JSS 2 1ST TERM

COMPUTER STUDIES NOTES.

2023/2024 SESSION.
Week 1: Classification of computers
Classifications of Computers by Generation
● First-generation computers were based on vacuum tubes. These machines were large in size.
● Second-generation computers were based on transistors. They were smaller and less expensive
than the first-generation.
● The use of Integrated Circuits characterized third-generation computers.
● Fourth-generation computers used microprocessors. They are small, portable, reliable, and cheap.
● Fifth-generation computers use Super Large-Scale Integration chips and are based on (AI)
Artificial Intelligence.

Classification of Computers by Types

● Analog Computers:
Analog computers measure parameters that vary continuously in real-time, such as temperature, pressure,
and voltage.
● Digital Computer:
All information is represented using the digits 0s and 1s. The computers that we use in our homes and
offices are digital computers.
● Hybrid Computer:
Hybrid computers are computers that exhibit features of analog computers and digital computers.

Classification of Computers by Size

● Microcomputers:
Microcomputers are relatively small, portable and has a battery backup.
An example is the Personal Computer (PC).
● Minicomputers:
Minicomputers are digital computers, generally used in multi-user systems.
● Mainframe Computers:
Mainframe computers are large, powerful, multi-user, multiprogramming and high-performance
computers.
● Supercomputers:
Supercomputers are the fastest and most expensive machines.
Supercomputers are used for highly calculation-intensive tasks such as weather forecasting, climate
research (global warming), molecular research, biological research, nuclear research, and aircraft design.

Classification of Computers by Degree of Versatility

● General-Purpose Computers:
General-purpose computers are designed to solve a large variety of problems.
● Special-Purpose Computers:
Special-purpose computers are designed to solve specific problems.
Week 2: The Computer System
Definition of Computer System
Computer system can be defined as an electronic device which manipulates data and produces output
using step-by-step instructions.

Constituents of a Computer
● Hardware
● Software
i. Hardware is the parts of the computer you can see, touch, or handle.
Examples of Hardware:
a. PC Case
b. Motherboard
c. Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
d. Floppy Disk Drive (FDD)
e. Compact Disk Drive (CDD)
f. Digital Video Disk Drive (DVD)
g. Monitor
h. Keyboard
i. Power supply circuit
j. Mouse
k. Cables and wires.

Note
System Unit: System unit is that part of the computer that houses electronic components of the computer
used to process data.
Peripherals: Peripherals refer to all hardware devices that are attached to the computer and are controlled
by the computer system.
Week 3: Computer Software
Definition of Software
Software is a set of instructions and procedures passed to the computer to perform certain activities or
tasks.

Types of Software
1. System Software
System software is programs that help run the computer hardware and application software. These are
Operating system, Utility software and Translators.
● Operating system
Operating System is a software program that manages the hardware and software resources of the
computer.
Examples: Disk Operating System, Microsoft Windows, UNIX, LINUX, MAC, Android, IOS, Ubuntu,
Chrome, etc.
● Utility software
Utility software are used for general housekeeping of the computer.
Examples: File manager or explorer, Anti-virus, Network manager, Disk cleanup software, Data
compression utilities, Disk defragmenter or partitioner, etc.
● Translators
Translators are programs for converting programs in other languages into machine language instruction so
that the computer can execute them.
Examples: Assembler, Compiler, Interpreter and Decompilers.

2. Application Software
These are software that allows humans to accomplish one or more specific tasks.

Types of Application Software

i. Specific Purpose or Specialized Application Software
This type of software is designed for a specific purpose, such as accounting software, reservation system,
banking software, video editing software, etc.

ii. General Purpose Application Software.

This type of software helps users to be more productive in their work. They are:
 ● Word processing software
Examples: Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Notepad, Corel WordPerfect, WordPad, WPS Writer, Apple
Pages, etc.
● Spreadsheet software
Examples: Microsoft Excel, Lotus 1-2-3, Google Sheets, Apple Numbers, etc.
● Graphics software
Examples: CorelDraw, Paint, Photoshop, Instant Artist, Canva, etc.
● Database Application
Examples: Microsoft Access, Oracle, SQL Server, Paradox, etc.
● Presentation Program
Examples: MS PowerPoint, Corel Presentations, WPS presentation, etc.
● Gaming Software
Examples: GTA, FIFA 2022, ZUMA, Naija Whot, etc
Week 4: Operating System
Definition of an Operating System
An operating system is system software that controls the overall activity of a computer.

Examples of Operating System

● DOS (Disk Operating System)
● Windows (95, 98, 2000, NT, ME, XP, 7, 8, 10, etc.)
● Unix
● Linux
● Mac
● IOS
● Android

Types of Operating System\m

● Real-time operating system: Switches between tasks.
● Single-user-single task operating system: One user can effectively do one thing at a time.
● Single-user, multi-task2ing operating system: One user can effectively do more than one thing at
a time.
● Multi-user operating system: Allows many different users to take advantage of the computer's
resources simultaneously.
● Distributed operating system: Manages a group of independent computers and makes them
appear to be a single computer.

Functions of Operating System

● Starting of the computer: The operating system boots up the operating system
● Resource allocation: The operating system allocates or assigns resources.
● Monitoring of system activities: The operating system monitors the system activities.
● Disk and file management: The operating system performs functions like: disk formatting,
deleting files, creating files and folders, renaming files and copying files or folders.
● User interface: The operating system creates an interface between the user and other application
programs. An example of a user interface is the Graphical User Interface and the Command Line
Interface.
Week 5: Number Base
Definition of Number System
A number system is a collection of symbols used to represent small numbers, together with a system of
rules for representing larger numbers.
● Decimal Number System
The decimal numeral system (also called base ten or occasionally denary) uses various symbols (digits)
for no more than ten distinct values (0, 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9)
● Binary Number System
The binary number system is a number system in base 2 and therefore requires only two digits, 0 and 1.
● Hexadecimal Number system
The hexadecimal is base 16 digits. The digits 0 through 9 are used, along with the letters A through F,
which represent the decimal values 10 through 15.
● Octal Number System
The Octal numeral system, or Oct for short, is the base-8 number system and uses the digits 0 to 7.

Conversion From one Number System to Another

Binary Number Conversion
● Conversion from Binary to Octal Number System
A binary-to-octal table conversion is needed to directly convert from binary to octal. The table is given
below.
Binary to Octal Table Conversion
Bin 000 001 010 011 100 101 110 111
Oct 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Next, group the binary digits into sets of threes starting with the least significant (rightmost) digits. Then
look up each group in the table above.

Example 1: Convert 111001012 to Octal.

Solution:
Add leading zeros or remove leading zeros to group into sets of three binary digits.
111001012 = 011 100 101
By looking up these values in the table above, 011 is 3, 100 is 4 and 101 is 5
Therefore 111001012 = 3458
Method 2
Using normal Mathematics method, which involves converting 111001012 to decimal number system, and
thereafter convert the result to an octal number system.
To convert 111001012 to decimal multiplying each digits by the base in an increasing power starting with
the least significant (rightmost) digit.
111001012
= 1x27+1x26+1x25+0x24+0x23+1x22+0x21+1x20
= 128+64+32+0+0+4+0+1
= 22910
Next, convert 22910 to base eight by dividing 229 by 8 and writing down the remainder.

8 229
8 28 r 5
8 3 r 4
0 r 3

Therefore, 111001012 = 3458

Binary to Hexadecimal
Binary to Hexadecimal Table Conversion
Bin 0000 0001 0010 0011 0100 0101 0110 0111
Hex 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Bin 1000 1001 1010 1011 1100 1101 1110 1111
Hex 8 9 A B C D E F
Next, group the binary digits into sets of four, starting with the least significant (rightmost) digits. Then,
look up each group in the table above.

Example: Convert 111001012 to Hex

Solution:
11100101 = 1110 0101
Looking at the table above, 1110 is E and 0101 is 5
Therefore 111001012 = E516
Binary to Decimal
Example 1: Convert 111100000002 to decimal
Solution:
111100000002
=(1×210)+(1×29)+(1×28)+(1×27)+(0×26)+(0×25)+(0×24)+(0×23)+(0×22)+(0×21)+(0×20)
=1024+512+256+128+0+0+0+0+0+0+0
=19202
Therefore 111100000002 =192010

Decimal Number Conversion

 Decimal to Binary
To convert from Decimal to binary, divide the given decimal number by 2 and write down the remainder
until the decimal number becomes zero.
Example 1: Convert 192010 to binary
Solution:
2 1920
2 960 r 0
2 480 r 0
2 240 r 0
2 120 r 0
2 60 r 0
2 30 r 0
2 15 r 0
2 7 r 1
2 3 r 1
2 1 r 1
0 r 1
Picking the remainder from bottom to top, we have 11110000000
Therefore 192010 = 111100000002

Decimal to Octal
Example 1: Convert 179210 to base 8
Solution:

8 1792
8 224 r 0
8 28 r 0
8 3 r 4
0 r 3
Therefore 179210 = 34008

Decimal to Hexadecimal
Example 1: Convert 179210 to Hex.
Solution:

16 1792
16 112 r 0
16 7 r 0
0 r 7
Therefore 179210 = 70016

Octal to Decimal
Example 1: Convert 3458 to decimal.
Solution:
Using the usual mathematics method of multiplying each digit by increasing power we have:
3458 = (3 x 82) + (4 x 81) + (5 x 80)
= (3 x 64) + (4 x 8) + (5 x 1)
= 22910

Hexadecimal Number Conversion

Hexadecimal to Binary
Converting from hexadecimal to binary is as easy as converting from binary to hexadecimal. Simply look
up each hexadecimal digit to obtain the equivalent group of four binary digits.

Binary to Hexadecimal Table Conversion

Bin 0000 0001 0010 0011 0100 0101 0110 0111
Hex 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Bin 1000 1001 1010 1011 1100 1101 1110 1111
Hex 8 9 A B C D E F

Example 1: Convert A2DE16 to binary

From the conversion table above, we have that
A = 1010
2 = 0010
D = 1101
E = 1110
Putting the binary number together we have:
A2DE16 = 10100010110111102

9
Hexadecimal to Octal
When converting from hexadecimal to octal, it is often easier to first convert the hexadecimal number into
binary, and then from binary into octal.
Example 1: Convert A2DE16 to Octal.
Solution:
Binary to Hexadecimal Table Conversion
Bin 0000 0001 0010 0011 0100 0101 0110 0111
Hex 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Bin 1000 1001 1010 1011 1100 1101 1110 1111
Hex: 8 9 A B C D E F
From the above table:
A = 1010
2 = 0010
D = 1101
E = 1110
Therefore A2DE16 = 10100010110111102
Week 6: Units of Storage in Computers.
Definition of Computer Units of Storage.
Units of storage in the computer are the denominators used to quantify the volume of data or instructions
in a computer or on a storage medium.

Units of storage
● Bit (b): Bit is an acronym that stands for Binary digits. It is the smallest unit of data on a binary
computer. A single bit consists of 0 (zero) or 1 (one).
● Nibble: A nibble is a collection of four bits.
● Bytes (B): A byte consists of eight bits. It is the fundamental unit of storage on a binary
computer.
● Word: A word is a collection of 32 bits.
● Kilobyte (KB): A Kilobyte consists of 210 (1,024) Bytes which is approximately 1000 Bytes.
● Megabyte (MB): One Megabyte consists of 220 (1,048,576) Bytes.
● Gigabyte (GB): A Gigabyte is a collection of 230 (1,073,741,824) Bytes.
● Terabyte (TB): A Terabyte consists of 240 (1,099,511,627,776) Bytes.
● Petabyte (PB): A Petabyte consists of 250 (1,125,899,906,842,624) Bytes.
● Exabyte (EB): An Exabyte consists of 260 (1,152,921,504,606,846,976) Bytes.
● Zettabyte (ZB): A Zettabyte consists of 270 (1,180,591,620,717,411,303,424) Bytes.
● Yottabyte (YB): A Yottabyte consists of 280 (1,208,925,819,614,629,174,706,176) Bytes.

The conversion process from one unit to another can be done using the relationships below.
1 bit = 0 or 1
1 nibble = 4 bits
1 byte = 8 bits
1 word = 16 bits
1 kilobyte = 1024 bytes
1 MB = 1024 KB
1 GB = 1024 MB
1 TB = 1024 GB
1 PB = 1024 TB
1 EB = 1024 PB
1 ZB = 1024 EB
1 YB = 1024 ZB
Example 1: Convert 1200 bits to byte
Solution:
1 byte = 8 bits
1200÷8 = 150 bytes

Example 2: Convert 30 kb to bytes

Solution:
1 kb = 1024 bytes
1024 x 30 = 30720 bytes

Example 3: Convert 10240 kb to mb

1 mb = 1024 kb
10240÷1024 = 10 mb

Assignment
Convert 1.22 mb to bytes
WEEK 7: MID-TERM BREAK
Week 8: Programming Language
Definition of Terms:
● Program: A computer program is a sequence of related instructions (commands) that tell the
computer how to accomplish a specific task.
● Programming: Programming is the act of writing computer programs.
● Computer language: Computer language is a language used by, or associated with the computer.
● Programming Language: Programming language is a means through which a programmer
communicates with the computer in solving different categories of problems.
● Syntax: Syntax are a set of rules governing how the words in the language are written.
● Semantics: Semantics are meanings associated with each word used in a particular language.

Levels of Programming Language

● Machine Language
This was the first-generation programming language and language of the computer. There are two
symbols in machine language; these are 1 and 0 generally called binary digits or bits.

Advantages
1. It is directly understood by the computer.
2. Programs written in machine language run very fast.
3. Programs written in machine language needs less memory to run

Disadvantages
1. All operation codes have to be remembered
2. It is machine dependent
3. It is hard to amend or find errors in a program written in machine language.

● Low Level Language

A low-level programming language provides little or no abstraction from a computer’s microprocessor.
An example of low-level language is assembly language. It was the second-generation programming
language or 2GL. A program for translating assembly language is called an assembler.
Advantages of Low-Level Language
1. It is easier to understand and use as compared to machine language.
2. It is easy to locate and correct error as compared to machine language
3. A program written in assembly language executes faster than that of a high-level language.

Disadvantages of Low-Level Language

1. Assembly language, like machine code, is also machine dependent
2. Difficult to remember the syntax.

● High Level Language

These are programming languages that allow for programs to be written in forms that are readable to
human beings. Examples:
a. PASCAL
b. BASIC (Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code)
c. C ++
d. Java
e. FORTRAN (Formula Translation)
f. COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language)
g. PROLOG
h. ALGOL (Algorithmic language)
I. Python

Advantages of High-Level Language

1. It is easier to learn and use
2. It is user friendly
3. Programs in high-level language requires less time to write
4. It is easier to maintain
5. It is machine independent
6. It does not require the programmer to know the computer hardware architecture

Disadvantages of High-Level Languages

1. It takes time to execute or run because it must first be translated into machine code by a translator
before it can be executed.
2. Programmers need to remember a large set of syntax and semantics
Week 9: BASIC Programming Language

Origin and Features of BASIC.

BASIC stands for Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. It was developed in 1960 by John
Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz to teach students at Dartmouth College.
BASIC is now in the form of VB.NET (Visual Basic.Net). The majority of BASIC languages use
program translators called interpreters to allow the computer to understand and obey the BASIC
statements in the computer program. Examples are:
BASICA
GwBASIC
Turbo BASIC
Quick BASIC

BASIC Character Set

The characters used in BASIC language include:
● Alphabetic Characters: A to Z.
● Numeric Characters: Numbers from 0 to 9.
● Special Characters: + % ^ # = ( ) etc.

BASIC Arithmetic Expressions

An expression is the combination of operands and operators. Operands are the data items involved in an
expression, while operators determine the action to be carried out on the operand in the expression. For
instance in the expression X + Y; "X" and "Y" are the operands while “+” is the operator.
BASIC Operators used to perform arithmetic operations are:

Operation Operators
Addition +
Subtraction -
Multiplication *
Division /
Exponentiation ^
Rules for BASIC Arithmetic Expressions.
Every arithmetic expression must appear on a single line. There is no superscript in BASIC as we find in
algebra.

Algebraic Expressions versus BASIC Expressions

BASIC Variables.
Variables are names that are used to represent some storage location.

Types of Variables
● Numeric Variables: These are used to store numeric values such as 23, 98, 1.44 etc. Examples of
numeric variables are; N, Y, P, SUM, AVERAGE, etc.
● String Variables: These are used to store alphabetic and alpha-numeric values. The last character
in a string variable names is the dollar ($) sign. E.g. Name$, Color$, X$, etc.

Constants
Constants are values stored or assigned to variables.

Types of Constants in BASIC

● Numeric constant in BASIC is any signed or unsigned number.
● Alpha-Numeric or string constant: It consists of the combination of letters, digits, and other
symbols. They are enclosed within inverted commas.

BASIC Key Statements

● LET Statement
The LET statement is used to assign a numeric or string value(s) to a variable. The LET statement must
consist of a variable, an equal to sign and an expression.
Example:
LET X = 12
 ● INPUT Statement
The INPUT statement is used to enter data into the computer during program execution.
Example:
INPUT A, B, C

● READ-DATA Statement
READ and Data statements are BASIC key statements that must be used together to put data in a line of
the program and to read the data when it is needed.
Example:
READ A, B, C
DATA 5, 6, 7
LET SUM = A+B+C
PRINT SUM
END

● REM (Remark) Statement

The REM statement is used to insert comments or remarks into a BASIC program. The use of remark
statements improves the readability of the program.
Example:
REM PROGRAM TO ADD SIX NUMBERS

● PRINT statement
This statement is used to transmit data from the computer memory to the output device.
Examples:
PRINT A, B, C
PRINT “I Like Writing Program”

● Program Terminators (END and STOP)

STOP and END statement
The STOP statement is used to terminate the execution of a program at any point in the program. The
END statement indicates the actual end of a program. The STOP statement may appear many times and
anywhere, whereas an END statement can only appear at the end of a program and only once.
Example:
REM END statement
PRINT “Good morning”
END

● GO TO statement
This statement transfers program control from the line number that contains the statement to the specific
number after the GOTO statement.
Example:
10 REM GO TO statement
20 GOTO 40
30 PRINT “Good morning”
40 END
In the case above the program’s control is transferred from line 20 to line 40. This means that the program
would end when the execution gets to line 20.

Some Simple BASIC Programs

Example 1:
Write a Program in BASIC to find the average of six numbers

10 REM Programs to find the average of six numbers

20 REM Numbers given
30 INPUT "Type in the first number"; A
40 INPUT "Type in the second number"; B
50 INPUT "Type in the third number"; C
60 INPUT "Type in the fourth number"; D
70 INPUT "Type in the fifth number"; E
80 INPUT "Type in the sixth number"; F
90 LET AVERAGE = (A+B+C+D+E+F)/6
100 PRINT "Average is"; AVERAGE
110 END

Example 2:
Program to calculate the perimeter and Area of a Rectangle

REM program to calculate the perimeter and Area of a Rectangle

INPUT “Input the length”; L
INPUT “Input the breath”; B
LET PERIMETER = 2 * (L + B)
LET AREA = L*B
PRINT “the perimeter is”; PERIMETER
PRINT “the area is”; AREA
END