Introduction to Computer

When you heard the word computer what comes into you mind?

 Brilliant invention
 Store and process huge amount of data
 Speed up daily work, carry complicated or critical transactions
 Achieve accuracy and precision in work

Computer is a word derived from a word “compute” which means to

calculate. In simple words you can say that computer is an electronic
device which is used for fast calculation.

A computer is described as an electronic device because; it is made up of

electronic components and uses electric energy (such as electricity) to
operate.

Why Is A Computer So Efficient?

 It doesn’t get tired
 The ability to work on projects with
amazing speed
 Reliability (low failure rate)
 Very Accurate
 Able to store huge amounts of data
and information
 Able to communicate with other
computers

When most people hear the word computer, they think of a personal
computer such as a desktop or laptop. However, computers come in many
shapes and sizes, and they perform many different functions in our daily
lives. When you withdraw cash from an ATM, scan groceries at the store,
or use a calculator, you're using a type of computer.

Different Types of Computers

Based on the operational principles of computers, they are categorized as
Analog, Digital and Hybrid computers.
1. Analog Computers: Almost extinct today. It uses Analogue
(continuous) data. Analog data is continuous in nature. It must be
represented in physical nature in order to be processed by the
computer. Analogue data is obtained by measurement. E.g.
Pressure, Temperature, Humidity, Lengths or currents, etc.
Analog computers can perform several mathematical operations
simultaneously. It uses continuous variables for mathematical
operations and utilizes mechanical and electrical energy. Ex.
Thermometer, speedometer, seismometer (earthquake measuring
equipment)

2. Digital Computers
They use digital circuits and are design to operate on two states, the bits
0 and 1. They are analogous to states ON and OFF.
Data is represented by 0s and 1s.

Digital computers use Digital (discrete) data. Digital data is discrete in

nature it is a random variable, represented in the form of numbers,
alphabets or symbols.
✔ Suitable for complex computation and have higher processing
speeds.
✔ They are programmable
✔ They are either general purpose computers which is for general use
or special purpose computers for specific use.
 Hybrid Computers
✔ These computers are combination of both digital and analog
computers. This type of computer is intended to provide functions
and features in both analog and digital computers. Ex.
Monitoring machine, ultrasound machine, ECG, Defence

Classification of Computers
Classification of different types of computers based on their sizes and
functionalities:

1. Mainframe Computers
large organizations use for highly critical
applications such as bulk data processing.
Some have the capacity to host multiple
operating systems and operate as a number of
virtual machines.

2. Minicomputers
In between the size of mainframes and
microcomputers, also called mid-range systems
of workstation. It consists of two or more
processors and can support 4 to 200 users at
one time. Mainframe computers are used in
institutes and departments for tasks such as
billing, accounting and inventory management.
 3. Servers
They are designed to provide
services to client machines in
computer network. They have
larger storage capacities and
powerful processors. Running on
them are programs that serve
clients requests and allocate
resources like memory and time
to client machines. Usually, they
are very large in size, as they have large processors and many hard
drives. They are design to be fail-safe and resistance to crash.
4. Supercomputers
Supercomputers are the biggest and
fastest computers. Use for highly
calculation-intensive tasks. It
can process trillions of instructions
in a second. It has thousands of
interconnected processors.
Supercomputers are used in the study
of quantum physics, mechanics, weather forecasting, and molecular
theory. Their hierarchy of memory give supercomputers, large transaction
process powers.

5. Microcomputers
a computer with microprocessor and its
central processing unit is known as a
microcomputer. A monitor, a keyboard
and other similar input output devices,
computer memory such as RAM and a
power supply unit come packaged in a
microcomputer. Fit for single-user task.

Types of Personal Computers

Desktop - intended to be used on a single location. The spare parts of a
desktop are readily available at relatively lower costs. It is widely used in
the workplace and households.
Laptops - laptop are miniaturized and optimized for mobile used. They
run on a single battery or external adapter that charges the computer
batteries.

Netbooks - They fall in the category of laptops, but

are inexpensive and relatively smaller size

Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) - It is a

handheld computer and popularly known as a
palmtop. It has a touch screen and a memory
card for data storage. They can also be used as
portable audio players, web browser, and
smartphones. Most of them can access the
internet.

Tablet Computers - tablets are mobile computer that are handy to use.
They use the touch screen technology. Keyboard are on screen and use a
stylus (digital pen).
Wearable Computers - a record-breaking
step in the evolution of computers. These
computers can be worn on the body and are
often used in the study of behavior modeling
and human health. Used by military and
health professionals into their daily routine, as
part of such studies. When the users’ hands
and sensory organs are engaged in other activities, wearable computers
track human actions. They are automatically remaining in operation
without human intervention.

Generations of Computers
 What pop-ups into your mind when you hear the word generations
of computer?

A generation of computers refers to the specific improvements in

computer technology with time. In 1946, electronic pathways called
circuits were developed to perform the counting. It replaced the gears and
other mechanical parts used for counting in previous computing
machines.
In each new generation, the circuits became smaller and more advanced
than the previous generation circuits. The miniaturization helped increase
the speed, memory and power of computers. There are five generations of
computers which are described below;

First Generation Computers

The first generation (1946-1959) computers were
built using Vacuum tubes, and the speed was
measured in Milliseconds.

The first-generation computers were slow, huge

and expensive. In these computers, vacuum tubes were used as the basic
components of CPU and memory. These computers were mainly depended
on batch operating system and punch cards. Magnetic tape and paper
tape were used as output and input devices in this generation;
Some of the popular first-generation computers are;
o ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer)
o EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer)
o UNIVACI (Universal Automatic Computer)
o IBM-701
o IBM-650
ENIAC programmers
ENIAC programmers
Frances Bilas (later Frances
Spence) and Betty Jean
Jennings (later Jean Bartik)
stand at its main control
panels. Both held degrees
in mathematics. Bilas
operated the Moore
School’s Differential
Analyzer before joining the
ENIAC project.

Second Generation Computers

The second generation (1959-1965) Were built using
Transistors. Their operation speeds increased & were
measured in Microseconds.
These computers used transistors which were cheap, compact and
consuming less power; it made transistor computers faster than the first
generation-computers.
In this generation, magnetic cores were used as the primary memory and
magnetic disc and tapes were used as the secondary storage. Assembly
language and programming languages like COBOL and FORTRAN, and
Batch processing and multiprogramming operating systems were used in
these computers.
Some of the popular second-generation computers are;
o IBM 1620
o IBM 7094
o CDC 1604
o CDC 3600
o UNIVAC 1108
J. Presper Eckert
and CBS's Walter
Cronkite
pondering the
UNIVAC on
election night,
1952.

Third Generation Computers

The third-generation computers used integrated
circuits (ICs) instead of transistors. A single IC
can pack huge number of transistors which
increased the power of a computer and reduced
the cost. Integrated Circuit (IC), which combined a no. of
transistors & diodes together on a silicon chip, was
developed. The speed increased to tens of millions of
operations per second.

The computers also became more reliable, efficient and smaller in size.
These generation computers used remote processing, time-sharing, multi
programming as operating system. Also, the high-level programming
languages like FORTRON-II TO IV, COBOL, PASCAL PL/1, ALGOL-68 were
used in this generation.
Some of the popular third
generation computers are;
o IBM-360 series
o Honeywell-6000 series
o PDP (Personal Data
Processor)
o IBM-370/168
 o TDC-316

An IBM System/360 in use at Volkswagen.

Fourth Generation Computers

The fourth generation (1971-1980) computers used very large scale
integrated (VLSI) circuits; a chip containing millions of transistors and
other circuit elements. These chips made this generation computers more
compact, powerful, fast and affordable. These generation computers used
real time, time sharing and distributed operating system. The
programming languages like C, C++, DBASE were also used in this
generation.

Some of the popular fourth generation computers are;

o DEC 10
o STAR 1000
o PDP 11
o CRAY-1(Super Computer)
o CRAY-X-MP(Super Computer)

DEC 16-bit, OS UNIX

Fifth Generation Computers

In fifth generation (1980-till date) computers, the VLSI technology was

replaced with ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration). It made possible the
production of microprocessor chips with ten million electronic
components. This generation computers used parallel processing
hardware and AI (Artificial Intelligence) software. The programming
languages used in this generation were C, C++, Java, .Net, etc.
Some of the popular fifth
generation computers are;
o Desktop
o Laptop
o NoteBook
o UltraBook
o ChromeBook
 The fifth generation of computers use a single chip
called a Microprocessor, which could perform all
the operations on the computer’s processor. The
chip contained about 1,600 transistors.

Today’s microprocessors are very powerful,

cheaper & more reliable, which combines hundreds
of thousands of components onto a single chip.

How Computer Works

By the end of the lesson, student should be able to:
 Describe the five main areas of the computer system
 Show these stages on a Von Neumann
 State the difference between hardware and software

A computer is a programmable electronic device that accepts raw data

as input and processes it with a set of instructions (a program) to
produce the result as output. It renders output just after performing
mathematical and logical operations and can save the output for future
use. It can process numerical as well as non-numerical calculations. It
also has a memory that stores the data, programs, and result of
processing.

A computer machine is used to process the information provided by us.

It takes information or data from one end, store it to process, and
finally, after completing the processing, it output the result on the
other hand. The information it takes at one end is known as Computer
Input, and the result that it provides after processing is known
as Computer Output.

The basic parts without which a computer cannot work are as

follows:
o Processor/CPU: It executes instructions from software and
hardware.
o Primary Memory: It is for data transfer between the CPU and
storage.
o Motherboard: It is the part that connects all other parts or
components of a computer.
 o Secondary Memory: It permanently stores the data, e.g., hard
drive.
o Input Device: It allows you to communicate with the computer or
to input data and or enter commands
o Output Device: The output device is a hardware component that
translates processed data into a human-readable or machine-usable
format. It enables you to see the output e.g., monitor.

These components are the essential building parts of developing a

functional computer system. The components that make up a computer
are called computer components. The processor (CPU), memory, and
input/output devices are every computer's three main building blocks.
Initially computers were primarily used for numerical computations
because any information can be numerically encoded.
Data Processing
Student should be able to:
1. Create a Venn Diagram comparing input and output devices, with
the intersection representing devices that can be both input and
output.
2. Explain what is data processing
3. Illustrate how computer process data
4. Appreciate how computer process data
TLE_IACSS9- 12PCO–Id-e-5

Data: Is a collection of raw facts, figures or instructions that do not have

much meaning to the user.

Data may be in form of numbers, alphabets/letters or symbols, and can be

processed to produce information.

Data Processing:
data processing, manipulation of data by a computer. It includes
the conversion of raw data to machine-readable form, flow of data through
the CPU and memory to output devices, and formatting or transformation
of output.

Processing refers to the way the data is manipulated (or handled) to

turn it into information.
The processing may involve calculation, comparison or any other logic to
produce the required result. The processing of the data usually results in
some meaningful information being produced.

Information: is the data which has been refined, summarized &

manipulated in the way you want it, or into a more meaningful form for
decision-making. The information must be accurate, timely, complete and
relevant.

Operations of Computer Components

1. Inputting: It is the process of entering raw data, instructions and
information into the computer. Input devices are used to enter
information and instructions into a computer system. Data is
transferred to the CPU for processing after inputting by an input
device.
2. Processing: It is the process of converting the raw data into useful
information. This process is performed by the CPU of the
computer. The CPU performs arithmetic computations, logical
operations, and data transport processes.
3. Storing: It stores the data before sending it to CPU for processing
and also stores the processed data before displaying it as output.
The primary memory, sometimes called RAM, is where the CPU
processes the data and instructions. Hard disc drives and solid-state
drives, which serve as secondary memory, offer long-term storage
for data and programs that are not currently used.
4. Outputting: It is the process of presenting the processed data
through output devices like monitor, printer and speakers. These
devices display or produce the results of the processing performed
by the CPU.
 5. Controlling: This operation is performed by the control unit that is
part of CPU. The control unit ensures that all basic operations are
executed in a right manner and sequence. The main circuit board
connects all the parts of the computer. It also regulates the data
flow between them, ensuring they function properly and connecting

them all.

Activity:
1. Give me an example of an input and output process

Types and Part of Computer

There are two basic components that make up the computer:

Hardware and Software

Hardware refers to the computer's tangible components or delivery

systems that store and run the written instructions provided by the
software. The software is the intangible part of the device that lets the
user interact with the hardware and command it to perform specific
tasks.

Components of Computer Hardware

Guide Question:
 Name hardware components that are inside the system Unit.

Parts and component of the system unit:

1. The System Unit Case - This component holds all of
the physical parts of a computer system.
A good way to discharge yourself from electrostatic charge
before working on a computer is to touch the case and a
ground strap. It will safeguard the computer’s circuits from
being damaged by static discharge.

2. Motherboard - It is a printed circuit board in

which the CPU, RAM, drives, power supply,
expansion cards, and more are plugged into.

The motherboard is a computer's central

communications backbone connectivity point,
through which all components and external
peripherals connect. Its function involves
integrating all the physical components to
communicate and operate together.

3. Central Processing Unit (CPU) - is the brain of

computer systems. It processes all the information on a
computational level. It takes all the processes from the
 RAM and processes them to perform the tasks required by the
computer system, basic parts the ALU and Control unit.
CPU sockets, the critical interfaces between a motherboard and a
processor, the following are four (4) varieties:
1. ZIF (Zero Insertion Force): Although this is a
more desirable socket, they are mostly found on
older motherboard. It has a lever-operated
mechanism to clamp the pins of the processor.

2. PGA (Pin Grid Array): It is also a ZIF

socket with a different pin pitch and
count.

3. LGA (Land Grid Array): More commonly

found on motherboards today. A levered
hinged plate with a center cut-out clamps
down on the processor.

4. BGA (Ball Grid Array):

The CPU is soldered directly
onto the motherboard. This
makes it a non-user-
swappable component. It is
susceptible to bad
connectivity.

4. Random Access Memory - RAM is a data

storage device that can provide fast read and
write access. RAM is volatile memory, meaning
it loses all the stored data when power is lost. The RAM keeps data
ready for the CPU to process.
 ROM is a form of memory this is used to store data and instructions
that don't change.

5. Expansion Card -
Alternatively called
an adapter card, add-on
card, expansion
board, internal card, interface
adapter, or card,
an expansion card is
a PCB (printed circuit board)
that fits into an expansion
slot on the motherboard. An
expansion card is an internal
card that gives a computer
additional capability, such as
enhanced video performance
via a graphics card.
Expansion cards allow the
capabilities and interfaces of
a computer system to be
extended or supplemented in
a way appropriate to the tasks it will perform.

Types of Expansion Slots in the Motherboard

PCI Express (PCIe)
The PCI Express slot is the most popular interface today. They come in
different versions offering varying amounts of
bandwidth:
 PCIe 1.0–250 MB/s per lane
 PCIe 2.0–500 MB/s per lane
 PCIe 3.0–985 MB/s per lane
 PCIe 4.0–1969 MB/s per lane (newest
version)

Bandwidth scales according to the number of lanes (x1, x4, x8, x16 are
common). More lanes mean higher maximum data transfer rates.

PCIe is a serial interface and offers excellent scalability for advanced

graphics cards, SSDs, WiFi/Bluetooth cards, and other add-ons. Hot
swapping is supported.
AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port)
An older slot designed especially for video cards. It
has been phased out in favor of PCIe slots. Offered
fast speeds tailored for graphics at the time.

PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect)

An earlier standard slot in desktops. It runs at 33 MHz
with a maximum bandwidth of 133 MBps. PCI slots
are rarely found in modern systems but offered
backwards compatibility for numerous card types.

Common Types of Expansion Cards

Graphics Card or Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)
It can also be referred to as a video or display
card. A graphic card is an output device that
processes the data from the motherboard and
sends the appropriate information to the
computer’s screen for display.
You can connect monitors to it using HDMI,
DisplayPort, DVI, or VGA connectors.

Sound Card - used for audio output. A sound

processing chip on the card does all of the audio
processing

Network Cards - A network interface card (NIC)

adds or enhances networking capabilities. They may offer faster wired
speeds like 2.5 GbE or WiFi/Bluetooth connectivity if the motherboard
lacks it.
 Local Area Network Card - LAN Card is the network interface card
that is used by the device to communicate with the network. The
primary function of a LAN Card is to provide a connection to a
network.
Storage drives Hard drives, SSDs, and RAID cards can be added via PCIe
or other slots. Great for increasing capacity and performance. For
example, PCIe NVMe SSDs offer blazing transfer speeds compared to old
rotating drives.
Difference Between Expansion Slots and Expansion Cards
It’s easy to confuse slots and cards, but understanding the difference is
important:
 Expansion slots are the physical connectors built into the
motherboard. They provide the interface and bandwidth to add
capabilities.
 Expansion cards are the hardware devices that get installed into the
slots. They enable the extra functionality using dedicated
processors, memory, and components tailor-made for the job.

6. Hard Drive - A hard drive is the hardware component that stores

all of your digital content.
The following are types of hard drive:
 Hard Disk Drive (HDD) - A mechanical drive’s
purpose is to store all your information for retrieval at any
time. HDDs are “non-volatile” storage devices,
meaning they retain stored data even when power
isn't being supplied.
There are various categories of hard drives made for
various real-world applications. Some examples include:
● General use for desktops or laptops
● Gaming optimized for desktops or laptops
● General high-capacity storage
● NAS Devices
● Servers
● Video recording

 Solid State Drive (SSD) - An

SSD is also a type of hard
drive. While the capacity of
SSDs is increasing, they aren’t
cost-effective for storing large
amounts. A mechanical drive
has a cheaper gigabyte-to-
dollar ratio. However, the SSD
is a high-performance drive.
It’s fast and cannot be as
easily damaged by dropping it or taking a few bumps. SSDs are available
as 2.5-inch laptop encapsulated drives, and an M.2 SDD is the most
commonly used kind on the market.
 7. Integrated Drive Electronics - IDE is a widely used interface
standard, it allows for the connection and communication between a
computer's motherboard and its storage devices. It is commonly used for
connecting hard disk drives (HDDs) and optical disc drives (ODDs) to the
computer system.
 PATA (Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment), short for Parallel
ATA (Advance Technology Attachment), is an IDE standard
 SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) - SATA 1.0 was first
released in August 2001 and is a placement for the Parallel ATA interface
used in IBM compatible computers. Serial ATA is capable of delivering
1.5 Gbps (1500 MBps) of performance to each drive within a disk
array.

8.

Floppy Disk Drive and CD

Disk Drive - To access
optically stored digital
information stored on a
compact disk, or a floppy disk.

9. Power Supply Unit (PSU)

A power supply unit mounts inside the
computer case. It converts the AC mains
supply from the power cord from a wall socket
and supplies the correct DC voltages to all the
parts of a computer.
A computer power supply supplies the
following voltages:
 +3.3v: This voltage is
supplied to the motherboard.
 +5V: This voltage is supplied
to the motherboard and
other computer hardware.
  +12V: This voltage is supplied to the motherboard and
other components.
 -12V: This voltage is supplied to the motherboard.
The higher the wattage, the higher the electrical current that can be made
available to everything that needs it to function properly. The higher you
go in Watts, the more the power supply will likely cost.
10. CPU Cooler a fan on top of a computer
processor. It helps pull and blow hot air off the
processor, helping keep it cooler.

11. BIOS-Basic
Input/Output System - Wakes
up the computer when you turn it
on and reminds it what part it has
and what they do. BIOS perform
Power on Self-test (POST). The
POST is the Power On Self-Test which the BIOS runs when you
power on the computer.

Complementary Metal Oxide

Semi-Conductor (CMOS
Battey) - Used to store startup
configuration options such as:
● also called coin-cell battery
● helps the BIOS or UEFI to
store the hardware
configuration settings
● CMOS chips use batteries
to maintain the date and
time when the computer is turned off.
● It can be changed.

Front Panel Connector

Power Connector
 North and South Bridge Chipset
Northbridge is connected directly to the
CPU. It is responsible for the tasks that
require the highest performance. It is
usually paired with Southbridge, also
known us I/O controller hub.
 External Hardware Devices

 Automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR) - a

device that regulates the voltage supplied
to your computer, ensuring that it receives
a stable and consistent power supply. It
does so by regulating the voltage
fluctuations that occur in the power supply.
This ensures the output voltage delivered
to the appliance remains constant at all times. It maintains the
amount of electricity that enters into power
supply

 Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) - A back-

up battery that ensures uninterruptible power
supply during power outages.

 Monitor is an output device to

visualize the graphics information
sent from the computer’s GPU.
There are various types of monitors on
the market. An LED (Light Emitting
Diode) backlit LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) monitor is the most commonly
used with a modern PC.

1. Cathode Ray Tube - a presentation screen that

produces pictures as a video signal. It is a sort of
vacuum tube that display pictures when electron
beams from an electron gun strike a luminous
surface. In other words, the CRT produces beams,
accelerates them at high speed, and deflects
them to make pictures on a phosphor screen.

2. LEDs last longer, and

have longer lifespans
and provide sharper and
higher-quality images
than LCD monitors.

3. LCD display liquid crystal, monitors are

cheaper

 Keyboard

 Mouse - allows the user to move a pointer displayed on the monitor

 Scanner - it functions by scanning it to produce a replicated digital
image for a computer to save. The flatbed scanner is one of the
most commonly used today.
 Speaker
 Webcam
 Projector
 Printer – The following are types of printers
 1. Dot Matrix Printer - Good for printing multiple copies –
Dot matrix printers are great for printing multiple copies of
the same document, they can handle multiple sheets of
paper at a time, this is useful for printing invoices, receipts,
or other forms that need multiple copies.
2. Inkjet - produces hard copies of a text document or
photo by spraying droplets of ink onto paper. If you want
high quality images.
3. Laser printer - If you want to print a lot of text, a laser
printer might be better

Cable Connectors
For monitor:
DVI – Digital Video Interface
HDMI – High Definition Multi
Media Interface

For keyboard:
 Serial
 PS2
 USB

For printer:
● Parallel Cable
● Serial
● USB

For Speaker/Headset/Headphone and Microphone:

● USB
● Audio Jack
Activity:
Recognize the following computer hardware and cable component

Software
Software also refers to as Program is a set of related instructions
written in the language of the computer and is used to make the
computer perform a specific task (or, to direct the computer on what to
do).

A set of related instructions which specify how the data is to be processed.

A set of
instructions used to
guide a computer
through a process.
CPU
A computer machine's "brain" is its central processing unit (CPU). It
executes the calculations and commands required for functioning of the
computer device.
The components of a computer such as machinery that includes wires,
transistors, circuits, hard disk are called hardware. Whereas, the programs
and data are called software.
Primary Memory
The CPU has direct access to primary memory, sometimes referred to
as random access memory (RAM). The data and instructions that are
currently being processed are kept in primary memory. The data and
instructions are accessed by the CPU from primary memory when a
computer program is running. The information is removed from primary
memory once the program is completed.
Primary memory is classified into two
types: random access memory (RAM)
and read-only memory (ROM).

o RAM is the most common form of

primary memory and is used to
store data and instructions that
the CPU wishes to access
frequently. RAM is volatile, which
means that its contents are lost when the computer is turned off.

o ROM is a form of memory this is used to store data and instructions

that don't change. ROM is non-volatile, which means that its
contents aren't lost while the computer is turned off. ROM is used to
keep firmware and the laptop's basic input/Output machine (BIOS),
that are required for the computer to boot up and function well.
Other primary memory types, including cache memory, are sometimes
used in computer systems. High-speed memory called cache saves
information and instructions, which might be utilized often.

Secondary Memory:
Secondary memory, also called auxiliary storage, is a type of computer
memory that is used to store data and programs that aren't currently
being utilized by the CPU. In contrast to primary memory, secondary
memory is non-volatile, which means that its contents are not lost
when the computer is turned off.

There are several types of secondary memory devices, such as hard

disk drives (HDD), solid-state drives (SSD), optical disks (including CDs
and DVDs), and USB flash drives. These devices have varying storage
capacities, read and write speeds, and different capabilities that make
them appropriate for different types of applications.
o Hard disc drives are the most typical secondary memory tool in
computing devices and laptop computers. They come in various
sizes and speeds and keep data on magnetic discs. However, solid-
state drives employ flash memory to store data and are typically
quicker and more reliable despite being extra high-priced than
HDDs.
o Optical discs are a secondary memory that reads and writes data to
discs using lasers. They are frequently used for data backup,
distribution of software, and other digital information. Small,
portable storage devices known as USB flash drives are connected
to a computer's USB connection.
Users can store a lot of data and programs in secondary memory,
which is useful since it makes them accessible fast and readily when
needed. Users can also protect crucial data from loss due to system
crashes or other issues by using secondary memory devices as
backups.

Output Devices:
Output devices are hardware components of a computer system that
are used to show or send data from the pc to the user or any other
device. They enable customers to view and engage with the
information and applications the computer is processing. Speakers,
projectors, printers, and monitors are a few examples of output
devices.
Illustration: Data Processing Concept: The Data Processing Cycle and Computer Processing Operations

Hardware VS Software
CPU
A computer machine's "brain" is its central processing unit (CPU). It
executes the calculations and commands required for functioning of the
computer device.
The components of a computer such as machinery that includes wires,
transistors, circuits, hard disk are called hardware. Whereas, the programs
and data are called software.
o The CPU is in charge of reading and decoding instructions from
memory. The right part of the CPU receives and executes these
instructions from the control unit.
o Control unit, subcomponent of a central processing unit (CPU) that
manages a computer's operations. The control unit fetches
instructions from the CPU's memory, represented in bits, and
translates those instructions into control signals in the form of
pulses of electricity or light.
o The ALU, often known as the arithmetic logic unit. The ALU operates
addition, subtraction, comparison calculations, and other logical and
 mathematical processes. These operations are carried out using
binary logic, which limits operations to the 0 and 1 digits.
o Registers are compact, high-speed data and instruction storage
spaces within the CPU. They are utilized to store data that is being
processed by the CPU momentarily. Registers are used to accelerate
data processing because they are much faster than other forms of
memory, such as RAM.
o The CPU's clock speed is yet another crucial aspect that affects
overall performance. The clock speed, measured in GHz (gigahertz),
controls what number of commands the integral processing unit can
process in a second.

programs

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