Introduction to Computers and

Programming

Course Code CSC 103

Lecture # 1

Instructor: Sana Rizwan

 What is a Computer
• A computer is a system made up of two major
components that is Sofware and Hardware.
• In general computer is an electronic device used to
process data,converting data into information that is
useful to the people.

Computer System

Hardware Software
 What is a Computer Cont’d…
Hardware
Hardware is a physical (any part that you can touch)
components of the system.It consists of
interconnected electronic devices that you can use to
control the computer’s operations, input and output.
Software
Software is a set of instructions that may be complex
codes (programs) used to operate hardware.It tells the
computer what to do.
 Functions of a Computer
A computer has four functions:
a. Accepts Data Input
b. Processes Data Processing
c. Produces Output Output
d. Stores Results Storage

The Information Processing Cycle

 Computer Terminologies
Data
It is the raw material which computer stores and
reads in the form of numbers.
Data can consists of letters, numbers, sounds or
images.No matter wat category of data you feed
,computer converts it into numbers.
OR
Data is the term used to describe the information
represented by group of On/Of switches. Every
command and every input is converted into digital
data, a string of 0's and 1's.
 Computer Terminologies Cont’d…
• 1 bit = one on or off position
• 1 byte = 8 bits
Data Representation by Computer
• People communicate through speech by combing
words into sentences.
• Human speech is analogue as it is continuous (wave
form) signals that vary in strength and quality.
• Most computer are digital. They recognize only two
discrete states: on and off. This is because computer
is an electronic device operated by electricity which
also has only two states: on and off
 What 0 and 1 Represents

• The digit 0 represents an electronic state off.

• The digit 1 represents an electronic state on
• When people counts they use decimal system(0-9).
• When computer counts it uses Binary system which
has two unique digits (0,1) also called bits or binary
digits.
 Difference between bit and Byte

• A bit is the smallest unit of the data that

computer can understand.
• When 8 bits are grouped together they form a
byte.
• A byte is informative as it provides enough
different combinations of 0’s and 1’s to
represent 256 characters, that includes
numbers, upper and lower case alphabets and
other symbols.
 Computer Terminologies Cont’d…
Information

Information is the meaningful form of data that

is organized.
People

People are computer operators calles users, no

computer is still autonomous even if a
computer can do its tasks with out a person
sitting in front of it , people still design, build,
program and repair computer systems.
 Computer Architecture
• In computer engineering, computer architecture is the
conceptual design and fundamental operational
structure of a computer system.
• It is a blueprint and functional description of
requirements and design implementations for the
various parts of a computer
• It may also be defined as the science and art of
selecting and interconnecting hardware components
to create computers that meet functional, performance
and cost goals.
• It focuses largely on the way by which the central
processing unit (CPU) performs internally and
accesses addresses in memory.
 Computer Hardware

• A personal computer is made up of multiple

physical components of computer hardware, upon
which can be installed an operating system and a
multitude of software to perform the operator's
desired functions.
• Though a PC comes in many different form factors, a
typical personal computer consists of a case or
chassis in a tower shape (desktop)
 Input Devices
Input device are the devices which accepts
data from user or some other computer.
Examples:
• Keyboard
• Mouse
• Joystick
• Scanner
• microphone
• Digital Camera etc.
 Output Devices
• These are the devices that returns processed data back
to the user or computer.
• Examples
• Printer
• Monitor etc.

Modem and touch screens are both input and output

devices.
 A Typical PC Hardware

• Monitor
• Motherboard
• CPU
• RAM (Memory)
• Expansion Cards
• Power Supply
• CD-ROM drive
• Hard Disk
• Keyboard
• Mouse
 Computer Hardware Cont’d…
The motherboard is the rigid rectangular card
containing circuitry that connects the Processor with
other hardware

Components directly attached to the motherboard

include:

The central processing unit (CPU) performs most

of the calculations which enable a computer to
function, and is sometimes referred to as the "brain"
of the computer. It is usually cooled by a heat sink
and fan.
 Computer Hardware Cont…

The chipset mediates

communication between
the CPU and the other
components of the system,
including main memory.
RAM Stores all running
processes (applications)
and the current running
OS. RAM Stands for
Random Access Memory
 Computer Hardware Cont…
External Bus Controllers support ports for external
peripherals..
Internal Buses connect the CPU to various internal
components and to expansion cards for graphics and
sound.
BIOS
The BIOS includes boot firmware and power
management. The Basic Input Output System tasks are
handled by operating system drivers.
 Computer Hardware Cont…
Power supply
Includes power cord, switch, and cooling fan. Supplies
power at appropriate voltages to the motherboard and
internal disk drives. It also converts alternating current
to direct current and provides different voltages to
different parts of the computer.
Video display controller
Produces the output for the visual display unit. This
will either be built into the motherboard or attached in
its own separate slot in the form of a graphics card.
 Computer Hardware Cont’d…
Sound card
• Enables the computer to output sound to audio
devices, as well as accept input from a microphone.
Most modern computers have sound cards built-in to
the motherboard, though it is common for a user to
install a separate sound card as an upgrade. Most
sound cards, either built-in or added, have surround
sound capabilities.
 Memory
Memory consists of one or more chip on mother board.
It consists of electronic components that stores:

• Instructions waiting to be executed by the processor.

• Data needed by those instructions.
• Results of the processed data.
 Memory Cont’d…
Memory stores three basic categories of items.
• Operating system and other system software
that maintain and control computer devices.
• Application Programs such as Word processor.
• Data being processed by the application
program.
 Memory Cont’d…
• A byte is the basic storage unit in the memory.
• Each byte resides temporarily in a location
called “address” that is unique for every byte.
• Memory is expresses as KB (Kilobytes), MB
(Megabytes), GB (Gigabytes), TB (Terabytes).
 Volatile and Non Volatile Memory
System Unit contains two types of Memory:
Volatile
When computer power is off, volatile memory
loses its contents. RAM is the most common
form of volatile memory.
Non Volatile
When computer power is turned off, non
volatile memory does not loses its contents.
ROM , Flash Memory etc are non volatile
memory.
Thank You