COMPUTER ORGANIZATION

PART-1

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 Computer Introduction
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to accept data (input), process
it and generate result (output). A computer along with additional hardware and software
together is called a computer system.

Evolution of Computing Devices:

Abacus is the first calculating device.

Pascaline is the first mechanical computing machine Analytical Engine is developed by

Charles Babbage,could perform mathematical operations automatically .It has five features
that is input device, storage unit, processor, control unit and Output device

The first electronic digital computer known as ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and
Computer).

IBM introduced first personal computer.

The development and growth of computer took place in five distinct phases called
Computer Generations

First Generation Computers (1946-1958) used Vacuum tube technology . Example:

ENIAC and UNIVAC

Second Generation Computers (1959-1964) used Transistors . Example: MARK III and
LEO

Third Generation Computers(1965-1970) used Integrated Circuits (ICs) Example: IBM

360, ICL 1900

Fourth Generation Computers(1971 onwards) use microprocessor Examples: Intel 4004,

Macintosh

The fifth-generation computers will use super large scale integrated chips. They will have
artificial intelligence. Example: Robot

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Components of a computer system and their interconnections:

Figure shows the block diagram of a computer system. The directed lines represent the flow
of data and signal between the components. A computer system primarily comprises of a
central processing unit, memory, input/output devices, and storage devices. All these
components function together as a single unit to deliver the desired output.

Input/ Output devices:

The devices through which control signals are sent to a computer are termed as input
devices. These devices convert the input data into a digital form that is acceptable by the
computer system. Some examples of input devices include keyboard, mouse, scanner, touch
screen.
The device that receives data from a computer system for display, physical production, etc.,
is called output device. It converts digital information into human understandable form. For
example: monitor, projector, headphone, speaker, printer.

MEMORY

Memory of a computer is a predefined area where it

stores data.Memory of a computer is volatile. In
memory, data are stored in the form of binary digits(0
and 1).Memory is considered as a cell which is

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fragmented into smaller parts called bits. A bit is an elementary unit of memory

1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0

Memory unit is the amount of data that can be stored in the storage unit.

The various memory units are:

SNO UNIT

1 Bit (Binary Digit)-A binary digit is logical 0 and 1 representing a passive or

an active state of a component in an electric circuit.

2 Nibble-A group of 4 bits is called nibble.

3 Byte-A group of 8 bits is called byte. A byte is the smallest unit, which can
represent a data item or a character.

The following table lists some higher storage units

SNO UNIT

1 Kilobyte(KB); 1 KB=1024 BYTES

2 Megabyte (MB); 1 MB = 1024 KB

3 GigaByte (GB); 1 GB = 1024 MB

4 TeraByte (TB) ; 1 TB = 1024 GB

5 PetaByte (PB); 1 PB = 1024 TB

Types of Memory

computers have two types of memories namely —primary memory and secondary memory

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Primary Memory

It is of two types i) Random access memory (RAM), and ii) Read only memory (ROM).
RAM is volatile i.e. as long as the power is supplied to the computer, it retains the data in it.
But as soon as the power supply is turned off, all the contents of RAM are wiped out.

RAM is usually referred to as main memory and it is faster than the secondary memory or
storage devices. On the other hand, ROM is non-volatile, means its contents are not lost
even when the power is turned off.

For example, the startup program (boot loader) that loads the operating system into RAM is
stored in a ROM.

Secondary Memory

The secondary memory is non-volatile and has larger storage capacity than primary
memory. It is slower and cheaper than the main memory. But, it cannot be accessed directly
by the CPU. Contents of secondary storage need to be first brought into the main memory
for the CPU to access. Examples of secondary memory devices include Hard Disk Drive
(HDD), CD/ DVD, Memory Card.

Data Deletion , Recovery and Security concerns

Data Deletion

One of the biggest threats associated with digital data is its deletion. The storage devices
can malfunction or crash down resulting in the deletion of the stored data. Users can
accidentally erase data from storage devices, or a hacker/malware can delete the digital data
intentionally.

Recovery

Data recovery is a process of retrieving deleted, corrupted and lost data from secondary
storage devices.

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Security concerns

There are usually two security concerns associated with data. One is its deletion by some
unauthorized person or software. The other concern is related to unwanted recovery of data
by unauthorized user/software.

A computer can be mainly classified as Hardware and software

Hardware are the components that can be seen and touched .

Eg-Mouse, Monitor, CPU, Printer

Software

Software are recorded instructions and programs that governs the working of a computer.
software acts as an interface between human users and the hardware

Software can be mainly classified into 2categories

1. System Software- It is a software which controls the internal computer operations

Eg- OS

2. Application Software- It is a user created software that carry out certain instruction
to perform a specific task

Eg: Flight Reservation Software

An application software has two ends – front end and back end

Front end- It is the design part of the application software which we are able to see. This
view is designed using programming languages .

Eg: C, C++, Java , Python

Back end- It is the area where the data are being stored. Data is retrieved from the backend
called the database according to the requirements of the user.

Eg: SQL,MS-Access, MySQL, Oracle

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 2.a) General Purpose (Generic) Application Software

These application Software are made for common users for day to day applications and uses.
Application software developed for generic applications.

Example: Word Processor,Presentation Tools,Spreadsheet Packages.

2.b) Specific Purpose Application Software

Specific purpose Software are also known as customized software, are those which are tailor-
made as per the user’s requirement. Such type of softwares are customer-specific.

Examples: Inventory Management System and Purchasing System, Payroll system, Hotel
Management

Compiler and Interpreter

Interpreter Compiler

Translates program one statement at a Translates the entire program

time.

Continues translating the program until Translates the program till the end and
the first error is met, in which case it reports the errors all together
stops. Hence debugging is easy.

Eg: Basic, Python, Ruby Eg: C, C++, Java

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