L – 1 Fundamentals of Computer

1.1 History of Computer:-

1. Abacus:-
- Abacus was invented in Babylonia.
- It is the world’s oldest computing device.
- It is used for Calculation.
- Chinese began to use Abacus first.
- It is made of wooden frame with rows of beads strung
on wires.

2. Calculating Rods:-
- John Napier invented Calculating Rods.
- It will convert multiplication problem to an additional
problem.

3. Tabulating Machine:-
- Herman Hollerith invented tabulating machine in
1896.
- The tabulating machine was an electromechanical
machine designed to assist in summarizing
information stored on punched cards.
 First Generation Computer:
- The period of first generation was from 1946-1959.
- The computers of first generation used vacuum tubes.
The main features of the first generation are −
 Vacuum tube technology
 Unreliable
 Supported machine language only
 Very costly
 Generated a lot of heat
 Slow input and output devices
 Huge size
 Need of AC
 Non-portable
 Consumed a lot of electricity
 Examples – ENIAC, EDVAC, UNIVAC

Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer: (ENIAC)

- It was the 1st general programmable electronic computer.
- Used 18000 vacuum tubes and was 4X the size of Mark – I.
- It produced a lot of heat.

Second Generation Computer:

- The period of second generation was from 1959-1965.
- The computers of second generation used transistors.
The main features of second generation are −
 Use of transistors
 Reliable in comparison to first generation computers
 Smaller size as compared to first generation computers
 Generated less heat as compared to first generation
computers
 Consumed less electricity as compared to first generation
computers
 Faster than first generation computers
 Still very costly
 AC required
 Supported machine and assembly languages
 Examples – IBM 1620, IBM 7094

Third Generation Computer:

- The period of third generation was from 1965-1971.
- The computers of third generation used Integrated Circuits
(ICs).
The main features of third generation are −
 IC used
 More reliable in comparison to previous two generations
 Smaller size
 Generated less heat
 Faster
 Lesser maintenance
 Costly
 AC required
  Consumed lesser electricity
 Supported high-level language

Eg. IBM-360 series, Honeywell-6000 series, PDP (Personal

Data Processor)
Fourth Generation Computer:
 The period of fourth generation was from 1971-1980.
 Computers of fourth generation used Very Large Scale
Integrated (VLSI) circuits.

 The main features of fourth generation are −

 VLSI technology used
 Very cheap
 Portable and reliable
 Use of PCs
 Very small size
 Pipeline processing
 No AC required
 Concept of internet was introduced
 Great developments in the fields of networks
 Computers became easily available
Eg. DEC 10, STAR 1000, PDP 11, CRAY-1(Super
Computer), CRAY-X-MP(Super Computer)

Fifth Generation Computer:

 The period of fifth generation is 1980-till date.
 In the fifth generation, VLSI technology became ULSI
(Ultra Large Scale Integration) technology.

The main features of fifth generation are −

  ULSI technology
 Development of true artificial intelligence
 Development of Natural language processing
 Advancement in Parallel Processing
 Advancement in Superconductor technology
 More user-friendly interfaces with multimedia features
 Availability of very powerful and compact computers at
cheaper rates
 Eg. Desktop, Laptop, NoteBook, UltraBook, ChromeBook

Input Devices:
Keyboard
 Keyboard is the most common and very popular input
device.
 It helps to input data to the computer. The keyboard looks
like typewriter, although there are some additional keys
provided for performing additional functions.

Mouse
 Mouse is a pointing device.
 Generally, it has two buttons called the left and the right
button and a wheel is present between the buttons.
 A mouse can be used to control the position of the cursor on
the screen, but it cannot be used to enter text into the
computer.

Joystick
 Joystick is also a pointing device.
 It is used to move the cursor position on a monitor screen.
 It is a stick having a spherical ball at its both lower and
upper ends.
 The lower spherical ball moves in a socket. The joystick
can be moved in all four directions.
 The function of the joystick is similar to that of a mouse. It
is mainly used in Computer Aided Designing (CAD) and
playing computer games.

Light Pen
 Light pen is a pointing device similar to a pen.
 It is used to select a displayed menu item or draw pictures
on the monitor screen.

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

Magnetic Ink Card Reader (MICR)

 MICR input device is generally used in banks as there are
large number of cheques to be processed every day. The
bank's code number and cheque number are printed on the
cheques with a special type of ink that contains particles of
magnetic material that are machine readable.

Optical Character Reader (OCR)

 OCR is an input device used to read a printed text.

Bar Code Readers

  Bar Code Reader is a device used for reading bar coded
data (data in the form of light and dark lines). Bar coded
data is generally used in labeling goods, numbering the
books, etc. It may be a handheld scanner or may be
embedded in a stationary scanner.
Optical Mark Reader (OMR)
 OMR is a special type of optical scanner used to recognize
the type of mark made by pen or pencil. It is used where
one out of a few alternatives is to be selected and marked.
Output Devices:
Monitors
Monitors, commonly called as Visual Display Unit (VDU), are
the main output device of a computer. It forms images from tiny
dots, called pixels that are arranged in a rectangular form. The
sharpness of the image depends upon the number of pixels.
There are two kinds of viewing screen used for monitors.
 Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT)
 Flat-Panel Display

Printer:
Printer is an output device, which is used to print information
on paper.
There are six types of printers.

1. Dot-Matrix Printers:
The dot-matrix printer uses 9 to 24 pin print heads. Such pins
generate dot patterns to shape the individual characters on the
page.

The dot-matrix printer of 24 pins produces more dots than a

dot-matrix printer of 9 pins, which results in much better quality
and clearer characters.

2. Daisy-Wheel Printers
A daisy-wheel impact printer can be used to get quality found in
typewriters.

It is called a daisy-wheel printer because the printing

mechanism looks like a daisy.

3. Line Printers
The character-at-a-time printers are too slow in a business where
large quantities of material are printed; therefore these users
need line-at-a-time printers.

Line printers, or line-at-a-time printers, use special devices that

can print a whole line at once; usually, they can print the range
from 1,200 to 6,000 lines per minute.

4. Drum Printer
A drum printer is a large, cylindrical drum that has raised
characters on its surface in strips.

The drum rotates at a strong speed. A print hammer is placed

behind the paper for each possible print position.
Pressing each line requires one drum revolution. Typical drum
printer speeds are between 300 and 2000 lines per minute.

5. Ink-Jet Printers

The inkjet printer is the first and most common type. They are
still commonly used though a bit outdated since they are fairly
priced.

Their greatest advantage is that they can effortlessly combine

different colors.

While laser printers are quicker, inkjet printers give the best
picture and image quality.

6. Laser Printers

The majority of laser printers use light, photosensitive drums, or

photoreceptor belts.

During printing, the laser will scan the page line by line.

 Software:
Sequence of programs is called Software. For example MS
Word, Games etc.

Types of Software:

1. System software (Operating system)

2. Application software
1. System Software: System software is also known as
an Operating system. An Operating System (OS) is
an interface between a computer user and computer hardware.

Example:

Windows, Linux, Unix, Android, Mac OS, etc.

2. Application Software: Application software is a program or a

group of programs designed for users to benefit from
completing the various tasks on computer.

Example:
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.

Computer Memory
There are different storage areas where it keeps data permanently or
temporarily while working on the data, to produce the required output. This
storage area is known as the Memory of the computer. Memory is a major
part of a computer. It is similar to a human brain.

Types of memory
The memory of the computer is divided into two categories:

1. Primary Memory
2. Secondary Memory
 Primary Memory
 Primary memory is the main memory of the computer.
 It temporarily stores data. It holds only those data on which computer is
currently working.
 Primary memory is directly accessed by the CPU of a computer.
 It has limited storage capacity and data is lost when power is switched off.
 There are two types of primary memory. They are:

1.RAM (Random Access Memory)

a. DRAM:

 Dynamic random access memory (DRAM) is a type of random-access

memory that stores information for a very short time even though the power
supply is ON.
 The Dynamic RAM is cheaper than Static RAM and consumes less power.
 It is the most commonly used RAM.

b. SRAM:

 Static RAM retains stored information as long as the power supply is ON.
 They are expensive and consume more power.
 They have higher speed than Dynamic RAM.

2. ROM(Read-only Memory)

There are three types of ROM:

a. PROM
b. EPROM
c. EEPROM
 a. Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM)
PROM is a read-only memory where a user can store data permanently.
But once the data has been written, it cannot be modified or erased from
PROM.
b.Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM)
EPROM is different from PROM as unlike PROM, the program can be
written on it more than once.
c. Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
(EEPROM)
EEPROM is programmed and erased electrically. Data stored in
EEPROM can be erased and modified as many times a user desire.
Secondary Memory
 Secondary Memory is an external memory of the computer.
 It is a type of memory which stores data permanently.
 Data can be retained after the computer has been shut off.
 It is not directly accessible by CPU.
 It is less expensive than primary memory.
 Different types of secondary storage devices are:

a. Hard Disk Drive

b. Compact Disk
c. DVD Drive
d. Pen Drive
 Lesson – 2

Microsoft - WORD

MS – Word :-

1. How to start MS-WORD?

Ans. Click on Start Microsoft Office Microsoft Word 2010
 3. What are header and footer?
Ans. A header is the top margin of each page, and a footer is
the bottom margin of each page. Headers and footers are
useful for including material that you want to appear on every
page of a document such as your name, the title of the document,
or page numbers.

4. Alignment: There are four types of paragraph alignment

available in Microsoft Word — left-aligned, center-aligned,
rightaligned, and justified.
 Left-Aligned Text. A paragraph's text is left aligned when it is
aligned evenly along the left margin. ...
 Center Aligned Text. ...
 Right-Aligned Text. ...
 Justified Text.

Shortcuts for Microsoft Word

Ctrl + A Select all contents of the page
Ctrl + B Bold highlighted selection
Ctrl + X Cut selected text
Ctrl + C Copy selected text
Ctrl + V Paste selected text.
Ctrl + F Open find box
Ctrl + H Open replace box
Ctrl + G or F5 Go to
Ctrl + I Italicize highlighted section
Ctrl + J Justify paragraph
Ctrl + K Insert hyperlink
Ctrl + U Underline highlighted section
Ctrl + Shift + D Double underline highlighted selection
Ctrl + Shift + W Underline word
Ctrl + P Open the print window
Ctrl + Y Repeat the last action performed
Ctrl + Z Undo last action
Ctrl + L Aligns the line or selected text to the left of the screen
Ctrl + E Aligns the line or selected text to the center of the screen
Ctrl + R Aligns the line or selected text to the right of the screen
Ctrl + M Indent the paragraph
Ctrl + N New document
Ctrl + O Open document