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Explain data storage in computers

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Describe the evolution of computer languages

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Identify aspects of programming

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List the different modeling tools for program
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Computers can perform different functions and

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calculations, but a computer cannot take a

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decision as a human being.

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Computers have to be instructed or programmed
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to perform certain task.
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For this purpose, several programming languages

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have been developed to help programmers write

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code to meet user’s requirement.

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 The basic approach to write the programming code is

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almost similar for all programming tools.

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 Developed for the purpose of communication between the

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different components and programs of a computer.

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Machine Language

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Assembly Language

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High Level Language
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Third Generation Languages

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Fourth Generation Languages

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Fifth Generation Languages

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The data for processing is stored in the

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memory or primary storage.

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Memory is classified into two types, namely,

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primary storage and secondary storage.
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Primary storage is a temporary storage.

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Random Access Memory (RAM) is known as

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the primary storage or the main memory.

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It is a volatile memory as the data

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stored in it is lost when the power
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Memory is measured in terms of

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bytes. A byte consists of 8 bits

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(Binary Digits).
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A byte can normally store one character.

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The characters can be any one of the

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following:

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Any number from 0 to 9
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Capital letters from A to Z
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Small letters from a to z

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Special characters such as . , + - % ’ ” ! and so on

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Memory is divided into four parts.

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 A non-volatile memory

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 Not directly accessible by the CPU

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 Secondary storage devices used in a computer are as
follows:
 Hard disk drives
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 Optical disk drives

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 Flash memory
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 Other storage
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Data is represented as raw, unorganized facts that

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need to be processed.

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When this data is processed into organized

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collection of useful and meaningful data it is
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known as information.
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Computers are used to process the raw data and

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provide meaningful information after processing

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the data.
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A computer can only complete its task by

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going through the following three stages.

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A general purpose computer system consists

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of the following hardware components:

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Input/Output Device

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Control Unit

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Memory
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 A hardware device that is used to receive data from the
computer user.

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 Different types of data such as audio, video, text, and

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so on can be provided by the user.

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 The commonly used input devices are as follows:
 Keyboard
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 Mouse
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 Microphone
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 Scanner
 Webcam
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 A hardware device that is used to display the processed
data to the computer user.

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 The output can be in both tangible and non-tangible

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format.

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 The commonly used output devices are as follows:
 Monitor
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 Printer
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 Plotter
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 Speakers
 Projectors
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 To write a program, two important aspects need to be

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considered at the start.

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 These two aspects of programming are shown in the figure.

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To design the logical solution, two modeling

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tools are used.

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1. Flowchart – A diagrammatic representation of

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an algorithm.

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2. Pseudocodes – A representation of an algorithm
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in a form that can easily be translated into
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programming statements.
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 Languages are broadly categorized into three types namely, machine
language, assembly language, and high level language.

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 Machine language uses strings of 0s and 1s to represent instructions.

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 Assembly language uses cryptic English like phrases for writing codes that
represent strings of numbers. High level languages use English words.

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 There are different types of codes for storing characters in memory such
as American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII), Binary
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Coded Decimal (BCD), and Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange
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Code (EBCDIC).
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 The data for processing is stored in the memory or primary storage.

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Memory is measured in Kilobytes or Megabytes.

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 A computer is an electronic device that accepts the raw
data, processes the data according to the instruction

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provided, and generates the output.

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 The two aspects of programming are understanding the
program specifications and designing the logical solution.

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 A flowchart is a diagrammatic representation of an
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algorithm.
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 A pseudocode is a representation of an algorithm in a form

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that can easily be translated into programming statements.

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