Computer Fundamentals & MS

Office
Section- B

Dr. Dalip
Associate Professor
MMICTBM, MM(DU)

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 Input Devices
Following are some of the important input devices which are used in a
computer :
• Keyboard
• Mouse
• Joy Stick
• Light pen
• Track Ball
• Scanner
• Graphic Tablet
• Microphone
• Magnetic Ink Card Reader(MICR)
• Optical Character Reader(OCR)
• Bar Code Reader
• Optical Mark Reader(OMR)

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 Keyboard
Keyboard is the most common and very popular input device which helps to
input data to the computer. The layout of the keyboard is like that of traditional
typewriter, although there are some additional keys provided for performing
additional functions.

Keyboards are of two sizes 84 keys or 101/102 keys, but now keyboards with
104 keys or 108 keys are also available for Windows and Internet.

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 Keyboard
S. No Keys & Description
1 Typing Keys
These keys include the letter keys (A-Z) and digit keys (09) which generally give the same layout as that of
typewriters.
2 Numeric Keypad
It is used to enter the numeric data or cursor movement. Generally, it consists of a set of 17 keys that are laid
out in the same configuration used by most adding machines and calculators.
3 Function Keys
The twelve function keys are present on the keyboard which are arranged in a row at the top of the keyboard.
Each function key has a unique meaning and is used for some specific purpose.
4 Control keys
These keys provide cursor and screen control. It includes four directional arrow keys. Control keys also
include Home, End, Insert, Delete, Page Up, Page Down, Control(Ctrl), Alternate(Alt), Escape(Esc).
5 Special Purpose Keys
Keyboard also contains some special purpose keys such as Enter, Shift, Caps Lock, Num Lock, Space bar,
Tab, and Print Screen.

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 Mouse
Mouse is the most popular pointing device. It is a very famous cursor-control
device having a small palm size box with a round ball at its base, which senses
the movement of the mouse and sends corresponding signals to the CPU when
the mouse buttons are pressed.
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.

Advantages
• Easy to use
• Not very expensive
• Moves the cursor faster than the arrow keys
of the keyboard.

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 Joystick
Joystick is also a pointing device, which 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.

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 Track Ball
Track ball is an input device that is mostly used in notebook or laptop
computer, instead of a mouse. This is a ball which is half inserted and by
moving fingers on the ball, the pointer can be moved.

Since the whole device is not moved, a track ball requires less space than a
mouse. A track ball comes in various shapes like a ball, a button, or a square.

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 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.

Scanner captures images from the source which are then converted into a
digital form that can be stored on the disk. These images can be edited before
they are printed.

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 Digitizer
Digitizer is an input device which converts analog information into digital
form. Digitizer can convert a signal from the television or camera into a series
of numbers that could be stored in a computer. They can be used by the
computer to create a picture of whatever the camera had been pointed at.

Digitizer is also known as Tablet or Graphics Tablet as it converts graphics and

pictorial data into binary inputs. A graphic tablet as digitizer is used for fine
works of drawing and image manipulation applications.

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 Microphone
Microphone is an input device to input sound that is then stored in a digital
form.

The microphone is used for various applications such as adding sound to a

multimedia presentation or for mixing music.

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 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.

This reading process is called Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR).

The main advantages of MICR is that it is fast and less error prone.

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 Optical Character Reader (OCR)
OCR is an input device used to read a printed text.

OCR scans the text optically, character by character, converts them into a
machine readable code, and stores the text on the system memory.

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 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 labelling goods,
numbering the books, etc. It may be a handheld scanner or may be embedded
in a stationary scanner.

Bar Code Reader scans a bar code image, converts it into an alphanumeric
value, which is then fed to the computer that the bar code reader is connected

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 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.

It is specially used for checking the answer sheets of examinations having

multiple choice questions.

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 Output Devices
Following are some of the important output devices used in a computer.

• Monitors
• Graphic Plotter
• Printer

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 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

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 CRT Monitor
The CRT display is made up of small picture elements called pixels. The
smaller the pixels, the better the image clarity or resolution.

A finite number of characters can be displayed on a screen at once. The screen

can be divided into a series of character boxes - fixed location on the screen
where a standard character can be placed. Most screens are capable of
displaying 80 characters of data horizontally and 25 lines vertically.
There are some disadvantages of CRT −
• Large in Size
• High power consumption
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 Flat-Panel Display Monitor
The flat-panel display refers to a class of video devices that have reduced
volume, weight and power requirement in comparison to the CRT. You can
hang them on walls or wear them on your wrists. Current uses of flat-panel
displays include calculators, video games, monitors, laptop computer, and
graphics display.

The flat-panel display is divided into two categories −

Emissive Displays − Emissive displays are devices that convert electrical
energy into light. For example, plasma panel and LED (Light-Emitting
Diodes).
Non-Emissive Displays − Non-emissive displays use optical effects to convert
sunlight or light from some other source into graphics patterns. For example,
LCD (Liquid-Crystal Device).
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 Printers
Printer is an output device, which is used to print information on paper.

There are two types of printers −

• Impact Printers
• Non-Impact Printers

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 Impact Printer
Impact printers print the characters by striking them on the ribbon, which is
then pressed on the paper.

Characteristics of Impact Printers are the following −

• Very low consumable costs
• Very noisy
• Useful for bulk printing due to low cost
• There is physical contact with the paper to produce an image

These printers are of two types −

• Character printers
• Line printers

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 Character Printer
Character printers are the printers which print one character at a time.

These are further divided into two types:

• Dot Matrix Printer(DMP)
• Daisy Wheel

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 Dot Matrix Printer(DMP)
In the market, one of the most popular printers is Dot Matrix Printer. These
printers are popular because of their ease of printing and economical price.

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 Dot Matrix Printer(DMP)
Advantages
• Inexpensive
• Widely Used
• Other language characters can be printed

Disadvantages
• Slow Speed
• Poor Quality

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 Daisy Wheel
Head is lying on a wheel and pins corresponding to characters are like petals
of Daisy (flower) which is why it is called Daisy Wheel Printer. These printers
are generally used for word-processing in offices that require a few letters to
be sent here and there with very nice quality.

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 Daisy Wheel
Advantages
• More reliable than DMP
• Better quality
• Fonts of character can be easily changed

Disadvantages
• Slower than DMP
• Noisy
• More expensive than DMP

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 Line Printers
Line printers are the printers which print one line at a time.

These are of two types −

• Drum Printer
• Chain Printer

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 Drum Printer
This printer is like a drum in shape hence it is called drum printer. The surface
of the drum is divided into a number of tracks. Total tracks are equal to the
size of the paper, i.e. for a paper width of 132 characters, drum will have 132
tracks. A character set is embossed on the track. Different character sets
available in the market are 48 character set, 64 and 96 characters set. One
rotation of drum prints one line. Drum printers are fast in speed and can print
300 to 2000 lines per minute.

Advantages
• Very high speed

Disadvantages
• Very expensive
• Characters fonts cannot be changed

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 Chain Printer
In this printer, a chain of character sets is used, hence it is called Chain Printer.
A standard character set may have 48, 64, or 96 characters.

Advantages
• Character fonts can easily be changed.
• Different languages can be used with the same printer.

Disadvantages
• Noisy

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 Non-impact Printers
Non-impact printers print the characters without using the ribbon. These
printers print a complete page at a time, thus they are also called as Page
Printers.

These printers are of two types −

• Laser Printers
• Inkjet Printers

Characteristics of Non-impact Printers

• Faster than impact printers
• They are not noisy
• High quality
• Supports many fonts and different character size

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 Laser Printers
These are non-impact page printers. They use laser lights to produce the dots
needed to form the characters to be printed on a page.

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 Laser Printers
Advantages
• Very high speed
• Very high quality output
• Good graphics quality
• Supports many fonts and different character size

Disadvantages
• Expensive
• Cannot be used to produce multiple copies of a document in a single printing

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 Inkjet Printers
Inkjet printers are non-impact character printers based on a relatively new
technology. They print characters by spraying small drops of ink onto paper.
Inkjet printers produce high quality output with presentable features.

They make less noise because no

hammering is done and these have many
styles of printing modes available. Color
printing is also possible. Some models of
Inkjet printers can produce multiple copies
of printing also.
Advantages
• High quality printing
• More reliable
Disadvantages
• Expensive as the cost per page is high
• Slow as compared to laser printer
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 Computer - Memory
A memory is just like a human brain. It is used to store data and instructions.
Computer memory is the storage space in the computer, where data is to be
processed and instructions required for processing are stored. The memory is
divided into large number of small parts called cells. Each location or cell has
a unique address, which varies from zero to memory size minus one.

Memory is primarily of three types :

• Cache Memory
• Primary Memory/Main Memory
• Secondary Memory

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 Cache Memory
Cache memory is a very high speed semiconductor memory which can speed
up the CPU. It acts as a buffer between the CPU and the main memory. It is
used to hold those parts of data and program which are most frequently used
by the CPU. The parts of data and programs are transferred from the disk to
cache memory by the operating system, from where the CPU can access them.

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 Cache Memory
Advantages
The advantages of cache memory are as follows −
• Cache memory is faster than main memory.
• It consumes less access time as compared to main memory.
• It stores the program that can be executed within a short period of time.
• It stores data for temporary use.

Disadvantages
The disadvantages of cache memory are as follows −
• Cache memory has limited capacity.
• It is very expensive.

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 Primary Memory (Main Memory)
Primary memory holds only those data and instructions on which the computer
is currently working. It has a limited capacity and data is lost when power is
switched off. It is generally made up of semiconductor device. These
memories are not as fast as registers. The data and instruction required to be
processed resides in the main memory.

Characteristics of Main Memory

• These are semiconductor memories.
• It is known as the main memory.
• Usually volatile memory.
• Data is lost in case power is switched off.
• It is the working memory of the computer.
• Faster than secondary memories.
• A computer cannot run without the primary memory.

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 Secondary Memory
This type of memory is also known as external memory or non-volatile. It is
slower than the main memory. These are used for storing data/information
permanently. CPU directly does not access these memories, instead they are
accessed via input-output routines. The contents of secondary memories are
first transferred to the main memory, and then the CPU can access it. For
example, disk, CD-ROM, DVD, etc.
Characteristics of Secondary Memory
• These are magnetic and optical memories.
• It is known as the backup memory.
• It is a non-volatile memory.
• Data is permanently stored even if power is switched off.
• It is used for storage of data in a computer.
• Computer may run without the secondary memory.
• Slower than primary memories.

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 Computer - Hardware
Hardware represents the physical and tangible components of a computer, i.e.
the components that can be seen and touched.

Examples of Hardware are the following −

Input devices − keyboard, mouse, etc.
Output devices − printer, monitor, etc.
Secondary storage devices − Hard disk, CD, DVD, etc.
Internal components − CPU, motherboard, RAM, etc.

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 Computer - Software
Software is a set of programs, which is designed to perform a well-defined
function. A program is a sequence of instructions written to solve a particular
problem.

There are two types of software −

• System Software
• Application Software

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 System Software
System Software
The system software is a collection of programs designed to operate, control,
and extend the processing capabilities of the computer itself. System software
is generally prepared by the computer manufacturers. These software products
comprise of programs written in low-level languages, which interact with the
hardware at a very basic level. System software serves as the interface
between the hardware and the end users.
Some examples of system software are Operating System, Compilers,
Interpreter, Assemblers, etc.

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 System Software
Here is a list of some of the most prominent features of a system software −
• Close to the system
• Fast in speed
• Difficult to design
• Difficult to understand
• Less interactive
• Smaller in size
• Difficult to manipulate
• Generally written in low-level language

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 Application Software
Application software products are designed to satisfy a particular need of a
particular environment. All software applications prepared in the computer lab
can come under the category of Application software.
Application software may consist of a single program, such as Microsoft's
notepad for writing and editing a simple text. It may also consist of a
collection of programs, often called a software package, which work together
to accomplish a task, such as a spreadsheet package.
Examples of Application software are the following −
• Payroll Software
• Student Record Software
• Inventory Management Software
• Income Tax Software
• Railways Reservation Software
• Microsoft Office Suite Software
• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft PowerPoint 42
 Application Software

Features of application software are as follows −

• Close to the user
• Easy to design
• More interactive
• Slow in speed
• Generally written in high-level language
• Easy to understand
• Easy to manipulate and use
• Bigger in size and requires large storage space

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 Operating System
• An operating system is a program that acts as an interface between the
software and the computer hardware.
• It is an integrated set of specialized programs used to manage overall
resources and operations of the computer.
• It is a specialized software that controls and monitors the execution of all
other programs that reside in the computer, including application programs
and other system software.

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 Operating System
• An operating system is a program that acts as an interface between the
software and the computer hardware.
• It is an integrated set of specialized programs used to manage overall
resources and operations of the computer.
• It is a specialized software that controls and monitors the execution of all
other programs that reside in the computer, including application programs
and other system software.

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 Objectives of Operating System
• To make the computer system convenient to use in an efficient manner.
• To hide the details of the hardware resources from the users.
• To provide users a convenient interface to use the computer system.
• To act as an intermediary between the hardware and its users, making it
easier for the users to access and use other resources.
• To manage the resources of a computer system.
• To keep track of who is using which resource, granting resource requests,
and mediating conflicting requests from different programs and users.
• To provide efficient and fair sharing of resources among users and
programs.

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Characteristic of Operating System
Memory Management − Keeps track of the primary memory, i.e. what part of
it is in use by whom, what part is not in use, etc. and allocates the memory
when a process or program requests it.
Processor Management − Allocates the processor (CPU) to a process and
deallocates the processor when it is no longer required.
Device Management − Keeps track of all the devices. This is also called I/O
controller that decides which process gets the device, when, and for how much
time.
File Management − Allocates and de-allocates the resources and decides who
gets the resources.
Security − Prevents unauthorized access to programs and data by means of
passwords and other similar techniques.

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Characteristic of Operating System
Job Accounting − Keeps track of time and resources used by various jobs
and/or users.
Control Over System Performance − Records delays between the request for
a service and from the system.
Interaction with the Operators − Interaction may take place via the console
of the computer in the form of instructions. The Operating System
acknowledges the same, does the corresponding action, and informs the
operation by a display screen.
Error-detecting Aids − Production of dumps, traces, error messages, and
other debugging and error-detecting methods.
Coordination Between Other Software and Users − Coordination and
assignment of compilers, interpreters, assemblers, and other software to the
various users of the computer systems.

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 Types of Operating System
Batch operating system
The users of a batch operating system do not interact with the computer
directly. Each user prepares his job on an off-line device like punch cards and
submits it to the computer operator. To speed up processing, jobs with similar
needs are batched together and run as a group. The programmers leave their
programs with the operator and the operator then sorts the programs with
similar requirements into batches.

The problems with Batch Systems are as follows −

• Lack of interaction between the user and the job.
• CPU is often idle, because the speed of the mechanical I/O devices is
slower than the CPU.
• Difficult to provide the desired priority.

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 Types of Operating System
Time-sharing operating systems
Time-sharing is a technique which enables many people, located at various
terminals, to use a particular computer system at the same time. Time-sharing
or multitasking is a logical extension of multiprogramming. Processor's time
which is shared among multiple users simultaneously is termed as time-
sharing.
Advantages
• Provides the advantage of quick response.
• Avoids duplication of software.
• Reduces CPU idle time.
Disadvantages
• Problem of reliability.
• Question of security and integrity of user programs and data.
• Problem of data communication.

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 Types of Operating System
Distributed operating System
Distributed systems use multiple central processors to serve multiple real-time
applications and multiple users. Data processing jobs are distributed among the
processors accordingly.

Advantages
• With resource sharing facility, a user at one site may be able to use the
resources available at another.
• Speedup the exchange of data with one another via electronic mail.
• If one site fails in a distributed system, the remaining sites can potentially
continue operating.
• Better service to the customers.
• Reduction of the load on the host computer.
• Reduction of delays in data processing.

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 Types of Operating System
Network operating System
A Network Operating System runs on a server and provides the server the
capability to manage data, users, groups, security, applications, and other
networking functions. The primary purpose of the network operating system is
to allow shared file and printer access among multiple computers in a network,
typically a local area network (LAN), a private network or to other networks.

Examples
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003
• Microsoft Windows Server 2008
• UNIX
• Linux
• Mac OS X
• Novell NetWare
• BSD.

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 Types of Operating System
Network operating System
Advantages
• Centralized servers are highly stable.
• Security is server managed.
• Upgrades to new technologies and hardware can be easily integrated into
the system.
• Remote access to servers is possible from different locations and types of
systems.

Disadvantages
• High cost of buying and running a server.
• Dependency on a central location for most operations.
• Regular maintenance and updates are required.

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 Types of Operating System
Real Time operating System
A real-time system is defined as a data processing system in which the time
interval required to process and respond to inputs is so small that it controls
the environment. The time taken by the system to respond to an input and
display of required updated information is termed as the response time. So in
this method, the response time is very less as compared to online processing.

Example
• Scientific experiments
• Medical imaging systems
• Industrial control systems
• Weapon systems
• Robots
• Air traffic control systems

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