Computer Concept

Dr. Bushra Naz Soomro

[email protected]
 Content
 1. Understanding the Computer
 2. Computer Organisation and Architecture
 3. Memory and Storage Systems
 4. Input Devices
 5. Output Devices
 6. Computer Codes
 7. Computer Arithmetic
 10. Computer Software
 11. Operating Systems
 12. Microsoft Software
 13. Programming Languages
 14. Data Communications and Networks
 15. The Internet and World Wide Web
What’s a Computer?
 Input: data, programs, user reply
 Data: the raw details that need to be processed to
generate some useful information.
 Programs: the set of instructions that can be
executed by the computer in sequential or non-
sequential manner.
 User reply: the input provided by the user in
response to a question asked by the computer.
What’s a Computer?
 A computer includes various devices:
 Central Processing Unit (CPU)
 Monitor
 Keyboard and Mouse
What’s a Computer?
 The unique capabilities and
characteristics of a computer:
 Speed
 Storage capacity
 Accuracy
 Reliability
 Versatility
 Diligence
Classification of Computers
 We can classify the computers
according to the following three criteria:
(1) Based on operating principles
(2) Based on applications
(3) Based on size and capability
Classification of Computers
(1) Based on operating principles:
Analog computers: represent data in the
form of continuous electrical signals having a
specific magnitude
Digital computers: store and process data in
the digital form.
Hybrid computers: a combination of analog
computer and digital computer because it
encompasses the best features of both.
Classification of Computers
(2) Based on applications:
General purpose computers: can work
in all environments.

Special purpose computers: can

perform only a specified task.
Classification of Computers
(3) Based on size and capability
Microcomputers: Designed to be used by
individuals.
Mini Computers: Can handle more data and
more input and output than micro computers.
Mainframe Computers: A very large computer
Super Computers: The fastest type of
computer that can perform complex operations
at a very high speed.
Computing concepts
 Accepting the raw data
 Processing the data
 Storing the data
 Delivering the output
The Computer System
 Hardware
 Software
 Data
 People
Computer Organisation and
Architecture
 Computer architecture: the definition of basic
attributes of hardware components and their
interconnections, in order to achieve certain
specified goals in terms of functions and
performance.

 Computer organisation: the design and

physical arrangement of various hardware units
to work in tandem, in a orderly manner, in order
to achieve the goals specified in the architecture.
Central Processing Unit
The main operations of the CPU include four
phases:
(1) Fetching instructions from the memory
(2) Decoding the instructions to decide what
operations to be performed
(3) Executing the instructions
(4) Storing the results back in the memory
Central Processing Unit
 Registers
 Arithmetic Unit
 Logic Unit
 Control Unit
Arithmetic Unit
 Arithmetic Unit is a part of the CPU that
performs arithmetic operations on the
data. The arithmetic operations can be
addition, subtraction, multiplication or
division.
Logic Unit
 Logic Unit is a part of the CPU that
performs logical operations on the data.
Control Unit
 Control Unit is an important component
of CPU that controls the flow of data
and information. It maintains the
sequence of operations being
performed by the CPU.
Main Memory Unit
 The main memory is referred to as the
internal memory of primary memory of
the computer. It is also known as
Random Access Memory (RAM).
Cache Memory
 Cache memory is a small, fast and
expensive memory that stores the
copies of data that needs to be
accessed frequently from the main
memory.
Registers
 CPU contains a few special purpose,
temporary storage units known as
registers. They are high-speed memory
locations used for holding instructions,
data and intermediate results that are
currently being processed.
Internal Communications
 The internal communication of a
processor in the computer system can
be divided into two major categories:
(1) Processor to memory communication
(2) Processor to I/O devices
communication
Processor to Memory
Communication
 The direct communication between the
processor and memory of the computer
system is implemented with the help of two
registers:
(1) Memory Address Register
(2) Memory Buffer Register
The reading and writing operations performed
by the processor are called memory read and
memory write operations.
Processor to I/O Devices
Communication
 The communication between I/O
devices and processor of the computer
system is implemented using an
interface unit. The interface unit acts as
an intermediary between the processor
and the device controllers of various
peripheral devices in the computer
system.
Machine Cycle
 The cycle during which a machine
language instruction is executed by the
processor of the computer system is
known as machine cycle.
Instruction Cycle
 Fetching: The CPU retrieves the
instruction from the main memory of
the computer system.
 Decoding: Breaking down the
instruction into different parts, so that it
can be easily understood before being
processed by the CPU.
Execution Cycle
 Executing: The decoded instruction
is executed by the ALU of the CPU.
 Storing: The result computed in the
execution phase is either sent to the
memory or to an output device.
The Bus
 A bus is a set of wires that is used to connect the
different internal components of the computer
system for the purpose of transferring data as well
addresses amongst them.
 Data bus: used to transfer data amongst the
different internal components. Modern computer
systems use 32-bit data buses for data transfer.
 Address bus: transfers the memory addresses for
read and write memory operations.
Memory and Storage Systems
 Primary Memory: Storing the data
that are being currently handled by the
CPU; generally known as “memory”;
 Secondary Memory: Storing the
results and the data for future use;
generally known as “storage”;
 Internal Process Memory: Placed
either inside the CPU or near the CPU.
Memory Representation
 In the memory, values are represented by
sequences of binary digits, know as bits. Most
computers use a group of eight bits, known
as a byte, to represent a character.
 Memory is a “bunch” of bytes or cells into
which we can place data. Each cell, known as
a data item, is assigned a unique number
known as “address”. The CPU can identify
each cell by its address.
Memory Representation
 The byte is defined as the “smallest addressable unit”
of memory. Most computers use groups of bytes,
usually 2 or 4, known as “words” to represent
information.
 Computer memories are often rated in terms of their

capacity to store information. Typically, capacities are

described using the unit of byte as follows:
(1) 1 KB (Kilobyte)=1,024 bytes
(2) 1 MB (Megabyte)=1,048,576 bytes
(3) 1 GB (Gigabyte)=1,073,741,824 bytes
(4) 1 TB (Terabyte)=1,099,511,627,776 bytes
Random Access Memory
 Random Access Memory (RAM) is a volatile
memory and loses all its data when the power
is switched off.
 It is the main memory of the computer
system that stores the data temporarily and
allows the data to be accessed in any order.
 RAM can be categorised into two main types,
namely, Static RAM and Dynamic RAM.
Random Access Memory
 Static RAM: is a type of RAM in which data is stored
till the power of the computer system is switched on.
SRAM uses a number of transistors to store a single
bit of digital information.
 Dynamic RAM: is the RAM in which data is stored in
a storage cell, consisting of a transistor and a
capacitor. The DRAM needs to be continuously
refreshed with power supply because the capacitor
has the tendency to get discharged. DRAM retains
the data for a very short span of time, even after the
power supply is switched off.
Read Only Memory
 ROM is the memory that stores the data
permanently.
 The data can be easily read from this type of
memory but cannot be changed.
 ROM is most commonly used in devices such
as calculators, laser printers, etc.
 ROM does not allow the random access of
data, and allows sequential access of data.
Read Only Memory
ROM is divided into four types:
(1) Programmable ROM: a memory chip on which the write
operation of data can be performed only once. PROM is reliable and
stores the data permanently without making any change in it. It is
mostly used in video games and electronic dictionaries.
(2) Erasable PROM: a type of ROM in which data can be erased or
destroyed using Ultraviolet Light.
(3) Electrically Erasable PROM: a type of ROM in which data can
be erased or destroyed by exposing it to an electric charge.
(4) Flash ROM: a type of EEPROM that stores the information using
floating-gate transistors, which can store electric charge for a longer
period of time as compared to the normal transistors. This memory
is mainly used in the memory cards of mobile phones, digital
cameras and ipods for storing data. Flash ROM has faster speed of
reading data, as compared to any other type of ROM.
Storage Systems
 Storage systems are the devices used for
data storage. The main objective of the
storage system is to permanently store data.
The storage systems can be classified as
follows:
(1) Magnetic
(2) Optical
(3) Solid state
(4) Magneto Optical
Magnetic Storage Systems
 Magnetic storage systems can be defined as
the storage systems that store the data on a
magnetised medium, with the help of
magnetised particles. Magnetic tapes,
magnetic disks, hard disks, floppy disks are
examples of magnetic storage systems.
 Can store any type of data, such as text,
audio, video, image
Magnetic Storage Systems
 Magnetic tapes: The plastic tapes with magnetic
coating that are used for storing the data. They are
similar to the normal recording tapes. The data stored
on the magnetic tapes can be accessed using the
sequential access method.
 Magnetic Disks: A flat disk that is covered with
magnetic coating for holding information. It is used to
store digital information in the form of small and
magnetised needles. These needles help in encoding a
single bit of information by getting polarized in one
direction represented by 1, and opposite direction
represented by 0. It allows the random access of data
and provides the facility of erasing and re-recording the
data as many times as required.
Optical Storage Systems
 The optical storage systems use the
laser light as the optical medium to
retrieve as well as record data.
 The optical storage devices are either
read-only or writable.
Solid-State Storage Devices
 Solid-state Storage Devices were developed
in 1978 by Storage Tek Company.
 Do not use magnetic and optical medium to
store data. Instead, use the semiconductor
devices.
 Contains all the properties of hard disk drives
to store the data and use solid-state memory,
which has no moving parts.
 The examples of SSD are flash memory cards
and Universal Serial Bus (USB) devices.
Storage Evaluation Criteria
 Access Mode: random access mode, sequential
access mode, direct access mode
 Access Time: the time taken by the processor in
completing the requests made by the user for
performing the read and write operations.
 Storage Capacity: the size of the memory available
for storing the data, and measured in terms of bytes.
 Storage Type: Temporary and permanent memory.
 Cost: the cost of the storage device used in the
computer system for holding the data.
Input Devices
 Input devices are electromechanical devices
that are used to provide data to a computer
for storing and further processing, if
necessary.
 We can provide the input to a computer in
two ways: (1) Manually through devices such
as keyboard and mouse; (2) Directly from
documents using devices such as scanners.
Input Devices
Depending upon the type or method of input,
the input device may belong to one of the
following categories:
(1) Keyboard
(2) Pointing devices
(3) Scanning devices
(4) Optical recognition devices
(5) Digital camera
(6) Voice recognition devices
(7) Media input devices
Keyboard
Keyboard is the most commonly used input device. We can use a
keyboard to type data and text and execute commands. A standard
keyboard consists of the following groups of keys:
(1) Alphanumeric keys: The alphanumeric keys include the number
keys and alphabet keys. These keys are arranged in the same style as
in the normal typewriters, popularly known as QWERTY layout;
(2) Function keys: Arranged in a row on the top of the keyboard.
Help perform specific tasks, such as searching a file or refreshing a
web page;
(3) Central keys: Used for controlling the movement of cursor and
screen display. Include arrow keys, modifier keys such as SHIFT, ALT,
CTRL;
(4) Numeric keypad: Located on the right side of the keyboard. This
looks like a calculator’s keypad;
(5) Special purpose keys: Escape, Insert, Delete, Print Screen,
Pause, Tab, Spacebar;
Pointing Devices
Pointing devices are the input devices that are generally
used for moving the cursor to a particular location to
point an object on the screen. With the help of pointing
devices, we can easily select the icons, menus,
windows, etc on the Graphical User Interface. Some of
the commonly used pointing devices are:
(1) Mouse
(2) Trackball
(3) Light pen
(4) Joystick
(5) Touchscreen
Mouse
A small hand-held pointing device that
basically controls the two-dimensional
movement of the cursor on the displayed
screen. The most commonly used types
of mouse are:
(1) Mechanical mouse
(2) Optical mouse
Scanning Devices
 Scanning devices are the input devices that
can electronically capture text and images,
and convert them into computer readable
form.
 The basic task of a scanning devices is to
convert an image or the textual data into
digital data, i.e., in the form of boxes, where
each box represents either zero or one. The
resultant matrix is known as bit map and is
displayed on the screen.
Scanning Devices
 The scanning devices can be differentiated from each
other on the basis of the following characteristics:

• Resolution: the closeness of the pixels in the bit

map, and vary from 72 to 600 dots per inch (dpi);
• Size: the small sized scanning device can scan
approximately two to five inches of the document,
whereas the large sized one can scan approximately
up to forty inches of the document.
Scanning Devices
• Scanning technology: Some ones use Charged
Coupled Device (CCD) arrays, whereas others use
Photo Multiplier Tubes (PMT) technology. The CCD
consists of a series of light receptors, which are
sensitive to the variation in the light frequency. As
the frequency of light changes, these scanning
devices detect the change and the output obtained
after scanning also gets accordingly changed. The
PMT consists of a photocathode, which is a
photosensitive surface used for generating the
electrons. PMT is used for identifying the light
emitted by the weak signals.
Scanning Devices
 On the basis of these characteristics, the scanning
devices can be categorized as follows:

• Hand-held scanners: are suitable for scanning small

images rather than the whole page of text or pictures,
and are generally used for identifying the bar-code label
of the products.
• Flat-bed scanners: consist of a flat surface
composing of glass pane on which the documents are
kept for scanning. Under this glass pane, there is xenon
light and a CCD, which consists of an array of red,
green and blue filters.
Scanning Devices
 Drum scanners: consist of a large drum, which is
used for scanning the documents. These scanners
make use of the PMT technology, instead of the CCD
technology. The resolution image of these scanners
is very high, ranges form 8000 dpi to 11000 dpi.
 Slide scanners: are used for scanning slides as well
as film negatives. These scanners are also known as
film scanners as they can easily scan the original
image of the film. The dark areas appear light and
the light areas appear dark.
Optical Recognition Devices
 Optical recognition devices are used for recognising
the characters optically. The optical recognition
devices basically make use of optical scanner for
inputting data. Unlike keyboards, the optical
recognition devices do not enter the data by
pressing the keys. They help the users in saving a
lot of time. Commonly used optical recognition
devices are:

 Optical Character Recognition (OCR) devices:

scan a particular document by recognizing its
individual characters and converting it into the
editable form.
Optical Recognition Devices
• Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) devices: help
in obtaining the data from the marked fields. These
devices prove to be of great use in recognizing
characters in question sheets, enrolment forms,
registration forms, employee payroll, etc. Most
popularly, the OMR devices are used for scanning the
documents having multiple choices as in the question
papers used in schools, colleges, etc.
Optical Recognition Devices
• Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)
devices: special devices used for recognizing the
characters written with magnetic ink consisting of
iron oxide particles. These devices were specially
developed for the banking operations. The details on
the bank cheques, such as cheque number, bank and
branch code are written with the magnetic.
Digital Camera
 A digital camera is a handheld electronic device that is
used to capture the image of an object electronically. The
digital camera consists of a built-in computer, which helps
in recording the images electronically. The following are
the main features of the digital camera:

• Capturing and storing thousands of images on a single

memory chip
• Editing as well as deleting the images
• Recording the video clip with sound
• Showing the just recorded video clip on the camera
screen
Digital Camera
 The image captured by a digital camera is in the
digital format and can be easily downloaded on a
computer system.
 The quality of the pictures captured by a digital
camera depends on the resolution factor. The more
the resolution of a digital camera, the better is the
image quality.
Voice Recognition System
 The voice recognition devices generally record the
voice of a person and transform it into electrical
signals. The electrical signals are then converted into
the machine readable code.
 The voice recognition system only recognises the voice
of the speaking person rather than what he speaks.
 The voice recognition devices are used for various
purposes such as dictation, training air-traffic
controllers, etc. These systems allow users to
communicate with computers directly without using a
keyboard or mouse.
Data Acquisition Sensors
 Sensors are the devices that are used for
detecting and measuring the physical
quantities, such as heat, temperature, and
converting them into electrical signals. The
sensors are most commonly used in data
acquisition systems.
 The data acquisition system collects the
electrical signals from various devices and
converts them into the digital signals for
further assessment.
Media Input Devices
 The input devices, which are generally used in
media for communicating with the mass
audiences, are known as media input devices.
The following are the most popularly used
media input devices:

• Microphone
• Webcam
• Graphics tablet
 Output Devices
 Output devices receive the processed data (information) from the
CPU and present it to the user in a desired form. They act as an
interface between the computer and the user. The main task of an
output device is to convert the machine readable information into
human-readable from which may be in the form of text, graphics,
audio or video. Depending upon the form of output required, the
output device may belong to one of the following categories:
• Display monitors
• Printers
• Plotters
• Voice output systems
• Projectors
Output Devices
 While the printers and plotters provide the physical
form of output known as hard copy, the display
monitors, voice output systems and projectors
provide temporary output known as soft copy. Unlike
hard copy, soft copy is not a permanent form of
output.
Display Monitors
 Earlier the display monitors were capable of
displaying the characters only in a single font and in
a single color. These characters were arranged in a
rectangular grid on the screen.
 The display screens, which are available today,
support many fonts and colors.
 Different types of display monitors use different
technology for displaying the data.
Display Monitors
 Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Monitor: contain an
empty glass tube with a phosphor coated fluorescent
screen and a source of electrons known as electron
gun. A CRT monitor has many advantages, such as a
high contrast ratio and color depth. It also provides a
change in the resolution without affecting the clarity
of the picture. But it is very bulky and occupies a lot
of space on the desk. It also consumes a lot of power
and produces a large amount heat.
Display Monitors
 Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) Monitor: Use liquid
crystals technology to display the images. An LCD
monitor is small in size and light in weight so it
occupies less space on the desk. Also, the power
consumption by an LCD monitor is very less.
However, it has a weak color quality as compared to a
CRT monitor.
 Thin Film Transistor (TFT) Monitor: A TFT
monitor is similar to an LCD monitor except for one
difference that it uses thin film transistor technology
along with liquid crystal technology to improve the
quality of the image.
 Printers
 A printer is a computer hardware that generates the hard
copy of the information processed by a computer system.

• Impact Printers: there exists a mechanical contact between

print head and paper. Print head is the part of the printer that
resembles a hammer and is responsible for transferring the
ink to the paper in the form of required characters. Impact
printer contains an individual print head for each character.
• Non-Impact Printers: there exists no mechanical contact
between the print head and paper. These printers spray ink
on the paper with the help of a nozzle. The most popular
ones are ink-jet printers and laser printers.
Plotters
 Plotter is a device used to print high quality graphics
and images. It uses one or more pens to produce a
high quality drawing. These pens change their
positions and draw continuous lines to produce an
image. The plotters were used as a substitute to the
colored printers when the printers were very
expensive and were also not capable of drawing
bigger images such as graphs.
Voice Output Systems
 Voice output systems record the simple messages in
human speech form and then combine all these
simple messages to form a single message. The voice
response system is of two types: (1) a reproduction
of human voice and other sounds; (2) speech
synthesis.
 The basic application of a voice output system is in
Interactive Voice Response systems, which are used
by the customer care or customer support
departments of an organization, such as
telecommunication companies, etc.
Projectors
 A projector is a device that is connected to a
computer or a video device for projecting an image
from the computer or video device onto the big white
screen.
 A projector consists of an optic system, a light source
and displays, which contain the original images.
 Projects were initially used for showing films but now
they are used on a large scale for displaying
presentations in various situations.