Computer Fundamentals

What is a Computer?
Computer is an advanced electronic device that takes raw data as input from the user
and processes these data under the control of set of instructions (called program) and
gives the result (output) and saves output for the future use. It can process both
numerical and non-numerical (arithmetic and logical) data. A computer has four
functions:

a. accepts data Input

b. processes data Processing
c. produces result Output
d. stores results Storage

Input (Data):
Input is the raw information entered into a computer from the input devices. It is the
collection of letters, numbers, images etc.

Process:
Process is the operation of data as per given instruction. It is totally internal process of
the computer system.

Output:
Output is the processed data given by computer after data processing. Output is also
called as Result. We can save these results in the storage devices for future use.

Computer System
All of the components of a computer system can be summarized with the simple
equations.
COMPUTER SYSTEM = HARDWARE + SOFTWARE+ USER
• Hardware = Internal Devices + Peripheral Devices
All physical parts of the computer (or everything that we can touch) are known as
Hardware.
• Software = Programs
Software gives "intelligence" to the computer.
• USER = Person, who operates computer.

Figure 1Computer Architecture

INPUT/OUTPUT
Input Devices: Those devices which help to enter data into computer system. Eg.
Keyboard, Mouse, Touchscreen, Barcode Reader, Scanner, MICR, OMR etc.
 Figure 2 Input Devices

Output Devices: Those devices which help to display the processed information. Eg.
Monitor, Printer, Plotter, Projector

Figure 3 Output Devices

CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU)

The main component to make a computer operate is the computer chip or
microprocessor. This is referred to as the Central Processing Unit (CPU) and is housed
in the computer case. The CPU consistes of the Control Unit(CU) and the Arithmetic
logical Unit(ALU). The CU is responsible for controlling computer's memory,
arithmetic and logic unit and input and output devices. In other words it is responsible
for interpreting and executing instructions ALU performs arithmetic and logic
operations. Togrther they control the entire working of the computer.
 Figure 4 CPU components

MEMORY:
It facilitates the remembrance power to computer system. It refers to the physical
devices used to store programs (sequences of instructions) or data (e.g. program state
information) on a temporary or permanent basis for use in a computer or other digital
electronic device. The term primary memory is used for the information stored in
physical systems which are fast i.e. RAM and ROM.
Primary memory stored on secondary memory is called virtual memory. Primary
Memory can be categorized as Volatile Memory & Non-Volatile Memory.

Volatile memory(RAM)
Volatile memory is computer memory that requires power to maintain the stored
information. Most modern semiconductor volatile memory is either Static RAM or
dynamic RAM.
 Figure 5 RAM (Random Access Memory)

Non Volatile Memory (ROM)

Non-volatile memory is computer memory that can retain the stored information even
when not powered. Examples of non-volatile memory are flash memory and
ROM/PROM/EPROM/EEPROM memory (used for firmware such as boot programs).

Figure 6 ROM (Read Only Memory)

Cache Memory:
Cache memory is random access memory (RAM) that a computer microprocessor can
access more quickly than it can access regular RAM. As the microprocessor processes
data, it looks first in the cache memory and if it finds the data there (from a previous
reading of data), it does not have to do the more time-consuming reading of data from
larger memory. It is of two types- L1 cache is on the same chip as the microprocessor.
L2 is usually a separate static RAM (SRAM) chip.

Secondary Memory:
Secondary memory refers to the physical devices for program and data storage which
are slow to access but offer higher memory capacity. Given below is a list of secondary
memory devices.

A. Hard Disk (Local Disk)

B. Optical Disks: CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW
C. Pen Drive
D. Floppy Disks
F. Memory Cards
G. External Hard Disk
H. Blu Ray Disk

Figure 7 Secondary Memory Devices

MEMORY UNITS
Memory units are used to measure and represent data which is stored in the physical
memory devices of a computer,
The smallest unit is bit, which mean either 0 or 1. The various units of memory are as
given below:

1 1 bit = 0 or 1
2 1 Byte = 8 bit
3 1 Nibble = 4 bit
4 1 Kilo Byte = 1024 Byte
5 1 Mega Byte = 1024 KB
6 1 Gega Byte = 1024 MB
7 1 Tera Byte = 1024 GB
8 1 Peta Byte =1024 TB

SOFTWARE CONCEPTS

Software
The instructions given to the computer in the form of a program is called Software.
Software is the set of programs, which are used for different purposes. All the programs
used in computer to perform specific task is also called Software.

Types of software
1. System software: refers to the programs that are dedicated to managing the
computer , such as the operating system, file management utilities, and language
processors. .
a) Operating System Software
The operating system manages the computer hardware resources in addition to
applications and data. Examples include :
 DOS, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Unix/Linux, MAC/OS X etc.

b) Utility Software
The software which to helps to analyze, configure, optimize or maintain a computer
is called utility software. Examples include :
Windows Explorer (File/Folder Management), Compression Tool, Anti-Virus
Utilities, Disk Defragmentation, Disk Clean, BackUp, WinZip, WinRAR etc…

c) Language Processors
A language processor is a software program used to perform tasks such as processing
program code and converting it to machine code.Examples include: Compiler,
Interpreter and Assembler

2. Application software:
An application software refers to software which are created for a specific purpose. It is
generally a program or collection of programs used by end users.
a) Package Software
Ms. Office 2003, Ms. Office 2007, Macromedia (Dreamweaver, Flash, Freehand),
Adobe
(PageMaker, PhotoShop)
b) Tailored or Custom Software
School Management system, Inventory Management System, Payroll system, financial
system etc.

OPERATING SYSTEM

Operating system is a platform between hardware and user which is responsible for the
management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the resources of a
computer. It hosts several applications that run on a computer and handles the
operations of computer hardware.
Functions of operating System:
• Processor Management
• Memory Management
• File Management
• Device Management

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Figure 8 OS as an interface

Types of Operating System:

• Real-time Operating System: It is a multitasking operating system that aims at

executing real-time applications. Example of Use: e.g. control of nuclear power plants,
oil refining, chemical processing and traffic control systems, air
• Single User Systems: Provides a platform for only one user at a time. They are
popularly associated with Desk Top operating system which run on standalone
systems where no user accounts are required. Example: DOS.
• Multi User Systems: Provides regulated access for a number of users by maintaining
a database of known users. Refers to computer systems that support two or more
simultaneous users. Another term for multi-user is time sharing. Ex: All mainframes
are multi-user systems.
Example: Unix
• Multi-tasking and Single-tasking Operating Systems: When a single program is
allowed to run at a time, the system is grouped under the single-tasking system
category, while in case the operating system allows for execution of multiple tasks at
a time, it is classified as a multitasking operating system.
• Distributed Operating System: An operating system that manages a group of
independent computers and makes them appear to be a single computer is known as a
distributed operating system. Distributed computations are carried out on more than
one machine.

OPERATING SYSTEM AS A RESOURCE MANAGER

• An Operating System acts as a manager of resources of the computer system such

as processor, memory, files, and I/O device.
• The OS is responsible for a number of operations such as keeping track of the
status of each resource, deciding which subsystem is to be allocated a resource,
for how long and when.
 Figure 9 OS as a Resource Manager

Commonly used operating system

UNIX: Pronounced yoo-niks, a popular multi-user, multitasking operating system

developed at Bell Labs in the early 1970s. UNIX was one of the first operating systems
to be written in a high-level programming language, namely C. This meant that it could
be installed on virtually any computer for which a C compiler existed.

LINUX: Pronounced lee-nucks or lih-nucks. A freely-distributable open source

operating system that runs on a number of hardware platforms. The Linux kernel was
developed mainly by Linus Torvalds and it is based on Unix. Because it's free, and
because it runs on many platforms, including PCs and Macintoshes, Linux has become
an extremely popular alternative to proprietary operating systems.

Windows: Microsoft Windows is a series of graphical interface operating systems

developed, marketed, and sold by Microsoft. Microsoft introduced an operating
environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in
response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces (GUIs
SOLARIS: Solaris is a Unix operating system originally developed by Sun
Microsystems. It superseded their earlier SunOS in 1993. Oracle Solaris, as it is now
known, has been owned by Oracle Corporation since Oracle's acquisition of Sun in
January 2010.

BOSS: BOSS (Bharat Operating System Solutions) GNU/Linux distribution developed

by C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) derived from Debian for
enhancing the use of Free/Open Source Software throughout India. This release aims
more at the security part and comes with an easy to use application to harden your
Desktop.

Mobile OS: A mobile operating system, also called a mobile OS, is an operating system
that is specifically designed to run on mobile devices such as mobile phones,
smartphones, PDAs, tablet computers and other handheld devices. The mobile
operating system is the software platform on top of which other programs, called
application programs, can run on mobile devices.

• Android: Android is a Linux-based mobile phone operating system developed by

Google. Android is unique because Google is actively developing the platform but
giving it away for free to hardware manufacturers and phone carriers who want to use
Android on their devices.

• Symbian: Symbian is a mobile operating system (OS) targeted at mobile phones that
offers a high-level of integration with communication and personal information
management (PIM) functionality.
 This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
Figure 10 Examples of some commonly used OS

LANGUAGE PROCESSORS: Since a computer hardware is capable of

understanding only machine level instructions, so it is necessary to convert the HLL
into Machine Level Language. This task is performed by language processors. There
are three Language processors:

A. Compiler: It is translator which coverts the HLL language into machine language
in one go. A source program in high level language gets converted into an object
program in machine level language as a whole and then the program is executed.

B. Interpreter: It is a translator which converts the HLL language into machine

language line by line. It takes one statement of HLL and converts it into machine
code which is immediately executed. It eliminates the need of separate
compilation/run. However, It is slow in processing as compared to compiler.

C. Assembler: It translate the assembly language into machine code.

RUNNING A PROGRAM ON THE COMPUTER

After the computer is switched on, the operating system is loaded on to the memory
(RAM). After the OS is loaded, the program can be run using the appropriate button/
command. This command instructs the OS to load your program file on to the CPU.
The program is then executed.

INTERNAL STORAGE ENCODING OF CHARACTERS:

ASCII( American standard code for information interchange): ASCII code is most
widely used alphanumeric code used in computers. It is a 7- bit code, and so it has 2 7
=128 possible code groups.
It represents all of the standard keyboard characters as well as control functions such as
Return & Linefeed functions.

ISCII(Indian standard code for information interchange) : To use the Indian

language on computers, ISCII codes are used. It is an 8-bit code capable of coding 28
=256 characters. ISCII code retains all ASCII characters and offers coding for Indian
scripts also.

Unicode: It is a universal coding standard which provides a unique number for every
character, no matter what the platform, no matter what the program, no matter what the
language. Unicode version 3.1 represented 94,140 characters.

UTF8: UTF-8 (8-bit Unicode Transformation Format) is a variable width character

encoding capable of encoding all 1,112,064 valid code points in Unicode using one to
four 8-bit bytes. It has been the dominant encoding for the World Wide Web.

UTF32: UTF-32 (32-bit Unicode Transformation Format) is a fixed-length encoding

used to encode Unicode code points that uses exactly 32 bits (four bytes) per code .
UTF-32 is a fixed-length encoding, in contrast to all other Unicode transformation
formats, which are variable-length encodings

CLOUD COMPUTING
Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources,
especially data storage and computing power, without direct active management by the
user. Data is not stored on the PC in this case. It is available and accessible across
devices.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY- SA

Figure 11 Cloud Computing Structure
Clouds may be limited to a single organization (enterprise clouds), or be available to
many organizations (public cloud).

Advantages :
1. Cost Effective: Since it does not require physical hardware installation, the cost
of maintenance is very low. The data is accessible on demand thus no need for
keeping printouts etc.
2. High Speed : The services can be deployed very quickly thus making resources
available in a few minutes.
3. Easy Back up and Restore: The back up and restoration of data is a time
consuming process which requires resources. But with cloud computing this has
become very simple and quick.
4. Huge storage: The cloud offers almost unlimited storage with more and more
providers offering extensive storage.
5. Software updates: In most cloud computing applications software integration
takes place automatically thus saving user efforts and time.
6. Remote access: Due to the nature of the storage and accessibility, users can
access data and services on the move.
7. Collaboration : Geographically distant users working on the same
project/company can easily collaborate and exchange ideas etc.

Disadvantages:
1. Technical issues: Cloud systems are prone to outages and technical glitches. This
can adversely affect the performance.
2. Performance issues: Since resources are shared in cloud computing, performance
issues prevail.
3. Security: Since the data is on the cloud, it is not entirely safe from crackers. Also
sensitive information is prone to cyber attacks.
4. Internet Connectivity: To access services and data on the cloud , good Internet
quality is essential.
Cloud Computing Services

Cloud computing can be broken up into three main services: Software-as-a-Service

(SaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS).

SaaS is on the top of the stack allows users to interact primarily with software hosted
on the cloud, and not the platform or infrastructure on which it runs. PaaS allows users
to create and deploy applications. IaaS is simply the infrastructure and hardware that
powers the cloud.

Blockchain Technology
When we talk of Blockchain Technology refers to the record keeping technology used
to holds transactional records while ensuring security, transparency, and
decentralization. The “block” and “chain” in this context, we are actually talking about
digital information (the “block”) stored in a public database (the “chain”).

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Figure 12 Blockchain Representation

“Blocks” on the blockchain are made up of digital pieces of information. These are
basically transactions like a purchase transation from an e commerce website. Each
transaction on a blockchain is secured with a digital signature that proves its authenticity.
Due to the use of encryption and digital signatures, the data stored on the blockchain is
tamper-proof and cannot be changed. An Example of blockchain tecnology is
crytocurrency.

Other areas where blockchain technology is used or is in the process of deployment are
banking, healthcare, voting , supplychain, property record etc.

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Figure 13 Blockchain : working