Computer Concept

Lecturer: Jing Liu

Email: neouma@mail.xidian.edu.cn
Homepage:
http://see.xidian.edu.cn/faculty/liujing
Textbook
E. Balagurusamy, Fundamentals of
Computers, Mc Graw Hill.
Grading
Final exam: 70%
Others: 30%
 Content
1. Understanding the Computer
2. Computer Organisation and Architecture
3. Memory and Storage Systems
4. Input Devices
5. Output Devices
6. Computer Codes
7. Computer Arithmetic
10. Computer Software
11. Operating Systems
12. Microsoft Software
13. Programming Languages
14. Data Communications and Networks
15. The Internet and World Wide Web
Whats a Computer?
A computer is an electronic
machine that takes input from the
user, processes the given input
and generates output in the form
of useful information.
Whats a Computer?
Input: data, programs, user reply
Data: the raw details that need to be
processed to generate some useful
information.
Programs: the set of instructions that can be
executed by the computer in sequential or
non-sequential manner.
User reply: the input provided by the user in
response to a question asked by the computer.
Whats a Computer?
A computer includes various
devices:
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
Monitor
Keyboard and Mouse
Whats a Computer?
The unique capabilities and
characteristics of a computer:
Speed
Storage capacity
Accuracy
Reliability
Versatility
Diligence
Whats a Computer?
Limitations:
Garbage-In, Garbage-Out
Dumb machine
Evolution of Computers
Manual Computing Devices: Sand table,
Abacus,
Automated Computing Devices:
difference engine, analytical engine,
Colossus,
Charles Babbage: A professor of
mathematics a the Cambridge
University is considered to be the father
of modern computer.
Generations of Computers
First Generation Computers
Employed during the period 1940-1956
calculation
Used the vacuum tubes technology for
as well as for storage and control
purpose.
Advantages: (1) Fastest computing devices of
their time; (2) These computers were able to
execute complex mathematical problems in an
efficient manner.
Generations of Computers
Disadvantages:
(1) The functioning of these computers depended on the
machine language.
(2) There were generally designed as special-purpose computers.
(3) The use of vacuum tube technology make these computers
very large and bulky.
(4) They were not easily transferable from one place to another
due to their huge size and also required to be placed in cool
places.
(5) They were single tasking because they could execute only
one program at a time.
(6) The generated huge amount of heat and hence were prone to
hardware faults.
Generations of Computers
Second Generation Computers
Employed during the period 1956-1963
Use transistors in place of vacuum tubes in
building the basic logic circuits.
Advantages: (1) Fastest computing devices of
their time; (2) Easy to program because of the
use assembly language; (3) Could be transferred
from one place to other very easily because they
were small and light; (4) Require very less power
in carrying out their operations; (5) More reliable,
did not require maintenance at regular intervals
of time.
Generations of Computers
Disadvantages:
(1)The input and output media were not
improved to a considerable extent
(2) Required to be placed in air-conditioned
places
(3) The cost of these computers was very
high and they were beyond the reach of
home users
(4) Special-purpose computers and could
execute only specific applications
Generations of Computers
Third Generation Computers
Employed during the period 1964-1975
Use of Integrated Circuits
Advantages: (1) Fastest computing devices; (2)
Very productive; (3) Easily transportable from one
place to another because of their small size; (4)
Use high-level languages; (5) Could be installed
very easily and required less space; (6) Can
execute any type of application. (7) More reliable
and require less frequent maintenance schedules.
Generations of Computers
Disadvantages:
(1)The storage capacity of these computers was
still very small;
(2) The performance of these computers
degraded while executing large applications,
involving complex computations because of the
small storage capacity;
(3) The cost of these computers was very high;
(4) They were still required to be placed in air-
conditioned places.
Generations of Computers
Fourth Generation Computers
Employed during 1975-1989
Use of Large Scale Integration
technology and Very Large Scale
Integration technology
The term Personal Computer (PC)
became known to the people during this
era.
Generations of Computers
Advantages:
(1) Very powerful in terms of their processing speed
and access time;
(2) Storage capacity was very large and faster;
(3) Highly reliable and required very less maintenance;
(4) User-friendly environment;
(5) Programs written on these computers were highly
portable;
(6) Versatile and suitable for every type of
applications;
(7) Require very less power to operate.
Generations of Computers
Disadvantages:
(1) The soldering of LSI and VLSI chips on
the wiring board was not an easy task and
required complicated technologies to bind
these chips on the wiring board;
(2) The working of these computers is still
dependent on the instructions given by
the programmer.
Generations of Computers
Fifth Generation Computers
The different types of modern digital
computers come under this category.
Use Ultra Large Scale Integration
technology that allows almost ten
million electronic components to be
fabricated on one small chip.
Generations of Computers
Advantages:
(1) Fastest and powerful computers till date;
(2) Being able to execute a large number of
applications at the same time and that too at a very
high speed;
(3) Decreasing the size of these computers to a large
extent;
(4)The users of these computers find it very
comfortable to use them because of the several
additional multimedia features;
(5) They are versatile for communications and
resource sharing.
Classification of
Computers
We can classify the computers
according to the following three
criteria:
(1) Based on operating principles
(2) Based on applications
(3) Based on size and capability
Classification of
Computers
(1) Based on operating principles:
Analog computers: represent data in the
form of continuous electrical signals having
a specific magnitude
Digital computers: store and process
data in the digital form.
Hybrid computers: a combination of
analog computer and digital computer
because it encompasses the best features
of both.
Classification of
Computers
(2) Based on applications:
General purpose computers: can
work in all environments.

Special purpose computers: can

perform only a specified task.
Classification of
Computers
(3) Based on size and capability
Microcomputers: Designed to be used by
individuals.
Mini Computers: Can handle more data and
more input and output than micro computers.
Mainframe Computers: A very large
computer
Super Computers: The fastest type of
computer that can perform complex
operations at a very high speed.
Computing concepts
Accepting the raw data
Processing the data
Storing the data
Delivering the output
The Computer System
Hardware
Software
Data
People
Computer Organisation
and Architecture
Computer architecture: the definition of
basic attributes of hardware components
and their interconnections, in order to
achieve certain specified goals in terms of
functions and performance.

Computer organisation: the design and

physical arrangement of various hardware
units to work in tandem, in a orderly
manner, in order to achieve the goals
specified in the architecture.
Central Processing Unit
The main operations of the CPU include
four phases:
(1) Fetching instructions from the memory
(2) Decoding the instructions to decide
what operations to be performed
(3) Executing the instructions
(4) Storing the results back in the memory
Central Processing Unit
Registers
Arithmetic Unit
Logic Unit
Control Unit
Arithmetic Unit
Arithmetic Unit is a part of the CPU
that performs arithmetic
operations on the data. The
arithmetic operations can be
addition, subtraction,
multiplication or division.
Logic Unit
Logic Unit is a part of the CPU that
performs logical operations on the
data.
Control Unit
Control Unit is an important
component of CPU that controls
the flow of data and information. It
maintains the sequence of
operations being performed by the
CPU.
Main Memory Unit
The main memory is referred to as
the internal memory of primary
memory of the computer. It is also
known as Random Access Memory
(RAM).
Cache Memory
Cache memory is a small, fast and
expensive memory that stores the
copies of data that needs to be
accessed frequently from the main
memory.
Registers
CPU contains a few special
purpose, temporary storage units
known as registers. They are high-
speed memory locations used for
holding instructions, data and
intermediate results that are
currently being processed.
Internal Communications
The internal communication of a
processor in the computer system
can be divided into two major
categories:
(1) Processor to memory
communication
(2) Processor to I/O devices
communication
Processor to Memory
Communication
The direct communication between the
processor and memory of the computer
system is implemented with the help of
two registers:
(1) Memory Address Register
(2) Memory Buffer Register
The reading and writing operations
performed by the processor are called
memory read and memory write
operations.
Processor to I/O Devices
Communication
The communication between I/O
devices and processor of the
computer system is implemented
using an interface unit. The interface
unit acts as an intermediary between
the processor and the device
controllers of various peripheral
devices in the computer system.
Machine Cycle
The cycle during which a machine
language instruction is executed
by the processor of the computer
system is known as machine cycle.
Instruction Cycle
Fetching: The CPU retrieves the
instruction from the main memory
of the computer system.
Decoding: Breaking down the
instruction into different parts, so
that it can be easily understood
before being processed by the CPU.
Execution Cycle
Executing: The decoded instruction
is executed by the ALU of the CPU.
Storing: The result computed in the
execution phase is either sent to the
memory or to an output device.
The Bus
A bus is a set of wires that is used to connect the
different internal components of the computer
system for the purpose of transferring data as well
addresses amongst them.
Data bus: used to transfer data amongst the
different internal components. Modern computer
systems use 32-bit data buses for data transfer.
Address bus: transfers the memory addresses
for read and write memory operations.
Memory and Storage
Systems
Primary Memory: Storing the data
that are being currently handled by
the CPU; generally known as
memory;
Secondary Memory: Storing the
results and the data for future use;
generally known as storage;
Internal Process Memory: Placed
either inside the CPU or near the CPU.
Memory Representation
In the memory, values are represented by
sequences of binary digits, know as bits.
Most computers use a group of eight bits,
known as a byte, to represent a character.
Memory is a bunch of bytes or cells into
which we can place data. Each cell, known
as a data item, is assigned a unique
number known as address. The CPU can
identify each cell by its address.
Memory Representation
The byte is defined as the smallest addressable
unit of memory. Most computers use groups of
bytes, usually 2 or 4, known as words to represent
information.
Computer memories are often rated in terms of

their capacity to store information. Typically,

capacities are described using the unit of byte as
follows:
(1) 1 KB (Kilobyte)=1,024 bytes
(2) 1 MB (Megabyte)=1,048,576 bytes
(3) 1 GB (Gigabyte)=1,073,741,824 bytes
(4) 1 TB (Terabyte)=1,099,511,627,776 bytes
Random Access Memory
Random Access Memory (RAM) is a volatile
memory and loses all its data when the
power is switched off.
It is the main memory of the computer
system that stores the data temporarily and
allows the data to be accessed in any order.
RAM can be categorised into two main
types, namely, Static RAM and Dynamic
RAM.
Random Access Memory
Static RAM: is a type of RAM in which data is
stored till the power of the computer system is
switched on. SRAM uses a number of transistors
to store a single bit of digital information.
Dynamic RAM: is the RAM in which data is
stored in a storage cell, consisting of a
transistor and a capacitor. The DRAM needs to
be continuously refreshed with power supply
because the capacitor has the tendency to get
discharged. DRAM retains the data for a very
short span of time, even after the power supply
is switched off.
Read Only Memory
ROM is the memory that stores the data
permanently.
The data can be easily read from this
type of memory but cannot be changed.
ROM is most commonly used in devices
such as calculators, laser printers, etc.
ROM does not allow the random access
of data, and allows sequential access of
data.
Read Only Memory
ROM is divided into four types:
(1) Programmable ROM: a memory chip on which the write
operation of data can be performed only once. PROM is reliable
and stores the data permanently without making any change in
it. It is mostly used in video games and electronic dictionaries.
(2) Erasable PROM: a type of ROM in which data can be
erased or destroyed using Ultraviolet Light.
(3) Electrically Erasable PROM: a type of ROM in which data
can be erased or destroyed by exposing it to an electric charge.
(4) Flash ROM: a type of EEPROM that stores the information
using floating-gate transistors, which can store electric charge
for a longer period of time as compared to the normal
transistors. This memory is mainly used in the memory cards of
mobile phones, digital cameras and ipods for storing data.
Flash ROM has faster speed of reading data, as compared to
any other type of ROM.
Storage Systems
Storage systems are the devices used
for data storage. The main objective of
the storage system is to permanently
store data. The storage systems can be
classified as follows:
(1) Magnetic
(2) Optical
(3) Solid state
(4) Magneto Optical
Magnetic Storage Systems
Magnetic storage systems can be
defined as the storage systems that
store the data on a magnetised
medium, with the help of magnetised
particles. Magnetic tapes, magnetic
disks, hard disks, floppy disks are
examples of magnetic storage systems.
Can store any type of data, such as text,
audio, video, image
Magnetic Storage Systems
Magnetic tapes: The plastic tapes with magnetic
coating that are used for storing the data. They are
similar to the normal recording tapes. The data
stored on the magnetic tapes can be accessed using
the sequential access method.
Magnetic Disks: A flat disk that is covered with
magnetic coating for holding information. It is used
to store digital information in the form of small and
magnetised needles. These needles help in encoding
a single bit of information by getting polarized in one
direction represented by 1, and opposite direction
represented by 0. It allows the random access of
data and provides the facility of erasing and re-
recording the data as many times as required.
Optical Storage Systems
The optical storage systems use
the laser light as the optical
medium to retrieve as well as
record data.
The optical storage devices are
either read-only or writable.
Solid-State Storage
Devices
Solid-state Storage Devices were developed
in 1978 by Storage Tek Company.
Do not use magnetic and optical medium to
store data. Instead, use the semiconductor
devices.
Contains all the properties of hard disk
drives to store the data and use solid-state
memory, which has no moving parts.
The examples of SSD are flash memory
cards and Universal Serial Bus (USB)
devices.
Storage Evaluation Criteria
Access Mode: random access mode, sequential
access mode, direct access mode
Access Time: the time taken by the processor in
completing the requests made by the user for
performing the read and write operations.
Storage Capacity: the size of the memory
available for storing the data, and measured in
terms of bytes.
Storage Type: Temporary and permanent
memory.
Cost: the cost of the storage device used in the
computer system for holding the data.
Input Devices
Input devices are electromechanical
devices that are used to provide data to
a computer for storing and further
processing, if necessary.
We can provide the input to a computer
in two ways: (1) Manually through
devices such as keyboard and mouse;
(2) Directly from documents using
devices such as scanners.
Input Devices
Depending upon the type or method of
input, the input device may belong to one
of the following categories:
(1) Keyboard
(2) Pointing devices
(3) Scanning devices
(4) Optical recognition devices
(5) Digital camera
(6) Voice recognition devices
(7) Media input devices
Keyboard
Keyboard is the most commonly used input device. We can use a
keyboard to type data and text and execute commands. A
standard keyboard consists of the following groups of keys:
(1) Alphanumeric keys: The alphanumeric keys include the
number keys and alphabet keys. These keys are arranged in the
same style as in the normal typewriters, popularly known as
QWERTY layout;
(2) Function keys: Arranged in a row on the top of the keyboard.
Help perform specific tasks, such as searching a file or refreshing a
web page;
(3) Central keys: Used for controlling the movement of cursor
and screen display. Include arrow keys, modifier keys such as
SHIFT, ALT, CTRL;
(4) Numeric keypad: Located on the right side of the keyboard.
This looks like a calculators keypad;
(5) Special purpose keys: Escape, Insert, Delete, Print Screen,
Pause, Tab, Spacebar;
Pointing Devices
Pointing devices are the input devices that are
generally used for moving the cursor to a particular
location to point an object on the screen. With the
help of pointing devices, we can easily select the
icons, menus, windows, etc on the Graphical User
Interface. Some of the commonly used pointing
devices are:
(1) Mouse
(2) Trackball
(3) Light pen
(4) Joystick
(5) Touchscreen
Mouse
A small hand-held pointing device
that basically controls the two-
dimensional movement of the cursor
on the displayed screen. The most
commonly used types of mouse are:
(1) Mechanical mouse
(2) Optical mouse
Scanning Devices
Scanning devices are the input devices
that can electronically capture text and
images, and convert them into computer
readable form.
The basic task of a scanning devices is to
convert an image or the textual data into
digital data, i.e., in the form of boxes,
where each box represents either zero or
one. The resultant matrix is known as bit
map and is displayed on the screen.
Scanning Devices
The scanning devices can be differentiated from
each other on the basis of the following
characteristics:

Resolution: the closeness of the pixels in the bit

map, and vary from 72 to 600 dots per inch (dpi);
Size: the small sized scanning device can scan
approximately two to five inches of the document,
whereas the large sized one can scan
approximately up to forty inches of the document.
Scanning Devices
Scanning technology: Some ones use Charged
Coupled Device (CCD) arrays, whereas others use
Photo Multiplier Tubes (PMT) technology. The CCD
consists of a series of light receptors, which are
sensitive to the variation in the light frequency.
As the frequency of light changes, these scanning
devices detect the change and the output
obtained after scanning also gets accordingly
changed. The PMT consists of a photocathode,
which is a photosensitive surface used for
generating the electrons. PMT is used for
identifying the light emitted by the weak signals.
Scanning Devices
On the basis of these characteristics, the
scanning devices can be categorized as follows:

Hand-held scanners: are suitable for scanning

small images rather than the whole page of text
or pictures, and are generally used for identifying
the bar-code label of the products.
Flat-bed scanners: consist of a flat surface
composing of glass pane on which the documents
are kept for scanning. Under this glass pane,
there is xenon light and a CCD, which consists of
an array of red, green and blue filters.
Scanning Devices
Drum scanners: consist of a large drum, which
is used for scanning the documents. These
scanners make use of the PMT technology,
instead of the CCD technology. The resolution
image of these scanners is very high, ranges
form 8000 dpi to 11000 dpi.
Slide scanners: are used for scanning slides as
well as film negatives. These scanners are also
known as film scanners as they can easily scan
the original image of the film. The dark areas
appear light and the light areas appear dark.
Optical Recognition
Devices
Optical recognition devices are used for
recognising the characters optically. The optical
recognition devices basically make use of
optical scanner for inputting data. Unlike
keyboards, the optical recognition devices do
not enter the data by pressing the keys. They
help the users in saving a lot of time.
Commonly used optical recognition devices are:

Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

devices: scan a particular document by
recognizing its individual characters and
converting it into the editable form.
Optical Recognition
Devices
Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) devices:
help in obtaining the data from the marked
fields. These devices prove to be of great use
in recognizing characters in question sheets,
enrolment forms, registration forms, employee
payroll, etc. Most popularly, the OMR devices
are used for scanning the documents having
multiple choices as in the question papers
used in schools, colleges, etc.
Optical Recognition
Devices
Magnetic Ink Character Recognition
(MICR) devices: special devices used for
recognizing the characters written with
magnetic ink consisting of iron oxide particles.
These devices were specially developed for the
banking operations. The details on the bank
cheques, such as cheque number, bank and
branch code are written with the magnetic.
Digital Camera
A digital camera is a handheld electronic device that is
used to capture the image of an object electronically.
The digital camera consists of a built-in computer,
which helps in recording the images electronically. The
following are the main features of the digital camera:

Capturing and storing thousands of images on a single

memory chip
Editing as well as deleting the images
Recording the video clip with sound
Showing the just recorded video clip on the camera
screen
Digital Camera
The image captured by a digital camera is in
the digital format and can be easily
downloaded on a computer system.
The quality of the pictures captured by a
digital camera depends on the resolution
factor. The more the resolution of a digital
camera, the better is the image quality.
Voice Recognition System
The voice recognition devices generally record
the voice of a person and transform it into
electrical signals. The electrical signals are then
converted into the machine readable code.
The voice recognition system only recognises the
voice of the speaking person rather than what he
speaks.
The voice recognition devices are used for
various purposes such as dictation, training air-
traffic controllers, etc. These systems allow users
to communicate with computers directly without
using a keyboard or mouse.
Data Acquisition Sensors
Sensors are the devices that are used for
detecting and measuring the physical
quantities, such as heat, temperature,
and converting them into electrical
signals. The sensors are most commonly
used in data acquisition systems.
The data acquisition system collects the
electrical signals from various devices
and converts them into the digital signals
for further assessment.
Media Input Devices
The input devices, which are generally
used in media for communicating with
the mass audiences, are known as
media input devices. The following are
the most popularly used media input
devices:

Microphone
Webcam
Graphics tablet
 Output Devices
Output devices receive the processed data (information)
from the CPU and present it to the user in a desired form.
They act as an interface between the computer and the
user. The main task of an output device is to convert the
machine readable information into human-readable from
which may be in the form of text, graphics, audio or video.
Depending upon the form of output required, the output
device may belong to one of the following categories:
Display monitors
Printers
Plotters
Voice output systems
Projectors
Output Devices
While the printers and plotters provide the
physical form of output known as hard copy,
the display monitors, voice output systems
and projectors provide temporary output
known as soft copy. Unlike hard copy, soft
copy is not a permanent form of output.
Display Monitors
Earlier the display monitors were capable of
displaying the characters only in a single font
and in a single color. These characters were
arranged in a rectangular grid on the screen.
The display screens, which are available today,
support many fonts and colors.
Different types of display monitors use
different technology for displaying the data.
Display Monitors
Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Monitor: contain
an empty glass tube with a phosphor coated
fluorescent screen and a source of electrons
known as electron gun. A CRT monitor has
many advantages, such as a high contrast
ratio and color depth. It also provides a change
in the resolution without affecting the clarity of
the picture. But it is very bulky and occupies a
lot of space on the desk. It also consumes a lot
of power and produces a large amount heat.
Display Monitors
Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) Monitor: Use
liquid crystals technology to display the
images. An LCD monitor is small in size and
light in weight so it occupies less space on the
desk. Also, the power consumption by an LCD
monitor is very less. However, it has a weak
color quality as compared to a CRT monitor.
Thin Film Transistor (TFT) Monitor: A TFT
monitor is similar to an LCD monitor except for
one difference that it uses thin film transistor
technology along with liquid crystal technology
to improve the quality of the image.
 Printers
A printer is a computer hardware that generates the hard
copy of the information processed by a computer system.

Impact Printers: there exists a mechanical contact

between print head and paper. Print head is the part of
the printer that resembles a hammer and is responsible
for transferring the ink to the paper in the form of
required characters. Impact printer contains an individual
print head for each character.
Non-Impact Printers: there exists no mechanical
contact between the print head and paper. These printers
spray ink on the paper with the help of a nozzle. The
most popular ones are ink-jet printers and laser printers.
Plotters
Plotter is a device used to print high quality
graphics and images. It uses one or more pens
to produce a high quality drawing. These pens
change their positions and draw continuous
lines to produce an image. The plotters were
used as a substitute to the colored printers
when the printers were very expensive and
were also not capable of drawing bigger
images such as graphs.
Voice Output Systems
Voice output systems record the simple
messages in human speech form and then
combine all these simple messages to form a
single message. The voice response system is
of two types: (1) a reproduction of human voice
and other sounds; (2) speech synthesis.
The basic application of a voice output system
is in Interactive Voice Response systems, which
are used by the customer care or customer
support departments of an organization, such
as telecommunication companies, etc.
Projectors
A projector is a device that is connected to a
computer or a video device for projecting an
image from the computer or video device onto
the big white screen.
A projector consists of an optic system, a light
source and displays, which contain the original
images.
Projects were initially used for showing films
but now they are used on a large scale for
displaying presentations in various situations.