LEAD CITY UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

CSC 101 - INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE I
LECTURE BY: DR. (MRS.) O. ACHIMUGU

A computer system is an electronic machine that accept data as input,

processes it into desired result/information, stores it if need be and produces the
result/information as output. Computer system consists of hardware
components that have been carefully chosen so that they work well together and
software components or programs that run in the computer. The main software
component is itself , an operating system that manages and provides services to
other programs that can be run in the computer.

Computer Science is the study of computers and computational systems. It is

the study of computer technology, both hardware and software. Unlike electrical
and computer engineers, computer scientists deal mostly with software and
hardware systems ; this includes their theory, design, development, and
application.

Software components of a computer system have no physical presence; they

are stored in digital form within computer memory. There are different
categories of software, including system software and applications software.
System Software
Software is a generic term for an organized collection of computer data and
instructions. There are two types of software: application software and system
software. Application software helps users solve a particular problem or carry
out a specific task. A word processor is an example of application software.
System software coordinates the activities and functions of hardware and
software, and it controls the operations of computer hardware. A computer's
operating system is an example of system software. Operating systems control
the computer hardware and act as an interface with application programs.
System software also includes utility software, device drivers and firmware,
which we will be looking at in this lesson.
System Software: Utility Software, Device Driver, Firmware
Utility Software
Utility software helps to manage, maintain and control computer resources.
Operating systems typically contain the necessary tools for this, but separate
utility programs can provide improved functionality. Utility software is often
somewhat technical and targeted at users with a solid knowledge of computers.
If you use a computer mostly for e-mail, some Internet browsing and typing up
a report, you may not have much need for these utilities. However, if you are an
avid computer user, these utilities can help make sure your computer stays in
tip-top shape.
Examples of utility programs are antivirus software, backup software and disk
tools.
Another example is: Antivirus software, as the name suggests, helps to protect a
computer system from viruses and other harmful programs. A computer virus is
a computer program that can cause damage to a computer's software, hardware
or data. It is referred to as a virus because it has the capability to replicate itself
and hide inside other computer files.
One of the most common ways to get a virus is to download a file from the
Internet. Antivirus software scans your online activity to make sure you are not
downloading infected files. New viruses are coming out all the time, so
antivirus software needs to be updated very frequently.
Backup software helps in the creation of a backup of the files on your computer.
Most computer systems use a hard disk drive for storage. While these are
generally very robust, they can fail or crash, resulting in costly data loss.
Backup software helps you copy the most important files to another storage
device, such as an external hard disk. You can also make an exact copy of your
hard disk.
Increasingly, backup software uses cloud storage to create backups. This
typically means you pay a fee to use the storage space of a third party and use
their backup software to manage which files are going to be backed up.
Disk tools include a range of different tools to manage hard disk drives and
other storage devices. This includes utilities to scan the hard disks for any
potential problems, disk cleaners to remove any unnecessary files, and disk
defragmenters to re-organize file fragments on a hard disk drive to increase
performance. Disk tools are important because a failure of a hard disk drive can
have disastrous consequences. Keeping disks running efficiently is an important
part of overall computer maintenance.

Device Drivers
A device driver is a computer program that controls a particular device that is
connected to your computer. Typical devices are keyboards, printers, scanners,
digital cameras and external storage devices. Each of these need a driver in
order to work properly.
Device drivers act as a translator between the operating system of the computer
and the device connected to it. For many types of devices, the necessary drivers
are built into the operating system. When you plug in a device, the operating
system starts looking for the right driver, installs it and you are ready to start
using the device. This is referred to as plug-and-play and is much preferred over
having to manually install the correct drivers.
There are so many different devices, however, that not all of them are built into
the operating system. As an alternative, the operating system can look online to
find the right driver to install. Many hardware devices, however, come with the
necessary drivers. For example, if you buy a printer, it may come with a CD that
typically will include the correct driver. The advantage of this is that the
hardware manufacturer can make sure you have the right driver for the printer.

Firmware
While not as common a term as hardware or software, firmware is everywhere -
on your smartphone, your PC's motherboard, even your TV remote control.
Firmware is just a special kind of software that serves a very narrow purpose for
a piece of hardware. While you might install and uninstall software on your
computer or smartphone on a regular basis, you may only rarely, if ever, update
the firmware on a device and you'd probably only do so if asked to by the
manufacturer, probably to fix a problem. Firmware is software that is embedded
in a piece of hardware. You can think of firmware simply as "software for
hardware."
Devices that you might think of as strictly hardware such as optical drives, a
network card, a router, a camera, or a scanner all have software that is
programmed into a special memory contained in the hardware itself. However,
the firmware is not to an interchangeable term for software.

Application Software (Task Oriented software)

Application software is a major type of computer software and it is also called
as end-user program. This software is used for specific tasks for example to edit
text, numbers, and Legal billing software graphics and utilizes the capacities of
a computer for the completion of task and etc,. The application software
includes database programs, word processors, and spread sheets, desktop
publishing etc.
Types of application software are:
Word processing software: The main purpose of this software is to produce
documents. MS-Word, Word Pad, Notepad and some other text editors are some
of the examples of word processing software.
Database software: Database is a collection of data. The purpose of this
software is to organize and manage data. The advantage of this software is that
you can change way data is stored and displayed. MS access, dBase, FoxPro,
Paradox, and Oracle are some of the examples of database software.
Spread sheet software: The spread sheet software is used to maintain budget,
financial statements, grade sheets, and sales records. The purpose of this
software is organizing numbers. It also allows the users to perform simple or
complex calculations on the numbers entered in rows and columns. MS-Excel,
Lotus 1-2-3, and Open Office cal are some of the examples of spreadsheet
application software. Time and billing software
Multimedia software: Media players and real players are the examples of
multimedia software. This software will allow the user to create audio and
videos. The different forms of multimedia software are audio converters,
players, burners, video encoders and decoders.
Presentation software: This software will be used to display the information in
the form of slide show. The three main functions of presentation software is
editing that allows insertion and formatting of text, methods to include graphics
in the text and a functionality of executing the slide shows. The best example
for this type of application software is Microsoft Power Point.

HARDWARE
Hardware is the physical and tangible part of the computer system.
The Major Hardware Component of Computer System:
Input unit (keyboard, mouse etc)
Output unit (monitor, speakers etc)
Memory unit (hard disk drive, CD/DVD drive etc)
Processor (CPU, RAM)
Input Unit: This unit is used for entering data and programs into the computer
system by the user for processing.
Storage Unit: The storage unit is used for storing data and instructions before
and after processing.
Output Unit: The output unit is used for storing the result as output produced
by the computer after processing.
Processor: The task of performing operations like arithmetic and logical
operations is called processing. The Central Processing Unit (CPU) takes data
and instructions from the storage unit and makes all sorts of calculations based
on the instructions given and the type of data provided. It is then sent back to
the storage unit. CPU includes Arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and control unit
(CU)
•ALU: All calculations and comparisons, based on the instructions
provided, are carried out within the ALU. It performs arithmetic
functions like addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and also
logical operations like greater than, less than and equal to etc.
•CU: Controls all operations like input, processing and output. It takes
care of step by step processing of all operations within the computer.

Memory:
This can be classified into two types; primary memory and secondary memory
a. Primary Memory can be further classified as RAM and ROM.
•RAM or Random Access Memory is the unit in a computer system. It is the
place in a computer where the operating system, application programs and the
data in current use are kept temporarily so that they can be accessed by the
computer’s processor. It is said to be ‘volatile’ since its contents are accessible
only as long as the computer is on. The contents of RAM are no more available
once the computer is turned off. RAM is volatile memory having a limited
storage capacity
ROM or Read Only Memory is a special type of memory which can only be
read and contents of which are not lost even when the computer is switched off.
It typically contains manufacturer’s instructions. Among other things, ROM
also stores an initial program called the ‘bootstrap loader’ whose function is to
start the operation of computer system once the power is turned on.
Secondary/auxiliary memory is a storage other than the RAM. These include
devices that are peripheral and are connected and controlled by the computer to
enable permanent storage of programs and data.
CD ROM
Secondary storage devices are of two types; magnetic and optical.
Magnetic devices include hard disks and optical storage devices are CDs,
DVDs, Pen drive, Zip drive etc.
This is supposed to be a flash animation. You'll need the flash plugin and a
browser that supports it to view it.

Hard Disk
Hard disks are made up of rigid material and are usually a stack of metal
disks sealed in a box. The hard disk and the hard disk drive exist together
as a unit and is a permanent part of the computer where data and programs
are saved. These disks have storage capacities ranging from 1GB to 80 GB
and more. Hard disks are rewritable.
Compact Disk
Compact Disk (CD) is portable disk having data storage capacity between
650-700 MB. It can hold large amount of information such as music, full-
motion videos, and text etc. CDs can be either read only or read write
type.
Digital Video Disk (DVD) is similar to a CD but has larger storage
capacity and enormous clarity. Depending upon the disk type it can store
several Gigabytes of data. DVDs are primarily used to store music or
movies and can be played back on your television or the computer too.
These are not rewritable.

Input / Output Devices

These devices are used to enter information and instructions into a computer for
storage or processing and to deliver the processed data to a user. Input/ Output
devices are required for users to communicate with the computer. In simple
terms, input devices bring information INTO the computer and output devices
bring information OUT of a computer system. These input/output devices are
also known as peripherals since they surround the CPU and memory of a
computer system.
Input Devices
An input device is any device that provides input to a computer. There are many
input devices, but the two most common ones are a keyboard and mouse. Every
key you press on the keyboard and every movement or click you make with the
mouse sends a specific input signal to the computer.
• Keyboard: The keyboard is very much like a standard typewriter
keyboard with a few additional keys. The basic QWERTY layout of
characters is maintained to make it easy to use the system. The additional
keys are included to perform certain special functions. These are known as
function keys that vary in number from keyboard to keyboard.
• Mouse: A device that controls the movement of the cursor or pointer on
a display screen. A mouse is a small object you can roll along a hard and
flat surface. Its name is derived from its shape, which looks a bit like a
mouse. As you move the mouse, the pointer on the display screen moves
in the same direction.
•Touchpad: A touch pad is a device for pointing (controlling input
positioning) on a computer display screen. It is an alternative to the
mouse. Originally incorporated in laptop computers, touch pads are also
being made for use with desktop computers. A touch pad works by
sensing the user’s finger movement and downward pressure.
•Touch Screen: It allows the user to operate/make selections by simply
touching the display screen. A display screen that is sensitive to the touch
of a finger or stylus. Widely used on ATM machines, retail point-of-sale
terminals, car navigation systems, medical monitors and industrial control
panels.
• Light Pen: Light pen is an input device that utilizes a light-sensitive
detector to select objects on a display screen.
•Bar code reader: Bar-code readers are photoelectric scanners that read
the bar codes or vertical zebra strips marks, printed on product containers.
These devices are generally used in super markets, bookshops etc.
Scanner is an input device that can read text or illustration printed on
paper and translates the information into a form that the computer can use.
A scanner works by digitizing an image.

Output Devices receives information from the CPU and presents it to the user
in the desired from. The processed data, stored in the memory of the computer
is sent to the output unit, which then converts it into a form that can be
understood by the user. The output is usually produced in one of the two ways –
on the display device (soft copy), or on paper (hard copy).
•Monitor is often used synonymously with “computer screen” or
“display.” Monitor is an output device that resembles the television
screen. It may use a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) to display information.
The monitor is associated with a keyboard for manual input of characters
and displays the information as it is keyed in. It also displays the program
or application output. Like the television, monitors are also available in
different sizes.
• Printers are used to produce paper (commonly known as hard copy)
output. Based on the technology used, they can be classified as Impact or
Non-impact printers.
Impact printers use the typewriting printing mechanism wherein a
hammer strikes the paper through a ribbon in order to produce
output. Dot-matrix and Character printers fall under this category.
Non-impact printers do not touch the paper while printing. They use
chemical, heat or electrical signals to sketch the symbols on paper.
Inkjet, Deskjet, Laser, Thermal printers fall under this category of
printers.
• Plotters are used to print graphical output on paper. It interprets
computer commands and makes line drawings on paper using multi
coloured automated pens. It is capable of producing graphs, drawings,
charts, maps etc.
•Sound cards and Speaker(s): An expansion board that enables a
computer to manipulate and output sounds. Sound cards are necessary for
nearly all CD-ROMs and have become commonplace on modern personal
computers. Sound cards enable the computer to output sound through
speakers connected to the board, to record sound input from a
microphone connected to the computer, and manipulate sound stored on a
disk.

GENERATION OF COMPUTERS
Computer systems reached today’s modern age with one step at a time, these
steps are called generations. Even more so the generation who have grown from
infancy within the global desktop and laptop revolution since the 1980s. The
history of the computer goes back several decades however and there are five
definable generations of computers.
In each generation computers with new features and functions starts to get the
market and the older computers slowly gets replaced. Each generation is defined
by a significant technological development that changes fundamentally how
computers operate – leading to more compact, less expensive, but more
powerful, efficient and robust machines. IBM Company categorized the
development of computers into generations, though not everyone in the industry
including users will be agree on the periods of each generation. However, based
on the use of electronic devices, computers systems can be categorized into
following generations.

Generation of Computer:
1. First Generation (1940 – 1956): Vacuum Tubes
Vacuum tubes were used as circuitry and magnetic drums for memory to build
computers of this generation. These computers were enormous, literally taking
up entire rooms and costing a fortune to run because it uses thousands of diode,
triode, transistors, capacitors etc. and lot of electricity. These were inefficient
materials which generated a lot of heat so those were more expensive to
maintain by setting up cooling systems.
These first generation computers relied on ‘machine language’ (which is the
most basic programming language that can be understood by computers). These
computers were limited to solving one problem at a time. Input was based on
punched cards and paper tape. Output came out on print-outs. The notable
machines of this era were the UNIVAC and ENIAC machines; UNIVAC was
the very first commercial computer which was purchased in 1951 by a business
called the US Census Bureau.

Following are some of the characteristics of the computers of first generation.

1. Circuits made with vacuum tubes
 2. Use of magnetic drums
3. Use of machine language and symbols in instructions
4. Small storage capacity
5. Use of punch cards are I/O media
6. Huge sized and insignificant mobility
7. Less reliable and slower processing power
8. High use of electricity
9. Problematic with maintenance and heat generation
Example: UNIVAC I, IBM 650, MARK II, MARK III etc.

2. Second Generation (1956 - 1963): Transistors

In 1947 transistors were invented. The replacement of vacuum tubes by

transistors saw the advent of the second generation of computer which reduced
the heat and size problem of the computers from first generation
Although first invented in 1947, transistors weren’t used significantly in
computers until the end of the 1950s. They were a big improvement over the
vacuum tube, despite still subjecting computers to damaging levels of heat.
However they were hugely superior to the vacuum tubes, making computers
smaller, faster, cheaper and less heavy on electricity use but they still relied on
punched card for input/printouts.

The language evolved from cryptic binary language to symbolic (‘assembly’)

languages. This meant programmers could create instructions in words and
symbols. About the same time high level programming languages were being
developed (very early versions of COBOL and FORTRAN). Transistor-driven
machines were the first computers to store instructions into their memories
moving from magnetic drum to magnetic core ‘technology’. The early versions
of these machines were developed for the ATOMIC ENERGY INDUSTRY.
Following are their characteristics.
1. Use of transistors
2. Magnetic memory and magnetic storage disks
3. High speed I/O devices
4. Invention and use of high level languages such as Fortran and Cobol.
5. Reduced size
6. Solution to heat generation
7. Communication by using telephone line
8. Improvement of speed and reliability
Example: Honeywell 200, IBM 1620, IBM 1400 etc.

3. Third generation (1964 - 1971): Integrated Circuits (IC)

By this phase, transistors were now being miniaturised and put on silicon chips
(called semiconductors). Use of integrated circuits (IC) started the third
generation of computer which reduced the size, price, use of electricity etc.
which led to a massive increase in speed, efficiency and reliability of machines.
Development of IC enabled organizing the whole central processing unit in
single chip. These were the first computers where users interacted using
keyboards and monitors which was interfaced with an operating system; a
significant leap up from the punch cards and printouts. Operating system was
improved to a new level and high speed line printers were also in use. This
enabled these machines to run several applications at once using a central
program which functioned to monitor memory. Followings are some of the
characteristics of third generation. As a result of these advances a new mass
market of users emerged during the ‘60s.
Following are their characteristics.
1. Use of IC
2. Semi-conductor memory
3. Reduction in size
4. Improved operations and dependability
5. Use of mini computers
6. Use of monitors and line printers

Examples: IBM 360, IBM 370, PDP-11 etc.

4. Fourth generation (1971 - present): Microprocessors

This revolution can be summed in one word: Intel. The chip-maker developed
the Intel 4004 chip in 1971, which positioned all computer components (CPU,
memory, input/output controls) onto a single chip. What filled a room in the
1940s now fit in the palm of the hand. The Intel chip housed thousands of
integrated circuits. The computers that we use now-a-days are the computers
from fourth generation. From this generation more use of semi-conductors in
memory started. Microprocessors have been created with LSI (Large Scale
Integration) and VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration). The size and price of
computers has both been reduced to significant levels. The year 1981 saw the
first ever computer (IBM) specifically designed for home use and 1984 saw the
MacIntosh introduced by Apple. Microprocessors even moved beyond the realm
of computers and into an increasing number of everyday products. The
increased power of these small computers meant they could be linked, creating
networks which ultimately led to the development, birth and rapid evolution of
the Internet. Other major advances during this period have been the Graphical
user interface (GUI), the mouse and more recently the astounding advances in
lap-top capability and hand-held devices.

Followings are some of the characteristics of computers from fourth generation.

1. Very Large Scale Integration
2. Microprocessor and Microcomputers
3. Extended memory
4. Improvement of dependability
5. Use of program packages

Example: IBM 3033, Sharp PC – 1211 etc.

5 Fifth generation (future) 2010: Artificial Intelligence

Computer devices with artificial intelligence are still in development, but some
of these technologies are beginning to emerge and be used such as voice
recognition. Artificial Intelligence is a reality made possible by using parallel
processing and superconductors. Leaning to the future, computers will be
radically transformed again by quantum computation, molecular and nano
technology.
The essence of fifth generation will be using these technologies to ultimately
create machines which can process and respond to natural language, and have
capability to learn and organise themselves.
Following are some of the characteristics of computers from fifth generations
1. Multi-processor based system.
2. Use of Artificial Intelligence
3. Use of optical fiber in circuits
4. Development of the elements of programs
5. Automated audio in any language to control the workflow of the
computer
6. Magnetic enabled chips
7. Huge development of storage
8. More powerful micro and macro computers
9. Development of enormous powers with AI