UNIT – 1

COMPUTER ORGANIZATION
Computer
Computer is an electronic device which is capable of performing arithmetic and logical
operations at high speed.
C - Commonly
O - Operated
M - Machine
P - Particularly
U - Used For
T - Technological And
E - Educational
R – Research
Computer comes from Greek word "Compute" which means to calculate.
Father of Computer is Mr. Charles Babbage.
Mother of Computer is Mrs. Lady Ada Lovelace.
Characteristics of Computer

Speed

A computer works with much higher speed and accuracy compared to humans while
performing mathematical calculations. Computers can process millions (1,000,000) of
instructions per second. The time taken by computers for their operations is microseconds
and nanoseconds.

Accuracy

Computers perform calculations with 100% accuracy. Errors may occur due to data
inconsistency or inaccuracy.

Diligence

A computer can perform millions of tasks or calculations with the same consistency and
accuracy. It doesn’t feel any fatigue or lack of concentration. Its memory also makes it
superior to that of human beings.

Versatility

Versatility refers to the capability of a computer to perform different kinds of works with
same accuracy and efficiency.
Reliability

A computer is reliable as it gives consistent result for similar set of data i.e., if we give same
set of input any number of times, we will get the same result.

Automation

Computer performs all the tasks automatically i.e. it performs tasks without manual
intervention.

Memory

A computer has built-in memory called primary memory where it stores data. Secondary
storage are removable devices such as CDs, pen drives, etc., which are also used to store
data.

Generations of Computer

The word "Generation" in general, indicates a state of improvement in the period of

development process. When it comes to Computer, Generation refers to the different
advancements of new computer technology.

There are five types of generations of Computer and they are:

 First Generation
 Second Generation
 Third Generation
 Fourth Generation
 Fifth Generation

First Generation (1940-1956):

First generation computers used a very large number of vacuum tubes for circuitry
arrangement. This Computer Can be programmed using machine language, consisting of 0’s
& 1’s. These Computers can solve one problem at a time.
Examples of First Generation Computers

 ENIAC ( Electronic Numerical Integrator And Calculator )

 EDSAC ( Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Computer )
 EDVAC ( Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer )
 UNIVAC ( Universal Automatic Computer )

Advantages

 They were the fastest calculating device of their time

Disadvantages

 They generate a lot of heat

 They consume a lot of electricity
 They were very bulky in size
 Vacuum tubes used filaments had limited life
 They were very expensive

Second Generation (1956-1963):

Second generation computers used Transistors rather than Vacuum tubes. Transistors were
invented in 1947 but were used for manufacturing computers only in the late 1950s.

Examples of Second Generation Computers

 IBM 360 ( International Business Machines Co. )

 ATLAS ( A Toroidal Large Hadron Collider Apparatus )
 NCR 304 ( Notice Cash Register )
Advantages

 They consumed less electricity than first generation computers.

 They were faster, cheaper, smaller & more reliable than first generation computers.

Disadvantages

 Transistors had to be assembled manually

 Transistors were very expensive

Third Generation (1964-1971):

Third generation computers used IC’s (Integrated Circuits) for circuitry arrangement. Several
Electronics components such as transistors, resistors and capacitors were miniature and
placed on a Silicon chip called as integrated circuits.

Examples of Third Generation Computers

 IBM 70/168
 PDP-II
 IBM 1720

Advantages

 These computers could perform one million transactions per second.

 They were faster, cheaper, smaller & more reliable than second generation computers.

Disadvantages

 These Computers were very difficult to maintain.

 They got heated very quickly.
Fourth Generation (1971-1989):

Fourth generation computers are built with Microprocessors. Thousands of integrated

circuits built onto a single Silicon chip is called as Microprocessor. Microprocessor consists
of all the main components of computer such as the CPU, Memory, I/O Controls, etc.

Examples of Fourth Generation Computers

 PC-XT (Personal Computer Extended Technology)

 PC-AT (Personal Computer Advanced Technology)

Advantages

 They consume less electricity and heat.

 They were faster, cheaper, smaller & more reliable than third generation computers.
 They had faster and larger primary memory and secondary memory.

Disadvantages

 They were not intelligent systems.

Fifth Generation (Present and Beyond)

Fifth generation computers are completely based on the new concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Although such computers are still in development, there are certain applications such as voice
recognition that are widely being used today. Parallel processing and Superconductor technology have
made Artificial Intelligence (AI) a reality. AI is an emerging branch of Computer Science, which interprets
the means and method of making computers think like human beings.
AI includes:
 Robotics
 Neural Networks
 Gaming
 Expert Systems
 Natural Languages

Some Computer types of this generation are:-

 Desktop
 Laptop
 NoteBook
 UltraBook
 ChromeBook

CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTERS

Computers can be broadly classified into four categories based on their speed, amount of data they can
hold & price. These categories are:-

 Supercomputers
 Mainframe Computers
 Minicomputers
 Microcomputers

Supercomputers

It is the fastest, most powerful and most expensive computer. Supercomputers were first developed in
the 1980s to process large amount of data and to solve complex scientific problems. Supercomputers
use parallel processing technology and can perform more than one trillion calculations in a second. A
single Supercomputer can support thousands of users at the same time. These computers are mainly
used for weather forecasting, nuclear energy research, aircraft design, automotive design, controlling
industrial units.

Examples of Supercomputer
 CRAY-1
 CRAY-2
 Control Data CYBER 205
 ETA A-10
Mainframe Computers

Mainframe Computers are large-scale computers but smaller than Supercomputers. These are very
expensive and need a very large clean room with air conditioning, thereby making them very costly to
deploy. As with Supercomputers, Mainframe Computers can also support multiple processors.
Mainframe Computers are used as servers on the World Wide Web (WWW). They are also used in large
organizations such as banks, airline companies and universities, where a large number of users
frequently access the data stored in their databases.

Examples of Mainframe Computer

 IBM S/390
 Amdahl 580
 Control Data CYBER 176

Minicomputers

Minicomputers are smaller, cheaper and slower than mainframes. Minicomputers are widely used in
business, education, hospitals, government organizations, etc. while some Minicomputers can be used
by a single user, others are specifically designed to handle multiple users simultaneously. Usually,
single-user Minicomputers are used for performing complex design tasks. These computers can also be
used as servers in a networked environment and Hundreds of computers can be connected to it.

Examples of Minicomputer
 Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)
 IBM AS/400
 Data General Corporation
 Prime Computers

Microcomputers

Microcomputers commonly known as PCs, are very small and cheap. The first Microcomputer was
designed by IBM in 1981 and was named IBM-PC. Another type of popular PC is designed by Apple. PCs
designed by IBM and other PC have a different architecture from that of Apple Computers. IBM PCs use
the Windows Operating System, while Apple Computers use the Macintosh Operating System (MacOS).

Examples of Microcomputer
 Desktop
 Laptop
 Workstations
 Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs)
 Cellular Phones
BASIC ORGANIZATION OF A COMPUTER

A Computer is an electronic device that basically performs five major operations:-

 Accepting data or instructions (input)
 Storing data
 Processing data
 Displaying results (Output)
 Controlling and Coordinating all operations inside a computer

Input

It is the process of entering data and instructions into the computer system. The data and instructions
can be entered by using different input devices such as Keyboard, Mouse, Scanner, etc. Note that
Computers understands Binary language, which consists of 0’s & 1’s. So it is the responsibility of the
input devices to convert the input data into binary codes.

Storage

Storage is the process of saving data and instructions permanently in the computer so that they can be
used for processing. The computer storage space not only stores the data and programs that operate on
that data but also stores the intermediate results and the final results of processing. A computer has two
types of storage areas: primary storage & secondary storage.
Processing

The process of performing operations on the data as per the instructions specified by the user or
program is called processing. Data & instructions are taken from the primary memory and transferred to
the arithmetic and logical unit (ALU), which performs all sorts of calculations. The control unit (CU)
manages and controls all the components of the computer system. It takes care of the step-by-step
processing of all operations that are performed in the computer.

Output

Output is the process of giving the result of data processing to the outside world (external to the
computer system). The results are given through output devices such as monitor, printer, etc. Since the
computer accepts data in binary form, the result cannot be directly given to the user. Therefore, the
output devices convert the results available in binary codes into a human readable language before
displaying it to the user.

INPUT DEVICES
A. KEYBOARD
The keyboard is the main input device for computers. Computer Keyboards look very similar to the
keyboards of typewriters with some additional keys. Using a keyboard, the user can type a document,
use keystroke shortcuts, access menus, play games and perform numerous other tasks. Most keyboard
have between 80 and 110 keys, which includes Typing keys, Numeric keys, Function keys & Control Keys.
K – Keys
E – Electronic
Y – Yet
B – Board
O – Operating
A – A To Z
R – Response
D – Directly
Keyboard was invented by Christopher Latham Sholes.
B. MOUSE
Mouse is the key input device used in a Graphical User Interface (GUI). It can be used to handle the
pointer easily on the screen to perform various functions such as opening a program or file. The mouse
has two buttons and a scroll wheel. Mouse can perform different operations such as Point, Click, Draw,
Drag, Scroll, etc.
M - Manually
O - Operated
U - User
S - Selection
E – Equipment
Mouse was invented by Douglas Engelbart.
 C. JOYSTICK
A joystick is a cursor control device widely used in computer games and Computer Aided Design (CAD)
or Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) applications. It consists of a handheld lever, one or more push
buttons called switches whose position can also be read by the computer.

Joystick was invented by Ralph Baer.

D. IMAGE SCANNER
A scanner is a device that captures images, printed text and handwriting from different sources such as
photographic prints, posters and magazines & converts them into digital images for editing and display
on computers. Scanners can scan either colour images, black-and-white images or both.

Image Scanner was invented by Russell Kirsch.

OUTPUT DEVICES

A. MONITOR
The monitor is a soft copy output device used to display video and graphics information generated by
the computer through the video card. The monitor is connected to either the Video Graphics Array
(VGA) or the Digital Video Interface (DVI) port on the video card. Different types of Monitors are there
such as Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), Light Emitting Diode (LED),etc.
Monitor was invented by Karl Ferdinand Braun.

B. PRINTERS
A printer is a device that takes the text and graphics information obtained from a computer and prints it
on a paper. Printers are used for higher resolution colour printing as well as black-and-white printing.
Printers are available in the market in various sizes, speeds, price, etc. Printers are two types: Impact
Printers & Non-Impact Printers.
Examples of Impact Printers
 Dot Matrix
 Daisy Wheel
 Line
Examples of Non-Impact Printers
 Inkjet
 Laser
Printer was invented by Charles Babbage.

C. PROJECTOR
A Projector is a device that takes an image from a video source and projects it onto a screen or another
surface. To display the image on a big screen, the projector first displays that image onto a small screen
inside the projector itself, which is then projected onto the final screen using bright light and a lens. The
lens is shaped in such a way that it takes the small image and turns it into a dramatically larger one.
Projectors are two types: LCD Projector and Digital Light Processing (DLP) Projector.
Projector was invented by David Hansen.

D. SPEAKERS
Today, all business and home users demand audio capabilities from their computers. For this purpose,
Speakers were developed in different sizes and shapes, with different powers and sound quality. With
all these type of speakers, the user can enjoy music, movie or a game. However, in case the user wants
to enjoy loud music without disturbing the people nearby, a headphone can be used.
Speakers was invented by Abinawan Puracchidas.

COMPUTER MEMORY

Memory is an internal storage area in the computer, which is used to store data and programs either
temporarily or permanently. Computer memory can be broadly divided into two groups – primary
memory and secondary memory. While the main memory or the primary memory holds instructions and
data when a program is executing, the auxiliary memory or the secondary memory holds the data and
programs that are not currently in use and provides long-term storage.
Memory Units

1 bit = 0 or 1 (Binary Digit)

4 bits = 1 nibble = ½ byte
8 bits = 1 B (byte)
1024 bits = 1 KB (Kilobyte)
1024 KB = 1 MB (Megabyte)
1024 MB = 1 GB (Gigabyte)
1024 GB = 1 TB (Terabyte)
1024 TB = 1 PB (Petabyte)
1024 PB = 1 EB (Exabyte)
1024 EB = 1 ZB (Zettabyte)
1024 ZB = 1 YB (Yottabyte)

MEMORY HIERARCHY

Memory hierarchy is the hierarchy of memory and storage devices found in a computer system. It
ranges from the slowest but high capacity auxiliary memory to the fastest but low capacity cache
memory.
Level-0: Registers

These are very small memory devices, generally holding around bytes of data nearly 32-bit to 64-bit, and
are of various types, for example - general-purpose registers, address registers, etc. The registers are
directly associated with the CPU which means they are the fastest memory available in a system, which
also means they are the costliest of all, due to this they are used in very small sizes and possess the
fastest access time.

Level-1: Cache

Cache memories are also called SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), they are measured in kilobytes
or megabytes, and are used to store the segments of programs that are frequently accessed by the
processor. Registers and Cache memories are embedded on the CPU itself, and hence are the fastest
and are collectively referred to as internal memory.

Level-2: Main Memory

The main memory in the computer is nothing but, the memory unit in the CPU that communicates
directly. It is the main storage unit of the computer. This memory is fast as well as large memory used
for storing the data throughout the operations of the computer. This memory is made up of RAM as well
as ROM.

Level-3: Secondary Storage [Magnetic Disk]

The magnetic disks in the computer are circular plates fabricated of plastic otherwise metal by
magnetized material. Frequently, two faces of the disk are utilized as well as many disks may be stacked
on one spindle by read or write heads obtainable on every plane. All the disks in computer turn jointly at
high speed. The tracks in the computer are nothing but bits which are stored within the magnetized
plane in spots next to concentric circles. These are usually separated into sections which are named as
sectors.

Level-4: Tertiary Storage [Magnetic Tape]

This tape is a normal magnetic recording which is designed with a slender magnetizable covering on an
extended, plastic film of the thin strip. This is mainly used to back up huge data. Whenever the
computer requires to access a strip, first it will mount to access the data. Once the data is allowed, then
it will be unmounted. The access time of memory will be slower within magnetic strip as well as it will
take a few minutes for accessing a strip.
Types of Computer Memory

The memory of the computer is divided into two categories:

 Primary Memory
 Secondary Memory

Primary Memory

This is the main memory of the computer. CPU can directly read or write on this memory. It is fixed on
the motherboard of the computer.

Primary memory is further divided in two types:

a. RAM (Random Access Memory)
b. ROM (Read Only Memory)

a. RAM (Random Access Memory)

RAM is a temporary memory. The information stored in this memory is lost as the power supply to the
computer is turned off. That’s why it is also called Volatile Memory. It stores the data and instruction
given by the user and also the results produced by the computer temporarily.

b. ROM (Read only Memory)

Information stored in ROM is permanent in nature, i.e., it holds the data even if the system is switched
off. It holds the starting instructions for the computer. ROM cannot be overwritten by the computer. It is
also called Non-Volatile Memory.

Secondary Memory

This memory is permanent in nature. It is used to store the different programs and the information
permanently (which were temporarily stored in RAM). It holds the information till we erase it.

Different types of secondary storage devices are:

a. Hard Disk
b. CD (Compact Disk)
c. DVD (Digital Versatile Disk or Digital Video Disk)
d. BRD (Blu-Ray Disk)
e. Flash Drive
 a. Hard Disk

This is the main storage device of the computer which is fixed inside the CPU box. Its storage capacity is
very high that varies from 200 GB to 3 TB. As it is fixed inside the CPU box, it is not easy to move the
hard disk from one computer to another. A hard disk contains a number of metallic disks which are
called platters. Information is recorded on the surface of the platters in a series of concentric circles.
These circles are called Tracks.

b. CD (Compact Disk)

It is a thin plastic disk coated with metal. Computer can read and write data stored on it. This is an
optical storage device with a storage capacity of up to 700 MB and it can store varieties of data like
pictures, sounds, movies, texts, etc.

c. DVD (Digital Versatile Disk or Digital Video Disk)

It is an optical storage device which reads data faster than a CD. A DVD can store data up to 4.7 GB, i.e.,
around 6 times than that of CD. Though DVDs look just like CDs, they can hold much more data, for
example, a full length movie.

d. BRD (Blu-Ray Disk)

This is a newly invented optical data storage device whose storage capacity can be from 25 GB up to 200
GB. It is mainly used to store high quality sound and movie data. They are the scratch resistant disks that
are why storing data on these is much safer than a CD OR DVD.

e. Flash Drive

It is an electronic memory device popularly known as pen drive in which data can be stored permanently
and erased when not needed. It is a portable storage device that can be easily connected and removed
from the CPU to store data in it. Its capacity can vary from 2 GB to 256 GB.