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IntroductiontoComputerSystems

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1.IntroductiontoComputerTechnology

Q
2.ComputerOrganizationandArchitecture

Q
3.SystemsSoftware

Q
4.IntroductiontoOperatingSystem

Q
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5.ComputingEnvironments

Q
CourseCompletionQuiz

1.2.ComponentsinaComputerSystem
Acomputerconsistsoffollowingcomponents:
Hardware
Software
Firmware

1.2.1.Hardware
Hardwareconstitutesthetangiblepartsofcomputerlikeitskeyboard,mouse,VisualDisplayUnit(VDU
or monitor), circuits etc. It is best described as all the physical parts of a computer, the parts you can
actuallyseeandtouch.
Hardwareconstitutesthefollowingpartsofcomputer:
I.Caseorbodyofcomputer
II.Powersupply
III.Inputperipherals
i.Mouse
ii.Keyboard
IV.Outputperipherals
i.Monitor
ii.Printer
V.MemoryDevice
VI.Motherboard
i.CentralProcessingUnit
ii.RAM
iii.Ports
VII.Expansioncards
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Outofthecomponentslistedabove,inthissession,wewillfocusourdiscussiononthefollowingparts
ofhardwareonly:
I.Mouse
II.Keyboard
III.Monitor
IV.MemoryDevice
V.CentralProcessingUnit

1.2.1.1.Mouse
A Mouse is an input device and probably has at least two buttons on it. The left button is called the
primary mouse button, the right button is called the secondary mouse button or just the right mouse
button.TherecanbeasmallwheelcalledScrollerbetweenthetwomousebuttons.Themousecanbe
usedasfollows:
Click:Pointtoanitem,thentap(pressandrelease)theleftmousebutton.Likeyouclicklinksona
website.
Doubleclick:Pointtoanitemandpresstheleftmousebuttontwiceinrapidsuccession.
Rightclick:Pointtoanitem,thentaptherightmousebutton.
Drag:Pointtoanitem,thenholddowntheleftmousebuttonasyoumovethemouse.Thenrelease
theleftmousebuttontodroptheitem.
Rightdrag:Pointtoanitem,thenholddowntherightmousebuttonasyoumovethemouse.
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Thenreleasetherightmousebuttontodroptheitem.

1.2.1.2.Keyboard
AKeyboardisaninputdeviceandisusuallyusedwhenweneedtotypesometextinputorfillaform.
Variouskeysareexplainedbelow.
Thefunctionkeyshavesomedefinitefunctiondependingontheapplicationorprogramthatyou
areusingonyourcomputer.TherearetwelvefunctionkeysfromF1toF12.F1canalwaysbeused
todisplayhelpforyourcurrentapplication,F2canbeusedtochangenameofanyfile,F3canbe
usedtosearchanytextorfileonthecomputer.Similarlyeachfunctionkeycanbeusedtoperform
aspecificaction.
ThedirectionkeysorArrowkeyscanbeusedtomovethetypingcursor(theblinkingshortvertical
lineonmonitorthatindicatesthepositionoftextinsertion)atdesiredlocation.
ThenumerickeyscanbeusedtoenternumbersifwehavepressedtheNumLockkeywhichcan
beindicatedbythelightonLockKeyindicators.Otherwise,theNumerickeysbehaveasdirection
keysandallowsyoutochangeyourcursorlocation.
CtrlandAltkeysaregenerallyusedincombinationwithotherkeystoperformsomespecifictask
thatis,youcanpressallthesecombinationkeystogethertoproduceasingleinput.
ShiftKeyisalsoaspecialkeywhichcanbeusedtochangethelowercaselettertouppercaseand
viceversawhiletyping.Itisalsousedtodisplaytheparenthesis(),thequestionmark(?),the
exclamationpoint(!)andthecolon(:).Also,ithelpsindisplayingotherspecialcharacterslike@,
$,#thatarepresentonthehorizontalnumerickeypad.
Tabkeyallowsyoutomovethecursorbyafixednumberofspaces.Itishelpfulifyouwantto
writesomethinginatabulatedform.Itcanalsobeusedtomovetothenextinputfieldwhilefilling
aform.
CapsLockKeysetsaninputmodeinwhichtypedlettersareuppercase(incapitalletters)by
default.Thekeyboardremainsincapslockmodeuntilthekeyispressedagain.Itcanbeuseful
whenyouaretypingaheadingorfillingaformwhichrequiresonlycapitalletters.
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EnterKeycausesaformoranyothercomputeroperationtoperformitsdefaultfunction.Thisis
typicallyanalternativetopressinganOKbutton.Itcanalsobeusedtomovetothenextline's
startingpositionwhiletyping.
Esc(Escape)keycanbeusedtocancelataskortogobacktoaprevioustask.

1.2.1.3.Monitor
Monitor, also called as VDU (Visual Display Unit) is the primary output device. It looks like a
Televisionandhassimilarpurposeofdisplayingvideosoroutputofprograms.Monitorsarebuiltusing
technologieslikeCathodeRayTube(CRTmonitorsreferGlossary)andThinFilmTransistorLiquid
Crystal Display (TFT LCD monitors refer Glossary). We now generally have these monitors or
screensmadeofTFTLCD.

1.2.1.4.MemoryDevices
Thesearethedeviceswhichstoretheinformation.
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Thetermprimarymemoryisusedfortheinformationinphysicalsystemswhichfunctionsathighspeed.
For example, it is capable of performing complex calculations and displaying the results at the same
time.
Secondarymemorydevicesarephysicaldevicesforprogramanddatastoragewhichareslowtoaccess
butofferhighermemorycapacity.
Primarymemorystoredonsecondarymemoryiscalledvirtualmemory.
RAM (refer Figure 1.14, Glossary), and Computer cache (refer Glossary) are examples of Primary
memory storage. Magnetic tapes, Compact Disks (CDs), Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs refer Figure
1.15)areallexamplesofSecondaryMemoryStorage.

Thememoryisorganizedintomemorycellseachstoringonebinarybit(0or1).Thememorycellsare
grouped into words of fixed length, for example 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 or 128 bit. Each word in the
memory can be accessed by a binary address (refer Glossary) of N bit, making it possible to store 2
raisedbyNwords.

1.2.1.5.CentralProcessingUnit
The Central Processing Unit (CPU) or the computer processor performs calculations, processes
information,storesdatainmemoryandcontrolstheflowofdata.Theconventionalprocessorsaresmall
insizeandhaveallthecircuitsintegratedonasinglechip.Becauseofitssmallsize,theprocessorisalso
knownasmicroprocessor.ItisalsocalledtheBrainofcomputer.

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Aminimalhypotheticalmicroprocessormightonlyincludeanarithmeticlogicunit(ALU)anda
controllogicsection.
TheALUperformsmathematicaloperationssuchasadditionoftwonumbers,andlogical
operationssuchasANDorOR(referGlossary).EachoperationoftheALUsetsoneormoreflags
inastatusregister(asmallmemorywithintheCPU),whichindicatestheresultofthelast
operation.
Thecontrollogicsectionretrievesinstructioncodesfrommemory,andinitiatesthesequenceof
operationsthattheALUrequirestocarryouttheinstruction.Itmayhappenthatasingleoperation
codeaffectsmanyregisters(referGlossary)atthesametime.Itislikeexecutingaflowchart(refer
Glossary)anddependingontheconditionencounteredintheflowchartanappropriatedecision
willbetakenandtheflowwilljumptosomeotheroperationtobetriggeredintheALU.
GarrettAiResearch'sCentralAirDataComputer(CADC)(1968),TexasInstruments(TI)TMS
1000(1971September)andIntel's4004(1971November)arethethreeprojectsthatdelivereda
microprocessorataboutthesametime.
Wealsohavemulticoreprocessorsthathaveasinglechipcontainingmorethanone
microprocessor.Thiseffectivelymultipliestheprocessor'spotentialperformancebythenumberof
cores(theindependentactualcentralprocessingunits).
Thefirstdualcoreprocessors(microprocessorshavingtwoseparatemicroprocessorsonsingle
IntegratedChipreferFigure1.16)forpersonalcomputerwereannouncedin2005.
Asof2013,dualcoreandquadcoreprocessors(microprocessorshavingfourseparate
microprocessorsonsingleIntegratedChip)arewidelyusedinhomePCsandlaptopswhilesix,
eight,ten,twelveandsixteencoreprocessorsarecommonintheprofessionalandenterprise
marketswithworkstationsandservers(referGlossary).

1.2.2.Software
Softwareisthenonmaterialpartofcomputerlikedata,programs,protocolsetc.Itisanonphysical
componentthatrunsonyourcomputerandcanbechangedbyasetofprogrammedinstructions.
ForexampleyouwatchamovieonaDVDusingtheDVDdriveinyourcomputer.HeretheDVDand
DVDdrivearebothhardware,buttheprograminyourcomputerthatyouusetowatchthismovieis
calledsoftware.ThusasmovieisstoredonaDVD,similarlythereisaprogramlikeMediaPlayerstored
onyourcomputertowatchthatmovie.Theapplicationthatyouarecurrentlyusingtoreadthistextis
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alsoasoftware.
Softwarecanbecategorizedintothreetypesasfollows:
SystemSoftware
UtilitySoftware
ApplicationSoftware

1.2.2.1.SystemSoftware
It is the software used to manage and control the hardware components and which allow interaction
between the hardware and the other types of software (refer Figure 1.17). The most obvious type of
systemsoftwareisthecomputer'soperatingsystem.WewillseeOperatingSystemindetail.

AlltheprogramsandsoftwarerunoncomputerusingthemainsoftwareTheOperatingSystem.Some
popularmodernoperatingsystemsareAndroid,iOS,Unix,Linux,MacOSX,MicrosoftWindowsand
IBMz/OS(referFigure1.18).

Operatingsystemhasvariouscategoriesaslistedbelow:
Realtime:Realtimeoperatingsystemsoftenusespecializedschedulingalgorithms(refer
Glossary).Themainobjectiveofrealtimeoperatingsystemsistheirquickandpredictable
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responsetoevents.Theirdesigniscalledeventdrivenortimesharingdesign.Aneventdriven
designsystemswitchesbetweentasksbasedontheirprioritiesorexternaleventswhiletime
sharingoperatingsystemsswitchtasksbasedonclockinterrupts.
Multiuser:Amultiuseroperatingsystemallowsmultipleuserstoaccessacomputersystemat
thesametime.TimesharingsystemsorInternetserversareexamplesofmultiusersystemsasthey
enablemultipleuseraccesstoacomputerthroughthesharingoftime.
Multitasking:Amultitaskingoperatingsystemallowsmorethanoneprogramtorunatagiven
time.Multitaskingcanbeoftwotypes:preemptiveandcooperative.

Preemptivemultitaskingistheactoftemporarilyinterruptingataskbeingcarriedoutbya
computersystem,withtheintentionofresumingthetaskatalatertime.Unixlikeoperating
systemssuchasSolarisandLinuxsupportpreemptivemultitasking.Forexample,youare
talkingonalandlinephonetosomeoneandthedoorbellrings.Inthiscaseyouwouldkeep
thephonecalleronholdandvisitthepersonondoorandthencomebackandcontinuewith
thetelephonecall.Itshowsherethattheringingofthedoorbellwasataskhavinghigher
priorityforwhichyoucouldsuspendthecurrentnormalpriorityphonecall.
Cooperativemultitaskingisachievedbyrelyingoneachprocesstogivetimetotheother
processesinadefinedmanner.16bitversionsofMicrosoftWindows(MicrosoftWindows
1.0to3.0and9xversionswhichstillsupporttheolderwindowsversions.Thesesystems
usuallyhangorstoprespondingincaseonerunningprogramdoesnotcooperatetoyieldthe
processortosomeotherprogram)usedcooperativemultitasking.MacOSversionsbeforeto
OSXusedtosupportcooperativemultitasking.
Singletasking:ASingleTaskingsystemhasonlyonerunningprogram(referGlossary).ThePalm
OSforPalmhandheldcomputersisanexampleofasingleuserandsingletaskoperatingsystem.
Distributed:Adistributedoperatingsystemmanagesagroupofindependentcomputersand
makesthemappeartobeasinglecomputer.Thenetworkedcomputersworkingasagroupin
cooperation,makeadistributedsystem.
Embedded:Embeddedoperatingsystemsaredesignedtobeusedinembeddedcomputersystems.
ThesearedesignedtooperateonmachineslikePDAswithlessautonomy.Theyoperatewitha
limitednumberofresources,areverycompactandextremelyefficientbydesign.Minix3and
WindowsCEareexamplesofembeddedoperatingsystems

1.2.2.2.UtilitySoftware
ItissoftwaresuchasantivirussoftwarelikeNortonandMcAfee,orMicrosoftSecurityEssentialswhich
help to maintain and protect the computer system but may not directly interface with the hardware.
UtilitieslikeWinziphelptocombineandcompressdatafilessothattheyoccupylessmemoryandcan
beeasilysentinmails.

1.2.2.3.ApplicationsSoftware
Alsoknownasapps,thesearedesignedtoallowtheuserofthesystemcompleteaspecifictaskorsetof
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tasks.Appsincludeprogramslikewebbrowsers,gamesandofficesoftware.Theyareusuallythereason
youboughtthecomputersysteminthefirstplace(referFigure1.19).

1.2.3.Firmware
It is the combination of persistent memory (long term or permanent storage which is preserved even
whenthepowersupplyisunavailable),programcodeandthedatastoredinit.
Itissoftwarestoredinhardware.
Examplesincludeembeddedsystemsliketrafficlightsandremotecontrol.
Letusunderstandfirmwareusingremotecontrol.Whenyouopenaremotecontrolyouseeasetof
circuitswhichalongwiththebodyoftheremotecontrolconstitutesthehardwarepart.Nowyou
canmoveorswitchchannelsusingtheremotecontroloryoucanputachildlockforthesame.
Alsoyoucanusetheswapbuttonontheremotecontroltogobacktothepreviousviewedchannel.
Sotheremotecontrolisabletorememberwhichisthemostrecentchannelyouviewedoryour
colorpreferences.Thispartconstitutesthesoftwareanddatastoredinyourremotecontrol.
Changingthefirmwareofadevicemayrarelyorneverbedoneduringitslifetime.Somefirmware
memorydevicesarepermanentlyinstalledandcannotbechangedatall.Deviceslikeprinters,
scanners,camerasandUSBdriveshavefirmwarestoredinternally.

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RelatedMaterial/VideoLinks:
Hardware:http://nptel.ac.in/courses/106106092/3
Software:http://nptel.ac.in/courses/106106092/2
Firmware:http://nptel.ac.in/courses/108102045/

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Askadoubt

(Misuseof'AskaDoubt'SectionwillbedealtaspertheTerms&ConditionsofCampusCommune)

OpenDoubts ClosedDoubts

SarthakAgarwal
RegistersarethepartofmemoryUnit?
A.True
B.False
ImarkeditAanditshowedWrong.
Couldsomeonepleaseclarifymethis?
about4daysago
MohammedZ
registersresideinprocessor'stostoredatatemporarilybetweeninstructionsduringexecution.
MamathaS
Whatareexpansioncards?
about5daysago
HarishRodd
Anexpansioncardisusedtogiveacomputeradditionalcapabilities,suchasenhancedvideo
performanceviaagraphiccards.

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MamathaS
whicharethedifferentfunctionsdoneusingCtrlandAltkeys?
about5daysago
MamathaS
whatarespecialkeysinkeyboard?
about5daysago
BalamareeswaranMurugesan
Dearsir,everyembeddedapplicationisanfirmwareah?oranylimitationsisthere?
about5daysago
BalamareeswaranMurugesan
Goodeveningsir,
WhatisthedifferencebetweenRAMandcachememory?aretheysame..pleaseexplain...
about5daysago
ManvikaSaluja
Goodeveningsir
Whatistheuseofvirtualmemory?whenisitused?.Explainmoreaboutvirtualmemory.
about5daysago
ShabbirAhmedModerator
Virtualmemoryisafeatureofanoperatingsystem(OS)thatallowsacomputertocompensatefor
shortagesofphysicalmemorybytemporarilytransferringpagesofdatafromrandomaccess
memory(RAM)todiskstorage
ManvikaSaluja
Explaincooperativemultitaskingwithanexample.
about5daysago
ShabbirAhmedModerator
Cooperativemultitaskingisatypeofmultitaskinginwhichtheprocesscurrentlycontrollingthe
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CPUmustoffercontroltootherprocesses.Itiscalledcooperativebecauseallprogramsmust
cooperateforittowork.forexample:Ifoneprogramdoesnotcooperate,itcanhogtheCPU.In
contrast,preemptivemultitaskingforcesapplicationstosharetheCPUwhethertheywanttoornot.
DeepakSingh
Whatisdiff.b/wmechanicalandelectronickeyboardandwhichismostcommonamongpeople?
about5daysago
MamathaS
Pleaseprovidemoreinformationaboutcooperativemultitasking.

about5daysago
ShabbirAhmedModerator
Cooperativemultitaskingisatypeofmultitaskinginwhichtheprocesscurrentlycontrollingthe
CPUmustoffercontroltootherprocesses.Itiscalledcooperativebecauseallprogramsmust
cooperateforittowork.forexample:Ifoneprogramdoesnotcooperate,itcanhogtheCPU.In
contrast,preemptivemultitaskingforcesapplicationstosharetheCPUwhethertheywanttoornot.
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