Introduction to ICT
Dr. Ghufran Ullah
Assistant Professor
Department of IT & Computer Science
Course Outlines
Introduction to IT,
Brief history of Computer,
Computer Elements,
Types of Computer,
Types of Computer Facility,
Input and Output Devices,
Storage Devices,
types of Software,
OS Basics and Types,
Introduction to Programming Languages/Algorithms,
Database Basics,
Data Communications Basics/Model,
Data Transmission and its Types,
Internet and Web Basics,
Advanced Topics in Computing
ICT
Is the technology required for information
processing
The use of electronic communication
devices/computers to transmit, protect, store,
process, convert and retrieve the information
from anywhere, anytime.
Data vs. Information
Data Information
raw facts data with context
no context processed data
just numbers and text value-added to data
summarized
organized
analyzed
Data vs. Information
Data: Information:
51007
5/10/07 The date of your final exam.
Data
6.34
6.45
$51,007 The average starting salary of an
6.39 accountant.
6.62
6.57 51007 Zip code of an area.
6.64
6.71
6.82
7.12
7.06
Data vs. Information ABC Company
Data Information
6.34
6.45
6.39
6.62
6.57
6.64
6.71
6.82
7.12
7.06
Data Information Knowledge
Data
Summarizing the data
Averaging the data
Selecting part of the data
Graphing the data
Adding context
Adding value
Information
Data Information Knowledge
Information
How is the info tied to outcomes?
Are there any patterns in the info?
What info is relevant to the problem?
How does this info effect the system?
What is the best way to use the info?
How can we add more value to the info?
Knowledge
ASCII - Binary Character Table
What is Computer?
Computer…..
A computer is an electronic device that accepts raw data, processes it
according to a set of instructions and produce the desired result.
What does a Computer Do?
The operation of every computer can be divided into four basic
functions.
Input: Data you put into the computer by way of keyboard, mouse
etc.
Processing : Also known as the "Brain" of the computer. Processes
the information you put in into human readable form.
Cont……
Output: The information produced after processing the data into the
computer is seen on the monitor screen and can be printed out on
paper and is readable.
Storage : Either the computers memory, CD's, DVD's, Floppy Disc's,
USB Flash Drives, etc.
• Define hardware as consisting of physical components of a computer system
• Identify internal hardware devices (e.g. processor, motherboards, random access
memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), video cards, sound cards and internal
hard disk drives.
• Identify external hardware devices and peripherals (such as monitors, keyboards,
mice, keyboards, printers as input and output devices and external storage devices in
general)
• Define software as programs for controlling the operation of a computer or processing
of electronic data
• Identify the two types of software – applications software and system software
• Define applications software (e.g. word processing, spreadsheet, database
management systems, control software, measuring software, applets and apps,
photo-editing software, video-editing software, graphics manipulation software)
• Define system software (e.g. compilers, linkers, device drivers, operating systems and
utilities)
Define hardware as consisting of physical components of a computer system
What is Hardware?
• Hardware are the physical components which make up the computer
system.
• Each item of hardware have their specific roles in a computer system.
• Hardware components can either be internal or external.
Internal hardware devices
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
The CPU is the 'brain' of the computer. It is the device that
carries out calculations to complete software instructions.
Motherboard
The motherboard is circuit board which connects to main
components of the computer system.
Memory
Any data or instructions that are to be processed by the CPU
must be placed into main memory.
Internal hardware devices
Graphic Video Cards
A graphics card is a device that attaches to the motherboard
to enable the computer to process and display graphics.
Sound Card
A sound card is a device that attaches to the motherboard to
enable the computer to input, process, and deliver sound
Internal Hard Disk
A hard disk drive is a hardware device that's used to store
information like software and files. The capacity of hard
drive ranges from GB to Tera Bytes.
Internal hardware devices
Network Card
A network card provides the computer with a network
(internet connection) either through wireless signals or a
physical cable connection.
Optical Disk Drive
The optical disk drive (CD/DVD) allows for optical disks to
run on the computer. Also some optical disk drives are able
to write “burn” data onto discs.
Power Supply
The power supply is connected to main power sources to
give power to the computer system. The power supply
connects to all the main components of the computer system
including the motherboard, hard drive, optical drives etc.
External hardware devices
Input Devices – Input data into a Computer
Examples
• Mouse
• Keyboard
• Microphone
Output Devices – Outputs data from a computer
Examples
• Monitor
• Speakers
• Printers
External Storage Devices – Provides external storage or backup solutions
Examples
• External
Hard drive
• Describe the central processing unit including its role
• Describe internal memory, i.e. ROM and RAM and the differences between them
• Define input and output devices and describe the difference between them
• Define secondary/backing storage
Describe the central processing unit including its role
• The CPU is the 'brain' of the computer.
• It is where all the searching, sorting,
calculating and decision making takes place.
• The speed of the CPU is measured in
Gigahertz (GHz).
• A 1 GHz CPU can carry out 1 billion
instructions per second!
• Intel and AMD are the most popular CPU
brands.
Main Memory
Applications are installed in the Secondary Storage (Hard drive).
Temporary data from Applications in use are held in the Main Memory.
The CPU will first check the Cache for the required piece of the data so
that it can be processed.
If the data is not in the cache then the CPU will check the RAM and
transfer data to the CPU.
The Cache will then transfer the next piece of data from the RAM into
Cache.
The CPU will again check the Cache for the next piece of data. This time
the CPU will be able to get the data from the Cache Memory.
Main Memory
Cache
• Cache is the faster type of Memory.
• It is located between the processor and the
RAM.
• Cache collects data from the RAM.
• Holds onto commonly used data.
• The Cache will automatically transfer the
next set of data from the RAM in to the
Cache so that it can be processed by the
CPU.
RAM (Random Access Memory)
• RAM stands for Random Access Memory
• RAM is the part of the computer that
temporarily stores the instructions that the
computer is running whilst the data is being
processed by the CPU.
• RAM is volatile which means that when the
computer is turned off all data is lost
ROM (Read Only Memory)
• ROM stands for Read Only Memory
• ROM is a built-in memory that can not be
changed (Read Only).
• ROM normally holds the ‘boot up’
instructions to start the computer – without
it the computer wouldn’t know what to do
when on button is switched on (e.g. the
operating system will not start).
• ROM is non-volatile memory which means
that memory is not lost when computer is
turned off.
• E.g running hardware diagnostics and loading the
operating system into RAM. On a PC, the boot
firmware is called the BIOS
Input and Output devices
Devices need to be connected to a computer to allow data to be inputted
and outputted.
The general name for these extra devices is ‘peripheral devices’. They are
usually categorised into input devices, output devices and storage devices.
Input Output Storage
An input device is a device that can pass data into the
computer
Devices that take data from the computer are known as output
devices.
Define secondary/backing storage
Backing storage is also known as secondary
storage
Backing storage is non-volatile which means
that data is not lost when computer is turned
off.
Backing storage is used to store data for a long
time (data can be read from and written to)
Users tend to make copies of original files on
backing storage.
