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 Computer Fundamentals
and Programming

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 Computer Fundamentals
and Programming

Ashok N. Kamthane
Associate Professor,
Department of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering
S.G.G.S. Institute of Engineering and Technology,
Nanded, Maharashtra
and

ITL Education Solutions Limited

Research and Development Wing
New Delhi

A01_ITL-ESL4791_01_SE_PREL.indd iii 12/24/2012 4:51:47 PM

 Copyright © 2013 Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd.
Licensees of Pearson Education in South Asia

No part of this eBook may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the publisher’s
prior written consent.

This eBook may or may not include all assets that were part of the print version. The publisher
reserves the right to remove any material in this eBook at any time.

ISBN 9788131794791
eISBN 9789332514218

Head Office: A-8(A), Sector 62, Knowledge Boulevard, 7th Floor, NOIDA 201 309, India
Registered Office: 11 Local Shopping Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi 110 017, India

A01_SHETH3824_01_SE_PREL.indd ii 1/8/2013 3:04:59 PM

 To my beloved parents
Late Sumanbai and Namdev Kamthane

Ashok N. Kamthane

I would like to dedicate this book to my uncle,

Shri G.K. Jaju,
for his understanding, constant support and trust in me.
He has always inspired me to aim higher and achieve bigger.
He has been a great friend, philosopher and guide.

Rohit Khurana

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 Contents

Preface ix
Acknowledgements xiii

PART I Computer Fundamentals I-1

1. Fundamentals of Computers I-3
2. Number Systems I-37
3. Operating Systems I-47
4. Computer Software and Programming I-58
5. Introduction to Office Packages I-88
6. Networking and Internet I-104

PART II Programming Concepts II-1

1. Basics and Introduction to C II-3
2. The C Declarations II-13
3. Operators and Expressions II-40
4. Input and Output in C II-68
5. Decision Statements II-78
6. Loop Control Statements II-102
7. Array II-130
8. Strings and Standard Functions II-157
9. Pointers II-187
10. Functions II-217
11. Storage Class II-236

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 viii Contents

12. Preprocessor Directives II-252

13. Structure and Union II-269
14. Files II-298
15. Graphics II-313

Index S-1

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 Preface

The world today is witnessing a new kind of revolution—the Information Revolution—ushered in

by technology. This revolution is far more sweeping than any other revolution in history in its reach
and influence, bringing fundamental changes in all aspects of our life. Information technology
(IT) is the engine used to drive useful information systems. This includes computers, software,
and the Internet/intranet and telecommunication systems. IT provides the means for collecting,
storing, encoding, processing, analyzing, transmitting, receiving and printing text, audio or video
information.
C is one of the famous and important programming languages because of its qualities. Its syntax
looks like general English language, and hence, it is simple and easy to learn. Besides, it is built with
abundant features by the developer, which is presented in the book. In India and worldwide, most of the
skilled people use C as a programming language.
Almost all boards of examinations, universities and Government of India have recognized the impor-
tance of software and its impact on economy. Most of universities, boards, and training institutes have
included C language in the curricula. It is expected to learn the basics of a language, develop programming
skills and acquire expertise to develop software packages and applications.
Keeping pace with these trends and to meet the requirements of modern curricula, all universities
have integrated the study of computer fundamentals and C programming in B.Tech., MCA, MBA, BCA
and B.Sc. courses. The book in your hand, Computer Fundamentals and Programming, in its unique
easy-to-understand question-and-answer format directly addresses the need of students enrolled in these
courses.
The questions and corresponding answers in this book have been designed and selected to cover all
the fundamentals that one must learn in order to pursue virtually any endeavor in the IT field.
Numerous multiple-choice questions, programs and their outputs, and questions to identify the bugs
in the C programs, etc., have been designed and selected that cater the need of students to solve the
examination papers and face the C aptitude test in campus interviews. The reader/programmer may lead
a successful career in the development of application software packages after thoroughly reading the
book and implementing the programs.
The organized and accessible format allows the students to quickly find the questions on specific
topics. In simple words, reading this book will benefit anyone who wishes to arm themselves with
substantive computer and programming skills.
Computer Fundamentals and Programming is a part of a series named Express Learning Series,
which has a number of books designed as quick reference guides to important undergraduate and
postgraduate courses.

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 x Preface

Unique Features
1. Designed as a student-friendly, self-learning guide, the book is written in a clear, concise and lucid
manner.
2. Easy-to-understand question-and-answer format.
3. Includes questions that have appeared in previous years’ question papers as well as new questions,
which have been organized in the relevant chapters.
4. All types of questions, including MCQs and brief and detailed questions, are covered.
5. Solutions to numerical questions and questions involving programming that have appeared in previ-
ous examinations are provided.
6. All ideas and concepts are presented with clear examples.
7. Text is well structured and well supported with suitable diagrams.
8. Inter-chapter dependencies are kept to a minimum.
9. A comprehensive index is given at the end of the book for quick access to desired topics.

Chapter Organization
The book is divided into two parts, with Part I titled Computer Fundamentals and Part II titled as
Programming Concepts.

Part I: Computer Fundamentals

All the questions–answers are organized into six chapters. A brief discussion of these chapters is as
follows:
Chapter 1 provides an overview of the history of computers and the basic digital computer con-
cepts. It describes how computations are carried out using arithmetic and logic units, registers and
the control unit. In addition, it introduces the reader to the various types of memory devices and the
input and output devices.
Chapter 2 discusses about number systems and conversion between different number systems.
Chapter 3 provides an outlook on operating systems along with their types and functions.
Chapter 4 describes the fundamentals of computer software and its relationship with the hardware
in building up a fully functional computer system. It also deals with programming and various
programming tools such as algorithm, flowchart and pseudocode.
Chapter 5 provides a foundation to harness the power of word processing, spreadsheet programs and
creating presentations using Microsoft Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint 2003, respectively.
Chapter 6 deals with data communication and computer network along with important concepts like
transmission modes, network topologies and the OSI and the TCP/IP reference models. It also introduces
the reader to the different Internet tools such as browsing, searching and sending and receiving e-mails.

Part II: Programming Concepts

All the questions–answers are organized into 15 chapters. A brief discussion of these chapters is as
follows:
Chapter 1 unfolds the basics of computer and introduction to C. This chapter introduces the reader
to the fundamentals of a computer and introductory information on C language is provided. The

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 Preface xi

topics covered are parts of a computer system, features of C language, rules for writing a program,
methods to edit and run the programs with Turbo C compiler, etc.
 Chapter 2 deals with C declaration. It focuses on C data types, differences between signed and
unsigned data types, variables, constants, C keywords, type conversion, dynamic initialization, etc.
Chapter 3 explains various C operators and their priorities. This chapter presents arithmetic, rela-
tional, and logical operators. It also embodies increment, decrement (unary operators) and assign-
ment operators. Other operators such as comma, conditional operators and bitwise operators are
presented in this chapter. Precedence of operators and associativity rule are also explained.
Chapter 4 enlightens the readers with formatted input and output functions such as scanf() and
printf() functions. The unformatted functions such as putchar(), getche(), gets(),
etc., are described in this chapter. The special symbols such as escape sequences together with their
applications have also been discussed.
Chapter 5 covers the decision-making statements supported by C language. This chapter details
how the control can be transferred from one part of the program to other part. The programmer can
make the program powerful by using control statements such as if, if-else, nested if-else
statements and switch case. To change the flow of the program, the programmer can use key-
words such as break, continue and goto.
Chapter 6 discusses control loop structures that explain ‘how’ statements are executed several
times until a condition is satisfied. In this chapter, the reader follows program loop structures,
which is also known as iterative or repetitive structure. Three types of loop control statements are
illustrated, with programming examples. They are for, while and do-while loop statements.
Syntaxes of these control statements are briefed.
Chapter 7 covers one-dimensional, two-dimensional and multidimensional arrays. It deals with
both integer and character arrays. A description on accessing and displaying array elements on
the screen is presented in this chapter. Various operations on an array that can be performed are
described in this chapter.
Chapter 8 focusses on strings. This chapter teaches the reader how to declare and initialize a string.
The various formats for displaying the strings are described through numerous examples. String
handling has a strong impact in real-life string problems such as conversion of lower to upper case,
reversing, concatenation, comparing, searching and replacing of string elements. Methods of per-
forming these operations with and without standard library functions are also explained.
Chapter 9 deals with the most important feature of the C language, i.e. pointers. This chapter
is important but is difficult to understand easily. Through examples, the reader is made famil-
iar with pointers. The reader is enlightened about declaration and initialization of pointers. The
learner studies how to access variables using pointers. How pointers are used to allocate memory
dynamically at run time is illustrated using memory allocation functions such as malloc()
and calloc() functions. How memory is handled efficiently with pointers is explained in this
chapter. This chapter consists of arithmetic operations on pointers, pointers and arrays, pointers to
pointers, etc.
Chapter 10 is one of the important chapters on functions. After reading this chapter, a reader will
learn how a large-sized program is divided into smaller ones and how a modular program should be
developed. A programmer learns the definition and declaration of a function. In this chapter, topics
such as return statements, types of functions, functions with passing arguments, etc., are described
in detail. “Call by value” and “call by reference” and the answers are given with many program-
ming examples. The recursive nature of function is also described. Direct and indirect recursive
functions have been explained clearly.

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 xii Preface

Chapter 11 enlightens the reader on the variables used in C in different situations. It covers
topics such as types of variables, local variables and global variables. The various storage classes
of a variable are included in this chapter. Also, explanation on auto, extern, static, and
register variables are presented in this chapter.
Chapter 12 describes how to make use of preprocessor directives. This chapter also discusses how
various macros are to be used. This chapter enlightens preprocessor directives such as #define,
#undef, #include, #line, token pasting and stringizing operations, conditional
compilation, etc., through C and illustrations are provided for the ease of the reader. By reading
this chapter, the reader learns how to display a programmer’s own error messages using #error
directive, and by making various warnings, on/off is displayed by the compiler using the #pragma
directive. The reader is also exposed to predefined macros in ctype.h in this chapter.
Chapter 13 discusses structures and unions. This is another powerful chapter of C language. One
can get derived data type using structures and unions. The user can decide the heterogeneous data
types to be included in the body of a structure. Use of dot operator (.) and pointer (-›) are explained
in this chapter for accessing members of structure. Declaration and initialization of structure and
union can be learnt from this chapter. The typedef facility can be used for creating user-defined
data types and this is illustrated with many examples. Enumerated data type, union, etc., are the
important subtitles of this chapter. Enumerated data type provides user-defined data types. Union
is a principal method by which the programmer can derive dissimilar data types. Last but not the
least, the DOS and ROM-BIOS functions and their applications are explained.
Chapter 14 is on files. This chapter explains the procedure for opening a file, storing information
in it and reading it. How to read a file, how to append information in it, etc., are explained in this
chapter. Many file-handling commands are discussed in this chapter. Text and binary files are dis-
cussed in this chapter. Command line arguments to accept arguments from command prompt are
described. Simulation of various DOS commands with examples is also provided. The reader is
also made familiar with I/O redirections in which MSDOS redirects to send the result to the disk
instead of seeing information on the monitor.
Chapter 15 deals with graphics. How to draw various figures/images using C library graphics
functions can be studied from graphics chapter. This chapter enlightens the reader about the initial-
ization of graphics with library graphics functions and a number of programming examples.

Ashok N. Kamthane
Rohit Khurana

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 Acknowledgements

I would like to thank all those who have encouraged me to write technical books, especially Prof. B. M. Naik,
former Principal of S.G.G.S. College of Engineering and Technology, Nanded, who has been a driving force
for the publication of books and who acted as a source of inspiration throughout my life. His dynamism and
leadership led me to write this book. I will never forget his instinct, support, and words of wisdom.
Special thanks are due to the members of the Board of Governors of S.G.G.S. Institute of Engineer-
ing and Technology, who motivated me to write this book. They are Shri Baba Kalyani, Chairman and
Managing Director of Bharat Forge Ltd, Pune, Mr Kamlesh Pande, and Dr L. M. Waghmare, Director
of our institute. I am thankful to the director for extending his help in writing the book.
My sincere thanks go to Prof. S. D. Mahajan, Director of Technical Education, Maharashtra State, and
Ex-Board of Governors of this college, Dr M. B. Kinhalkar, Former Home Minister, and Dr T. R. Sontakke,
Ex-Principal, for inspiring me to write this book.
I am grateful to all my colleagues, friends, and students who extended moral support. Among them
are Dr S. V. Bonde, Dr R. R. Manthalkar, Dr S. S. Gajre, Prof. R. K. Chavan, Dr J. V. L. Venkatesh,
Dr Y. V. Joshi, Dr M. B. Kokre, Dr Lenina Birgale, Dr P. Kar, Dr P. D. Jadhav, Prof. P. G. Jadhav,
Dr P. Pramanik, Dr P. G. Solankar, Dr V. K. Joshi, Dr S. G. Kahalekar, Dr A. Chakraborty,
Dr B. M. Dabde, Dr U. V. Kulkarni, Dr V. M. Nandedkar, Dr M. L. Waikar,
Dr R. S. Holambe, Dr B. M. Patre, Dr. V. R. Thool, Dr V. G. Asutkar, Dr D. D. Doye,
Prof. P. S. Nalawade, Prof. S. S. Hatkar, Dr R. C. Thool, Dr A. V. Nandedkar, Dr P. D. Dahe, Dr P. D. Ullagadi,
Dr A. B. Gonde, Dr P. B. Londhe, Prof. N. G. Megde, Dr A. S. Sontakke, Prof. A. M. Bainwad,
Prof. Deepak Bacchewar, Prof. R. P. Parvekar, Prof. N. M. Khandare, Dr V. B. Tungikar, Dr R. N. Joshi,
Dr P. T. Patil, Dr L. G. Patil, and Prof. A. I. Tamboli. I am also thankful to my friends Prof. S. L. Kotgire,
Mr Balaji Bacchewar, Mr M. M. Jahagirdar, Mr L. M. Buddhewar, Mr K. M. Buddhewar,
Mr D. V. Deshpande, Mr S. R. Kokane, Mr Ganpat Shinde, Mr M. G. Damkondawar, Mr R. D. Yeramwar,
Mr S. R. Tumma, Mr R. Somajwar, Mr Yennawar O. N., Mr S. R. Mana, and Mr Annes for their help.
I take this opportunity to thank the production editorial teams at Pearson Education, especially
Mr M. E. Sethurajan, Ms V. Pavithra and Ms Neha Goomer for their painstaking work in bringing out
this book in a record time.
Also, I express my thanks to Prof. Barulkar Jeetendrasinh, who reviewed the manuscript and
suggested improvements.
Last, but not the least, my thanks are due to my wife Surekha for her patience and support while
writing this book. My sons Amol and Amit, daughter Sangita, and daughter-in-law Swaroopa were also
a great help and extended their support to me at all the times.

Ashok N. Kamthane

A01_ITL-ESL4791_01_SE_PREL.indd xiii 12/24/2012 4:51:47 PM

 xiv Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the following people for their help in bringing out this book.
 Our publisher Pearson Education, their editorial team and panel reviewers for their valuable contri-
bution towards content enrichment.
 Our technical and editorial consultants for devoting their precious time to improve the quality of
the book.
 Our entire research and development team who have put in their sincere efforts to bring out a high-
quality book.

Rohit Khurana
Founder and CEO
ITL ESL

Feedback
For any suggestions and comments about this book, please free to send an e-mail to [email protected]
or [email protected].
Hope you enjoy reading this book as much as we have enjoyed writing it.

A01_ITL-ESL4791_01_SE_PREL.indd xiv 12/24/2012 4:51:47 PM

 PART I
Computer Fundamentals

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 1
Fundamentals
of Computers

1. Define computer.
Ans: A ‘computer’ is an electronic machine used for performing calculations and controlling
­operations that can be expressed either in logical or numerical terms. In simple words, it is an electronic
device that performs diverse operations with the help of instructions needed to process the information
in order to achieve desired results. Using this versatile machine, millions of complex calculations can
be done in a mere fraction of time and difficult decisions can be made with more accuracy at low cost.
Although the application domain of a computer depends totally on human creativity and imagination,
it covers a huge area of applications including education, industries, government, medicine, scientific
research, law and music and arts.
2. State the characteristics of a computer in detail.
(or)
Explain the features of computer available for individuals and organizations.
Ans: Today, much of the world’s infrastructure depends on computers and it has profoundly changed
our lives, mostly for better. Some of the characteristics of the computers that make them an essential part
of every emerging technology and a desirable tool in the human development are as follows:
•• Speed: Computers process data at an extremely fast rate – millions of instructions per second.
In few seconds, a computer can perform a huge task that a normal human being may take days or
even years to complete. The speed of a computer is calculated in MHz (Megahertz), that is, one
­million instructions per second. At present, a powerful computer can perform billions of ­operations
in just one second.
•• Accuracy: Besides efficiency, computers are accurate as well. The level of accuracy depends on
the instructions and the type of machine being used. Since computer is capable of doing only
what it is instructed to do, faulty instructions for data processing may lead to faulty results. This is
known as GIGO (Garbage In Garbage Out).

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 I-4 Computer Fundamentals

•• Diligence: Computer, being a machine, does not suffer from the human traits of tiredness and lack
of concentration. If four million calculations have to be performed, then the computer will perform
the last four-millionth calculation with the same accuracy and speed as the first calculation.
•• Reliability: Generally, reliability is the measurement of performance of a computer, which is mea-
sured against some predetermined standard for operation without any failure. The major reason
behind the reliability of the computers is that, at hardware level, it does not require any human
intervention between its processing operations. Moreover, computers have built-in diagnostic
capabilities, which help in continuous monitoring of the system.
•• Storage capability: Computers can store large amounts of data and can recall the required infor-
mation almost instantaneously. The main memory of the computer is relatively small and it can
hold only a certain amount of information, therefore, the data is stored on secondary storage
devices such as magnetic tape or disks. Small sections of the data can be accessed very quickly
and brought into the storage devices, as and when required, for processing.
•• Versatility: Computers are quite versatile in nature. They can perform multiple tasks simultane-
ously with great ease. For example, at one moment it can be used to draft a letter, another moment
it can be used to play music and in between, one can print a document as well. All this work is
possible by changing the program (computer instructions).
•• Resource sharing: In the initial stages of development, computers used to be isolated machines.
With the tremendous growth in computer technologies, computers today have the capability to
connect with each other. This has made the sharing of costly resources such as printers possible.
Apart from device sharing, data and information can also be shared among groups of computers,
thus creating a large information and knowledge base.
3. Explain in detail about the evolution of computers.
Ans: The need for a device to do calculations along with the growth in commerce and other human
activities explain the evolution of computers. Computers were preceded by many devices which man-
kind developed for their computing requirements. However, many centuries elapsed before technology
was adequately advanced to develop computers. Some of the ancient time devices which led to evolution
of computers are as follows:

Sand Tables
In ancient times, people used fingers to perform the calculations such as addition and subtraction. Even
today, simple calculations are done on fingers. Soon, mankind realized that it would be easier to do cal-
culations with pebbles as compared to fingers. Consequently, pebbles were used to represent numbers,
which led to the development of sand tables. They are known to be the earliest device for computa-
tion. A sand table consists of three grooves in the sand with a maximum of 10 pebbles in each groove.
To increase the count by one, a pebble has to be added in the right-hand groove. When 10 pebbles were
collected in the right groove, they were removed and one pebble was added to the adjacent left groove.

Abacus
Abacus is a counting device devised by the people in Asia Minor to simplify the process of counting. The
word ‘abacus’ was derived from Arabic word ‘abaq’ which means ‘dust’. An abacus consists of sliding
beads arranges on a rack, which has two parts, namely, upper and lower. The upper part contains two
beads and the lower part contains five beads per wire. The numbers are represented by the position of the
beads on the rack. For example, in the upper part of the rack, a raised bead denotes 0 whereas a lowered

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 Fundamentals of Computers I-5

bead denotes digit 5. In the lower part, a raised bead stands for 1 and a lowered bead for 0. The ­arithmetic
operations such as addition and subtraction can be performed by positioning the beads appropriately.

Napier Bones
In 1614, a Scottish mathematician, John Napier made a more sophisticated computing machine called
‘Napier bones’. This was a small instrument made up of 10 rods, on which the multiplication table
was engraved. It was made up of the strips of ivory bones, and so the name Napier bones. This device
­enabled the multiplication in a fast manner, if one of the numbers was of one digit only (e.g., 6 × 6,745).
Incidentally, Napier also played a key role in the development of logarithms, which stimulated the inven-
tion of slide rule, which substituted the addition of logarithms for multiplication. This was a remarkable
invention as it enabled to perform the multiplication and division operations by converting them into
simple addition and subtraction.

Slide Rule
The invention of logarithms influenced the development of another famous invention known as ‘slide
rule’. In AD 1620, the first slide rule came into existence. It was jointly devised by two British mathema-
ticians, Edmund Gunter and William Oughtred. It was based on the principle that the actual distances
from the starting point of the rule are directly proportional to the logarithm of the numbers printed
on the rule. The slide rule is embodied by two sets of scales that are joined together, with a marginal
space between them. This space is enough for the free movement of the slide in the groove of the rule.
The suitable alliance of two scales enabled the slide rule to perform multiplication and division by a
method of addition and subtraction.

Pascaline
In 1623, Wilhelm Schickard invented the calculating clock, which could add and subtract, and indi-
cated the overflow by ringing a bell. Subsequently, it helped in the evolution of Pascaline. In AD 1642,
French mathematician, scientist and philosopher, Blaise Pascal invented the first functional automatic
calculator. It had a complex arrangement of wheels, gears and windows for displaying numbers. It was
operated by a series of dials attached to wheels with each wheel having ten segments (numbered from
zero to nine) on its circumference. When a wheel made a complete turn, the wheel on its left advanced
by one segment. Indicators above the dial displayed the correct answer. However, usage of this device
was limited to addition and subtraction only.

Analytical Engine
Analytical engine is considered to be the first general-purpose programmable computer. Babbage’s
­innovation in the design of the analytical engine made it possible to test the sign of a computed number
and take one course of action if the sign was positive and another if the sign was negative. Babbage
also designed this device to advance or reverse the flow of punched cards to permit branching to any
desired instruction within a program. Lady Ada Lovelace helped Babbage in the development of the
analytical engine. She wrote articles and programs for the proposed machine. Due to her contributions,
she is known as the first programmer. However, Babbage never completed the analytical engine, but his
proposal for this device reviewed the basic elements of modern computer such as input/output, storage,
processor and control unit.

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 I-6 Computer Fundamentals

Hollerith’s Tabulator
Herman Hollerith invented the punched-card tabulating machine to process the data collected in the
United States’ census. This electronic machine was able to read the information on the cards and pro-
cess it electronically. It consisted of a tabulator, a sorter with compartments electronically controlled
by the tabulator‘s counter and the device used to punch data onto cards. This tabulator could read the
presence or absence of holes in the cards by using spring-mounted nails that passed through the holes to
make electrical connections. In 1896, Hollerith founded the Tabulating Machine Company, which was
later named as International Business Machines (IBM).
4. Explain about the generations of computers.
Ans: The history of computer development is often discussed with reference to the different gen-
erations of computing devices. In computer terminology, the word ‘generation’ is described as a stage
of technological development or innovation. A major technological development that fundamentally
changed the way the computers operate, resulting in increasingly smaller, cheaper and more powerful
and more efficient and reliable devices characterize each generation of computer. According to the type
of processor installed in a machine, there are five generations of computers which are as follows:

First Generation (1940–1956): Vacuum Tubes

First generation computers were vacuum tubes/thermionic valves-based machines. These computers
used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory. A ‘magnetic drum’ is a metal cylin-
der coated with magnetic iron-oxide material on which data and programs can be stored. The input was
based on punched cards and paper tape and the output was in the form of printouts.
First generation computers relied on binary-coded language also called ‘machine language’ (lan-
guage of 0s and 1s) to perform operations and were able to solve only one problem at a time. These
were the fastest computing devices of their times (computation time was in milliseconds). However,
each machine was fed with different binary codes and were difficult to program. This resulted in lack
of versatility and speed. Moreover, since thousands of vacuum tubes were used, they generated a large
amount of heat. Therefore, air conditioning was essential. In addition, to run on different types of com-
puters, instructions must be rewritten or recompiled. Some examples of first generation computers are
ENIAC, EDVAC and UNIVAC.

Second Generation (1956–1963): Transistors

Second generation computers used transistors, which were superior to vacuum tubes. A ‘transistor’
is made up of semiconductor material such as germanium and silicon. It usually has three leads and
performs electrical functions such as voltage, current or power amplification with low power require-
ments. Since transistor is a small device, the physical size of computers was greatly reduced. Computers
became smaller, faster, cheaper, energy-efficient and more reliable than their predecessors. In second
generation computers, magnetic cores were used as primary memory and magnetic disks as secondary
storage devices. However, they still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for output.
One of the major developments of this generation includes the progress from machine language
to assembly language. Assembly language uses mnemonics (abbreviations) for instructions rather
than numbers, for example, ADD for addition and MULT for multiplication. As a result, program-
ming became less cumbersome. These computers were more reliable and less prone to hardware failure,
hence, they required less frequent maintenance. Moreover, these were more portable and generated less

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 Fundamentals of Computers I-7

amount of heat. However, the second generation computers still required air conditioning and manual
assembly of individual components into a functioning unit. Some examples of second generation com-
puters are PDP-8, IBM 1401 and IBM 7090.

Third Generation (1964–early 1970s): Integrated Circuits

The development of the integrated circuit was the trait of the third generation computers. An ‘integrated
circuit’ (also called an ‘IC’) consists of a single chip (usually silicon) with many components such as
transistors and resistors fabricated on it. Integrated circuits replaced several individually wired transistors.
This development made computers smaller in size, reliable and efficient.
Instead of punched cards and printouts, users interacted with third generation computers through
keyboards and monitors and interfaced with operating system. This allowed the device to run many
different applications simultaneously with a central program that monitored the memory. For the first
time, computers became accessible to mass audience because they were smaller and cheaper than
their ­predecessors. The main advantage of these computers was that manual assembling of individual
­components was not required, so it reduced the large requirement of labour and cost. However, highly
sophisticated technologies were required for the manufacturing of IC chips. Some examples of third
generation ­computers are NCR 395 and B6500.

Fourth Generation (Early 1970s–till date): Microprocessors

The fourth generation is an extension of third generation technology. Although, the technology of this
generation is still based on the integrated circuit, these have been made readily available to us because of
the development of the microprocessor (circuits containing millions of transistors). The Intel 4004 chip,
which was developed in 1971, took the IC one step further by locating all the components of a computer
(central processing unit, memory and input and output controls) on a miniscule chip. A microprocessor
is built onto a single piece of silicon, known as ‘chip’. It is about 0.5 cm along one side and no more
than 0.05 cm thick.
The fourth generation computers led to an era of Large-Scale Integration (LSI) and Very-Large-Scale
Integration (VLSI) technology. LSI technology allowed thousands of transistors to be constructed on
one small slice of silicon material, whereas VLSI squeezed hundreds of thousands of components on
to a single chip. Ultra-large-scale integration (ULSI) increased that number into millions. This way,
­computers became smaller and cheaper than even before.
The fourth generation computers became more powerful, compact, reliable and affordable. As a result,
it gave rise to the personal computer (PC) revolution. During this period, magnetic core memories were
substituted by semiconductor memories that resulted in faster random access main memories. Moreover,
secondary memories such as hard disks became economical, smaller and bigger in capacity. The other
significant development of this era was that these computers could be linked together to form networks,
which eventually led to the development of the Internet. This generation also saw the development of
the ‘Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs)’, mouse and hand-held devices. Despite many advantages, this
generation required complex and sophisticated technology for the manufacturing of CPU and the other
components. Some examples of fourth generation computers are Apple II, Altair 8800 and CRAY-1.

Fifth Generation (Present and beyond): Artificial Intelligence

The dream of creating a human-like computer that would be capable of reasoning and reaching at
a decision through a series of ‘what-if-then’ analyses have existed since the beginning of computer

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 I-8 Computer Fundamentals

t­echnology. Such a computer would learn from its mistakes and possess the skill of experts. These are
the objectives for creating the fifth generation of computers. The starting point for the fifth generation
of computers had been set in the early 1990s. The process of developing fifth generation computers is
still in the development stage and will use the concept of expert system. The ‘expert system’ is defined
as a computer information system that attempts to mimic the thought process and reasoning of experts
in specific areas.
5. Write down the generation-wise development of the computer hardware.
Ans: The hardware used in five generations is listed in Table 1.1.
Table 1.1 Hardware Used in Various Generations
Generations Hardware Used
First Vacuum tubes
Second Transistor
Third Integrated circuits
Fourth Very-large-scale integration
Fifth Ultra-large-scale integration

6. Write the classification of computers according to purpose and data handling.

Ans: These days, computers are available in many sizes and types. One can have a computer that can
fit in the palm of the hand to those that can occupy the entire room. Some computers are designed to be
used by a single user only, whereas some computers can handle the needs of many users simultaneously.
Computers also differ based on their data processing abilities. In general, they can be classified accord-
ing to purpose, data handling and functionality. The classification of computers according to purpose
and data handling only are discussed as follows:

Classification According to Purpose

Computers are designed for different purposes. According to the need, they can be classified into two
categories, which are described as follows:
•• General purpose computers: As the name suggests, they are designed to perform a range of
tasks. These computers have the ability to store numerous programs. These machines can be used
for various applications, ranging from scientific as well as business purpose applications. Even
though such computers are versatile, they generally lack in speed and efficiency. The computers
that are used in schools and homes are general purpose computers.
•• Specific purpose computers: They are designed to handle a specific problem or to perform a
single specific task. A set of instructions for the specific task is built into the machine. Hence, they
cannot be used for other applications unless their circuits are redesigned, that is, they lack versatil-
ity. However, being designed for specific tasks, they can provide the result very quickly and effi-
ciently. These computers are used for airline reservations, satellite tracking and air traffic control.

Classification According to Type of Data Handling Techniques

Different types of computers process the data in a different manner. According to the basic data handling
techniques, computers can be classified into the following three categories:

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 Fundamentals of Computers I-9

•• Analog computers: A computing machine that operates on data in the form of continuously ­variable
physical quantities is known as ‘analog computer’. These computers do not deal directly with the
numbers. They measure continuous physical magnitudes (such as temperature, pressure and volt-
age), which are analogous to the numbers under consideration. For example, the petrol pump may
have an analog computer that converts the flow of pumped petrol into two measurements – the
quantity of petrol and the price for that quantity. Analog computers are used for scientific and engi-
neering purposes. One of the characteristics of these computers is that they give approximate results
since they deal with quantities that vary continuously. The main feature of analog computers is that
they are very fast in operation as all the calculations are done in parallel mode. It is very easy to get
graphical results directly using analog computer. However, the accuracy of analog computers is less.
•• Digital computers: A computer that operates with information, numerical or otherwise, repre-
sented in a digital form is known as ‘digital computer’. Such computers process data (including
text, sound, graphics and video) into a digital value (in 0s and 1s). In digital computers, analog
quantities must be converted into digital quantity before processing. In this case, the output will
also be digital. If analog output is desired, the digital output has to be converted into analog quan-
tity. The components, which perform these conversions, are the essential parts or peripherals of
the digital computer. Digital computers can give the results with more accuracy and at a faster
rate. The accuracy of such computers is limited only by the size of their registers and memory.
The desktop PC at the home is a classic example of digital computer.
•• Hybrid computers: They incorporated the measuring feature of an analog computer and counting
feature of a digital computer. For computational purposes, these computers use the analog com-
ponents and for the storage of intermediate results, digital memories are used. In order to bind the
powers of analog and digital techniques, analog to digital and digital to analog, the hybrid comput-
ers comprehensively use converters. Such computers are broadly used for scientific applications,
various fields of engineering and in industrial control processes.
7. Write the classification of computers according to functionality.
Ans: Based on physical size, performance and application areas, computers can be generally divided
into four major categories, namely, micro, mini, mainframe and super computers. All of these are
described as follows:

Micro Computers
A micro computer is a small, low-cost digital computer, which usually consists of a microprocessor, a
storage unit, an input channel and an output channel, all of which may be on one chip inserted into one
or several PC boards. The addition of a power supply and connecting cables, appropriate peripherals
(keyboard, monitor, printer, disk drives and others), an operating system and other software programs can
provide a complete micro computer system. The micro computer is generally the smallest of the computer
family. Originally, these were designed for individual users only, but nowadays they have become powerful
tools for many businesses that, when networked together, can serve more than one user. IBM-PC Pentium
100, IBM-PC Pentium 200 and Apple Macintosh are some of the examples of micro computers. ­Micro
­computers include desktop, laptop and hand-held models, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs).

Mini Computers
A mini computer is a small digital computer that normally able to process and store less data than
a mainframe but more than a micro computer, while doing task less rapidly than a mainframe but

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 I-10 Computer Fundamentals

more rapidly than a micro computer. These computers are about the size of a two-drawer filing cabinet.
­ enerally, they are used as desktop devices that are often connected to a mainframe in order to perform
G
the auxiliary operations.
Mini computer (sometimes called a ‘mid-range computer’) is designed to meet the computing needs
of several people simultaneously in a small to medium-sized business environment. It is capable of
supporting from 4 to about 200 simultaneous users. It serves as a centralized storehouse for a cluster of
workstations or as a network server. Mini computers are usually multi-user systems so these are used
in interactive applications in industries, research organizations, colleges and universities. They are also
used for real-time controls and engineering design work. Some of the widely used mini computers are
PDP 11, IBM (8000 series) and VAX 7500.

Mainframes
A mainframe is an ultra-high performance computer made for high-volume, processor-intensive
­computing. It consists of a high-end computer processor, with related peripheral devices, capable of
supporting large volumes of data processing, high performance online transaction processing and
­extensive data storage and retrieval. Normally, it is able to process and store more data than a mini
computer and far more than a micro computer. Moreover, it is designed to perform at a faster rate than
a mini computer and at even more faster rate than a micro computer. Mainframes are the second largest
(in capability and size) of the computer family, the largest being the super computers. However, they can
usually execute many programs simultaneously at a high speed, whereas super computers are designed
for a single process.
Mainframes allow its user to maintain a large amount of data storage at a centralized location and to
access and process this data from different computers located at different locations. They are typically
used by large businesses and for scientific purposes. Some examples of mainframe are IBM’s ES000,
VAX 8000 and CDC 6600.

Super Computers
Super computers are the special purpose machines that are specially designed to maximize the numbers
of FLOPS (Floating Point Operation per Second). Any computer below one gigaflop/sec is not con-
sidered a super computer. It has the highest processing speed at a given time for solving scientific and
engineering problems. Essentially, it contains a number of CPUs that operate in parallel to make it faster.
Its processing speed lies in the range of 400–10,000 MFLOPS (Millions of Floating Point Operation per
Second). Due to this feature, super computers help in many applications including information retrieval
and computer-aided design.
A super computer can process a great deal of data and make extensive calculations very quickly.
It can resolve complex mathematical equations in a few hours, which would have taken many years
when performed using a paper and pencil or using a hand calculator. It is the fastest, costliest and most
powerful computer available today. Typically, super computers are used to solve multi-variant math-
ematical problems of existent physical processes, such as aerodynamics, metrology and plasma physics.
They are also required by the military strategists to simulate defense scenarios. Cinema technicians use
them to produce sophisticated movie animations. Scientists build complex models and simulate them in
a super computer. However, super computer has a limited broad-spectrum use because of its price and
limited market. The largest commercial uses of super computers are in the entertainment/advertising
industry. CRAY-3, Cyber 205 and PARAM are some well-known super computers.

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 Fundamentals of Computers I-11

8. Write a short note on the following:

(a) Desktop computer
(b) Laptop
(c) Hand-held computers
Ans:
(a) Desktop computer: A desktop computer, also known as ‘personal computer’ (‘PC’), is prin-
cipally intended for stand-alone use by an individual. These are the most common type of
micro computers. These micro computers typically consist of a system unit, a display monitor,
a keyboard, internal hard disk storage and other peripheral devices. It is to be noted that they
are not very expensive for the individuals or the small businesses. Some of the major personal
computer manufacturers are APPLE, IBM, Dell and Hewlett-Packard.
(b) Laptop: It is a portable computer that a user can carry around. Since the laptop resembles
a notebook, it is also known as a ‘notebook’. Laptops are small computers enclosing all the
basic features of a normal desktop computer. The biggest advantage of laptops is that they are
lightweight and one can use them anywhere and at anytime, especially when one is travelling.
Moreover, they need not any external power supply as a rechargeable battery is completely
self-contained. However, they are expensive as compared to desktop computers.
(c) A hand-held computer: A hand-held computer, also called ‘personal digital assistant’ (‘PDA’),
is a portable computer that can conveniently be stored in a pocket (of sufficient size) and used
while the user is holding it. PDAs are essentially small portable computers and are slightly
bigger than the common calculators. A PDA user generally uses a pen or electronic stylus,
instead of a keyboard for input. The monitor is very small and is the only apparent form of
output. Since these computers can be easily fitted on the top of the palm, they are also known
as ‘palmtop’ computers. Hand-held computers usually have no disk drive rather they use small
cards to store programs and data. However, they can be connected to a printer or a disk drive
to generate output or store data. They have limited memory and are less powerful as com-
pared to desktop computers. Some examples of hand-held computers are Apple Newton, Casio
­Cassiopeia and Franklin eBook Man.
9. What are the various applications of computer?
Ans: In the last few decades, computer technology has revolutionized the businesses and other
aspects of human life all over the world. Practically, every company, large or small, is now directly or
indirectly dependent on computers for data processing. Computers not only save time, but also save
paper work. Some of the areas where computers are being used are listed as follows:
•• Science: Scientists have been using computers to develop theories, to analyze and test the data.
The fast speed and the accuracy of the computer allow different scientific analyses to be carried
out. They can be used to generate detailed studies of how earthquakes affect buildings or pollution
affects weather pattern. Satellite-based applications could not have been possible without the use
of computers. It would not be possible to get the information of our solar system and the cosmos
without computers.
•• Education: Computers have also revolutionized the whole process of education. Currently, the
classrooms, libraries and museums are utilizing computers to make the education much more inter-
esting. Unlike recorded television shows, computer-aided education (CAE) and computer-based
training (CBT) packages are making learning much more interactive.

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 I-12 Computer Fundamentals

•• Medicine and health care: There has been an increasing use of computers in the field of ­medicine.
Now, doctors are using computers right from diagnosing the illness to monitoring a patient’s status
during complex surgery. By using automated imaging techniques, doctors are able to look inside a
person’s body and can study each organ in detail (such as CAT scans or MRI scans), which was not
possible few years ago. There are several examples of special purpose computers that can operate
within the human body such as a cochlear implant, a special kind of hearing aid that makes it pos-
sible for deaf people to hear.
•• Engineering/Architecture/Manufacturing: The architects and engineers extensively use com-
puters in designing and drawings. Using computers, a three-dimensional view of an object can
be simulated. By using techniques such as virtual reality, architects can explore houses that have
been designed but not built. The manufacturing factories are using computerized robotic arms in
order to perform hazardous jobs. Besides, computer aided manufacturing (CAM) can be used in
­designing the product, ordering the parts and planning production.
•• Entertainment: Computers are finding greater use in entertainment industry. They are used to
control the images and sounds. The special effects, which mesmerize the audience, would not have
been possible without the computers. In addition, computerized animation and colourful graphics
have modernized the film industry.
•• Communication: E-mail (or electronic mail) is one of the communication media in which com-
puter is used. Through e-mail, messages and reports are passed from one person to one or more
persons. The advantage of e-mail service is that while transferring the messages it saves time,
avoids wastage of paper and is instantly delivered to the recipient. Moreover, the person who is
receiving the messages can read the messages whenever he/she is free and can save it, reply it,
forward it or delete it from the computer.
•• Business application: This is one of the important uses of the computer. Initially, computers were
used for batch processing jobs, where one does not require the immediate response from the com-
puter. Currently, computers are mainly used for real-time applications (for example, at the sales
counter) that require immediate response from the computer. There are various concerns for which
computers are used, such as in business forecasting, to prepare pay bills and personal records, in
banking operations and data storage, in various types of life insurance business, and as an aid to
management. Businesses are also using the networking of computers, where a number of comput-
ers are connected together to share the data and the information. The use of e-mail and Internet has
changed the ways of doing business.
•• Publishing: Computers have created a field known as ‘desktop publishing’ (‘DTP’). In DTP, with
the help of computer and a laser printer one can perform the publishing job all by oneself. Many
of the tasks requiring long manual hours, such as making table of contents and index, can be
­automatically performed using the computers and DTP software.
•• Banking: In the field of banking and finance, computers are extensively used. People can use the
automated teller machine (ATM) services 24 hours of the day to deposit and withdraw cash. When
different branches of a bank are connected through computer networks, inert-branch transactions
can be performed by the computers without any delay.
10. Draw the block diagram of a digital computer and explain its various components.
Ans: A computer can be viewed as a system, which consists of a number of interrelated components
that work together with the aim of converting data into information. There are several computer systems
in the market with a wide variety of makes, models and peripherals. In general, a computer system

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 Fundamentals of Computers I-13

­comprises four components, namely, central processing unit (CPU), input unit, output unit and storage
(or memory) unit. The block diagram of a digital computer is shown in Figure 1.1.

Memory
unit

Central processing unit Instruction flow

Data flow
Registers
Input Output
unit unit

Control Arithmetic /
unit logic unit

Figure 1.1 Block Diagram of Digital Computer

CPU
CPU, also known as ‘processor’, is the brain of the computer system that processes data (input) and
converts it into meaningful information (output). It is a highly complex, extensive set of electronic
circuitry, which executes stored program instructions. A CPU controls all internal and external ­devices,
performs arithmetic and logic operations, and operates only on binary data, that is, data composed of
1s and 0s. In addition, it also controls the usage of main memory to store data and instructions and
­controls the sequence of operations. The CPU consists of three main subsystems, which are described
as follows:
•• Arithmetic logic unit (ALU): This unit performs the arithmetic (add, subtract) and logical opera-
tions (and, or) on the data made available to it. Whenever an arithmetic or logical operation is
to be performed, the required data is transferred from the memory unit to ALU, the operation is
performed and the result is returned to memory unit. Before the completion of the processing, data
may need to be transferred back and forth several times between these two sections. Subsequently,
the results are transferred from internal storage to an output device.
•• Control unit (CU): This unit checks the correctness of the sequence of operations. It fetches the
program instructions from the memory unit, interprets them and ensures correct execution of the
program. It also controls the input/output devices and directs the overall functioning of the other
units of the computer.
•• Registers: These are the special-purpose; high-speed temporary memory units that can hold varied
information such as data, instructions, addresses and intermediate results of calculations. Essen-
tially, they hold the information that the CPU is currently working on. Registers can be considered
as the CPU’s working memory, a special additional storage location that provides the advantage
of speed.

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 I-14 Computer Fundamentals

Input and Output Unit

The user must enter instructions and data into the computer system before any operation can be
­performed on the given data. Similarly, after processing the data, the information must go out from the
computer system to the user. For this, every computer system incorporates input and output units that
serve as a communication media between the computer system and the user.
An ‘input unit’ accepts instructions and data from the user with the help of input devices such as
keyboard, mouse, light pen and so on. Since the data and instructions entered through different input
devices will be in different form, the input unit converts them into the form that the computer can under-
stand. After this, the input unit supplies the converted instructions and data to the computer for further
processing.
The ‘output unit’ performs just opposite to that of input unit. It accepts the outputs (which are in
machine-coded form) produced by the computer, converts them into the user understandable form and
supplies the converted results to the user with the help of an output devices such as printer, monitor and
plotter.

Storage Unit
A computer system incorporates ‘storage unit’ to store the input entered through input unit before
processing starts and to store the results produced by the computer before supplying them to the output
unit. The storage unit of a computer comprises two types of memory/storage, namely, ‘primary’ and
‘secondary’.
The primary memory (also called ‘main memory’) is the part of a computer that holds the instructions
and data currently being processed by the CPU, the intermediate results produced during the course of
calculations and the recently processed data. While the instructions and data remain in main memory, the
CPU can access them directly and quickly. However, primary memory is quite expensive and has a limited
storage capacity. Due to limited size of primary memory, a computer employs ‘secondary memory’, which
is extensively used for storing data and instructions. It supplies the stored information to the other units
of computer as and when required. It is less expensive and has higher storage capacity than the primary
memory. Some commonly used secondary storage devices are floppy disks, hard disks and tape drives.
11. Explain Von Neumann architecture.
Ans: The earliest computers such as ENIAC and Colossus were program-controlled machines in
which writing a new program or changing some existing program required re-wiring, restructuring or
redesigning the machines. Thus, programming in these computers was a quite tedious task. To ease the
programming process, an idea known as ‘stored program concept’ was proposed by a mathematician
and an early computer scientist named John Von Neumann. According to this concept, both data and
instructions are kept in the main memory. Thus, a computer could get its instructions from the memory
and the programs could be setup or changed from within the memory as well, without having to redesign
the computer. All the computers based on stored program concept are known as Von Neumann systems
employing the ‘Von Neumann architecture’.
Most of the conventional and today’s modern computers that are based on Von Neumann architecture
consists of four hardware components: a CPU with control unit, ALU, main memory and an I/O sys-
tem (see Figure 1.2). In addition, these computers can process the instructions in a sequential manner.
The architecture shown in Figure 1.2 depicts the working of a Von Neumann computer. Here, the I/O
instructions are passed through ALU to the control unit. All the programs are executed by following the

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 Fundamentals of Computers I-15

ALU Control unit

Input/
output
system
Main
memory
PC

Registers

Central processing unit

Figure 1.2 Von Neumann Architecture

‘Von Neumann execution cycle’ or ‘fetch-decode-execute cycle’, which describes the working of the
machine. One iteration of this cycle involves the following steps:
1. The control unit determines the location of the next program instruction to be executed using the
program counter and fetches it from the main memory.
2. The instruction is then decoded into the language understandable by the ALU.
3. The required data operands for executing the instructions are fetched from main memory and
stored into the CPU registers.
4. The instructions are executed by ALU and the results are placed in registers or memory.
12. What are the phases of information processing cycle? Explain briefly.
Ans: A task is assigned to computer in a set of step-by-step instructions, which is known
as ‘­program’. These instructions tell the computer what to do with input in order to produce the
required output. To complete any task, a computer performs three basic steps which are as follows
(see Figure 1.3):

Storage

Processing Output
Input

Figure 1.3 Basic Computer Operations

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 I-16 Computer Fundamentals

1. Accepts input: Computer input is whatever is entered or fed into a computer system. Input can
be supplied by the user (such as by using a keyboard) or by another computer or device (such as
a diskette or CD-ROM). Some examples of input include the words and symbols in a document,
numbers for a calculation and instructions for completing a process, and so on.
2. Processes the data: During this stage, the computer follows the instructions using the data that
have been input. Examples of processing include calculations, sorting lists of words or numbers
and modifying documents according to user instructions.
3. Produces output: Computer output is the information that has been produced by a computer.
Some examples of computer output include reports, documents and graphs. Output can be in sev-
eral different formats, such as printouts, or displayed on the screen.
13. Discuss some limitations of computers.
Ans: Although computers are widely used in various fields, but still they have some limitations
which are as follows:
•• The computers are faster, more diligent, accurate and versatile than human beings but they cannot
replace them. Thus, one can say that they do not have any intelligence.
•• They can only perform what they are programmed to do. They work only on stored procedures and
cannot think for themselves. Thus, they cannot make any decisions of their own.
•• They need well-defined instructions to perform any operation. Therefore, they are unable to give
any conclusion without going through intermediate steps and thus, cannot generate information
on their own.
•• Their use is limited in areas where qualitative considerations are important. For instance, they can make
plans based on situations and information but they cannot foresee whether they will succeed or not.
•• They cannot correct wrong instructions. If the instructions are not accurate then the working of
the computer will not be accurate. Therefore, computer will give wrong information if feed with
wrong data.
•• They need to be installed in a dust-free place. As some parts of computers get heated up due to
heavy processing, therefore, the ambient temperature of system should be maintained.
•• Computer parts require regular checking and maintenance in order to give correct result. This is
because sometimes a program which was running correctly for some period of time might produce
an error when re-run later.
14. What are the functions of a CPU? How does the CPU perform them?
Ans: The central processing unit (CPU) is referred to as the brain of a computer system as it converts
data (input) into meaningful information (output). Its functions can be summed up as follows:
•• Carrying out arithmetic and logic functions.
•• Controlling the use of main storage (memory) to store data and instructions.
•• Controlling the sequence of operations.
•• Controlling all the parts of the computer system
The CPU accomplishes its functions with the help of its three main subsystems (see Figure 1.4): the
arithmetic and logic unit (ALU), the control unit (CU) and the registers, which help the processor in
performing its functions correctly. These are described as follows:
•• ALU: It contains the electronic circuitry that executes all arithmetic and logical operations on the
data made available to it. The data required to perform the arithmetic and logical functions are
input from the designated registers. ALU comprises two units which are as follows:

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 Fundamentals of Computers I-17

Stores data and programs

Secondary storage

Makes
Sends data to
processed
the central Central processing unit
information
processing unit
Control Arithmetic/ available
unit logic unit
Input Output
Registers

Processing

Figure 1.4 CPU

MM Arithmetic unit (AU): It contains the circuitry that is responsible for performing the actual
computing and carrying out the arithmetic calculations, such as addition, subtraction,
­multiplication and division. It can perform these operations at a very high speed.
MM Logic unit (LU): It enables the CPU to make logical operations based on the instructions

provided to it. These operations are logical comparison between data items. The LU can com-
pare numbers, letters or special characters and can then take action based on the result of
the comparison. Logical operations of the LU test for three conditions: equal-to condition,
less-than condition and greater-than condition. In a test for ‘equal-to condition’, the ALU
compares two values to determine if they are equal. For example, if the number of tickets
sold equals the number of seats in a cinema hall, then houseful is declared. To test ‘less-than
condition’, the ALU compares values to determine if one is less than another. For example, if a
person purchases less than two tickets, then no discount rate is given. In a test for ‘greater-than
­condition’, the ALU determines if one value is greater than another. For example, if a person
purchases greater than two tickets, then discount rate is 5%.
•• CU: It contains circuitry that uses electrical signals to direct the entire computer system to carry
out, or execute, stored program instructions. This resembles orchestra leader who himself does not
play a musical instrument but directs other people to play the musical instrument in a harmonized
manner. It also does not execute program instructions; rather, it directs other parts of the system
to do so by communicating with both ALU and memory. It controls the I/O devices and transfer
of data to and from the primary storage. An analogy can be considered between the CU and the
traffic police. The CU decides which action will occur just as the traffic police takes decisions
on which lanes traffic will move or stop. It also determines what data are needed, where they are
stored and where to store the results of the operation as well as sends the control signals to the
devices involved in the execution of the instructions. It administers the movement of large amount
of instructions and data used by the computer. In order to maintain the proper sequence of events
required for any processing task, the CU uses clock inputs.

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 I-18 Computer Fundamentals

•• Registers: These are the special-purpose, high-speed temporary memory units. These are ­temporary
storage areas for holding various types of information such as data, instructions, addresses and the
intermediate results of calculations. Essentially, they hold the information that the CPU is cur-
rently working on. Registers can be thought of as CPU’s working memory, a special additional
storage location that offers the advantage of speed. Registers work under the direction of the CU to
accept, hold and transfer instructions or data and perform arithmetic or logical comparisons at high
speed. The CU uses a data storage register in the similar way a store owner uses a cash register as
a temporary, convenient place to store the transactions. As soon as a particular instruction or piece
of data is processed, the next instruction immediately replaces it, and the information that results
from the processing is returned to main memory. Table 1.2 lists some of the important registers
used in CPU.

Table 1.2 Registers and Functions

Register Name Function
Program counter (PC) It keeps track of the next instruction to be executed.
Instruction register (IR) It holds the instruction to be decoded by the control unit.
Memory address register (MAR) It holds the address of the next location in memory to be accessed.
Memory buffer register (MBR) It is used for storing data either coming to the CPU or data being
transferred by the CPU.
Accumulator (ACC) It is a general-purpose register used for storing temporary results and
results produced by ALU.
Data register (DR) It is used for storing the operands and other data.

15. Explain the concept of main memory and its types.

Ans: The ‘memory’ is the part of the computer that holds data and instructions for processing.
­Logically it is an integral component of the CPU but physically it is a separate part placed on the com-
puter’s motherboard. It stores program instructions or data for only as long as they pertain the program
to be in operation. The CPU accesses the main memory in random manner, that is, the CPU can access
any location of this memory to either read information from it or store information in it.
The memory in a computer system is of three fundamental types which are as follows:
•• Internal processor memory: This memory is placed within the CPU (processor) or is attached to
a special fast bus. Internal memory usually includes cache memory and special registers, both of
which can be directly accessed by the processor. This memory is used for temporary storage of data
and instructions on which the CPU is currently working. It is the fastest among all the memories
but is the most expensive also. Therefore, a very diminutive part of internal processor memory
is used in the computer system. It is generally used to compensate for the speed gap between the
primary memory and the processor.
•• Primary memory: Random Access Memory (RAM) and Read Only Memory (ROM) fall under
the category of the primary memory. This memory is also known as ‘main memory’. Every com-
puter comes with a small amount of ROM that contains the boot firmware (called ‘BIOS’). This
holds enough information to enable the computer to check its hardware and load its operating
system into RAM at the time of system booting. RAM is the place where the computer temporarily

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 Fundamentals of Computers I-19

stores its operating system, application programs and current data so that the computer’s ­processor
can reach them quickly and easily. It is volatile in nature, that is, when the power is switched off;
the data in this memory are lost. Unlike RAM, ROM is non-volatile. Even when the computer is
switched off, the contents of the ROM remain available.
•• Secondary memory: This memory (also known as ‘auxiliary memory’) provides backup stor-
age for instructions (computer programs) and data. The most commonly used secondary storage
devices are magnetic disk and magnetic tapes. These are the least expensive as well as have much
larger storage capacity than primary memory. The instructions and data stored on secondary stor-
age devices are permanent in nature. They can only be removed if the user wants it so or the device
is destroyed. Secondary memory can also be used as ‘overflow memory’ (also known as ‘virtual
memory’), when the capacity of main memory is surpassed. It is to be noted that that unlike pro-
cessor memory and main memory, secondary memory is not directly accessible to the processor.
Firstly, the data and instructions from secondary memory have to be shifted to main memory and
then to the processor.

Low
Fast High
y
cit
pa

Internal Co
ca

Reg
is st
d

cach ters, processor

e

ee
ag

e
sp

mem
memory
or

ory
St

ss
ce
Ac

RAM
, RO ory
M Primary mem
High
Magn
Slow etic ta
pe, m
agne emory
tic dis
k Secondary m
w
Lo

Figure 1.5 Memory Hierarchy

Figure 1.5 illustrates the memory hierarchy. The CPU accesses memory according to a distinct hier-
archy. When the data come from permanent storage (for example, hard disk), firstly they go in RAM.
The reason behind it is that if the CPU has to access the hard disk constantly to retrieve every piece of
required data, it would operate very slowly. When the data are kept in primary memory, the CPU can
access them more quickly. Subsequently, the CPU stores the required pieces of data and instructions in
processor memory (cache and registers) to process the data.
16. What is cache? What are the uses or advantages of cache memory? Explain with the help
of an example.
Ans: The ‘cache’ is a very high speed, expensive piece of memory, which is used to speed up the
memory retrieval process. Without the cache memory, every request from CPU to access data would be
sent to the main memory, which in response sends the data back to CPU through the system bus. This
is a slow process in computing terms, so to overcome this problem cache memory has been introduced.

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 I-20 Computer Fundamentals

This extremely fast memory would store data that are frequently accessed. This achieves the quickest
possible response time to the CPU. However, it is very expensive.
Consider an example of library system. When a person comes into the library and asks for a book,
the librarian searches for the requested book in the bookshelves, retrieves the book and delivers it to the
person. After the person reads the book, it is returned to the library. At the same time, if any other person
comes in requesting the same book, which is still placed on the librarian’s desk, the librarian does not
have to go through the process of searching the book in the bookshelves. This results in saving of pre-
cious time in retrieving the requested book, and thus improving the efficiency of the work. This analogy
can be related to computer’s cache system. The computer uses logic to determine which data are the
most frequently accessed and keeps them in the cache.
17. Discuss different types of cache.
Ans: A cache is a piece of very fast memory, made from high-speed static RAM that reduces the
access time of the data. It is generally incorporated in the processor, where valuable data and program
segments are kept. Cache memory can be categorized into three levels, which are described as follows:
•• L1 cache: This cache is closest to the processor and hence is termed as ‘primary’ or L1 ‘cache’.
Each time the processor requests information from memory, the cache controller on the chip uses
special circuitry to first check if the requested data are already in the cache. If it is present, then
the system is spared from time-consuming access to the main memory. In a typical CPU, primary
cache ranges in size from 8 to 64 KB, with larger amounts on the newer processors. This type of
cache memory is very fast because it runs at the speed of the processor since it is integrated into it.
•• L2 cache: This cache is larger but slower in speed than L1 cache. It is used to see recent accesses
that is not picked by L1 cache and is usually 64 to 2 MB in size. An L2 cache is also found on the
CPU. If L1 and L2 cache are used together, then the missing information that is not present in L1
cache can be retrieved quickly from the L2 cache.
•• L3 cache: This cache memory is an enhanced form of memory present on the motherboard of
the computer. It is an extra cache built into the motherboard between the processor and the main
memory to speed up the processing operations. It reduces the time gap between request and
retrieval of the data and instructions thereby accessing data much more quickly than main memory.
L3 cache is being used with processors nowadays having more than 3 MB of storage in it.
18. Distinguish between primary memory and secondary memory.
Ans: The two basic types of memories are primary memory and secondary memory. Some of the
differences between these two memories are listed in Table 1.3.

Table 1.3 Differences between Primary Memory and Secondary Memory

Primary Memory Secondary Memory
• It is directly accessed by the CPU for the purpose of storing and • It is not directly accessible by the CPU.
retrieving information. • It is accessed by using input/output channels.
• It is accessed with the help of address bus and data bus. • It holds the data even when the power is turned off, that is,
• It does not hold the data when the power is turned off, that is, it it is non-volatile in nature.
is volatile in nature. • It is comparatively slower.
• It is much faster than secondary memory. • Secondary memory devices are less costly. Therefore,
• It is more costly as compared to secondary memory. Therefore, a computer system usually comprises much larger
a computer system usually comprises a small primary memory. ­secondary memory.

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 Fundamentals of Computers I-21

19. How can data be accessed from secondary storage devices?

Ans: Secondary storage devices facilitate storing of data and instructions permanently. The data
stored on a secondary storage device can be accessed, depending upon how they stored on the device.
Primarily, there are two methods of accessing data from the secondary storage devices which are as
follows:
•• Sequential access: It means the computer system must search the storage device from the
­beginning until the desired data are found. The most common sequential access storage device is
magnetic tape where data are stored and processed sequentially. Suppose, a tape contains informa-
tion regarding employees of an organization. Now, to look for employee number 100’s ­information,
the computer will have to start with employee number 1 and then go past 2, 3 and so on, until it
finally comes to 100. The sequential access method is quite simple than other methods but search-
ing for data is slow.
•• Direct access: It means that the computer can go directly to the location, where the data that the
user wants, is stored. The direct access method is also called ‘random access’. The most common
direct access storage devices are magnetic disk and optical disk. In these devices, the data is stored
as a numbered sequence of blocks. Thus, one can access block 12, then access block 78 and then
block 2. The direct access method is ideal for applications such as airline reservation systems or
computer-based directory assistance operations. In these cases, there is no fixed pattern of the
requests for data.
20. Differentiate between RAM and ROM.
Ans: Both RAM and ROM fall under primary memory. But, still there exits some differences
between them, which is listed in Table 1.4.

Table 1.4 Differences between RAM and ROM

RAM ROM
• RAM is a form of memory in which one can both read and • As it is a read only memory, so it can only be read by the CPU.
write the required data. Hence, users cannot write anything into it.
• It is a volatile memory, that is, it stores the data temporar- • It is a non-volatile memory, that is, it stores the data
ily. The information gets erased when the power is switched ­permanently. Its contents are not lost even when the
off. power is switched off.
• It is used where the data changes on frequent basis. • Its contents are written at the time of its IC fabrication, thus its
• It is also known as ‘direct access memory’, since it can be data is not changed.
directly accessed by the user. • It is not accessible to user.

21. Explain in brief various types of RAM.

Ans: ‘RAM’ is like the computer’s scratch card. It allows the computer to store data for immediate
manipulation and to keep track of what is currently being processed. It is the place in a computer where
the operating system, application programs and data in current use are kept so that they can be accessed
quickly by the computer’s processor. It is much faster to read from and write to than the other kinds of
storage in a computer such as the hard disk or floppy disk. RAM is of two types which are as follows:
•• Static RAM (SRAM): The word static indicates that the memory retains its contents as long as
power is being supplied. However, as soon as the power goes down, the data is lost. This makes
SRAM a volatile memory as opposed to read only memory (ROM). SRAM need not be refreshed

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 I-22 Computer Fundamentals

(pulse of current through all the memory cells) periodically. It is very fast but much more ­expensive
than DRAM. SRAM is often used as cache memory due to its high speed.
•• Dynamic RAM (DRAM): It is named so because it is very unstable. The data continues to move
in and out of the memory as long as power is available. Unlike SRAM, DRAM must be continually
refreshed in order to maintain the data. This is done by placing the memory on a refresh circuit
that rewrites the data several hundred times per second. DRAM is used for most system memory
because it is cheap and small.
22. What is the difference between SRAM and DRAM?
Ans: The primary difference between SRAM and DRAM is the life of the data they store. SRAM
retains its contents as long as electrical power is supplied to the chip. If the power is turned off, its
contents are lost. On the other hand, DRAM must be continuously refreshed after about every 15 micro-
seconds. This is true even when power is supplied constantly. SRAM chips are not as dense as DRAM
chips, that is, the total number of cells in the SRAM chip is less than that on DRAM chip. SRAM is
beneficial because it is fast, has low latency (the time lag between a request and the action being per-
formed), and need not be refreshed. However, it is large and expensive, requires more power to operate
and produces a lot of heat. In contrast, DRAM is simple, small and space efficient. It may be slower
and may have a longer latency than SRAM, but it is still very useful. Typical access time of SRAM is
25 nanoseconds, whereas of DRAM 60 nanoseconds. SRAM is useful for low amount of memory. Any-
thing over 4 MB is very bulky. SRAM is good for internal memory in processors, and cache, but DRAM
is best for system’s main memory. DRAM is used where its small size and power efficiency outweigh
its slowness as compared to SRAM.
23. Explain in brief various types of ROM.
Ans: Memories in the ROM family are distinguished by the methods used to write data on them and
the number of times they can be rewritten. This classification reflects the evolution of ROM devices
from hard-wired to programmable to erasable-and-programmable. One common feature of all these
devices is their ability to retain data and programs even during a power failure. ROMs are of different
types which are as follows:
•• Masked ROM: The very first ROMs, known as masked ROMs, were hard-wired devices that con-
tained a pre-programmed set of data or instructions. The contents of such ROMs had to be specified
before chip production so the actual data could be used to arrange the transistors inside the chip.
•• Programmable ROM (PROM): Creating a ROM chip from scratch is a time-consuming and an
expensive process. For this reason, developers created a type of ROM known as Programmable
Read-only Memory (PROM), which can be programmed. Blank PROM chips can be bought eco-
nomically and coded by the users with the help of a special device known as ‘PROM-programmer’.
However, once a PROM has been programmed, its contents can never be changed. As a result,
PROM is also known as ‘one-time programmable’ (‘OTP’) device. Like other ROMs, PROM is
also non-volatile. However, it is more fragile than other ROMs as a jolt of static electricity can
easily cause fuses in the PROM to burn out, thus changing the bit pattern from 1 to 0. Nevertheless,
blank PROMs are economical and are great for prototyping the data for a ROM before committing
to the costly ROM fabrication process.
•• Erasable programmable ROM (EPROM): This type of ROM is programmed in exactly the same
manner as a PROM. However, unlike PROM, an EPROM can be erased and reprogrammed repeat-
edly. It can be erased by simply exposing the device to a strong source of ultraviolet light for a certain

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 Fundamentals of Computers I-23

amount of time. Note that an EPROM eraser is not selective; it will erase the entire EPROM. Although
EPROM is more expensive than PROM, its ability to be reprogrammed makes it more useful.
•• Electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM): This type of ROM can be erased by an
electrical charge and then written to by using slightly higher-than-normal voltage. EEPROM can
be erased one byte at a time, rather than erasing the entire chip with ultraviolet light. Hence, the
process of re-programming is flexible, but slow. Also, changing the contents does not require any
additional committed equipment. As these chips can be changed without opening a casing, they are
often used to store programmable instructions in devices such as printers.
•• Flash ROM: This type of ROM is also called ‘flash BIOS’ or ‘flash memory’. It is a type of
constantly powered non-volatile memory that can be erased and re-programmed in blocks. It is a
variation of EEPROM, which, unlike flash memory, is erased and rewritten at the byte level. Flash
memory is often used to hold the control code such as the BIOS in a personal computer. When
BIOS needs to be changed or rewritten, the flash memory can be written in block (rather than
byte) sizes, thus making it easier to update. Flash memory gets its name because the microchip is
organized so that a section of memory cells are erased in a single action or ‘flash’. Flash memory
is used in digital cellular phones, digital cameras and other devices.
24. List various units which help in measuring the computer memory.
Ans: All the quantities, physical or otherwise, are measured in some units. For example, length is
measured in meters and mass in grams. Likewise, for measuring computer memory, a standard unit is
required. Various units which are used to measure computer memory are as follows:
•• Bit: It is the smallest unit of data on a machine and a single bit can hold only one of two values:
0 or 1. Bit is represented as b.
•• Byte: A unit of eight bits is known as a byte. Hence, a byte is able to contain any binary number
between 00000000 and 11111111. It is represented as B.
•• Kilobyte: In a decimal system, kilo stands for 1000, but in a binary system, kilo refers to 1024.
Therefore, a kilobyte is equal to 1024 bytes. It is usually represented as KB.
•• Megabyte: It comprises 1024 kilobytes, or 1,048,576 bytes. However, since this number is hard
to remember, a megabyte can be thought of as a million bytes. Megabyte is the standard unit of
measurement for RAM and is represented as MB.
•• Gigabyte: It consists of 1024 megabytes (1,073,741,824 bytes). It is the standard unit of measure-
ment for hard disks and is often represented as GB.
•• Terabyte: It refers to 1024 gigabytes and is often represented as TB. Terabyte memory is usually
associated with super computers only.
25. What are the different types of ports and interfaces associated with computer?
(or)
Mention the standard I/O ports available in a computer.
Ans: Ports and interfaces are a generic name for the various holes (and their associated electronics),
found at the back of the computer, using which external devices are connected to the computer’s mother-
board. Different interfaces and ports run at varying speeds and work best with specific types of devices.
The different types of ports used in computers are as follows:
•• PS/2 port: It is a standard serial port connector used to plug computer mouse and keyboards into
personal computer. It consists of 6 pins in small, round shape socket.

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 I-24 Computer Fundamentals

•• Serial port: It is a general-purpose communications port, through which data is passed serially,
that is, one bit at a time. These ports are used for transmitting data over long distances. In the past,
most digital cameras were connected to a computer’s serial port in order to transfer images to the
computer.
•• Parallel port: It is an interface on a computer that supports transmission of multiple bits of data
(usually 8 bits) at the same time. This port transmits data faster than a serial port and is exclusively
used for connecting peripherals such as printers and CD-ROM drives.
•• SCSI port: These ports are used in transmitting data up to seven devices in a daisy chain fashion
and at a speed faster than serial and parallel ports (usually 32 bits at a time). These ports are hard-
ware interface, which includes an expansion board that plugs into the computer called a ‘SCSI host
adapter’ or ‘SCSI controller’. Device which can be connected to SCSI ports are hard-disk drives
and network adapters.
•• Universal serial bus (USB) port: It is a plug-and-play hardware interface for connecting periph-
erals such as the keyboard, mouse, joystick, scanner, printer and modem. It supports a maximum
bandwidth of 12 MB/sec and has the capability to connect up to 127 devices. With USB port, a new
device can be added to the computer without adding an adapter card. These ports are ­replacement
for parallel and serial ports.
26. What are the factors that affect the processing speed of a computer?
Ans: There are several factors that contribute to or affect the performance and processing speed of a
computer. These are described as follows:
•• Processor speed: CPU carries out all major functions required for computer processing. Thus, its
speed (measured in megahertz) is one of the most important factors that affect the performance of
a computer. More the speed of the processor, faster the computer will perform.
•• CPU registers: The size of a CPU register indicates the word size of a computer, which means the
amount of data a computer can work with at a given time. The bigger the word size of computer,
more quickly the computer will process the data.
•• RAM: The amount of RAM in a computer plays a major contribution to the performance of a com-
puter. More is the amount of RAM in a computer, more and bigger programs can remain active in
memory and executed at a faster speed. This ultimately makes the computer run faster.
•• Computer bus: A ‘bus’ is a set of connections between two or more components of a computer,
which are designed to transfer several/all bits of a word from source to destination. It is a shared
media of information transfer. There are two types of buses which are mainly used in a computer,
namely, data bus and address bus. The ‘data bus’ is a group of parallel lines that connects the CPU,
memory and other hardware devices on the motherboard. Depending on the number of wires in it,
one can measure the speed at which data travels between hardware components. For example, if
there is an eight-wire bus, then it is capable of transmitting eight bits at a given time. On the other
hand, the ‘address bus’ is an electric path that connects the CPU and RAM and carries the memory
addresses. The number of wires in it determines the amount of RAM that a CPU can address at a
time. For example, if the address bus contains eight wires then it means, the CPU can address 28,
i.e., 256 bytes of RAM at a time. Hence, greater the width of data and address bus, faster will be
the computer.
•• Viruses: Viruses when enter in a computer run silently in the background, utilizing system
resources. They also start corrupting the data and programs, due to which the systems get slower
or even may crash.

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 Fundamentals of Computers I-25

27. Explain the specifications of CPU on which its performance can be compared.
Ans: There are several specifications on the basis of which processors’ performance can be com-
pared. Some of these specifications are as follows:
•• Series: Today, there are several processor series available in the market which has a great impact
on processors’ performance. Few examples of processor series include Core 2 Duo, Core i7,
Athlon 64 × 2 and Phenom II × 4. Each of these series has different size of cache, number of
cores, price and other features. The processor series help us to determine if the processor is a
low-end, mainstream or high-end one.
•• Multi-core (Dual, triple or quad core): Today, multi-core processors are available in the market
in which more than CPU core are put on a single chip. If the two CPU cores are put on a single chip
then the processor is called ‘dual-core processor’. Similarly when three cores are placed on a single
chip, then it is called ‘triple-core processor’ and so on. More the number of cores present in the
processor, the faster the CPU will perform. However, more number of cores results into increased
power consumption.
•• Frequency: It refers to the speed at which the processor runs. It is one of the most important fac-
tors in measuring the performance of CPU.
•• Cache: Cache is the fastest piece of memory used by the processor to store data that are to be
processed or the recently accessed data. The size of cache memory greatly affects the performance
of processor. This is because more the cache we have, more data can be stored by a processor and
more quickly data can be accessed too.
•• 64-bit support: In earlier times, computer users switched from 16-bit processor to 32-bit processor
so that a larger amount of computer memory could be addressed by the CPU at a time. Nowadays,
users are switching to 64-bit processors in order to improve the performance of processor.
28. How does one specify the configuration of a computer system?
Ans: The way a system is setup, or the assortment of components that makes up the system, is
termed as the ‘configuration of a PC’. The configuration can refer to either hardware or software, or
both. The typical computer configuration includes RAM (latest 3GB and minimal-512MB), hard disk
(latest-500GB and minimal-160GB), modem, DVD-writer, LCD monitor, Windows operating system
(latest versions are 7, vista), processor (earlier-Intel dual core and latest-Intel core 2 Quad), mother-
board, keyboard and optical mouse.
29. With a neat sketch, explain the working of magnetic disk.
Ans: Magnetic disks are the widely used and popular medium for direct access secondary storage.
They offer high storage capacity and reliability and have capability to access the stored data directly.
A magnetic disk consists of a plastic/metal circular plate/platter, which is coated with magnetic oxide
layer. Data are represented as magnetized spots on a disk. A magnetized spot represents 1 and the
absence of a magnetized spot represents 0. To read the data, the magnetized spots on the disk are con-
verted into electrical impulses, which are then transferred to the processor. To write the data onto disk,
the electrical impulses received from the processor are converted into magnetized spots on the disk. The
data in a magnetic disk can be erased and reused virtually infinitely. The disk is designed to reside in a
protective case or cartridge to shield it from the dust and other external interference.
Data in a magnetic disk are recorded on the surface of the circular tracks with the help of read/write
head, which is mounted on the access arm assembly. These heads can be in multiple numbers to access
the adjacent tracks simultaneously and making a disk faster. The access arm assembly can be positioned

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 I-26 Computer Fundamentals

in both inward and outward direction so that the read/write head can move on the horizontal surfaces of
the disk. In case of multiple disk packs, each disk surface has its own read/write head, which works in
harmony with other heads to record the data. Therefore, information is stored on the tracks, constituting
a cylindrical shape through a disk pack (see Figure 1.6). The process of accessing data from magnetic
disk comprises three steps which are as follows:
1. Seek: As soon as the disk unit receives the read/write command, the read/write heads are posi-
tioned on the specific track on the disk platter. The time taken in doing so is known as ‘seek time’.
It is the average time required to move the heads to the desired track on the disk. Seek times of
modern disks may range between 2–15 milliseconds but the seek time of most common disks is
9 milliseconds.
2. Rotate: Once the heads are positioned on the desired track, the head of the specific platter is acti-
vated. Since the disk is rotated constantly, the head has to wait for the required sector or cluster
(desired data) to come under it. This waiting time is known as ‘rotational delay time’ or ‘latency’
of the disk. The rotational latency of a disk with 7200 rpm is 4.17 milliseconds.
3. Data transfer: Once the read/write head is positioned over the desired sector, the data can be
transferred to or from the disk to primary memory. The rate at which the data is read from or writ-
ten to the disk is known as ‘data transfer rate’. It is measured in kilobits per second (kbps). The
data transfer rate depends upon the rotational speed of the disk. If the disk has a rotational speed
of 6,000 rpm (rotations per minute), having 125 sectors and 512 bytes/sector, the data transfer rate
per rotation will be 125 × 512 = 64,000 bytes. Hence, the total transfer rate per second will be
64,000 × 6,000/60 = 6,400,000 bytes/second or 6.4 MB/second.

Disk arm
Shaft Cylinder Read/write assembly
head

Rotation
Platter

Figure 1.6 Disk pack and cylinder

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 Fundamentals of Computers I-27

30. What do you mean by optical disk?

Ans: An ‘optical disk’ is a flat, circular, plastic disk coated with material on which bits may be stored
in the form of highly reflective areas and significantly less reflective areas, from which the stored data
may be read when illuminated with a narrow-beam source, such as a laser diode. These disks are capable
of storing enormously high amount of data in a limited amount of space. The optical disk storage system
consists of a rotating disk coated with a thin layer of metal (aluminium, gold or silver) that acts as a
reflective surface and a laser beam, which is used as a read/write head for recording data onto the disk.
Optical disk comes in various sizes and capacities which are made in somewhat different ways for dif-
ferent purposes. ‘Compact disk’ (‘CD’), ‘digital versatile disk’ (‘DVD’), and ‘blu-ray disk’ (‘BD’) are
the three forms of optical disks. Each requires a different type of disk drive for being accessed.
31. Explain the following storage devices:
(a) Floppy disk
(b) Hard disk
(c)  CD
(d) DVD
Ans:
(a) A ‘floppy disk’ is a round, flat piece of Mylar plastic coated with ferric oxide (a rust-like sub-
stance containing tiny particles capable of holding a magnetic field) and encased in a protec-
tive plastic cover (disk jacket). It is a removable disk and is read and written by a floppy disk
drive (FDD), which is a device that performs the basic operation on a disk, including rotating
the disk and reading and writing data onto it. The data on the floppy disk can easily be accessed
randomly. The disk drive’s read/write head alters the magnetic orientation of the particles,
where orientation in one-direction represents ‘1’ and orientation in the other represents ‘0’.
  Traditionally, floppy disks were used on personal computers to distribute software, transfer
data between computers and create small backups. Earlier, 5¼-inch floppy disks were used.
Later, a new format of 3½-inch floppy disk came into existence, which has larger storage capac-
ity and supports faster data transfer as compared to 5¼-inch floppy disks. Floppy diskettes are
small, inexpensive, readily available, easy to store and have a good shelf life if stored properly.
They also possess the write-protect feature, which allows the users to protect a diskette from
being written on. To write-protect a diskette, the user has to shift a slide lever towards the edge
of the disk, uncovering a hole. The key advantage of floppy disk is that it is portable.
(b) The ‘hard disk’, also called the ‘hard drive’, is the major storage unit of the computer. It con-
sists of a stack of disk platters that are made up of aluminium alloy or glass substrate coated
with a magnetic material and protective layers. They are tightly sealed to prevent any dust
particle, which causes head crash, from getting inside. Hard disk can be external (removable)
or internal (fixed) and can hold a large amount of data. The capacity that is the amount of infor-
mation that a hard disk can store is measured in bytes. A typical computer today comes with
80–320 GB of hard disk. The storage capacity of hard disk has increased dramatically since
the day it was introduced. The hard disk speed is measured in terms of access time (typically in
milliseconds). A hard disk with lower access time is faster than a hard disk with higher access
time; the lower the access time, the faster the hard disk.
(c) CD (‘Compact Disk’) is the most popular and the least expensive type of optical disk. It was
originally intended only for storing music (in the form of digital audio) and can record about
80 minutes of uninterrupted playing time. A CD is capable of being used as a data storage
device along with storing of digital audio.

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 I-28 Computer Fundamentals

  A CD is a shiny, silver colour metal disk of 12 cm in diameter. A typical optical disk is made
up of three layers: a polycarbonate base through which light can pass, a layer of aluminium
and a protective layer of acrylic on top of that. The pits of CD are typically 0.5 microns wide,
0.83–3 microns long and 0.15 microns deep. A CD has one track that spirals from the centre to
the outside edge. If one could remove the track from a standard 12 cm CD, it would stretch for
three and a half miles. The single track is divided into sectors of equal length and density. Files
are stored on these particular contiguous sectors. CDs are available in various formats, namely,
CD-ROM (compact disk-read only memory), CD-R (compact disk-recordable) and CD-RW
(compact disk-rewritable) disks.
(d) ‘DVD’ (‘Digital Versatile Disk’), initially called ‘Digital Video Disk’, is a high-capacity data
storage medium. At first glance, a DVD can easily be mistaken for a CD as both are plastic
disks 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick and both rely on lasers to read data. However, the
DVD’s seven-fold increase in data capacity over the CD has been largely achieved by tighten-
ing up the tolerances throughout the predecessor system. In DVD, the tracks are placed closer
together, thereby allowing more tracks per disk. The DVD’s track pitch (the distance between
each) is reduced to 0.74 micron, less than half of CD’s 1.6 micron. The pits, in which the data
is stored, are also a lot smaller, thus allowing more pits per track. The minimum pit length of a
single layer DVD is 0.4 micron as compared to 0.834 micron for a CD. With the number of pits
having a direct bearing on capacity levels, DVD’s reduced track pitch and pit size alone give
DVDs four times the storage capacity of CDs.
32. What do you mean by CD-ROM, CD-R and CD-RW?
Ans: A ‘CD-ROM’ disk comes with pre-recorded data by the manufactures and can be read but can-
not be altered. ‘CD-R’ is a type of ‘WORM’ (‘write once-read many’) disk that allows you to record
your own data. Once written, the data on the CD-R can be read but cannot be altered. A ‘CD-RW’ disk
is rewritable version of CD-R that means, it allows writing, erasing and rewriting of data several times.
The data recorded on all CD formats can be read using the CD-ROM drive; however, to write data on
CD-R and CD-RW disks, one needs a special peripheral device known as ‘CD-writer’ (or ‘CD-burner’).
33. Differentiate between magnetic storage and optical storage.
Ans: Though both magnetic and optical storage are the secondary memories, there is a huge difference
in their storage techniques, storage capacities, etc. Some differences between the two are listed in Table 1.5.

Table 1.5 Differences between Magnetic Storage and Optical Storage

Magnetic storage Optical storage
• Magnetic storage devices store the data in magnetic form. • Optical storage devices store the data optically, that is, use
• They tend to have large storage capacity as compared to opti- a laser beam to read/write.
cal media. For example, hard disks. • They have limited storage capacity as compared to magnetic
• They are optimized for high speed. media.
• Magnetic storage technology has been used for computers • They are much slower as compared to the magnetic media.
since 1950. Thus, they are used to store important files and For example, CDs and DVDs can access the data at a faster
software. rate to play music and movies, but are slower than hard disks.
• They are affected by magnetic field. • This technology is used for keeping portable data such as
• These storage devices are not as portable as optical devices as movies and music.
they are mostly placed inside the computer. Moreover, if mag- • They are not affected by magnetic field.
netic devices are kept near to a strong magnetic field area (such • These storage devices are portable as they are smaller in
as loudspeaker), then the device is more likely to get damaged. size, light weight and removable.

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 Fundamentals of Computers I-29

34. A magnetic disk pack has 12 surfaces out of which 10 are readable. Each surface has 50
tracks and each track is divided into a number of sectors. If the total capacity of the disk
pack is 5,000 KB and the capacity of each sector is 512 bytes then:
(a) How many cylinders are present in the disk pack?
(b) How many sectors are present on each track?
Ans:
(a) Number of cylinders = 12 × 50
            = 600
5, 000 × 1, 024
(b) Number of sectors = = 10, 000
512
35. What are input devices and output devices?
Ans: An ‘input device’ is an electromechanical device that allows the user to feed information into
the computer for analysis, storage and to give commands to the computer. Data and instructions are
entered into the computer’s memory through an input device. It captures information and translates it
into a form that can be processed and used by the other parts of the computer.
After processing the input data, the computer provides the results with the help of output devices.
An ‘output device’ converts machine-readable information into human-readable form. The basic
­functioning of output device is just the opposite of the input device, that is, the data is fed into the
computer system through the input device while the output is taken out from the computer through
the output device. However, the output, which comes out from CPU, is in the form of digital signals.
The output devices display the processed information by converting them into graphical, alphanumeric
or audio-visual form.
36. List various input, output and input-output devices.
Ans: Some of the basic input, output and input-output devices are listed as follows:
•• Input devices
MM Keyboard

MM Graphics tablet

MM Trackball

MM Barcode reader

MM Gamepad

MM Joystick

MM Microphone

MM Mouse (pointing device)

MM Scanner

MM Webcam

MM Touchpad

MM Light pen

MM Microphone

MM Electronic whiteboard

•• Output devices
MM Monitor

MM Printer

MM Plotter

M01_ITL-ESL4791_01_SE_C01.indd 29 12/22/2012 4:52:24 PM

 I-30 Computer Fundamentals

MM Projector
MM Computer output microfilm (COM)
MM Speakers
•• Input-output devices
MM Modems

MM Network cards

MM Touch screen

MM Headsets

MM Audio card/sound card

MM CD

MM Hard drive

MM Digital camera

37. Discuss the operations of the following devices:

(a) Light pen
(b) Touch screen
(c) Game controller
Ans:
(a) A ‘light pen’ (sometimes called a ‘mouse pen’) is a hand-held electro-optical pointing device
which when touched to or aimed closely at a connected computer monitor, will allow the
computer to determine where on that screen the pen is aimed. It facilitates drawing images
and selects objects on the display screen by directly pointing to the objects. It is a pen-like
device that can be used directly on the monitor screen without requiring any special hand/eye
coordinating skills. As the light pen moves over the screen, the lines or images are drawn. The
working of light pen is as follows:
The light pen contains a lens and a photo detector located in its tip. When the electron beam
that sweeps the monitor strikes the phosphor within the light pen’s field of view, the light
emitted by the phosphor is focused through the lens and onto the photo detector. Due to this,
the signal current is increased and is transmitted to the computer. The position of the beam
is tracked by the horizontal and vertical counters, which relay this information to a register.
This cycle is repeated for every frame produced by the electron beam. By noting when a scan
goes by and measuring the interval between scan lines or entire screen refreshes, an accurate
position of the photo detector on the screen is determined. The light pen software generates
x-y vectors corresponding to a point on the screen, which may be used to make a selection by
activating a switch on the light pen.
(b) A ‘touch screen’ is a special kind of input device that allows the direct selection of a menu item
or the desired icon with the touch of finger. Essentially, it registers the input when a finger
or other object is touched to the screen. Typically, it is used in information-providing systems
such as hospitals, airlines and railway reservation counters, amusement parks, etc. The working
of touch screen is described as follows:
A basic touch screen has three main components; namely, a touch sensor, a controller and
a software driver. The ‘touch sensor’ or panel is a clear glass panel with a touch responsive
surface. It is placed over a display screen so that the responsive area of the panel covers the
viewable area of the video screen. There are several different touch sensor technologies in

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 Fundamentals of Computers I-31

the market today, each using a different method to detect touch input. These methods are
optical, acoustical and electrical methods. In optical method, the infrared beams interlace the
surface of the screen and when a light beam is broken, that particular location is recorded.
In acoustical method, the ultrasonic acoustic waves pass over the surface of the screen
and when the wave signals are interrupted by some contact with the screen, the location is
recorded. In electrical method, the panel has an electrical current going through it and touch-
ing the screen causes a voltage change, which is used to determine the location of the touch
to the screen. The controller connects the touch sensor and the computer. It takes information
from the touch sensor and translates it into information that a computer can understand. The
driver is a software update for the computer system that allows the touch screen and computer
to work together. It tells the operating system how to interpret the touch event information that
is sent from the controller.
(c) A ‘game controller’ (also known as ‘joystick’) is a pointing device that moves in all directions
and controls the movement of the cursor. The basic design of a joystick consists of a stick that
is attached to a plastic base with a flexible rubber sheath. This plastic base houses a circuit
board that sits beneath the stick. The electronic circuitry measures the movement of the stick
from its central position and sends the information for processing. Joystick also consists of
buttons which can be programmed to indicate certain actions once a position on the screen
has been selected using stick. It offers three types of control, namely, digital, glide and direct.
Digital control allows movement in a limited number of directions such as up, down, left and
right. Glide and direct control allow movements in all directions (360 degrees). Direct control
joysticks have the added ability to respond to the distance and speed with which the user moves
the stick. The various applications in which joystick is used are flight simulators, playing com-
puter games, training simulators, CAD/CAM systems and for controlling industrial robots. The
working of joystick is as follows:
A joystick is designed to inform the computer about the positioning of the stick at any
given time. This is done by providing the x-y coordinates of the stick. The x-axis represents
the side-to-side position and the y-axis represents the forward block position. The circuit
board that sits directly underneath the stick carries electricity from one contact point to
another. When the joystick is in neutral position, all but one of the individual circuits is bro-
ken. Each broken section is covered with a simple plastic button containing a tiny metal disc.
When the stick is moved in any direction, it pushes down on one of these buttons, pressing
the conductive metal disc against the circuit board. This closes the circuit, that is, it com-
pletes the connection between the two wire sections. When the circuit is closed, electricity
can flow down a wire from the computer and to another wire leading back to the computer.
When the computer picks up a charge on a particular wire, it knows that the joystick is in the
right position to complete that particular circuit. The joystick buttons work exactly the same
way. When a button is pressed down, it completes a circuit and the computer recognises a
command.
38. Explain in brief about OCR.
Ans: ‘OCR’ (‘optical character recognition’) is a software that scans the text document. This means
that OCR software translates the bitmap image of text to the ASCII codes that the computer can inter-
pret as letters, numbers and special characters. Because of OCR, data entry becomes easier, error-free
and less time consuming. However, it is very expensive and if the document is not typed properly, it

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 I-32 Computer Fundamentals

will become difficult for the OCR to recognize the characters. Furthermore, except for tab stops and
paragraph marks, most documents formatting are lost during text scanning. The output from a finished
text scan will be a single column editable text file. This text file will always require spell checking and
proof reading as well as re-formatting to get the desired final layout.
39. Differentiate between hard copy and soft copy output.
Ans: The outputs, which can be easily understood and used by human beings, are of the two forms,
namely, hard copy and soft copy. These two are discussed as follows:
•• Hard copy: The physical form of output is known as hard copy. In general, it refers to the recorded
information copied from a computer onto paper or some other durable surface such as micro-
film. Hard copy output is permanent and a relatively stable form of output. This type of output is
also highly portable. Paper is one of the most widely used hard copy output media. The principal
examples are printouts, whether text or graphics from printers.
•• Soft copy: The electronic version of an output, which usually resides in computer memory and/
or on disk, is known as soft copy. Unlike hard copy, soft copy is not a permanent form of output.
It is transient and is usually displayed on the screen. This kind of output is not tangible, that is, it
cannot be touched. Soft copy output includes audio and visual form of output, which is generated
using a computer. In addition, textual or graphical information displayed on a computer monitor is
also soft copy form of output.
40. What is the usage of printer? Write some characteristics of impact and non-impact
printers. Give examples of each.
Ans: A printer prints information and data from the computer onto a paper. Generally, the printer
prints 80 or 132 columns of characters in each line, and prints either on single sheets, or on a continuous
roll of paper, depending upon the printer itself. The printers are divided into two categories which are
as follows:

Impact printers
An impact printer uses pins or hammers that press an inked ribbon against the paper to make a mark
on the paper. Each hammer is embossed with a specific shape which is transferred onto the paper
through the inked ribbon thereby producing a printed character. Some impact printers can print only
one character at a time, whereas others can print an entire line. The three most commonly used im-
pact printers are dot matrix printers, daisy wheel printers and drum printers. Some characteristics of
impact printers are as follows:
•• There is physical contact with the paper to produce an image.
•• They are relatively cheap. The primary recurring costs for these printers are the ink ribbons and
paper.
•• Due to being robust and low cost, they are useful for bulk printing.
•• They can withstand dusty environment, vibrations and extreme temperature.
•• They are ideal for printing multiple copies (that is, carbon copies) because they can easily print
through many layers of paper.
•• Due to its striking activity, impact printers are very noisy.
•• Since they are mechanical in nature, they tend to be slow.

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 Fundamentals of Computers I-33

Non-impact printers
Unlike impact printers, a non-impact printer forms characters and images without making direct
­physical contact between printing mechanism and paper. In this printer, the print head does not make
contact with the paper, and no inked ribbon is required. Ink can be sprayed against the paper and then
heat and pressure are used to fuse a fine black powder into the shape of a character. The major technolo-
gies ­competing in the market of non-impact printers are ink-jet and laser. Some characteristics of non-
impact printers are as follows:
•• They are faster because they have fewer moving parts.
•• They are quieter because there is no striking mechanism involved and only few moving parts are
used.
•• They possess the ability to change typefaces automatically.
•• They produce high-quality graphics.
•• They cannot print carbon copies.
41. Explain laser printer and its working concept in detail.
Ans: A laser printer provides the highest quality text and images for personal computers today. It is
a very fast printer, which operates on the same principle as that of a photocopy machine. Most laser
printers can print text and graphics with a very high quality resolution. They are also known as ‘page
printers’ because they process and store the entire page before they actually print it. They produce sharp,
crisp images of both text and graphics, providing resolutions from 300 to 2,400 dpi. Today, the resolu-
tion of most printers is 600 dpi. They are quiet and fast, able to print 4–32 text-only pages per minute
for individual microcomputers and up to 200 pages per minute for mainframes. Laser printers can print
in excess of 2000 lines per minute. Furthermore, they can print in different fonts, that is, type styles and
sizes. Laser printers are often faster than ink-jet printers but are more expensive to buy and maintain than
the other printers. The cost of these printers depends on a combination of costs of paper, toner replace-
ment and drum replacement. These printers are useful for volume printing because of their speed. The
working of laser printer is described as follows:

Working of a Laser Printer

The core component of laser printing system is the photoconductive drum. A rotating mirror inside
the printer causes the beam of a laser to sweep across the photoconductive drum. Initially, the beam
of laser charges the photoconductive drum positively. When the charged photoconductor is exposed
to an optical image through a beam of light to discharge, a latent or invisible image is formed. At the
point where the laser strikes the surface of drum, it creates a dot of positive charge. These points are
represented by a black dot, which will be printed on the paper. After this, the printer coats the drum
with a container, which contains a black powder called ‘toner’. This toner is negatively charged, and
so it clings to the positive areas of the drum surface. When the powder pattern gets fixed, the drum is
rotated and the paper is fed into the drum surface via a pressure roller. This pressure roller transfers the
black toner onto the paper. Since the paper is moving at the same speed as the drum, the paper picks
up the image pattern precisely. Finally, the printer passes the paper through the fuser, a pair of heated
rollers. As the paper passes through these rollers, the loose toner powder gets melted and fuses with
the fibres in the paper. The paper is then brought out of the printer. Figure 1.7 illustrates the working
of laser printer.

M01_ITL-ESL4791_01_SE_C01.indd 33 12/22/2012 4:52:24 PM

 I-34 Computer Fundamentals

Paper exit

Mirror

Laser
Toner scanning
coated unit
roller
Toner Charging
hopper electrode

Photoreceptor
drum

Fuser

Paper Tray

Figure 1.7 Working of a Laser Printer

42. What is the role of visual display unit? Also discuss the types of monitors.
Ans: The monitor, also known as ‘visual display unit’ (‘VDU’), is the most frequently used
output device for producing soft-copy output. A computer monitor is a TV-like display attached to
the computer on which the output can be displayed and viewed. The computer monitor can either
be a monochrome display or a colour display. A monochrome screen uses only one colour (usually
white, green, amber or black) to display text on contrasting background. Colour screens commonly
display 256 colors at one time from a selection of over 2,56,000 choices. Monitors are available
in various sizes like 14, 15, 17, 19 and 21 inches. The size of the display is described based on
two parameters, namely, aspect ratio and screen size. ‘Aspect ratio’ is the ratio of the width of the
display screen to the height, that is, the ratio of vertical points to the horizontal points necessary to
produce equal-length lines in both directions on the screen. Generally, computer displays have an
aspect ratio of 4:3. Like televisions, ‘screen sizes’ are normally measured diagonally (in inches),
the distance from one corner to the opposite corner. The description of various types of monitors
is as follows:
•• Cathode ray tube (CRT): Nowadays, most computer monitors are based on cathode ray tube
(CRT) technology. The basic operation of these tubes is similar to that in television sets. The pri-
mary components in a CRT are the heated metal cathode and a control grid. Heat is supplied to the
cathode by directing a current through a coil of wire, called the ‘filament’, inside the cylindrical
cathode structure. This causes electrons to be boiled off the hot cathode surface. In the vacuum
inside the CRT envelope, the free, negatively charged electrons are then accelerated toward the
phosphor coating by a highly positive voltage. The accelerating voltage can be generated with a
positively charged metal coating on the inside of the CRT envelope near the phosphor screen, or
an accelerating anode can be used.

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 Fundamentals of Computers I-35

•• Liquid crystal display (LCD): With the widespread use of smaller computers like PDAs and
laptops, a new type of display liquid crystal display (LCD) has made a big impact on computer
market. LCD screens have been used since long on notebook computers but are also becoming
popular as a desktop monitor. The term liquid crystal sounds like a contradiction. We generally
conceive a crystal as a solid material such as quartz and a liquid as water-like fluid. However,
some substances can exist in an odd state that is semi-liquid and semi-solid. When they are in this
state, their molecules tend to maintain their orientation like the molecules in a solid, but also move
around to different positions like the molecules in a liquid. Thus, liquid crystals are neither a solid
nor a liquid. Manufacturers use this amazing ability of liquid crystals to display images.
•• Plasma display: A plasma display (also known as ‘thin-panel’) is constructed by filling a gas
(Neon or Xenon) between the two glass plates. One glass plate consists of vertical conductors
and the other consists of horizontal conductors. When the voltage is applied to the pair of
horizontal and vertical conductors, the gas at the intersection of two conductors glows. The
advantage of plasma display is that it has the capability of producing more than 16 million
colours and is lighter and less bulky than CRT. However, it is heavier than LCD display and
requires more power.
•• Thin-film electroluminescent display: This display is similar to the plasma display except the
fact that the space between the glass plates is filled with phosphorescent substance (usually zinc
sulphide doped with manganese) instead of gas. When the high voltage is applied to the crossing
conductors, the phosphoric substance at the intersection of two conductors becomes conductor and
generates the electrical energy. This energy is absorbed by the manganese atoms and then released
as a spot of light. The main problem with thin-film electroluminescent displays is that they require
more power.

Multiple-choice Questions
1. GIGO stands for .
(a) Garbage in garbage out (b) Gigabyte in gigabyte out
(c) Get in get out (d) None of the above
2. Modifications in sand tables resulted in a device known as .
(a) Computer (b) Pascaline (c) Abacus (d) All of the above
3. Which computers are based on vacuum tube technology?
(a) First generation (b) Second generation
(c) Third generation (d) Fourth generation
4. Which type of computer you will most likely to encounter at the department of motor ­vehicles?
(a) Smart phone (b) Mainframe
(c) Super computer (d) Mini computer
5. Which of these is an example of hand-held computer?
(a) RAM (b) PDA (c) BUS (d) CMOS
6. Stylus is used to input data in
(a) Laptop (b) Desktop (c) PDA (d) None of these

M01_ITL-ESL4791_01_SE_C01.indd 35 12/22/2012 4:52:24 PM

Exploring the Variety of Random
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DOMESTIC SCENES IN GREENLAND AND ICELAND. 16mo., Illustrated, 2s. 6d.
Second Edition.
ELEMENTS OF PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE; Explaining, in Question and Answer, and
in familiar language, what most things daily used, seen, or talked of, are; what they are
made of, where found, and to what uses applied. Second Edition, 16mo., with
Illustrations, 3s.
THE POOR ARTIST; or, Seven Eye-Sights and One Object. Fcap. 8vo. 5s.
GOLDSMITH’S VICAR OF WAKEFIELD. With 32 Illustrations, by William Mulready,
R.A.; engraved by John Thompson. Square 8vo., 1l. 1s., or 36s. in morocco.
WATTS’S DIVINE AND MORAL SONGS. With 30 Illustrations, by C. W. Cope, R.A.;
engraved by John Thompson. Square 8vo., 7s. 6d., or 21s. in morocco.

London, December 1860.

 Catalogue of Books
PUBLISHED BY MR. VAN VOORST.
INDEX.
Accentuated List, p. 7
Adams & Baikie’s Manual Nat. Hist., 12
Adams’s Genera of Mollusca, 5

Aikin’s Arts and Manufactures, 14

Anatomical Manipulation, 12
Ansted’s Ancient World, 9
—— Elementary Course of Geology, 9
—— Geologist’s Text-Book, 9
—— Gold-Seeker’s Manual, 9
—— Scenery, Science, and Art, 14
Babington’s Flora of Cambridgeshire, 7
—— Manual of British Botany, 7
Baptismal Fonts, 15
Bate and Westwood’s British Crustacea, 5
Beale on Sperm Whale, 3
Bell’s British Quadrupeds, 3
—— British Reptiles, 4
—— British Stalk-eyed Crustacea, 5
Bennett’s Naturalist in Australasia, 11
Bloomfield’s Farmer’s Boy, 16
Boccius on Production of Fish, 4
Bonaparte’s List of Birds, 3
Brightwell’s Life of Linnæus, 14
Burton’s Falconry on the Indus, 3
Church and Northcote’s Chem. Analysis, 9
Clark’s Testaceous Mollusca, 5
Cocks’s Sea-Weed Collector’s Guide, 8
Couch’s Illustrations of Instinct, 11
Cumming’s Isle of Man, 13
Currency, 16
Dallas’s Elements of Entomology, 5
Dalyell’s Powers of the Creator, 12
—— Rare Animals of Scotland, 12
Dawson’s Geodephaga Britannica, 7
Domestic Scenes in Greenland & Iceland, 14
Douglas’s World of Insects, 6
Dowden’s Walks after Wild Flowers, 8
Drew’s Practical Meteorology, 11
Drummond’s First Steps to Anatomy, 11
Economy of Human Life, 16
Elements of Practical Knowledge, 14
England before the Norman Conquest, 14
Entomologist’s Annual, 5
—— Companion, 6
Evening Thoughts, 14
Fly Fishing in Salt and Fresh Water, 4
Forbes’s British Star-fishes, 5
—— Malacologia Monensis, 5
—— and Hanley’s British Mollusca, 5
—— and Spratt’s Travels in Lycia, 13
Garner’s Nat. Hist. of Staffordshire, 13
—— Figures of Invertebrate Animals, 14
Gosse’s Aquarium, 13
—— Birds of Jamaica, 3
Gosse’s British Sea-Anemones, &c., 13
—— Canadian Naturalist, 13
—— Handbook to Marine Aquarium, 13
—— Manual of Marine Zoology, 13
—— Naturalist’s Rambles on Dev. Coast, 13
—— Omphalos, 10
—— Tenby, 13
Gray’s Bard and Elegy, 15
Greg and Lettsom’s British Mineralogy, 10
Griffith & Henfrey’s Micrographic Dict., 11
Harvey’s British Marine Algæ, 8
—— Thesaurus Capensis, 8
—— Flora Capensis, 8
—— Index Generum Algarum , 8
—— Nereis Boreali-Americana, 8
—— Sea-side Book, 13
Henfrey’s Botanical Diagrams, 7
—— Elementary Course of Botany, 7
—— Rudiments of Botany, 7
—— Translation of Mohl, 7
—— Vegetation of Europe, 7
—— & Griffith’s Micrographic Dict., 11
—— & Tulk’s Anatomical Manipulation, 12
Hewitson’s Birds’ Eggs, 3
—— Exotic Butterflies, 6
Instrumenta Ecclesiastica, 15
Jenyns’s Observations in Meteorology, 11
—— Observations in Natural History, 11
—— White’s Selborne, 13
Jesse’s Angler’s Rambles, 4
Johnston’s British Zoophytes, 6
—— Introduction to Conchology, 5
—— Terra Lindisfarnensis, 9
Jones’s Aquarian Naturalist, 11
—— Animal Kingdom, 11
—— Natural History of Animals, 11
Knox’s (A. E.) Rambles in Sussex, 3
Knox (Dr.), Great Artists & Great Anat., 11
Latham’s Descriptive Ethnology, 12
—— Ethnology of British Colonies, 12
—— Ethnology of British Islands, 12
—— Ethnology of Europe, 12
—— Man and his Migrations, 12
—— Varieties of Man, 12
Leach’s Synopsis of British Mollusca, 5
Letters of Rusticus, 12
Lettsom and Greg’s British Mineralogy, 10
Lowe’s Faunæ et Floræ Maderæ, 8
—— Manual Flora of Madeira, 8
Malan’s Catalogue of Eggs, 3
Martin’s Cat. of Privately Printed Books, 16
Melville and Strickland on the Dodo, 4
Micrographic Dictionary, 11
Mohl on the Vegetable Cell, 7
Moule’s Heraldry of Fish p. 4
Newman’s British Ferns 9
—— History of Insects 6
—— Letters of Rusticus 12
Northcote & Church’s Chem. Analysis 9
Owen’s British Fossil Mammals 10
—— on Skeleton of Extinct Sloth 10
Paley’s Gothic Moldings 16
—— Manual of Gothic Architecture 16
Poor Artist 14
Prescott on Tobacco 14
Prestwich’s Geological Inquiry 10
—— Ground beneath us 10
Samuelson’s Honey-Bee 10
—— Earthworm and Housefly 10
Sclater’s Tanagers 3
Seemann’s British Ferns at One View 7
Selby’s British Forest Trees 8
Shakspeare’s Seven Ages of Man 15
Sharpe’s Decorated Windows 15
Shield’s Hints on Moths and Butterflies 6
Siebold on True Parthenogenesis 6
Smith’s British Diatomaceæ 9
Spratt and Forbes’s Travels in Lycia 13
Stainton’s Butterflies and Moths 6
—— History of the Tineina 6
Strickland’s Ornithological Synonyms 4
—— Memoirs 10
—— and Melville on the Dodo 4
Sunday-Book for the Young 14
Tugwell’s Sea-Anemones 6
Tulk and Henfrey’s Anat. Manipulation 12
Vicar of Wakefield, Illustr. by Mulready 15
Watts’s Songs, Illustrated by Cope 16
Ward (Dr.) on Healthy Respiration 14
Ward (N. B.) on the Growth of Plants 8
Westwood and Bate’s British Crustacea 5
White’s Selborne 13
Wilkinson’s Weeds and Wild Flowers 7
Williams’s Chemical Manipulation 9
Wollaston’s Insecta Maderensia 7
—— on Variation of Species 12
Yarrell’s British Birds 3
—— British Fishes 4
—— on the Salmon 4

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE BRITISH ISLES.

This Series of Works is Illustrated by many Hundred Engravings; every Species has been Drawn
and Engraved under the immediate inspection of the Authors; the best Artists have been employed,
and no care or expense has been spared.

A few Copies have been printed on Larger Paper.

SESSILE-EYED CRUSTACEA, by Mr. Spence Bate and Mr. Westwood. Part 1, price
2s. 6d., on January 1st, 1861.
QUADRUPEDS, by Professor Bell. A New Edition preparing.
BIRDS, by Mr. Yarrell. Third Edition, 3 vols. £4 14s. 6d.
COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE EGGS OF BIRDS, by Mr. Hewitson. Third
Edition, 2 vols., £4 14s. 6d.
REPTILES, by Professor Bell. Second Edition, 12s.
FISHES, by Mr. Yarrell. Third Edition, edited by Sir John
Richardson, 2 vols., £3 3s.
STALK-EYED CRUSTACEA, by Prof. Bell. 8vo, £1 5s.
STAR-FISHES, by Professor Edward Forbes. 15s.
ZOOPHYTES, by Dr. Johnston. Second Edition, 2 vols., £2 2s.
MOLLUSCOUS ANIMALS AND THEIR SHELLS, by Professor Edward Forbes and
Mr. Hanley. 4 vols. 8vo, £6 10s. Royal 8vo, Coloured, £13.
FOREST TREES, by Mr. Selby. £1 8s.
FERNS, by Mr. Newman. Third Edition, 18s.
FOSSIL MAMMALS AND BIRDS, by Prof. Owen. £1 11s. 6d.
JOHN VAN VOORST, 1 PATERNOSTER ROW.

ZOOLOGY.
MAMMALIA.
History of British Quadrupeds, including the Cetacea. By THOMAS BELL, F.R.S.,
P.L.S., Professor of Zoology in King’s College, London. Illustrated by nearly 200
Engravings, comprising portraits of the animals, and vignette tail-pieces. 8vo. New
Edition in preparation.
Natural History of the Sperm Whale, and a Sketch of a South Sea Whaling Voyage. By
THOMAS BEALE. Post 8vo, 12s. cloth.

BIRDS.
History of British Birds. By WILLIAM YARRELL, V.P.L.S., F.Z.S., &c. This work
contains a history and a picture portrait, engraved expressly for the work, of each species
of the Birds found in Britain. Three volumes, containing 550 Illustrations. Third Edition,
demy 8vo, £4 14s. 6d.
Coloured Illustrations of the Eggs of British Birds, with Descriptions of their Nests and
Nidification. By WILLIAM C. HEWITSON. Third Edition, 2 vols. 8vo, £4 14s. 6d. The
figures and descriptions of the Eggs in this edition are from different specimens to those
figured in the previous editions.
Systematic Catalogue of the Eggs of British Birds, arranged with a View to supersede
the use of Labels for Eggs. By the Rev. S. C. MALAN, M.A., M.A.S. On writing-paper.
8vo, 8s. 6d.
Ornithological Rambles in Sussex. By A. E. KNOX, M.A., F.L.S. Third Edition. Post
8vo, with Four Illustrations by Wolf, 7s. 6d.
Falconry in the Valley of the Indus. By R. F. BURTON, Author of ‘Goa and the Blue
Mountains,’ &c. Post 8vo, with Four Illustrations, 6s.
Monograph of the Birds forming the Tanagrine Genus CALLISTE; illustrated by
Coloured Plates of all the known species. By P. L. SCLATER, M.A., Fellow of Corpus
Christi College, Oxford, F.Z.S., &c. 8vo, £2 2s.
Birds of Jamaica. By P. H. GOSSE, F.R.S., Author of the ‘Canadian Naturalist,’ &c. Post
8vo, 10s.
Geographical and Comparative List of the Birds of Europe and North America. By
CHARLES LUCIEN BONAPARTE, Prince of Musignano. 8vo, 5s.
The Dodo and its Kindred; or, The History, Affinities and Osteology of the Dodo,
Solitaire, and other Extinct Birds of the Islands Mauritius, Rodriguez, and Bourbon. By
 H. E. STRICKLAND, M.A., F.G.S., F.R.G.S., and R. G. MELVILLE, M.D. Edin.,
M.R.C.S. Royal 4to, with 18 Plates and other Illustrations, £1 1s.
Ornithological Synonyms. By the late HUGH EDWIN STRICKLAND, M.A., F.R.S., &c.
Edited by Mrs. HUGH EDWIN STRICKLAND and SIR WILLIAM JARDINE, Bart.,
F.R.S.E., &c. 8vo, Vol. I. containing the Order Accipitres, 12s. 6d. Vol. II. in the press.

REPTILES.
History of British Reptiles. By THOMAS BELL, F.R.S., President of the Linnean
Society, V.P.Z.S., &c., Professor of Zoology in King’s College, London. Second Edition,
with 50 Illustrations, 12s.

FISHES.
Production and Management of Fish in Fresh Waters, by Artificial Spawning,
Breeding, and Rearing. By GOTTLIEB BOCCIUS. 8vo, 5s.
History of British Fishes. By WILLIAM YARRELL, V.P.L.S., F.Z.S., &c. Third Edition.
Edited by SIR JOHN RICHARDSON, M.D. Two vols. demy 8vo, illustrated by more
than 500 Engravings, £3 3s.
Yarrell.—Growth of the Salmon in Fresh Water. With Six Coloured Illustrations of the
Fish of the natural size, exhibiting its structure and exact appearance at various stages
during the first two years. 12s. sewed.
Heraldry of Fish. By THOMAS MOULE. Nearly six hundred families are noticed in this
work, and besides the several descriptions of fish, fishing-nets, and boats, are included
also mermaids, tritons, and shell-fish. Nearly seventy ancient seals are described, and
upwards of twenty subjects in stained glass. The engravings, two hundred and five in
number, are from stained glass, tombs, sculpture and carving, medals and coins, rolls of
arms, and pedigrees. 8vo, 21s.; a few on large paper (royal 8vo) for colouring, £2 2s.
Fly-Fishing in Salt and Fresh Water. With Six Coloured Plates, representing Artificial
Flies, &c. 8vo, 7s. 6d.
An Angler’s Rambles. By EDWARD JESSE, F.L.S., Author of ‘Gleanings in Natural
History.’ Contents:—Thames Fishing—Trolling in Staffordshire—Perch Fishing Club—
Two Days’ Fly-fishing on the Test—Luckford Fishing Club—Grayling Fishing—A Visit
to Oxford—The Country Clergyman. Post 8vo, 10s. 6d.

INVERTEBRATA.
History of British Sessile-eyed Crustacea (Sand-hoppers, &c.). By C. SPENCE BATE,
F.L.S., and J. O. WESTWOOD, F.L.S., &c. With figures of all the species, and tail-
pieces. Uniform with the Stalk-eyed Crustacea by Professor Bell. Part I on January 1st.
History of British Stalk-eyed Crustacea (Lobsters, Crabs, Prawns, Shrimps, &c.). By
THOMAS BELL, President of the Linnean Society, F.G.S., F.Z.S., Professor of Zoology
 in King’s College, London. The volume is illustrated by 174 Engravings of Species and
tail-pieces. 8vo, £1 5s.; royal 8vo, £2 10s.
Introduction to Conchology; or, Elements of the Natural History of Molluscous Animals.
By GEORGE JOHNSTON, M.D., LL.D., Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of
Edinburgh, author of ‘A History of the British Zoophytes.’ 8vo, 102 Illustrations, 21s.
History of British Mollusca and their Shells. By Professor ED. FORBES, F.R.S., &c.
and SYLVANUS HANLEY, B.A., F.L.S. Illustrated by a figure of each known Animal
and of all the Shells, engraved on 203 copper-plates. 4 vols. 8vo, £6 10s.; royal 8vo, with
the plates coloured, £13.
Synopsis of the Mollusca of Great Britain. Arranged according to their Natural Affinities
and Anatomical Structure. By W. A. LEACH, M.D., F.R.S., &c. &c. Post 8vo, with 13
Plates, 14s.
History of the British Marine Testaceous Mollusca. By WILLIAM CLARK. 8vo, 15s.
Genera of Recent Mollusca; arranged according to their Organization. By HENRY and
ARTHUR ADAMS. This work contains a description and a figure engraved on steel of
each genus, and an enumeration of the species. 3 vols. 8vo, £4 10s.; or royal 8vo, with
the plates coloured, £9.
Malacologia Monensis. A Catalogue of the Mollusca inhabiting the Isle of Man and the
neighbouring Sea. By EDWARD FORBES. Post 8vo, 3s., Edinburgh, 1838.
History of British Star-fishes, and other Animals of the Class Echinodermata. By
EDWARD FORBES, M.W.S., Professor of Botany in King’s College, London. 8vo, with
more than 120 Illustrations, 15s., or royal 8vo, 30s.
Elements of Entomology: an Outline of the Natural History and Classification of British
Insects. By WILLIAM S. DALLAS, F.L.S. Post 8vo, 8s. 6d.
The Entomologist’s Annual for 1855 to 1860. 12mo, 2s. 6d. each.
History of the British Zoophytes. By GEORGE JOHNSTON, M.D., LL.D. Second
Edition, in 2 vols. 8vo, with an illustration of every species. £2 2s.; or on large paper,
royal 8vo, £4 4s.
Manual of the Sea-Anemones commonly found on the English Coast. By the Rev.
GEORGE TUGWELL, Oriel College, Oxford. Post 8vo, with Coloured Illustrations, 7s.
6d.
Natural History of Animals. By Professor T. RYMER JONES. Vol. II. Insects, &c., with
104 Illustrations, post 8vo, 12s.
Familiar Introduction to the History of Insects; being a Second and greatly Improved
Edition of the Grammar of Entomology. By EDWARD NEWMAN, F.L.S., Z.S., &c.
With nearly 100 Illustrations, 8vo, 12s.
The World of Insects: a Guide to its Wonders. By J. W. DOUGLAS, Secretary to the
Entomological Society of London. This work contains rambling observations on the more
interesting members of the Insect World to be found in the House, the Garden, the
Orchard, the Fields, the Hedges, on the Fences, the Heaths and Commons, the Downs, in
 the Woods, the Waters, or on the Sea Shore, or on Mountains. 12mo, stiff-paper wrapper,
3s. 6d.
Siebold on True Parthenogenesis in the Honey-Bee and Silk-Worm Moth. Translated
from the German by W. S. DALLAS, F.L.S. 8vo, 5s.
Practical Hints respecting Moths and Butterflies, with Notices of their Localities;
forming a Calendar of Entomological Operations throughout the Year, in pursuit of
Lepidoptera. By RICHARD SHIELD. 12mo, stiff-paper wrapper, 3s.
Hewitson’s Exotic Butterflies. Vol. I., containing 398 Coloured Figures of new or rare
species, Five Guineas.
“In this work there is a truthfulness of outline, an exquisite delicacy of pencilling, a
brilliancy and transparency of colouring, that has rarely been equalled, and probably
never surpassed.”—The President in his Address to the Entomological Society, 1856.
Of Vol. II., Sixteen Parts (21 to 36 of the entire work) are at this time published, 5s. each.
Manual of British Butterflies and Moths. By H.T. STAINTON. 2 vols. 12mo, 10s.
Natural History of the Tineina. By H. T. STAINTON, Coloured Plates. Vol. I. to V. 8vo,
cloth, each 12s. 6d.
Entomologist’s Companion (to the Tineina). By H. T. STAINTON. Second Edition,
12mo, 3s.
Geodephaga Britannica: a Monograph of the Carnivorous Ground-Beetles Indigenous to
the British Isles. By J. F. DAWSON, LL.B. 8vo, without the Plates, 10s.
Insecta Maderensia; being an Account of the Insects of the Islands of the Madeiran
Group. By T. VERNON WOLLASTON, M.A., F.L.S. 4to, with Thirteen Coloured Plates
of Beetles, £2 2s.
An Accentuated List of the British Lepidoptera, with Hints on the Derivation of the
Names. Published by the Entomological Societies of Oxford and Cambridge. 8vo, 5s.

BOTANY.
The British Ferns at one View. By BERTHOLD SEEMANN, Ph.D., F.L.S. An eight-page
out-folding sheet, with descriptions of the Orders, Tribes, and Genera, and a Coloured
figure of a portion of each species, 8vo, cloth, 6s.
Flora of Cambridgeshire: or, A Catalogue of Plants found in the County of Cambridge,
with References to former Catalogues, and the Localities of the Rarer Species. By C. C.
BABINGTON, M.A., F.R.S., F.L.S., &c. 12mo, with a Map, 7s.
Manual of British Botany; containing the Flowering Plants and Ferns, arranged according
to their Natural Orders. By C. C. BABINGTON, M.A., F.R.S., F.L.S., &c. 12mo, the
Fourth Edition, with many additions and corrections, 10s. 6d., cloth.
Weeds and Wild Flowers. By LADY WILKINSON. Post 8vo, with Coloured Engravings
and Woodcuts, 10s. 6d.
Elementary Course of Botany; Structural, Physiological, and Systematic. With a brief
Outline of the Geographical and Geological Distribution of Plants. By ARTHUR
HENFREY, F.R.S., L.S., &c., Professor of Botany in King’s College, London. Illustrated
by upwards of 500 Woodcuts. Post 8vo, 12s. 6d.

Also by Professor Henfrey.

Vegetation of Europe, its Conditions and Causes. Foolscap 8vo, 5s.
Principles of the Anatomy and Physiology of the Vegetable Cell. By HUGO VON
MOHL. Translated, with the author’s permission, by ARTHUR HENFREY, F.R.S., &c.
8vo, with an Illustrative Plate and numerous Woodcuts, 7s. 6d.
Rudiments of Botany. A Familiar Introduction to the Study of Plants. With Illustrative
Woodcuts. Second Edition, foolscap 8vo, 3s. 6d.
A Set of Six Coloured Diagrams; for Schools and Lectures. 15s.
Thesaurus Capensis: or, Illustrations of the South African Flora; being Figures and brief
descriptions of South African Plants, selected from the Dublin University Herbarium. By
W. H. HARVEY, M.D., F.R.S., Professor of Botany in the University of Dublin, and
Keeper of the Herbarium. 8vo, Vol. I., with 100 Plates, uncoloured, £1 1s.
Flora Capensis; being a Systematic Description of the Plants of the Cape Colony,
Caffraria, and Port Natal. By Professor HARVEY and Dr. SONDER. Vol. I.
Ranunculaceæ to Connaraceæ, 8vo, 12s.
Index Generum Algarum: or, A Systematic Catalogue of the Genera of Algæ, Marine and
Freshwater: with an Alphabetical Key to all the Names and Synonyms. By Professor
HARVEY. 8vo, sewed, 2s. 6d.
Manual of the British Marine Algæ, containing Generic and Specific Descriptions of all
the known British Species of Sea-Weeds, with Plates to illustrate all the Genera. By
Professor HARVEY. 8vo, £1 1s.; Coloured Copies, £1 11s. 6d.
Nereis Boreali-Americana; or, Contributions towards a History of the Marine Algæ of the
Atlantic and Pacific Coasts of North America. By Professor HARVEY. Royal 4to, with
50 Coloured Plates, £3 3s.
History of British Forest-Trees. By PRIDEAUX JOHN SELBY, F.R.S.E., F.L.S., &c.
Each species is illustrated by a portrait of some well-known or fine specimen, as a head-
piece: the leaf, florification, seed-vessels, or other embellishments tending to make the
volume ornamental or useful, are embodied in the text or inserted as tail-pieces. 8vo, with
nearly 200 Illustrations, £1 8s.
Manual Flora of Madeira and the adjacent Islands of Porto Santo and the Dezertas. By
R. T. LOWE, M.A. 12mo. Part I. Thalamifloræ, 3s. 6d. Part II. in the press.
Primitiæ et Novitiæ Faunæ et Floræ Maderæ et Portus Sancti. Two Memoirs on the
Ferns, Flowering Plants, and Land Shells of Madeira and Porto Santo. By R. T. LOWE,
M.A. 12mo, 6s. 6d., boards (150 copies printed).
Growth of Plants in closely Glazed Cases. By N. B. WARD, F.R.S., F.L.S. Second
Edition, Illustrated. Post 8vo, 5s.
The Sea-Weed Collector’s Guide; containing plain Instructions for Collecting and
Preserving; and a List of all the known Species and Localities in Great Britain. By J.
COCKS, M.D. Foolscap 8vo, 2s. 6d.
Walks after Wild Flowers; or the Botany of the Bohereens. By RICHARD DOWDEN.
Foolscap 8vo, 4s. 6d.
Terra Lindisfarnensis. The Natural History of the Eastern Borders. By GEORGE
JOHNSTON, M.D., &c., &c. This volume embraces the Topography and Botany; and
gives the popular Names and Uses of the Plants, and the Customs and Beliefs which have
been associated with them. The chapter on the Fossil Botany of the district is contributed
by George Tate, F.G.S. Illustrated with a few Woodcuts and 15 Plates, 8vo, 10s. 6d.
History of British Ferns. By EDWARD NEWMAN. Comprising, under each Species,
Figures, detailed Descriptions, an ample list of Localities, and minute Instructions for
Cultivating. 8vo, 18s.
Synopsis of the British Diatomaceæ; with Remarks on their Structure, Functions, and
Distribution; and Instructions for Collecting and Preserving Specimens. By the Rev.
WILLIAM SMITH. The Plates by Tuffen West. In 2 vols. royal 8vo; Vol. I. 21s.; Vol.
II. 30s.

CHEMISTRY, MINERALOGY, GEOLOGY.

A Manual of Chemical Analysis (Qualitative). By A. B. NORTHCOTE, F.C.S., and
ARTHUR H. CHURCH, F.C.S. Post 8vo, 10s. 6d.
Handbook of Chemical Manipulation. By C. GREVILLE WILLIAMS, late Principal
Assistant in the Laboratories of the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. Post 8vo,
with very numerous Woodcut Illustrations, 15s.
Elementary Course of Geology, Mineralogy, and Physical Geography. By DAVID T.
ANSTED, M.A., F.R.S., F.G.S., &c., Consulting Mining Engineer, Honorary Fellow of
King’s College, London, Lecturer on Mineralogy and Geology at the H.E.I.C. Mil. Sem.
at Addiscombe, late Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge. A Second Edition, post 8vo,
with many Illustrations, 12s.
The Ancient World. By Professor ANSTED. Second Edition, post 8vo, 10s. 6d., with 149
Illustrations.
“The work may be described as an outline of the history of vegetable and animal life upon
the globe, from the early age when there were only sea-weeds and marine invertebrates
as yet in existence, down to the era when the mammals received among them the king of
species, Man. By his intimate acquaintance with the subject, and power of arrangement
and description, Professor Ansted succeeds in producing a narration, which tells in its
entire range like a romance.”—Manchester Examiner.
Gold-Seeker’s Manual. By Professor ANSTED. Foolscap 8vo, 3s. 6d.
Geologist’s Text-Book. Chiefly intended as a Book of Reference for the Geological
Student. By Professor ANSTED. Foolscap 8vo, 3s. 6d.
The Ground beneath us; its Geological Phases and Changes. Three Lectures on the
Geology of Clapham and the neighbourhood of London generally. By JOSEPH
PRESTWICH, F.R.S., F.G.S., &c. 8vo, 3s. 6d. sewed.
Geological Inquiry respecting the Water-bearing Strata of the Country around London,
with reference especially to the Water Supply of the Metropolis, and including some
Remarks on Springs. By JOSEPH PRESTWICH, F.G.S., &c. 8vo, with a Map and
Woodcuts, 8s. 6d.
Manual of the Mineralogy of Great Britain and Ireland. By ROBERT PHILIPS GREG,
F.G.S., and WILLIAM G. LETTSOM. 8vo, with numerous Woodcuts, 15s.
History of British Fossil Mammals and Birds. By Professor OWEN. This volume is
designed as a companion to that by Professor Bell on the (Recent Mammalia) ‘British
Quadrupeds and Cetacea.’ 8vo, with 237 Illustrations. £1 11s. 6d., or large paper (royal
8vo), £3 3s.
Description of the Skeleton of an Extinct Gigantic Sloth (Mylodon robustus). With
Observations on the Osteology, Natural Affinities, and probable Habits of the
Megatherioid Quadrupeds in general. By RICHARD OWEN, F.R.S., &c. 4to, £1 12s. 6d.
Memoirs of Hugh E. Strickland, M.A., Deputy Reader of Geology in the University of
Oxford. By SIR WILLIAM JARDINE, Bart.; with a selection from his Printed and other
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FOOTNOTES:
[1] The great incorrectness, and occasional inconvenience of this name will be
seen in the sequel.
[2] See the chapter on the ethnology of Greece.
[3] In these notices of the characteristics of the different Spanish districts,
provinces, or kingdoms, I follow the “Handbook for Spain,”—a work well known to
be, for its kind, of more than ordinary value.
[4] I prefer this word to Roman, because it by no means follows that because a
settlement was made by a Legion or a part of one, it was therefore Roman.
[5] It would be more accurate to say that Llocgyr was the Welsh name of the
supposed maritime parts of England.
[6] “Taciti Germania, with Ethnological Notes,” §. on the Quasi-Germanic Gauls.
[7] “Lectures on the History of France,” i. 233, 234.
[8] Observe that the oldest name of the island is Greek.
[9] Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, clvi.
[10] Gulielmus Appulus, lib. i., from Gibbon, lvi.
[11] By Semitic is meant Jewish and Phœnician collectively.
[12] Lib. ii.
[13] This series of facts was recognized by Gibbon; is well illustrated by Zeuss
(see Greek Slavonians), and has been carried to an extreme length by Fallermayer.
[14] Taciti Germania, xciv.
[15] See p. 160.
 [16] Ermann—Prichard, vol. iv. p. 346.
[17] The details of this theory are given in the author’s “Germania of Tacitus, with
Ethnological Notes,” § Goths.
[18] “The Ethnology of the British Islands.”
[19] Island undersögt fra en lægevidenskabeligt Synspunct, af P. A. Schleisner,
M.D.
[20] Stockfleth—Bidrag til Kundskab om Finnerne i Norge.—1848.
[21] The “J” is pronounced “Y.”
[22] “The Germania of Tacitus, with Ethnological Notes,” Epilegomena cxxxi.
[23] I may reasonably be charged with finding the name Goth in everything, in
Getæ, Gothi, Gothones, Gothini, Jutæ, Vitæ, and Jats. But as I care far more for
processes than results a somewhat sharp self-examination acquits me. Starting with
the doctrine that nothing is to be considered accidental which we can reasonably
investigate, I only demur to those conclusions which are incompatible with
undoubted facts. Is this the case with any of the deductions hitherto laid before the
reader? First let us look to them in respect to the facts they assume. Of these the most
startling is the presence of Lithuanians in the Vithesleth and in India. Yet, if the oldest
occupants of the Danish Islands were not Germans, what were they likelier to have
been than Lithuanians, considering that Prussia was Lithuanic? “Slavonians,” it may
be answered. Granted; but the Slavonic character of the Vithesleth is as much
opposed to current notions as the Lithuanic. Besides which, the difference is only one
of detail. Then, as to the Lithuanian elements in India. If we hesitate to deduce these
from Europe, we must deduce the Indian elements in Lithuania from Asia. There is a
difficulty either way. Then, as to the changes in the form of the word. Take the two
extremest forms, Goth-, and Vit-. Is this change legitimate? The answer to this lies in
the fact of the Russian form for Master being Gosp-odar, whereas the Lithuanic is
Visp-ati.
Since the chapter on the ethnology of Scandinavia was printed, Mr. Worsaae has
made me acquainted with a remarkable fact connected with the Isle of Laaland,
confirmatory of the belief of a Sarmatian population partially, at least, in the
Vithesleth. In the southern part of the island some of the geographical terms are
Slavonic, and in Saxo there is the statement, that when the other Danes prepared an
invasion against their Wend, or Slavonic, enemies, of the continent, the Laalanders
were neither allowed to take a part in them, nor yet informed of their being in
contemplation; for fear lest they should communicate the news to the Wends
(Slavonians).
[24] See p. 172.
[25] Or Heten.—See p. 248.
[26] Or Ete.—See p. 243.
 [27] “This book ought to be largely circulated, not only on account of its scientific
merits—though these, as we have in part shown, are great and signal—but because it
is popularly written throughout, and therefore likely to excite general attention to a
subject which ought to be held as one of primary importance. Every one is interested
about fishes—the political economist, the epicure, the merchant, the man of science,
the angler, the poor, the rich. We hail the appearance of this book as the dawn of a
new era in the Natural History of England.”—Quarterly Review, No. 116.

Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:

all the popution=> all the population {pg 214}
unquestionbly=> unquestionably {pg 216}
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