CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTERS

What is a Computer?
A Computer is a high-speed electronic device that inputs data, processes, stores and gives an
output as information.

It can also be defined as an electronic device that accept data and instructions, stores them
temporarily in its memory awaiting processing, automatically executes/obeys the sets of the
issued instructions to produce information from the input raw data.

It is described as an electronic device because it uses electric energy in its logical operations.

What is a system?
A system is the entire set of components, both computer related, and non-computer related, that
provides a service to a user. Or a system is a group of related parts/components that work
together as a unit to realize a common goal/function.

What is data?
Data is simply the basic facts or raw facts including numbers and words, given to a computer
during the input operation.

What is information?
Information is a term with many meanings depending on context, in computing, information can
be defined as a collection of facts from which conclusions may be drawn. Information therefore
refers to data that has been processed into a form that has meaning and is useful in decision-
making.

What does a computer do?

Computers perform four major operations:
They are input, process, output and storage. In the processing phase, the computer
manipulates the data in a predetermined manner to create information.

Information processing or electronic data processing is the production of information by

processing data on a computer.

Computer Application Areas:

a) Business Applications
Computers are used to reduce inventory costs, analyze new markets, analyze the performance of
sales people, make sophisticated financial analysis, determine production costs, forecast labor
needs, and eliminate production bottlenecks.

The typical business procedures that utilize computers include the following:

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 (i.) Accounts Receivables: Accounts payable: To maintain and process records on money
owed by the company to vendors.
(ii.) Payroll:
(iii.) Inventory control:
Computers are widely applicable in the following Business areas:

(i.) Banks:
 Banks use computers to process the huge amount of checks and credit cards transactions
that take place daily.
 The Automated teller machines allow the banking transactions to be carried out day and
night. The customer uses a plastic card and selects the transactions by pressing a series of
buttons.

(ii) Retailing:
 By use of the Universal Product Code (UPC), and Point –of- Sale (POS) terminals, Retail
computers using POS terminals are also used to update inventory levels and calculate the
sales figures.
 In addition, these systems allow determination of the customer’s credit status. A credit
card number can be entered into the system and the computer checks the customer’s
account and determines if the transaction is acceptable.

(iii) Manufacturing.
 Many programs are available to manufacturing facilities. Inventory control is handled by
a complex system called Materials Requirement Planning (MRP). This system allows the
manufacturers to enter future demands into computer and receive a report that lists the
scheduling dates and raw materials needed to manufacture the product to meet the
demands.
 Computer assisted design and computer assisted manufacturing (CAD/CAM) have
greatly assisted the manufacturing jobs.
 Process control: Computers are used to process continuous flow materials such as
chemicals, petrol, energy etc. Which are complex activities in nature. Computer
equipment Office Automation
A computer perform word processing, electronically handles mails and messages and handles
electronic voice storage and forwarding (using telephone to dial up a computer to leave messages
for other people).

c) Science and Engineering

Computers are used to make millions of complex calculations in seconds. They are also used in
guidance and light control, voice print identification, earthquake detection, image processing
(using the computer to enhance better understanding of images or pictures), stolen vehicles
identification etc.

d) Healthcare
 Computers are used in hospitals for clerical and administrative functions.

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  Personal computers have been used to diagnose potential problems and prescribe their
remedies at the scene of an accident. They have also been used in ambulances to locate
invalids quickly.
 Information retrieval functions: many hospitals have recently automated their operations.
The patient sits in front of a
 Computer Assisted Diagnosis: One of the latest innovations in medical care is the concept
of multiphasic testing. Multiphasic
 Trained technicians and paramedics use the computer equipment to perform physical
examinations.
 Multiphasic centers use computer equipment to perform electrocardiograms, X-rays,
blood tests vision and hearing tests blood pressure tests and height and weight
measurements.
 The use of Computed Axial Tomography (CAT Scanners)
 A relatively new diagnostic technique is CTA Scan which has provided doctors with the
Many.

e) Sports
Used to analyze and design new plays, make draft picks, scheduling competitors etc.

f) Entertainment and Leisure e.g. Musical sounds, compute games etc.

g) Education
Computer aided instructions (CAI) is used to help the students learn other subjects.
Multiple-choice questions appear on the screen for a student to answer .If the student answers
correctly the computer responds appropriately and asks another question. CAI helps in teaching
in all the subjects.

h) Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems

Using sophisticate programs and computer systems artificial intelligence makes the computer act
like a person making intelligence decisions and judgments.

i) Government and Military

j) Computer in the Home

CB stimulators (CompuServe online chat program) allows one to talk to another person using a
personal computer. It is similar to CB radio but uses a computer.

k) Computers in the arts and the humanities.

 Arts: Computers are used by artists to produce art forms.
 Music: Computer generated music is made possible with the use of music synthesizers.

Benefits of Computers

The following are the features that make a computer a good tool for information processing.

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a) Types of information: Computers can process many types of information e.g. Data, texts,
voice, pictorial etc.

b) Speed: It works at a very high speed in taking in data and outputting the information.

c) Storage: It is able to store large amount of information in manageable form.

d) Communications: Advances in telecommunications has made it possible for computers to

communicate with one another over long distances to exchange information with seconds.

e) Accuracy: It is very accurate in its processing.

f) Retrieval: The information stored in the computer can be retrieved by more than one person.

g) Updating of information: It is possible to change stored information without having to

retype.

The following are other advantages of a computer

h) Information analysis is very easy using computers.

i) Computers can work continuously without getting bored or tired.
j) They can operate in risky environments such as volcanic sites, lethal chemical plants, where
human life is feared.
k) Using a computer system will reduce the number of persons required for performing various
organizational activities.

Negative impacts of Computers to the society

 Social activities: A high percentage of people who sit at their computer for too long and
some people lose reality as far as social activities and learning social skills.
 Computers can distract a person so much they lose contact with the reality around them
such as taking time with family, friends and children.
 Health: Sitting behind a computer all day strains the eyes.
 Creativity: Being on the computer too much takes away the imagination, though some
gain more imaginations as used in advertising, simulations and digital imagery.
 Immorality: the internet opens up to pornographic sites and other information.
 Crime: Internet crime has been reported to be on the increase and every day more crime
is committed through the Internet.
 Misinformation: More misinformation by SOME people on the Internet can cause
problems for the younger generation.
 Privacy: - It's impossible to know someone well over the Internet. E.g on
www.facebook.com
 Spam mail: - this is unsolicited mail which are often annoying.
 Hackers can ruin your computer system and data over the internet.

A computer system is made up of three parts:

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 a) Hardware - physical components of a computer
b) Software - programs that allows the hardware to function.
c) Lifeware - the human being operating the computer.

A Program is a set of instructions and raw facts written in a computer language and used to
make it perform specific tasks

TYPES OF COMPUTERS

There are several methods of classifying computers:

a) By the type of data accepted for processing and form in which output data/information
appears (i.e. Digital, Analogue & Hybrid computers).
b) Classification by purpose.
c) Classification by generation/age of technology.
d) Classification by size and capabilities.
e) Classification by use.

1. CLASSIFICATION BY TYPE OF DATA ACCEPTED

a) Digital Computers
They process data that is represented in the form of discrete numbers or digits such as 0
and 1. Their arithmetic operations and logical comparisons are based on digits and on other
characters that have been numerically coded.
b) Analogue Computers
They are computers that deal with variable/continuous data/quantities such as temperature,
pressure, humidity etc. The output from them is often in form of graphs or smooth curves
from which the information can be read. They perform arithmetic operations and logical
comparisons by measuring changes in physical magnitudes such as electronic voltage,
pressure changes.
c) Hybrid
These are the computers that have the combined features of digital and analogue computers.
Both the digital and the analogue features are built within the sane processor.

2. CLASSIFICATION BY PURPOSE

1. Special purpose; These are computers designed for a particular job only. They solve
problems of a restricted nature e.g. Weapon guidance systems or the ones used in digital
watches.
2. General Purpose; These are computer designed to solve a wide variety of problems.

3. CLASSIFICATION BY SIZE

a) Super Computers;

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They are the largest and the fastest machines. They are the most expensive computers in
existence. IBM Watson, Deep Blue.

b) Mainframe
These are large general-purpose computers with extensive processing, storage and input/output
capabilities. A large number of peripherals can be attached to them. Atypical application is the
airline reservation system. The airlines have a mainframe computer at their head office where
information of all the flights is stored. Small computers, installed at the booking offices, are
attached to the central data bank so that up to date information of all flights is always available.

c) Mini – Computers
These are physically smaller computers as compared to mainframes. They are used for special
purpose or small-scale general-purpose work.

d) Micro – computers
Various integrated circuits are replaced by a single integrated one. They can be categorized by
size and relative capabilities into workstations, desktops and laptops.

4. CLASSIFICATION BY USE

a) A personal computer (PC) - a microcomputer designed for independent use by an

individual at work or in the home. Some PC’s are portable.
b) A Home Computer - A low cost microcomputer of limited capabilities designed for
domestic use with programs such as playing games on controlling family finances.

c) Embedded Computers - These computers are within some other devices/systems but are
not accessed directly e.g. Small computers found in digital watches, video recorder,
washing machines etc.

5. CLASSIFICATION BY GENERATION

The first electronic computers were made in 1940’s. Since then a series of radical breakthroughs
in electronics have occurred. The computer generations are the stages in the evolution of
electronic circuitry, hardware, software, programming languages and other technological
developments.

These include:
1) First Generation.(1940- 1956) – Vaccum Tubes
These computers used vacuum tubes as their electrical switching devices. Their CPU speeds
were very low. The input devices were paper tapes or punched cards. Electronic typewriters,
programmed to type by a paper tape or punched card reader were used for printing reports. They

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had between 1K and 4K of RAM. The computers received its instructions in machine language
or electrical on/off signals. There were no programming languages.

The application software available was tabulating, now called spreadsheets. Since computers
could only perform one task a time, the computer work was done in batches thus the operating
system was called batch processing systems in 1950’s.

2) Second Generation (1956 - 1964) - Transistors

These used transistors, which were much smaller cooler and reliable. Processing speed has
improved by a factor of five.

They utilized keyboards and video display monitors. The first light pen was used as an input
device for drawing on the face of the monitor. High-speed printer came into use.

RAM grew from 4K to 32K, making it possible for the computer to hold more data and
instructions. Use of magnetic tapes and disks was introduced to replace permanent storage on
computer cards. The IBM 1401 didn’t have an operating system; instead it used a special
language called Symbolic Programming System (SPS) to create programs. This generation
marked the common use of high-level languages. FORTRAN (1957) was used for scientific
purposes and COBOL (1961) for business purposes. There were also improvements in system
software. Almost every computer had its unique operating system, programming language and
application software.

3) The Third Generation (1964-1971) – Integrated circuits

Started with the introduction of IBM 360 in about 1960s which used integrated circuits (a
number of electrical components on a single slice of silicon) termed as hybrid integrated
technology where separate transistors and diodes were inserted into circuits.

There were several improvements such as:-

 Increased processing speeds
 Increased accuracy.
 Integration of hardware and software.
 The ability to perform several operations simultaneously
 Data communication advances.
Many high level programming languages were developed among them BASIC and Pascal. IBM
created os/360 operating system. Software growth enhanced due to unbundling, or selling the
software separate from the hardware.

4) The Fourth Generation (1971 - 1988) - Microprocessors

Large-scale integration, a technique for packing more and more circuitry in a single chip was
developed. “4th generation brought major advances in 2nd generation mainframes, in 3rd
generation minicomputers and added a brand new category of machine; the microcomputer or
personal computer. There was dramatic increase in processor speed. The keyboard and the
video monitor have become standard 1/0 devices. The mouse began playing a major role.

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There was introduction of fourth - generation languages programs.

5) The Fifth Generation (1983 .................) – Artificial Intelligence

Super chip development is truly at the Center of the fifth generation. (A chip is a thin piece of
silicon on which electronic components are etched). Much advancement is still going on e.g.
use of object-oriented languages, artificial intelligence.
The use of parallel processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a
reality. The goal of fifth-generation computing is to develop devices that respond to natural
language input and are capable of learning and self-organization.