LECTURE NOTES 1

Today’s world is an information-rich world and it has become a necessity for everyone to know about
computers. A computer is an electronic data processing device, which accepts and stores data input,
processes the data input, and generates the output in a required format.

Step 1 − Takes data as input.

Step 2 − Stores the data/instructions in its memory and uses them as required.

Step 3 − Processes the data and converts it into useful information.

Step 4 − Generates the output.

Advantages of Computers

Following are certain advantages of computers.

High Speed

 Computer is a very fast device.

 It is capable of performing calculation of very large amount of data.
 It can perform millions of calculations in a few seconds as compared to man who will spend
many months to perform the same task.

Accuracy

 In addition to being very fast, computers are very accurate.

 Computers perform all jobs with 100% accuracy provided that the input is correct.

Storage Capability

 Memory is a very important characteristic of computers.

 A computer has much more storage capacity than human beings.
 It can store large amount of data.
 It can store any type of data such as images, videos, text, audio, etc.

Diligence

 Unlike human beings, a computer is free from monotony, tiredness, and lack of concentration.
 It can work continuously without any error and boredom.

Reliability

 A computer is a reliable machine.

 Modern electronic components have long lives.
Reduction in Paper Work and Cost

 The use of computers for data processing in an organization leads to reduction in paper work
and results in speeding up the process.
 As data in electronic files can be retrieved as and when required, large number of paper files
can be reduced.

Application Areas of Computers

Computer is used in business organizations for −

 Payroll calculations
 Sales analysis
 Financial forecasting
 Managing employee database, etc.

Banking is almost totally dependent on computers.

Banks provide the following facilities −

 Checking current balance, making deposits, checking interest charges.

 ATM machines which are completely automated are making it even easier for customers
to deal with banks.

Insurance companies are keeping all records up-to-date with the help of computers. Insurance
companies are maintaining a database of all clients with information showing

 Procedure to continue with policies

 Starting date of the policies
 Next due instalment of a policy
 Interests due

The computer helps in providing a lot of facilities in the education system.

 The computer provides many tools to deliver and evaluate learning in the education system.

In sales and marketing, uses of the computer are following

 Advertising − With computers, advertising professionals create art and graphics,

print and disseminate ads with the goal of selling more products.
 Home Shopping − Home shopping has been made possible through the use of
computerized catalogues that provide access to product information and permit
direct entry of orders to be filled by the customers.

Computers have become an important part in the healthcare system (hospitals, labs, and
dispensaries). They are being used in hospitals to keep the record of patients and medicines. It is
also used in scanning and diagnosing different diseases. ECG (electrocardiogram), EEG
(electroencephalogram), ultrasounds and CT (computerized tomography) scans, etc. are also done by
computerized machines.
  Patient Monitoring System − These are used to check the patient's signs for abnormality
such as in Cardiac Arrest, ECG, etc.
 Pharma Information System − Computer is used to check drug labels, expiry dates, harmful
side effects, etc.
 Surgery − Nowadays, computers are also used in performing surgery.

Computers are widely used for Engineering purpose. Some of the fields are

 Structural Engineering − Requires stress and strain analysis for design of

ships, buildings, budgets, airplanes, etc.
 Industrial Engineering − Computers deal with design, implementation, and
improvement of integrated systems of people, materials, and equipment.
 Architectural Engineering − Computers help in planning towns, designing
buildings, determining a range of buildings on a site using both 2D and 3D
drawings.

Computers are largely used in defence. Modern tanks, missiles, weapons, etc. Military also employs
computerized control systems. Some military areas where a computer has been used are

 Missile Control
 Military Communication
 Military Operation and Planning
 Smart Weapons

Communication is a way to convey a message, an idea, a picture, or speech that is received and
understood clearly and correctly by the person for whom it is meant. Some main areas in this
category are

 E-mail
 Chatting
 Video-conferencing

Computers play an important role in government services. Some major fields in this category are

 Budgets
 Sales tax department
 Income tax department
 Computerization of voters lists

The basic parts of a computer are as follows −

 Input Unit − Devices like keyboard and mouse that are used to input data and instructions to
the computer are called input unit.
 Output Unit − Devices like printer and visual display unit that are used to provide information
to the user in desired format are called output unit.
  Control Unit − As the name suggests, this unit controls all the functions of the computer. All
devices or parts of computer interact through the control unit.
 Arithmetic Logic Unit − This is the brain of the computer where all arithmetic operations and
logical operations take place.
 Memory − All input data, instructions and data interim to the processes are stored in the
memory. Memory is of two types – primary memory and secondary memory. Primary
memory resides within the CPU whereas secondary memory is external to it.

Control unit, arithmetic logic unit and memory are together called the central processing
unit or CPU. Computer devices like keyboard, mouse, printer, etc. that we can see and touch are
the hardware components of a computer. The set of instructions or programs that make the computer
function using these hardware parts are called software. We cannot see or touch software. Both
hardware and software are necessary for working of a computer.

Booting

Starting a computer or a computer-embedded device is called booting. Booting takes place in two
steps −

 Switching on power supply

 Loading operating system into computer’s main memory
 Keeping all applications in a state of readiness in case needed by the user

The first program or set of instructions that run when the computer is switched on is
called BIOS or Basic Input Output System. BIOS is a firmware, i.e. a piece of software permanently
programmed into the hardware.

All modern computers and computing devices use microprocessors whose speeds and storage
capacities are skyrocketing day by day.

Computers are now classified on the basis of their use or size −

 Desktop
 Laptop
 Tablet
 Server
 Mainframe
 Supercomputer

Desktop

Desktop computers are personal computers (PCs) designed for use by an individual at a fixed
location. A desktop unit typically has a CPU (Central Processing Unit), monitor, keyboard and mouse.
Laptop

Laptops are also called notebook computers or simply notebooks. Laptops run using batteries and
connect to networks using Wi-Fi. Modern laptops have enough processing power and storage
capacity to be used for all office work, website designing, software development and even audio/video
editing.

Tablet

Tablets have touch sensitive screen of typically 5 to 10 inches where one finger is used to touch icons
and invoke applications. They use operating systems by Microsoft (Windows 8 and later versions) or
Google (Android). Apple computers have developed their own tablet called iPad which uses a
proprietary OS called iOS.

Server

Servers are computers with high processing speeds that provide one or more services to other
systems on the network. Servers have high processing powers and can handle multiple requests
simultaneously. Most commonly found servers on networks include :

 File or storage server

 Game server
 Application server
 Database server
 Mail server

Mainframe

Mainframes are computers used by organizations like banks, airlines and railways to handle millions
and trillions of online transactions per second. Important features of mainframes are −

 Big in size
 Hundreds times Faster than servers, typically hundred megabytes per second
 Very expensive

Supercomputer

Supercomputers are the fastest computers on Earth. They are used for carrying out complex, fast
and time intensive calculations for scientific and engineering applications.

Most common uses of supercomputers include −

 Molecular mapping and research

 Weather forecasting
 Environmental research
 Oil and gas exploration

Chinese supercomputer Sunway TaihuLight

Operating System

System software that is responsible for functioning of all hardware parts and their interoperability. OS
is the first software to be loaded into computer memory when the computer is switched on and this is
called booting. OS manages a computer’s basic functions like storing data in memory, retrieving files
from storage devices, scheduling tasks based on priority, etc.

Application Software

A software that performs a single task and nothing else is called application software. Here are
some commonly used application software −

 Word Processing Applications

 Spreadsheet Software
 Presentation Software
 Database Applications
 Multimedia tools
 Games
 Browsers
 Music Players
 Chat Applications

Utility Software

 Antivirus software
 Disk management tools
 File management tools
 Compression tools
 Backup tools

Device Drivers

Each device like printer, scanner, microphone, speaker, etc. that needs to be attached externally to
the system has a software program that enables it to function with the computer smoothly. When you
attach a new device, you need to install its driver so that the OS knows how it is managed.

Popular Operating Systems

 Windows − Windows is a GUI operating system first developed by Microsoft in 1985. The
latest version of Windows is Windows 10. Windows is used by almost 88% of PCs and
laptops globally.
 Linux − Linux is an open source operating system mostly used by mainframes an
supercomputers. Being open source means that its code is available for free and anyone can
develop a new OS based on it.

Popular Mobile Operating Systems

An operating system for smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices is called mobile OS. Some of
the most popular OS for mobile devices includes−

 Android − This Linux-based OS by Google is the most popular mobile OS currently. Almost
85% of mobile devices use it.
 Windows Phone 7 − It is the latest mobile OS developed by Microsoft.
  Apple iOS − This mobile OS is an OS developed by Apple exclusively for its own mobile
devices like iPhone, iPad, etc.
 Blackberry OS − This is the OS used by all blackberry mobile devices like smartphones and
playbooks.

References:
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/