UNIT 1

Computer System

Learning Objective: To familiarize with the basic understanding of computer systems and their
evolution, introduction to software and their categorisation, computer memory, awareness of
emerging trends in the field of information and communication technology.
Pretest:
1. A computer is an ______________ device.
a. Electronic
b. Electrical
c. Mechanical
d.None of the above
Ans. a. Electronic

2. A computer takes ________________ , ________________ it and gives

__________________.
a. process, input, output
b. input, output, process
c. input, process, output
d. None of the above
Ans. c. input, process, output

3.CPU stands for ___________________

a. Central Processor Unit
b. Central Processing Unit
c. Control Processing Unit
d. None of the above
Ans. b. Central Processing Unit

4. Example of input device is :

a. Keyboard
b. Scanner
c. Microphone
d. All of the above
Ans. d. All of the above

5. Example of Operating System is _________________

a. Windows
b. Macintosh
c. iOS
d. All of the above
Ans. d. All of the above

Introduction to Computer System

 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.
 It comprises of a central processing unit, memory, input/output devices, and storage
devices.
 A computer system comes in various forms and sizes.eg, personal desktop, laptop, tablet
computer, or smartphone.

Components of a computer system

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

 It carries out the actual processing commonly called as ‘processor’. Also known as Brain
of the computer.
 A CPU can be placed on one or more microchips called integrated circuits (IC).i.e.,
semiconductor material.
 The CPU is given instructions and data through programs. The CPU then fetches the
program and data from the memory and performs arithmetic and logical operations as per
the given instructions and stores the result back to memory.
  CPU stores the data as well as instructions in its local memory, 'called' registers.
Different registers are used for storing data, instructions or intermediate results which are
limited in size and number.
 CPU is also popularly known as microprocessor.

Arithmetic & Logic Unit- It performs all the arithmetic and logic operations that need to be
done as per the instruction in a program.

Control Unit- It controls sequential instruction execution, interprets instructions and guides data
flow through the computer’s memory, ALU and input or output devices.

Input 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.

 Eg, keyboard, mouse, scanner, touch screen, etc.,

 Data entered through input device is temporarily stored in the main memory (also called
RAM) of the computer system.

Output Devices- 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, etc.
 Printers- 3 types (Inkjet, LaserJet and dot matrix), a new type – 3D printer.

Evolution of Computer
From the simple calculator to a modern day powerful data processor, computing devices have
evolved in a relatively short span of time.
 Abacus:

o 500 BC
o It was a mechanical device capable of doing simple arithmetic calculations only.
 Pascaline:

o 1642
o Blaize Pascal invented a mechanical calculator known as Pascal calculator or
Pascaline
o Addition and subtraction of two numbers directly and multiplication and division
through repeated addition or subtraction.
 Analytical Engine:
 
o 1834
o Invented by Charles Babbage.
o A mechanical computing device for inputting, processing, storing and displaying
the output, which is considered to form the basis of modern computers.
 Tabulating Machine:

o 1890
o Designed by Herman Hollerith
o Summarizes the data stored on the punched card.
o First step towards programming.
 Turing Machine:

o 1937
o Turing machine concept was a general purpose programmable machine that was
capable to solve any problem by executing the program stored on the punched
cards.
 EDVAC/ENIAC:

o 1945
o Introduced stored program concept by John Von Neumann.
o Stores data as well as program in the memory.
o The EDVAC(Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic) and then the
ENIAC(Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer) computers were
developed based on this concept.
 Transistors:

o 1947
o Vacuum tubes were replaced by transistors developed at Bell Labs, using
semiconductor materials.
 Integrated Circuit:

o 1970
o An Integrated Circuit (IC) is a silicon chip which contains entire electronic circuit
on a very small area. The size of computer has drastically reduced because of ICs.

The Von Neumann Architecture

  It consists of a Central Processing Unit (CPU) for processing arithmetic and logical
instructions
 memory to store data and programs
 Input and output devices and communication channels to send/receive the output data.
 Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) is the first binary
programmable computer based on Von Neumann architecture.
 During the 1970s, Large Scale Integration (LSI) of electronic circuits allowed integration
of complete CPU on a single chip, called microprocessor.
 Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI)- y integration of around 3 million components on a
small-sized chip
 Super Large Scale Integration (SLSI) - fabricate high density of transistors and other
components (approx. 106 components) on a single IC.

Computer Memory
A computer system needs memory to store the data and instructions for processing.
 Units of Memory
o A computer system uses binary numbers to store and process data. The binary
digits 0 and 1, which are the basic units of memory, are called bits.
o 4-bit word- a Nibble,eg; e 1001, 1010
o A two nibble word, i.e., 8-bit word- a byte, eg; 01000110, 01111100, 10000001,
etc.

 Types of Memory
o Primary Memory
  Program and data are loaded into the primary memory before processing.
 2 types- RAM(Random access memory) & ROM(Read only memory)

RAM ROM

It is a read/write memory It is a read only memory

Stores the data currently Stores instructions required during

processed by the CPU bootstrap of the computer
temporarily

Volatile Non volatile

Random access memory Read only memory

Can be modified Cannot be modified

Costlier Cheaper than RAM

Types-static & dynamic Types- PROM,EPROM,EEPROM

o Cache memory
 To speed up the operations of the CPU, a very high speed memory is
placed between the CPU and the primary memory known as cache.
 It stores the copies of the data from frequently accessed primary memory
locations,
o Secondary Memory
 Permanently store the data or instructions for future use.
 Slower and cheaper than the main memory.
 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, etc.,
 There are secondary storage devices like Solid-State Drive (SSD) which
support very fast data transfer speed as compared to earlier HDDs.

 Data Capturing, Storage, and Retrieval

o Data Capturing
 Process of gathering data from different sources in digital form.
 Eg; keyboard bar code readers (Used at shopping outlets), remote sensors
on earth orbiting satellites etc.
 o Data Storage
 process of storing the captured data for processing later
 Computers with larger and faster storage called data servers are deployed
to store vast amount of data.
 Cost (both hardware and software) of setting up a data server as well as its
maintenance is high.
o Data Retrieval
 Fetching data from the storage devices, for its processing as per the user
requirement.

 Data Deletion and Recovery

o biggest threats in digital data is its deletion
o causes- storage device malfunction or crash, accidental erase of data,
hacker/malware
o If data gets deleted accidentally or corrupted, there arises a need to recover the
data. Recovery of the data is possible only if the contents/memory space marked
as deleted have not been overwritten by some other data.
o Recovery- process of retrieving deleted corrupted and lost data from secondary
storage devices.
o 2 security concerns
 Deletion by some unauthorized person or software.
 Unwanted recovery of data by unauthorized user/software.
Software
Hardware needs to be operated by a set of instructions. These sets of instructions are referred to
as software.
 Need of Software- to make computer hardware useful and operational. Software knows
how to make different hardware components of a computer work and communicate with
each other as well as with the end user.
 System Software- The software that provides the basic functionality to operate a
computer by interacting directly with its constituent hardware is termed as system
software.
o Operating System- operating system is system software that operates the
computer. An operating system is the most basic system software, without which
other software cannot work.
 Eg; Windows, Linux, Macintosh, Ubuntu, Fedora, Android, iOS, etc.
o System Utilities- Software used for maintenance and configuration of the
computer system is called system utility.
 Eg; anti-virus software, disk cleaner tool, disk compression software, etc.
o Device Drivers- ensures proper functioning of a particular device.
 Application Software- Application software is commonly defined as any program or
number of programs designed for end-users
o General Purpose Software- developed for generic applications, to cater to a
bigger audience in general are called general purpose software.
 Eg; Adobe Photoshop, GIMP, Mozilla web browser, iTunes, spreadsheet
tool LibreOffice Calc, etc.
o Customized Software- custom or tailor-made application software that is
developed to meet the requirements of a specific organization or an individual.
 Eg; websites, school management software, accounting software, etc.
 Proprietary or Free and Open Source Software- Open source software can be free of
copyright and is usually available to anyone. Proprietary software is copyrighted and only
available under license.