Unit-I: INTRODUCTION OF COMPUTER SYSTEM

Anatomy of a digital Computer, Different Units of Computer, System, Hardware & Software, Classification
of Computer Systems, Number systems, Operating System: Definition, working & its functions, Basic
concepts of Computer Networks, Network Topologies

Unit-II: INTRODUCTION TO SYSTEM SOFTWARE

Programming language- Definition, types; Syntax & Semantics, Type of programming errors, Assembler,
Linker, Loader, Compiler, Interpreter, debuggers, Algorithms, flowcharts and their symbols.

Unit-III: BASICS OF ‘C’ LANGUAGE

C Fundamentals, Basic data types, variables and scope, operators and expressions, formatted input/ output,
expressions, selection statements, loops and their applications.

Unit-IV: ARRAY & FUNCTION

Arrays, functions, recursive functions, pointers and arrays. Strings literals, arrays of strings; applications.
Storage Classes and Pre-processor Directives.
Unit-V: STRUCTURE & FILE SYSTEM
Structures, Declaring a Structure, Accessing Structure Elements, Storing Structure elements, Array of
Structures, Unions and Enumerations.
File Input/Output, Data Organization, File Operations, Opening a File, Reading from a File, Closing the File,
Writing to a File, File Opening Modes.
• Introduction
• A computer is an electronic machine that takes input from the user, processes the given input
and generates output in the form of useful information.
• A computer accepts input in different forms such as data, programs and user reply.
• Data refers to the raw details that need to be processed to generate some useful
information.
• Programs refer to the set of instructions that can be executed by the computer in sequential
or non-sequential manner.
• User reply is the input provided by the user in response to a question asked by the computer.
Characteristics of Computer
• The essential characteristics of the computer make it such an important part
of human lives. Let's understand the basic characteristics of computers:
• Speed: Computers are a high-speed electronic machine. They can carry
around 3-4 million instruction per second. Even advanced computers can
handle trillions of instructions per second, cutting down the time to perform
any digital tasks.
• Accuracy: Computers are also known for their accurate performance. They
can complete the given jobs at almost 100% accuracy. Although errors may
occur in computers, they are usually caused by incorrect input, incorrect
instructions, or bugs in chips. All of these are human errors.
• Storage Capacity: Computers can easily store a massive size of data. Modern
computers come inbuilt with high storage features compared to older days.
Additional data can be stored on secondary devices like external hard
disks, or flash memory, etc. Due to incredible speed, data can be retrieved
from storage in no time.
• Reliability: Computers are reliable and consistent; they can process the
same tasks any number of times without throwing any error. Computers
don't get tired like humans, so they are superior to perform rule-based,
repetitive tasks.
• Versatility: The variety of tasks that a computer can perform are almost
infinite. That means computers can perform different tasks back-to-back
without making errors; they are no longer just a computing machine. For
one moment, a computer can be used to perform data entry tasks or
ticket booking, and the very next moment, it can be used for complex
mathematical calculations or continuous astronomical observations, etc.
• BASIC ANATOMY OF A COMPUTER SYSTEM
• A computer system comprises hardware and software components. Hardware refers to
the physical parts of the computer system and software is the set of instructions or
programs that are necessary for the functioning of a computer to perform certain
tasks. Hardware includes the following components:
• Input devices — They are used for accepting the data on which the operations are to
be performed. The examples of input devices are keyboard, mouse and trackball.
• Processor — Also known as CPU, it is used to perform the calculations and information
processing on the data that is entered through the input device.
• Output devices — They are used for providing the output of a program that is
obtained after performing the operations specified in a program. The examples of
output devices are monitor and printer.
• Memory — It is used for storing the input data as well as the output of a program that
is obtained after performing the operations specified in a program. Memory can be
primary memory as well as secondary memory. Primary memory includes Random
Access Memory (RAM) and secondary memory includes hard disks and floppy disks.
INPUT DEVICES
• Input devices are electromechanical devices that are used to provide
data to a computer for storing and further processing, if necessary.
Depending upon the type or method of input, the input device may
belong to one of the following categories:
Keyboard
• Keyboard is used to type data and text and execute commands. A standard keyboard,
as shown in Fig. consists of the following groups of keys:
• Alphanumeric Keys include the number keys and alphabet keys arranged in QWERTY
layout.
• Function Keys help perform specific tasks, such as searching a file or refreshing a web
page.
• Central Keys include arrow keys (for moving the cursor) and modifier keys such as
SHIFT, ALT and
CTRL (for modifying the input).
• Numeric Keypad looks like a calculator’s keypad with its 10 digits and mathematical
operators.
• Special Purpose Keys: The special purpose keys help perform a certain kind of
operation, like exiting a program (Escape) or deleting some characters (Delete) in a
document, etc.
• Mouse
• Mouse is a small hand-held pointing
device that basically controls the
• Scanner
two-dimensional movement of the
cursor on the displayed screen. It is • Scanning devices are the input devices that can electronically
an important part of the Graphical capture text and images and convert them into computer
User Interface (GUI) based Operating readable form.
Systems (OS) as it helps in selecting a • Scanner is an input device, which works more like a photocopy
portion of the screen and copying machine. It is used when some information is available on
and pasting the text. paper, and it is to be transferred to the hard disk of the
computer for further manipulation.
• Scanner captures images from the source which are then
converted into a digital form that can be stored on the disk.
These images can be edited before they are printed.
• Computer Memory
• The computer memory holds the data and instructions needed to process raw
data and produce output. The computer memory is divided into large number
of small parts known as cells. Each cell has a unique address which varies from
0 to memory size minus one.
• Computer memory is of two types: Volatile (RAM) and Non-volatile (ROM).
The secondary memory (hard disk) is referred to as storage , not memory.
• But, if we categories memory on behalf of space or location, it is of four types:
1. Register memory
2. Cache memory
3. Primary memory
4. Secondary memory
Memory units
• Memory is used to store the data for later reference. The smallest
unit is bit, which mean either 0 or 1.
• 1 bit = 0 or 1

• 1 Byte = 8 bits

• 1 Nibble = 4 bits

• 1 Kilo Byte = 1024 Byte= 210 Byte=210 * 8 bits

• 1 Mega Byte = 1024 KB =220 Byte

• 1 Giga Byte = 1024 MB = 230 Byte

• 1 Tera Byte = 1024 GB =240 Byte

• PROCESSOR
• The CPU consists of Control Unit (CU) and Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) . The CPU is
like brain performs the following functions:
• It performs all calculations.
• It takes all decisions.
• It controls all units of the computer
• CU stores the instruction set, which specifies the operations to be performed by
the computer.
• CU transfers the data and the instructions to the ALU for an arithmetic operation.
ALU performs arithmetic or logical operations on the data received.
• Arithmetic Logical Unit:
• All calculations are performed in the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) of the computer. It
also does comparison and takes decision. The ALU can perform basic operations such as
addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, etc. and does logic operations viz, >, <, =,
‘etc. Whenever calculations are required, the control unit transfers the data from storage
unit to ALU once the computations are done, the results are transferred to the storage
unit by the control unit and then it is sent to the output unit for displaying results.

• Control Unit:

• It controls all other units in the computer. The control unit instructs the input unit, where
to store the data after receiving it from the user. It controls the flow of data and
instructions from the storage unit to ALU. It also controls the flow of results from the
ALU to the storage unit. The control unit is generally referred as the central nervous
system of the computer that control and synchronizes its working.
• The CPU registers store the data to be processed by the CPU and the processed data also. Apart from CU and ALU, CPU seeks help from
the following hardware devices to process the data:

Motherboard
• It refers to a device used for connecting the CPU with the input and output devices. The components on the motherboard are connected
to all parts of a computer and are kept insulated from each other. Some of the components of a motherboard are:
• Buses: Electrical pathways that transfer data and instructions among different parts of the computer.
• For example, the data bus is an electrical pathway that transfers data among the microprocessor, memory and input/output devices
connected to the computer.
• System clock: It is a clock used for synchronising the activities performed by the computer. The electrical signals that are passed inside a
computer are timed, based on the tick of the clock.
• Microprocessor: CPU component that performs the processing and controls the activities performed by the different parts of the
computer.
• ROM: Chip that contains the permanent memory of the computer that stores information, which cannot be modified by the end user.
• RAM: It refers to the primary memory of a computer that stores information and programs, until the computer is used. RAM is available as
a chip that can be connected to the RAM slots in the motherboard.
• Video Card/Sound Card: The video card is an interface between the monitor and the CPU. Video cards also include their own RAM and
microprocessors that are used for speeding up the processing and display of a graphic. A sound card is a circuit board placed on the
motherboard and is used to enhance the sound capabilities of a computer.
OUTPUT DEVICES
The main task of an output device is to convert the machine-readable information into human-readable form which may be in the form of text,
graphics, audio or video.

Display Monitors
• A monitor produces visual displays generated by the
computer. The monitor is connected to the video card
placed on the expansion slot of the motherboard.
• The monitors can be classified as cathode ray tube
(CRT) monitors or liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors.
The CRT monitors are large, occupy more space in the
computer, whereas LCD monitors are thin, light
weighted, and occupy less space. Both the monitors
are available as monochrome, greyscale and colour
models.
• A monitor can be characterised by its monitor size and resolution. The
monitor size is the length of the screen that is measured diagonally.
The resolution of the screen is expressed as the number of picture
elements or pixels of the screen. The resolution of the monitor is also
called the dot pitch. The monitor with a higher resolution produces a
clearer image.
Printer
The printer is an output device that transfers the text displayed on the screen, onto paper sheets that can be used by the end user. Printers can be
classified based on the technology they use to print the text and images:

• Dot matrix printers — Dot matrix printers are impact printers that use
perforated sheet to print the text. Dot matrix printers are used to
produce multiple copies of a printout.
• Inkjet printers — Inkjet printers are slower than dot matrix printers
and are used to generate high quality photographic prints.
• Laser printers — The laser printer may or may not be connected to a
computer, to generate an output. These printers consist of a
microprocessor, ROM and RAM, which can be used to store the
textual information.
• 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.
• The images projected by
a projector is larger in size as
compared to the original images.
• A projector consists of an
optic system, a light source and
displays, which contain the original
images.
• A computer is a combination of hardware
and software resources which integrate
together and provides various functionalities
to the user.

• Hardware are the physical components of a

computer like the processor, memory
devices, monitor, keyboard etc.

• Software is the set of programs or

instructions that are required by the
hardware resources to perform various
operations as per the requirement of users
• SOFTWARE : Types
• Software supports the functioning of a computer system internally and cannot be seen. It is stored on secondary
memory and can be an application software as well as system software.

• System Software : System software is software that directly operates the computer hardware and provides the
basic functionality to the users as well as to the other software to operate smoothly. In other words, system
software basically controls a computer’s internal functioning and also controls hardware devices such as
monitors, printers, and storage devices': OS

• Application Software : Software that performs special functions or provides functions that are much more than
the basic operation of the computer is known as application software. Or in other words, application software is
designed to perform a specific task for end-users. It includes word processors, spreadsheets, database
management , skype , meet and zoom.
• The application software is used to perform a specific task according to requirements and the system software
(operating system and networking system) is mandatory for running application software

• Program Software: Computer programmers use programming software to write code. Programming software and
programming tools enable developers to develop, write, test and debug other software programs.
• Examples of programming software include assemblers, compilers, debuggers and interpreters.