in general.
3. System software is difficult to design and understand.
4. System software is fast in speed(working speed).
5. System software is less interactive for the users in comparison to application
software.
Types of system software:
It has two subtypes which are:
1. Operating System: It is the main program of a computer system. When the
computer system ON it is the first software that loads into the computer’s memory.
Basically, it manages all the resources such as memory, CPU, printer, hard disk,
etc., and provides an interface to the user, which helps the user to interact with the
computer system. It also provides various services to other computer software.
Examples of operating systems are Linux, Apple macOS, Microsoft Windows, etc.
2. Language Processor: As we know that system software converts the human-
readable language into a machine language and vice versa. So, the conversion is
done by the language processor. It converts programs written in high-
level programming languages like Java, C, C++, Python, etc(known as source
code), into sets of instructions that are easily readable by machines(known as
object code or machine code).
3. Device Driver: A device driver is a program or software that controls a device
and helps that device to perform its functions. Every device like a printer, mouse,
modem, etc. needs a driver to connect with the computer system eternally. So,
when you connect a new device with your computer system, first you need to
install the driver of that device so that your operating system knows how to control
or manage that device.
Application Software
Software that performs special functions or provides functions that are much more
than the basic operation of the computer is known as application software. Or in other
words, application software is designed to perform a specific task for end-users. It is a
product or a program that is designed only to fulfill end-users’ requirements. It includes
word processors, spreadsheets, database management, inventory, payroll programs,
etc.
Features of application software:
Let us discuss some of the features of Application Software:
1. An important feature of application software is it performs more specialized
tasks like word processing, spreadsheets, email, etc.
2. Mostly, the size of the software is big, so it requires more storage space.
3. Application software is more interactive for the users, so it is easy to use and
design.
4. The application software is easy to design and understand.
5. Application software is written in a high-level language in general.
Types of application software:
There are different types of application software and those are:
1. General Purpose Software: This type of application software is used for a
variety of tasks and it is not limited to performing a specific task only. For example,
MS-Word, MS-Excel, PowerPoint, etc.
2. Customized Software: This type of application software is used or designed to
perform specific tasks or functions or designed for specific organizations. For
example, railway reservation system, airline reservation system, invoice
management system, etc.

System Software Application Software

It is designed to manage the resources of the It is designed to fulfill the requirements

computer system, like memory and process of the user for performing specific
management, etc. tasks.

Written in a low-level language Written in a high-level language

Less interactive for the users More interactive for the users

Application software is not so important

System software plays vital role for the for the functioning of the system, as it is
effective functioning of a system. task specific.

It is independent of the application s/w to run It needs system software to run.

Input Devices:

Following are some of the important input devices which are used in a computer −

 Keyboard
 Mouse
 Joy Stick
 Light pen
 Track Ball
 Scanner
 Bar Code Reader, etc
Keyboard:

Keyboard is the most common and very popular input device which helps to input
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.

Mouse:

Mouse is the 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 the mouse and sends corresponding signals to the CPU when the mouse buttons are
pressed.
Generally, it has two buttons called the left and the right button and a wheel is present
between the buttons. A mouse can be used to control the position of the cursor on the
screen, but it cannot be used to enter text into the computer.

Joystick:

Joystick is also a pointing device, which is used to move the cursor position on a
monitor screen. It is a stick having a spherical ball at its both lower and upper ends. The
lower spherical ball moves in a socket. The joystick can be moved in all four directions.

Light Pen:

Light pen is a pointing device similar to a pen. It is used to select a displayed menu item
or draw pictures on the monitor screen. It consists of a photocell and an optical system
placed in a small tube.
Track Ball:

Track ball is an input device that is mostly used in notebook or laptop computer, instead
of a mouse. This is a ball which is half inserted and by moving fingers on the ball, the
pointer can be moved.

Scanner:

Scanner is an input device, which works more like a photocopy machine. It is used
when some information is available on paper and it is to be transferred to the hard disk
of the computer for further manipulation.

Bar Code Readers:

Bar Code Reader is a device used for reading bar coded data (data in the form of light
and dark lines). Bar coded data is generally used in labelling goods, numbering the
books, etc. It may be a handheld scanner or may be embedded in a stationary scanner.
Output Devices:

Any peripheral that accepts data from a computer and prints, projects, or reproduces it
is known as an output device. The output may be audio, video, hard copy – printed
paper, etc. Output devices convert the computer data to human understandable form.

The various output devices are:

 Monitor
 Printer
 Plotter
 Projector
 Speakers, etc

1. Monitor :

A computer’s principal output device is a monitor, often known as a Visual Display Unit
(VDU). It displays the processed data like text, images, videos, audios, etc. It makes
images by arranging microscopic dots in a rectangular pattern, known as pixels. The
sharpness of an image is determined by the number of pixels. There are two types of
monitor viewing screens:

2. Printer:

Printers are information output devices that allow you to print data on paper. Or in
other words, it is an output device that creates a hard copy of the processed data or
information. Printers are divided into two categories:

3. Plotter :

A plotter is a device that prints high-quality graphics in a variety of color formats. It

works in a similar way to a printer, although it has more advanced features. It is used
to print large maps, architectural drawings, large-format printing, and create pictures,
3D postcards, advertising signs, charts, and various designs of the internal structure of
building machines, as well as create pictures, 3D postcards, advertising signs, charts,
and various designs of the internal structure of building machines.
4. Projector :

A projector is a device that allows users to project their output onto a large area, such
as a screen or a wall. It can be used to project the output of a computer and other
devices onto a screen. It magnifies texts, photos, and movies using light and lenses.
As a result, it’s an excellent output device for giving presentations or teaching big
groups of people.

5. Speakers :

Speakers are connected to computers to allow sound to be output. For the working of
speakers, sound cards are required. From simple two-speaker output devices to
surround-sound multi-channel sets, speakers come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
They take audio input from the computer’s sound card and output sound waves as
audio output.