Basics of Computer

1.1 INTRODUCTION

In this lesson we present an overview of the basic design of a computer system: how the
different parts of a computer system are organized and various operations performed to
perform a specific task. You would have observed that instructions have to be fed into the
computer in a systematic order to perform a specific task. Computer components are
divided into two major categories, namely, hardware and software. In this lesson we will
discuss about hardware, i.e., the machine itself and its connected devices such as
monitor, keyboard, mouse etc., as well as software that makes use of hardware for
performing various functions.

1.2 OBJECTIVES

After going through this lesson you would be able to: explain basic organization of
computer system. explain different types of input and output devices define Software and
its classification distinguish between system software and application software describe
computer language and its classification

1.3 WHAT IS A COMPUTER?

Computer is a device that transforms data into meaningful information. Data can be
anything like marks obtained by you in various subjects. It can also be name, age, sex,
weight, height, etc. of all the students in a class.

Computer can also be defined in terms of functions it can perform. A computer can i)
accept data, ii) store data, iii) process data as desired, and iv) retrieve the stored data as
and when required and v) print the result in desired format. The major characteristics of a
computer are high speed, accuracy, diligence, versatility and storage.
1.3.1 Computer Organisation

Block diagram of Computer Organisation

The computer performs basically five major operations of functions irrespective of their
size and make. These are 1) it accepts data or instruction by way of input, 2) it stores data,
3) it can process data as required by the user, 4) it gives results in the form of output, and 5)
it controls all operations inside a computer. We discuss below each of these operations. •
Input: this is the process of entering data and programs into the computer system.
• Control Unit (CU): The process of input, output, processing and storage is
performed under the supervision of a unit called ‘Control Unit’. It decides when to
start receiving data, when to stop it, where to store data, etc. It takes care of stepby-
step processing of all operations in side the computer.
• Memory Unit: Computer is used to store data and instructions.
• Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU): The major operations performed by the ALU are
addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, logic and comparison.
• Output: This is the process of producing results from the data for getting useful
information. The ALU and the CU of a computer system are jointly known as the
central processing unit (CPU). You may call CPU as the brain of any computer
system.
 1.4 PERIPHERAL DEVICES

Peripheral devices are connected to the computer externally. These devices are used for
performing some specific functions. Peripheral devices are as follows:

Input Devices

Output Devices

Other Peripherals

1.5 INPUT DEVICES

Input devices accept data and instructions from the user. Following are the
examples of various input devices, which are connected to the computer for this
purpose.
• Keyboard
• Mouse
• Light Pen
• Optical/magnetic Scanner
• Touch Screen
• Microphone for voice as input
• Track Ball
1.5.1 Keyboard

A keyboard is the most common input device. Several kinds of keyboards are available, but
they resemble each other with minor variations. The keyboard in most common use is the
QWERTY board. Generally standard keyboard has 104 keys. In these keyboards, the cursor
control keys are duplicated to allow easier use of the numeric pad.
1.5.2 Mouse

A mouse is an electro-mechanical, hand-held device (as shown in figure 1. 4). It is used as

a pointer. It can perform functions like selecting menu commands, moving icons, resizing
windows, starting programs, and choosing options.

1.5.3 Light pen

An input device that utilizes a light-sensitive detector to select objects on a display screen.
A light pen is similar to a mouse (as shown in figure 1.5), except that with a light pen you
can move the pointer and select objects on the display screen by directly pointing to the
objects with the pen.

1.5.4 Optical Scanner

These devices are used for automatic data collection. The devices of this category
completely eliminate manual input of data. For example, the bar-code reader is actually
just a special type of image scanner. An image scanner translates printed images into an
electronic format that can be stored in a computer's memory, and with the right kind of
software, one can alter a stored image. Another example of scanner is optical character
recognition (OCR) device, used by banks to convert the scanned image of a typed or
printed page into text that can be edited on the computer.
1.5.5 Touch Screen

Touch panel displays and pads are now being offered as alternatives to keyboard. Here the
input can be given through the computer screen, that accepts the input through monitor,
users touch electronic buttons displayed on the screen or they may use light pen.

1.5.6 Microphone

Microphone is an input device, which takes voice as input. The voice communication is
more error-prone than information through keyboard. There are two types of microphones
available (as shown in figure

• Desktop Microphone
• Hand held Microphone
1.5.7 Track Ball
Trackball, a pointing device, is a mouse lying on its back (as shown in figure 1. 9). To
move the pointer, you rotate the ball with your thumb, your fingers, or the palm of
your hand. There are usually one to three buttons next to the ball, which you use just
like mouse buttons.

1.6 OUTPUT DEVICES

Output devices return processed data that is information, back to the user. Some of
the commonly used output devices are:

1. Monitor (Visual Display Unit)

2. Printers
3. Plotter
4. Speakers
1.6.1 Monitor
Out of all the output devices, monitor is perhaps the most important output device
because people interact with this device most intensively Than others. Computer
information is displayed, visually with a video adapter card and monitor. Information
processed within the CPU, that needs to be visually displayed, is sent to video
adapter. The video adapter converts information from the format used, in the same
manner as a television displays information sent to it by a cable service. Two basic
types of monitors are used with microcomputers, which are as follows:
1. CRT
2. LCD
Cathode Ray Tube (CRT): CRT or Cathode Ray Tube Monitor is the typical monitor
that you see on a desktop computer. It looks a lot like a television screen, and works
the same way. This type uses a large vacuum tube, called cathode ray tube (CRT).
Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD): This type of monitors are also known as flat panel
monitor. Most of these employ liquid crystal displays (LCDs) to render images.
These days LCD monitor are very popular.

1.6.2 Printer
After a document is created on the computer, it can be sent to a printer for a hard
copy (printout). Some printers offer special features such as colored and large page
formats. Same of the most commonly used printers are:
1. Laser Printer
2. Ink Jet Printer
3. Dot Matrix Printer
4. Line Printer

1.6.3 Plotter
A plotter is a special kind of output device that, like a printer, produces images on
paper, but does so in a different way. Plotters are designed to produce large
drawings or images, such as construction plans for buildings or blueprints for
mechanical objects. A plotter can be connected to the port normally used by a
printer. Plotters usually come in two designs:
1 Flat Bed: Plotters of small size to be kept on table with restriction of paper size.
 2. Drum: These plotters are of big size using rolls of paper of unlimited length.

1.6.4 Speaker
Speakers as shown in figure are another type of output device, which allow you to
listen to voice like music, and conversation with people.

1.7 SOFTWARE
As you are aware, computer cannot do anything on its own. It is the user who instructs
computer; what to do, how to do and when to do. In order to perform any task, you have to
give a set of instructions in a particular sequence to the computer. These sets of
instructions are called Programs. Software refers to a set of programs that makes the
hardware perform a particular set of tasks in particular order. Software can be classified
mainly into following categories and sub-categories are shown in Figure

1.7.1 System Software: When you switch on the computer the programs stored in
ROM are executed which activates different units of your computer and makes it
ready for you to work on it. This set of programs can be called system software.
System softwares are sets of programs, responsible for running the computer,
 controlling various operations of computer systems and management of computer
resources. Operating System (OS) falls under this category.
1.7.2 Application Software
Application software is a set of programs, which are written to perform specific
tasks, for example: An application package for managing library known as library
information system is used to manage information of library such as: keeping book
details, account holder details, book issue details, book return details etc. Another
application package for managing student details is called student’s information
system, manages student’s roll no, ‘name, parents name, address, class, section,
processing of examination results etc.
Application software can be broadly classified into two types:
• Generalized packages
• Customized packages
• Generalized Packages
These are user friendly softwares written to cater to user’s very general needs such as
preparing documents, drawing pictures, database to manage data/information, preparing
presentations, play games etc.It is a group of programs that provide general purpose tools
to solve specific problems. Some of the generalized packages are listed below:

Word Processing Software(for preparing documents): Word Perfect, MS-Word,

OpenOffice.org Writer
Spreadsheets (Data Analysis): Lotus Smart suites, MS- Excel, OpenOffice.org Calc, Apple
Numbers
Presentations: Presentation Graphics, MS-PowerPoint, OpenOffice.org Impress
Database Management System: MS-Access, OpenOffice.org Base, MS-SQL Server,
ORACLE
Graphics Tools: Paint shop pro, Adobe Photoshop
Customized Packages
These are the applications that are customized (or developed) to meet the specific
requirements of an organization/institution. For Example: Student information details,
Payroll packages, inventory control etc.
These packages are developed using high-level computer language.
1.8 COMPUTER LANGUAGES
Languages are a means of communication. Normally people interact with each other
through a language. On the same pattern, communication with computers is carried out
through a language. This language is understood both by user and the machine. Just as
every language like English, Hindi has its grammatical rules; every computer language is
bound by rules known as SYNTAX of that language. The user is bound by that syntax while
communicating with the computer system.

Computer languages are broadly classified as:

1. Low Level Language:

The term low level means closeness to the way in which machine understand. The low level
languages are
a. Machine Language:
This is the language (in the form of O's and 1's, called binary numbers) understood directly
by the computer. It is machine dependent. It is difficult to learn and even more difficult to
write programs.
b. Assembly Language:
This is the language where the machine codes comprising of 0's and 1's are substituted by
symbolic codes (called mnemonics) to improve their understanding. It is the first step to
improve programming structure.
2. High Level Language
You know that low level language requires extensive knowledge of the hardware since it is
machine dependent. To overcome the limitation, high level language has been evolved
which uses normal English like, easy to understand statements to solve any problem.
Higher level languages are computer independent and programming becomes quite easy
and simple.
Various high level languages are given below:
BASIC (Beginners All Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code): It is widely used, easy to learn
general purpose language. Mainly used in microcomputers in earlier days.

COBOL (Common Business Oriented language): A standardized language used for

commercial applications.

FORTRAN (Formula Translation): Developed for solving mathematical and scientific

problems. One of the most popular languages among scientific community.
C: Structured Programming Language used for all purpose such as scientific application,
commercial application, developing games etc.
C++: Popular object oriented programming language, used for general purpose.
1.9 COMPILER AND ASSEMBLER
As you know that High Level language is machine independent and assembly language
though it is machine dependent yet mnemonics that are being used to represent
instructions are not directly understandable by machine. Hence to make the machine
understand the instructions provided by both the languages, Compiler and Assembler are
required to convert these instructions into machine language.
The software (set of programs) that reads a program written in high level language and
translates it into an equivalent program in machine language is called as Compiler.

The software (set of programs) that reads a program written in assembly language and
translates it into an equivalent program in machine language is called as Assembler.