INTRODUCTION TO

COMPUTING
COMPUTER
COMPUTER
A computer is an electronic device,
operating under the control of
instructions stored in its own memory
that can accept data (input), process
the data according to specified rules,
produce information (output), and
store the information for future use.
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INTRODUCTION
The computing industry, encompassing hardware manufacturing,
software development, IT services, data management, and
emerging technologies like AI and blockchain, is a rapidly evolving
sector influencing global economy and societal digital
transformation.
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FUNCTIONALITIES OF A
COMPUTER
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TWO COMPUTER
COMPONENTS

• Hardware
• Software
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HARDWARE
Computer hardware is the collection of
physical elements that constitutes a computer
system. Computer hardware refers to the
physical parts or components of a computer
such as the monitor, mouse, keyboard,
computer data storage, hard drive disk (HDD),
system unit (graphic cards, sound cards,
memory, motherboard and chips), etc. all of
which are physical objects that can be
touched.
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INPUT DEVICES
Input device is any peripheral (piece of
computer hardware equipment to provide
data and control signals to an information
processing system such as a computer or
other information appliance.

Input device Translate data from form that

humans understand to one that the computer
can work with. Most common are keyboard
and mouse
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CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT

(CPU)
A CPU is brain of a computer. It is responsible
for all functions and processes. Regarding
computing power, the CPU is the most
important element of a computer system.
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THE CPU IS COMPRISED OF

THREE MAIN PARTS
• Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU): Executes all arithmetic and logical
operations.
• Control Unit (CU): The control unit (CU) is a crucial component of a
computer's CPU, directing the processor's operation using a binary
decoder to convert coded instructions into control signals.
• Registers :Stores the data that is to be executed next, "very fast storage
area".
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PRIMARY MEMORY
• RAM: Random Access Memory (RAM) is a
temporary memory scheme in a computer
system that stores data randomly, allowing the
processor to access it as needed. It is volatile
and erases when supply is turned off.
• ROM (Read Only Memory): ROM is a permanent
form of storage. ROM stays active regardless of
whether power supply to it is turned on or off.
ROM devices do not allow data stored on them
to be modified.
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SECONDARY MEMORY
• Hard drive (HD): A hard disk is part of a unit, often called a
"disk drive," "hard drive," or "hard disk drive," that store and
provides relatively quick access to large amounts of data on
an electromagnetically charged surface or set of surfaces.
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• Optical disc drives (ODDs)

use laser light to read or write
data to optical discs. They can
read from discs, record from
them, and can read and record
from various optical media like
CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs.
CDs can store up to 700 MB,
DVDs 8.4 GB, and Blu-ray discs
50 GB, offering a significant
storage capacity over floppy
disks.
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• Flash Disk A storage module made of

flash memory chips. A Flash disks have no
mechanical platters or access arms, but the
term "disk" is used because the data are
accessed as if they were on a hard drive.
The disk storage structure is emulated.
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OUTPUT DEVICES

An output device is any piece of computer hardware equipment used

to communicate the results of data processing carried out by an
information processing system (such as a computer) which converts
the electronically generated information into human- readable form.
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OUTPUT DEVICES
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SOFTWARE

is a generic term for organized collections of computer data and instructions, often broken into
two major categories: system software that provides the basic non- task-specific functions of the
computer, and application software which is used by users to accomplish specific tasks.
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SOFTWARE TYPES

• System software manages hardware components in a computer system, integrating them for
functional integration. It includes an operating system, utilities like disk formatters, file
managers, display managers, text editors, user authentication tools, and networking and
device control software.
• Application software is used to perform specific tasks beyond just running a computer
system. It can be a single program, a small collection of programs, a larger software suite, or
a database management system. These software packages work together to accomplish
tasks, such as spreadsheets or text processing.
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COMPARISON APPLICATION SOFTWARE AND

SYSTEM SOFTWARE
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UNIT OF MEASUREMENTS
Storage measurements: The basic unit used in computer data storage is called a
bit (binary digit). Computers use these little bits, which are composed of ones
and zeros, to do things and talk to other computers. All your files, for instance,
are kept in the computer as binary files and translated into words and pictures by
the software (which is also ones and zeros). This two number system, is called a
“binary number system” since it has only two numbers in it. The decimal number
system in contrast has ten unique digits, zero through nine.
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Size example
• 1 bit - answer to an yes/no question
• 1 byte - a number from 0 to 255.
• 90 bytes: enough to store a typical line of text from a book.
• 4 KB: about one page of text.
• 120 KB: the text of a typical pocket book.
• 3 MB - a three minute song (128k bitrate)
• 650-900 MB - an CD-ROM
• 1 GB -114 minutes of uncompressed CD-quality audio at 1.4
Mbit/s
• 8-16 GB - size of a normal flash drive
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Speed measurement: The speed of Central Processing Unit (CPU) is

measured by Hertz (Hz), Which represent a CPU cycle. The speed of CPU
is known as Computer Speed.
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Characteristics of Computer

Speed, accuracy, diligence, storage capability and versatility are some of

the key characteristics of a computer. A brief overview of these
characteristics are
• Speed: The computer can process data very fast, at the rate of millions of
instructions per second. Some calculations that would have taken hours and
days to complete otherwise, can be completed in a few seconds using the
computer. For example, calculation and generation of salary slips of thousands
of employees of an organization, weather forecasting that requires analysis of
a large amount of data related to temperature, pressure and humidity of
various places, etc.
• Accuracy: Computer provides a high degree of accuracy. For example, the
computer can accurately give the result of division of any two numbers up to
10 decimal places.
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• Diligence: When used for a longer period of time, the computer does not get
tired or fatigued. It can perform long and complex calculations with the same
speed and accuracy from the start till the end.
• Storage Capability: Large volumes of data and information can be stored in
the computer and also retrieved whenever required. A limited amount of data
can be stored, temporarily, in the primary memory. Secondary storage devices
like floppy disk and compact disk can store a large amount of data
permanently.
• Versatility: Computer is versatile in nature. It can perform different types of
tasks with the same ease. At one moment you can use the computer to prepare
a letter document and in the next moment you may play music or print a
document. Computers have several limitations too. Computer can only
perform tasks that it has been programmed to do.
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COMPUTER VIRUSES

• Viruses: A virus is a small piece of software that piggybacks on real programs. For
example, a virus might attach itself to a program such as a spreadsheet program. Each
time the spreadsheet program runs, the virus runs, too, and it has the chance to
reproduce (by attaching to other programs) or wreak havoc.
• Trojan horses: A Trojan horse is simply a computer program. The program claims to
do one thing (it may claim to be a game) but instead does damage when you run it (it
may erase your hard disk). Trojan horses have no way to replicate automatically.
• Worms: A worm is a small piece of software that uses computer networks and
security holes to replicate itself. A copy of the worm scans the network for another
machine that has a specific security hole. It copies itself to the new machine using the
security hole, and then starts replicating from there, as well.
THANK
YOU
CC101 Introduction of
Computing