INTRODUCTION TO IT

S A K H AWAT H U S S A I N
INTRODUCTION
• Computers make up
the world around us -
from robots to
phones to our coffee
machines, modern
appliances are often
powered by
computers. We rely
on this technology on
a daily basis;
therefore, we should
ask ourselves the
following question:
How does a computer work?

Using a computer is an interactive experience. When we press a button

on our keyboard to type something, our computers know what
characters to display. When we move our mouse, computers generate a
cursor that mimics the mouse’s movements. How does a computer
know what to produce based on the interactions we have with it?
In this lesson, we’ll go over the four main functions of a computer that
make these interactions possible:
• Input
• Processing
• Memory
• Output
 INPUT
• From clicking our
mouse to turning up the
volume of the speakers
during our favorite song,
we are constantly giving
our computers input. We
can think of input as how
we as people physically
interact with computers.
We give our computer
commands by interacting
with various physical
sensors (like buttons)
which then get turned
into data for our
computer to process.
 INPUT
So how does a simple act such as clicking a mouse become
the catalyst for a computer to carry out an action? First, we
need to establish a connection from our input device to our
computer through a physical port, which is usually attached to
the computer’s motherboard.
• The input device’s job is to detect and report any type of
event; for example, a mouse can sense the action of being
clicked. Once an event is received by the input device, it reacts
by sending information to the CPU. In order to properly
“speak” with the CPU, information needs to be communicated
using binary code which are instructions composed of 0s
and 1s.

• Once the input is converted into binary, it is sent to the

CPU to be processed.
 Processing
• Once we have some data, we
need to process it so that
our computer can figure out
what we’re asking it to do
and how to execute those
requests. The job of
processing information is
given to the central
processing unit, or CPU.
 • The CPU controls all the different components between
hardware and software. We can think of it as the “brain” of
the computer! The CPU also holds the responsibility of
establishing communication between hardware and software.
For example, if we turn the dial on our speakers up, data
about that interaction is sent to the CPU. The CPU then
deciphers the information and sends instructions to the
speaker about how to handle this task. If we want to run
software on our computer, it is also up to the CPU to perform
PROCESSING all the necessary operations.
• That’s a lot of responsibility for one piece of hardware. With
all the different software and processes available to us, how
can the CPU take in information and execute the associated
instructions so quickly? This is where computer memory
comes in handy!
MEMORY
• Our computers have a
lot of information to
process - where does all
this data get stored?
Computer memory
refers to the system or
device used to store
computer-based data
temporarily or
permanently. The type
of hardware we use to
store data depends a lot
on how long we need to
hold on to that
information.
 PRIMARY MEMORY

Not all memory needs to last forever. Sometimes we just need information temporarily. For example, if we want to order
food, we only need to remember the restaurant’s phone number long enough for us to dial the number - then we can forget
that information until the next time we order food.
• This same idea applies to running software on our computers. When a command to run a program is sent to the CPU, the
CPU retrieves data from Random Access Memory, or RAM, in order to access what instructions it needs to execute.
Accessing data from RAM is significantly faster than accessing data from other memory systems.
• This type of data is also only stored temporarily; once we exit a program or turn off the computer, the data is lost. For
example, if we exit a word-processing application before saving, anything we wrote in the document is gone.
• Secondary Memory
• If we upload 150 photos to our computer, the computer needs a space to permanently store the data associated with the
images so that we could access the pictures anytime. This type of data would most likely be saved onto our computer’s
hard drive.
OUTPUT
• Once the CPU
processes data and
sends out instructions
on how to handle it,
output is produced!
We can think of
output as the
computer fulfilling the
command we gave it
through an output
device.
OUTPUT
Examples of output devices include the following:
• Monitors
• Speakers
• Printers
• For example, if we clicked a mouse to open a file, the output
would be the monitor displaying the file’s content. If we turned
the volume on our speakers up, the output would be the sound
becoming louder.
• Output is the final step in the process of our computer interaction.
REVIE W
• Input is data we give to our computers
• Processing is comprised of the translation of input
and the instructions given for output
• Memory is used to store either temporary or
permanent information
• Output is the information that gets returned by the
computer
• Now that we have a basic overview of how a
computer works, we’re ready to take a deeper dive
into learning about the processes behind making a
computer functional.
I M P O RTA N T H A R D WA R E

THE CPU
• A Central Processing
Unit (CPU) is the
electronic circuitry
that executes
instructions based on
an input of binary
data (0’s and 1’s).
 The CPU consists of three main
components:
• Control Unit (CU)
• Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU)

CPU(CENTRAL • Registers (Immediate Access Store)

PROCESSING These components are all wired in very

specific ways in order to process data. It is
UNIT) important here to remember that data, to
our hardware, is a series of binary, on and
off, electrical pulses. These pulses are run
through different wires, semiconductors,
and components as a means to process and
return data that is usable by the software.
Now that we have a general understanding
of the CPU, let’s dive a little deeper.
 CONTROL UNIT

• The Control Unit (CU) is the overseer of the CPU, responsible

for controlling and monitoring the input and output of data
from the computer’s hardware. The Control Unit is the
component receiving instructions from the software and
running the show. Its primary job is making sure that data is
sent to the right component, at the right time, and arrives
with integrity.
• Part of this job is keeping all the hardware working on the
same schedule. It does this with a clock, which sends out a
regular electrical signal to all components at the same time
to coordinate activities.
ALU
• The Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU) is where
all the processing on your computer takes
place. Even as you scroll this text box, the ALU
is calculating pixel changes on the screen and
sending that output to the monitor. The ALU is
the fundamental building block of the CPU,
the brains of the entire computer. Nearly all
functional processing occurs in this chip. As
the name implies, the ALU’s functions can be
divided into two primary areas:

• Arithmetic operations that deal with

calculating data (e.g. 5 * 4 = 20)
• Logic operations that deal with comparisons
and conditionals (e.g. 25 > 10)
REGISTERS
• The register, or immediate access
store, is limited space, high-speed
memory that the CPU can use for
quick processing. Registers are
small pieces of memory right on
the CPU. They are fixed in number
and defined in the Instruction Set
Architecture. There are typically
8, 16, 32, or 64 registers
depending on the architecture
and are also fixed in size based on
the size of the number it can hold.
They provide the CPU with a
place to store and access values
that are crucial to the immediate
calculations the ALU is processing.
 MEMORY
• The CPU is just a single
component of the
computer’s hardware,
other important
components of hardware
include Random Access
Memory (RAM), buses
(high-speed wires), as
well as a hard disk and
other non-volatile
memory.
Random Access Memor y

• Random Access Memory, or RAM, is

additional high-speed memory that a
computer uses to store and access
information on a short-term basis. In
general, a computer’s performance
can be directly correlated to the
amount of RAM it has available to
use. RAM is considered primary
volatile memory, which means it
loses whatever is stored on it as
soon as power is disconnected.
 BUSES
• A bus is an engineering
term for a job-specific
high-speed wire. These
wires are often group
together in bundles and
will transfer electrical
signals either in parallel
or in serial, that is many
signals at once or one
pulse at a time. Buses
can be grouped into
three functions: data
buses, address buses,
and control buses.
 • Data buses carry data back and forth between
the processor and other components. Data buses
are bidirectional, which means that they transfer
data both to and from other locations.
• Address buses carry a specific address in memory
and are unidirectional. We can visualize all of our
memory like a village with each house
BUSES representing a package of data. Every house/data
has an address. When our computer tells a
program or component what data to use, it sends
the address and then the component knows
where to find the data when it needs it.
• Control buses are also unidirectional and are
responsible for carrying the control signals of the
CU to other components as well as the clock
signals for synchronization.
HARD DISKS
• Hard disks, or hard
drives, are responsible
for the long-term, or
secondary storage of
data and programs.
This is an example of
non-volatile memory,
meaning that it will
retain its information
when we shut down
our computer.
ADDITIONAL HARDWARE

THE MAINBOARD
• The mainboard, or motherboard, is a printed circuit board that
houses important hardware components via ports. Hardware such as
the CPU, the hard drive, various USB devices, and more are connected
through ports on the mainboard. The mainboard allows these
components to communicate easily.
PORTS
• A port is a physical outlet
used to connect outside, IO
(Input/Output) devices to a
computer. A computer
typically contains multiple
ports. This connection
allows for communication
between the IO device and
our computers. Examples of
IO devices include
keyboards, mice, and
monitors.
NUMBER BASES
• Introduction to Bases
• We use number bases every day without
realizing it. When we think about numbers
in everyday life, we are almost always
thinking of decimal numbers, or numbers
in base 10, where each digit of a number
can be one of ten values. People have ten
fingers and ten toes (most of the time), so
it seems natural to base a number system
on ten. But, we are not required to use ten
as a base. For example, in the
movie Avatar, the Na’vi inhabitants have
eight fingers and base their number system
on eight because of that. Back on Earth, we
see other bases use commonly in
computing systems, such as binary (base 2)
and hexadecimal (base 16).
• When we wish to discuss non-ten bases,
we use a leading notation like this:
0b1100111101 (binary for decimal 829).
Any number can be a base; however
binary, hexadecimal, and decimal are the
most common on computer systems.
• Binary (Base 2): leading 0b
• Decimal (Base 10): leading nothing (we
use it all the time!)
• Hexadecimal (Base 16): leading 0x
• As an IT person, it’s important to
understand number systems like binary
and hexadecimal because they are vital
for representing data within a computer.
In this article, we will discuss the binary
and hexadecimal number system.
BINARY
• Binary information is defined as
relating to, composed of, or
involving two things. What we,
as computer scientists,
understand as examples of
binary can be broken into two
distinct categories:
1. Binary Numbers
2. Binary Data
• Binary numbers are expressed as
a combination of 0s and 1s. For
example, 100110 is the binary
equivalent of the number 38.

• Here you can see decimal values

1 - 10 represented in binary
form:
Common examples of binary data include:
•Machine Code (001010101100111001010010011)
•Boolean Expressions (True or False)
•Hardware states (On or Off)
•Networking and File Storage
Continuo to next lessons.

• Units of Measure in Computing

• Hello, Internet
• The World Wide Web
• The Ever