Radian Ias Academy (Feb.2013) Computer Awareness

RADIAN IAS ACADEMY (A Hi-Tech Advanced Coaching cum Guidance Centre)
RADIAN IAS ACADEMY

(FEB.2013)
Data Processing:
The activity of processing data using a computer is
called data processing.
It includes,
Capturing or inputting Data
Manipulating Data
Output of Results
Some Well Known Early Computers:
Information:
Data is a raw material used as input and information is
processed data obtained as output of data processing.
2) Speed:
Computer can perform data processing jobs very fast,
usually measured in microseconds, nanoseconds and
picoseconds.
3) Accuracy:
Accuracy of a computer is consistently high and the
degree of its accuracy depends upon its design.
Computer errors caused due to incorrect input data or
unreliable programs are often referred to as GarbageIn-Garbage-Out (GIGO).
4) Diligence:
Computer is free from monotony, tiredness, and lack of
concentration. It can continuously work for hours
without creating any error and without grumbling.
5) Versatility:
Computer is capable of performing almost any task, if
the task can be reduced to a finite series of logical
steps.
The ENIAC (1943-46)

Integrator And Computer
The EDVAC (1946-52)

- Electronic Discrete
Variable Automatic Computer
The EDSAC (1947-49)

- Electronic Delay
Storage Automatic Calculator
The UNIVAC I (1951)

Computer

6) Power of Remembering: Computer can store and
recall any amount of information because of its
secondary storage capability. It forgets or looses certain
information only when it is asked to do so.
COMPUTER AWARENESS
Charles Babbage is considered to be the father of

modern digital computers.
He designed Difference Engine in 1822. He
designed a fully automatic analytical engine in 1842 for
performing basic arithmetic functions. His efforts
established a number of principles that are fundamental
to the design of any digital computer.
1) Automatic:
Given a job, computer can work on it automatically
without human interventions.
www.radiannews.pbworks.com
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTERS:

The word computer comes from the word compute,
which means, to calculate

Thereby, a computer is an electronic device that can
perform arithmetic operations at high speed.
A computer is also called a data processor because it
can store, process, and retrieve data whenever desired
Characteristics of Computers:
-1-
Evolution of Computers:
Blaise Pascal invented the first mechanical adding
machine in 1642.
Keyboard machines originated in the United States
around 1880.
Around 1880, Herman Hollerith came up with the
concept of punched cards that were extensively used
as input media until late 1970s.
711 EVR Road, Opp. Anna Arch, NSK Nagar, Arumbakkam, CHENNAI-106.
- Electronic Numerical
- Universal Automatic
Computer Generations:
Generation in computer talk is a step in technology.
It provides a framework for the growth of computer
industry. Originally it was used to distinguish between
various hardware technologies, but now it has been
extended to include both hardware and software. Till
today, there are five computer generations.
First Generation - 1940-1956: Vacuum Tubes
Second Generation - 1956-1963: Transistors
Third Generation - 1964-1971 : Integrated Circuits
Fourth Generation - 1971-Present : Microprocessors
Fifth Generation - Present and Beyond: Artificial
Intelligence
Basic Computer Organization:
Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
Control Unit (CU)
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
The Five Basic Operations of a Computer System:
Inputting: The process of entering data and
instructions into the computer system.
Storing: Saving data and instructions to make them
readily available for initial or additional processing
whenever required.
Processing: Performing arithmetic operations (add,
subtract, multiply, divide, etc.) or logical operations
(comparisons like equal to, less than, greater than, etc.)
on data to convert them into useful information.
Outputting: The process of producing useful
information or results for the user such as a printed
report or visual display.
Controlling: Directing the manner and sequence in
which all of the above operations are performed.
E-mail: r.rajaboopathy@yahoo.in
Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955
-2-
Storage Unit
Program
And Data
Secondary
Storage
Input
Unit
Output
Unit
Primary
Storage
Information
And
Results
Control
Unit
Indicates flow of
information and Data
Arithmetic
Logic Unit
Central Processing Unit

Indicates
Control Unit
1.
2.
3.
1.
2.
3.
1.
2.
3.

Input Unit:
An input unit of a computer system performs the
following functions:
It accepts (or reads) instructions and data from the
user.
It converts these instructions and data in computer
acceptable form.
It supplies the converted instructions and data to the
computer system for further processing.
Output Unit:
It accepts the results produced by the computer, which
are in coded form and hence, cannot be easily
understood by us.
It converts these coded results to human acceptable
(readable) form.
It supplies the converted results to the user.
Storage Unit:
The storage unit of a computer system holds (or stores)
the following:
Data and instructions required for processing (received
from input devices).
Intermediate results of processing.
Final results of processing, before they are released to
an output device.
Two Types of Storage:
Primary storage
Used to hold running program instructions.
Used to hold data, intermediate results, and results of
ongoing processing of job(s).
Fast in operation.
Small Capacity.
Expensive.
Volatile (looses data on power dissipation).
Secondary storage
Used to hold stored program instructions.
Used to hold data and information of stored jobs.
Slower than primary storage.
Large Capacity.
Lot cheaper that primary storage.
Retains data even without power.
the control by
Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)

Arithmetic Logic Unit of a computer system is the place
where the actual executions of instructions takes place
during processing operation.
Control Unit (CU)

Control Unit of a computer system manages and
coordinates the operations of all other components of
the computer system.
Central Processing Unit (CPU):

Arithmetic Logic Unit(ALU) + Control Unit(CU) = Central
Processing Unit (CPU)
It is the brain of a computer system and it is
responsible for controlling the operations of all other
units of a computer system.
It is responsible for controlling the operations of all
other units of a computer system.
Processor and Memory:

Processor Speed:
Computer has a built-in system clock that emits millions
of regularly spaced electric pulses per second known
as clock cycles.
It takes one cycle to perform a basic operation, such as
moving a byte of data from one memory location to
another.
Normally, several clock cycles are required to fetch,
decode, and execute a single program instruction.
Hence, shorter the clock cycle, faster the processor.
Clock speed (number of clock cycles per second) is
6
measured in Megahertz (10 cycles/sec) or Gigahertz
9
(10 cycles/sec).
Main Memory:
Every computer has a temporary storage built into the
computer hardware
It stores instructions and data of a program mainly
when the program is being executed by the CPU.
Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955
User-programmed
Programmable
ROM (PROM)
Erasable PROM
(EPROM)
This temporary storage is known as main memory,

primary storage, or simply memory.
Physically, it consists of some chips either on the
motherboard or on a small circuit board attached to the
motherboard of a computer.
It has random access property.
It is volatile.
Memory Capacity:
Memory capacity of a computer is equal to the number
of bytes that can be stored in its primary storage.
Its units are:
10
Kilobytes (KB): 1024 (2 ) bytes
20
Megabytes (MB): 1,048,576 (2 ) bytes
30
Gigabytes (GB): 1,073,741824 (2 ) bytes
Random Access Memory (RAM):
Primary storage of a computer is often referred to as
RAM because of its random access capability.
RAM chips are volatile memory.
A computers motherboard is designed in a manner that
the memory capacity can be enhanced by adding more
memory chips.
The additional RAM chips, which plug into special
sockets on the motherboard, are known as single-inline memory modules (SIMMs).
Read Only Memory (ROM):
ROM a non-volatile memory chip.
Data stored in a ROM can only be read and used and
they cannot be changed.
ROMs are mainly used to store programs and data,
which do not change and are frequently used. For
example, system boot program.
Type
Usage
Manufacturerprogrammed ROM
Data is burnt by the manufacturer of

the electronic equipment in which it
is used.
Secondary Storage
Devices
Sequential Access Devices
Ultra Violet
EPROM
(UVEPROM)
Electrical EPROM
or
Flash memory
(EEPROM)
-3-
The user can load and store readonly programs and data in it.
The user can erase information
stored in it and the chip can be
reprogrammed to store new
information.
A type of EPROM chip in which the
stored information is erased by
exposing the chip for some time to
ultra-violet light.
A type of EPROM chip in which the
stored information is erased by
using high voltage electric pulses
Cache Memory:
It is commonly used for minimizing the memoryprocessor speed mismatch.
It is an extremely fast, small memory between CPU and
main memory whose access time is closer to the
processing speed of the CPU.
It is used to temporarily store very active data and
instructions during processing.
Cache is pronounced as cash.
Secondary Storage:
Used in a computer system to overcome the limitations
of primary storage.
Has virtually unlimited capacity because the cost per bit
of storage is very low.
Has an operating speed far slower than that of the
primary storage.
Used to store large volumes of data on a permanent
basis.
Also known as auxiliary memory.
Direct Access Devices
Magnetic Tape
Magnetic Disks
Floppy Disk
Optical disks
Hard Disk
CD-ROM
Memory Storage devices
Flash Drive
WORM(CD-R) CD-RW
DVD
Memory Card
BD Blu-ray Disc
I/O Devices:
Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955
Provide means of communication between a computer

and outer world.
Also known as peripheral devices because they
surround the CPU and memory of a computer system.
Input devices are used to enter data from the outside
world into primary storage
Output devices supply results of processing from
primary storage to users.
Commonly Used Input Devices:

Keyboard devices
Point-and-draw devices
Data scanning devices
Keyboard Devices
Allow data entry into a computer system by pressing a
set of keys (labeled buttons) neatly mounted on a
keyboard connected to a computer system.
101-keys QWERTY keyboard is most popular.
Point-and-Draw Devices
Used to rapidly point to and select a graphic icon or
menu item from multiple options displayed on the
Graphical User Interface (GUI) of a screen.
Used to create graphic elements on the screen such as
lines, curves, and free-hand shapes.
Some commonly used point-and-draw devices are
mouse, track ball, joy stick, light pen, and touch
screen.
Data Scanning Devices:

Image Scanner
Bar-code Reader
OCR - Optical Character Recognition Device
OMR - Optical Mark Reader
MICR - Magnetic-Ink Character Recognition
Commonly Used Output Devices:

Monitors
Printers
Plotters
Screen image projector
Voice response systems
Types of Output:
Soft-copy output:
Not produced on a paper or some material that can be
touched and carried for being shown to others.
Temporary in nature and vanish after use.
Examples are output displayed on a terminal screen or
spoken out by a voice response system
Hard-copy output:
Produced on a paper or some material that can be
touched and carried for being shown to others.
Permanent in nature and can be kept in paper files or
can be looked at a later time when the person is not
using the computer.
-4-
Examples are output produced by printers or plotters on

paper.
Printers:
Most common output devices for producing hard-copy
output.
Types of Printers:
Dot-Matrix Printers:
Character printers that form characters and all kinds of
images as a pattern of dots.
Slow, with speeds usually ranging between 30 to 600
characters per second.
Cheap in both initial cost and cost of operation.
Inkjet Printers:
Character printers that form characters and all kinds of
images by spraying small drops of ink on to the paper.
Can print many special characters, different sizes of
print, and graphics such as charts and graphs.
Slower than dot-matrix printers with speeds usually
ranging between 40 to 300 characters per second.
More expensive than a dot-matrix printer
Drum Printers:
Line printers that print one line at a time.
Can only print a pre-defined set of characters in a predefined style that is embossed on the drum.
Typical speeds are in the range of 300 to 2000 lines per
minute.
Chain/Band Printers:
Line printers that print one line at a time.
Can only print pre-defined sets of characters that are
embossed on the chain/band used with the printer.
Typical speeds are in the range of 400 to 3000 lines per
minute.
Laser Printers:
Page printers that print one page at a time
To print a page, the laser beam is focused on the
electro statically charged drum by the spinning multisided mirror.
Laser printers produce very high quality output having
resolutions in the range of 600 to 1200 dpi.
Low speed laser printers can print 4 to 12 pages per
minute. Very high-speed laser printers can print 500 to
1000 pages per minute.
More expensive than other printers.
Plotters:
Plotters are an ideal output device for architects,
engineers, city planners, and others who need to
routinely generate high-precision, hard-copy graphic
output of widely varying sizes.
Two commonly used types of plotters are:
Drum plotter
Flatbed plotter
Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955
-5-
= 107110
Voice Response Systems:

Voice response system enables a computer to talk to a
user. Has an audio-response device that produces
audio output.
Such systems are of two types:
Voice reproduction systems
Speech synthesizers
Number Systems:
Decimal Number System:
Characteristics:
A positional number system.
Has 10 symbols or digits (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9).
Hence, its base = 10.
The maximum value of a single digit is 9 (one less than
the value of the base).
Each position of a digit represents a specific power of
the base (10).
We use this number system in our day-to-day life.
Example:
3
2
1
0
258610 = (210 ) + (510 ) + (810 ) + (610 )
= 2000 + 500 + 80 + 6
Binary Number System:

Characteristics:
Has only 2 symbols or digits (0 and 1). Hence its base
= 2.
the value of the base).
the base (2).
This number system is used in computers operations.
Example:
4
3
2
0
101012 = (12 ) + (02 ) + (12 ) + (12 )
= 16 + 0 + 4 + 0 + 1
= 2110
Bit:
Bit stands for binary digit.
A bit in computer terminology means either a 0 or a 1.
A binary number consisting of n bits is called an n-bit
number.
Octal Number System:
Characteristics:
Has total 8 symbols or digits (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7).
Hence, its base = 8.
the value of the base.
the base (8).
Example:
2
1
0
1AF16 = (116 ) + (A16 ) + (F16 )
= 1 x 256 + 10 x 16 + 15 x 1
= 256 + 160 + 15
= 43110
Data Types:
Numeric Data: consists of only numbers 0, 1, 2, H, 9
Alphabetic Data: consists of only the letters A, B, C,

H, Z, in both uppercase and lowercase, and blank
character.
Alphanumeric Data: is a string of symbols where a

symbol may be one of the letters A, B, C, H, Z, in either
uppercase or lowercase, or one of the digits 0,1, 2, H,
9, or a special character, such as + -* / , . () = etc.
Example:
3
2
1
0
20578 = (28 ) + (08 ) + (58 ) + (78 )
= 1024 + 0 + 40 + 7
Hexadecimal Number System:

Characteristics:
Has a total 16 symbols or digits (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9, A, B, C, D, E, F). Hence its base = 16
The symbols A, B, C, D, E and F represent the decimal
values 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 respectively.
The maximum value of a single digit is 15 (one less
than the value of the base).
Computer Codes:
As most modern coding schemes use 8 bits to
represent a symbol, the term byte is often used to mean
a group of 8 bits. Commonly used computer codes are
BCD, EBCDIC, and ASCII.
BCD:
BCD stands for Binary Coded Decimal.
It is one of the early computer codes.
It uses 6 bits to represent a symbol.
6
It can represent 64 (2 ) different characters.
EBCDIC:
EBCDIC stands for Extended Binary Coded Decimal
Interchange Code.
It uses 8 bits to represent a symbol.
8
It can represent 256 (2 ) different characters.
ASCII:
ASCII stands for American Standard Code for
Information Interchange.
ASCII is of two types ASCII-7 and ASCII-8.
ASCII-7 uses 7 bits to represent a symbol and can
7
represent 128 (2 ) different characters.
ASCII-8 uses 8 bits to represent a symbol and can
8
represent 256 (2 ) different characters.
First 128 characters in ASCII-7 and ASCII-8 are same.
Computer Software:
Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955
Hardware refers to the physical devices of a computer

system.
Software refers to a collection of programs.
Program is a sequence of instructions written in a
language that can be understood by a computer.
Software package is a group of programs that solve a
specific problem or perform a specific type of job.
Types of Software:
Most software can be divided into two major categories:
System software are designed to control the operation
and extend the processing capability of a computer
system.
Application software are designed to solve a specific

problem or to do a specific task.
System Software:
Makes the operation of a computer system more
effective and efficient.
Helps hardware components work together and provide
support for the development and execution of
application software.
Programs included in a system software package are
called system programs and programmers who prepare
them are called system programmers.
Examples of system software are operating systems,
programming language translators, utility programs,
and communications software.
Application Software:
Solves a specific problem or do a specific task
Programs included in an application software package
are called application programs
and the programmers who prepare them are called
application programmers.
Examples of application software are word processing,
inventory management, and softwares for preparation
of tax returns, banking, etc..
Ways of Acquiring Software:
Buying pre-written software
Ordering customized software
Developing customized software
Downloading public-domain software
Software Development Steps:

High Level Language
Program
Input
Compiler
Syntax Errors:
-6-
Developing a software and putting it to use is a complex

process and involves following steps:
Analyzing the problem at hand and planning the
program(s) to solve the problem.
Coding the program(s).
Testing, debugging, and documenting the program(s).
Implementing the program(s).
Evaluating and maintaining the program(s).
Computer languages or programming languages:
Classification of Computer Languages:
Machine language
Assembly language
High-level language
Machine Language:
Only language of a computer understood by it without
using a translation program.
Normally written as strings of binary 1s and 0s.
Assembly/Symbolic Language:
Programming language that overcomes the limitations
of machine language programming by, using
alphanumeric mnemonic codes instead of numeric
codes for the instructions in the instruction set.
Allowing storage locations to be represented in form of
alphanumeric addresses instead of numeric addresses.
Assembler - Software that translates as assembly
language program into an equivalent machine language
program of a computer.
High-Level Languages:
Machine independent.
Do not require programmers to know anything about
the internal structure of computer on which high-level
language programs will be executed.
Deal with high-level coding, enabling the programmers
to write instructions using English words and familiar
mathematical symbols and expressions.
Compiler:
Translator program (software) that translates a highlevel language program into its equivalent machine
language program.
Compiles a set of machine language instructions for
every program instruction in a high-level language.
Output
Machine Language
Program
In addition to doing translation job, compilers also

automatically detect and indicate syntax errors. Syntax
errors are typically of following types:
Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955
Illegal characters.
Illegal combination of characters.
Improper sequencing of instructions in a program.
Use of undefined variable names.
Note: A compiler cannot detect logic errors in a
program.
Interpreter:
Interpreter is a high-level language translator.
Takes one statement of a high-level language program,
translates it into machine language
Instructions.
Immediately executes the resulting machine language
instructions.
Compiler simply translates the entire source program
into an object program and is not involved in its
execution.
Advantages of High-Level Languages:

Machine independent.
Easier to learn and use.
Fewer errors during program development.
Lower program preparation cost.
Better documentation.
Easier to maintain.
Object-Oriented Programming Languages:
Programming languages are used for simulating realworld problems on computers.
Much of the real world is made up of objects.
Essence of OOP is to solve a problem by:
Identifying the real-world objects of the problem
Identifying processing required of them
Creating simulations of objects, processes, and their
communications.
FORTRAN:
Stands for FORmula TRANslation.
Designed for solving scientific & engineering problems.
Oriented towards solving problems of a mathematical
nature.
Popular language amongst scientists and engineers.
COBOL:
Stands for Common Business Oriented Language.
Designed for programming, business related data
processing applications.
Designed to have the appearance and structure of a
business report written in English, hence often referred
to as a self-documenting language.
BASIC:
Stands for Beginners All-Purpose Symbolic
Instruction Code.
Designed to be an interactive language and to use an

interpreter instead of a compiler.
Simple to implement, learn and use language. Hence, it
is a widely used language on personal computers.
-7-
Flexible and reasonably powerful language and can be

used for both business and scientific applications.
PASCAL:
Named after the famous seventeenth-century French
mathematician Blaise Pascal.
Encourages programmers to write well-structured,
modular programs, instills good program practices.
Recognized as an educational language and is used to
teach programming to beginners.
Suitable for both scientific & business applications.
Has features to manipulate numbers, vectors, matrices,
strings, sets, records, files, and lists.
C Programming:
Developed in 1972 at AT&Ts Bell laboratories, USA by
Dennis Ritchie and Brian Kernighan.
High-level programming languages (mainly machine
independence) with the efficiency of an assembly
language.
Language of choice of programmers for portable
systems software and commercial software packages
like OS, compiler, spreadsheet, word processor, and
database management systems.
C++:
Named C++ as ++ is increment operator and C
language is incremented to its next level with C++.
Developed by BjarneStroustrupat Bell Labs in the
early 1980s.
Contains all elements of the basic C language.
Expanded to include numerous object-oriented
programming features
Provides a collection of predefined classes, along with
the capability of user-defined classes.
JAVA:
Development started at Sun Microsystems in 1991 by
a team led by James Gosling.
Developed to be similar to C++ with fewer features to
keep it simple and easy to use.
Compiled code is machine-independent and developed
programs are simple to implement and use.
Used in embedded systems such as hand-held devices,
telephones and VCRs.
Comes in two variants Java Runtime Engine (JRE)
and Java Software Development Kit (SDK).
LISP:
Stands for LISt Processing.
Developed in 1959 by John McCarthy of MIT.
Designed to have features for manipulating nonnumeric data, such as symbols and strings of text.
Due to its powerful list processing capability, it is
extensively used in the areas of pattern recognition,
artificial intelligence, and for simulation of games.
Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955
Functional programming language in which all

computation is accomplished by applying functions to
arguments.
SNOBOL:
Stands for StriNg Oriented symbolic Language.
Used for non-numeric applications
Powerful string manipulation features
Widely used for applications in the area of text
processing.
System Implementation and Operation:
Testing and Debugging:
Program errors are known as bugs.
Process of detecting and correcting these errors is
called debugging.
Testing is the process of making sure that the program
performs the intended task.
Debugging is the process of locating and eliminating
program errors.
Types of Program Errors:
Syntax errors:
Occurs when the rules or syntax of the programming
language are not followed.
For example, incorrect punctuation, incorrect word
sequence, undefined terms, and misuse of terms.
Syntax errors are detected by a language processor.
Logic errors:
Occurs due to errors in planning a programs logic.
Such errors cause the program to produce incorrect
output.
These errors cannot be detected by a language
processor.
Operating Systems:
Definition and Need for OS:
An OS is an integrated set of programs that controls the
resources (the CPU, memory, I/O devices, etc.) of a
computer system.
It provides its users with an interface or virtual machine
that is more convenient to use than the bare machine.
Two primary objectives of an OS are:
Making a computer system convenient to use.
Managing the resources of a computer system.
Main Functions of an OS:

Process management
Memory management
File management
Security
Command interpretation
UNIX OS:
Developed in the early 1970s at Bell Laboratories by
Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie.
Written in C high-level language, hence, highly
portable.
Multi-user, time-sharing OS.
-8-
Used on a wide variety of computers ranging from

notebook computers to super computers.
Especially prevalent on workstations such as those
from Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and
Silicon Graphics.
Structured in three layers kernel, shell, and utilities.
MS-DOS:
Stands for Microsoft Disk Operating System.
Single-user OS for IBM and IBM-compatible personal
computers (PC).
Structured in three layers BIOS (Basic Input Output
System), kernel, and shell.
Very popular in the 1980s, now not in much use and
development with the launch of Microsoft Windows OS
in 1990s.
Microsoft Windows:
Developed by Microsoft to overcome limitations of MSDOS operating system.
Single-user, multitasking OS.
Native interface is a GUI
Designed to be not just an OS but also a complete
operating environment.
OS of choice for most PCs after 1990.
Microsoft Windows NT:
Multi-user, time-sharing OS developed by Microsoft.
Designed to have UNIX-like features so that it can be
used for powerful workstations, network, and database
servers.
Supports multiprogramming and is designed to take
advantage of multiprocessing on systems having
multiple processors.
Native interface is a GUI.
Built-in networking and communications features.
Provides strict system security.
Rich set of tools for software development.
Linux:
Open-source OS enhanced and backed by thousands
of programmers world-wide.
Multi-tasking, multiprocessing OS, originally designed
to be used in PCs.
Name Linux is derived from its inventor Linus
Torvalds.
Several Linux distributions available (Red Hat, SuSE).
Difference in distribution is mostly set of tools, number
and quality of applications, documentation, support, and
service.
Multiprogramming:
Uniprogramming: Only one job is processed at a time
and all system resources are available exclusively for
the job until its completion.
Multiprogramming: Interleaved execution of two or
more different and independent programs by a
computer.
Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955
-9-
Sequential access: Information stored in a file can be

Types of Multiprogramming:
accessed sequentially (in the order in which they are
Multiprogramming with fixed tasks (MFT) Fixed
stored, starting at the beginning).
number of jobs can be processed concurrently.
Random access: Information stored in a file can be
Multiprogramming with variable tasks (MVT) accessed randomly irrespective of the order in which
Number of jobs can vary
the bytes or records are stored.
File Operations:
Area occupied by each job residing simultaneously in
the main memory is known as a memory partition.
Set of commands provided by an operating system to
Multitasking:
deal with files and their contents.
Interleaved execution of multiple jobs (often referred to Typical file operations include create, delete, open,
as tasks of same user) in a single-user system.
close, read, write, seek, get attributes, set attributes,
Computer systems used for multitasking are
rename, and copy.
uniprocessor systems (having only one CPU).
File Extensions:
Treated differently from multiprogramming that refers to
File Extensions
Its Meaning
.bas
Basic
source
program file
interleaved execution of multiple jobs in a multi-user
.pas
Pascal
source
program file
system.
.ftn
Fortran
source
program file
Multithreading:
.obj
Object
file(compiler
output, not yet
Thread is basic unit of CPU utilization. Threads share a
linked)
CPU in the same way as processes do.
.bin
Executable binary program file
All threads of a process also share the same set of
.lib
Library of .obj files used by the linker
operating system resources.
.dat
Data file
All threads of a process inherit parents address space
.hlp
Text file for HELP command
and security parameters.
.man
Online manual page file
.txt
General text file
Each thread of a process has its own program counter,
.bak
Backup
file
its own register states, and its own stack.
.doc
Microsoft
word document file
Referred as mini-process or lightweight process.
.wav
Microsoft windows sound file
File Management:
.wk4
Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet file
A file is a collection of related information.
.xls
Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file
Every file has a name, its data and attributes.
.jpg
JPEG graphics file
Files name uniquely identifies it in the system and is
.gif
GIF graphics file
used by its users to access it.
.pdf
Portable pd
Business Data Processing:
Files data is its contents.
Files attributes contain information such as date & time Data is a collection of facts unorganized but able to be
organized into useful information.
of its creation, date & time of last access, date & time of
last update, its current size, its protection features, etc. Information is data arranged in an order and form that is
useful to the people who receive it.
File management module of an operating system takes
Data processing is a series of actions or operations that
care of file-related activities such as structuring,
converts data into useful information.
accessing, naming, sharing, and protection of files.
A data processing system includes resources such as
File Access Methods: Two commonly supported file
access methods are:
people, procedures, and devices used to process input
data for producing desirable output.
Data Storage Hierarchy:

Level-0 Bit
Level-1
Level-2
Level-3
Level-4
Level-5
Character
A single binary digit (0 or 1)

Multiple Bits form a Character Byte
Field
Multiple characters form a field
Record
Multiple fields form a record
File
Multiple records form a file
Database
File Management System:

Multiple files form a database
In file-oriented approach of organizing data, an

applications data is organized into one or more files.
Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955
Application program processes the data stored in these

files to generate the desired output
Set of programs is provided to facilitate the users in
organizing, creating, deleting, updating, and
manipulating their files.
All these programs together form a File Management
System (FMS).
A file management system supports following file types:
Transaction file: Stores input data until it can be
processed.
Master file: Contains all current data relevant to an
application.
Output file: Stores output produced by one program
that is used as input to another program
Report file: Holds a copy of a report generated by an
application.
Backup file: Copy of a file, created as a safety
precaution against loss of data.
File Organizations:
File organization is the physical organization of the
records of a file for convenience of storage and retrieval
of data records.
Three commonly used file organizations are:
Sequential: Records are stored one after another in
ascending or descending order determined by the value
of the key field of the records.
Direct/random: Desired record pertaining to current
transaction can be directly located by its key field value
without having to navigate through sequence of other
records.
Indexed sequential: There are two files for every data
file the data file which contains the records stored in
the file, and the smaller index file which contains the
-10-
key and disk address of each record stored in the data

file.
Database Management System:

In database-oriented approach of organizing data, a set
of programs is provided to facilitate users in organizing,
creating, deleting, updating, and manipulating data in a
database. All these programs together form a Database
Management System (DBMS).
Database Models:
Database model defines the manner in which the
various files of a database are linked together.
Four commonly used database models are:
Hierarchical
Network
Relational
Object-oriented
Main Components of a DBMS:
DBMS allows users to organize process and retrieve
selected data from a database without knowing about
the underlying database structure.
Four major components of a DBMS that enable this are:
Data Definition Language (DDL): Used to define the
structure (schema) of a database.
Data Manipulation Language (DML): Provides
commands to enable the users to enter and manipulate
the data.
Query Language: Enables users to define their
requirements for extracting the desired information from
the database in the form of queries.
Report generator: Enables the users of a database to
design the layout of a report so that it can be presented
in the desired format.
Data Communications and Computer Networks:
Sender
(Source)
Medium
Carries the message
Carries and sends

a message
Data Transmission Speed:

Bandwidth: Range of frequencies available for data
transmission. It refers to data transmission rate. Higher
the bandwidth, the more data it can transmit.
Baud: Unit of measurement of data transfer rate.
Measured in bits per second (bps).
Data Transmission Speed Category:
Narrowband: Sub-voice grade channels in range from
45 to 300 baud. Mainly used for telegraph lines and
low-speed terminals.
Voiceband: Voice grade channels with speed up to
9600 baud. Mainly used for ordinary telephonic voice
communications and slow I/O devices.
Receiver
(Sink)
Receives the
message
Broadband: High speed channels with speed up to 1

million baud or more. Mainly used for high-speed
computer-to-computer communication or for
simultaneous transmission of data.
Data Transmission Media:
The most commonly used ones are:
Twisted-pair wire (UTP cable)
Coaxial cable
Microwave system
Communications satellite
Optical fibers
Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955
Digital and Analog Data Transmission:
Analog signal: Transmitted power varies over a

continuous range. Example: sound, light, and radio
waves.
Digital signal: Sequence of voltage pulses represented
in binary form.
Computer generated data signal is digital, whereas

telephone lines carry analog signals.
Modems:
Modem is short for MOdulator/DEModulator
It is a special device used for conversion of digital data
to analog form (modulation) and vice-versa
(demodulation).
It is an essential piece of hardware where two digital
devices (say two computers) want to communicate over

an analog transmission channel (say a telephone line).
Data Transmission Services:

Data transmission service providers are popularly
known as common carriers.
Various types of services offered by common carriers

are:
Dial-up line: Operates in a manner similar to a

telephone line.
Leased line: Special conditioned telephone line that
directly and permanently connects two computers.
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN):

Telephone system that provides digital (not analog)
telephone and data services.
Value Added Network (VAN):

Provides value-added data transmission services.
Value added over and above the standard

of common carriers may services include e-mail, data
encryption/decryption, access to
commercial databases, and code conversion for

communication between computers.
Network Types:
Networks are broadly classified into two types:
Local Area Network (LAN)
Wide Area Network (WAN)
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN).
Local Area Network (LAN) as compared to WAN:

Limited to a small geographic coverage.
Has much higher data transmission rate.
Experiences fewer data transmission errors.
Has lower data communication cost.
Typically owned by a single organization.
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN):

Networks that share some of the characteristics of both
LANs and WANs are referred to as Metropolitan Area
Network (MAN).
Wireless Computing Systems:
-11-
Wireless computing system uses wireless

communication technologies for interconnecting
computer systems. It enhances functionality of
computing equipment by freeing communication from
location constraints of wired computing systems.
Wireless computing systems are of two types:
Fixed wireless systems: Support little or no mobility of
the computing equipment associated with the wireless
network
Mobile wireless systems: Support mobility of the
computing equipment to access resources associated
with the wireless network.
Recent Wireless Technologies:
2G and 3G
Wireless LAN
WiMAX
Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)
The Internet:
The Internet is a network of computers that links many
different types of computers all over the world.
It is a network of networks sharing a common
mechanism for addressing (identifying) computers, and
a common set of communication protocols.
Evolved from the basic ideas of ARPANET (the first
WAN that had only four sites in 1969) for
interconnecting computers.
Initially used only by research organizations and
universities to share and exchange information.
In 1989, the US Government lifted restrictions on the
use of the Internet and allowed it to be used for
commercial purposes as well.
Internet has rapidly grown and continues to grow at a
rapid pace interconnecting more than 30,000 networks,
allowing more than 10 million computers and more than
50 million computer users in more than 150 countries to
communicate with each other.
Basic Services of the Internet:
Electronic Mail (e-mail): Allows user to send a mail
(message) to another Internet user in any part of the
world in a near-real-time manner.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP): Allows user to move a
file from one computer to another on the Internet.
Telnet: Allows user to log in to another computer
somewhere on the Internet.
Usenet News: Allows group of users to exchange their
views/ideas/information.
World Wide Web (WWW or W3):
Hypertext documents on the Internet are known as web
pages.
Web pages are created by using a special language
called HyperText Markup Language (HTML).
WWW uses the client-server model and an Internet
Protocol(IP) called HyperText Transport Protocol
Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955
(HTTP) for interaction among the computers on the

Internet.
Any computer on the Internet that uses the HTTP
protocol is called a web server and any computer that
can access that server is called a web client.
It uses the concept of hypertext for information storage
and retrieval on the Internet.
Hypertext documents enable this by using a series of
links.
Link is a special type of item in a hypertext document
that connects the document to another document
providing more information about the linked item.
WWW Browsers:
WWW browser is special software loaded on a web
client computer that normally provides following
navigation facilities to users.
It does not require a user to remotely log in to a web
server computer or to log out again when done.
Allows user to visit the server computers web site and
to access information stored on it by specifying its URL
(Uniform Resource Locator) address.
Allows user to create and maintain a personal hotlist of
favorite URL addresses of server
computers that user is likely to frequently visit in future.
Allows user to download information in various formats
from server computers to users own Computer.
Uses of the Internet:

Some important current strategic uses of the Internet
are:
On-line communication
Software sharing
Exchange of views on topics of common interest
Posting of information of general interest
Product promotion
Feedback about products
Customer support service
On-line journals and magazines
On-line shopping
World-wide video conferencing
Classification of Computers:
There are three different types of computers according
to the principles of operation. Those three types of
computers are,
Analog Computers
Digital Computers
Hybrid Computers
Digital Computers:
On the other hand a digital computer operates on digital
data such as numbers. It uses binary number system in
which there are only two digits 0 and 1. Each one is
called a bit.
The digital computer is designed using digital circuits in
which there are two levels for an input or output signal.
These two levels are known as logic 0 and logic 1.
Digital Computers can give more accurate and faster
results.
Digital computer is well suited for solving complex
problems in engineering and technology. Hence digital
computers have an increasing use in the field of design,
research and data processing.
Based on the purpose, Digital computers can be further

classified as,
General Purpose Computers
Special Purpose Computers
Special purpose computer is one that is built for a
specific application. General purpose computers are
used for any type of applications. They can store
different programs and do the jobs as per the
instructions specified on those programs. Most of the
computers that we see today, are general purpose
computers.
Hybrid Computers:
A hybrid computer combines the desirable features of
analog and digital computers. It is mostly used for
automatic operations of complicated physical processes
and machines. Now-a-days analog-to-digital and digitalto-analog converters are used for transforming the data
into suitable form for either type of computation.
For example, in hospitals ICU, analog devices might
measure the patients temperature, blood pressure and
other vital signs. These measurements which are in
analog might then be converted into numbers and
supplied to digital components in the system. These
components are used to monitor the patients vital sign
and send signals if any abnormal readings are
detected. Hybrid computers are mainly used for
specialized tasks.
Types of Computers based on Configuration:

There are four different types of computers when we
classify them based on their performance and capacity.
The four types are,
Super Computers
Mainframe Computers
Mini Computers
Micro Computers
Analog Computers:
-12-
Analog Computer is a computing device that works on

continuous range of values. The results given by the
analog computers will only be approximate since they
deal with quantities that vary continuously. It generally
deals with physical variables such as voltage, pressure,
temperature, speed, etc.
Digital Computers
Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955
Super
Computer
Mainframe
Computers
Mini
Computers
Super Computers:
When we talk about types of computers, the first type
that comes to our mind would be Super computers.
They are the best in terms of processing capacity and
also the most expensive ones. These computers can
process billions of instructions per second. Normally,
they will be used for applications which require
intensive numerical computations such as stock
analysis, weather forecasting etc.
Other uses of supercomputers are,
scientific simulations
(animated) graphics
fluid dynamic calculations
nuclear energy research
electronic design
analysis of geological data (e.g. in petrochemical
prospecting)
Supercomputer computational power is rated in FLOPS
(Floating Point Operations Per Second). The first
commercially available supercomputers reached
speeds of 10 to 100 million FLOPS. The next
generation of supercomputers is predicted to break the
petaflop level. Some of the "traditional" companies
which produce super computers are Cray, IBM and
Hewlett-Packard.
List with details about the top 5 supercomputers of

2011:
1. K Computer, Japan: Built by Fujitsu, the Japanese
supercomputer at the RIKEN Advanced Institute for
Computational Science (AICS) in Kobe, is capable of
performing more than 8 quadrillion calculations per
second (petaflop/s). The K Computer is also more
powerful than the next five systems on the list
combined and also one of the most energy-efficient
systems on the list.
2. Tianhe-1A, China: The Chinese supercomputer at the
National Supercomputing Center in Tianjin, China,
performs at 2.6 petaflop/s.
3. Jaguar, United States: The Jaguar, a Cray

supercomputer at the U.S. Department of Energys
(DOEs) Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is ranked No.
3 with 1.75 petaflop/s.
4. Nebulae, China: The Nebulae supercomputer at
Chinas National Supercomputing Center in Shenzen is
ranked fourth with 1.27 petaflop/s performance.
5. Tsubame 2.0, Japan: Tsubame 2.0 at the Tokyo
Institute of Technology is fifth most fast supercomputer
in the world with 1.19 petaflop/s performance.
-13-
Micro
Computers
Mainframe Computers:
Mainly used by large organizations as banks, insurance
companies, hospitals, railways, etc.
Used for data handling and information processing
requirements.
Used in such environments where a large number of
users need to share a common computing facility.
Oriented to input/output-bound applications.
Typically consist of a host computer, front-end
computer, back-end computer, console terminals,
magnetic disk drives, tape drives, magnetic tape library,
user terminals, printers, and plotters.
Typical mainframe system looks like a row of large file
cabinets and needs a large room.
Mini Computers:
Smaller configuration (slower host and subordinate
computers, lesser storage space, and fewer user
terminals) is often referred to as a minicomputer
system.
Mini computers are lower to mainframe computers in
terms of speed and storage capacity. They are also
less expensive than mainframe computers.
Some of the features of mainframes will not be
available in mini computers. Hence, their performance
also will be less than that of mainframes.
Micro Computers:
The invention of microprocessor (single chip CPU) gave
birth to the much cheaper micro computers. They are
further classified into,
Desktop or Personal Computers PCs.
Laptop or Notebook Computers.
Handheld Computers (PDAs).
Notebook Computers:
Portable computers mainly meant for use by people
who need computing resource wherever they go.
Approximately of the size of an 8x 11 inch notebook
and can easily fit inside a briefcase
Weighs around 2 kg only.
Comfortably placed on ones lap while being used.
Hence, they are also called laptop PCs.
Lid with display screen is foldable in a manner that
when not in use it can be folded to flush with keyboard
to convert the system into notebook form.
Personal Computers (PCs):
Non-portable, general-purpose computer that fits on a
normal size office table.
Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955
Designed to meet personal computing needs of

individuals.
Often used by children and adults for education and
entertainment also.
Generally used by one person at a time, supports
multitasking.
Two common models of PCs are desktop model and
tower mode l.
Popular OS are MS-DOS, MS-Windows, Windows-NT,
Linux, Macintosh and UNIX.
-14-
toolbars that sit on your desktop or work in conjunction

with your Web browser. They include features like
advanced searching of the Web or your hard drive and
better organization of your bookmarks and shortcuts.
Adware can also be more advanced programs such as
games or utilities. They are free to use, but require you
to watch advertisements as long as the programs are
open. Since the ads often allow you to click to a Web
site, adware typically requires an active Internet
connection to run.
6. Viruses: A computer virus is a short piece of

Handheld Computers (PDAs):
programming code that attaches itself to a legitimate
Small computing device that can be used by holding in
program and attempts to replicate by copying itself to
hand, also known as palmtop.
other programs. For example, if a virus attaches itself to
Size, weight, and design are such that it can be used
your word processor every time you run it, the virus will
comfortably by holding in hand.
execute first. Some viruses do nothing but replicate or
Types of Handheld computers are:
display joke messages at certain times, but more
Tablet PC: Miniaturized laptop with light weight, screen
malevolent viruses erase files on the hard drive. Even a
virus that only replicates, however, can seriously
flip, handwriting and voice recognition.
damage the performance of a computer or prevent its
PDA/Pocket PC: Acts as Personal Information
proper function.
Manager (PIM) device with LCD touch screen, pen for
handwriting recognition, PC based synchronization, and
7. Worm: A worm is a type of virus that spreads not only
optionally mobile phone services.
to other programs on the computer it has infected, but
Smartphone: Fully functional mobile phone with
also across network links. For example, some worms
computing power, voice centric and are smaller than
find the e-mail program on a computer and then e-mail
PDA.
themselves to every entry in the address book.
IMPORTANT COMPUTER CONCEPTS AND

TERMINOLOGIES:
1. Artificial Intelligence: Artificial intelligence can be
described as programming computers to perform tasks
that require intelligence if humans were performing the
tasks. Some researchers believe artificial intelligence
must mimic the processes of the human Brain while
others are interested only in solving problems that
seem to require intelligence, like understanding a
request written in English.
2.
3.
4.
5.
8. Trojan Horses: A Trojan horse is a program that

masquerades as a legitimate piece of software but has
an opposite function. For example, a program on a Web
site may be advertised as a game. It will even run as a
game, but when it runs, it signals back to the programs
developer, who can then use the program to
surreptitiously pilfer files from the users computer.
9. Spyware: Spyware is hidden software that tracks user

activity and reports back to the programs developer.
The most common type of spyware is used by
USB: USB, which stands for Universal Serial Bus, is an
advertisers to track Web sites a user visits so that
interface for external components, like mice, keyboards,
tailored advertising can be later sent.
and printers. The word serial means that USB uses
serial transmission, in which bits are sent one at a time
10. Encryption: Encryption refers to encoding a message
along the same wire.
so it can only be read by the intended receiver.
Encryption works by processing the data with a special
Utility Software: Utility software enhances a users
value called the key, which results in a new message.
computer experience. Examples of utilities are virus
scanners, programs that clean unneeded files off the
The new message cannot be returned to the original
hard drive, screen savers, and so on. One might
(cannot be decrypted) without the use of a key. The
describe these programs as extensions of system
entire process is referred to as cryptography.
softwarefeatures the user wished were part of the
operating system but arent. In fact, many operating
11. Bluetooth: Bluetooth is a network protocol for shortsystem features start off as utilities.
range wireless communication. It is an open standard,
which means any company can make BluetoothMalware: Malware, a contraction of the words
enabled products. It is named in honor of Harald
malicious software, is a new term, but it is
Bluetooth, king of Denmark in the tenth century who
convenient and growing in use. Malware includes all
united Denmark and Norway a millennium ago.
programs that users dont want on their systems. Such
software includes viruses, Trojan horses, and spyware.
12. ARPANET: The network that became known as the
Internet began as a project of the U.S.Department of
Adware: Adware is free software that is supported by
Defense. In 1969 the departments Advanced
advertisements. Common adware programs are
Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955
-15-
Research Project Agency (ARPA) established a wide- 19. JPEG: A JPEG file uses lossy compression to store
area network with two nodes using leased lines called
images of any color range. Lossy compression means
ARPANET, which was called an internetwork, or a
that the restored image has some artifacts of the
network of networks, which was shortened to the term
compression. JPEG offers variable amounts of
internet.
compression so the user can decide between smaller
file sizes and image quality. At low levels of
13. DSL: The weakness of a dial-up connection comes
compression, most people could not tell the difference
between an original bitmap photographic image and the
from its use of analog phone equipment, not the wires
used for phone lines. A DSL, or Digital Subscriber
bitmap produced from a compression JPEG of the
original. JPEG stands for Joint Photography Experts
Line, transmits data digitally over normal phone lines
Group, which tells you what this format is made for:
and thus allows much higher data transfer speeds.
photographs.
14. Browsers: Web pages are displayed in an application
20. TIFF: A TIFF file, or Tagged Image Format File,
called a browser. Internet Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla,
and Opera are some of the many browsers available.
supports both lossy and lossless compression. Its
Besides displaying the page, the browser is responsible
intended as a kind of universal format that can use the
for retrieving it, usually across the Internet. The browser
types of compression in GIF, PNG, or JPEG files. The
must also sometimes send user information back
format is thus very flexible. The problem is, because it
across the internet, as happens when a user has filled
supports so many different data formats, its difficult for
out a form.
programs to work with. Compatibility can also be a
problem because TIFF is so complex that some
15. SMTP and POP3: SMTP, which stands for Simple Mail
Transfer Protocol, is used by the program that sends
programs only support some of its included
the message. POP3 is the third version of a protocol
compression methods. A user can save a TIFF file and
called POP, or Post Office Protocol, and is used by the
send the file to another user who has a program that is
program that receives the message. In addition to
supposedly TIFF-compatible who nonetheless cannot
receiving the message, the POP3 program is
open the file.
responsible for storing it until the user actually retrieves
it on his or her computer. The SMTP and POP3
21. Animation: In animation, icons and other graphics
programs dont reside on the computers of the users
appear to be moving across the screen. The basic idea
who compose and receive the mail. Instead, each user
is the same as an animated film. By presenting slightly
is given an account on an SMTP or POP3 server
different images to the eye in rapid succession, the
provided by the users ISP. If you look under the setup
brain fills in the missing motion and sees the objects
options of any e-mail client, such as Outlook, you will
whose positions have changed as smoothly
see where the domains of the SMTP and POP3 servers
progressing across the screen. Animation is used in
are specified. Often, the domains have names like
non interactive presentations (like PowerPoint) and in
smtp.myISP.com, or mail.myISP.com, where myISP is
interactive programs like computer games.
the users ISP.
22. Bandwidth: The amount of data that a particular
16. SPAM: An unsolicited e-mail message that is usually
network can transfer in a given time frame is termed as
commercial in nature and sent in bulk to multiple
bandwidth. Usually measured in bits per second.
addresses is usually termed as a Spam. Spammers
harvest valid e-mail addresses from various sources, or
even pay legitimate companies for their customer
23. computer forensics: Computer forensics, also called
mailing lists. Spammers also guess e-mail addresses,
cyber forensics, is the application of computer
appending randomly generated names to known
investigation and analysis techniques to gather
domain names. The spam itself is usually an offer to
evidence suitable for presentation in a court of law. The
buy some dubious (or even illegal) product or service.
goal of computer forensics is to perform a structured
investigation while maintaining a documented chain of
evidence to find out exactly what happened on a
17. GIF: A GIF file uses lossless compression to store an
computer and who was responsible for it. The study of
image with a maximum of 256 different colors. The
breaking through security to retrieve partially deleted
word GIF stands for Graphic Interchange Format and
files for the purpose of obtaining and analyzing
is pronounced with a hard G, as in gift.The problem
evidence to be used in a court trial.
with GIF was that as graphics grew more sophisticated,
256 colors werent enough.
24. data mining: The practice of extracting hidden
18. PNG: A PNG Portable Network Graphics file uses
lossless compression to store images, and unlike GIF
files, PNG supports true color. The PNG format, which
is an open standard, has none of the legal issues
attached to GIF. It was developed to supersede the GIF
format on the Web, and to some extent this has
happened.
knowledge from the relationships among data is termed

as Data Mining. A process used by companies to turn
raw data into useful information. By using software to
look for patterns in large batches of data, businesses
can learn more about their customers and develop
more effective marketing strategies as well as increase
sales and decrease costs. Data mining depends on
effective data collection and warehousing as well
as computer processing. Grocery stores are well-known
Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955
users of data mining techniques. Many supermarkets

offer free loyalty cards to customers that give them
access to reduced prices not available to nonmembers. The cards make it easy for stores to track
who is buying what, when they are buying it, and at
what price. The stores can then use this data, after
analyzing it, for multiple purposes, such as offering
customers coupons that are targeted to their buying
habits and deciding when to put items on sale and
when to sell them at full price.
25. Data warehousing: The electronic storage of a large
amount of information by a business is Data
Warehousing. Warehoused data must be stored in a
manner that is secure, reliable, easy to retrieve and
easy to manage. The concept of data warehousing
originated in 1988 with the work of IBM researchers
Barry Devlin and Paul Murphy. The need to warehouse
data evolved as computer systems became more
complex and handled increasing amounts of data.
-16-
a person in an office who is able to automate a budget

forecast spreadsheet in a way no one else thought of
would be a hacker. A narrower definition of hacker is
someone who gains unauthorized access to computer
systems or performs mischievous or destructive
computer-related activities, such as defacing a
companys Web site.
30. ISP: An Internet service provider (ISP) is a company
that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs
directly connect customers to the Internet using copper
wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs
lease server space for smaller businesses and host
other people servers
31. meta tag: A tag in an HTML document that provides
information about the pages content. Meta tags are
useful for indexing the pages and may also aid
browsers in displaying the page properly.
32. MMORPG: Massively multiplayer online role-playing

game (MMORPG) is a genre of role-playing video
games in which a very large number of players interact
with one another within a virtual game world. As in all
RPGs, players assume the role of a character (often in
a fantasy world) and take control over many of that
character's actions. MMORPGs are distinguished from
single-player or small multi-player RPGs by the number
27. E-Commerce: A type of business model, or segment of
of players, and by the game's persistent world (usually
hosted by the game's publisher), which continues to
a larger business model, that enables a firm or
exist and evolve while the player is offline and away
individual to conduct business over an electronic
from the game. MMORPGs are played throughout the
network, typically the internet. Electronic commerce
world. Worldwide revenues for MMORPGs exceeded
operates in all four of the major market segments:
half a billion dollars in 2005, and Western revenues
business to business, business to consumer, consumer
exceeded US$1 billion in 2006. In 2008, Western
to consumer and consumer to business.
consumer spending on subscription MMOGs grew to
$1.4 billion. World of Warcraft, a popular MMORPG,
Also sometimes written as "e-commerce" or
had more than 11 million subscribers as of March,
"eCommerce". Ecommerce has allowed firms to
2011.
establish a market presence, or to enhance an already
larger market position, by allowing for a cheaper and
33. NACK: Negative Acknowledgment or NACK is a
more efficient distribution chain for their products or
short message sent in the opposite direction of the
services. Web sites such as Amazon.com, Buy.com,
original message on a network, to let the sender know
and eBay are all e-commerce sites. The terms "ethe original message was garbled in transmission.
business" and "e-tailing" are often used synonymously
with e-commerce.
34. open-source: Describes a product that no one
company owns or controls. Anyone can look at how the
product works and even make suggestions on how to
28. ERP: Enterprise resource planning (ERP) integrates
improve it.
internal and external management information across
an entire organization, embracing finance/accounting,
35. PDF: Portable Document Format (PDF) is an open
manufacturing, sales and service, customer relationship
standard for document exchange. This file format
management, etc. ERP systems automate this activity
created by Adobe Systems in 1993 is used for
with an integrated software application. Its purpose is to
representing documents in a manner independent of
application software, hardware, and operating systems.
facilitate the flow of information between all business
Each PDF file encapsulates a complete description of a
functions inside the boundaries of the organization and
fixed-layout flat document, including the text, fonts,
manage the connections to outside stakeholders.
graphics, and other information needed to display it.
ERP systems can run on a variety of hardware and
network configurations, typically employing a database
36. Protocol: Protocol is a system of digital message
as a repository for information.
formats and rules for exchanging those messages in or
26. DVD: An optical disc of much greater capacity than a
CD-ROM is a DVD. The name DVD originally stood for
Digital Video Disc because it was developed to store
movies digitally, but it was later changed to Digital
Versatile Disc because any kind of data can be stored
on a DVD, just like a CD.
29. Hacking/Hacker: The broadest definition of a hacker.

would be a computer expert who is capable of clever or
novel solutions to computer problems. By this definition,
between computing systems and in

telecommunications. A protocol may have a formal
description. Protocols may include signaling,
authentication and error detection and correction
Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955
capabilities. A protocol definition defines the syntax,

semantics, and synchronization of communication; the
specified behaviour is typically independent of how it is
to be implemented. A protocol can therefore be
implemented as hardware or software or both.
37. Software Piracy: The copyright infringement of
software (often imprecisely referred to as software
piracy) refers to several practices which involve the
unauthorized copying of computer software. Copyright
infringement of this kind is extremely common. Most
countries have copyright laws which apply to software,
but the degree of enforcement varies.
38. Spider: Spider is a p program that automatically
fetches Web pages. Spiders are used to feed pages to
search engines. It's called a spider because it crawls
over the Web. Another term for these programs is
webcrawler. Because most Web pages contain links to
other pages, a spider can start almost anywhere. As
soon as it sees a link to another page, it goes off and
fetches it. Large search engines, like Alta Vista, have
many spiders working in parallel.
39. TCP/IP: Stands for "Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol." These two protocols were
developed in the early days of the Internet by the U.S.
military. The purpose was to allow computers to
communicate over long distance networks. The TCP
part has to do with the verifying delivery of the packets.
The IP part refers to the moving of data packets
between nodes. TCP/IP has since then become the
foundation of the Internet. Therefore, TCP/IP software
is built into all major operating systems, such as Unix,
Windows, and the Mac OS.
-17-
42. T-line: A line leased from a service provider to connect

a business network to the Internet, and which comes in
different levels for different bandwidth needs.
43. Virtual Reality: An artificial environment created with
computer hardware and software and presented to the
user in such a way that it appears and feels like a real
environment. To "enter" a virtual reality, a user dons
special gloves, earphones, and goggles, all of which
receive their input from the computer system. In this
way, at least three of the five senses are controlled by
the computer. In addition to feeding sensory input to the
user, the devices also monitor the user's actions. The
goggles, for example, track how the eyes move and
respond accordingly by sending new video input. To
date, virtual reality systems require extremely
expensive hardware and software and are confined
mostly to research laboratories. The term virtual reality
is sometimes used more generally to refer to any virtual
world represented in a computer, even if it's just a textbased or graphical representation.
44. Workstations: In terms of computing power,
workstations lie between personal computers and
minicomputers, although the line is fuzzy on both ends.
High-end personal computers are equivalent to low-end
workstations. And high-end workstations are equivalent
to minicomputers. Like personal computers, most
workstations are single-user computers. However,
workstations are typically linked together to form a
local-area network, although they can also be used as
stand-alone systems.
40. Thrashing/Disk Thrashing: In systems that use virtual 45. Applet: This is a Java program that can be embedded
in a Web page. The difference between a standard
memory, the resulting condition of a hard drive being
Java application and a Java applet is that an applet
used excessively for virtual memory because the
can't access system resources on the local computer.
physical memory (i.e., RAM) is full. Disk thrashing
System files and serial devices (modems, printers,
considerably slows down the performance of a system
scanners, etc.) cannot be called or used by the applet.
because data has to be transferred back and forth from
This is for security reasons -- nobody wants their
the hard drive to the physical memory.
system wiped out by a malicious applet on some
A sure sign that your computer is thrashing is when an
wacko's Web site. Applets have helped make the Web
application stops responding but the disk drive light
more dynamic and entertaining and have given a
keeps blinking on and off. Thrashing is generally
helpful boost to the Java programming language.
caused by too many processes competing for scarce
memory resources. To temporarily stop thrashing, you
46. Active Server Page: This is a Web page that has one
need to terminate one or more applications. To stop it
or more ASP scripts embedded in it. ASP scripts are
permanently, you need to install more main memory.
like small computer programs that run when an ASPDisk thrashing can result in permanent failure of the
based Web page is accessed. You can tell if you're
hard drive; as the data is transferred back and forth, the
accessing an active server page if the suffix of the URL
hard drives and read/write heads are subjected to
is ".asp" (as opposed to ".html"). ASP pages are
considerable wear and tear.
processed on a Web server before they are transferred
to a user's Web browser.
41. time-slicing: A technique for multitasking on a single
CPU in which the operating system runs a process for a
short period of time (a fraction of a second), then sets it 47. Blog: Short for "Web Log," this term refers to a list of
aside and runs another process for a while, and so on.
journal entries posted on a Web page. Anybody who
Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955
-18-
knows how to create and publish a Web page can

publish their own blog. Some Web hosts have made it
even easier by creating an interface where users can
simply type a text entry and hit "publish" to publish their
blog.
51. Extranet: An extranet actually combines both the

Internet and an intranet. It extends an intranet, or
internal network, to other users over the Internet. Most
extranets can be accessed via a Web interface using a
Web browser. Since secure or confidential information
48. Botnet: A botnet is a group of computers that are
is often accessible within an intranet, extranets typically
controlled from a single source and run related software
require authentication for users to access them.
programs and scripts. While botnets can be used for
Extranets are often used by companies that need to
distributed computing purposes, such as a scientific
share selective information with other businesses or
processing, the term usually refers to multiple
individuals. For example, a supplier may use an
computers that have been infected with malicious
extranet to provide inventory data to certain clients,
software. In order to create a malicious botnet, a hacker
while not making the information available to the
must first compromise several computers. This might
general public. The extranet may also include a secure
be done by exploiting a security hole through a Web
means of communication for the company and its
browser, IRC chat program, or a computer's operating
clients, such as a support ticket system or Web-based
system. For example, if a user has turned off the default
forum. Unlike the Internet, "extranet" is not a proper
firewall settings, his or her computer may be
noun and therefore should not be capitalized.
susceptible to such a botnet attack. Once the hacker
has gained access to several computers, he can run
52. Firewall: In the IT world, firewalls do not involve any
automated programs or "bots" on all the systems at the
fire or pyrotechnics, but they serve a similar purpose. A
same time.
computer firewall limits the data that can pass through it
and protects a networked server or client machine from
49. Cookie: A cookie is a small amount of data generated
damage by unauthorized users. Firewalls can be either
by a website and saved by your web browser. Its
hardware or software-based. A router is a good
purpose is to remember information about you, similar
example of a hardware device that has a built-in
to a preference file created by a software application.
firewall. Most routers can be configured to limit traffic
While cookies serve many functions, their most
from certain IP addresses or block requests based on
common purpose is to store login information for a
other criteria. Software programs that monitor and
specific site. Some sites will save both your username
restrict external access to a computer or network can
and password in a cookie, while others will only save
also serve as firewalls. A network firewall only allows
your username. Whenever you check a box that says,
authorized traffic from the Internet to flow in and out of
"Remember me on this computer," the website will
the network.
generate a login cookie once you successfully log in.
Each time you revisit the website, you may only need to 53. Gateway: A gateway is either hardware or software
enter your password or you might not need to log in at
that acts as a bridge between two networks so that data
all.
can be transferred between a number of computers.
For example, when you send an e-mail to a friend or
50. DNS: Stands for "Domain Name System." The primary
when you log in to a Web site, there is a gateway that
purpose of DNS is to keep Web surfers sane. Without
allows the connection take place. Often, your
DNS, we would have to remember the IP address of
connection to a Web site will involve many smaller
every site we wanted to visit, instead of just the domain
connections to other servers along the way. In these
name. Can you imagine having to remember
cases, a number of gateways are used.
"17.254.3.183" instead of just "apple.com"? While I
have some Computer Science friends who might prefer 54. ListServ: This term looks like it's missing an "e", but
this, most people have an easier time remembering
that's how it's spelled. A listserv, or list server, is a small
simple names. The reason the Domain Name System is
program that automatically sends messages to multiple
used is because Web sites are actually located by their
e-mail addresses on a mailing list. When someone
IP addresses. For example, when you type in
subscribes to a mailing list, the listserv will
"http://www.adobe.com," the computer doesn't
automatically add the address and distribute future eimmediately know that it should look for Adobe's Web
mail messages to that address along with all the others
site. Instead, it sends a request to the nearest DNS
on the list. When someone unsubscribes, the listserv
server, which finds the correct IP address for
simply removes the address. At least that is the way it
"adobe.com." Your computer then attempts to connect
supposed to work. Unfortunately, with some SPAM
to the server with that IP number. DNS is just another
lists, unsubscribing only adds you to more lists.
one of the many features of the Internet that we take for
granted.
Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955
-19-
your website and makes them available to computers

55. Phishing: Phishers attempt to steal your personal
connected to the Internet. The domain name, such as
information. They send out e-mails that appear to come
"sony.com," is actually linked to an IP address that
from legitimate websites such as eBay, PayPal, or other
points to a specific computer. When somebody enters
banking institutions. The e-mails state that your
your domain name into their browser's address field,
information needs to be updated or validated and ask
the IP address is located and Web site is loaded from
that you enter your username and password, after
your Web host.
clicking a link included in the e-mail. Some e-mails will
ask that you enter even more information, such as your
Recent Computing Technologies, Terminologies
full name, address, phone number, social security
and Threats:
number, and credit card number. However, even if you
visit the false website and just enter your username and 60. cloud computing: Cloud computing is a type of
password, the phisher may be able to gain access to
computing that is comparable to grid computing. Cloud
more information by just logging in to you account. For
computing relies on sharing computing resources rather
example, if you are visiting an Web page on eBay, the
than having local servers or personal devices to handle
last part of the domain name should end with
applications. The goal of cloud computing is to apply
"ebay.com." Therefore, "http://www.ebay.com" and
traditional supercomputing, or high-performance
"http://cgi3.ebay.com" are valid Web addresses, but
computing power, normally used by military and
"http://www.ebay.validate-info.com" and
research facilities, to perform tens of trillions of
"http://ebay.login123.com" are false addresses, which
computations per second, in consumer-oriented
may be used by phishers. If URL contains an IP
applications such as financial portfolios or even to
address, such as 12.30.229.107, instead of a domain
deliver personalized information, or power immersive
name, you can almost be sure someone is trying to
computer games. Cloud computing systems offered by
phish for your personal information.
companies, like IBM's "Blue Cloud" technologies for
example, are based on open standards and open
source software
56. Website: A website, or Web site, is not the same thing
as a Web page. Web site is a collection of Web pages.
For example, Amazon.com is a Web site, but there are 61. Voicemail: Voicemail is a computerized system that
enables support for answering, storing and relaying
millions of Web pages that make up the site.
telephone call messages. Also spelled as voice mail,
voicemail records and stores incoming messages,
57. Web Server: A Web server is a computer system that
enabling playback of the messages from the same
hosts websites. It runs Web server software, such as
phone number or from another telephone. Voicemail is
Apache or Microsoft IIS, which provides access to
a
basic feature of most modern cellular telephones,
hosted webpages over the Internet. Most Web servers
digital phones and corporate PBX systems. More
are connected to the Internet via a high-speed
advanced forms of voicemail like visual voicemail add a
connectionAny computer can be used as a Web server,
visual interface and in some cases e-mail- and/or textas long as it is connected to the Internet and has the
based transcript capabilities to standard voicemail
appropriate software installed.Web servers typically
services.
host multiple websites. Some only host a few, while
others may host several hundred.
62. ZeuS: The most widespread botnet in history, ZeuS is a
Trojan horse that infiltrates computers in order to steal
58. Web Page: Web pages are what make up the World
data by logging keystrokes and spread copies of itself
Wide Web. These documents are written in HTML
to other devices via instant messaging and e-mail
(hypertext markup language) and are translated by your
messages. Computers infected by a ZeuS variant can
Web browser. Web pages can either be static or
be controlled by the attacker and monitored for
dynamic. Static pages show the same content each
keystrokes in order to gain access to online accounts
time they are viewed. Dynamic pages have content that
and other sensitive data. More than 50,000 variants of
can change each time they are accessed. These pages
the ZeuS Trojan have been recognized since ZeuS
are typically written in scripting languages such as
made its first known appearance in 2007. The most
PHP, Perl, ASP, or JSP. The scripts in the pages run
prolific period for ZeuS came in 2009 and 2010, with
functions on the server that return things like the date
some security reports estimating as many as 3.6 million
and time, and database information. All the information
ZeuS-infected computers in the United States alone
is returned as HTML code, so when the page gets to
during that time. Several mobile botnet variants of the
your browser, all the browser has to do is translate the
ZeuS Trojan have surfaced more recently, with some
HTML.
targeting Google Android phones while others attack
Blackberry devices, Symbian phones, or Windows
59. Web Host: In order to publish a website online, you
Mobile phones. These variants are considered part of
need a Web host. The Web host stores all the pages of
Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955
the Zitmo family of mobile malware and are designed to

steal the mobile transaction authentication numbers
that banks use to strengthen security for logging in to
online accounts.
63. MACDefender: MACDefender, or Mac Defender, is a
Trojan horse that first appeared in early 2011,
masquerading as an antivirus program in an attempt to
get users to share their credit card information over an
unsecured site. The MACDefender rogue antivirus
software targets Mac users via a phishing scam that
redirects the users from legitimate sites to fake sites
that make the user think their computer has been
infected with a virus. If a user were to click on the
bogus link and install the MACDefender software, he or
she would be presented with a professional-looking but
ultimately fake antivirus program. The MACDefender
malware installation could also begin automatically if
Safaris "open safe file after downloading" option had
been selected. Once installed, MACDefender will
periodically open pornographic sites in an attempt to
make users believe they have a virus on their computer
and as a result need to purchase the "registered
version" of the MACDefender software with a credit
card. Variants of the original MACDefender Trojan have
appeared recently with names such as Mac Security
and Mac Protector. Apple has released a software
update that automatically finds and removes the Mac
Defender malware as well as its currently known
variants.
-20-
laptops and tablets. Intel dubbed the ultrabook

category when it announced it would be directing its
mobile computing efforts towards a new class of
laptops that would offer an extremely thin (less than 20
millimeters, or 0.8 inches) and lightweight profile to go
along with high-powered, low voltage processors.
Ultrabooks are distinguished from netbooks by offering
more power in the form of faster processors and
additional RAM, as well as better storage and larger
screen sizes, features that also make these laptops
significantly more expensive than most notebooks.
66. Tuenti: Tuenti is a social networking platform that is

designed to improve communication and information
sharing between people who know each other. It is a
private platform so you can only register if you've
received an invitation from another user.
Headquartered in Madrid, Tuenti has grown to become
the most trafficked Web site in Spain and is one of the
largest invite-only Web sites worldwide.
Biometrics: In computer security, biometrics refers to
authentication techniques that rely on measurable
physical characteristics that can be automatically
checked.
There are several types of biometric identification
schemes:
face: the analysis of facial characteristics
fingerprint: the analysis of an individuals unique
fingerprints
hand geometry: the analysis of the shape of the hand
and the length of the fingers
retina: the analysis of the capillary vessels located at
64. DroidDream: DroidDream is a mobile botnet type of
the back of the eye
malware that appeared in spring 2011. The DroidDream
Iris: the analysis of the colored ring that surrounds the
Trojan gained root access to Google Android mobile
eyes pupil
devices in order to access unique identification
Signature: the analysis of the way a person signs his
information for the phone. Once compromised, a
name.
DroidDream-infected phone could also download
vein: the analysis of pattern of veins in the back if the
additional malicious programs without the users
hand and the wrist
knowledge as well as open the phone up to control by
Voice: the analysis of the tone, pitch, cadence and
hackers. DroidDream affected mobile devices running
frequency of a persons voice. Though the field is still in
v2.2 (FroYo) and earlier versions of the Android OS
its infancy, many people believe that biometrics will play
operating system, and entered phones through the
a critical role in future computers, and especially in
download and installation of one of 50+ third-party
electronic commerce. Personal computers of the future
applications that were available on Google's official
might include a fingerprint scanner where you could
Android Market. Google removed the apps from its
place your index finger. The computer would analyze
marketplace and had to utilize its "kill switch" to
your fingerprint to determine who you are and, based
remotely wipe Android devices that had been infected
on your identity, authorize you different levels of
by DroidDream. DroidDream got its name from the fact
access. Access levels could include the ability to use
that it was set up to run between the hours of 11pm and
credit card information to make electronic purchase.
8am when users were most likely to be sleeping and
their phones less likely to be in use. Additional variants
of DroidDream have since appeared, including
DroidDream Light in June 2011 and a variant of
DroidDream Light that appeared a month later.
65. Ultrabook: Ultrabooks are a new category of notebook
computers that seeks to fill the gap between lightweight
Ph: 98404-00825, 98404-33955

Radian Ias Academy (Feb.2013) Computer Awareness

Caricato da

Informazioni sul documento

Titolo originale

Copyright

Formati disponibili

Condividi questo documento

Condividi o incorpora il documento

Opzioni di condivisione

Hai trovato utile questo documento?

Questo contenuto è inappropriato?

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

Radian Ias Academy (Feb.2013) Computer Awareness

Caricato da

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

RADIAN IAS ACADEMY (A Hi-Tech Advanced Coaching cum Guidance Centre)