INTRODUCTION TO

COMPUTERS
COMP101 / COMP-111

Ch.Muhammad Ashraf Kamboh

 Chapter 1

Computer
Computer is an electronic device/machine used to solve different problems according to a set
of instructions given to it. A computer can accept data, process data into useful information
and store it for future.

The word is derived from compute which means to calculate. Computer can be used as a
calculating machine to produce results at very high speed. However the calculation is not
only use of computer. People use computer to solve different problems quickly and easily. It
has change way of life.

Characteristics of computer
1. Speed:
Computer processes data at a very high speed. It is much faster than human being.
A computer can perform billions of calculations in a second. Computer speed is
measured in Mega Hertz or Giga Hertz. It can perform millions of calculations in
seconds.
2. Reliability:
Computer is very reliable. The electronic components in modern computer
rarely break or fail.
3. Accuracy:
Accuracy means that the computer provides results without any error. Computer
can process large amount of data and produce results accurately. The results can
be wrong only if the data given to the computer is not correct. Suppose the
average marks of a class are required. There can be a chance of mistake in the
result if it is performed by human beings. However, a computer can perform this
result accurately and quickly.
4. Storage:
Computer can store a large amount of data permanently. People can use this
data at any time. The user can store any type of data in the computers. The
storage capacity of computer is increasing rapidly. A computer can store
thousands of books easily.
5. Versatility:
Computer is a versatile machine. It perform different types of tasks. That is why
it is being used in every field of life. Computer is used in hospital, banks, office
and at home. A user can play games, listen to music or can watch movies using
the computer.
6. Consistency:
Computer works in a consistent way. It does not lose concentration due to heavy
work. It does not become tired or bored. Computer perform all jobs with equal
attention.
7. Communication:
Most computers today have the capability of communicating with other
computers. We can connect two or more computers by a communication device
such as modem. These computers can share data, instructions and information.
The connected computers are called network. We can communicate with other
people in the world using network like internet.
 8. Recalling:
A computer can recall the stored data and information as and when required.
The data stored in the computer can be used at a later time. The computer can
recall the required data in a few seconds.
9. Control sequence:
A computer works strictly according to the given instructions. It follows
the same sequence of execution that is given in program.
10. Cost reduction:
We can perform a difficult task in less time and less cost. For example, we may
have to hire many people to handle an office. The same work can be performed
by a single person with the help of computer. It reduces the cost.

Hardware and Software

Hardware:
The physical part of the computer are called hardware. The user can see and touch the
hardware. Keyboard and mouse are two examples of hardware

Software:
A set of instruction given to the computer to solve a problem is called software. It is also
called a program. Different software’s are used to solve different problems.
Difference between hardware and software
Software Hardware
Software is a set of instructions given to the Hardware is the physical part of the computer
computer that cause processing of data.
Software cannot be executed without
hardware Hardware cannot perform any task without
software.
Software cannot be touched Hardware can be seen and touched
Software is debugged in case of problem Hardware is repaired in case of problem
Hardware is replaced if the problem is not
Software is reinstalled if problem is not solved solved

Data and information

Data
A collection of raw facts and figure is called data. The word raw means that the facts have
not been processed to get their meaning. Data is given to the computer for processing.
Data is collected from different sources. It is collected for different purposes. Data may
consist of numbers, characters, symbols, or pictures.
Examples:

1. Students fill their admission form when they get admission in college. The form
consist of raw facts about student. These raw facts are student’s name, father name,
address etc.
 the purpose of collecting this data is to maintain the record of the students
during their study in college.
2. Government collect the data of all citizens during the census. This is stored
permanently and used for different purposes.
Information:
The processed data is called information. Information is organized and processed form of
data. It is more meaning full than data is used for making decision. Data is used as input for
the processing and information is the output of this processing. This information can be
used again in some other processing and will be considered as the data in that processing.
Examples:

1. In colleges and universities, the raw facts about students are stored on admission
forms. If we want to find out a list of all students who live in Faisalabad, we will
apply some processing on this data. This processing will give us the desired list.
This list is a form of processed data and will be called information.
2. Government collect the data of all citizens during the census. This is stored
permanently and used for different purposes. For example governments wants to
find number of graduates or literacy rate in the country. This information is obtained
by processing data. Government can use this information in important decisions to
improve literacy rate.

Information processing cycle

A series of steps is used to covert data into useful information is known as information
processing cycle. The steps in this cycle are performed in a specific sequence
Different steps in the information cycle are as follows:

  Input:
The first step of information processing cycle is input. The computer accepts
data in this step. Data consist of raw facts and figures. Data is entered into the
computer to processing. It is entered using different input devices such as
 keyboard or mouse etc.
  Processing:
The second step of the information processing cycle is processing. It converts
data into information. Information is an organized and processed form of data.
The central processing unit processes data into information. Random Access
 Memory (RAM) temporarily stores programs and data required by CPU.
  Output:
The third step of the information processing cycle is output. The results are
provided to the user in this step. It is performed using different output devices
 such as monitors and printers.
  Storage:
The fourth step of the information processing cycle is storage. It stores data,
information and programs used by the computer system. It is performed using
 different storage devices like hard disk drives, CD, DVD and USB Flash memory
etc.
Q. Components of computer
1. Input devices
a. Keyboard
b. Mouse
c. Microphone
d. Scanners
e. Camera
2. Output devices
a. Monitor
b. Printer
c. Plotter
d. Speakers
3. System unit
a. CPU
b. Memory
i. Primary
ii. Secondary
4. Storages devices
5. Communication devices

Input devices
The data or instruction given to the computer is called input. A hardware component used to
enter data and instruction into computer is called input device. Most commonly used input
devices are keyboard, mouse, microphone, scanner, digital camera and PC camera.

Keyboard: Keyboard is used to enter text. It contains alphabetic, numeric and other keys for
entering different type of data.

Mouse: Mouse is a pointing device. It controls the pointer on the screen. The user gives
instructions to the computer through the mouse. It contains different buttons.
Microphones: Microphone is used to enter voice into computer.
Scanner: Scanner reads printer text and graphics and translate the result in digital form.
Digital Camera: Digital camera is used to take and store picture in digital form.

Output devices
The data processed into useful information is called output. A hardware component used
to display information to the user is called output device.
Most commonly used output devices are monitor, speaker and printer.
Monitor: Monitor is used to display text, graphics and video output.
Printer: Printer is used to display printed output on paper.
Speaker: Speaker is used to hear sound, music and voice inputs.

System unit:
System unit is a box that contains different electronic components of the computer used to
process data. All computer systems have a system unit. The electronic components in the
system unit are connected to motherboard. Motherboard is also known as system board or
main board. System board is the communication medium for entire computer system.
The important component of system units are as follows:

 CPU: CPU stands for central processing unit. It is also called processor. It is the
brain of the computer. It is the most important component of a computer. It
interprets and executes the instructions in the computer. A computer cannot work
 without CPU. All computers must have a central processing unit.
 Memory: the hardware component that stores data and instructions temporarily is
called memory. It is also called primary or main memory. It consists of electronic
chips connected to the motherboard. It is used to store input data before processing. It
also stores processed data after processing until the data is sent to the output device.
The main memory is also called volatile because its contents are lost when computer
is turned off.

Storage devices:
The hardware component is used to store data, instructions and information permanently
are called storage devices. It is called nonvolatile because its contents remain safe when the
computer is turned off. Some examples of storage devices are magnetic storage devices,
optical storages devices or flash memory storage devices etc.

Communication devices
The hardware components used to communicate and exchange data, instructions and
information with other computers are called communication devices. Modem is an example of
communication device. It enables the computer to communicate with other computers
through telephone line or cable.
Types of computers:
  Analog Computers
  Digital Computers
 Hybrid Computers

Analog Computers:
Analog computer recognizes the data as a continuous measurement of physical property.
Voltage, pressure, speed and temperature are some physical properties that can be measured
in this way. Its output is usually displayed on a graph or meter. It has low memory and fewer
functions. It is difficult to operate and use. It is specially built for special purposes. It is mainly
used in engineering and medicines.
Examples:

1. Speedometer is used to measure speed of a car.

2. Analog clock measures time by the distance travelled by hands of clock around a
dial.
3. Thermometer is an analog device that measures the length of mercury column.

Digital Computers:
A digital computer processes data in numerical form using digital circuits. It performs
arithmetic and logic operations with discrete values. These values are 0 and 1. Everything is
described in two states of ON or OFF. The digit 1 represent ON and 0 represent OFF state.
The digital computers are very fast. These computer are manufactured in a variety of sizes,
speed and capacities. Digital computers are commonly used at homes and in offices etc.
Apple Macintosh and IBM PC are two important digital computers.

Examples:

1. Digital watches displays the time that does not vary continuously but changes
from one discrete value to the other.
2. Digital scoreboard directly count discrete values such as the time left to play
and the score of each team.

Hybrid Computers:
A hybrid computer is a combination of both analog and digital computer. A hybrid computer
combines the best characteristics of both analog and digital computer. It can accept data in
both digital and analog form.
Example:

1. Hybrid computer me calculate patient’s heart function, temperature blood

pressure and other signs. This measurement in analog form may be then
converted into numbers and display in digital form.
Difference between analog and digital computers.
Analog computer Digital computer
It provides us continuous values. It provides us discrete values.
It represent physical quantities in form of It represent physical quantities with the
wave help of
or in continuous form. symbols or numbers.
It has no state It has two states. ON and OFF state.
It is difficult to use. These computers are easy to use.
It has low memory. These computers have big memory.
It has low speed. These computers have fast speed.
It is used to calculate mathematical and
It is used to calculate analog quantities like logical
operations like addition and multiplication
speed, weight, height etc. etc.
It is used in engineering and science. It used in all field of life.
It is less reliable It is more reliable.
Examples are thermometer. Examples are laptop computers.

Categories of computer:
Computers are classified on the basis of size, speed, processing power and price.
However, the classification of computers is not very straight forward. The
distinction between these categories is sometimes not very clear. Some
characteristics overlap different categories.
Computer are divided into following categories:
 
 Microcomputers or personal computer
 
 Handheld computers
 
 Internet appliances
 
 Minicomputer
 
 Mainframe computer
 
 Supercomputer
 
Embedded computer

Personal Computers / Micro Computers

Personal computer is also called microcomputer. It was introduced in 1970. It is
designed to be used by one person at a time. It consists of a processor, memory and
one or more input, output and storage devices. It also often contains a communication
device. The price of personal computer is from hundred to several thousand dollars.

Mostly commonly used personal computers are PC and Apple. PC and its compatible
computers use Windows operating system most of the time. Apple computers use
Macintosh operating system. PC and its compatible computers follow the specifications
of the original IBM personal computer. Some PC compatible computers includes
Compaq, Dell and Toshiba.
Following are some types of personal computers:

  Desktop Computers
  Notebook Computers
 Tablet PC

Handheld Computers
Handheld computers are also known as palmtop computers. It easily fits in the hand of
the user. It contains small screen and small keyboard. Handheld often uses stylus as an
input device to enter data. Some handheld computers also support voice note.
Handheld computers usually have no disk drive. The programs and data are stored on
chip in the system unit. Handheld computer can be connected a large network to
exchange data. Handheld computer is not powerful enough to handle many of the tasks
that can be accomplished by desktop or notebook computers.
Examples of handheld computers are:

  PDA
 Smart Phones

Internet appliances:
Internet appliances is also known as information appliance. It is a computer that is
used to connect to the internet from home. It contains all software applications
required to connect to the internet and browse.

Set-top box is one of the most popular internet appliance. It is used to access the
internet and browse website using a device similar to a remote control. It is
connected to the television set to view webpages.

Minicomputers:
Minicomputer is larger and more powerful than personal computer. It was introduced
in 1960s. It generally consists of two or more processors. It is more reliable than
desktop computers. Mini computers are also called mid-range servers. It is more costly
than microcomputers. Minicomputer can serve up to several hundred connected
computers simultaneously. It is normally accessed by users through a personal
computer or terminal. It has no processing power and cannot work as a stand-alone
computer. It has to be connected to a server.
Examples of minicomputer are as follows:

  Prime 9955
  HP 3000
  AS 400
 VAX 8600

Mainframe Computer:
It is a large computer in terms of price, power and speed. It was introduced in 1975. It
is more powerful than minicomputer. It consists of multiple processors. It is specially
designed to perform multiple users simultaneously. It is designed to perform multiple
tasks for multiple users simultaneously. It is designed for high reliability. It often run
twenty four hours a day. It can be serviced and upgraded while it is running. It is also
known as enterprise server or high ended server.

Mainframe computer can serve several thousand users simultaneously. These

mainframe computers can store large amount of data, information and programs. The
users access a mainframe computer through a terminal or personal computer. The price
of mainframe computer is several thousand dollars and can be up to several million
dollars. IBM, Sun and Unisys are leading manufacturers of mainframe computers.
Examples:
Examples of mainframe computers are as follows:

  IBM S-390
  NEC 610
  DEC 10
 IBM System Z10

Super Computers
Super Computer is the fastest and most powerful computer. It is the biggest in size and
more expensive in price than any other computer. It was first developed in early 1970s.
It is used to perform complex tasks. It has a very large storage capacity and can store
several thousand times more data than an average desktop computer. It also
consumes so much energy. It can process trillions of instructions in one second. The
modern supercomputer consists of thousands of microprocessors. The cost of one
super computer can be up to several billion dollars.
Examples:

  Roadrunner
  Blue Gene
  Deep Blue
 ASCI White
Embedded Computers
An embedded computer is designed for special purposes. It works as a component in a
larger product. These computers are very small and have limited hardware. They
perform various functions according to the requirements of the product in which they
are embedded.
Embedded computers are used in commonly used products as:
Electronics: PDAs, mobile, video recorders and DVD players etc.
Home Devices: Security monitoring systems & programmable microwave ovens etc.
Automobiles: Car engine controller, airbag controllers etc.
Process Controllers and Robotics: Machine Controllers, blood pressure monitors etc.

Different Uses of Modern Computer System in our Society

A Computer is an advanced electronic device that takes raw data as input from the
user and process these data under the control of some set of instructions (called
programs) and gives the result (output) on the required format and saves the output
for the future use. A Computer can process both numerical and non-numerical
(arithmetic and logical) calculations.

Nowadays, computers are widely used everywhere. Below are the list of
different applications of computer system in today’s arena.
 Business
 
 Banking
 
 Insurance
 
 Education
 
 Marketing
 
 Health Care
 
 Engineering Design
 
 Military
 
 Traffic System
 
 Communication
 
Government
Business

Speed, accuracy, reliability and versatility of computer made it an integrated part of

the all business organizations. Computer can be used in business organizations for
payroll calculations, budgeting, sales analysis, financial forecasting, managing
employee database, maintenance of stocks etc.
Banking

Today’s banking is almost totally dependent of computer. Banks provide the following facility that is
totally dependable of computer.
Almost all type of banking operations like account opening, closing, deposit, over draft, interest
charges, shares and other trusty records are maintained using computer. ATM machines are making
it even easier for customers to deal with the bank.

Insurance

Computers are also helpful for the insurance companies to keep all the records up-
to-date. Insurance companies, finance houses. Stock broking firms are widely
using the computers for their work. They are maintaining database of all clients
with information showing procedure to continue

with the policies, starting date of policies, next due date for instalment of a
policy, maturity date, interest dues, survival benefits, bonus etc.

Education

Computer has provided lots of facility to the education system. Computer provides a tool in
the education system known as CBE (Computer Based Education). CBE involves in control,
delivery and evaluation of learning. Computer education is rapidly increasing the number of
students. Several methods are used by the educational institute to teach students using
computer.

Marketing

Using computers advertising professional create art and graphics, write and revise
the same before print and publish over the streaming media. General people able
to shop online for their required goods using computer.

Health Care

Computers have become important part in hospital. Labs, dispensaries.

Computers are used in hospitals to keep the record of patients there tests and
medicine. It is also used in scanning and diagnosing different disease. ECG,
EEG, Ultrasounds and CT Scans etc. are also done using computerized system.
Some major fields of Health care in which computers are used are:

Diagnostic System: Computers are used to collect data and identify the cause
 of illness.
 
 Lab-diagnostic System: All tests are done and reports are prepared using computers.

Patient Monitoring System: Computers are  used to check patient’s signs for
 abnormality such as in Cardiac arrest, ECG etc.

Pharma Information  System: Computer checks drug-labels, expiry dates, harmful
drugs side effect etc.
 
Surgery: Computers are also used in performing surgery.
Engineering Design

Computers are also used in engineering purpose. CAD (Computer Aided Design)
and CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) are the two major areas in Engineering
that provides creation and modification of engineering drawings. Some fields are


Structural Engineering: Requires Stress  and strain analysis for design of ships,
 building, airplanes and other products.

Industrial Engineering: Computer deals with design, implementation,  and
 improvement of integrated systems of people, material and equipment.

Architectural Engineering: Computers help in planning towns, designingbuildings,
determining a range of buildings on a site using both 2D and 3D drawings.
Military

Computers are largely used in defence, modern tanks, missiles, weapons etc.
Military also employs control system. It can be used for missile control, military
communication, military operation and planning, smart weapons etc.

Traffic System

Nowadays road traffic are also controlled by the computer system. Using CCTV
cameras, we are able to view the entire city from a computer screen.

Communication

Communication means to convey a message, an idea, a picture or speech that is

received and understood clearly and correctly by the person for whom it is meant
for. Email, Social Media, Usenet, FTP, Telnet, Video conferencing etc. are the main
areas in the communication category in computer system.

Government

Computers play an important role in Government system. Some major areas

of Govt. in this category are
 Budgets
 
 Sales tax department
 
 Income tax department
 
 Male/Female Ratio
 
 Computerization of voters list
 
 Computerization of driving license system
 
 Computerization of PAN card
 
 Weather forecasting
Maintain all the government records on a single place. Etc.