Topics in Computing

Lecture 1
Introduction to Computer Science

College of Computers and Information Systems

Outline

1. Background
2. Is CS right for you?
3. Objectives
4. Main concepts
5. History of CS
6. Fields and topics covered by CS
7. Careers
8. Ethical aspects
9. Conclusion
10. Activity and discussion
11. References
Background

• The Computers are today integral part of the human world and human world is
critically dependent upon the computing power of these computers.
• The applications of computer science are indispensable in every industry we can
possibly think of such as aviation, health care, banking, engineering and so on.
• The business corporations are spending huge amount of money for the collection,
processing and analysis of large volumes of data essential to manage the day to
day business operations of the company.
Background – cont…

• Learning Computer science is now considered to be one of the best career option.
The career in Computer Science not only offers an opportunity to work with some
top-notch corporate companies but also to work as an entrepreneur.
• Learning Computer science as major can give you access to most powerful tool to
work on some creative ideas. As a Computer Science professional, you can build
next generation games, develop applications like Facebook and Twitter.
…Background – cont

Every 21st century student should have a chance to learn

,about algorithms, how to make apps
.and how the internet works
Is CS right for you?

• Do you enjoy problem solving?

• Are you good with technology?
• Are you curious?
• Do you love to figure things out on your own?
• Do you want to learn to develop a cell phone app?
• Would you like to learn to make social media
better?
• Do you like science and math?
• Are you creative?
 Objectives

In this chapter your will learn:

• Introductory notions of computer science and programming

• How to think algorithmically and solve programming problems efficiently using computers
• Concepts like hardware, software, operating systems, algorithms, data structures, programming
languages, and web development
• How to engage with a vibrant community of like-minded learners from all levels of experience
• Ethical aspects of computers and society
 Main Concepts

What is CS ?
• The computer science can be defined as a branch of engineering science that studies the
technology and the principles of design and applications of the computer system.
• Computer science is an interdisciplinary science, and its scope includes study of
computation, computer technologies, hardware and software.
• Many computer scientist describe, and practice computer science as a creativity tool. This
approach enables them to create something meaningful using the phenomenal computing
power of computers.
• The Computer science has also evolved over period of last few decades both in the hardware
and the software domain.
 …Main Concepts – cont

Computer science is about logic, problem solving and creativity.

The scope of computer science covers some important subjects that include :
• Discrete Mathematics
• Data Structures
• Application And System Software
• Algorithms
• Statistics
• Programming Languages.
• Computer Hardware
• CS Design And Architecture
• Database Management Systems
• Web Design And Development
• Artificial Intelligence
History of the topics
…History of the topics – cont
Fields and topics covered by CS
Fields and topics covered by CS

• Operating System
• The CS Sub-stream OS includes operating system, device drivers, system utility software programs,
programming language compilers, interpreters, network operating systems, antivirus and malware software.
• Intelligent System
• The CS Sub-stream Intelligent System includes Artificial Intelligence, pattern recognition, data mining,
web monitoring, hybrid intelligence systems, speech recognition and robotics.
• Application Development
• The CS Sub-stream Application Development includes Computer Programming Languages such as C, C++
, Java, Python, Java Script, MS Dot Net and many more. It also include Web design and development
languages HTML, CSS, JS, PHP, CMS.
• The Application development also include database design and development tools like DBMS, RDBMS,
MySQL and so on.
 Types of computers

• Generally, computers are recognized by their power and size. The common categories of the
computer system consist of:
• supercomputers,
• mainframes, and
• microcomputers.

• Traditionally, the term “size” refers to the physical mass of a computer. On the other hand, the term
“power” refers to the speed as well as complexity of calculations that the computer carries out.
Supercomputers

• Supercomputers are known as the most powerful, advanced, and

expensive computers of the present era.
• They are usually characterized as comprising the fastest speeds of
processing and doing the complex calculations.
• At present, those speeds can attain quadrillions of calculations per
second.
• It is projected that the speed will be much faster in upcoming days.
Mainframe Computer

• Mainframe computer is known as an advanced multiuser device, which is typically

used for managing the databases such as financial transactions and communications
of major organizations like insurance companies, banks, government offices,
hospitals, retail stores, and various other sectors also.

• As these applications do not need the computational complexity of

supercomputers, mainframe computers are still very potent. These computers can
easily process billions of commands or instructions per second, provide support to
almost hundreds of users, and store trillions of bytes of data.

• They are quite expensive computers and necessitate the support from the staff to
maintain its daily operations. These computers are very dynamic to the
performance of various tasks of daily life, but it was only the personal computer,
which actually transformed the way of thinking and working.
Personal Computer
• Personal computer is a kind of system that utilizes a microprocessor device in order to provide
computing to a single specific user. Personal computers include various distinct names as well as
configurations comprising microcomputer, desktop, laptop, and tablet.

• The computing enthusiast who desired his or her own computer systems instead of sharing a big
centralized mainframe developed the first personal computer in the year of 1975. Their efforts were
greatly energized in the year 1971 when Intel initially introduced the microprocessor.

• A microprocessor is defined as the single silicon chip that includes all the elements of a central
processing unit (CPU). This mini CPU was not as prevailing as a mini-frame computer, but it was
much cheaper and smaller. It was good for a single user who desired computing ability on the
desktop.
Cloud computing

Cloud Platform provides developer products to build a range of programs from simple
websites to complex applications. Examples:

• AWS: Amazon Web Services provides on-demand delivery of IT resources via the
Internet with pay-as-you-go pricing.

• Microsoft Azure: Microsoft Azure is an open, flexible, enterprise-grade cloud

computing platform.

• Google Cloud: Google Cloud Platform is a cloud computing platform by Google

that offers hosting on the same supporting infrastructure that Google uses internally
for end-user products like Google Search and YouTube.
Computer architecture
Main components of computer system

Basically, a computer system is made up of five components:

• Hardware
• Software
• Database
• Network
• People.

These five components function together to perform input, process, output, feedback, and control.
Hardware: Input devices

• An input device is a peripheral part of the computer hardware equipment. These devices are used to provide
data as well as control signals to an information processing system like a computer or any other information
appliance. They translate data from the data that human understands to the one that computer can work with.
• Example of Input Devices:

Barcode reader; Graphics tablets;

Cameras; Joystick;
Digital camera; Keyboard;
Electronic whiteboard; Microphone;
Gamepad; MIDI keyboard;
Hardware: Output devices

An output device is a hardware that converts computer data to human readable form.

Examples of Output Devices:

• Computer output microfilm (COM)
• LCD
• Monitor
• Plotters
• Printers (all types)
• Projection panels
• Projector
• Speaker(s)
 Hardware: CPU Architecture
A CPU is known as the brain of a computer. It is mainly responsible for all
processes and functions. In context to the computing power, the CPU is known as
the most crucial element of a computer system

The CPU includes three major components:

• Arithmetic & Logic Unit (ALU):
• It performs all logical and arithmetic operations. Logical operations
are letters, computer numbers, or special characters. Arithmetic
calculations are addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
• Control Unit:
• It controls as well as coordinates the components of computer.
• Memory Unit:
• Store data for ALU processing. It can be registers of cache memory.
Hardware: Memory

• Primary Memory: Random Access Memory (RAM)

• RAM is used during the runtime of the computer

• Each software or a data file needs to be copied from secondary
memory to primary memory prior to its execution by the CPU
• Everything that the user does is stored in this memory during system
execution.
• High capacity
• Fast access

RAM is volatile in nature as it automatically erased when computer shutdowns.

Hardware: Memory

• Read Only Memory (ROM)

• It is used to store the start-up instructions for a computer, also
known as the firmware. Most modern computers use flash-based
ROM.
• It is part of the BIOS chip, which is located on the motherboard.
• Used to store permanent data.
• Low capacity
• Slow access

ROM is non-volatile since it is never erased when there is any shutdown or restart
of computer.
Hardware: Memory – cont…

• Secondary memory
• Used to store software, files and data permanently before
closing the device
• The secondary memory is slower than the main memory in
storing data and retrieve it.
• Each storage medium has a special drive in which it is
placed before using it.
• Very high capacity
• Slow access
• Non-volatile
Data representation

bits
Data representation – cont…

2GB 256GB

bytes 559

bytes 26,000

bytes 38,260,000000
Software: Definitions

Software
• It is the instructions and data that make the computer work.

• These are also called as programs or applications.

• They are categorized into two classes: System software and application software.
• Hardware cannot function without software.
• Software is a kind of program that performs different commands or instructions that are provided
by the user.
Software – Examples

• Examples of System Software:

• Operating System OS
• Device Drivers

• Examples of Application Software:

• Database management system (DBMS)
• Desktop publisher
• Graphics editor
• Presentation software
• Spreadsheet
• Web browser
• Word processor
 Software: Operating Systems (OS)

OS is a collection of software used to interface SW/HW.

Main goal: Hides the underlying complexity of the hardware.
• Provides an abstract model of the operation of hardware
components
• generalize hardware behaviour
• limit the flexibility in which hardware can be manipulated

• Computation model: processes, threads

• Resources: memory, disk, files, cpu, etc.
Software: Operating systems (OS) – cont…
Hardware vs Software

Hardware Software
Definition They are needed to store and run It is a program which enables a system to execute
the software. a specific task.

Types Input, processing, storage, control, Programming software, system software, and
and output devices application software

Nature Physical in nature Logical in nature

Examples Monitor, printer, scanners, CD- Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Office, Google
ROM, etc Chrome, etc.
Applications (Programs)

• Programming is the process of designing and writing computer programs to

perform specific tasks.

• A program is a set of instructions written in a specific programming language that

a computer follows to complete a task.
Algorithm

What is an Algorithm?
• It is a set of well-defined instructions,
performed sequentially, to complete a
task.

• It defines the logic of the program

• It is the first step to do after the

specification of the application and
before programming it.
Algorithm – cont…

Time complexity

Time to resole the problem

Size of the problem

Programming language

What is a Programming Language?

• A special language used to write algorithms that a
computer can understand.
• Each includes its own syntax, rules, and logic.
• Syntax is the vocabulary and grammar of a programming
language.
• Java and Python are examples of popular programming
languages.
Data structure

• It is a structure used to store and organize data in a specialized

format.
Database and Management Support System​

• Managers need to detailed information in an exact

format (database) to take on an organizational
decision. A system which eases and simplifies
an effective process of decision-making for
management executive is called a management
support system.
• Management support systems are significantly
characterized as a management information
system, decision support system, expert system, and
accounting information system.
Web development
Careers

• Fast growing
• Social impact
• Highest paying
• You can work from home
• You can couple CS with
Your bussiness or
domain
expertise
Careers
 Careers

Source: https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/rankings/the-100-best-jobs
 Careers

• Typical CS jobs:
Title
Software engineer
Full stack web developpment
Network engineer
IT manager
Computer systems architect
Computer network architect
Database administrator
Game developper
 Ethical aspects

Acceptable User Policies

• The companies that give facilities and technology services
to a collection of people or the individuals want agreement
to an acceptable use policy before those services can be
accessed.
• Like a code of ethics, this policy put up that is permissible
and things that are not permissible when someone is using
the organization's services. An everyday example of this is
the * terms of service that must be agreed to before using
the public Wi-Fi at Starbucks, McDonald is, or even a
university.
 Ethical aspects

Intellectual Property Rights

• The one of the regions that is greatly affected by digital
technologies is the area of intellectual property. The internet and
modern technology have witnessed the increase in intellectual
property claims and made it much more difficult to defend
intellectual property.
• The Intellectual property is described as property in the form of
idea, invention, or procedure that comes out from the work of the
mind or knowledge. That would contain discoveries such as song
lyrics, a computer program, a new type of toaster, or a piece of art.
 Ethical aspects

Copyright
• The Copyright is the safety granted to songs, computer programs, books,
and other creative works;
• Any innovation that has a creator can copyrighted. In the rules of
copyright, the writer of a work reins that can be controlled with the work,
containing:
• The person who can duplicate the time.
• Person that can create the matter inspiring from the works from the original work.
• The person who can act the work in open.
• The person that can display the work publicly.
• The person that has the permission to distribute the work.
 Ethical aspects

Creative Commons
The Creative Commons is an internationally active non-profit
organization that grants free permission for developers to use
it when displaying their work to the public. These
permissions help the developer to grant permission for others
to use the work in progress under certain conditions.
 Activity and discussion

• Quantum computing and cryptography

• Computer Vision

• DevOps
 Summary

• In this lecture, we learned about:

• The basics of computer information systems and its components
• The classification of computer system
• The distinct roles of computer system
• The different components of computer architecture
• The ethical concerns related to the information technology
 References

Main reference:
• Panwar, S. S. (2019). Introduction to Computer Information Systems . Arcler Press.

Auxiliary links:
• https://www.learncomputerscienceonline.com/introduction-to-computer-science/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNFK86hJRfE
!Thank You