IN THE NAME OF ALLAH ALMIGHTY

Subject: Introduction to Computer

Instructor: Tayyab Haneef

Semester 1st, B.A, LLB (Hons)

Lahore Leads University, Pakistan

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lecture you will be able to

Describe the importance of computers in todays world.
Understand the Concept of Computer with characteristics and its history
Identify the different types of a computer.
Know the basic parts of computer system.
Introduction to Computer
Importance:
Nowadays, computers are an integral part of our lives. For a user, computer is a
tool that provides the desired information, whenever needed. You may use
computer to get information about the reservation of tickets (railways, airplanes
and Hajj or Umrah), payment of telephone and electricity bills, deposit and
withdrawal of money from banks, processing of business data, forecasting of
weather conditions, diagnosis of diseases, searching for information on the
Internet, books in a library, medical history of a person, a place in a map, or the
dictionary meaning of a word and to find out judgments of apex courts . The
information may be presented to you in the form of text, images, video clips, etc.
The list of applications of computers is so long that it is not possible to discuss all
of them here. Some of the applications of the computers mentioned as under
1. Education
2. Entertainment
3. Sports
4. Business & Advertising
5. Preaching of Religion
6. Medicine
7. Science and Engineering
8. Government organizations
9. Communication
10. Home

What Is Computer?
The term computer is derived from the word compute. The word compute means to
calculate. A computer is an electronic machine that accepts data from the user,
processes the data by performing calculations and operations on it, and
generates the desired output results. Computer performs both simple and
complex operations, with speed and accuracy.
A computer is a programmable machine that receives input, stores and

manipulates data, and provides output in a useful format.

Computer is an electronic machine that follows a set of instructions in order

that it may be able to accept and gather data and transform these into
information.
To Conclude, a computer is an electronic device that processes data, converting it
into information that is useful to people. Any computer- regardless of its type- is
controlled by programmed instructions, which gives the machine a purpose and tell
it what to do.
Functions of Computer:
1. It accepts and gather data. (INPUT)
2. It processes data to become information. (PROCESSING)
3. It stores data and information. (STORE)
4. It presents information. (OUTPUT)
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:
1.

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.

2.

Accuracy: Computer provides a high degree of accuracy.

3. 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.
4. Storage Capability: Large volumes of data and information can be stored
in the computer and also retrieved whenever required.
5. Versatility: Computer is versatile in nature. Computers have several
limitations too. Computer can only perform tasks that it has been
programmed to do. Computer cannot do any work without instructions from

the user. It executes instructions as specified by the user and does not take
its own decisions.
TYPES OF COMPUTER
Basically computer is broadly categorized into two types:
1) Digital Computers and
2) Analog Computers
A digital computer uses distinct values to represent the data internally. All
information are represented using the digits 0s and 1s. The computers that we use
at our homes and offices are digital computers.
Analog computer is another kind of a computer that represents data as variable
across a continuous range of values. The earliest computers were analog computers.
Analog computers are used for measuring of parameters that vary continuously in
real time, such as temperature, pressure and voltage. Analog computers may be
more flexible but generally less precise than digital computers. Slide rule is an
example of an analog computer.
The digital computers that are available nowadays vary in their sizes and types.
The computers are broadly classified into four categories based on their size and
type
1. PERSONAL COMPUTER
2. MAINFRAME COMPUTER
3. MINICOMPUTER
4. SUPER COMPUTER
1. PERSONAL COMPUTER
The most common type of computer is personal computer- a personal computer
that is designed to sit on a desk or table. These are the systems you see all
around you, in school, homes, and office.
Todays personal computers are more powerful than those of just a few
years ago. Not only do these machine enable people to do their jobs with
greater ease and efficient, but they can be used to communicate, produce
music, edit photographs and videos, etc. the main components of the personal
computer is the system units.
2. MAINFRAME COMPUTER
Mainframe computers are large general purpose computers. Mainframe
computer are used in large organizations such as insurance companies and
banks, where many people frequently need to use the same data. In a
traditional mainframe environment, each user accesses the mainframes
resources through a device called a terminal. There are two types of
3

terminals. A dumb terminal does not process or store data; it is simply an

input/output device that functions as a window into a computer located
somewhere else. An intelligent terminal can perform some processing
operations, but it usually does not have any storage. In some mainframe
environments, however, workers can use a standard personal computer to
access the mainframe.
3. MINICOMPUTER
First released in the 1960s, minicomputers got their name because of
their small size compared to other computer of the day. Minicomputer
performs multi-tasking and allows many terminals to be connected to their
services. The capabilities of a minicomputer are somewhere between those
of mainframe and personal computers. For this reason minicomputers are
often called midrange computers.
4. SUPER COMPUTER
Supercomputers are the most powerful computers made, and
physically they are some of the largest. These systems can process huge
amounts of data, and the fastest supercomputers can perform more than
one trillion calculations per second.
History of Computer
Charles Babbage is called the "Grand Father" of the computer. The First
mechanical computer designed by Charles Babbage was called Analytical Engine. It
uses read-only memory in the form of punch cards. 1804 British inventor, Charles
Babbage, designed an all - purpose problem - solving machine, the difference
engine, which had a mechanical memory to store the results of calculations.
The evolution of computer to the current state is defined in terms of the
generations of computer. Each generation of computer is designed based on a new
technological development, resulting in better, cheaper and smaller computers that
are more powerful, faster and efficient than their predecessors. Currently, there
are five generations of computer.
1. First Generation (1940 to 1956): Using Vacuum Tubes
2. Second Generation (1956 to 1963): Using Transistors
3. Third Generation (1964 to 1971): Using Integrated Circuits
4. Fourth Generation (1971 to present): Using Microprocessors
5. Fifth Generation (Present and Next): Using Artificial Intelligence

PARTS OF THE COMPUTER SYSTEM

A complete computer system consists of mainly four parts.
1.

Hardware (The computer)

2.

Software (Programs)

3.

Data (Information)

4.

User (People)

Hardware
The mechanical devices that make up the computer are called Hardware. A
computers hardware consists of interconnected electronic devices that you can
use to control the computers operation, input, and output.
Software
Software is a set of instructions that makes the computer perform tasks. In other
words we can say that, software tells the computer what to do. Here the program
refers to any piece of software
Data
Data consist of individual facts or pieces of information that by themselves may
not make much sense to a person. A computer primary job is to process these tiny
pieces of data in various ways, converting them into useful information
Users
Peoples are the computer operators, also known as users. One can argue that some
computer systems are complete without a persons involvement; however no
computer is totally autonomous. Even if a computer can do its job without a person
sitting in front of it, people still design, build, program, and repair computer
system