FUNDAMENTALS OF COMPUTER

UNIT – I

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WHAT IS COMPUTER?

A Computer is an electronic device that processes data,

converting it into information that is useful to people.
Any computer- regardless of its type- is controlled by
programmed instructions, which gives the machine a
purpose and tell it what to do.

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PARTS OF THE COMPUTER SYSTEM

A complete computer system consists of mainly four

parts.
1. Hardware (The computer)
2. Software (Programs)
3. Data (Information)
4. User (People)

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Hardware

The mechanical devices that make up the computer are called

Hardware. A computer’s hardware consists of interconnected
electronic devices that you can use to control the computer’s
operation, input, and output.

Software

Software is a set of instructions that makes the computer

perform tasks. In other words we can say that, software tells
the computer what to do. Here the program refers to any piece
of software

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Data
Data consist of individual facts or pieces of information that by
themselves may not make much sense to a person. A computer
primary job is to process these tiny pieces of data in various ways,
converting them into useful information

Users
Peoples are the computer operators, also known as Users. One can
argue that some computer systems are complete without a person’s
involvement; however no computer is totally autonomous.
Even if a computer can do its job without a person sitting in front
of it, people still design, build, program, and repair computer
system

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COMPONENTS OF COMPUTER HARDWARE

Information processing cycle is a set of steps the

computer follows to receive data, process the data
according to instructions from a program, display the
resulting information to the user and store the results

MEMORY

INPUT OUTPUT
CU

ALU
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 SECONDARY
STORAGE

PROGAM INFORMATION
AND INPUT OUTPUT
DATA UNIT PRIMARY UNIT ( Results )

STORAGE

CONTROL
UNIT

AIRTHMETIC Indicates control

LOGIC UNIT exercised by CU

Indicates flow of
instructions and data

BASIC ORGANIZATION OF COMPUTER SYSTEM 7 25

INPUT UNIT
Functions performed by an input unit:-
▪ It accepts or reads the instructions and data from the outside
world.
▪ It converts these instructions and data in computer acceptable
form.
▪ It supplies the converted instructions and data to the computer
system for further processing.

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OUTPUT UNIT
Functions performed by an 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 outside world.

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STROAGE UNIT
 The data and instructions required for processing
received from input device.
 Intermediate results of processing.
 Final results of processing before the results are
released to an output device.

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The Storage unit of all computers is comprised of the
following two types of storage:-

▪ Primary Storage:- The primary storage also known as main

memory, is used to hold pieces of program instruction and
data, intermediate results of processing, and recently
produced results of processing , of the job, which the
computer system is currently working on.
▪ Secondary storage:- The secondary storage , also known as
auxiliary storage, the secondary storage is normally used to
hold the program instructions, data, and information of
those jobs, on which the computer system is not working
on currently, but needs to hold them for processing later.

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ARITHMETIC LOGIC UNIT
The arithmetic logic unit ( ALU ) of a computer system
is the place, where the actual execution of the
instructions takes place, during the processing
operation. The data and instructions, stored in the
primary storage before processing, are transferred as
and when needed to the ALU, where processing takes
place . No processing is done in the primary storage
unit, intermediate results generated in the ALU are
temporarily transferred back to the primary storage,
until needed later.

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CONTROL UNIT

It manages and coordinates the entire computers

system. It obtains instructions from the program
stored in main memory, interprets the
instructions, and issues signals, which cause other
units of the system to execute them.

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CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT

The control unit and the arithmetic logic unit of a

computer system are jointly known as the central
processing unit ( CPU ) . The CPU is the brain of the
computer system. In a human body, all major decision
are taken by the brain, and the other parts of the body
function as directed by the brain. Similarly, in the
computer system, all major calculation and
comparisons are made inside the CPU, and the CPU is
responsible for activating and controlling the
operations of other units of the computer system.

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Central processing unit (CPU) is the central component
of the Computer System. Sometimes it is called as
microprocessor or processor. It is the brain that runs the
show inside the Computer. All functions and processes
that is done on a computer is performed directly or
indirectly by the processor. Obviously, computer
processor is one of the most important element of the
Computer system. CPU consist of transistors, that
receives inputs and produces output. Transistors perform
logical operations which is called processing. It is also,
scientifically, not only one of the most amazing parts of
the PC, but one of the most amazing devices in the world
of technology.

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Motherboard
Alternatively referred to as the mb, mainboard, mboard, mobo, mobd,
backplane board, base board, main circuit board, planar board, system
board, or a logic board on Apple computers. The motherboard is a printed
circuit board and foundation of a computer that is the biggest board in a
computer chassis. It allocates power and allows communication to and
between the CPU, RAM, and all other computer hardware components.

A motherboard provides connectivity between the hardware components

of a computer, like the processor (CPU), memory (RAM), hard drive, and
video card. There are multiple types of motherboards, designed to fit
different types and sizes of computers.

Each type of motherboard is designed to work with specific types of

processors and memory, so they are not capable of working with every
processor and type of memory. However, hard drives are mostly universal
and work with the majority of motherboards, regardless of the type or
brand.

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Microprocessor
Microprocessor is a controlling unit of a micro-computer,
fabricated on a small chip capable of performing ALU
(Arithmetic Logical Unit) operations and communicating
with the other devices connected to it.

Microprocessor consists of an ALU, register array, and a

control unit. ALU performs arithmetical and logical
operations on the data received from the memory or an
input device. Register array consists of registers identified
by letters like B, C, D, E, H, L and accumulator. The control
unit controls the flow of data and instructions within the
computer.

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Working of Microprocessor

The microprocessor follows a sequence: Fetch, Decode,

and then Execute.

Initially, the instructions are stored in the memory in a

sequential order. The microprocessor fetches those
instructions from the memory, then decodes it and
executes those instructions till STOP instruction is
reached. Later, it sends the result in binary to the output
port. Between these processes, the register stores the
temporarily data and ALU performs the computing
functions.
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Frequently used terms in a microprocessor −
Instruction Set − It is the set of instructions that the
microprocessor can understand.
Bandwidth − It is the number of bits processed in a single
instruction.
Clock Speed − It determines the number of operations per
second the processor can perform. It is expressed in
megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz).It is also known as
Clock Rate.
Word Length − It depends upon the width of internal data
bus, registers, ALU, etc. An 8-bit microprocessor can process
8-bit data at a time. The word length ranges from 4 bits to 64
bits depending upon the type of the microcomputer.
Data Types − The microprocessor has multiple data type
formats like binary, BCD, ASCII, signed and unsigned
numbers.
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Features of a Microprocessor
Cost-effective: The microprocessor chips are available at
low prices and results its low cost.
Size: The microprocessor is of small size chip, hence is
portable.
Low Power Consumption: Microprocessors are
manufactured by using metaloxide semiconductor
technology, which has low power consumption.
Versatility: The microprocessors are versatile as we can use
the same chip in a number of applications by configuring
the software program.
Reliability: The failure rate of an IC in microprocessors is
very low, hence it is reliable.

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The Intel Pentium III AMD
The Pentium III model, introduced in 1999, represents Intel’s 32-bit x86
desktop and mobile microprocessors in accordance with the sixth-generation
P6 micro-architecture.

The Pentium III processor included SDRAM, enabling incredibly fast data
transfer between the memory and the microprocessor. Pentium III was also
faster than its predecessor, the Pentium II, featuring clock speeds of up to 1.4
GHz. The Pentium III included 70 new computer instructions which allowed 3-
D rendering, imaging, video streaming, speech recognition and audio
applications to run more quickly.

The Pentium III processor was produced from 1999 to 2003, with variants
codenamed Katmai, Coppermine, Coppermine T and Tualatin. The variants’
clock speeds varied from 450 MHz to 1.4 GHz. The Pentium III processor’s new
instructions were optimized for multimedia applications called MMX

Other Intel brands associated with the Pentium III were Celeron (for low-end
versions) and Xeon (for high-end versions).
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Cyrix
Cyrix Corporation was a microprocessor developer that was
founded in 1988 in Richardson, Texas, as a specialist supplier of
math coprocessors for 286 and 386 microprocessors. The
company was founded by Tom Brightman and Jerry Rogers. Cyrix
founder, President and CEO Jerry Rogers, aggressively recruited
engineers and pushed them, eventually assembling a small but
efficient design team of 30 people.
Cyrix merged with National Semiconductor on 11 November
1997.
The first Cyrix product for the personal computer market was a
x87 compatible FPU coprocessor. The Cyrix FasMath 83D87 and
83S87 were introduced in 1989. The FasMath provided up to 50%
more performance than the Intel 80387. Cyrix FasMath 82S87, a
80287-compatible chip, was developed from the Cyrix 83D87 and
has been available since 1991.
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MMX Technology
MMX stands from MultiMedia eXtensions. MMX is a
Pentium microprocessor from Intel that is designed to
run faster when playing multimedia applications.

MMX is a Pentium microprocessor from Intel that is

designed to run faster when playing multimedia
applications. According to Intel, a PC with an MMX
microprocessor runs a multimedia application up to
60% faster than one with a microprocessor having the
same clock speed but without MMX. In addition, an
MMX microprocessor runs other applications about 10%
faster.
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System Clock
A system clock or system timer is a continuous pulse that helps the
computer clock keep the correct time. It keeps count of the
number of seconds elapsed since the epoch, and uses that data to
calculate the current date and time.
Some of the characteristics of the system clock are as follows:
•The system clock is used to produce a specific pulse at a fixed rate
of time.
• The machine cycle of a system can be completed in a single
or multiple clock pulses.
• A single program instruction could be multiple instructions
for the Cpu.
• Any central processing unit has a predefined set of
instructions also known as the instruction set. These are the
instructions that it can process and understand.
• The clock speeds are nowadays measures in Ghz. 1ghz =
1000 mhz 24
BUSES
 A bus is a common pathway through which information
flows from one computer component to another. This
pathway is used for communication purpose and it is
established between two or more computer components.

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Three types of bus are used.

Address bus - carries memory addresses from the processor

to other components such as primary storage and
input/output devices. The address bus is unidirectional.

Data bus - carries the data between the processor and other
components. The data bus is bidirectional.

Control bus - carries control signals from the processor to

other components. The control bus also carries the clock's
pulses. The control bus is unidirectional.

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InduStry Standard Architechture(isa)

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Extended Industry architechture(Eisa)

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MCA Stands for Micro Channel Architecture
It is an expansion bus created by IBM that was used in the
company's PS/2 desktop computers. An expansion bus allows
additional cards to be connected to the computer's motherboard,
expanding the number of I/O ports. These include SCSI, USB,
Firewire, AGP, and DVI connections, as well as many others.

The MCA standard was designed to take the place of the AT and
ISA buses used in previous IBM PC/AT compatible computers.
While the MCA bus architecture was an improvement in both size
and speed over AT and ISA, it was kept as a proprietary standard by
IBM. This discouraged other manufacturers from adopting the
standard, since the MCA architecture was not compatible with
other standards. Most PC companies incorporated the more
universal PCI and AGP expansion buses into their computers,
which are both widely used today.
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An expansion slot is a socket on the motherboard that
is used to insert an expansion card (or circuit board), which
provides additional features to a computer such as video,
sound, advanced graphics, Ethernet or memory.

The expansion card has an edge connector that fits precisely

into the expansion slot as well as a row of contacts that is
designed to establish an electrical connection between the
motherboard and the electronics on the card, which are
mostly integrated circuits. Depending on the form factor of
the case and motherboard, a computer system generally can
have anywhere from one to seven expansion slots. With a
backplane system, up to 19 expansion cards can be installed.

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 CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPUTER
1. Speed: - As you know computer can work very fast. It takes only few
seconds for calculations that we take hours to complete. You will be
surprised to know that computer can perform millions (1,000,000) of
instructions and even more per second. Therefore, we determine the
speed of computer in terms of microsecond (10-6 part of a second) or
nanosecond (10 to the power -9 part of a second). From this you can
imagine how fast your computer performs work.
2. Accuracy: - The degree of accuracy of computer is very high and
every calculation is performed with the same accuracy. The accuracy
level is 7 determined on the basis of design of computer. The errors
in computer are due to human and inaccurate data.
3. Diligence: - A computer is free from tiredness, lack of
concentration, fatigue, etc. It can work for hours without creating
any error. If millions of calculations are to be performed, a computer
will perform every calculation with the same accuracy. Due to this
capability it overpowers human being in routine type of work.
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4. Versatility: - It means the capacity to perform
completely different type of work. You may use your
computer to prepare payroll slips. Next moment you may
use it for inventory management or to prepare electric bills.
5. Power of Remembering: - Computer has the power of
storing any amount of information or data. Any
information can be stored and recalled as long as you
require it, for any numbers of years. It depends entirely
upon you how much data you want to store in a computer
and when to lose or retrieve these data.

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6. No IQ: - Computer is a dumb machine and it cannot do any
work without instruction from the user. It performs the
instructions at tremendous speed and with accuracy. It is
you to decide what you want to do and in what sequence.
So a computer cannot take its own decision as you can.
7. No Feeling: - It does not have feelings or emotion, taste,
knowledge and experience. Thus it does not get tired even
after long hours of work. It does not distinguish between
users.
8. Storage: - The Computer has an in-built memory where
it can store a large amount of data. You can also store data
in secondary storage devices such as floppies, which can be
kept outside your computer and can be carried to other
computers.
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CLASSIFICATIONS OF COMPUTER
According to functionality, computers are classified as :
Analog Computer
 An analog computer (spelt analogue in British English) is a form of
computer that uses continuous physical phenomena such as electrical,
mechanical, or hydraulic quantities to model the problem being solved

Digital Computer
 A computer that performs calculations and logical operations with
quantities represented as digits, usually in the binary number system

Hybrid Computer (Analog + Digital)

 A combination of computers those are capable of inputting and outputting
in both digital and analog signals. A hybrid computer system setup offers a
cost effective method of performing complex simulations.

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TYPES OF COMPUTER
1. PERSONAL COMPUTER
2. MAINFRAME COMPUTER
3. MINICOMPUTER
4. SUPER COMPUTER

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PERSONAL COMPUTER
The most common types of computer is personal computer- a
personal computer that is designed to sit on a desk or table.
These are the systems you see all around you, in school,
homes, and office.
Today’s personal computers are more
powerful than those of just a few year’s ago. Not only do these
machine enable people to do their jobs with greater ease and
efficient, but they can be used to communicate, produce music,
edit photographs and videos, etc. the main components of the
personal computer is the system units.

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MAINFRAME COMPUTER
Mainframe computer are used in large organizations such as
insurance companies and banks, where many people frequently
need to use the same data. In a traditional mainframe
environment, each user accesses the mainframe’s resources
through a device called a terminal. There are two types of
terminals. A dumb terminal does not process or store data; it is
simply an input/output device that functions as a window into a
computer located somewhere else. An intelligent terminal can
perform some processing operations, but it usually does not
have any storage. In some mainframe environments, however,
workers can use a standard personal computer to access the
mainframe.
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MINI COMPUTER

First released in the 1960s, minicomputers got their

name because of their small size compared to other
computer of the day. The capabilities of a
minicomputer are somewhere between those of
mainframe and personal computers. For this reason
minicomputers are often called midrange computers.

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SUPERCOMPUTER

Supercomputers are the most powerful computers

made, and physically they are some of the largest.
These systems can process huge amounts of data, and
the fastest supercomputers can perform more than one
trillion calculations per second.

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AREAS OF COMPUTER
There are many applications of Computers:-
 EDUCATION
 HEALTH AND MEDICINE
 SCIENCE
 BUSINESS
 ENTERTAINMENT
 SPORTS
 ANALYZING MOVEMENTS
 DEFENCE
 SAFETY AND MANY MORE
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 COMPUTER MEMORY
Memory is an essential element of a computer. Without its
memory, a computer is of hardly any use. Memory plays an
important role in saving and retrieving data. The performance
of the computer system depends upon the size of the memory.
Memory is of following types:
1. Primary Memory / Volatile Memory.
2. Secondary Memory / Non Volatile Memory.

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Primary Memory / Volatile Memory

Primary Memory is internal memory of the computer. RAM AND ROM both form
part of primary memory. The primary memory provides main working space to the
computer.
The following terms comes under primary memory of a computer are discussed below:

Random Access Memory (RAM): The primary storage is referred to as random access
memory (RAM) because it is possible to randomly select and use any location of the
memory directly store and retrieve data. It takes same time to any address of the
memory as the first address. It is also called read/write memory

Read Only Memory (ROM): There is another memory in computer, which is called
Read Only Memory (ROM). Again it is the ICs inside the PC that form the ROM.
The storage of program and data in the ROM is permanent.

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Cache Memory: The speed of CPU is extremely high
compared to the access time of main memory. Therefore the
performance of CPU decreases due to the slow speed of main
memory. To decrease the mismatch in operating speed, a small
memory chip is attached between CPU and Main memory whose
access time is very close to the processing speed of CPU. It is
called CACHE memory.

Cache is a small amount of high-speed random access memory

(RAM) built directly within the processor. It is used to
temporarily hold data and instructions that the processor is likely
to reuse. This allows for faster processing, as the processor does
not have to wait for the data and instructions to be fetched from
the RAM.

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Registers
Registers are small amounts of high-speed memory contained
within the CPU. They are used by the processor to store small
amounts of data that are needed during processing, such as:
 the address of the next instruction to be executed
 the current instruction being decoded
 the results of calculations
Different processors have different numbers of registers for
different purposes. Most have some, or all, of the following:
 program counter (PC)
 memory address register (MAR)
 memory data register (MDR)
 current instruction register (CIR)
 accumulator (ACC)

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Secondary Memory / Non-Volatile
Secondary Memory: Secondary memory is external
and permanent in nature. The secondary memory is
concerned with magnetic memory. Secondary memory
can be stored on storage media like floppy disks,
magnetic disks, magnetic tapes, This memory can also
be stored optically on Optical disks - CD-ROM. The
following terms comes under secondary memory of a
computer are discussed below:

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Magnetic Tape: Magnetic tapes are used for large computers like
mainframe computers where large volume of data is stored for
a longer time. It can be 12.5 mm to 25 mm wide plastic film-
type and 500 meter to 1200 meter long which is coated with
magnetic material i.e similar to cassette tape recorder.

Magnetic Disk: Magnetic disks consists of a number of invisible

concentric circles called tracks. Information is recorded on
tracks of a disk surface in the form of tiny magnetic spots. The
presence of a magnetic spot represents one bit and its absence
represents zero bit. If you want to write a new data, then the
existing data is erased from the disk and new data is
recorded. For Example-Floppy Disk.

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Optical Disk: With every new application and software
there is greater demand for memory capacity. It is the
necessity to store large volume of data that has led to
the development of optical disk storage medium.
Optical disks can be divided into the following
categories:

 Compact Disk/ Read Only Memory (CD-ROM

 Write Once, Read Many (WORM)
 Erasable Optical Disk

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INPUT &OUTPUT
Devices

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 Input devices:
The following are the types of input devices.
• KEYBOARD: The most common type of input device is keyboard
which accepts letters, numbers, and command from the users.
• MOUSE: This is another type of input device through which the
user give command to the computer.
• JOYSTICK: The joystick is a swiveling lever mounted on a
stationary base that is well suited for playing video games.
• SCANNER: A scanner ca copy a printed page of a text or graphic
into the computer’s memory, freeing you from creating the data
from scratch.
• DIGITAL CAMERA: A digital camera can record still images,
which you can view and edit on the computer.
• TOUCH SCREEN: Touch screen accept input by allowing the user
to place a fingertips directly on the computer screen. 49
 Output devices

The following are the type of output devices.

• MONITOR: The computer sends output to the monitor (the
display screen) when the user needs only to see the output.

• SPEAKER: This is another type of output devices through

which we used to hear sound and music.

• PRINTER: Printer is most common output device in the

computer system. Through printer we used to print the
information on a piece of paper. The printer paper is also
called hard copy.

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TYPES OF PRINTER:
Generally printers fall into two categories.
I. Impact printers:
An impact printer creates an image by using pins and
hammers to press an inked ribbon against the paper
Ex:- typewriter.
II. Non-impact printer:
Non-impact printer use other means to create an
image .Ex:Inkjet
Printer use tiny nozzles to spray to spray droplets of ink
onto the page.
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DOT MATRIX PRINTER:
These printer can produce sheet of plain text very quickly. These
printer are commonly used in workplace where physical impact
with the paper is important. The speed of dot matrix printer is
measured in character per second (CPS).
Other types of impact printer is line printers, band printers.

INK JET PRINTERS:

Ink jet printers create an image directly on the paper by
spreading ink through tiny nozzles. These model typically
attain print resolution of at least 300 dots per inch and can print
two to four page per minute. In this type of printer routine
replacement of ink cartridge is necessary.

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• LASER PRINTERS:
As the name implies, a laser printer is at the heart of these printer.
These printer is most expensive than inkjet printer, their print
quality are higher and faster. The quality and speed of laser
printers make them ideal for office environment . The most
common laser printers have resolutions of 300 or 600 dpi both
vertically and horizontally.

• ALL-IN-ONE PERIPHERALS:
Several printers makers make printer on the basis of all-in- one.
These devices combine printing with scanning, photocopying,
and faxing capabilities. These devices are popular in home,
offices, and small businesses.
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