SS2 DP, SUMMARY NOTES SS 2: THIRD TERM, 2024/2025

DATA PROCESSING SCHEME OF WORK

Name of teacher:
Office hours: Every school day at break time
Email:

Project: due date: 4th July 2025

Wk Peri TOPIC CONTENT PERFORMAN Texts (Before class, you are
s od CE required to study at least the
OBJECTIVES: text of each reference
By the end of the closely.)
lesson, you
should be able
to do the
following:
Web 1. Meaning of Students should Basic Data Processing for
Design Web Design be able to SS2
packages packages 1. Define Web Page 155- 159
2. Uses of Web Design packages
1 Design packages 2. Mention the Data Processing for Senior
3. Components uses of Web Secondary Education by
of Web Design Design packages HiiT Plc. Pages 95-97
packages 3. State the
components of
Web Design
packages
Web 4. Examples of 1. Mention some Data Processing for Senior
Design Web Design Web design Secondary Education by Hiit
packages packages packages Page 95 - 96
5. Using Web 2. Create simple
design packages web pages using
Web design
packages
Maintenan 1. General Students should Data Processing for Senior
ce of cleaning. be Secondary Education by Hiit
computer I 2. Battery able to explain Page 126 - 127
1&2
2 charging and and carry out
Replacement. basic computer
maintenance
3 3. DVD drive Procedures.
1
SS2 DP, SUMMARY NOTES
lens cleaning.
1. Details of Explain; Data Processing for Senior
1& 1. Carry out
Maintenan hardware Secondary Education by Hiit
2
3 ce maintenance simple computer Page 126 - 127
of 2. Details of maintenance
3 computer software (both hardware
II maintenance and software)
Indexes 1. Clustered Students should
• versus non- be
1&
clustered indexes able to: Data Processing for Senior
2
2. Dense versus Secondary Education by Hiit
1. Explain how
sparse Page 107 – 109
3. Primary and data entries are functions:https://
organized in www.cs.cmu.edu/
Secondary
4 adamchik/15-
indexes order to support 121/lectures/hashing/
3 4. Indexes using efficient retrieval hashing.html

composite search of data.

keys

1. Introduction Students should Data processing for senior

be able to secondary education by Hiit
to Aries
1. Ensure data
Crash (analysis, redo Pg 113 – 115
integrity by
1 & recovery and undo)
2 recovering data
2. Other
loss after crash.
recovery related
5
data structure

3 3. The Write-
Ahead log
protocol
4. Check
pointing

2
SS2 DP, SUMMARY NOTES
5. Media
recovery

CA1: May 28,29,30

1. Explain the Data processing for Senior
1. term parallel Secondary Education by Hiit
Characteristics and distributed Pg 111 - 117
databases.
of Architecture 2. Explain the
1 & Parallel architecture of
2 for parallel and
6 and parallel and
distributed distributed
distributed databases databases.
databases

Introduction to
Distributed
databases
3 - Types of
distributed
databases

Students should Data Processing for Senior

Distrusted be able to: Secondary Education by Hiit
DBMS 1. Understand Pg 117 - 118
7 1 & Parallel Architecture the significance
2 and of parallel and
distributed distributed
databases databases.
cont.d
3 1. Storage data 1. Store data in
in a distributed a distributed
DBMS DBMS
2. Importance of 2. Importance
parallel and of parallel
distributed and
database distributed
architecture database
3
SS2 DP, SUMMARY NOTES
architecture
1. Meaning of Students should
computer virus, be able to:
1& 2. Types of 1. State the
2 viruses meaning of a
8 3. Example of computer virus
virus
Computer 4. Sources 2. State the types
Virus 5. Virus warning and examples of
signs computer virus Data Processing for Senior
6. virus detection 3. State sources Secondary Education by Hiit
/ prevention through which a
computer can be Page 121 - 123
infected with a
3 virus.
4. Identify a
file/system
infected with
virus
State ways to
prevent or
remove virus

CA2: June 25,26,27

Career 1. Different Students should
Options in career options be able to Data Processing for Senior
9 data in data 1. Draw a list of Secondary Education by Hiit
processing processing career Page 123 - 125
2. Qualities of a opportunities
1& good associated with
2 professional computer usage.
body 2. State the
3. Computer functions of each
professional of the
bodies professionals.

3 1.Highlight
qualities of a
good
professional
body
4
SS2 DP, SUMMARY NOTES
2. Outline
computer
professional
bodies
3. List the
qualities of a
good
professional.
1 & Graphics 1. Meaning of Students Data Processing for Senior
2 packages Graphic should be Secondary Education by Hiit
Software able to Page 123 - 125
Package 1. Define
2. Uses of Graphic
10 Graphic Software
Software Package
3 Package 2. Mention
types and
uses of
Graphic
Software
Packages

3. Components 1. State the Data Processing for Senior

1&2 Graphics of Graphic compo Secondary Education by Hiit
packages Packages nents Page 123 - 125
4. Examples of of
Graphic Graphic
Packages Software
Packages.
3

Exam: July 16, 17, 18, 21, 22

Assignment: due date: 4th July 2025

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SS2 DP, SUMMARY NOTES

WHITEBOARD SUMARY SS2 DATA PROCESSING, WEEK 1-10

NOTE ON WEB DESIGN
What is Web Design? Web design is the process of creating websites using a mark-up
language.
Web Design packages are the group of software that are used to design the website.
Website is a collection of related web pages connected to one another by hyperlinks and
are available on the internet via a uniform resource locator (URL) or domain name.
Website design means planning, creation and updating of websites. Website design also
involves information architecture, website structure, user interface, navigation
ergonomics, website layout colors, contrasts, fonts and photography as well as icons
design. All these website elements combined together to form websites.
Components of Web Design Packages
Views
Standard, normal or design view which is regarded as the default.
Code View: This allows you to view and work directly with the HTML code.
Split View: This is where both of the above views are displayed simultaneously in
separate windows.
Creating Headings and sub heading
Inserting links; Most web authoring software tools additionally provide a button or icon
that allows you to quickly insert a link.
Understanding a Web Page
A web page is a text file containing Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) formatting
tags and links to graphic files and other web pages thorough a web server. Web pages
are unique in such a way that the can be interactive and use multimedia. The main thing
to remember when creating a web is to establish a goal by setting many links.
Uses of a Web Design Package

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SS2 DP, SUMMARY
1. They NOTES
are used for webgraphics design
2. They are used for interface design
3. They are used for authoring including standardized code and proprietary software
4. They are used for users experience design
5. Search engine optimization
6. A web page is basically used to create web pages.
7. Accessibility Checker: Which gives the users the ability to check if their codes is
standard complaint and their website is easily accessible for people width disabilities.
8. Split View Option: Allow users to code in code view and preview in design view
without the hassle of switching from design and code view tab.
9. Interactive Buttons: Give users a new easy way to create web graphics for navigation
and eliminating the need for a complicated image –editing package such as Adobe
Photoshop.
10.Dynamic Web Template (DWT): Allow users to create a single template that could
be used across multiple pages and even the whole website.
11.Code Snippets: Give users the advantage to create snippets of their commonly used
pieces of code allowing them to store it for easy access when next it is needed.

Examples of Web Design Packages

1. Google web designers
2. Microsoft SharePoint designer
3. Xara Web designers
4. Coffee Cup visual site designer
5. iWeb: iWeb allows users to create websites and blogs and customize them with their
own text, photos and movies. iWeb integrates with other services, including
Facebook, YouTube, Google AdSense and Google Maps. It allows user to create a
website in just a few minutes without the knowledge of programming or HTML.
iWeb provides beautiful, Apple-designed templates that you can easily customized so
don’t have to worry about design.
6. Microsoft FrontPage: It is a web tool that allow users to create accustom web sites
without having to know HTML code. It helps you to manage the pages in your web
as well as create and edit web pages in a What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get
(WHSIWYG) fashion.
7. Adobe Dreamweaver: It is a web design package that is suitable for everything from
simple page design to development of dynamic pages written with ColdFusion, PHP,
ASP, CSS, XML, XSLT, and JavaScript. Dreamweaver is the most powerful, most
fully featured web developer tool. It combines a great WYSIWYG editor, an FTP
client, and a convenient scripting environment.

7
SS2 DP, SUMMARY
8. Microsoft NOTES
Expression Web & Studio: It is a web design tool you can use to design
and developed web pages using XML, CSS, ASP.NET, ASP.NET AJAX, XHTML,
XSLT, PHP and JAVAScript. Expression Web requires .NET Framework and
Silverlight to install and run. It uses its own standards-based rendering engine which
is different from internet Explorer’s Trident engine.
9. Web plus X4: Is the quick and easy way for anyone who wants to create and publish
eye-catching desktop and mobile sites, without having to use any code.
10. Net Objects Fusion: Are commercial programs with a graphical user interface and
generates HTML or XHTML through its own proprietary database.
11.Amaya: Is a free and open source WHYSIWYG authoring tool with browsing
abilities. It has XML-based capabilities such as XHTML, MathML and Scalable
Vector Graphics (SVG). It displays free and open image formats such as PNG and
SVG, as well as a subset of SVG animation.
Free Websites that enables you to create your own Website
12.www.Wix.com
13.www.Weebly. Com
14.Meaning of Web Design

COMPUTER MAINTENANCE
Computer maintenance is the practice of keeping computers in a good state of repair. It
describes various steps to keep your computer safe and functioning at an optimal
performance level from a software and hardware point of view. It is a set of maintenance
tasks and procedures that help to keep the computer software and hardware updated and
operational. A computer containing accumulated dust and debris may not run properly.
Dust and debris will accumulate as a result of air cooling. Any filters used to mitigate
this need regular service and changes. If the cooling system is not filtered then regular
computer cleaning may prevent short circuits and overheating.
Effective computer maintenance can be the difference between a reliable system and one
that is plagued with problems. Computer maintenance can take many different forms,
but all are centered around extending the lifespan of your IT equipment through careful
use and taking sensible precautions. By maintaining your computer effectively, you can
help your business get the best possible return on its IT investment.
Maintenance includes both hardware & software in it. Maintenance is a continuous
process.
Hardware maintenance includes cleaning dust, maintaining constant voltage, etc.
Software maintenance includes reinstallation, upgradation & removal of different
software.
8
SS2
WhatDP, is
SUMMARY NOTES
Computer Maintenance Plan?
Computer Maintenance Plan is a list of predefined procedures and tasks needed to keep a
computer in good condition. There are thorough maintenance checks needed on a
computer to avoid unnecessary downtime and failure.
The effective & efficient working of a system depends on the following four features:
 General cleaning and servicing of computer hardware
 Installation
 Trouble shooting
 Repairs
Servicing is mainly associated with hardware equipment. Servicing includes checkups,
repairs and update of all physical components. Service is something that we have to do,
operationally, if we wish to achieve an item’s inherent reliability. It goes deeper than
maintenance.
Service provider should have proper knowledge about various components and their
installation procedures.
Troubleshooting is the detection and removal of faults in the computer system. If a
problem is detected in a system, it is to be sorted out immediately.
Troubleshooting is of two types:
o Hardware troubleshooting.
o Software troubleshooting.
Repairing means to rectify the problem in the hardware or software. Either the part has
malfunctioned or it has become worn to the point where the part needs to be replaced in
order to maintain the performance of your computer system. While finding or analyzing
the faults, it can be decided which hardware or software can be repaired.
Repairing may also include replacement of a component. It is an essential part of
troubleshooting.
Repair of components may result into adding up of cost and delay in operations. Some
failures occur because of repairs, it is called repair generated failures.
Repairs are termed as corrective maintenance. Corrective maintenance is done when a
fault occurs.
Preventive maintenance should be favoured over corrective maintenance. It may add to
the cost but saves operation time.
Preventive maintenance is often neglected and the emphasis is on repair maintenance
policy. It enforces maintenance through servicing.

9
SS2 DP, SUMMARY
Repair NOTES
generated failures
These failures depend on the performance of the technician. The technician during
repairing process may leave some loose connections, wrong connections or some broken
pins / broken wires. These can be avoided if the technician rechecks/revise the work
done.
MAINTENANCE
Maintenance is a process which starts with installation of the system and runs
throughout the life of it. It includes both
• Hardware maintenance and
• Software maintenance.
Hardware Maintenance
Computer hardware maintenance involves taking care of the computer's physical
components, such as its keyboard, hard drive and internal CD or DVD drives. Cleaning
the computer, keeping its fans free from dust, and defragmenting its hard drives
regularly are all parts of a computer hardware maintenance program. It includes proper
cleaning, servicing, repairing or replacing components of the computer.
Maintaining hardware helps to extend the computer's lifespan. It helps to prevent wear
and tear, and keeps the system functioning smoothly.
The following are the two types of maintenance methods used to keep the hardware
intact:
• Preventive maintenance.
• Corrective maintenance.
Preventive maintenance means maintenance through preventions. Careful handling of
the computer enhances the life of the system and is called preventive maintenance.
Preventive maintenance can be done by taking some general precautions and some
special precautions.
Corrective Maintenance
It refers to the maintenance procedures that are adopted when any error occurs in the
system. It is contrary to preventive maintenance and starts when a failure or crash occurs
in the system. It includes repair and troubleshooting techniques.
Corrective maintenance steps
• In case of failure general troubleshooting concepts should be performed first.
• If problem remains, locate the fault using different tools or diagnostic software.
10
SS2 •DP, SUMMARY NOTES
Once fault is determined,
troubleshoot or replace the component, as required.
• Corrective maintenance also includes periodic enhancements.
Various tools that can be used during corrective maintenance: Data recovery tools from
operating system, third party data recovery tools, virus vaccines, etc.
Though preventive maintenance is better yet there are times that corrective maintenance
is used due to unseen factors leading to sudden failures.

Hardware Maintenance Tips/Precautions

1. Ensure all peripherals are switched off before the main power is switched off.
2. Remove all CD’s from the drives before switching off the system.
3. Do not switch off the system when activity LED in hard disk drive glows.
4. Store CDs in clean and cool place where electromagnetic interference is absent.
5. Do not obstruct air circulation to the computer site.
6. Do not eat or drink while working on the computer system.
7. When not in use, use dust covers for monitor, printer, etc.
8. Do not bend or scratch on CDs.
9. Do not apply force on key switches.
10.Do not rest hands on the keyboard.
11.Do not play with the keyboard after switching off the power.
12.Cable at keyboard end should not be subjected to high stress.
13.Do not use rough materials to clean the components of the system.
14.Use quality ribbon or ink to avoid damage to print head.
15.The internal parts of printer like stepper motor, print head, etc. should be cleaned
properly periodically.
16.Switch off power before plugging and removing a cable, or inserting and
removing a PCB (Printed circuit board).
17.The position where the system is kept should be dry and away from direct sunlight
or rain.
18.Ensure the hard disk is backed up properly.
19.Remove dust from circuit boards using air blower.
20.Run the diagnostic software periodically.
Cleaning tools

11
SS2 DP, SUMMARY
Although NOTEScleaning
computer products are available, you can also use household items to
clean your computer and its peripherals. Below is a listing of items you may need or
want to use while cleaning your computer.
o Cloth - A cotton cloth is the best tool used when rubbing down computer
components. Paper towels can be used with most hardware, but we always
recommend using a cloth whenever possible. However, only use a cloth when
cleaning components such as the case, a drive, mouse, and keyboard. You should
not use a cloth to clean any circuitry such as the RAM or motherboard.
o Water or rubbing alcohol - When moistening a cloth, it is best to use water or
rubbing alcohol. Other solvents may be bad for the plastics used with your
computer.
o Portable Vacuum - Sucking the dust, dirt, hair, cigarette particles, and other
particles out of a computer can be one of the best methods of cleaning a computer.
However, do not use a vacuum that plugs into the wall since it creates lots of static
electricity that can damage your computer.
o Compressed Air- Using compressed air for electronics can protect the components
in your devices. They prevent them from overheating and shorting out. It is not
just components, but your computer gets an extended life. Compressed air for
electronics is one of the easiest and fastest ways of cleaning. Cotton swabs -
Cotton swaps moistened with rubbing alcohol or water are excellent tools for
wiping hard to reach areas in your keyboard, mouse, and other locations.
o Foam swabs - Whenever possible, it is better to use lint-free swabs such as foam
swabs.

Can of Compressed Air Computer vacuum/ Blower

General Computer Cleaning Tips

• Never spray or squirt any liquid onto any computer component. If a spray is
needed, spray the liquid onto a cloth.

12
SS2 •DP, SUMMARY
You canNOTES
use a vacuum to suck up dirt, dust, or hair around the computer.
However, do not use a vacuum inside your computer as it generates static
electricity that can damage your computer. If you need to use a vacuum inside
your computer, use a portable battery powered vacuum or try compressed air.
• When cleaning a component or the computer, turn it off before cleaning.
• Be cautious when using any cleaning solvents; some people have allergic
reactions to chemicals in cleaning solvents, and some solvents can even damage
the case. Try always to use water or a highly diluted solvent.
• When cleaning, be careful to not accidentally adjust any knobs or controls. Also,
when cleaning the back of the computer, if anything is connected make sure not to
disconnect the plugs.
• When cleaning fans, especially smaller fans, hold the fan or place something in-
between the fan blades to prevent it from spinning. Spraying compressed air into a
fan or cleaning a fan with a vacuum may cause damage or generate a back
voltage.
• Limit smoking around the computer.
 LCD/LED Monitor cleaning
Why? Dirt, dust, and fingerprints can cause the computer screen to be difficult to read.
Procedure: Unlike a CRT computer monitor, the LCD or LED monitor is not glass and
requires special cleaning procedures.
When cleaning the LCD or LED screen, it is important to remember to not spray any
liquids onto the screen directly. Press gently while cleaning and do not use a paper towel
since it can scratch the screen.
To clean the LCD or LED screen, use a non-rugged microfiber cloth, soft cotton cloth,
or Swiffer duster. If a dry cloth does not completely clean the screen, you can apply
rubbing alcohol to the cloth and wipe the screen with a damp cloth. Rubbing alcohol is
used to clean LCD and LED monitors before it leaves the factory.
 Keyboard cleaning
Dust, dirt, and bacteria
The computer keyboard is usually the most germ infected items in your home or office.
A keyboard may even contain more bacteria than your toilet seat. Cleaning it helps
remove any dangerous bacteria and keeps the keyboard working properly.

13
SS2 DP, SUMMARY
Procedure: NOTES
Before cleaning the keyboard, first turn off the computer or if you are using
a USB keyboard unplug it from the computer. Not unplugging the keyboard can cause
other computer problems as you may press keys that cause the computer to perform a
task you do not want it to perform.
Many people clean the keyboard by turning it upside down and shaking. A more
efficient method is to use compressed air. The crumbs, dust, and other particulate that
fall between the keys and build up underneath are loosened by spraying pressurized air
into the keyboard, then removed with a low-pressure vacuum cleaner.
After the dust, dirt, and hair have been removed. Spray a disinfectant onto a cloth or use
disinfectant cloths and rub each of the keys on the keyboard. As mentioned in our
general cleaning tips, never spray any liquid onto the keyboard.
A plastic-cleaning agent applied to the surface of the keys with a cloth is used to remove
the accumulation of oil and dirt from repeated contact with a user's fingertips. If this is
not sufficient for a more severely dirty keyboard, keys are physically removed for more
focused individual cleaning, or for better access to the area beneath
 Computer mouse cleaning
Optical or laser mouse
Why? A dirty optical or laser mouse can cause the mouse cursor to be difficult to move
or move erratically.
Procedure: Use a can of compressed air that is designed for use with electronic
equipment, spraying around the optical sensor on the bottom of the mouse. Blowing air
on the bottom of the mouse clears away any dirt, dust, hair, or other obstructions that
may be blocking the optical sensor.
Avoid using any cleaning chemicals or wiping a cloth directly on the optical sensor, as it
could scratch or damage the optical sensor.
All types of mice
Why? To help keep the mouse clean and germ-free.
Procedure: Use a cloth moistened with rubbing alcohol or warm water and rub the
surface of the mouse and each of its buttons.
 CD, DVD, and other discs cleaning
Why? Dirty CDs can cause read errors or cause CDs not to work at all.
Procedure:

14
SS2 
DP, SUMMARY NOTES
Use a cleaning kit or damp clean cotton cloth to clean CDs, DVDs, and other
discs. The cleaning kit is comprised of a single disc that is designed to spin in
user’s drive a nd remove all dust from the lens.
 Place the CD/DVD laser lens cleaning disc inside the DVD drive’s tray and close
the tray.
 As it spins, it will clear most if not all the dust on the lens.
 As an extra precaution, use a can of air spray to gently spray into the open tray to
remove any residual dust
 Try to read or write a DVD once again to make sure everything is working well
now.
You can also clean the face of a disc. When cleaning a disc, wipe against the tracks,
starting from the middle of the CD or DVD and wiping towards the outer side. Never
wipe with the tracks; doing so may put more scratches on the disc.
Tip: If the substance on a CD cannot be removed using water, pure alcohol can also be
used.

LAPTOP BATTERIES – CHARGING AND REPLACEMENT

Below are some general guidelines that should be followed when charging your laptop
computer battery. Keep in mind these are general suggestions. Consult your laptop or
battery documentation for precise information. If your documentation states something
different, those directions should be followed.

New battery or first use

After purchasing a new laptop computer or battery for your laptop, it is recommend that
the battery be charged for no less than 24-hours. A 24-hour charge makes sure the
battery is fully charged and helps with the battery's life expectancy. Once it is fully
charged, you should not discharge it fully, if possible. Lithium-ion batteries (the type

15
SS2
usedDP,in
SUMMARY
modernNOTES
laptop computers) are strained, and may be weakened, when they are
fully discharged. Doing so frequently can shorten the battery's lifespan.
Don't worry about overcharging the battery. Modern laptops will stop charging the
battery when it is fully charged and switch over to AC power while the laptop is plugged
into an outlet.
If you are excited to use your new laptop, it can still be used while it is plugged into an
outlet. However, it’s better not to unplug it until it's been charged for that length of time.
Battery Memory Effect
This is an effect observed in nickel-cadmium and nickel–metal hydride rechargeable
batteries (both are older type of batteries) that causes them to hold less charge. It
describes the situation in which nickel-cadmium batteries gradually lose their maximum
energy capacity if they are repeatedly recharged after being only partially discharged.
The battery appears to "remember" the smaller capacity.
The battery memory effect is a reduction in the longevity of a rechargeable battery's
charge, due to incomplete discharge in previous uses. The effect can also be caused by
poorly-designed chargers.
In lithium-based batteries this is in fact a myth, it only applies to older Nickle-based
batteries. So fully discharging and charging the battery is completely useless and even
harmful. The modern lithium battery can be charged regardless of its current percentage,
given that it has absolutely no negative effect in its performance.
All other charges
After the computer battery has gone through its initial charge, all battery charging should
go until the laptop has reached its capacity. Often this will be after a few hours of
charging.
Note: Even when the computer is off, as long as it's plugged in, it will continue to
charge.
Did you know that heat and duration of use can affect the life and charging capacity of
your battery? One of the more typical questions raised by laptop users is whether the
battery should be removed from its socket when the A/C adapter is plugged in. Well, the
answer is both a YES and a NO, it depends on the situation.

Having a battery fully charged and the laptop plugged in is not harmful, because as soon
as the charge level reaches 100% the battery stops receiving charging energy and this
energy is bypassed directly to the power supply system of the laptop.

16
SS2 DP, SUMMARY NOTES
However there's a disadvantage in keeping the battery in its socket when the laptop is
plugged in, but only if it's currently suffering from excessive heating caused by the
laptop hardware.
So:
- In a normal usage, if the laptop doesn't get too hot (CPU and Hard Disk around 40ºC to
50ºC) the battery should remain in the laptop socket;
- In an intensive usage which leads to a large amount of heat produced (i.e. Games,
temperatures above 60ºC) the battery should be removed from the socket in order to
prevent unwanted heating.
The heat, among the fact that it has 100% of charge, is the great enemy of the lithium
battery and not the plug, as many might think so.

Charging tips:
• For regular usage or when the laptop doesn’t go above 40ºC to 50ºC, keep the battery
attached to its socket.
• When the laptop is new or when a replacement battery is initially installed, be sure to
fully charge it before usage.
• Do not keep the battery and the A/C adapter plugged in too frequently and during
intensive use. This will cause chemical reaction which reduces the battery’s capacity to
hold charges. What’s worse is that eventually, it won’t be able to hold any charge
without the AC plugged in.
• The battery should be in low charge levels before recharging. This significantly
increases the likelihood for a longer serviceable life.
• Do not leave it plugged in all the time.

Calibrating the Battery

17
SS2
So DP, SUMMARY
you’re usingNOTES
yourlaptop and, all of the sudden, it dies. There was no battery warning
from Windows—in fact, you recently checked and Windows said you had 30% battery
power left. What’s going on?
Even if you treat your laptop’s battery properly, its capacity will decrease over time. Its
built-in power meter estimates how much juice available and how much time on battery
you have left—but it can sometimes give you incorrect estimates.
This basic technique will work in Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista. Really, it will work for any
device with a battery, including older MacBooks. It may not be necessary on some
newer devices, however.
If you’re taking proper care of your laptop’s battery, you should be allowing it to
discharge somewhat before plugging it back in and topping it off. You shouldn’t be
allowing your laptop’s battery to die completely each time you use it, or even get
extremely low. Performing regular top-ups will extend your battery’s life.
However, this sort of behavior can confuse the laptop’s battery meter. No matter how
well you take care of the battery, its capacity will still decrease as a result of unavoidable
factors like typical usage, age, and heat. If the battery isn’t allowed to run from 100%
down to 0% occasionally, the battery’s power meter won’t know how much juice is
actually in the battery. That means your laptop may think it’s at 30% capacity when it’s
really at 1%—and then it shuts down unexpectedly.

Calibrating the battery won’t give you longer battery life, but it will give you more
accurate estimates of how much battery power your device has left.
Manufacturers that do recommend calibration, often recommends calibrating the battery
every two to three months. This helps keep your battery readings accurate.
In reality, you likely don’t have to do this that often if you’re not too worried about your
laptop’s battery readings being completely precise.

How to perform a calibration (full discharge)

The most adequate method to do a full discharge (100% to a minimum of 3%) consists
of the following procedure:
 Fully charge the battery to its maximum capacity (100%);
 Let the battery "rest" fully charged for 2 hours or more in order to cool down from
the charging process. You may use the computer normally within this period;
 Unplug the power cord and set the computer to hibernate automatically at 5% as
described by the image below. To find these options, head to Control Panel >
Hardware and Sound > Power Options > Change plan settings > Change advanced
power settings. Look under the “Battery” category for the “Critical battery action”
18
SS2 DP, SUMMARY NOTESbattery
and “Critical level” options. If you cannot select 5%, then you should use
the minimum value allowed, but never below 5%;

 Leave the computer discharging, non-stop, until it hibernates itself. You may use
the computer normally within this period;
 When the computer shuts down completely, let it stay in the hibernation state for 5
hours or even more;
 Plug the computer to the A/C power to perform a full charge non-stop until its
maximum capacity (100%). You may use the computer normally within this
period.
After the calibration process, the reported wear level is usually higher than before. This
is natural, since it now reports the true current capacity that the battery has to hold
charge. Lithium Ion batteries have a limit amount of discharge cycles (generally 200 to
300 cycles) and they will retain less capacity over time.

Many people tend to think "If calibrating gives higher wear level, then it's a bad thing".
This is wrong, because like said, the calibration is meant to have your battery report the
true capacity it can hold, and it's meant to avoid surprises like, for example, being in the
middle of a presentation and suddenly the computer shuts down at 30% of charge.
Prolonged storage
19
SS2 DP, SUMMARY NOTES
To store a battery for long periods of time, its charge capacity should be around 40% and
it should be stored in a place as fresh and dry as possible. A fridge can be used (0ºC -
10ºC), but only if the battery stays isolated from any humidity.
One must say again that the battery's worst enemy is the heat, so leaving the laptop in the
car in a hot summer day is half way to kill the battery.

Replacing a Laptop Battery

Typically, laptop batteries have 1-2 years life span or equivalent to 400 recharges. After
this period, it becomes defective and its run time starts to deteriorate. Once the battery
no longer serves its purpose, it is time to get a replacement. But what should you look
for in a replacement battery?
Specs:
• Voltage. It is important that you get the same and exact voltage as the laptop battery
you are disposing. A higher or lesser voltage can cause damage to your computer’s
internal components or even burn it at the very least.
• Wattage. The wattage determines how much energy is needed to power the laptop.
Expect a longer battery life for your laptop with a higher watt-hour capacity.
• mAh (Milliamperes). This refers to the amount of power of a battery pack by means of
voltage and amperes ratings. One thousand milliamperes is equals to 1 amperes. This
means that you should go with the battery with a higher mAh rating. On the average, a
4000 mAh allows 3-4 hours of battery life.
Software Maintenance
Software maintenance includes updation, enhancements, changes, repair and
replacements.
Altered environment or changed conditions may result in software maintenance.
It is of the following types:
 Corrective
 Adaptive
 Perfective
 Preventive
 Corrective maintenance is concerned with fixing errors that are observed when the
software is in use.
 Adaptive maintenance is concerned with the change in the software that takes
place to make the software adaptable to new environment such as to run the
software on a new operating system.

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PerfectiveNOTES
maintenance is concerned with the change in the software that occurs
while adding new functionalities in the software.
 Preventive maintenance involves implementing changes to prevent the occurrence
of errors. The distribution of types of maintenance by type and by percentage of
time consumed.

INDEXES
Indexing in Databases
Indexing is a way to optimize performance of a database by minimizing the number of
disk accesses required when a query is processed.
An index or database index is a data structure which is used to quickly locate and access
the data in a database table (to speed up query). They are similar to textbook indexes. In
textbooks, if you need to go to a particular chapter, you go to the index, find the page
number of the chapter and go directly to that page. Without indexes, the process of
finding your desired chapter would have been very slow.
The same applies to indexes in databases. Without indexes, a DBMS has to go through
all the records in the table in order to retrieve the desired results. This process is called
table-scanning and is extremely slow. On the other hand, if you create indexes, the
database goes to that index first and then retrieves the corresponding table records
directly.
Indexes are created using some database columns.
 The first column is the Search key that contains a copy of the primary key or
candidate key of the table. These values are stored in sorted order so that the
corresponding data can be accessed quickly (Note that the data may or may not be
stored in sorted order).
 The second column is the Data Reference which contains a set of pointers holding
the address of the disk block where that particular key value can be found.

Overview of Indexes
As we noted earlier, an index on a file is an auxiliary structure designed to speed up
operations that are not efficiently supported by the basic organization of records in that
file.
21
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An DP, SUMMARY
index can beNOTES
viewed as a collection of data entries, with an efficient way to locate all
data entries with search key value k. Each such data entry, which we denote as k*,
contains enough information to enable us to retrieve (one or more) data records with
search key value k. (Note that a data entry is, in general, different from a data record!)
The following figure shows an index with search key sal that contains (sal, rid) pairs as
data entries. The rid component of a data entry in this index is a pointer to a record with
search key value sal.

Two important questions to consider are:

1. How are data entries organized in order to support efficient retrieval of data entries
with a given search key value?
2. Exactly what is stored as a data entry?
One way to organize data entries is to hash data entries on the search key. In this
approach, we essentially treat the collection of data entries as a file of records, hashed on
the search key. This is how the index on sal shown in previous figure is organized. The
hash function h for this example is quite simple; it converts the search key value to its
binary representation and uses the two least significant bits as the bucket identifier.
Another way to organize data entries is to build a data structure that directs a search for
data entries. Several index data structures are known that allow us to efficiently find data
entries with a given search key value.
Based on this, there are two ways indexing can be done:
1. Ordered indices: Indices are based on a sorted ordering of the values. The indices
are usually sorted so that the searching is faster. The indices which are sorted are
known as ordered indices.

22
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2.DP,Hash
SUMMARY NOTES
indices: Hashing is the transformation of a string of characters into a usually
shorter fixed-length value or key that represents the original string. Hashing is used
to index and retrieve items in a database because it is faster to find the item using
the shorter hashed key than to find it using the original value.
Hash indices are based on the shorter fixed-length values being distributed
uniformly across a range of buckets. The buckets to which a value is assigned is
determined by function called a hash function (refer to note on file organization).
There is no comparison between both the techniques, it depends on the database
application on which it is being applied.
 Access Types: e.g. value based search, range access, etc.
 Access Time: Time to find particular data element or set of elements.
 Insertion Time: Time taken to find the appropriate space and insert a new data.
 Deletion Time: Time taken to find an item and delete it as well as update the index
structure.
 Space Overhead: Additional space required by the index.

Alternatives to Data Entries in an Index

A data entry k* allows us to retrieve one or more data records with key value k. We need
to consider three main alternatives:
1. A data entry k∗ is an actual data record (with search key value k).
2. A data entry is a (k, rid) pair, where rid is the record id of a data record with
search key value k.
3. A data entry is a (k, rid-list) pair, where rid-list is a list of record ids of data
records with search key value k.
Observe that if an index uses Alternative (1), there is no need to store the data records
separately, in addition to the contents of the index.
INDEXING METHODS

 Clustered Vs. Non-Clustered Indexing

Clustered Indexes

23
SS2 DP, SUMMARY
A clustered NOTES
index defines the order in which data is physically stored in a table. Table
data can be sorted in only way, therefore, there can be only one clustered index per table.
Clustering index is defined on an ordered data file. The data file could be ordered on a
non-key field (In some cases, the index is created on non-primary key columns which
may not be unique for each record). In such cases, in order to identify the records faster,
we will group two or more columns together to get the unique values and create index
out of them. This method is known as clustering index. Basically, records with similar
characteristics are grouped together and indexes are created for these groups.
A typical example of a clustered index is the traditional phone book. The actual
document is the index, entries are sorted/organized and each page has a key showing the
range of names in it.

The example below contains different levels of pointer pointing to the base table.

24
SS2 DP, SUMMARY NOTES

Clustered index sorted according to EID (Search key)

 Non-Clustered Indexes

A non-clustered index does not sort the physical data inside the table. In fact, a non-
clustered index is stored at one place and table data is stored in another place and the
index would have pointers to the storage location of the data. A table can have multiple
non-clustered indices because the index in the non-clustered index is stored at a different
place. For example, a book can have more than one index, one at the beginning which
shows the contents of a book unit wise and another index at the end which shows the
index of terms in alphabetical order.

It is important to mention here that inside the table the data will be sorted by a clustered
index. However, inside the non-clustered index, data is stored in the specified order. The
index contains column values on which the index is created and the address of the record
that the column value belongs to.
A non-clustered index just tells us where the data lies, i.e. it gives us a list of virtual
pointers or references to the location where the data is actually stored. Data is not
physically stored in the order of the index. Instead, data is present in leaf nodes. For e.g.,
25
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the DP, SUMMARY
contents NOTES
page ofa book. Each entry gives us the page number or location of the
information stored. The actual data here (information on each page of book) is not
organized but we have an ordered reference (contents page) to where the data points
actually lie.

When a query is issued against a column on which the index is created, the database will
first go to the index and look for the address of the corresponding row in the table. It will
then go to that row address and fetch other column values. It is due to this additional step
that non-clustered indexes are slower than clustered indexes.

It requires more time as compared to clustered index because some amount of extra
work is done in order to extract the data by further following the pointer. In case of
clustered index, data is directly present in front of the index.

Clustered Versus Non-clustered Index

BASIS FOR CLUSTERED INDEX NON-CLUSTERED INDEX
COMPARISON
Basic Determines the storage order of Determines the storage order of the
the rows in a table as a whole. rows in a table with the help of separate
physical structure.
Number of Only one clustered index Multiple non-clustered indices
26
 SS2 DP, SUMMARY NOTES
indexes allowed
per table
Data accessing Faster as data is physically Slower as compared to the clustered
stored in index order index because the non-clustered index
has to refer back to the base table

Additional disk 1. Not needed. Clustered Required to store the indices separately.
index stores the base table In a non-clustered index, the index is
space data in same physical stored in a separate location which
order as index’s logical
requires additional storage space
order, so it does not
require additional storage
space.

 Dense Indexes Vs. Sparse Indexes

Dense Index
In the dense index, there is an index record for every search key value in the database.
This makes searching faster but requires more space to store index records itself. Index
records contain search key value and a pointer/reference to the actual record on the disk
(the first data record with that search key value).

Sparse Index
 The index record appears only for a few items in the data file. Each item points to a
block as shown.
 To locate a record, we find the index record with the largest search key value less
than or equal to the search key value we are looking for.

27
SS2 DP, SUMMARY NOTES
 We start at that record pointed to by the index record, and proceed along the
pointers in the file (that is, sequentially) until we find the desired record.

 Primary Indexes Vs. Secondary Indexes

Primary Indexes
A primary index is an index on a set of fields that includes the unique primary key for
the field and is guaranteed not to contain duplicates. In this case, the data is sorted
according to the search key. It induces sequential file organization.
In this case, the primary key of the database table is used to create the index. As primary
keys are unique and are stored in sorted manner, the performance of searching operation
is quite efficient.

28
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TheDP,index
SUMMARY NOTESthe
contains key fields and pointers to the other non-key fields of the table.
The primary index is created automatically when a table is created and the primary key
specified in a database. It contains 1:1 relation between the records. Searching data using
the primary index is efficient because it stores data in the sorted order.
Primary index could be sparse or dense.

Secondary Index
It is used to optimize query processing and access records in a database with some
information other than the usual search key (primary key).
It helps to reduce the size of mapping by introducing another level of indexing. In this,
two levels of indexing are used in order to reduce the mapping size of the first level and
in general. At the initial stage, it selects a range for the columns. Therefore, the mapping
size of the first level becomes smaller. Then, this index method reduces each range into
smaller ranges. Generally, the primary memory stores the first level mappings to fetch
addresses faster. Furthermore, the secondary memory stores the mapping of the second
level and the actual data. . Actual physical location of the data is determined by the
second mapping level.
Initially, for the first level, a large range of numbers is selected so that the mapping size
is small. Further, each range is divided into further sub ranges.

29
SS2 DP, SUMMARY NOTES

30
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Conclusion

The clustered index is a way of storing data in the rows of a table in some particular
order. So that when the desired data is searched, the only corresponding row gets
affected that contain the data and is represented as output. On the other hand, the non-
clustered index resides in a physically separate structure that references the base data
when it is searched. A non-clustered structure can have a different sort order.

 Primary Index : Index Created on primary key. (Primary Key + Ordered)

 Clustering Index : Index Created on Non Key Column but they are ordered.
 Secondary Index : Index Created in Non-Key column but they are Not ordered.

Indexes Using Composite Search Keys

The search key for an index can contain several fields; such keys are called composite
search keys or concatenated keys.
A composite key, in the context of relational databases, is a combination of two or more
columns in a table that can be used to uniquely identify each row in the table.
Uniqueness is only guaranteed when the columns are combined; when taken individually
the columns do not guarantee uniqueness.
A composite key can be defined as the primary key. This is done using SQL statements
at the time of table creation. It means that data in the entire table is defined and indexed
on the set of columns defined as the primary key.
As an example, consider a collection of employee records, with fields name, age, and
sal, stored in sorted order by name;

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TheDP, SUMMARY
figure NOTES
above illustratesthe difference between a composite index with key (age,
sal), a composite index with key (sal, age), an index with key age, and an index with key
sal.
All indexes shown in the figure use Alternative (2) above, for data entries.
If the search key is composite, an equality query is one in which each field in the search
key is bound to a constant. For example, we can ask to retrieve all data entries with age
= 20 and sal = 10. The hashed file organization supports only equality queries, since a
hash function identifies the bucket containing desired records only if a value is specified
for each field in the search key.
A range query is one in which not all fields in the search key are bound to constants. For
example, we can ask to retrieve all data entries with age = 20; this query implies that any
value is acceptable for the sal field. As another example of a range query, we can ask to
retrieve all data entries with age < 30 and sal > 40.

CRASH RECOVERY
THE RECOVERY MANAGER
Recovery to a consistent state is required after any kind of system failure. Recovery
process restores database to most recent consistent state before time of failure.
Recovery Manager (RMAN) is a DBMS utility that can back up, restore, and recover
database files. The recovery manager of a DBMS is responsible for ensuring two
important properties of transactions: atomicity and durability. It ensures atomicity by
undoing the actions of transactions that do not commit and durability by making sure
that all actions of committed transactions survive system crashes and media failures
(e.g., a disk is corrupted), i.e. redoing (all) the actions of committed transactions.
In the context of transaction processing in databases, four properties must be ensured in
the face of concurrent accesses and system failures (ACID properties):
 Atomicity: Either all actions of a transaction are carried out or none at all (all or
none rule). Atomicity is the Responsibility of the Recovery Manager.
 Consistency: Each transaction (run by itself with no concurrent execution) must
preserve the consistency of the database. In other words, the set of operations
taken together should move the system for one consistent state to another
consistent state. Consistency is the Responsibility of the User
 Isolation: Execution of one transaction is isolated (or protected) from the effects
of other concurrently running transactions. Isolation is the Responsibility of the
Transaction Manager.
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Durability: If a
transaction commits, its effects persist/is permanent (even of the
system crashes before all its changes are reflected on disk). Durability is the
Responsibility of the Recovery Manager.

The recovery manager is one of the hardest components of a DBMS to design and
implement. It must deal with a wide variety of database states because it is called on
during system failures.

The Recovery Manager also interacts to a lesser degree with the Buffer Manager and the
Transaction Manager. It is invoked by the Transaction Manager for transaction rollback.

33
SS2 DP, SUMMARY
It requests NOTES
the Buffer Manager for the Dirty Page list and the Transaction Manager for
the Transaction table.
In a DBMS, it is also necessary to keep track of current and completed transactions. This
is done using a data structure called log. Each log entry typically describes the operation
performed, the initial value of any updated item and the final value of any updated item.
The log must be written to stable storage because it is needed by the recovery manager
for recovery.
On restart after a failure, the basic recovery process is to use the log stored on stable
storage to undo the effects of aborted and incomplete transactions (in reverse order) and
to redo the effects of committed transactions (in forward order).
A complication is that both the database itself and the log use memory buffers, so data
written to the database or to the log are not necessarily recorded in stable storage
immediately. Related to this is the fact that both the database and the log are written to
disk a page at a time, not an item at a time. A transaction is regarded as committed when
the ``commit'' entry written to the log is recorded on stable storage.
Key choices for the recovery manager implementor include:
 Whether to require all changed database pages to be written to disk when a
transaction commits (``force''). Forcing avoids the need to redo on restart.
 Whether to allow changed database pages to be written to disk before the
transaction commits (``steal''). Stealing requires undo on restart.
Recovery managers may decide whether or not to use force and/or steal independently.
Most recovery managers use WAL (Write ahead logging) to allow STEAL/NO-FORCE
without sacrificing correctness.
Checkpoints are used to periodically write the log and changed database pages to disk,
recording the fact on the disk, to reduce the work required on restart after failure.
It's important that restart be idempotent: if a failure occurs during restart, and a second
restart is performed, the effect should be the same as if the first restart had completed.
Some of the terms encountered above (in boldface) will later be discussed in detail.

SOME CONCEPTS RELATED TO RECOVERY

Transaction Management
A transaction can be defined as a group of tasks. Series of reads & writes, followed by
commit or abort. A single task is the minimum processing unit which cannot be divided
further.
34
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Let’s SUMMARY NOTES
an example of a simple transaction. Suppose a bank employee transfers #500
from A's account to B's account. This very simple and small transaction involves several
low-level tasks.

States of Transactions
Active − In this state, the transaction is being executed. This is the initial state of every
transaction.
Partially Committed − When a transaction executes its final operation, it is said to be in
a partially committed state.
Failed − A transaction is said to be in a failed state if any of the checks made by the
database recovery system fails. A failed transaction can no longer proceed further.
Aborted − If any of the checks fails and the transaction has reached a failed state, then
the recovery manager rolls back all its write operations on the database to bring the
database back to its original state where it was prior to the execution of the transaction.
Transactions in this state are called aborted. The database recovery module can select
one of the two operations after a transaction aborts –
- Re-start the transaction
- Kill the transaction
Committed − If a transaction executes all its operations successfully, it is said to be
committed. All its effects are now permanently established on the database system.
In a general sense, a commit is the updating of a record in a database. In the context of
a database transaction, a commit refers to the saving of data permanently after a set of
tentative changes. A commit ends a transaction within a relational database and allows
all other users to see the changes.

35
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States of Transactions
Transaction failure
A transaction has to abort when it fails to execute or when it reaches a point from where
it can’t go any further. This is called transaction failure where only a few transactions or
processes are hurt.
DATABASE RECOVERY TECHNIQUES

There are both automatic and non-automatic ways for both, backing up of data and
recovery from any failure situations. The techniques used to recover the lost data due to
system crash, transaction errors, viruses, catastrophic failure, incorrect commands
execution etc. are database recovery techniques. So to prevent data loss recovery
techniques based on deferred update and immediate update or backing up data can be
used.

Recovery techniques are heavily dependent upon the existence of a special file known as
a system log. It contains information about the start and end of each transaction and any
updates which occur in the transaction. The log keeps track of all transaction operations
that affect the values of database items. This information is needed to recover from
transaction failure.
A transaction T reaches its commit point when all its operations that access the database
have been executed successfully i.e. the transaction has reached the point at which it will
not abort (terminate without completing). Once committed, the transaction is
permanently recorded in the database. Commitment always involves writing a commit
entry to the log and writing the log to disk. At the time of a system crash, item is
searched back in the log for all transactions T that have written a start_transaction(T)
entry into the log but have not written a commit(T) entry yet; these transactions may
have to be rolled back to undo their effect on the database during the recovery process

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Undoing NOTES
– If atransaction crashes, then the recovery manager may undo
transactions i.e. reverse the operations of a transaction. This involves examining a
transaction for the log entry write_item(T, x, old_value, new_value) and setting
the value of item x in the database to old-value. There are two major techniques
for recovery from non-catastrophic transaction failures: deferred updates and
immediate updates.
 Deferred update – This technique does not physically update the database on disk
until a transaction has reached its commit point. Before reaching commit, all
transaction updates are recorded in the local transaction workspace. If a
transaction fails before reaching its commit point, it will not have changed the
database in any way so UNDO is not needed. It may be necessary to REDO the
effect of the operations that are recorded in the local transaction workspace,
because their effect may not yet have been written in the database. Hence, a
deferred update is also known as the No-undo/redo algorithm
 Immediate update – In the immediate update, the database may be updated by
some operations of a transaction before the transaction reaches its commit point.
However, these operations are recorded in a log on disk before they are applied to
the database, making recovery still possible. If a transaction fails to reach its
commit point, the effect of its operation must be undone i.e. the transaction must
be rolled back hence we require both undo and redo. This technique is known as
undo/redo algorithm.
 Caching/Buffering – In these one or more disk pages that include data items to be
updated are cached into main memory buffers and then updated in memory before
being written back to disk. A collection of in-memory buffers called the DBMS
cache is kept under control of DBMS for holding these buffers. A directory is
used to keep track of which database items are in the buffer. A dirty bit is
associated with each buffer, which is 0 if the buffer is not modified else 1 if
modified.
 Shadow paging – The AFIM (After Image) does not overwrite its BFIM (Before
Image) but recorded at another place on the disk. Thus, at any time a data item
has AFIM and BFIM (Shadow copy of the data item) at two different places on
the disk.
- To recover, it is sufficient to free the modified pages and discard the current
directory. The state of the database before transaction execution is available
through the shadow directory. Database can be returned to its previous state.
- Committing a transaction corresponds to discarding the previous shadow
directory.

Definition of Some other recovery concepts/Terms

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Page NOTES

In a computer's random-access memory (RAM), a page is a group of memory cells that

are accessed as part of a single operation. That is, all the bits in the group of cells are
changed at the same time. In some kinds of RAM, a page is all the memory cells in the
same row of cells. In other kinds of RAM, a page may represent some other group of
cells than all those in a row.

In computer systems that use virtual memory (also known as virtual storage), a page is a
unit of data storage that is brought into real storage (on a personal computer, RAM) from
auxiliary storage (on a personal computer, usually the hard disk) when a requested item
of data is not already in real storage (RAM). It is a fixed-length contiguous block of
virtual memory.

Pages are the internal basic structure to organize the data in the database files.
 Dirty Page
When a page is read from disk into memory, it is considered a clean page because it is
similar to its equivalent on disk.
However, once the page has been modified in memory due to data modification
(Insert/update/delete), it is marked as a dirty page means any pages which are available in
buffer pool different from disk are known as Dirty Pages. Simply we can say that the
pages which are modified in the buffer cache is called as a ‘Dirty page’.
A dirty page is simply a page that has been changed in memory since it was loaded from
disk and is now different from the on-disk page. "Dirty" pages contain data that has been
changed but has not yet been written to disk.

 Cache
A cache is the part of the memory which transparently stores data so that future requests
for that data can be served faster.
We want to keep as much data as possible in memory, especially those data that we need
to access frequently. We call the technique of keeping frequently used disk data in main
38
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memory NOTES
caching. A cache is also something that has been "read" from the disk and
stored for later use.
 Buffer
A buffer is a region of a physical memory storage used to temporarily hold data while it
is being moved from one place to another. Operating systems generally read and write
entire blocks. Thus, reading a single byte from disk can take as much time as reading the
entire block. We call the part of main memory where a block being read or written is
stored a buffer.
The buffer keeps track of changes happening in a running program by temporarily
storing them before the changes are finally saved in the disk. A buffer is something that
has yet to be "written" to disk.

A buffer pool is an area of main memory that has been allocated by the database
manager for the purpose of caching table and index data as it is read from disk.
When a row of data in a table is first accessed, the database manager places the page that
contains that data into a buffer pool. Pages stay in the buffer pool until the database is
shut down or until the space occupied by the page is required by another page.
Pages in the buffer pool can be either in-use or not, and they can be dirty or clean.

Buffer Management Policies (Buffer Pool Option)

Queries need to access data stored on disk. Some considerations with respect to data
access are:
- Limited memory
- Not possible to keep all relations in memory
- Need policies to decide what pages to keep in memory
In multi-user environments, queries compete for resources such as CPU, Memory, Disk,
etc. A number of services works to ensure that data access and resources are well
managed;
- Buffer pool management
- File system
- Scheduling, process management, and IPC (Instructions per cycle)
- Consistency control

39
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TheDP,Buffer
SUMMARY NOTES
Manager is the software module of the DBMS whose responsibility is to
serve to all the data request and take decision about choosing a buffer and to manage
page replacement.

Buffer Management Policies specify rules that govern when a page from the database
cache can be written to disk
 Steal versus No-Steal Buffer Management
A page with modifications by an uncommitted transaction is a dirty page until either
commit or rollback processing for that transaction has been completed. The buffer
manager can either distinguish dirty pages from clean pages when deciding which page
to remove from the buffer pool, or it can ignore the update status of a page.
In the latter case, the buffer manager uses a steal policy, which means pages can be
written out to disk even if the transaction having modified the pages is still active (this
means writing an updated buffer before the transaction commits or the possibility of a
buffer being stolen by a new transaction).
Suppose a transaction T1 wants to read a data object X, but the working memory is full
with all other transactions' work. So T1 needs to clear some memory, which it does by
kicking some other page in working memory to stable storage. This can be dangerous,
because we can't be sure that what T1 is pushing to stable storage has been committed
yet. This is known as stealing. Therefore, if a steal policy is in effect, the changes made
to an object in the buffer pool by a transaction can be written to disk before the
transaction commits.
The alternative is the no-steal policy, in which case all dirty pages are retained in the
buffer pool until the final outcome of the transaction has been determined (Buffer page
updated by a transaction cannot be written to disk before the transaction commits). This
is useful for ensuring atomicity without UNDO logging but can cause poor performance.
Advantages:

40
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steal policyNOTES
implies that rollback of a transaction requires access to pages on disk in
order to reestablish their old state.
With the no-steal policy, no page on disk ever has to be touched when rolling back a
transaction. Consequently, no log information for UNDO procedure will be needed.
Roll back of a transaction during normal processing is also facilitated by the no-steal
policy since all pages modified by such a transaction are simply marked “invalid” by the
buffer manager. The problem with this policy is the size of the buffer pool + necessity of
page locking.
 Force versus No-Force Buffer Management
Force versus no-force concerns writing of clean pages from the buffer pool. The simple
question here is: who decides, and when, that a modified page is written out to disk?
There are two basic approaches:
Force policy. At phase 1 of a transaction’s commit, the buffer manager locates all pages
modified by that transaction and writes the pages to disk. All pages updated by a
transaction are immediately written to disk before the transaction commits. It provides
durability without REDO logging, but can cause poor performance.
Forcing means that every time a transaction commits, all the affected pages will be
pushed to stable storage. This is inefficient, because each page may be written by many
transactions and will slow the system down.
No-force policy. This is the liberal counterpart. A page, whether modified or not, stays
in the buffer as long as it is still needed. Only if it becomes the replacement victim it will
be written to disk. A no-force policy is in effect if, when a transaction commits, we need
not ensure that all the changes it has made to objects in the buffer pool are immediately
forced to disk.
Advantage of the force policy
It avoids any REDO recovery during restart. If transaction is successfully committed,
then, by definition, all its modified pages must be on disk.
Why not use it as a standard buffer management policy? Because of “hotspot” pages.
The force policy simplifies restart, because no work needs to be done for transactions
that committed before the crash – it avoids REDO. The price for that is significantly
more I/O for frequently modified pages.
Another drawback is that a transaction will not be completed before the last write has
been executed successfully, and the response time may be increased significantly as a

41
SS2 DP, SUMMARYWith
consequence. NOTESno-force policy, the only synchronous write operation goes to the
log, and the volume of data to be written is usually about two orders of magnitude less.
Most crash recovery uses a steal/no-force approach, accepting the risks of writing
possibly uncommitted data to memory to gain the speed of not forcing all commit effects
to memory. This avoids need for very large buffer space and reduces disk I/O operations
for heavily updated pages

INTRODUCTION TO ARIES

ARIES stands for Algorithms for Recovery and Isolation Exploiting Semantics. It has
the following general characteristics:
 It uses a write-ahead log.
 It uses a steal/no-force approach (and hence requires both undo and redo).
o Steal policy - uncommitted writes may be output to disk (contrast with no-
steal policy)
o No-force policy (updated pages need not be forced to disk before commit)
 It maintains various data structures to identify dirty pages in the memory buffers
and the active transactions. (Pages are dirty if they are changed but not written to
disk.)
 On restart, it redoes the actions of all transactions to restore the state at the time of
the failure.
 It then undoes the actions of all uncommitted transactions.
Phases of ARIES
When the recovery manager is invoked after a crash, restart proceeds in three phases:
Analysis: Identifies dirty pages in the buffer pool (i.e., changes that have not been
written to disk) and active transactions at the time of the crash, by scanning through the
log and other records. Determine which transactions committed since checkpoint and
which ones failed.
By the end of the analysis phase, REDO phase has the information it needs to do its job
Redo: Repeats all actions, starting from an appropriate point in the log, and restores the
database state to what it was at the time of the crash. To REDO an action, the logged
action is reapplied.
Undo: Undoes the actions of transactions that did not commit, so that the database
reflects only the actions of committed transactions.

42
SS2 DP, SUMMARY NOTES

Consider the simple execution history illustrated in the figure.

When the system is restarted,
 The Analysis phase identifies T1 and T3 as transactions that were active (therefore
not committed) at the time of the crash, and therefore to be undone;
 T2 as a committed transaction, and all its actions, therefore, to be written to disk;
and P1, P3, and P5 as potentially dirty pages.
 All the updates (including those of T1 and T3) are reapplied in the order shown
during the Redo phase.
 Finally, the actions of T1 and T3 are undone in reverse order during the Undo
phase; that is, T3’s write of P3 is undone, T3’s write of P1 is undone, and then
T1’s write of P5 is undone.
ARIES PRINCIPLES
There are three main principles behind the ARIES recovery algorithm:
Write-ahead logging: Any change to a database object is first recorded in the log (more
on log shortly); the record in the log must be written to stable storage before the change
to the database object is written to disk.
Repeating history during Redo: Upon restart following a crash, ARIES retraces all
actions of the DBMS before the crash and brings the system back to the exact state that
it was in at the time of the crash. Then, it undoes the actions of transactions that were
still active at the time of the crash (effectively aborting them).

43
SS2 DP, SUMMARY
Logging NOTES
changes during Undo: Changes made to the database while undoing a
transaction are logged in order to ensure that such an action is not repeated in the event
of repeated (failures causing) restarts.
The second point distinguishes ARIES from other recovery algorithms and is the basis
for much of its simplicity and flexibility. In particular, ARIES can support concurrency
control protocols that involve locks of finer granularity than a page (e.g., record-level
locks). The second and third points are also important in dealing with operations such
that redoing and undoing the operation are not exact inverses of each other.

THE LOG
The log, sometimes called the trail or journal, is a history of actions executed by the
DBMS. Physically, the log is a file of records stored in stable storage, which is assumed
to survive crashes; this durability can be achieved by maintaining two or more copies of
the log on different disks (perhaps in different locations), so that the chance of all copies
of the log being simultaneously lost is negligibly small.
The most recent portion of the log, called the log tail, is kept in main memory and is
periodically forced to stable storage. This way, log records and data records are written
to disk at the same granularity (pages or sets of pages).
Every log record is given a unique id called the log sequence number (LSN). As with
any record id, we can fetch a log record with one disk access given the LSN.
A log record is written for each of the following actions:
 Updating a page: After modifying the page, an update type record is appended to
the log tail. The page LSN of the page is then set to the LSN of the update log

44
SS2 DP, SUMMARY NOTES
record. (The page must be pinned in the buffer pool while these actions are carried
out.)
 Commit
 Abort
 End
 Undoing an update
OTHER RECOVERY-RELATED DATA STRUCTURES
In addition to the log, the following two tables contain important recovery-related
information:
Transaction table: This table contains one entry for each active transaction. The entry
contains (among other things) the transaction id, the status, and a field called
lastLSN, which is the LSN of the most recent log record for this transaction.
The status of a transaction can be that it is in progress, is committed, or is aborted. (In
the latter two cases, the transaction will be removed from the table once certain
‘clean up’ steps are completed.)
Dirty page table: This table contains one entry for each dirty page in the buffer pool,
that is, each page with changes that are not yet reflected on disk. The entry contains a
field recLSN, which is the LSN of the first log record that caused the page to become
dirty. Note that this LSN identifies the earliest log record that might have to be
redone for this page during restart from a crash.
During normal operation, these are maintained by the transaction manager and the
buffer manager, respectively, and during restart after a crash, these tables are
reconstructed in the Analysis phase of restart.
THE WRITE-AHEAD LOG PROTOCOL
Before writing a page to disk, every update log record that describes a change to this
page must be forced to stable storage. This is accomplished by forcing all log records up
to and including the one with LSN equal to the pageLSN to stable storage before writing
the page to disk.
The importance of the WAL protocol cannot be overemphasized—WAL is the
fundamental rule that ensures that a record of every change to the database is available
while attempting to recover from a crash. If a transaction made a change and committed,
the no-force approach means that some of these changes may not have been written to
disk at the time of a subsequent crash. Without a record of these changes, there would be
no way to ensure that the changes of a committed transaction survive crashes.

45
SS2
NoteDP,that
SUMMARY NOTES
the definitionof a committed transaction is effectively “a transaction whose
log records, including a commit record, have all been written to stable storage”!
When a transaction is committed, the log tail is forced to stable storage, even if a no-
force approach is being used. It is worth contrasting this operation with the actions taken
under a force approach: If a force approach is used, all the pages modified by the
transaction, rather than a portion of the log that includes all its records, must be forced to
disk when the transaction commits. The set of all changed pages is typically much larger
than the log tail because the size of an update log record is close to (twice) the size of the
changed bytes, which is likely to be much smaller than the page size.
Further, the log is maintained as a sequential file, and thus all writes to the log are
sequential writes. Consequently, the cost of forcing the log tail is much smaller than the
cost of writing all changed pages to disk.
CHECKPOINTING
A checkpoint is like a snapshot of the DBMS state, and by taking checkpoints
periodically, the DBMS can reduce the amount of work to be done during restart in the
event of a subsequent crash.
Checkpoint is a mechanism where all the previous logs are removed from the system and
stored permanently in a storage disk. Checkpoint declares a point before which the
DBMS was in consistent state, and all the transactions were committed.
Checkpointing in ARIES has three steps.
 First, a begin checkpoint record is written to indicate when the checkpoint starts.
 Second, an end checkpoint record is constructed, including in it the current
contents of the transaction table and the dirty page table, and appended to the log.
 The third step is carried out after the end checkpoint record is written to stable
storage: A special master record containing the LSN of the begin checkpoint log
record is written to a known place on stable storage.
While the end checkpoint record is being constructed, the DBMS continues executing
transactions and writing other log records; the only guarantee we have is that the
transaction table and dirty page table are accurate as of the time of the begin checkpoint
record.
This kind of checkpoint is called a fuzzy checkpoint and is inexpensive because it does
not require quiescing* the system or writing out pages in the buffer pool (unlike some
other forms of checkpointing). On the other hand, the effectiveness of this checkpointing
technique is limited by the earliest recLSN of pages in the dirty pages table, because
during restart we must redo changes starting from the log record whose LSN is equal to
46
SS2
thisDP, SUMMARY
recLSN. NOTES
Having a background process that periodically writes dirty pages to disk
helps to limit this problem.
When the system comes back up after a crash, the restart process begins by locating the
most recent checkpoint record. For uniformity, the system always begins normal
execution by taking a checkpoint, in which the transaction table and dirty page table are
both empty.
* To quiesce is to pause or alter a device or application to achieve a consistent state,
usually in preparation for a backup or other maintenance.

MEDIA RECOVERY
Media recovery is most often used to recover from media failure, such as the loss of a
file or disk, or a user error, such as the deletion of the contents of a table. Media
recovery can be a complete recovery or a point-in-time recovery.
Media recovery is based on periodically making a copy of the database. Because
copying a large database object such as a file can take a long time, and the DBMS must
be allowed to continue with its operations in the meantime, creating a copy is handled in
a manner similar to taking a fuzzy checkpoint.
When a database object such as a file or a page is corrupted, the copy of that object is
brought up-to-date by using the log to identify and reapply the changes of committed
transactions and undo the changes of uncommitted transactions (as of the time of the
media recovery operation).
What is the difference between media recovery & crash recovery?
Media recovery is a process to recover database from backup when physical disk failure
occur.
Crash recovery is an automated process taken care by a DBMS when instance failure
occur, i.e. when there is failure with an instance of the database.

DISTRIBUTED AND PARALLEL DATABASE SYSTEMS (week 5-6)

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In recent years,NOTES
Distributedand Parallel database systems have become important tools
for data intensive applications. The prominence of these databases are rapidly growing
due to organizational and technical reasons. There are many problems in centralized
architectures;
In centralized database:
 Data is located in one place (one server)
 All DBMS functionalities are done by that server this includes enforcing ACID
properties of transactions, concurrency control, recovery mechanisms, answering
queries, etc;
distributed databases have become a solution to those complications. Parallel databases
are designed to increase performance and availability. It enhances throughput, response
time and flexibility.
DISTRIBUTED DBMS (DDBMS)
A Distributed Database Management System permits a user to access and manipulate
data from different databases that are distributed to several sites. In Distributed database
system architecture sites are organized as specialized servers instead of general purpose
computers. In distributing environment, we use different servers for specific purpose like
application servers, database servers.
A distributed database management system (DDBMS) is a centralized software system
that manages a distributed database in a manner as if it were all stored in a single
location.
For example, a bank implements database System on different computers. Computer
systems are located at different branches, but network link enables communication
between them. The difference between Database Management System and DDBMS is
local DBMS is allowed to access single site where as DDBMS is allowed to access
several sites.
Distributed DBMS should have at least the following components.
 Network software and hardware
 Computer workstations
 Communication media
 Transaction processor
 Data Manager
Factors Encouraging DDBMS
 Distributed Nature of Organizational Units
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SS2 
DP, SUMMARY
Need for NOTES
Sharing
of Data
 Support for Both OLTP and OLAP − Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) and
Online Analytical Processing (OLAP)
 Database Recovery − Replication of data automatically helps in data recovery if
database in any site is damaged.
 Support for Multiple Application Software − Most organizations use a variety of
application software each with its specific database support. DDBMS provides a
uniform functionality for using the same data among different platforms.
Advantages of Distributed Databases
o Modular Development − If the system needs to be expanded to new locations or
new units, in centralized database systems, the action requires substantial efforts
and disruption in the existing functioning. However, in distributed databases, the
work simply requires adding new computers and local data to the new site and
finally connecting them to the distributed system, with no interruption in current
functions.
o More Reliable − In case of database failures, the total system of centralized
databases comes to a halt. However, in distributed systems, when a component
fails, the functioning of the system continues may be at a reduced performance.
Hence DDBMS is more reliable.
o Better Response − If data is distributed in an efficient manner, then user requests
can be met from local data itself, thus providing faster response. On the other
hand, in centralized systems, all queries have to pass through the central computer
for processing, which increases the response time.
o Lower Communication Cost − In distributed database systems, if data is located
locally where it is mostly used, then the communication costs for data
manipulation can be minimized. This is not feasible in centralized systems.
o Management of distributed data with different levels of transparency, Hardware,
Operating System, Network and Location.
Disadvantages of Distributed Database
o Complexity: DBAs may have to do extra work to ensure that the distributed nature
of the system is transparent. Extra work be required to be done to maintain
multiple unrelated systems, instead of big one.
o Economics: Increased complexity and a more extensive infrastructure means extra
labour costs.
o Security: Remote database fragments must be secured, and they are not
centralized so the remote sites must be secured as well.

49
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DP, SUMMARY
Difficult NOTES
to Maintain
Integrity: In a distributed database, enforcing integrity over a
network may require too much of the network's resources to be feasible.
o Lack of Standards: There are no tools or methodologies yet to help users convert a
centralized DBMS into a distributed DBMS.
o Additional software is required
Types of Distributed Database

o HOMOGENEOUS
In a homogeneous distributed database, all the sites use identical DBMS and operating
systems. Its properties are −
• The sites use very similar software.
• The sites use identical DBMS or DBMS from the same vendor.
• Each site is aware of all other sites and cooperates with other sites to process user
requests (there is transparency).
• The database is accessed through a single interface as if it is a single database.
There are two types of homogeneous distributed database −
• Autonomous − Each database is independent that functions on its own. They are
integrated by a controlling application and use message passing to share data
updates.
• Non-autonomous − Data is distributed across the homogeneous nodes and a
central or master DBMS co-ordinates data updates across the sites.

o HETEROGENEOUS
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SS2
In aDP, SUMMARY NOTES
heterogeneous distributed
database, different sites have different operating systems,
DBMS products and data models. Its properties are −
• Different sites use dissimilar schemas and software.
• The system may be composed of a variety of DBMSs like relational, network,
hierarchical or object oriented.
• Query processing is complex due to dissimilar schemas.
• Transaction processing is complex due to dissimilar software.
• A site may not be aware of other sites and so there is limited co-operation in
processing user requests (no transparency).

Distributed DBMS Architectures

There are three alternative approaches to separating functionality across different
DBMS-related processes; these alternative distributed DBMS architectures are
called
 Client-Server
 Collaborating Server
 Middleware.
Client-Server Systems
A Client-Server system has one or more client processes and one or more server
processes, and a client process can send a query to any one server process. Clients
are responsible for user-interface issues, and servers manage data and execute
transactions.
Thus, a client process could run on a personal computer and send queries to a
server running on a mainframe.
Collaborating Server Systems
The Client-Server architecture does not allow a single query to span multiple
servers because the client process would have to be capable of breaking such a
query into appropriate subqueries to be executed at different sites and then piecing
together the answers to the subqueries.
The client process would thus be quite complex, and its capabilities would begin
to overlap with the server; distinguishing between clients and servers becomes
harder.

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SS2 DP, SUMMARY NOTES
Eliminating thisdistinction leads us to an alternative to the Client-Server
architecture: a Collaborating Server system. We can have a collection of database
servers, each capable of running transactions against local data, which
cooperatively execute transactions spanning multiple servers.
When a server receives a query that requires access to data at other servers, it
generates appropriate subqueries to be executed by other servers and puts the
results together to compute answers to the original query. Ideally, the
decomposition of the query should be done using cost-based optimization, taking
into account the costs of network communication as well as local processing costs.
Middleware Systems
The Middleware architecture is designed to allow a single query to span multiple
servers, without requiring all database servers to be capable of managing such
multisite execution strategies. It is especially attractive when trying to integrate
several legacy systems, whose basic capabilities cannot be extended.
The idea is that we need just one database server that is capable of managing
queries and transactions spanning multiple servers; the remaining servers only
need to handle local queries and transactions.
We can think of this special server as a layer of software that coordinates the
execution of queries and transactions across one or more independent database
servers; such software is often called middleware. The middleware layer is
capable of executing joins and other relational operations on data obtained from
the other servers, but typically, does not itself maintain any data.
PARALLEL DATABASE SYSTEMS
Parallel DBMS improves performance through parallelizing various operations: loading
data, indexing, query evaluation. Data may be distributed, but purely for performance
reasons. In parallel database system, parallelization of operations is performed for
enhancing the performance of the architecture;
• divide a big problem into many smaller ones to be solved in parallel
• Increase bandwidth (in our case decrease queries’ response time)
In real time, there are situations where centralized systems are not enough flexible to
handle some applications.
The architectures related to Parallel DBMS are
 Shared memory: In this architecture, a common global memory is shared by all
processors. Any processor has access to any memory module.
52
SS2 DP, SUMMARY NOTES

 Shared disk: All processors have private memory (not accessible by others), but
direct access to all disks in the system. The number of disks does not necessarily
match the number of processors.

 Shared nothing: Each processor has exclusive access to its own main memory and
disk unit. In this, each memory/disk owned by processor acts as server for data.
It the most common architecture nowadays.

53
SS2 DP, SUMMARY NOTES

Types of Parallelism:
1. Data-partitioned parallelism (Intra-operation): the input data is partitioned and
we work on each partition in parallel. A task divided over all machines to run
in parallel.
2. Pipe-Lined Parallelism (Interoperation): Execution of different operations in
pipe-lined fashion, one operator consumes the output of another operator. For
instance, if we need to join three tables, one processor may join two tables and
send the result set records as and when they are produced to the other
processor. In the other processor the third table can be joined with the
incoming records and the final result can be produced.
It involves ordered (or partially ordered) tasks and different machines are
performing different tasks.

Advantages of Parallel Databases

1) Capacity: A parallel database allows a large online trader to have thousands of
users accessing information at the same time.
2) Speed: The server breaks up a user database request into parts and post each part
to a separate computer. They work on the parts concurrently and combine the
results, passing them back to the user. This speeds up, allowing faster access to
very complex databases.
3) Reliability: A parallel database, properly configured, can continue to work in spite
of the failure of any computer in the cluster.
Disadvantages of Parallel Database
1) Programming to target Parallel architecture is a bit difficult but with proper
understanding and practice you are good to go.
1) Various code alteration has to be performed for different target architectures for
improved performance.
2) Communication of results might be a problem in certain cases.
3) Power utilization is huge by the multi core architectures.
4) Also, better cooling technologies are required in case of clusters.

NB: Distributed processing usually imply parallel processing (not vice versa). You can
have parallel processing on a single machine
54
SS2 DP, SUMMARY
Assumptions NOTES
about architecture
Parallel Databases
• Machines are physically close to each other, e.g., same server room
• Machines connects with dedicated high-speed LANs and switches
• Communication cost is assumed to be small
• Can be shared-memory, shared-disk, or shared-nothing architecture

Distributed Databases
• Machines can far from each other, e.g., in different continent
• Can be connected using public-purpose network, e.g., Internet
• Communication cost and problems cannot be ignored
• Usually shared-nothing architecture

55
SS2 DP, SUMMARY NOTES

COMPUTER VIRUS (week 7)

Meaning of computer virus

A computer virus is a piece of code that spreads from one computer to another by
attaching itself to other files through a process called self-replication. In other words, the
computer virus spreads by itself into other executable code or documents. The code in
the virus usually executes when the file it is attached to is opened.
The purpose of creating a computer virus is to infect vulnerable systems, gain admin
control and steal user sensitive data. Hackers design computer viruses with malicious
intent and prey on online users by tricking them.
Other forms of malicious software (malware) are worms, adware, spyware, Trojans,
ransomeware, logic bomb, etc. If you own or use a computer, you are vulnerable to
malware. Computer viruses are deployed every day in an attempt to wreak havoc,
whether it be by stealing your personal passwords, or as weapons of international
sabotage.
VIRUS is said to be an acronym meaning Vital Information Resource Under Siege.
How does a computer virus operate?
A computer virus operates in two ways. The first kind, as soon as it lands on a new
computer, begins to replicate. The second type plays dead until the trigger kick starts the
malicious code. In other words, the infected program needs to run to be executed.

56
SS2 DP, SUMMARY
Therefore, NOTES
it is highly significant to stay shielded by installing a robust antivirus
program.

Types of computer virus

Any user who has ever been infected can tell you that computer viruses are very real.
These programs are typically distributed from host to host via email or a website that has
been compromised. Some are even attached to legitimate files and unknowingly
executed by a user when they launch a particular program. A virus is much more than
the commonly perceived malicious code that functions with the intent to destroy. They
are classified by type, origin, location, files infected and degree of damage. These
common attributes are relative to most and all can have an adverse effect on your
operating system.
Computer viruses come in different forms to infect the system in different ways. Some
of the most common viruses are;
 Boot Sector Virus
This type of virus infects the master boot record and it is challenging and a complex task
to remove this virus and often requires the system to be formatted. Mostly it spreads
through removable media.
 Macro viruses (attack on document virus)

It is written in a macro language and infects Microsoft Word or similar applications

(e.g., word processors and spreadsheet applications) and causes a sequence of actions to
be performed automatically when the application is started or something else triggers
it.As the name suggests, the macro viruses particularly target macro language commands
in applications like Microsoft Word. The same is implied on other programs too.
In MS Word, the macros are keystrokes that are embedded in the documents or saved
sequences for commands. The macro viruses are designed to add their malicious code to
the genuine macro sequences in a Word file. However, as the years went by, Microsoft
Word witnessed disabling of macros by default in more recent versions. Thus, the
cybercriminals started to use social engineering schemes to target users. In the process,
they trick the user and enable macros to launch the virus.
 Executable virus (File infectors)

An executable virus is a non-resident computer virus that stores itself in an executable

file and infects other files each time the file is run. The majority of all computer viruses
are spread when a file is executed or opened. A non-resident virus is a computer virus

57
SS2
thatDP, SUMMARY
does NOTES
not store or
execute itself from the computer memory. Executable viruses are
an example of a non-resident virus.
Few file infector viruses come attached with program files, such as .com or .exe files.
Some file infector viruses infect any program for which execution is requested,
including .sys, .ovl, .prg, and .mnu files. Consequently, when the particular program is
loaded, the virus is also loaded.
Besides these, the other file infector viruses come as a completely included program or
script sent in email attachments.
 Multipartite Virus
This type of virus spreads through multiple ways. It infects both the boot sector and
executable files at the same time.
 Polymorphic Virus
These type of viruses are difficult to identify with a traditional anti-virus program. This
is because the polymorphic viruses alters its signature pattern whenever it replicates.
More and more cybercriminals are depending on the polymorphic virus. It is a malware
type which has the ability to change or mutate its underlying code without changing its
basic functions or features. This helps the virus on a computer or network to evade
detection from many antimalware and threat detection products.
Since virus removal programs depend on identifying signatures of malware, these
viruses are carefully designed to escape detection and identification. When security
software detects a polymorphic virus, the virus modifies itself thereby; it is no longer
detectable using the previous signature.
 Overwrite Virus
This type of virus deletes all the files that it infects. The only possible mechanism to
remove is to delete the infected files and the end-user has to lose all the contents in it.
Identifying the overwrite virus is difficult as it spreads through emails.
The virus design purpose tends to vary and Overwrite Viruses are predominantly
designed to destroy a file or application’s data. As the name says it all, the virus after
attacking the computer starts overwriting files with its own code. Not to be taken lightly,
these viruses are more capable of targeting specific files or applications or systematically
overwrite all files on an infected device.
On the flipside, the overwrite virus is capable of installing a new code in the files or
applications which programs them to spread the virus to additional files, applications,
and systems.
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SS2 
DP, SUMMARY NOTES
Spacefiller Virus

This is also called “Cavity Viruses”. This is called so as they fill up the empty spaces
between the code and hence does not cause any damage to the file.

Example of viruses:

- Sleeper
- Alabama virus
- Christmas virus
- Friday the 13th
- ILOVEYOU (ILOVEYOU is one of the most well-known and destructive viruses
of all time)
- MyDoom
- Storm Worm
- Melissa virus
-

Sources of viruses:
 Downloading Programs
Programs that contains the downloadable files are the commonest source of malware
such as freeware, worms, and other executable files. Whether you download an image
editing software, a music file or an e-book, it is important to ensure the reliability of the
source of the media. Unknown, new or less popular sources should be avoided.

 Pirated or Cracked Software

Are you aware of software cracking? Well, every time you open a cracked software,
your antivirus software might flag it as a malware as the cracks consist of malicious
scripts. Always say “No” to cracks as they can inject malicious script into your PC.

 Email Attachments
Anyone can send you an email attachment whether you know them or not. Clicking on
unknown links or attachments can harm your device. Think twice before clicking
anything and make sure that file type is not ‘.exe’.

 Internet
One of the easiest ways to get a virus on your device is through the Internet. Make sure
to check URL before accessing any website. For a secured URL always look for ‘https’
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in it. SUMMARY NOTES
example, when you click videos published on social media websites, they may
require you to install a particular type of plug-in to watch that video. But in reality, these
plug-ins might be malicious software that can steal your sensitive information.

 Booting Data from Unknown CDs

A malicious software can get into your device through an unknown CD. A good practice
to be safe from malicious infection is to remove CD when your device is not working at
all. Your system could reboot the CD if it is not removed before switching off the
computer.

 Bluetooth
Bluetooth transfers can also infect your system, so it is crucial to know what type of
media file is being sent to your computer whenever a transfer takes place. An effective
armor would be to allow Bluetooth connectivity with only known devices and activate it
only when required.

 Unpatched Software
Often overlooked, unpatched software is also a leading source of virus infection
(Unpatched software means there are vulnerabilities in a program or code that a
company is aware of and will not or cannot fix). Security holes in a software are
exploited by attackers and are unknown to software makers until the attackers release
them in the form of zero-day attacks. It is therefore recommended to install software
updates as soon as they are available on your PC.
 Infected diskettes; infected CD-ROMS;
 illegal duplication of Software, etc.

Apart from above-mentioned sources, file sharing networks can also be a source of
computer virus attacks too. Therefore, use PC security software keep your device safe
and secure from malicious attempts.

Virus Warning Signs

It is vital for any computer user to be aware of these warning signs –

• Slower system performance/ slowing down of response time

• Pop-ups bombarding the screen/ presence of tiny dots wandering across the screen

• Programs running on their own

• Files multiplying/duplicating on their own

• New files or programs in the computer

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• Files, folders or programs getting deleted or corrupted

 Incomplete saving of file

 corruption of the system set- up instructions

 Appearance of strange characters

• The sound of a hard drive

If you come across any of these above-mentioned signs then there are chances that your
computer is infected by a virus or malware. Not to delay, immediately stop all the
commands and download an antivirus software. If you are unsure what to do, get the
assistance of an authorized computer personnel.

How to help protect against computer viruses?

How can you help protect your devices against computer viruses? Here are some of the
things you can do to help keep your computer safe.
 Use a trusted antivirus product, such as Norton AntiVirus Basic, and keep it
updated with the latest virus definitions. Norton Security Premium offers
additional protection for even more devices, plus backup
 Avoid clicking on any pop-up advertisements.
 Always scan your email attachments before opening them.
 Always scan the files that you download using file sharing programs.

Virus detection (Antivirus)

You can take two approaches to removing a computer virus. One is the manual do-it-
yourself approach. The other is by enlisting the help of a reputable antivirus program.
Antivirus software was originally developed to detect and remove computer viruses,
hence the name. However, with the proliferation of other kinds of malware, antivirus
software started to provide protection from other computer threats.
Antivirus software is practically a requirement for anyone using the Windows operating
system. While it's true you can avoid computer viruses if you practice safe habits, the
truth is that the people who write computer viruses are always looking for new ways to
infect machines. There are several different antivirus programs on the market -- some are
free and some you have to purchase. Keep in mind that free versions often lack some of
the nicer features you'll find in commercial products.
Some examples of antivirus;
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SS2 DP, SUMMARY NOTES
- Norton Anti-virus
McAfee Virus scan
Dr. Solomon’s Took Kit, etc.
- Kaspersky
- Avast Antivirus
- Panda Cloud Antivirus
- Microsoft Security Essentials
- Avira AntiVirus
- AVG Anti-Virus
- Comodo Antivirus
- Immunet Protect
- PC Tools AntiVirus
- Bitdefender Family Pack
- Trendmicro
- Norton 360
- Watchdog
- ESET

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Assuming your antivirus software is up to date, it should detect malware on your

machine. Most antivirus programs have an alert page that will list each and every virus
or other piece of malware it finds. You should write down the names of each malware
application your software discovers.
Many antivirus programs will attempt to remove or isolate malware for you. You may
have to select an option and confirm that you want the antivirus software to tackle the
malware. For most users, this is the best option -- it can be tricky removing malware on
your own.
If the antivirus software says it has removed the malware successfully, you should shut
down your computer, reboot and run the antivirus software again. This time, if the
software comes back with a clean sweep, you're good to go. If the antivirus software
finds different malware, you may need to repeat the previous steps. If it finds the same
malware as before, you might have to try something else.

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NOTES OPTIONS IN DATA PROCESSING (week 8-10)

INTRODUCTION
• After having learnt the rudiments of data processing for several months, you
should know the career options available.
• As computers and technology continue to become the cornerstone for just about
every business, data processors will be in constant demand to help corporations,
individuals, and government offices adapt and more effectively use technology in
the office and in the home.
• From creating computer networks within a company that allow offices to share
files and data, to working as a computer service administrator, data processing
majors will be invested with a wide array of computer and office skills that have
real practical applications to the job market.
CAREER OPTIONS
The career options for computer graduates can be classified into different categories
(Some of these professionals have similar functions):
1. Programming & Software dev.
2. Information Systems Operation and Management
3. Telecoms and Networking
4. Computer Science Research
5. Web and Internet
6. Graphics & Multimedia
7. Training and Support
8. Computer Industry Specialists
Some careers require additional training or study and experience or working in the field.
1. Programming & Software development
Computer programmers of any kind write and test code that allows computer
applications and software programs to function properly. They turn the program designs
created by software developers and engineers into instructions that a computer can
follow.
a) System Analyst
Computer systems analysts study an organization’s current computer systems and
procedures and design information systems solutions to help the organization operate
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SUMMARY NOTES
and
effectively. They bring business and information technology (IT)
together by understanding the needs and limitations of both.

b) System Consultant
Systems Consultant. The systems consultant reviews a firm's internal processes and aids
the customer network department and IT staff in providing initial technical support to
end-users. Leads/participates on projects that apply technology solutions to business
problems
c) Software Engineer
A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to the
design, development, maintenance, testing, and evaluation of computer software.
Computer software engineers apply engineering principles and systematic methods to
develop programs and operating data for computers. They follow the SDLC (Software
Development Life Cycle) phases in developing software Systems.
d) Systems Programmer
System programmer engages in the activity of programming computer system software.
The primary distinguishing characteristic of systems programming when compared to
application programming is that application programming aims to produce software
which provides services to the user directly (e.g. word processor), whereas systems
programming aims to produce software and software platforms which provide services
to other software, are performance constrained, or both (e.g. operating systems,
computational science applications, game engines, industrial automation, and software
as a service applications).
Most programmers are application programmers. This is in contrast with systems
programmer.
e) Database Analyst
A person responsible for analyzing data requirements within an organization and
modeling the data and data flows from one department to another. Formerly called a
"data administrator," the database analyst may also perform "database administration"
functions, which deal with the particular databases employed.
f) Artificial intelligence (AI) Programmer
An artificial intelligence programmer helps develop operating software that can be used
for robots, artificial intelligence programs or other artificial intelligence applications.
65
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SUMMARY
workNOTES
closelywith electrical engineers or robotics engineers and others in
order to produce systems that utilize artificial intelligence.
This refers to the capability of adapting or changing based on adding data. It may also
mean programming a system to look for or seek out specific conditions and respond
based on those factors. For example, their programming may enable robots to learn to
interact with other robots or work together collaboratively. Other systems they program
may be designed to take specific actions only under certain conditions.
g) Scientific Application Programmer
An individual who writes scientific application programs.
In computer programming, a scientific language is a programming language optimized
for the use of mathematical formulas and matrices. Although these functions can be
performed using any language, they are more easily expressed in scientific languages.
h) UI (User Interface) Designer
User Interface Design is a crucial subset of UX (User eXperience). User interface (UI)
design is the process of making interfaces in software or computerized devices with a
focus on looks or style. Designers aim to create designs users will find easy to use and
pleasurable. UI design typically refers to graphical user interfaces but also includes
others, such as voice-controlled ones.
The role is one part Graphic Designer and one part behaviorist. UI Designers figure out
the steps consumers will use when accessing technology, then design models that
shorten or streamline the steps in the process to create a better user experience.
The role of a UI designer is one part Graphic Designer and one part behaviorist. UI
Designers figure out the steps consumers will use when accessing technology, then
design models that shorten or streamline the steps in the process to create a better user
experience.
i) Embedded Systems Application Programmer
An embedded system is a controller with a dedicated function within a larger mechanical
or electrical system, often with real-time computing constraints. It is embedded as part
of a complete device often including hardware and mechanical parts.
2. Information Systems Operation and Management.

a) EDP (Electronic Data Processing) Auditor/ Data Processing

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A person NOTES
who analyses system functions and operations to determine adequate security
and controls. An EDP analyst evaluates systems and operational procedures and reports
findings to senior management.
b) DBA
A database administrator is responsible for the performance, integrity and security of a
database. However, depending on the organization and the level of responsibility,
the role can vary from inputting information through to total management of data.
c) System Administrator
Computer systems administrators install, maintain, and support an organization's
information technology systems. They test system components to ensure that computers,
software, and network equipment function seamlessly together.
Systems administrators may be in charge of the company's LAN, WAN, intranet or
Internet systems. Some administrators focus on specialist roles such as network security,
IT audit, or system upgrade research.

d) Management/ IT consultants/ Computer Manager

Management consulting, generally, is the practice of helping organizations to improve
their performance.
Information technology (IT) management consultants analyze the technology needs of
organizations and then make computer systems recommendations. They are mostly
involved in decision making.
3. Telecommunications and Networking
a) Network Engineer/Consultant
The Network Consultant is an experienced and educated professional who certifies
network functionality and performance. They are responsible for designing, setting up
and maintaining computer networks at either an organization or client location.
Consultants meet with the organization’s manager, network engineers to discuss
networking requirements
b) Network administrator
The same as a Systems Administrator. Network and computer systems administrators are
responsible for the day-to-day operation of these networks. They organize, install, and
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support NOTES
an organization's
computer systems, including local area networks (LANs), wide
area networks (WANs), network segments, intranets, and other data communication
systems
4. Computer Science Research
a) Computer Scientist/Researcher
A computer and information research scientist is an expert in the field of computer
science, usually holding a PhD or professional degree. These scientists use the collective
knowledge of the field of computer science to solve existing problems and devise
solutions to complex situations.
They invent and design new approaches to computing technology and find innovative
uses for existing technology. They study and solve complex problems in computing for
business, science, medicine, and other fields.
Computer scientists are often hired by software publishing firms, scientific research and
development organizations where they develop the theories that allow new technologies
to be developed. Computer scientists are also employed by educational institutions such
as universities.
b) Computer Science Professor
Computer Science Professors teach courses in computer science. May specialize in a
field of computer science, such as the design and function of computers or operations
and research analysis. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those
who do a combination of teaching and research.

c) AI Researcher
An AI researcher carries out research involving reasoning, knowledge representation,
planning, learning, natural language processing, perception and the ability to move and
manipulate objects. General intelligence is among the field's long-term goals.
d) Data Miner
Data mining involves exploring and analyzing large blocks of information to gather
meaningful patterns and trends, it involves discovering patterns in large data sets.
The Data Miner/Data Mining Specialist's role is to design data modeling/analysis
services that are used to mine enterprise systems and applications for knowledge and
information that enhances business processes.
e) Bioinformatics Specialist
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Bioinformatics specialists are computer scientists who apply their knowledge to the
management of biological and genomic data. They build databases to contain the
information, write scripts to analyze it, and queries to retrieve it.
Bioinformatics scientists conduct research to study huge molecular datasets including
DNA, microarray, and proteomics data.
5. Web and Internet
a) Web/Internet Applications programmer
Internet/Web Application Programming focuses on systems that are used over the
Internet or an intranet. A web application is a computer program that utilizes web
browsers and web technology to perform tasks over the Internet.
Web/Internet Applications programmer creates these programs.
b) Internet Consultant
Internet consultants use their technological and computer skills to help people or
businesses access and utilize the Internet. Their work may include implementing or
refining a networking system, creating a Web site, establishing an online ordering or
product support system, or training employees to maintain and update their newly
established Web site. Some consultants work independently, and others may be
employed by a consulting agency.
c) Web developer/Webmaster
Creates or maintains a Web site. Provides content and programming or supervises
writers and programmers. Monitors the performance and popularity of the site. Provides
secure forms and transactions for Internet-based businesses.
Web developers assess the needs of users for information-based resources. They create
the technical structure for websites and make sure that web pages are accessible and
easily downloaded through a variety of browsers and interfaces.
Web developers structure sites to maximize the number of page views and visitors
through search engine optimization. They must have the communication ability and
creativity to make sure the website meets its user's needs.
d) Digital/Internet Advertising Designer
This professional design online adds for businesses and organizations using tools like
cookies, search engine marketing, email ads, banner ads, blogs, social network ads and
more.
6. Graphics & Multimedia
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SS2 a)
DP, SUMMARY NOTES
Animation/Special Effects Developer
Special effects animation is a sub-field of the graphic arts industry that requires artistic
skill and technical proficiency.
Special effects animators/artists create realistic-looking imagery for movies, mobile
apps, multimedia presentations and video games, among other productions and products.
They create mechanical, optical and computer-generated effects that are used in video
games or for television shows, music videos or movies. They must be skilled with
computer programs that generate effects and need the ability to work under pressure and
meet deadlines
b) Multimedia Developer
Multimedia covers a variety of communications delivered in a number of ways. A
multimedia developer designs, creates, manipulates and tailors graphics, images, sound,
animation, video and text to create integrated multimedia programs. A multimedia
developer is able to combine design skills with technical knowledge to create products
such as CD ROMs, DVDs and websites
c) Computer Game Designer
A game designer is a person who designs gameplay, conceiving and designing the rules
and structure of a game. The skills of a game designer are drawn from the fields of
computer science and programming, creative writing and graphic design. Many
designers start their career in testing departments, other roles in game development or in
classroom conditions, where mistakes by others can be seen first-hand.
d) Electronic Sound Producer
Uses electronic or digital instruments, computers, electronic effects units, software or
digital audio equipment to make, perform or record sound/music.
7. Training and Support
a) Technical Support Rep/Help Desk Rep
Technical support /Help Desk representatives answer incoming phone calls and provide
support to callers experiencing computer problems of all kinds. They listen to
descriptions of customer issues and determine how and if they can be fixed.

b) Trainer/Computer Instructor or Educator

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DP, computer
SUMMARY NOTES
instructor/educator is an education professional that is responsible for
teaching computer programming or usage skills to students in school (including basic
schools, tertiary institutions or training centers) and training centers. In this career,
the duties include developing classroom lesson plans, delivering lectures and info to a
class, and working with students on a one on one basis.
They teach a wide range of computer skills to the students/trainees.

c) Technical Writer
A technical writer is a professional writer that communications complex information.
They create technical documentation that includes things like instruction manuals, user
manuals, quick reference guides, and white papers. They may also create more common
types of content including social media posts, press releases, and web pages.
Essentially, technical writers break down complex technical products into easy-to-
understand guides that help the end-user understand how to use the products and
services.
d) Computer Operator
A Computer Operator is responsible for the technical operation of the computer system.
They resolve user problems by answering questions and requests.
8. Computer Industry Specialists
a) System Integrator
Abbreviated as SI, an individual or company that specializes in building complete
computer systems by putting together components from different vendors. Unlike
software developers, systems integrators typically do not produce any original code.
Instead they enable a company to use off-the-shelf hardware and software packages to
meet the company's computing needs.
b) IT Recruitment Consultant
IT Recruitment consultants are responsible for attracting candidates for IT jobs and
matching them to temporary or permanent positions with client companies. They look
for and discover talents.
c) IT Sales Professional
A sales professional is someone who sells products or services to potential customers.
They seek to solve prospects' challenges through the products they sell. Great sales
professionals will have strong selling and communication skills.

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role NOTES
of an IT Sales Professional falls into three categories; pre-sales, sales and post-
sales support.
d) Journalist, Computer-Related Publicist

Practices journalism in IT only. Publicists work as the bridge between their customers
and the media. They represent their clients by managing the media's perception of them.

QUALITIES OF A GOOD PROFESSIONAL

 Excellent Analytical Skills
Great computer professionals have excellent analytical skills that can be applied to solve
problems or develop new ideas.
 An Attention to Detail
The slightest mistake can affect how a web page looks or how a program runs. Computer
personnel must pay close attention to detail to ensure everything works correctly and
efficiently.
 A Commitment to Learning
Technology is constantly changing, and those who keep abreast of the latest
developments in information technology are the ones who will be the most successful.
 Good Communication Skills
The soft skills of verbal and written communication are increasingly important as non-
techies rely on technological tools for their everyday business. Understanding a client's
needs and the ability to meet those needs depend heavily on a steady stream of open
communication.
 An Aptitude or flair for Math
Strong math skills are necessary because math is used in many computer applications,
such as when dealing with circuits or programming.
 The Ability to Learn & Memorize Programming Languages
Computer professionals must know many programming languages and how to use a
wide variety of computer software programs. A great memory helps keep work efficient.
 An Ability to Handle Multitasking
People working with computers are often involved in many tasks at once and must be
able to manage all of their responsibilities simultaneously. Time management skills and
an ability to prioritize are assets as well.
72
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DP, SUMMARY NOTES Solving/Troubleshooting
Solid Problem Capabilities
Computer professionals are called upon to solve problems with networks, software, and
other programs. They are expected to solve these problems very quickly, and having
sharp troubleshooting skills most definitely is a benefit.
 Technical Writing Skills
Technical writing skills help a computer-savvy person explain complex concepts to
those who have limited knowledge of the computer world.
 Versatility
The most successful computer professionals will be the ones who have skills that extend
beyond information technology, such as skills in business and finance.

COMPUTER PROFESSIONAL BODIES

Meaning of Professional bodies
The main role of a professional body is to promote and support the particular profession
by protecting the interests of the professionals themselves and also protecting the public
interest. Some professional bodies such as those that set standards for professional
competencies may heavily focus on protecting the public interest. Other professional
bodies, such as trade unions, may choose to focus mainly on members' rights.
In some cases, membership of a professional body is a prerequisite to working in that
particular profession. A professional body may also lobby authorities on behalf of its
members, and most usually provide the public with information regarding their fields.
Professional bodies may provide services to members.
COMPUTER PROFESSIONAL BODIES AND THEIR FUNCTIONS
a. The Nigerian Computer Society (NCS)
It is a professional body for Computer professionals in Nigeria. It also encompasses
professionals in the Information Technology industry, Interest Groups and other
stakeholders in Computing and Information Technology industry. It was established in
1978 and was known then as the Computer Association of Nigeria (COAN). The name
was changed to Nigerian Computer Society in 2002 when the association was
harmonized with other interest groups and stakeholders. NCS as a professional body is a
national platform that helps in the advancement of the science and practice of
information technology in Nigeria.

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Functions of the NCS

• Promoting the education of Computer Engineers, Computer and Information
Scientists, Information Technology and Systems Professionals in Nigeria, and
Information Architects.
• Encouraging and promoting actively research work and helping to disseminate the
results of various scientific works.
• Promoting the exchange of information about the art and science of information
processing and its management among computer and information professionals and the
public.
• Promoting the development of competence by and integrity of its members.
• Protecting and promoting the professional interests of registered members.

b. Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN)

The Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN) was formed in 1993
by Decree No. 49 of 1993. The decree was promulgated on the 10th of June and
published on the 9th of August the same year. This corporate body is vested with the
power to control and supervise the computing profession in Nigeria.
Functions of the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN)
• Determining the standards of the knowledge and the skills that must be possessed
by anyone going into the computing profession. And reviewing and improving those
standards.
•Establish and maintain a register of professionals registered under the decree to practice
the profession of computing in Nigeria. And to publish a list of persons registered from
time to time.
• Carrying out every other function that has been granted to it by the provisions of
the decree which include Organizing and controlling the practice of computing in the
country.

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Supervising the computing profession in Nigeria. Screening of all individuals who
want to be registered as computer professionals. Screening and registering of all
corporate organizations that are involved or wants to be involved in selling or using
computing facilities and providing computing professional services in Nigeria.
Maintaining high standards of professional ethics, professionalism, and discipline.
• Determine the academic standards in computing programmes/degrees such as
computer engineering, computer science, information science, etc. Accreditation of
degree awarding institutions and their courses. And evaluation of the certificates in
computing. Conducting of professional exams in conjunction with associations and
bodies that are external to the council.
• Publicizing of the activities of the council. Making publication of computing
professional works such as books, journals, magazines, newsletters, etc.
Note: The above are the two major professional bodies for professionals in the
computing, information technology, and system industry, in Nigeria. There are other
associations.

c. Information Technology (Industry) Association of Nigeria (ITAN)

ITAN is an association of over 350 Information Technology driven companies in

Nigeria. It was founded in 1991 to promote IT literacy and penetration in Nigeria; and to
promote members’ interest in the area of trade, public policy formulation and
negotiations with government on IT policy matters.
ITAN keeps its members informed about ongoing trends and issues relevant to the
industry.
Their Services include:
 Public policy making
 Sensitization:
 Exchange of views (specific to IT)
 Articulate common policy: They assist organizations both public and private to
concretize common policy thrust to accelerate IT development in Nigeria.
 Networking and contacts: ITAN provides networking opportunities for its
members and key IT experts through its numerous events the year round. Such
opportunities involve International trade tours, for necessary networking and
contracts that are keys to business profitability.

d. Nigeria Internet Group (NIG)

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TheDP,Nigeria
SUMMARYInternet
NOTES Group (NIG), founded in 1995, is a not-for-profit, non-
governmental organization, promoting the Internet in Nigeria.
To achieve its mandate, the Group engages in a number of activities which include;
policy advocacy, awareness creation and education.
e. The Institute for Management of Information Systems (IMIS)

The Institute for Management of Information Systems (IMIS) was founded in the year
1978 and it is one of the leading association promoting excellence in the field of
Information Systems Management through education and Professional association. '
IMIS is previously known as Institute of Data Processing Management (IDPM). The
headquarters of the institute is located in United Kingdom. The institute approximately
consists of 12,000 members and the majority of the members are residents outside the
UK.
To understand the importance of Information Systems Management the institute had
consistently played a prominent role. IMIS focuses specifically only on the practical
application and management of Information Systems within the society while all the
other professional associations concentrates primarily on the technical side of
information systems. The Institute for Management of Information Systems makes great
efforts towards the recognition of Information Systems Management as one of the key
professions influencing the future of the world. The Institute for Management of
Information Systems and the British Computer Society (BCS) have been regarded as the
2 main UK professional institutes for computer professionals
f. The Institute Of Software Practitioners Of Nigeria (ISPON)
Additionally, The Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) is the body of
computer software and related services industry in Nigeria. However, ISPON is
concerned with the growth of a software-driven Information Technology industry in
Nigeria.
Others include:
g. The Internet Service Providers' Association of Nigeria (ISPAN) regulates and
monitors ISPs.
h. Nigerian Information Technology Professionals in the America (NITPA)
i. Association of Telecom Companies of Nigeria (ATCN), a professional, non-
profit, non-political umbrella organization of telecommunications companies in
Nigeria.

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SUMMARY NOTES
Communications Commission (NCC) is an independent regulatory
authority for the telecommunications industry in Nigeria. It is a commission and not a
professional body.

GRAPHIC PACKAGES
INTRODUCTION: Graphics are visual images or designs on some surface, such as a
wall, canvas, screen, paper, or stone to inform, illustrate, or entertain. In contemporary
usage it includes: pictorial representation of data, as in computer-aided design and
manufacture, in typesetting and the graphic arts, and in educational and recreational
software. Images that are generated by a computer are called computer graphics.
Examples are photographs, drawings, Line art, graphs, diagrams, typography, numbers,
symbols, geometric designs, maps, engineering drawings, or other images. Graphics
often combine text, illustration, and colour. Graphic design may consist of the deliberate
selection, creation, or arrangement of typography alone, as in a brochure, flyer, poster,
web site, or book without any other element. Clarity or effective communication may be
the objective, association with other cultural elements may be sought, or merely, the
creation of a distinctive style. With all these being said about graphics, what then is a
graphic design package?

DEFINITION OF A GRAPHICS DESIGN PACKAGES

A graphics package is an application that can be used to create and manipulate images
on a computer. It can also be defined as any computer program or software that makes a
computer capable of displaying and manipulating picture or images.
Computer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the
representation and manipulation of image data by a computer.
EXAMPLE OF GRAPHIC PACKAGES
Common examples of graphic packages are:
1. Paint
2. Corel Draw
3. Adobe Photoshop
4. Harvard graphics
5. Print master

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SUMMARY NOTES

7. Jasc’s Paint Shop Pro

8. Ps Paintbrush
9. Adobe Page Maker
COREL DRAW
CorelDraw (styled CorelDraw) is a vector graphics editor developed and marketed by
Corel Corporation of Ottawa, Canada. It is also the name of Corel's Graphics Suite,
which bundles CorelDraw with bitmap-image editor Corel Photo-Paint as well as other
graphics-related programs (see below). The latest version is designated X8 (equivalent to
version 18) and was released in March 2016. Corel Draw is designed to edit two-
dimensional images such as logos and posters.
Common features of Corel Draw packages
OBJECT: An element in a drawing such as an image, shape, line, text, curve, symbol, or
layer.
DRAWING: The work you create in Corel Draw: for example, custom artwork, logos,
posters, and newsletters.
Vector graphic: An image generated from mathematical descriptions that determine the
position, length, and direction in which lines are drawn.
Bitmap: An image composed of grids of pixels or dots.
Docker: A window containing available commands and settings relevant to a specific
tool or task.
Flyout: A button that opens a group of related tools or menu items.
Artistic text: A type of text to which you can apply special effects, such as shadows.
Paragraph text: A type of text to which you can apply formatting options, and which can
be edited in large blocks.
Components of CorelDraw
Title bar
The title bar is the bar that displays the name of the CorelDraw file on which you are
working on. It is also used to reposition the CorelDraw window on the screen
The Rulers

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Rulers serve asNOTES
a positioningand sizing aid. The can be turned off optionally. In
addition, one can drag guidelines off the ruler to serve as drawing aids.
The scroll Bars
The scroll bars is used to move the page up and down. Horizontally and vertically.
Drawing window
That is the white large portion of the screen is the drawing window. The rectangle with a
drop shadow is the printable page.
Roll up windows
This is shown on the left, they are not always permanent in appearance in the interface
but can appear if needed. Roll up windows are nicely packed persistent dialog boxes that
remains on the screen as long as it is needed.
Status bar
Status bar shows the fill pattern, outline, location, movement and absolute coordinates of
a selected object. The status bar changes dynamically depending on the action being
performed. It can be customized to show different kinds of information.

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