Happy 2
Happy 2
1.1 INTRODUCTION
In this lesson we present an overview of the basic design of a computer system: how the
different parts of a computer system are organized and various opera ons performed to
perform a specific task. You would have observed that instruc ons have to be fed into the
computer in a systema c order to perform a specific task. Computer components are
divided into two major categories, namely, hardware and so ware. In this lesson we will
discuss about hardware, i.e., the machine itself and its connected devices such as monitor,
keyboard, mouse etc., as well as so ware that makes use of hardware for performing
various func ons.
1.2ОBJECTIVES
A er going through this lesson you would be able to:
1.3WHAT IS A COMPUTER?
Computer is a device that transforms data into meaningful informa on. Data can be
anything like marks obtained by you in various subjects. It can also be name, age, sex,
weight, height, etc. of all the students in a class.
Computer can also be defined in terms of func ons it can perferm. A computer can i) accept
data, ii) store data, iii) process data as desired, and iv) retrieve the stored data as and when
required and v) print the result in desired format.
The major characteris cs of a computer are high speed, accuracy, diligence, versa lity and
storage.
1.3.1 Computer Organisa on
1.Input: this is the process of entering data and programs into the computer system.
2. Control Unit (CU): The process of input, output, processing and storage is performed
under the supervision of a unit called 'Control Unit'. It decides when to start receiving
data, when to stop it, where to store data, etc. It takes care of step-by-step processing of
all opera ons in side the computer.
3. Memory Unit: Computer is used to store data and instruc ons.
4. Arithme c Logic Unit (ALU): The major opera ons performed by the ALU are addi on,
subtrac on, mul plica on, division, logic and comparison.
5. Output: This is the process of producing results from the data for ge ng useful
informa on.
The ALU and the CU of a computer system are jointly known as the central processing
unit (CPU). You may call CPU as the brain of any computer system.
1.Input Devices
2. Output Devices
3.Other Peripherals
Different peripheral devices of Computer
Input devices accept data and instruc ons from the user. Following are the examples of
various input devices, which are connected to the computer for this purpose.
1. Keyboard
2. Mouse
3. Light Pen
4. Op cal/magne c Scanner
5. Touch Screen
6. Microphone for voice as input
7. Track Ball
1.5.1 Keyboard
A keyboard is the most common input device. Several kinds of keyboards are available,
but they resemble each other with minor varia ons. The keyboard in most common use
is the QWERTY board. Generally standard keyboard has 104 keys. In these keyboards, the
cursor control keys are duplicated to allow easier use of the numeric pad.
1.5.2 Mouse
A mouse is an electro-mechanical, hand-held device (as shown in figure 1. 4). It is used
as a pointer. It can perform func ons like selec ng menu commands, moving icons,
resizing windows, star ng programs, and choosing op ons.
1.5.6 Microphone
Microphone is an input device, which takes voice as input. The voice communica on
is more error-prone than informa on through keyboard. There are two types of
microphones available (as shown in figure
1. Desktop Microphone
2. Hand held Microphone
1.6.1 Monitor
Out of all the output devices, monitor is perhaps the most important output device because
people interact with this device most intensively Than others. Computer informa on
displayed, visually with a video adapter card and monitor. Informa on processed within the
CPU, that needs to be visually displayed, is sent to video adapter. The video adapter converts
informa on from the format used, in the same manner as a television displays informa on
sent to it by a cable service. Two basic types of monitors are used with microcomputers,
which are as follows:
1. CRT
2. LCD
Cathode Ray Tube (CRT): CRT or Cathode Ray Tube Monitor is the typical monitor that you
see on a desktop computer. It looks a lot like a television screen, and works the same way.
This type uses a large vacuum tube, called cathode ray tube (CRT). Liquid Crystal Displays
(LCD): This type of monitors are also known as flat panel monitor. Most of these employ
liquid crystal displays (LCDs) to render images. These days LCD monitor are very popular.
1.6.2 Printer
A er a document is created on the computer, it can be sent to a printer for a hard copy
(printout). Some printers offer special features such as colored and large page formats. Some
of the most commonly used printers are:
1. Laser Printer
2. Ink Jet Printer
3. Dot Matrix Printer
4. Line Printer
1.6.3 Plo er
A plo er is a special kind of output device that, like a printer, produces images on paper, but
does so in a different way. Plo ers are designed to produce large drawings or images, such
as construc on plans for buildings or blueprints for mechanical objects. A plo er can be
connected to the port normally used by a printer.
Plo ers usually come in two designs:
1. Flat Bed: Plo ers of small size to'be kept on table with restric on of paper size.
2. Drum: These plo ers are of big size using rolls of paper of unlimited length.
1.6.4 Speaker
Speakers as shown in figure are another type of output device, which allow you to listen to
voice like music, and conversa on with people.
1.6 SOFTWARE
As you are aware, computer cannot do anything on its own. It is the user who instructs
computer; what to do, how to do and when to do. In order to perform any task, you have to
give a set of instruc ons in a par cular sequence to the computer. These sets of instruc ons
are called Programs. So ware refers to a set of programs that makes the hardware perform
a par cular set of tasks in par cular order. So ware can be classified mainly into following
categories and sub-categories are shown in Figure
Languages are a means of communica on. Normally people interact with each other
through a language. On the same pa ern, communica on with computers is carried out
through a language. This language is understood both by user and the machine. Just as every
language like English, Hindi has its gramma cal rules; every computer language bound by
rules known as SYNTAX of that language. The user is bound by that syntax while
communica ng with the computer system.
The term low level means closeness to the way in which machine understand. The low
level languages are:
a.Machine Language:
This is the language (in the form of O's and 1's, called binary numbers) understood directly
by the computer. It is machine dependent. It is difficult to learn and even more difficult to
write programs.
b. Assembly Language: This is the language where the machine codes comprising of 0's and
1's are subs tuted by symbolic codes (called mnemonics) to improve their understanding. It
is the first step to improve programming structure.
2. High Level Language You know that low level language requires extensive knowledge of
the hardware since it is machine dependent. To overcome the limita on, high level language
has been evolved which uses normal English like, easy to understand statements to solve any
problem. Higher level languages are computer independent and programming becomes
quite easy and simple.
Various high level languages are given below:
• BASIC (Beginners All Purpose Symbolic Instruc on Code): It is widely used, easy to learn
general purpose language. Mainly used in microcomputers in earlier days.
• COBOL (Common Business Oriented language): A standardized language used for
commercial applica ons.
•FORTRAN (Formula Transla on): Developed for solving mathema cal and scien fic
problems. One of the most popular languages among scien fic community.
• C: Structured Programming Language used for all purpose such as scien fic applica on,
commercial applica on, developing games etc.
•C++: Popular object oriented programming language, used for general purpose.
The so ware (set of programs) that reads a program wri en in assembly language and
translates it into an equivalent program in machine language is called as Assembler.