INFS 214: Introduction to Computing

Lecture 1:
THE EVOLUTION OF COMPUTERS

Lecturer: Dr. Ebenezer Ankrah, Department of Information Studies.

Contact Information: [email protected]

2022/2023 Academic Year

Lecture Outline

BRIEF HISTORY OF GENERATIONS OF FUTURE OF

COMPUTING COMPUTERS COMPUTER SYSTEMS

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 2

Learning Outcomes

• At the end of the session, the student will be able to . . .

– account for the history of computing.
– Identify the generational developments in computing.
– Be able to explain the differences between the generations.
– Demonstrate an understanding of future of computer systems.

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 3

 Brief History of Computers
Topic 1

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 2022/2023 Academic Year 4

Brief History of Computers
• The history of computing hardware
covers the developments from early
simple devices to aid calculation to
modern day computers.
• The development and the early
evolutionary stages of computers was
been underscored by a need for
accurate, fast, reliable, and sustainable
means of calculations.
• Before the 20th century, most
calculations were done by humans.
• Early mechanical tools to help humans
with digital calculations were called
"calculating machines", by proprietary
names, or even as they are now
calculators.
• The machine operator was called the
computer.

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 5

Brief History of Computers (Cont’d)

The Contributions of Charles Babbage

• The computer as we know it today had its beginning with a

19th-century English mathematics professor name Charles
Babbage.

• Charles designed the Analytical Engine, and it was this

design that the basic framework of the computers of today
are based on. Thus, the design has remained the basic
framework of computers to this day.

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 7

Brief History of Computers (Cont’d)

The Analytical Engine

• A mechanical general-
purpose computer.
• It incorporated an
arithmetic logic unit,
control flow in the form of
conditional branching and
loops, and integrated
memory, making it the first
design for a general-
purpose computer

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 8

Brief History of Computers (Cont’d)

• The first aids to computation were purely mechanical devices

which required the operator to set up the initial values of an
elementary arithmetic operation, then manipulate the device to
obtain the result.
• Later, computers represented numbers in a continuous form, for
instance distance along a scale, rotation of a shaft, or a voltage.
• Numbers could also be represented in the form of digits,
automatically manipulated by a mechanical mechanism.
Although this approach generally required more complex
mechanisms, it greatly increased the precision of results.
• A series of breakthroughs, such as miniaturized transistor
computers, and the integrated circuit, caused digital computers
to largely replace analog computers.

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 9

 Generations of Computers
Topic 2

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 2022/2023 Academic Year 10

Generations of Computer

• The history of computers has been categorized under 4

generations (sometimes 5) with respect to the major
developments in computers over certain periods of time.
• These are the:
– 1st Generation Computers (1950-1957)
– 2nd Generation Computers (1958-1963)
– 3rd Generation Computers (1964-1971)
– 4th Generation Computers (1972-1990)
– 5th Generation Computers (1991-and beyond)

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 11

1st Generation Computers (1950-1957)

• These were the earliest general-purpose computers to be

developed.

• The vacuum tubes served as the basic components for

the computer’s memory and the circuitry for its CPU.

• The main memory of computers then were made up of

hundreds of vacuum tubes.

• The computers were therefore somewhat unreliable

because the vacuum tubes failed frequently (almost every
7 minutes).

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 12

1st Generation Computers – Cont’d.

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH

14
1st Gen Computers (Cont’d)

• Input and output activities were carried out using punched

cards and magnetic tapes.

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 15

Examples of Magnetic Tapes

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 16

Magnetic Tape for Computer Data Storage

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 17

The Tape and its Reader

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 18

1st Generation Computers – Cont’d.

• The computers were slower, produced a lot of heat, and

were very huge.
• They could run only one program at a time but were very
expensive costing as much as $500,000 as at 1950.
• Examples of 1st generation computers include:
• ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) &
• UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer).

• During the 1st generation, data processing was done on a

time available basis (batches), and computers were
programmed by direct input of machine language.
• General Electric was the first firm to take delivery of a
commercial computer, the UNIVAC 1.

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 20

 UNIVAC UNIVAC

LECTURER: DR. E.
21
ANKRAH
ENIAC

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 22

ENIAC

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 23

2nd Generation Computers (1958-1963)

• This period was marked by the use of transistors in developing

computer circuits.
• A transistor is an electronic switch that alternately allows or
does not allow electronic signals to pass through it.
Computer circuits were thus made of strands of wires woven
together.
• The main memory of the computers were made of magnetic
cores and data storage was by means of removable magnetic
cores.
• Second generation computer were relatively smaller, more
reliable, and significantly faster than the 1st generation
computers.

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 24

2nd Generation – Cont’d.

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 26

 3rd Generation Computers (1964-1970)

• This period was marked by the use of integrated circuit (IC) in

developing computer circuits.
• An IC is a complete electronic circuit that packages transistors
and other electronic components on a small silicon chip on a
computers’ motherboard.
• This made computer development much more cost effective.
• Data storage was by the use of magnetic disks. During this
period computers begun to support multiprogramming
(processing several programs simultaneously) and
timesharing (people using the same computer
simultaneously).
• Prices of computer reduced drastically to about $18,000 as at
1970.

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 27

3rd Generation – Integrated Circuits

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 28

4th Generation Computers (1971-1990)

• This period was marked by the use of large-scale integrated (LSI)

and very large-scale integrated (VLSI) in developing computer
circuits.
• The Integrated circuits contained hundreds to millions of
transistors on a small chip.
• For example, an Intel processor could have an entire CPU, complete
with memory, logic and control circuits embedded onto a single chip
(microprocessor ) on the motherboard.
• The microprocessor technology caused radical changes in
computers- sizes became smaller, appearance changed,
computers were now available commercially, and processing
speeds and computer capabilities increased.

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 29

4th Generation Computers (Cont’d.)

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 30

4th Generation Computers (Cont’d.)

• Microprocessor

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 31

 5th Generation Computers (1991-and beyond)

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 32

5th Generation Cont’d.

•Examples of AI in computers are:

• Amazon’s Alexa
• IBM's Watson.
• Apple's Siri on the iPhone
• Microsoft's Cortana on Windows 8
and Windows 10 computers.
• Google Assistant from Google
• The Google search engine also
utilizes AI to process user searches.

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 33

A Summary of the Generations in pictures.

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 34

 Computer Systems in the Future

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 2022/2023 Academic Year 35

Future of Computer Systems

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 36

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH Slide 37
References
Hutchinson, S. E., & Sawyer, S. C. (2013). Computers: The
user perspective. Boston: Irwin McGraw-Hill.

LECTURER: DR. E. ANKRAH 38

 INFS 214: Introduction to Computing

Session 2
OVERVIEW OF COMPUTER SYSTEMS

Lecturer: Dr. E. Ankrah, Department of Information Studies

Contact Information: [email protected]

2022/2023 Academic Year

Lecture Outline

• Understanding a Computer System.

• Components of a Computer System.
• The Working Principle of a Computer (The Machine Cycle).
• Benefits and Challenges associated with the use of
Computers.
Recommended Text
• Norton, P. (2006). Introduction to computers. McGraw-Hill, Inc..
Understanding a Computer System

2022/2023 Academic Year

Meaning of a Computer System
• A COMPUTER is an electronic device that can be programmed to
accept data (input), process it and generate results (output)
(NCERT,2023).
• A COMPUTER Is a collection of entities (hardware, software and
liveware/ humanware) designed to receive, process, manage and
present information in a meaningful format (PEDA, 2023).

• A COMPUTER SYSTEM primarily comprises a central processing

unit (CPU), memory, input/output, and storage devices. All these
components function together as a single unit to deliver the desired
output (NCERT,2023).

• A computer system comes in various forms and sizes. It can vary

from a high-end server to a personal desktop, laptop, tablet computer,
or smartphone.
Meaning of a Computer System (Cont’d)

• A computer is an electronic device, operating under the control of

instructions stored in its own memory

Collects Produces
data Processing information
(input) (output)

Information Processing Cycle

Meaning of a Computer System

• The computer system is basically made up of the hardware

and the software, and in some cases the humanware.
Computer System

People/Human
Hardware Software
ware

Input Devices System Developers

Output Devices Application End Users

Storage Devices

Communication/
Network
Devices
 Components of a Computer (system)

Components of a computer
Hardware Software Peopleware

Input Output Storage System Application Everyday Expect

Processor Networks
devices devices devices software Software users users

Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 1 9

Computer Data Processing
Component of a Computer System

2022/2023 Academic Year

Machine Cycle / Instruction Cycle

• A machine cycle consists

of the steps that a
computer's processor
executes whenever it
receives instruction/data.
It is the most basic CPU
operation, and modern
CPUs are able to perform
millions of machine cycles
per second.
• For every instruction, a
processor repeats a set of
four basic operations,
which comprise a machine
cycle.
 There are four fundamental steps in the instruction
cycle:
• 1. Fetch the instruction: The next instruction is fetched from the memory address
that is currently stored in the Program Counter (PC), and stored in the Instruction
register (IR). At the end of the fetch operation, the PC points to the next instruction
that will be read at the next cycle.

• 2. Decode the instruction The control unit interprets the instruction. During this
cycle the instruction inside the IR (instruction register) gets decoded.

• 3. Execute The Control Unit of CPU passes the decoded information as a

sequence of control signals to the relevant function units of the CPU to perform the
actions required by the instruction such as reading values from registers, passing
them to the ALU to perform mathematical or logic functions on them, and writing the
result back to a register. If the ALU is involved, it sends a condition signal back to
the CU.

• 4. Store result The result generated by the operation is stored in the main memory,
or sent to an output device. Based on the condition of any feedback from the ALU,
Program Counter may be updated to a different address from which the next
instruction will be fetched.
Components of a Computer System
Some Hardware Components of the Computer

• A computer contains many electric, electronic, and

mechanical components known as hardware

Input Device • Allows you to enter data and instructions into a computer

• Hardware component that conveys information to one or more

Output Device people

• Case that contains the electronic components of the computer

System Unit that are used to process data

• Records (writes) and/or retrieves (reads) items to and from

Storage Device storage media

• Enables a computer to send and receive data, instructions, and

Communications
information to and from one or more computers or mobile
Device devices
 Some Hardware Components of a Computer

Page 7 18
Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 1
Figure 1-3
 The Software Component of the Computer

• Software, also called a program, tells the computer what tasks to

perform and how to perform them

System Software
• Operating system
• Utility program

Application Software

Pages 15 - 16 19
Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 1
Figures 1-10 - 1-11
Types of Computer

2022/2023 Academic Year

 Categories of Computers
Personal computers

Mobile computers and mobile devices

Game consoles

Servers

Mainframes

Supercomputers

Embedded computers

Page 19 21
 Personal Computers

• A personal computer can perform all of its input, processing,

output, and storage activities by itself
• Two popular architectures are the PC and the Apple
• Desktop computer

Pages 19 - 20 22
Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 1
Figures 1-15 - 1-16
 Mobile Computers and Mobile Devices

Mobile Mobile
Computer Device
Personal computer you Computing device small
can carry from place to enough to hold in your
place hand

Examples include smart

Examples include
phones and PDAs, e-
notebook computers,
book readers, handheld
laptop computers,
computers, portable
netbooks, ultra-thins,
media players, and
and Tablet PCs
digital cameras

Pages 20 - 23 23
Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 1
 Mobile Computers and Mobile Devices

Notebook computer

Tablet PC

Smart phones and PDAs

E-book reader

Pages 20 - 22 24
Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 1
Figures 1-17 – 1-20
 Mobile Computers and Mobile Devices

Handheld computer

Portable media player

Digital camera

Pages 22 - 23 25
Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 1
Figures 1-21 – 1-23
 Game Consoles

• A game console is a
mobile computing
device designed for
single-player or
multiplayer video
games

Page 24 26
Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 1
Figure 1-24
 Servers

• A server controls
access to the
hardware, software,
and other resources on
a network
• Provides a centralized
storage area for
programs, data, and
information

Page 25 27
Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 1
Figure 1-25
 Mainframes

• A mainframe is a
large, expensive,
powerful computer that
can handle hundreds
or thousands of
connected users
simultaneously

Page 25 28
Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 1
Figure 1-26
 Supercomputers

• A supercomputer is the fastest, most powerful computer

• Fastest supercomputers are capable of processing more than one
quadrillion instructions in a single second

Page 25 29
Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 1
Figure 1-27
Benefits and Challenges associated with
the use of Computers

2022/2023 Academic Year

 Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Computers

Advantages of Disadvantages of
Using Computers Using Computers

Speed Health Risks

Reliability Violation of Privacy

Consistency Public Safety

Storage Impact on Labor Force

Communications Impact on Environment

Pages 9 - 10 Discovering Computers 2012: Chapter 1 31

References.

• Norton, P. (2006). Introduction to computers. McGraw-Hill,

Inc..
Lecturer: L. N. Commodore Slide 33
INFS 214: Introduction to Computing

THE SYSTEM UNIT

(Inside a Computer System)

Lecturer: Dr. E. Ankrah, Department of Information Studies

Contact Information: [email protected]

2022/2023 Academic Year

 Lecture Overview

• System Unit or System Cabinet typically consists of a metal or

plastic enclosure containing components that are fragile or
not meant to be handled very often.

• The system unit consists of the outer case and a number of

components held inside it, including the power supply,
motherboard, processor, hard drives, and DVD drives. System
unit is a case that has electronic components of the computer
used to process data.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 2

 • This session seeks to explain the components that
are housed in the system unit and the functions they
perform. It also explains the term buses, ports and
eternal cards.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 3

 Session Overview
• At the end of the session, the student will
– Be able to identify all the components housed in the
system unit
– Understand the functions of the components in the system
unit
– Understand the types of ports that are available in the
system unit
– Understand the differences and interrelationships
between Buses lines
– Be able to identify the various external cards and their
usage

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 4

 Lecture Outline
The key topics to be covered in the session are as follows:
• Introduction to System Unit
• Slots and Cards
• Ports
• Bus Lines

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 5

 Reading List
• Hutchinson, S. E., & Sawyer, S. C. (2013). Computers: The user
perspective. Boston: Irwin McGraw-Hill. (Chapter 1)

• O’Leary, T. J., & O’Leary, L. I. (2014). Computer Today. Boston:

McGraw Hill. (Chapter 6)

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 6

Introduction to the System Unit of a Computer

2022/2023 Academic Year 8

 Inside the Case (system unit)

• The case contains and protects the electronics of the

computer or mobile device from damage

Page 248 Discovering Computers 2014: Chapter 6 9

Figure 6-1
 Inside the Case

Page 250 Discovering Computers 2014: Chapter 6 10

Figure 6-2
 Introduction to System Unit
• System Unit or System Cabinet typically consists of a metal
or plastic enclosure containing components that are fragile
or not meant to be handled very often. System unit is case
that has electronic components of the computer used to
process data.

• Those components that are placed in the system unit

include: the motherboard, power supply, cooling fans,
internal disk drives, memory modules, expansion cards that
are plugged into the motherboard, such as video network
cards etc.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 8

Parts of a System Unit

8
The System Unit

13
 Introduction to System Unit
• The system board connects
all system components and
allows input and output
devices to communicate
with the system unit. It is
the main Switchboard of
the system. They are also
called main board or
motherboards. The system
board is the
communications medium
for the entire computer
system.
DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 9
15
 Introduction to System Unit
• Every component of the system unit connects to the
system board. It acts as a data path allowing the
various components to communicate with one
another.

• External devices such as keyboard, mouse, and

monitor could not communicate with the system unit
without the system board. Notebook and handheld
system boards are smaller than desktop system
boards. However, they perform the same functions
as desktop system boards.
DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 10
The System Board

2022/2023 Academic Year 17

 Introduction to System Unit
• On a desktop computer, the system board is located
at the bottom of the systems unit or along one side.
It is a large flat circuit board covered with a variety of
different electronic components including: Sockets,
Slots and Bus Lines.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 11

 Inside the Case

• The motherboard is the main circuit board of the computer

• A computer chip contains integrated circuits

Pages 250 - 251 Discovering Computers 2014: Chapter 6 19

Figure 6-3
 Parts of the Motherboard

The main circuit board of the computer is the motherboard. The CPU sits on
top of the motherboard.
9
Central Processing Unit
• Excessive heat builds as multiple processors
work, and the heat generated by the CPU
could eventually harm it.

• A heat sink and cooling fan are an

important part of the system for dissipating
the heat that builds up.

• Case fans in the system unit help to keep

the entire system cool. Be sure that you do
not block the air vents of a computer.

7
System board

• The System board holds together many of the crucial

components of a computer, including the central processing
unit (CPU), memory and connectors for input and output
devices.

23
Block diagram of a system board

Source: Kimon Berlin, user: Gribeco / CC BY-SA (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)

24
 Questions
• Individual Assignment:
– Give examples of expansion cards

• Forum Question:
– Discuss the various types of ports that are used to
connect external devices to the system unit

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 12

SLOTS & CARDS

2022/2023 Academic Year 27

 Slots and Cards
• The expansion card (also expansion board, adapter card
or accessory card) in computing is a printed circuit board
that can be inserted into an electrical connector, or
expansion slot on a computer motherboard, backplane
or riser card to add functionality to a computer system
via the expansion bus.

• Expansion slots provide an open architecture. There are

other computers with close architecture . Expansion
cards provide connections for video, computers, TV tuner
cards, and others.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 14

 Slots and Cards
• Expansion cards are also called plug-in boards, controller
cards, adapter cards, and interface cards. They are plugged
into slots located on the system board.

• Ports on the cards allow cables to be connected from the

expansion cards to devices outside the system unit.

• There are a wide range of different types of expansion

cards. Some of the most commonly used expansion cards
are:

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 15

 Expansion cards

Expansion cards fit into expansion slots on the motherboard to connect additional
peripheral devices to the computer. Video cards, network cards, sound cards, and TV
tuners are common expansion cards

10
 Expansion cards

• Data buses are wires on the motherboard

that carry the data between the components
of the computer.
• The speed of the data bus is an important
factor in the performance of the computer.

11
 Slots and Cards
• Video cards
• Also known as graphics cards, these cards connect the
system board to the computer\ monitor. The cards
convert the internal electronic signals so video signals so
they can he displayed on the monitor
• Modem cards
• Also known as internal modems, these cards allow
distant computers to communicate with one another by
converting electronic signals from within the system unit
into electronic signals that can travel over telephone
lines and other types of connections.
DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 16
 Slots and Cards
• Network interface cards (NIC)
• These cards also known as network adapter cards, used to
connect a computer to one or more other computers. This
forms a communication network whereby Users can share
data, programs, and hardware.

• TV tuner cards
• Now you can watch television, capture video, and surf the
Internet at the same time. TV tuner cards also known as
television boards, video recorder cards, and video capture
cards, contain a TV tuner and a video converter that changes
the TV signal into one that can be displayed on your monitor.
DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 17
 Slots and Cards
• PC cards
• To meet the size constraints of notebook and
handheld computers, credit card-sized expansion
cards have been developed. These cards can be
easily inserted and removed. They are called PC
cards or Personal Computer Memory Card
International Association (PCMCIA) cards.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 18

 Slots and Cards
• Plug and Play
• Plug and Play is a set of hardware and software standards
developed by Intel, Microsoft, and others. It is an effort
by hardware and software vendors to create operating
systems, processing units, and expansion boards, as well
as other devices that are able to configure themselves.
Ideally, to install a new expansion board all you have to
do is insert the board and turn on the computer.
• As the computer starts up, it will search for these Plug
and Play devices and automatically configure the devices.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 19

 Plug and Play
• With Plug and Play, the computer automatically can recognize
peripheral devices as you install them

Discovering Computers 2014: Chapter 6 36

 Topic Three

PORTS

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 20

 Ports
• A computer port is a connection point or interface
between a computer and an external or internal
device.

• Internal ports may connect such devices as hard

drives and CD ROM or DVD drives; external ports
may connect modems, printers, mice and other
devices.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 21

 Ports
• A port is a socket for external devices to connect to the
system unit. Some ports connect directly to the systems
board. Others connect to cards that are inserted into slots
on the systems board.

• Some ports are standard features of most computer

systems and others are more specialised. Ports are
connecting sockets on the systems unit. Serial, parallel,
USB, and FireWire are standard ports. Cables connect
external devices to ports.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 22

Ports on the System Unit

41
Ports on the System Unit

42
 Ports
• Serial ports
• Serial ports are used for a wide variety of purposes. They are
often used to connect a mouse, keyboard, modem, and many
other devices to the system unit. Serial ports send data one
bit at a time and are very good for sending information over a
long distance.
• Parallel ports
• Parallel ports are used to connect external devices that need
to send or receive a lot of data at a short distance. These
ports typically send eight bits of data simultaneously across
eight parallel wires. Parallel ports are mostly used to connect
printers to the system unit.
DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 23
Examples of Serial and Parallel Ports

44
 Ports
• Universal serial bus (USB)
• Universal serial bus (USB) ports are gradually replacing
serial and parallel ports. They are faster, and one USB
port can be used to connect several devices to the
system unit.

• FireWire ports
• FireWire ports, also known as high performance serial
bus (HPSB) ports, are as fast as USB ports and provide
connections to specialized FireWire devices such as
camcorders.
DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 24
USB Ports

46
47
BUS LINES

2022/2023 Academic Year 48

 Bus lines

• Computers comprise of many internal components and in

order for these components to communicate with each
other, a bus is used.

• A bus is a common pathway through which information

flows from one component to another. This pathway is used
for communication purpose and can be established
between two or more computer components

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 26

 Bus lines
• Bus lines provide data pathways that connect various
system components. A bus line, also known simply as
a bus, connects the parts of the CPU to each other.
Buses also link the CPU to various other components
on the system board.

• A bus is a pathway for bits representing data and

instructions. The number of bits that can travel
simultaneously down a bus is known as the bus
width.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 27

 Bus lines
• A bus is similar to a multilane highway that moves
bits from one location to another. The number of
traffic lanes determines the bus width.

• A highway (bus line) with more traffic lanes (bus

width) can move traffic (data and instructions) faster.
For example, a 64-bit bus is twice as fast as a 32-bit
bus. Bus design or bus architecture is an important
factor relating to the speed and power for a
particular computer.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 28

 Bus lines
• Types of Buses
• Every computer system has two basic types of buses.
One type, called System Buses, connects the CPU to
memory on the system board.

• The other type, called Expansion Buses, connects the

CPU to slots on the system board.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 29

 Bus lines
• Computer systems typically have a combination of
different types of expansion buses. The principal
types are; Industry standard architecture (ISA),
Peripheral component interconnect (PCI),
Accelerated graphics port (AGP), Universal Serial Bus
(USB) and FireWire buses, also known as high
performance serial bus (HPSB)

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 30

How does the motherboard get “power” to work?

2022/2023 Academic Year 54

 Power Supply and Battery

• The power supply or

laptop AC adapter
converts the wall outlet
AC power into DC
power

Page 271 55
Discovering Computers 2014: Chapter 6
Figure 6-20
 Power Supply and Battery

• Mobile computers and devices can run using either a power supply
or batteries
• Batteries typically are rechargeable lithium-ion batteries

Page 272 Discovering Computers: Chapter 6 56

Figure 6-21
Self-Assessment Questions

2022/2023 Academic Year 57

Let’s identify the following types of USBs?

58
References
Hutchinson, S. E., & Sawyer, S. C. (2013). Computers: The user
perspective. Boston: Irwin McGraw-Hill.

O’Leary, T. J., & O’Leary, L. I. (2014). Computer Today. Boston: McGraw

Hill.

Williams, B. K., & Sawyer, S. C. (2014). Using Information Technology: A

practical introduction to computers and communications (11th ed.).
McGraw-Hill Education.

59
Lecturer: L. N. Commodore Slide 60
INFS 214: Introduction to Computing

Lecturer: Dr. E. Ankrah, Department of Information Studies

Contact Information: [email protected]

2022/2023 Academic Year

 Lecture Overview
• Computer systems use input devices to capture data for
processing. Input technologies consist of devices that
translate data into a form that the computer system can
process.

• This session explains the types and categories of input devices

that are used in the computer environment.

DR.EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 2

 Learning Outcomes
• At the end of the session, the student will
– Understand and differentiate between the various types of
input devices
– Be able to give examples of input devices
– Understand the various types of input devices for the
physically challenged
– Be able to identify the components of some of the input
devices
– Be able to differentiate between various scanning devices

DR.EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 3

 Outline of the Lecture
The key topics to be covered in the session are as follows:
• Input Devices
• The Keyboard
• Pointing Devices
• Scanning Devices

DR.EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 4

 Reading List
• Hutchinson, S. E., & Sawyer, S. C. (2013). Computers: The user
perspective. Boston: Irwin McGraw-Hill. (Chapter 3)

• O’Leary, T. J., & O’Leary, L. I. (2014). Computer Today. Boston:

McGraw Hill. (Chapter 7)

• Williams, B. K., & Sawyer, S. C. (2014). Using Information

Technology: A practical introduction to computers and
communications (11th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education. (Chapter
6)

DR.EBENEZER ANKRAH
INPUT DEVICES
Topic 1

2022/2023 Academic Year 7

 Input Devices
• Input (as a noun) is used to describe data and instruction
used by a computer. The process by which data is sent into
the computer system for processing is also termed input (as
a verb).

• Input devices are various devices used to enter data and

instructions into a computer either for processing or
storage. Computer systems use input devices to capture
data for processing.

• Input hardware consist of devices that translate data into a

form the computer system can process.

DR.EBENEZER ANKRAH
 Input Devices
• Input devices could be classified as follows:
– Keyboards
– Pointing Devices
– Scanning Devices
– Data Collection Devices
– Digitizing Devices
– Audio Input Devices
– Input Devices for the Physically Challenged

DR.EBENEZER ANKRAH
 Questions
• Individual Assignment:
– List some of the pointing input devices

• Forum Question:
– What are the major differences between
pointing and scanning devices?

DR.EBENEZER ANKRAH
THE KEYBOARD
Topic Two

2022/2023 Academic Year 11

 The Keyboard
• One of the primary input devices used with a computer is
the keyboard. The keyboard looks very similar to the
keyboards of electric typewriters, with some additional
keys. Keyboards allow a computer user to input letters,
numbers, and other symbols into a computer system.

• There are four types of keyboards, namely:

– Traditional keyboard
– Ergonomic keyboard
– Flexible keyboard
– Wireless keyboard

DR.EBENEZER ANKRAH
 The Keyboard
• Traditional keyboard

Command key Function keys Status Light

Escape key

Command
keys

Command keys Numeric pad

Main keys Command keys
Alpha-Numeric keys Navigation keys

DR.EBENEZER ANKRAH
The Keyboard

Multi-tap (multi-press) Keyboard

14
 The Keyboard
• Ergonomic keyboard
– Ergonomic keyboards are designed to minimize strain on
hands and wrists. Ergonomic incorporates comfort,
efficiency and safety into design of items in workplace

DR.EBENEZER ANKRAH
Examples of Ergonomic keyboards.

16
Examples of Ergonomic keyboards.

17
Examples of Ergonomic keyboards.

18
 The Keyboard
• Flexible keyboard
– Flexible (Foldable) keyboards are extremely good for
travelling. Simply roll them up and then unroll them when
you need them again.

• Wireless keyboard – This is a keyboard without a

cable connecting to the system unit.

DR.EBENEZER ANKRAH
POINTING DEVICES
Topic Three

2022/2023 Academic Year 20

 Pointing Devices
• A pointing device is a hardware input device that allows the
user to move the mouse pointer to select items on a display
screen.

• The type of pointing device is:

– Based on rolling a ball
– Based on touching a surface
– Based on moving stick

DR.EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 16

 Pointing Devices
• The types of pointing devices are:
– Mouse
– Track ball
– Track point
– Track space
– Joystick
– Touch Screens
– Light Pen

DR.EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 17

 Pointing Devices
• Mouse
– A mouse is a device that is moved by hand over a flat
surface. As the ball on its underside rotates, the movement
of the mouse causes corresponding movement of a pointer
on the computer screen. Pressing buttons on the mouse
enables you invoke commands on the computer system.

– There are three types of mouse, these are:

• Mechanical mouse
• Optical mouse
• Cordless or wireless

DR.EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 18

Mechanical Mouse

24
Mechanical Mouse

25
 Pointing Devices
• Track Ball
• The track•ball or roller ball is
like an upside-down mouse
and one can roll the ball
directly with the hand.

• The trackball does not require

a clear surface to roll on, and it
can be attached firmly to the
keyboard or computer case (it
is often built in on portable
computers).

DR.EBENEZER ANKRAH
Trackball

27
 Pointing Devices
• Track Point/Track Space
• This is represented as a rubber stick protruding from the
keyboard with silicon rubber. This is also called pointing
stick. Its alternative is the track space (also known as
touch space) where a blank space with silicon rubber is
also created at the bottom of the laptop keyboard.
• In both cases, they grippe the thumb and as you move
the thumb, the pointer makes corresponding movement
on the monitor. A mouse can still, be connected to a
computer with a track point / track space to allow a dual-
pointer use. Also in use on laptops are mini-trackballs.
DR.EBENEZER ANKRAH
Track point / Track space

29
 Pointing Devices
• Joy Stick
– The best known of this category of input device is the joystick
that appeared with the first computer games.

– Joysticks have evolved into many styles of input devices,

• including hand grips,
• steering wheels, and even
• combination of mouse-joysticks.

– The joystick for games was the first popular input device used
for graphics. Today there are even 3-D devices that let you
control more than a single dimension of space.
•

DR.EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 21

Pointing Devices

Pointing Devices

31
 Pointing Devices

•Touch screens
• Touch screens accept input data by
letting you point at the screen to
make your choice. Sensors on the
edges screen pinpoint the touched
location and cause corresponding
action on the screen.
• When a touch screen is touched by
a finger or stylus, it registers the
event and sends it to a controller
for processing.
• A touch screen may contain
pictures or words that the user can
touch to interact with the device.

32
Pointing Devices

LIGHT PEN
• A light pen is a light-
sensitive pen-like device.
The is placed against the
monitor to close photo-
electric circuit and identify
the spot for entering or
modifying data.
• For example, light pens are
used to edit digital images.

33
Light pen

34
Pointing Devices
TOUCHPAD
• The touchpad on a
laptop does the same
job as the mouse on a
desktop computer. It is
sometimes also called a
trackpad.
• The touchpad is used to
control the mouse
pointer, also known as
the cursor. The cursor is
used to point at and
choose (or activate)
items on the screen.
Source: https://beconnected.esafety.gov.au/topic-library/essentials/the-
absolute-basics/what-is-a-laptop/using-the-touchpad
35
Touchpad

36
SCANNING DEVICES
Topic Four

2022/2023 Academic Year 37

 Scanning Devices
• Scanning devices are input devices used for direct data entry in
to a computer system.

• The following are scanning devices:

– Optical Scanners
– Bar Code Readers
– Magnetic-Ink Character Recognition
– Optical Character Recognition
– Optical Mark Recognition

DR.EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 24

 Scanning Devices
• Optical Scanners
• An optical scanner is a hardware input device that allows
a user to take an image or text and convert it into a
digital file, allowing the computer to read or display the
scanned object.

• There are four types of optical scanners. These are:

– Flatbed
– Handheld /Pen
– Sheet-fed
– Drum

DR.EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 25

Types of Scanners

Flatbed scanner Handheld scanner

40
Types of Scanners

Sheetfed scanner Drum Scanner

41
 Scanning Devices
• Bar Code Readers
– It is a device that is used to read stripped lines (bar code)
by means of reflected light. Bar code readers can read bar
codes patterns of printed bars.

– Lines of different widths and sizes representing data that,

when read, will determine what the scanned object is. Bar
codes are often used to help organize and be able to index
information or prices about an object.

DR.EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 26

Example of a Barcode

43
Barcode on Products contain useful data

44
QR Codes are now being replaced by QR Codes, which are more
advanced.

Quick Response code (QR Code)

is a two-dimensional barcode that
is widely used for many purposes.

When scanned with a mobile

tagging app in a smartphone, the
QR code can cause a Web page or
app to download or even capture
business card data.

Codes are found in newspapers,

magazines, brochures and store
shelves, and billboard-size codes
can be scanned at a distance
because the QR app uses the
phone's camera.

45
Barcode Reader

46
 Scanning Devices
– A barcode reader consists of a scanner, a decoder, and
cable used to connect the reader with a computer.

– Data coded in the form of small line are known as bar

code. It directs a beam of light across the bar code and
measures the amount of light that is reflected back.

– The scanner converts the light energy into electrical

energy, which is then converted into data by decoder and
forwarded to a computer.

DR.EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 27

 Scanning Devices
• Magnetic-Ink Character Recognition
– Magnetic-Ink Character Recognition (MICR) is a method of
machine-reading characters made of magnetized particles.

– The most common example of magnetic characters is the array

of futuristic-looking numbers on the bottom of your personal
cheque.

– The MICR process is, in fact, used mainly by banks for processing
cheques. MICR is used in banking industry for faster processing
of a large number of cheques daily. MICR characters are printed
in special typefaces with a magnetic ink or toner.

DR.EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 28

Magnetic-Ink Character Recognition

49
Scanning Devices

• OCR (optical character recognition) is the use of

technology to distinguish printed or handwritten text
characters inside digital images of physical documents,
such as a scanned paper document.
• OCR is sometimes also referred to as text recognition.
(TechTarget, 2021)

50
Optical Character Recognition

51
 Scanning Devices
• Optical Mark Recognition
• Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) is sometimes called mark
sensing, because a machine senses marks on a piece of paper.

• As a student, you may immediately recognize this approach as

the technique used to score certain tests. Using a pencil, you
make a mark in a specified box or space that corresponds to
what you think is the answer.

• The answer sheet is then graded by a device that uses a light-

beam to recognize the marks and convert them to electrical
signals, which are sent to the computer for processing.

DR.EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 30

Optical Mark Recognition (OMR)

53
Self Assessment Questions

1. Is there any difference between ‘light pen’ and a ‘stylus’?

2. Distinguish between the “Optical Character Recognition”
and “Magnetic-ink Character Recognition”.

54
 References

• Hutchinson, S. E., & Sawyer, S. C. (2013). Computers: The

user perspective. Boston: Irwin McGraw-Hill.

• O’Leary, T. J., & O’Leary, L. I. (2014). Computer Today.

Boston: McGraw Hill.

• Williams, B. K., & Sawyer, S. C. (2014). Using Information

Technology: A practical introduction to computers and
communications (11th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

DR.EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 31

INFS 214: INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING

Output Technologies

Lecturer: Dr. E. Ankrah, Department of Information Studies

Contact Information: [email protected]

2022/2023 Academic Year

Lecture Outline

GENERATIONS OR CLASSIFICATION OF FEATURES AND TYPES FEATURES AND TYPES

OUTPUT TECH OUTPUT DEVICES OF MONITORS OF PRINTERS

COMBINATION
DEVICES
Introduction

2022/2023 Academic Year

Intro to output technologies

• A computer generates several types of output, depending

on the software being used and the requirements of the
user.

• While working on the computer, a user encounters four

basic categories of output: text, graphic, audio and video.
• Very often, a single form of output such as a Web page
includes more than one of the categories.
Generations in Output Technologies
Output technologies: The trend

• Output technology trends show a move from paper

documents to more natural forms of video, audio, and
multimedia, for natural, quicker and clearer communication.
Defining Output Devices

2022/2023 Academic Year

What are output devices?

• Output devices are devices that display, print, or transmit the

results of processing from the computer’s memory.

• Before an output can be produced by a computer it must

have an output device connected to it.
Defining Output devices

• Output (as a noun) is used to describe information

transmitted from a computer. That is, data that has been
processed into a useful form.

• The process by which information is shown by the computer

system after processing is also termed output (as a verb).

• Output devices are various devices used to view information

from a computer system.
Classification of Output Devices

Printers
Display Devices

2022/2023 Academic Year

Definition of display devices

• Display devices are hardware components that visually

display the result of data that has been processed.
• The output from display devices are often referred to as soft
copy.
• The main display device is a monitor. They are the most
frequently used output device.
Monitor

• Monitors are also known as display screens or simply as

screens.
• Monitors present visual images of text and graphics.
Monitors vary in size, shape, and cost.
• The monitor displays the video and graphics information
generated by the computer through the video card.
Monitor – Cont’d

• Monitors usually have some basic distinguishing features.

• The most important characteristic of a monitor is its clarity.
• Clarity refers to the quality and sharpness of the displayed
images.
• It is a function of several monitor features.
• These features include: Resolution, Dot pitch, Refresh rate, size.

RESOLUTION, DOT PITCH, REFRESH SIZE.

RATE,
Resolution

• Screen resolution is the number of pixels a screen can

show, both horizontally and vertically.
• Images are formed on a monitor by a series of dots or
pixels (picture elements).
• Resolution is expressed as a matrix of these dots or
pixels.
• For example, a monitor may have a resolution of 1,280
pixel columns by 1,024 pixel rows for a total of
1,310,720 pixels.
• High Definition screens has a resolution of 1920 x 1080
that's also known as 1080p (Full HD),
Can you tell me the number of pixels?

What’s the
resolution of this
image?
The more pixels the better the resolution and the
better the quality of the image.

* Pixels Per Inch (PPI)

Comparing the screen resolutions
Current video standards include:

• SVGA (Super Video Graphics Array), which has a resolution

of 800 × 600;
• XGA (Extended Graphics Array), a resolution of 1024 × 768;
• SXGA (Super XGA), a resolution of 1280 × 1024;
• UGA (Ultra XGA), a resolution of 1600 × 1200.
Dot pitch

• It is the distance
between each pixel.
Most newer monitors
have a dot pitch of .31
mm (31/100th of a
millimetre) or less.
• The lower the dot
pitch (the shorter the
distance between
pixels), the higher the
clarity of images
produced
Dot pitch
Comparing the Pixel Density
Comparing dot pitch
Refresh rate

• Refresh rate indicates how often a displayed image is

updated or redrawn on the monitor.
• Most monitors operate at a rate of 75 hertz, which means
that the monitor is redrawn 75 times each second.
• Images displayed on monitors with refresh rates lower than
75 hertz appear to flicker and can cause eye strain.
• The faster the refresh rate (the more frequently images are
redrawn), the better the quality of images displayed.
Frames per second
Refresh Rate
Refresh Rate
Monitor Screen Size

• Size or viewable size is

measured by the diagonal
length of a monitor's
viewing area.
• Common sizes are 15, 17,
19, and 21 inches.
• Given the same
number of pixels, a
smaller screen will
display better images
than a wider/bigger
screen. – who can tell
me why?.
Types of Monitors

Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT)

Flat-Panel Monitors

• Liquid Crystal display (LCD)

• Plasma Display Panel (PDP)
• Light-Emitting Diode (LED)
• Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED)
Printing Devices (Printers)

2022/2023 Academic Year

Printer

• Printers translate information that has been processed by the

system unit and present the information on paper or other
types of material. Printer output is often called hard copy.
• There are many different types of printers.
• Almost all, however, have some basic distinguishing features
including: Resolution, Colour, Speed and Memory.
Features of a printer
• Resolution of a printer is similar to monitor resolution.
Print • It is a measure of the clarity of images produced. Printer resolution,
however, is measured in dpi (dots per inch).
Resolution: • Most printers designed for personal use average 1200 dpi. The
higher the dpi, the better the quality of images produced.

• It is provided by most printers today. Because it is more

expensive to print in colour, most users select black ink for
Colour letters, drafts, and home work. Colour is used more
selectively for final reports containing graphics and for
photographs.

• It is measured in the number of pages printed per minute.

Speed Typically, printers for personal use average 10 to 15 pages
per minute for single colour (black) output and 5 to 10
pages per minute for colour output.

• It is within a printer and it is used to store printing

instructions and documents waiting to be printed.
Memory The more memory in a printer, the faster it will be
able to create large documents.
Types of Printers

Dot Matrix Printer

• prints multiple sheets at once,

printing directly onto the white
front sheet, then following on
to the coloured carbon copies
behind.
• prints by impact, striking an
ink-soaked cloth ribbon against
the paper, much like the print
mechanism on a typewriter.
• Generally, more reliable than
laser or inkjet machines,
especially when used in dirty
environments such as
warehouses or car garages.
Dot Matrix Prints (3D Images)
Types of Printers

Ink-Jet Printer

• Sprays ink at high speed

onto the surface of paper.
• Inkjet printers use a series of
nozzles to spray drops of ink
directly on the paper (Tyson,
2022).
• A typical inkjet printer can
produce copy with a
resolution of at least 300
dots per inch ( dpi ). Some
inkjet printers can make full
color hard copies at 600 dpi
or more.
• Widely used.
Ink Jet Printer
Ink Jet Printer
Ink Jet Printer (Tyson, 2022)
Types of Printers – Cont’d

Laser Printer

• Uses a laser light beam to

produce images with
excellent letter and
graphics quality.
• Laser printers use dry ink
(toner), static electricity,
and heat to place and
bond the ink onto the
paper (Tyson,2022).
• Better print quality and
more expensive than ink-
jet printers.
Types of Printers – Cont’d

Thermal Printer

• A thermal printer uses heat

elements to produce images
on heat sensitive paper.
• Thermal printers have a
head that consists of a row
of tiny heating elements
(Bishop, 2001).
• Originally these printers
were only used in scientific
labs to record data.
Combination devices

2022/2023 Academic Year

Combination devices

• Combination devices have functionalities of both input and

output devices.
• The following are combination of input and output devices:
• Fax Machines
• Internet Telephone
• Modem
Class Activities

2022/2023 Academic Year

Activity 3.1
1. Who can state the role of a video card in a monitor?
2. What is the most important characteristic of a monitor? Mention any
four (4) factors that feed this characteristic.
3. What is the total screen resolution of your phone screen, if it is marked
by 750-pixel columns by 1334-pixel rows.
4. What is the relationship between pixels and the quality of an image on
a display technology?
5. Is there any difference between pixels and the quality of an image?
Give reason(s) to defend your conviction.
6. The more the pixels the better the quality of the image. (True/False).
7. List any three (3) types of printers known to you. And describe how any
one of them works.
8. Which type of printer will you recommend for the printing of receipts in
supermarkets? Justify you recommendation.
9. If you have two devices A and B where A transmits data to B then the
data is OUTPUT from A and INPUT to B. (T/F)
Activity 3.2

• What is the resolution for the following video standards?

Video standard Resolution

SVGA (Super Video Graphics Array)

XGA (Extended Graphics Array)

SXGA (Super XGA)

62
INFS 214: INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING

SESSION 06:
STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES

Dr. Ebenezer Ankrah, [email protected]

Department of Information Studies

2022/2023 Academic Year

Lecture Outline

Computer Storage Types/Categories of Examples of storage Cloud Storage

Computer Storage devices
Introduction

• A very important feature of every computer is the ability to

save, or store information. This is done on the storage
devices.

• A storage device is a hardware capable of holding

information either temporarily or permanently.

• Do not confuse storage device with storage medium.

Introduction

• The device that holds the data is known as

the storage medium (‘media’ is the plural).
• The device that saves data onto the storage
medium, or reads data from it, is known as
the storage device.
• Sometimes the storage medium
is removable from the device, e.g., a CD-ROM
can be taken out of a CD drive.
• For other devices where the media is an
integral part of the device, the distinction is not
so easy because the media is not designed to
be removed, e.g., hard drive, thumb drive.

Source: www.igcseict.info
The Hard Disk with the head that reads the data
The Hard Disk with the head that reads the data
What’s he difference between the HDD and the Optical disk
within the context of storage devices and storage media?
Data Storage and Access on a Storage Medium

• Data access on a storage device can be sequential or

random.
• There are two approaches to searching for data: The
sequential Approach and the Direct Approach (which
provides fast direct access).

• The process of putting data onto a storage medium is DATA

WRITING.
• The Process of retrieving data from the storage medium is
DATA READING.

Computers can basically read or write data either

sequentially or directly.
Data Access on Storage Medium

(webopedia, 1996)
Categories of Storage Medium

• Computer storage devices can be classified mainly into two

categories:

Primary Secondary

• The memory unit of a digital computer typically has a main

(or primary) memory, cache, and secondary (or auxiliary)
memory.
• The main memory holds data and instructions for immediate
use by the computer’s ALU. It receives this information from an
input device or an auxiliary storage unit.
Primary Storage

2022/2023 Academic Year

Primary memory
RAM - Primary memory

• In most cases, the main memory is a high-speed random-

access memory (RAM) — i.e., a memory in which specific
contents can be accessed (read or written) directly in a very
short time regardless of the sequence (and hence location)
in which they were recorded.
RAM - Primary memory

• Computer memory is also known as primary storage. It is

usually referred to as Random Access Memory (RAM). It is
closely related to the central processing unit but separate
from it.

• It is input to the system and before it is

processed.
• After it has been processed but before it has
The main memory been released to the output device.
(RAM) holds the • Holds the programmes (computer instructions)
data when needed by the central processing unit.
RAM (Primary Storage)
RAM (Primary Memory)
Static RAM & Dynamic RAM
ROM (Primary Storage)
Cache (Primary Storage)

• Cache memory is a chip-based computer component

that makes retrieving data from the computer's
memory more efficient.
• It acts as a temporary storage area that
the computer's processor can retrieve data from easily by
holding on to commonly used instructions - for easy
reuse.
• Cache memory provides faster data storage and access
by storing instances of programs and data routinely
accessed by the processor.
Cache memory
A metaphor of a computer cache memory

• Given this,

• What is the value of x?

Cache (Primary Storage)

• Cache is a high-speed access area that can be either a

reserved section of the main memory or a storage device.
• categorized as "levels" that describe its closeness and
accessibility to the microprocessor. There are three general
cache levels:
• Most computers today come with L3 cache or L2 cache, while
older computers included only L1 cache.

• Memory caching is effective because most programs access

the same data or instructions over and over.
Primary memory

• Memory consists of electronic circuits, just as the CPU does.

• Memory electronically stores letters, special characters such
as cedi signs and decimal points, and images.
• Turning on a personal computer activates its memory,
turning it off causes anything stored in memory to disappear.
Class Activity: Explain further the following post on the UG Sakai page.
In relation to the functioning of a memory cache
Concluding on Primary Storage

• Primary storage is volatile.

• It loses all of its contents when power to the system unit is
shut off or disrupted.
• This volatility results in a need for more permanent or non-
volatile storage.
• There is therefore the need for other storage devices for
long-term storage of data that can be reused; this is provided
by secondary storage devices.
Secondary Storage

2022/2023 Academic Year

Secondary Storage

• Secondary storage provides permanent or non-volatile

storage.
• Using secondary storage devices, data and programmes can
be retained after the computer has been shut off.
• This is accomplished by writing and reading files.
• Writing is the process of saving information.
• Reading is the process of accessing information.
Characteristics of 2ndary Storage

• is the actual physical material that holds

Media or Medium: the data and programs.

• measures how much a particular storage

Capacity: medium can hold.

• Storage devices are hardware that reads

Read/Write: data and programmes from storage media.
• Most also write to storage media.

Access speed or • measures the amount of time required by

the storage device to retrieve data and
Access time: programs.
Types of Storage Technologies

Magnetic Optical
Magnetic Storage Technologies

2022/2023 Academic Year

Magnetic Storage Technologies

Magnetic Magnetic
tapes Disk

Audio tapes Floppy disk

Video Home
Hard disk
System (VHS)

Hard-disk
packs

PC card
Floppy Disk

• Floppy disks are removable storage media. The traditional

floppy disk holds 1.44 MB.
• High-capacity floppy disks hold much more.
• As a result of the small amount of data that they can contain,
they are almost phased out and replaced by other types.
Floppy disks, often called diskettes or simply disks, are
portable or removable storage media.
• They are typically used to store and transport word
processing, spreadsheet, and other types of files.
Floppy Disk Drives (FDD)

• They use flat circular pieces of Mylar plastic that have been
coated with a magnetic material.
• Floppy Disk Drives (FDD) store data and programs by
altering the electromagnetic charges on the disk’s surface to
represent ones and zeros.
• Floppy disks are also called flexible disks and floppies. This
is because the plastic disk inside the diskette cover is
flexible, not rigid.
• There are several types of floppy disks with different
capacities ranging from the traditional floppy disk to a variety
of high capacity floppy disks.
Images of floppy disk
Hard disk

• While internal hard disks provide fast access, they have

a fixed amount of storage and cannot be easily removed
from the system cabinet. Hard-disk cartridges, also
known as removable hard disks, are as easy to remove
as a cassette from a videocassette recorder.
• The amount of storage available to a computer system is
limited only by the number of cartridges.
Hard Disk

• Hard-disk cartridges are

used primarily to
complement an internal
hard disk.
• Because the cartridges are
easily removed, they are
particularly useful to protect
or secure sensitive
information.
PC Cards

• Credit card-size hard-disk

cartridges called PC Card
hard
• disks are available for
notebook computers with
typical
• capacities up to 5 giga-
bytes. Two well-known PC
Card
• hard disks are IBM's Micro
drive and Toshiba's
MKS002.
Hard-disk packs

• Hard-disk packs are removable storage devices used to

store massive amounts of information.
• Their capacity far exceeds the other types of hard disks.
• Although you may never have seen one, it is almost certain
that you have used them.
• Banks and credit card companies use them to record
financial information.
Hard Disk Packs

• Microcomputers that have

access to the Internet,
minicomputers, or
mainframes often have
access to external hard-
disk packs through
communication lines.
Magnetic tapes defined

• A Magnetic tape is a thin plastic ribbon coated with a

magnetic material on which information is recorded.
Magnetic Tapes - Cont’d.

• To find a particular song on an audiotape, you may have to

play several inches of tape.
• Finding a song on an audio compact disc, in contrast, can be
much faster. You select the track, and the disc player moves
directly to it.
• Tapes provide slower sequential access. With tape,
information is stored in sequence, such as alphabetically.
• For example, all the grades of students at your school could be
recorded on tape arranged alphabetically by their last names.
Optical Disk

2022/2023 Academic Year

Optical Disk

• Optical disks use laser technology to provide high-capacity

storage.
• A CD and a DVD are optical disk formats.
• Data Play disks are for digital photography and music.
• Today's optical disks can hold up to fifty gigabytes of data.
That is the equivalent of over several million typewritten
pages or a medium sized library all on a single disk.
Compact Disk (CD)

• Compact disc (CD), used to be one of the most widely used optical
formats.
• CD drives are standard on many microcomputer systems. Typically, CD
drives can store from 650 MB (megabytes) to 1 GB (gigabyte) of data on
one side of a CD.
• One important characteristic of CD drives is their rotational speed. This
speed is important because it determines how fast data can be
transferred from the CD.
• For example, a 24X or 24-speed CD drive can transfer 3.6 MB per second,
while a 48X drive can transfer 7.2 MB per second.
• The faster the drive, the faster data can be read from the CD and used by
the computer system.
• There are four basic types of CDs: These are
• Read only,
• Write once,
• Rewritable
• Picture and Photo CDs.
Read Only CD (CD-ROM)

• Read Only CD ROM Stands for compact disc-read only

memory, it is similar to a commercial music CD.
• Read only CD means it cannot be written on or erased by the
user. Thus, you as a user have access only to the data
imprinted by the publisher.
• CD-ROMs are used to distribute large databases and
references. They are also used to distribute large software
application packages.
Write Once CD

• CD-R, which stands for CD-recordable, can be written to

once.
• After that they can be read many times without deterioration
but cannot be written on or erased. CD-R drives, also known
as CD burners, are often used to archive data and to record
music downloaded from the Internet.
Rewritable CD

• CD-RW stands for compact disc rewritable.

• Also known as erasable optical disks, these disks are very
similar to CD-Rs except that the disk surface is no
permanently altered when data is recorded.
• Because they can be changed, CD-RWs are often used to
create and edit multimedia presentations. One limitation of
CD-R and CD-RW disks is that older CD-ROM drives may
not be able to read them.
• Most newer CD-ROM drives are multi-read or able to read
both CD-R and CD-RW disks.
Picture & Photo CDs

• Picture CDs and Photo CDs use a special format developed

by Eastman Kodak to store digital images. Picture CDs are
less expensive and typically used by non-professionals.
Today, most film developers provide traditional printed
pictures and digital images.
• The digital images are delivered by the Internet or by Picture
CD. These disks are typically single-session, meaning that
all images must be transferred at one time to the CD. Photo
CDs, however, are multi-session, meaning that new images
can be added at any time.
Digital Versatile Disc

• DVD stands for digital versatile disc or digital video disc. This
is a format that is rapidly replacing CDs as the standard
optical disk.
• DVD drives are very similar to CDs except that more data
can be packed into the same amount of space. DVD discs
can store 4.7 GB to 17 GB on a single DVD disk, about 17
times the capacity of CDs.
• There are three basic types of DVDs similar to CDs: read
only, write once, and rewriteable.
Read Only DVD-ROM

• Read only-DVD-ROM stands For Digital Versatile Disc Read

Only Memory. DVD-ROM drives are also known as DVD
players.
• DVD-ROMs are having a major impact on the video market.
While CD-ROMs are effective for distributing music, they can
only contain just over an hour of fair quality video.
• DVD-ROMs can provide over two hours of very high-quality
video and sound comparable to that found in motion picture
theatres.
Write Once DVD

• Write once-DVD-R, DVD+R and DVD+R DL are competing

write once formats. All stand for DVD recordable.
• Each has a slightly different way in which they format their
disks.
• Fortunately, most new DVD players can use either format.
DVD-R and DVD+ R drives are typically used to create
permanent archives for large amounts of data and to record
videos.
• The DVD+R DL stores up to 8.5 GB because the DL stands
for double layer
Rewriteable DVD

• Rewriteable DVD - Unfortunately, there are several

competing rewriteable formats and few DVD players can
read all the standards.
• The three most widely used formats are DVD-RW,
DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM. DVD-RW and DVD+ RW stand
for DVD rewritable. DVD-RAM stands for DVD random-
access memory.
CDs | DVDs | BD

(Rethod, 2010)
CDs | DVDs | BD

(Rethod, 2010)
Solid-State Storage

2022/2023 Academic Year

SSD - 1

• Secondary storage devices discussed thus far has moving

parts.
• Solid-state storage devices have no moving parts. Data and
information are stored and retrieved electronically directly
from these devices much as they would be from conventional
computer memory.
• While this type of storage is more expensive than the others,
it is more reliable and requires less power.
SSD – 2

• Flash memory cards are solid-state storage devices widely

used in notebook computers.
• Flash memory is also used in a variety of specialized input
devices to capture and transfer data to desktop computers.
• For example, flash memory is used to store images captured
from digital cameras and then to transfer the images to desktop
and other computers.
• Flash memory is also used to record MP3 music files and to
transfer those files to computers and other devices.
Cloud Storage

2022/2023 Academic Year

Cloud Storage
Lecture Summary & Activities

2022/2023 Academic Year

Summary

RAM
Primary
ROM Floppy disk

Magnetic (Disk &

Magnetic tape
Storage Devices Tape)

HDD

Secondary DVD
Optical
CD

SSD Flash memory

Summary

(shrestha, 2012)
Summary
Activities

• How would you compare magnetic storage technologies with

optical storage technologies.

• Which will you prefer for your mobile computer: SSD or HDD?
Provide the rational for your choice.

• What is the difference between the DVD-R and DVD+R

formats?

• A DVD drive with the inscription (DVD±R) means __________?

• In a computer system, all primary memories are volatile. T/F

68
INFS 214: Introduction to Computing

Lectures 7 & 8:
COMPUTER SOFTWARE

Dr. Ebenezer Ankrah, [email protected]

Department of Information Studies

2022/2023 Academic Year

Session Objectives

• Explain what computer software entails

• Categories of Software
– System Software
– Application Software
Lecture Outline

• Explain what computer software entails

• Categories of Software
• System Software
• Application Software
• Software Licensing
What is a software?

2022/2023 Academic Year

 Computer Software
• Software is defined as the instructions and associated
data that direct the computer to accomplish a task.
• Sometimes the term software refers to a single program,
but often the term refers to a collection of programs and
data that are packaged together.
• For example, the Microsoft Office 365 software includes
programs that help you draw graphics, create documents,
and make calculations.
• The software includes some data, such as a thesaurus of
words and their synonyms.
3
 Categories of Software
Software can be divided into two major categories:
• System software
• Application software.

• System software helps the computer carry out its

basic operating tasks.

• Application software helps the user carry out a

variety of specific tasks
 Computer Software

Computer Software
System Software Application Software

Utility
software
Firmware - Disk
Operating Device Documents Spreadshe Presentatio
(e.g., defragment Music apps Audio apps
Systems drivers (doc & pdf) et n
BIOS) er /clean–
up utility
- Antivirus
System Software

2022/2023 Academic Year

 System Software
• System software are designed for computer-centric
tasks

• System software manages the fundamental

operations of your computer, such as;

– loading programs and data into memory,

– executing programs,
– saving data to disks,
– displaying information on the monitor, and
– transmitting data through a port to a peripheral device.
5
 Types of System Software
• There are three types of system software:

– Operating systems

– Utilities

– Device drivers

6
 Operating System Activities
• An operating system is a type of system software that
acts as the master controller for all activities that take
place within a computer system

7
 Operating System Activities
• Multitasking provides process and memory
management services that allow two or more tasks, jobs,
or programs to run simultaneously.

• Within a single program, multithreading allows multiple

parts, or threads, to run simultaneously.

• When multiple programs are running, the OS should

prevent a memory leak—a situation in which
instructions and data from one area of memory overflow
into memory allocated to another program.

8
 Operating System Activities
• A system resource is any part of the computer

system, including memory, storage devices, and

the microprocessor, that can be used by a
computer program.

• The operating system allocates system resources

so programs run properly.

9
 Operating System Activities
• Its responsibility is to maintain security such as
requiring a username and password or checking
the computer for virus infection.

• Finally, the operating system guards against

equipment failure.
• Each electronic circuit is checked periodically,
and the moment a problem is detected, the user
is notified with a warning message on the screen.

10
 Examples of Operating Systems
• Microsoft Windows: Is a proprietary operating systems developed by
Microsoft for personal computers

• Mac OS X: The Mac OS X is the operating system used by the Apple

Macintosh computer. The most recent version of OS X is 10.9. This
version’s interface features tighter integration between the
computer and iOS mobile devices, such as smartphones. OS X is a
secure, feature-rich operating system.
• Unix: Unix, features a command line interface and multitasking. It is
installed primarily on workstations and services. Linux was designed
to be similar to Unix.
• Linux: Linux is unique because it is an open source operating system,
with the code available to anyone who would like to develop Linux
distributions with various features
11
 Example of Operating Systems
• Microsoft Windows, used on many PCs, and the
Mac OS, used exclusively on Macintosh
computers, are referred to as operating
environments because they provide a graphical
user interface (GUI, pronounced “goo-ey”) that
acts as a liaison between the user and all of the
computer ’s hardware and software.

12
 icon (additional
icons might appear
on your screen)

mouse pointer icon

Start button

taskbar
notification area
default taskbar icons

13
Mac OS

14
Mac OS

15
 Mac OS
• Popular virtual machine software such as VMware and
Parallels Desktop can run on most computers with Intel
microprocessors, including Intel Macs, PCs, and generic
Linux computers

16
 UNIX and Linux
• The UNIX operating system was developed in 1969 at
AT&T’s Bell Labs
– Dependable in multiuser environments
• Linux is an operating system distributed along with its
source code under the terms of a GPL (General Public
License)
– A Linux distribution is a download that contains the Linux kernel,
system utilities, applications, and an installation routine

17
UNIX and Linux

18
 DOS
• Disk Operating System
• First operating system that many used

19
 Types of Operating Systems
• Stand-alone Operating systems: Used on a
single user Personal Computers.

• Network Operating systems: Used in a

networking environment.

• Mobile Operating systems: Used on

mobile and handheld devices.
20
 Network Operating System
• Networks have special operating
systems, called a network operating
system or NOS, to manage a
multiuser environment.

• This system provides centralized

resources, storage, and security. In a
client-server network, the clients are
the workstations or PCs connected
to the server.

• The server runs the NOS, and

enables the clients to communicate
with the server and each other. 21
Operating Systems for Tablets, Mobiles, & Other Handheld
Devices
 Utilities

• Utilities are another category of system software

that augments the operating system by taking
over some of its responsibilities.

• Many utilities come with the operating system,

but some independent software developers offer
utilities for sale separately.

23
 Examples of Utilities
• Antiviruses: Protects your computer from
computer viruses by scanning it regularly and
looking for virus code signatures. New viruses are
protected against by monitoring system functions
to detect abnormal behavior.

• Disk Utilities: Disk utilities enable you to keep your

computer running smoothly and protect the files.

24
Fragmented Disk
Disk Cleanup Utilities

25
Windows Defender Utility

26
 Device Drivers
• Device drivers is a system software that handles
the transmission protocol between a computer
and its peripherals.

• A device driver is software that helps a peripheral

device establish communication with a computer.

• When you add a device to an existing computer,

part of its installation includes adding its device
driver to the computer ’s configuration.
27
 Device Drivers

• On a Mac, you can click the Apple icon, select

About this Mac, and then select More info to
look at a list of devices connected to your
computer.

• On a PC, if you need to update a device driver or

change its settings, you can usually access the
driver by using the Start menu’s Control Panel
option and opening the System icon
28
Device Drivers
APPLICATION SOFTWARE

2022/2023 Academic Year

 Application Software
• Application software are designed to help people
accomplish real-world tasks.

• Application software enables you to perform specific

computer tasks, such as
– document production,
– spreadsheet calculations,
– database management.
– entertainment
– mapping and location-based software
– business management software
– data analysis
30
 Music Software
• Offers many ways to work with music, sound effects, and
narration from your desktop, notebook, or handheld
computer
– iTunes
– Audio editing software

31
 Video Software
• Provides a set of tools for creating video productions
from raw footage
• Consumer-level video editing software
– Windows Live Movie Maker
– Apple iMovie
• DVD authoring software

32
 Graphics Software
• Designed to help you
create, manipulate, and
print graphics
– Paint software
– Photo editing software
– Drawing software
– 3-D graphics software
– CAD software

33
Mapping and Location-Based Software
• A mapping application typically displays satellite, aerial,
or street maps used to locate places and get directions
between two addresses
– Google Maps
• Location-based software is able to access your current
location and use it to show you the closest shops,
restaurants, and theaters, as well as information about
each location
– Stay alert for devices and software applications that track your
location

34
Mapping and Location-Based Software

35
Business and “Number Crunching” Software

• Vertical market software is designed to

automate specialized tasks in a specific market
or business.
• Horizontal market software is generic
software that just about any kind of business
can
– Payroll software
– Accounting software
– Project management software
 Business and “Number Crunching”
Software
• Provides a structured environment dedicated to a
particular number crunching task
– Statistical software
– Mathematical modeling software

37
 Personal Finance Software
• Money management software offers a variety of tools for
tracking cash flow and investments
• Personal finance software, such as Intuit Quicken, is
designed to keep track of income, expenses, assets, and
liabilities using a simple checkbook-like user interface
• Tax preparation software is a specialized type of personal
finance software designed to help you gather your
annual income and expense data, identify deductions,
and calculate tax payments

38
Personal Finance Software

39
 Word Processing
• Word processing software has replaced
typewriters for producing many types of
documents, including reports, letters,
memos, papers, and book manuscripts

• A typical word processor window displays

a work area, called a workspace, that
represents a blank piece of paper

40
Word Processing

41
 Word Processing
• Word processing features include:
– Word wrap
– Search and Replace
– Thesaurus
– Grammar checker
– Readability formula
– Spelling checker
– Spelling dictionary

42
 Word Processing
• The look of your final document depends on several
formatting factors, such as page layout, paragraph style,
and font
– Page layout refers to the physical position of each element on
a page
– Paragraph style includes the alignment of text within the
margins and the space between each line of text
– A font is a set of letters that share a unified design

43
 Spreadsheets
• A spreadsheet uses rows and columns of numbers to create a
model or representation of a real solution
• Spreadsheet software, such as Microsoft Excel, iWork
Numbers, Google Docs Spreadsheets, or LibreOffice Calc,
provides tools to create electronic spreadsheets

44
 Spreadsheets
• A formula tells the computer how to use the
contents of cells in calculations
– Cell references
• Relative reference
• Absolute reference
– Mathematical operators
– Functions
– Automatic recalculations

45
Spreadsheets

46
Spreadsheets

47
 Databases
• A database is a self describing collection of related
records.
– Database software helps you enter, find, organize, update, and
report information stored in a database

48
Databases

49
 Databases
• A query language such as SQL (Structured Query
Language) provides a set of commands for locating and
manipulating data
– Natural language query
– Keyword search
– Query by example

50
 Presentations
• Presentation software supplies the tools for combining
text, photos, clip art, graphs, animations, and sound into
a series of electronic slides that can be shown on a
computer screen or projector

51
Presentations

52
Platforms - Application Software

2022/2023 Academic Year

 Web Apps
• A Web application, or Web App, is a software that is
accessed with a Web browser
– Example of cloud computing
– Many are associated with consumer sites
– Most require no installation at all on your local computer or
handheld device

53
Web Apps

54
 Mobile Apps
• A mobile app is designed for a handheld device, such as
a smartphone, tablet computer, or enhanced media
player
• Most handheld devices can use both Web apps and
mobile apps
• Mobile apps can be purchased from an app store
– Apple App Store
– Android Market
• Apps are available from other sources, but using them
requires an unauthorized change to the device’s software
called a jailbreak

55
Mobile Apps

56
Local (Desktop) Application
 Local Applications
• Most local applications contain a setup program
that guides you through the installation process.

• At least one of the files included in a software

package is an executable file designed to be
started by users or automatically launched by
the operating system.

58
Installing a local application from a CD/DVD
Installing a local application from a CD/DVD
Local Applications

60
 Portable Software
• Portable software is designed to run from removable
storage, such as a CD or USB flash drive
– Installation is simply a matter of getting program files to the
media on which they are supposed to run

61
Portable Software

62
Software updates, upgrades & Licensing

2022/2023 Academic Year

Software Upgrades and Updates
• Periodically, software publishers replace older versions of
a software product with a new version that’s sometimes
referred to as a software upgrade.

• A software update is a small section of program code

that replaces part of the software you currently have
installed
– Service packs

63
Software updates and Upgrades

• Updates are usually available online for registered software.

• Automatic Update option: Always install updates and
service packs when they become available.
• Many software publishers require users to type in a
validation code to complete an upgrade.
Software Copyrights and Licenses
• A copyright is a form of legal protection that grants the
author of an original “work” exclusive rights
– Copyright notice
• Software licenses, also called license agreements, define
the ways in which you may use a computer program
– Single-user license
– Site license
– Multiple-user
– Concurrent-use license

65
Software Copyrights and Licenses
• EULA (End-User License
Agreement)
• Different types of software
licenses
– Public domain
– Proprietary
– Commercial software
– Demoware
– Shareware
– Open source
– BSD
– GPL

66
Software Copyrights and Licenses

67
Software Copyrights and Licenses
• Freeware is copyrighted software that is available for free.

• Product activation is a means of protecting software from

illegal copying by requiring users to enter a product key or
activation code before the software can be used
– A hash value is a unique number derived from encoding one
or more data sets, such as names, serial numbers, and
validation codes

68
Software Licensing

Proprietary software

• Copyrighted and for sale.

Freeware

• Freeware is copyrighted software that is available at no cost for unlimited usage.

Shareware

• Free to share usually for evaluation purposes. May later be sold.

Open-source software

• Software with source code that anyone can inspect, modify, and enhance.
• Source code: is the part of software that most computer users don't ever see; it's
the code computer programmers can manipulate to change how a piece of
software
Summary & Activities

2022/2023 Academic Year

Summary

Computer Software
System Software Application Software

Utility software
Operat Firmw Docum
ing Device are Music Image ents Spread Presen
Syste drivers (e.g., apps apps (doc & sheet tation
The disk
ms BIOS) defragme pdf)
Antivir nter
us /clean–up
utility
Summary
Summary

Enhanced Simple Layered Model

By Paul Mullins
Activity

• Identify any three (3) systems software and explain their

functions.

• Which of these two categories of software is closer to the

user: (i) application software (ii) system software? State your
reason.
Works Consulted

Senyor, K. P. (2016). Introduction to computing. University of

Ghana Business School, Accra.
94
 INFS 214: Introduction to Computing

Lectures 9:
INTRODUCTION TO THE PRINCIPLES OF COMPUTER
PROGRAMMING

Dr. Ebenezer Ankrah, [email protected]

Department of Information Studies

2022/2023 Academic Year

Lecture Outline

• What is computer programming?

• Understanding the concept of programming and its
terminologies. – Computer program, software, source code, etc.
• Programming languages
• Types
• Generations
• Principles of programming
• Program Development Cycle
Defining Computer Programming?
Concepts and Terminologies

2022/2023 Academic Year

What is computer programming?

• Act of instructing computer to perform the task.

• Is the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and

maintaining source code of computer programs.

• What is a source code?

Source code

• Is any computer instruction (possibly with comments) written

using some human readable computer language (also known
as, High-level Computer Language), usually as text.

• This source code is written in one or more programming

languages (i.e. High-level language such as C, C++, C#,
Java, Python, and Smalltalk).

(Malle, 2013)
source code with comment (the comments are in green font)

(Nielebock, Krolikowski, Krüger, et al. 2019)

source code with comment

• Source code comments are annotations that are used to

explain the purpose and structure of a computer program's
code.
• The use of appropriate comments facilitates the efficient
creation, debugging, and maintenance of computer programs
and enables programmers to work together more effectively.

(Valentino, nd)
Computer Program

• A computer program is a sequence of instructions, written to

perform a specific task with Computer.

• The purpose of Computer Programming is to create a set of

instructions (i.e. Program) that computers use to perform
specific operations or to exhibit desired behavior.

(Malle, 2013)
Computer Software n Computer Program

• Software refers to the collection/set of computer programs

and related data to perform a specified task with a computer.
Computer Programmer

• Is someone who writes the

computer program
(Software) using any
language of his\her choice.
• a person who writes
computer programs with a
programming language.
Programming Languages

2022/2023 Academic Year

What is a Programming Language?

• A programming language is a vocabulary and set of

grammatical rules for instructing a computer or computing
device to perform specific tasks.
Classification of Programming Languages
• High-Level Language (Machine Independent Languages)
• Is the programming language with strong abstraction from the
details of the computer.
• The programmer can create the program using these
languages without asking for design detail of the Machine which
will run his/her program.

(Malle, 2013)
Classification of Programming Languages –Cont’d

• Low-Level Language (Machine Dependent Languages)

• Is the programming language that provides little or no
abstraction from details of the computer.
• The programmer must have strong knowledge about Computer
design in order to write the program for such Computer.
• Hence, there is need for a Programmer to study the design of
the computer (such as, Processor Instruction Set Architecture,
Bus types and width, Processor Registers types and size, and
other Architecture Design).
• Furthermore, programs created using these languages are
Machine Dependent, which means, the Program created for
particular Machine can’t run on different Machine.
Classification of Programming Languages –Cont’d

• Types of Low-Level Languages:

• Assembly Language
• Machine Language.
Language Translators
• Is the computer program that translates a program written in
a given programming language into functionally equivalent
program in different language.
• There are various types of Language Translators:
• Compiler
• Interpreter
• Assembler
• DeCompiler
• DeAssembler
Language Translators

• Compiler
• Translates a high-level language (e.g. C, C++) into lower level
language (i.e. Machine Language). Compiler checks the entire
user-written program (known as the source program) and, if
error free, produces a complete program in Machine Language.
Each Language has its own Compiler.

• Interpreter
• Translates a High-level language into an Intermediate code
which will be immediately executed. The
• Interpreter translates one statement at a time and, if error-free,
executes the instruction. Each language has its own Interpreter.
Program Development Life Cycle

2022/2023 Academic Year

Program Development Cycle
Program Development Cycle (Phase I)
Program Development Cycle (Phase II)
Program Development Cycle (III)
Program Development Cycle (IV)
Types of Program Errors & Data

2022/2023 Academic Year

Types of Program Errors
Types of Program Errors - Cont’d
Types of Data
29
References
INFS 214: Introduction to Computing

Session 10
METHODS OF DATA PROCESSING

Dr. Ebenezer Ankrah, [email protected]

Department of Information Studies

2022/2023 Academic Year

 Session Overview

• The best data in the universe isn't much use if it isn't

processed. Data processing refers to methods that take the
raw data and turn it into usable information. Paper and pencil
can work, but in the 21st century, data analysis usually relies
on computers. To process data by computer, it has to be
collected, checked for accuracy and entered into the
computer first.

• This session seeks to explain the difference between data and

information, the different methods that could be used to
process data and the computer personnel and their
responsibility.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 2

 Session Overview

• At the end of the session, the student will

– Be able to know the difference between data and
information
– Understand the difference between the methods of data
processing
– Understand when and how to use a particular method of
data processing
– Be able to identify the various computer personnel and
their respective responsibilities

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 3

 Session Outline

The key topics to be covered in the session are as follows:

• Topic 1: Data and Information
• Topic 2: Methods of Data Processing
• Topic 3: Computer Personnel

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 4

 Reading List

• Hutchinson, S. E., & Sawyer, S. C. (2013). Computers: The user

perspective. Boston: Irwin McGraw-Hill. (Chapter 5)

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 5

DATA AND INFORMATION
Topic One

2022/2023 Academic Year

 Data and Information

• Data
• Data is the raw material that is input into the computer and
is yet to be processed.

• Think of data as a "raw material" - it needs to be processed

before it can be turned into something useful. Hence the
need for "data processing". Data comes in many forms -
numbers, words, symbols. Data relates to transactions,
events and facts. On its own - it is not very useful.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 7

 Data and Information

• Think of the data that is created when you buy a

product from a retailer. This includes:
– Time and date of transaction (e.g. 10:05 Friday July 8,2016)
– Transaction value (e.g. GH¢ 55.00)
– Facts about what was bought (e.g. hairdryer, cosmetics
pack, shaving foam) and how much was bought
(quantities)
– How payment was made (e.g. credit card)
– Which employee recorded the sale
– Whether any promotional discount applied

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 8

 Data and Information

• At its simplest, this data needs processing at the

point of sale in order for the customer to receive a
valid receipt. So the data about the transaction is
processed to create "information" - in this case a
receipt. You can imagine that the same data would
also be useful to the manager of the retail store.

• For example, report showing total sales in the day, or

the best-selling products. So the data concerning all
shop transactions in the day needs to be captured,
and then processed into a management report.
DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 9
 Data and Information

• Information
• Information is refined and organized data that is meaningful
and useful and is output to the user or stored for later use or
both.

• Information is data that has been processed. The processing

makes data to become organized, meaningful and useful.

• Information is data that has been processed in such a way as

to be meaningful to the person who receives it. Note the two
words "processed" and "meaningful". It is not enough for
data simply to be processed. it has to be of use to someone.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 10

Characteristics of Information

Accurate • Error-free.

Complete • Contains all of the important facts.

Economical • Cost of production must be low.

Reliable • Can be depended on.

Relevant • Must aid decision-making.

Timely • Not after the decision has been made.

Simple • Not overloaded.

Verifiable • possible to check it.

 Questions

• Individual Assignment:
– Differentiate between data and information

• Forum Question:
– What are the key differences between the methods of
data processing?

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 12

 METHODS OF DATA PROCESSING
Topic Two

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH 2022/2023 Academic Year Slide 13

Methods of Data Processing

• Data can be processed by the computer in three

ways. These are:
– Batch Processing
– Interactive or Online Processing
– Real-time Processing.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 14

Methods of Data Processing

• Batch processing
• Batch processing is to process a large set of data in a
specific way, automatically, without needing any user
intervention. The data is first collected, during a work
day, for example, and then batch-processed, so all
the collected data is processed in one go.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 15

Methods of Data Processing

• This could happen at the end of the work day, for

example, when computing capacities are not needed
for other tasks. It is possible to perform repetitive
tasks on a large number of pieces of data rapidly
without needing the user to monitor it.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 16

Methods of Data Processing

• Data is processed in groups or batches. Batch processing

is typically used for large amounts of data that must be
processed on a routine schedule, such as paychecks or
credit card transactions.

• A batch processing system has several main

characteristics: collect, group, and process transactions
periodically.

• Batch programs require no user involvement and require

significantly fewer network resources than online
systems.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 17

Methods of Data Processing

• Interactive or Online Processing

• With Interactive or Online Processing data is
processed immediately while it is entered, the user
usually only has to wait a short time for a response.

• Interactive or online processing requires a user to

supply an input. Interactive or online processing
enables the user to input data and get the results of
the processing of that data immediately.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 18

Methods of Data Processing

• An online system handles transactions when they

occur and provides output directly to users. Because
it is interactive, online processing avoids delays and
allows a constant dialog between the user and the
system.

• The system processes transactions completely when

and where they occur. Users interact directly with
the information system. Users can access data
randomly. The information system must be available
whenever necessary to support business functions.
DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 19
Methods of Data Processing

• Online processing requires the Internet access.

Online processing includes using an ATM, direct
deposit, using PayPal to pay for something or making
a purchase via a website such as planet earth,
wholefoodfarmacy.com, eBay.com or Amazon.com.

• Another example is when a cashier processes your

credit card payment in a store, that process of
declining or accepting that charge is done via online
processing.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 20

Methods of Data Processing

• Real time Processing

• Real time processing is a subset of interactive or
online processing. Input is continuously,
automatically acquired from sensors, for example,
which is processed immediately in order to respond
to the input in as little time as possible. After the
system is finished responding it reads the next set of
input data immediately to process that.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 21

Methods of Data Processing

• This system doesn't need a user to control it, it

works automatically. Whenever there is a
rapid reaction required due to some sort of
change, real time processing can take action
without the need of a user or long processing
time before hand.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 22

 COMPUTER PERSONNEL
Topic Three

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH 2022/2023 Academic Year Slide 23

 Computer Personnel
• The people found in the computer environment are:
• System Owners
– They pay for the system to be developed and maintained. They are the
owners of the system, and they determine the working framework and
design policies for the use of the system. Owners also participate in the
use of system analysis and design. They usually initiate the system process
and provide information for the fact-finding stage of the analysis.

• System Users
– They use the system to perform/support the work of the system. They
also participate in system projects by defining business requirement and
performance expectations.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 24

 Computer Personnel

• IT Vendors and Consultants

– They sell hardware and software services to businesses for
incorporation into their information systems but are useful
when it comes to selecting hardware and software for the
organization.

• System Designers
– They design the system to meet the user requirement.
They design all the necessary specification, database files,
network etc. examples are database administrators,
network architects, security experts, etc.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 25

 Computer Personnel

• System Builders
– They construct test and deliver the system into operation.
Examples are application programmers, network programmers,
system programmers, software integrators etc.

• System Analyst
– They facilitate the development of information system through
the interaction of other information workers. They understand
both business and computing. They study business problems
and opportunities and then transform business and information
requirement into specifications for information systems that will
be implemented by various technical specialist.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 26

 References

• Hutchinson, S. E., & Sawyer, S. C. (2013). Computers: The

user perspective. Boston: Irwin McGraw-Hill.
•
• O’Leary, T.J., & O’Leary, L. I. (2014). Computer Today.
Boston: McGraw Hill.

• Williams, B. K., & Sawyer, S. C. (2014). Using Information

Technology: A practical introduction to computers and
communications (11th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

DR. EBENEZER ANKRAH Slide 27