CHAPTER 3

Components of the Computer System

Data processing
• Data processing refers to the operations or activities performed on data to generate
information.
• Stages of Data processing
1. Capturing data: Data is collected in a proforma(source document)
2. Input of data: Data collected through source document is fed to computer.
3. Storage of data: Both data and processed data(information) are stored.
4. Processing data: Operations like calculations, comparison, sorting, filtering etc are
done.
5. Output of information: The processed data(information) is obtained.
6. Distribution of information: The information is distributed to users to help them make
decisions

Functional units of a computer

The functional units of a computer are: Input Unit, Central Processing Unit(CPU), Storage Unit
and Output Unit.
•

1. Input Unit
Accepts instructions and data for processing
Eg:- Keyboard, mouse

2. Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The CPU is the brain of the computer. All major computations and comparisons are
made inside the CPU.
 The functions of CPU are performed by three components:-
(i) Arithmetic Logic Unit(ALU): It performs all arithmetic and logical operations.
(ii) Control Unit(CU): It manages and co-ordinates all other units of the computer.
(iii) Registers: These are the temporary storage areas inside the CPU.

3. Storage Unit
Store data and instructions and results.

4. Output Unit
Supplies the results to the outside world.
Eg:- Monitor, Printer

A computer has two major components - Hardware and Software

Hardware
• The tangible and visible parts
Eg:- Processor, Motherboard, Keyboard, etc.
1. Processor
• Processor / CPU / Microprocessor performs all computing and decision making operations and
coordinates the working of a computer.
Eg:- Intel core i3, core i5, core i7, AMD Quadcore

Processor has three parts:

• ALU – Arithmetic and Logic Unit ( does Arithmetic and logical calculations )
• CU – Control Unit (controls the operations of all other units)
• Registers ( storage areas inside CPU)
Important registers inside a CPU are:
(i) Accumulator: stores arithmetic and logic results.
(ii) Memory Address Register (MAR): Stores address of a memory location from which data is
read/ written
(iii) Memory Buffer Register (MBR): It holds the data, to be read/written from memory by
processor
(iv) Instruction Register (IR): Stores the instructions to be executed by the processor.
(v) Program Counter (PC): It holds the address of the next instruction to be executed.

Motherboard
• A motherboard is a Printed Circuit Board to which all the major components of a computer
(processor, memory, etc.) are connected.

Peripherals and ports

• Peripherals are devices connected to a computer system.
Eg:- input devices, output devices
 • Ports are slots on the motherboard to connect external devices.

Different ports are Ethernet,USB PS/2, VGA, HDMI, etc.

Memory
• Memory is used to store data and instructions temporarily or permanently.
• Classified into two: Primary memory and Secondary memory.

Memory measuring units

Binary Digit = 1 Bit 1 MB (Mega Byte) = 1024 KB

1 Nibble = 4 Bits 1 GB (Giga Byte) = 1024 MB

1 Byte = 8 Bits 1 TB (Tera Byte) = 1024 GB

1 KB (Kilo Byte) = 1024 Bytes 1 PB (Peta Byte) = 1024 TB

a. Primary memory
Primary memory is used to store data and applications while the computer is running.
Three types of primary memory are RAM, ROM and Cache.

Comparison between RAM and ROM

RAM (Random Access Memory) ROM (Read Only Memory)

It is faster than ROM. It is a slower memory.
It stores the operating system, application Stores program required to boot the
programs and data temporarily. computer.
It allows reading and writing. Allows reading only.
It will lose its data if the power is turned It RETAINS data even if the power is
off(volatile) turned off.(non volatile)

Different types of ROMs are:

• PROM - Programmable ROM
• EPROM - Erasable Programmable ROM
• EEPROM - Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM

Cache memory
• Small and fast memory between the processor and RAM.
• Frequently accessed data and instructions are stored in cache memory for quick access.
• Cache is faster and more expensive than RAM.

b. Secondary memory (Auxiliary memory)

• Secondary memory is used to store data or programs permanently.
• It is non-volatile, i.e. contents are retained even when the device is powered off.
• It is much larger in size , but slower than RAM.
• It acts as a backup.
 The major categories of secondary storage devices are:
(i) Magnetic storage devices.
Uses plastic tape/metal coated with magnetic material. Eg:- magnetic tapes, hard disks.
(ii) Optical storage devices.
Uses laser beam to read/write data. Data is written in spiral form. Eg:- CD , DVD, Blu-Ray
DVD
(iii) Semiconductor storage devices.
Uses EEPROM chips. Eg:- USB flash drive, Flash memory cards

Comparison of different types of memory

Storage Speed Capacity Relative Cost Volatile

Registers Fastest Lowest Highest Yes
Cache More Fast Low Very High Yes
RAM Very Fast Moderate High Yes
Hard Disk Moderate Very High Very Low No

Input devices
An input device is used to feed data and instructions into the computer.

Different types of input devices are:

1. Keyboard: It is an input device used to input alphabets, numbers and other characters.
2. Mouse: It is a hand-held device that controls the movement of the cursor on a display
screen.
3. Light pen: It is a light-sensitive pointing device used to draw pictures on a computer
screen.
4. Touch screen: It allows the user to operate the computer by simply touching on the
display screen.
5. Graphic tablet: It allows artists to create graphical images.
6. Touchpad: It is a pointing device used to move the mouse pointer on a display screen.
7. Joystick: It is a pointing device commonly used for playing video games.
8. Microphone: It is used to input sound.
9. Scanner: It is an input device that scans documents such as photos and pages of text.
10. Optical Mark Reader (OMR): It reads pencil marks made on pre-defined positions on
the OMR form. It is used to process competitive exam results quickly and accurately.
11. Barcode Reader/Quick Response (QR) code reader
• Barcode readers are electronic devices for reading printed barcodes.
• A QR code is similar to barcodes. But barcodes are single dimensional ,QR codes are two
dimensional. QR codes store more data like website URLs, plain text, phone numbers, etc.
12. Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) Reader: It is used in banks for faster
clearing of cheques.
13. Biometric sensor: It is used to identify unique human physical features like
fingerprints, retina, etc.
14. Smart card reader: A smart card is a plastic card that stores and transacts data (Eg:-
ATM Card). Smart card readers are used to access data in a smart card.
15. Digital camera: It can take pictures and videos and that can be transferred to a
computer.

Output devices
Output device is used to present information from a computer system.
Different types of output devices are:

1. VDU(Visual Display Unit)

• includes CRT, LCD, TFT, LED, Plasma, OLED monitors etc
• The information displayed is a soft copy

2. LCD projector
Uses high intensity light beam to display video, images or computer data on a large
screen.

3. Printer
Gives hardcopy output.
Classified into two:- impact and non-impact printers.
Impact printers make direct contact with the paper while printing. Eg:- Dot-matrix
printers.

Dot Matrix Printer (DMP)

• Printing material: Ink ribbon
• Cheaper to print, Carbon copy possible, slow, noisy, printer is expensive.

Non-impact printers – does not make direct contact with the paper while printing.
Eg:- Inkjet, Laser and Thermal printers

Inkjet printer
• Printing material: Liquid ink
• Quiet, high print quality, printers are inexpensive, ink is expensive.

Laser printer
• Printing material: Ink powder
• Quiet, prints faster, high print quality, Toner is expensive, Device is expensive.
 Thermal printer
• Printing material: Heat sensitive paper.
• Quiet, faster, smaller, lighter, consume less power, portable.

4. Plotter

• Produces hard copies of large graphs and designs on the paper.

• Used in the design of cars, ships, aircrafts, buildings, highways etc.

5. Three dimensional (3D) printer

• Used to print 3D objects.
• It can print ceramic cups, plastic toys, metal machine parts, etc.

6. Speakers
• used to output sound.

e-Waste
e-Waste refers to electronic products nearing the end of their "useful life".
Eg:- discarded computers, mobile phones, television sets, refrigerators, etc.

e-Waste disposal methods

a. Reuse: Second-hand use.
b. Incineration: Controlled, combustion process in which waste is burned at a high
temperature.
c. Recycling: Making new products from old devices.
d. Land filling: Soil is excavated and e-waste is buried in it.

Why should we be concerned about e-Waste?

• Electronic waste contains some toxic substances such as mercury, lead, etc.
• The toxic materials can cause cancer and many other health problems, if not properly
managed.

Students’ role in e-Waste disposal

• Stop buying unnecessary electronic equipments.
• Try to repair faulty devices instead of buying a new one.
• Try to recycle electronic equipments.
• Buy rechargeable instead of disposable batteries.
• Buy products with good warranty.
 Green computing or Green IT
• The environmentally responsible and eco-friendly use of computers and their resources is
known as green computing.

To promote green computing the following four approaches are employed:

(i) Green design, (ii) Green manufacturing, (iii) Green use, (iv) Green disposal

Software
• Software is a set of programs that help us to use the computer system.
• Two types of software: System software and Application software

System software
It is a set of one or more programs designed to control the operations of a computer.

Components of system software :

Operating system, Language processors and Utility software.

a. Operating system
• Set of programs that acts as an interface between the user and computer hardware.
Example:- DOS, Windows, Unix, Linux

Major functions of an Operating System are:

• Process management, Memory management, File management and Device management

b. Language processor

• It translates programs written in high level language or assembly language into machine
language.

Computer languages

Low Level Language: machine-oriented languages. Two types:

a. Machine language: Uses only binary digits 0 and 1.
b. Assembly language: is an intermediate-level symbolic programming
language. It uses mnemonic symbols like ADD, SUB, etc.

High Level Language is like English language and is simpler to understand.

Not understandable to the computer. Example: C++

Types of language processors

Assembler: Converts assembly language into machine language.
Interpreter: Converts a high level language program into machine language line by line.
Compiler: Converts the whole high level language program into machine language at a time.
 c. Utility software
• Set of programs which help in system maintenance tasks.

Some of the utility programs are:

(i) Compression tools: Large files can be compressed so that they take less storage area.
Eg: WinZip, WinRAR
(ii) Disk defragmenter: Rearranges fragmented files on a computer hard disk.
(iii) Backup software: Duplicates disk information so as to use in the event of a system crash.
(iv) Antivirus software: Scans the computer system for viruses and removes them.
Eg: Norton Antivirus, Kaspersky Antivirus software

Application software
• Software developed for specific application is called application software.
• It includes general purpose software and specific purpose software.

a. General purpose software

• Software that can be used for a variety of tasks. It is classified as:
• Word processing software Eg: MS Word, Open Office Writer
• Spreadsheet software Eg: Microsoft Excel, Open Office Calc
• Presentation software Eg: Microsoft PowerPoint, Open Office Impress.
• Database software Eg: Microsoft Access, Oracle,MySQL
• Multimedia software Eg: Adobe Flash, Media Player

b. Specific purpose software

• Tailor-made software to satisfy the needs of an organisation. Also known as customised

software.
Eg: Payroll System, Inventory Management System, HR Management System.

Free and open source software

• It gives the user the freedom to use, copy, distribute, examine, change and improve the
software. Eg:- GNU/Linux, GIMP, Mozilla Firefox, OpenOffice.org

Four Freedoms of Free Software

Freedom 0 - The freedom to run program for any purpose.
Freedom 1 - The freedom to study how the program works and adapt it to your needs.
Freedom 2 - The freedom to distribute copies of the software.
Freedom 3 - The freedom to improve the program and release to the public.
Freeware and Shareware

Freeware Shareware
Copyrighted software available free of Commercial software give users a chance
cost for an unlimited period. to try the software before buying it.
All the features are free. All features are not available.
Freeware programs can be distributed Shareware may or may not be distributed
free of cost. freely.

Proprietary software
• It is an exclusive property of its developer and cannot be copied or distributed without
permission.
Eg:- Microsoft Windows OS, MS Office

Humanware
• Humanware or liveware refers to humans who use the computer.
Eg:- Computer programmers, Computer Operators, System Administrators, etc.