Computer Basics

 To process data to produce information a

computer needs hardware and software.
 Hardware is all the parts of a computer

system that you can see and touch. It is all

the devices that make up the computer
system.
 Software is a set of instructions that a

computer needs to carry out its tasks. For

example if you want to type a letter you
would need software to accomplish that task.
Why do we use computers?
 Speed – computers are very fast; they can
perform tens of millions of operations per
second for example producing thousands of
bills for utility companies.
 Accuracy – computers are very accurate.

Errors only occur if there is an error in

hardware, software or data. When errors
occur it is usually because of some human
error, since computers can only do what they
are programmed to do.
Why do we use computers?
 Storing large amount of information in a
small space- there are many storage media
that can be used to store large volumes of
data and information eg CD-ROM.
 Working continuously- computers can work

continuously for long periods without much

maintanance.
Types of Computers
 Computers come in a variety of types designed for
different purposes, with different capabilities and costs.

 A microcomputer is a computer that has a

microprocessor chip as its CPU. They are often called
personal computers because they are designed to be
used by one person at a time. Personal computers are
typically used at home, at school, or at a business.
Popular uses for microcomputers include :-
◦ word processing,
◦ surfing the web,
◦ sending and receiving e-mail,
◦ spreadsheet calculations, database management,
Types of computers (cont)
 A mainframe computer is a large, powerful computer
that handles the processing for many users
simultaneously up to several hundred users
 A minicomputer is a multi-user computer that is less
powerful than a mainframe.

 A supercomputer is mainframe computer that has

been optimized for speed and processing power.
 used for extremely calculation-intensive tasks such
simulating nuclear bomb detonations, aerodynamic
flows, and global weather patterns.
 A supercomputer typically costs several million dollars
Touch pad
 Most laptop computers today have a touch
pad pointing device.
 You move the on-screen cursor by sliding

your finger along the surface of the touch

pad.
 The buttons are located below the pad, but

most touch pads allow you to perform

“mouse clicks” by tapping on the pad itself.
 Touch pads have the advantage over mice

that they take up much less room to use.

Types of computer hardware; Input, Central
Processing unit; output; Storage hardware

 Computer hardware are the component parts

and peripheral devices connected to a
computer system.
 They have different uses which lead to their

classification such as Input devices, Output

devices, Storage devices and the Central
Processing Unit.
INPUT DEVICES
 The computer keyboard is used to enter text
information into the computer, as when you
type the contents of a report.
 The keyboard can also be used to type

commands directing the computer to perform

certain actions.
 Commands are typically chosen from an on-

screen menu using a mouse, but there are

often keyboard shortcuts for giving these
same commands.
Pointing Devices
 The graphical user interfaces (GUIs) in use
today require some kind of device for
positioning the on-screen cursor.
 Typical pointing devices are: mouse,

trackball, touch pad, trackpoint, graphics

tablet, joystick, and touch screen.
Mouse
 The mouse pointing device sits on your work
surface and is moved with your hand. In older
mice, a ball in the bottom of the mouse rolls on
the surface as you move the mouse and internal
rollers sense the ball movement and transmit
the information to the computer via the cord of
the mouse.
 The newer optical mouse does not use a rolling
ball, but instead uses a light and a small optical
sensor to detect the motion of the mouse by
tracking a tiny image of the desk surface.
Trackpoint
 Some sub-notebook computers (such as the
IBM ThinkPad), which lack room for even a
touch pad, incorporate a trackpoint, a small
rubber projection embedded between the
keys of the keyboard.
 The trackpoint acts like a little joystick that

can be used to control the position of the on-

screen cursor.
Trackball
 The trackball is sort of like an upside-down
mouse, with the ball located on top.
 You use your fingers to roll the trackball, and

internal rollers (similar to what’s inside a

mouse) sense the motion which is
transmitted to the computer.
 Joysticks
 Touch screen
 Joysticks and other  Some computers, especially
game controllers can small hand-held PDAs, have
also be connected to a touch sensitive display
computer as pointing screens.
devices.  The user can make choices
and press button images on
 They are generally used the screen.
for playing games, and  You often use a stylus, which
not for controlling the you hold like a pen, to
on-screen cursor in “write” on the surface of a
productivity software. small touch screen.
Output Devices:
 CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) Monitor
 contains a large cathode ray tube that uses an
electron beam of varying strength to “paint” a
picture onto the colour phosphorescent dots on
the inside of the screen.
 CRT monitors are heavy and use more electrical
power than flat panel displays,
 they are preferred by some graphic artists for
their accurate colour rendition,
 preferred by some gamers for faster response
to rapidly changing graphics.
Flat panel displays
 LCDs are most commonly used in computers,
especially laptops.
 Other types of flat panel technology exist

(such as plasma displays)

 much lighter and less bulky than CRT

monitors,
 they consume much less power.
 They have been more expensive than CRTs in

the past, but the price gap is narrowing

Ink jet printers
 For hardcopy (printed) output,
 The most common type of printer for home

systems is the colour ink jet printer. These

printers form the image on the page by
spraying tiny droplets of ink from the print
head.
 Ink jet printers are inexpensive, but the cost

of consumables (ink cartridges and special

paper) makes them costly to operate in the
long run for many purposes.
Laser printer
 A laser printer produces good quality.
 A drum coated with photosensitive material is
charged, and then an image is written onto it by a
laser (or LEDs) which makes those areas lose the
charge. The drum then rolls through toner (tiny plastic
particles of pigment) that is attracted to the charged
areas of the drum. The toner is then deposited onto
the paper, and then fused into the paper with heat.
 Most laser printers are monochrome (one colour only,
usually black), but more expensive laser printers with
multiple colour toner cartridges can produce colour
output
Laser Printer (cont)
 Laser printers are faster than ink jet printers.
Their speed is rated in pages per minute
(ppm).
 Laser printers are more expensive than ink

jets, but they are cheaper to run in the long

term if you just need good quality black &
white pages.
Sound output
 Computers also produce sound output,
ranging from simple beeps alerting the user,
to impressive game sound effects, to concert
quality music. The circuitry to produce sound
may be included on the motherboard, but
high quality audio output from a PC usually
requires a sound card in one of the expansion
slots, connected to a set of good quality
external speakers or headphones.
Storage devices:
 Used to store data
 There are two basic varieties of memory:

1. Primary memory
2. Secondary memory
Primary Memory
 Made of semiconductor material hence
expensive
 Typically smaller than secondary memory
 CPU has direct access to it
 Divided into two

1. ROM(Read only memory)

2. RAM(Random access memory)
ROM
 ROM is the permanent memory that is built
into the computer at the factory.
 The computer can ONLY retrieve, that is to

say read, the information that is stored there

 The computer retrieves important information

from ROM to help it to operate, but users do

not directly work with ROM.
RAM
 RAM is the computer’s working memory.
 The computer can rapidly retrieve information
from or put information into any spot in it
directly.
 RAM is the user’s personal workspace. For
example, when the user is in word processing,
the computer copies the word processing
software from disk into a section of RAM. The
document that is being written using the word
processor occupies another block of RAM as it
is composed.
The beauty of RAM is that its contents can
change, as needed, to perform different
tasks.
 RAM is volatile (i.e. its contents disappear as

soon as the power is turned off )

Secondary Memory
 Is external to the computer
 Is mode of magnetic material hence cheaper
 Typically larger than primary memory
 CPU does not have direct access to it
 Examples are: hard discs, flash drives, floppy

discs, CDs
Hard disks
 One or more hard disks are found in the hard
drive
 Each drive is built into a sealed unit to

prevent contamination by dust and moisture.

 The hard drive, magnetically stores data on

stacks of rotating disks called platters.

Floppy disks
 Used for storage on microcomputers.
 Usually 3.5 inches in diameter. High density

floppy disks can store 1.44Mb of data.

 Access to data is slower than from a hard

disk.
 The data can be protected by opening a small

write-protect tab which prevents the contents

of the disk being changed
 Floppy disks are portable and can be used for
transferring data or programs from one
microcomputer to another.
 For backing up data from a hard disk.
 Floppy disks (and hard disks) have to be

formatted before they can be used.

Flash disks
A USB flash drive is a data storage device that
includes flash memory with an integrated
Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface.
 USB flash drives are typically removable and

rewritable, and physically much smaller than

a floppy disk.
CDs and DVDs
 CD-ROM(Compact disc – Read only memory) are
read-only discs. They store much more information
than floppy disks Software is usually sold on CD-ROM
 CD-Rs (Compact Disc – Recordable) are blank CDs
that can be written onto only once by a CD-writer.
 CD-RWs (Compact Disc – Rewritable) can be written
onto and the data can then be deleted, and the disc
re-written.
 DVD (Digital Versatile Disc): They hold much more
data than a CD (from 4.7 to about 17 Gb).
 Data may be written onto a DVD using a special DVD
writer. Like in CDs there is a DVDWR and a DVD-R.
Central Processing Unit
 The CPU receives data from input devices,
processes this data and then produces and
displays the output through the output devices
 Has two components

1. Control unit – determines which instruction

the CPU will execute next from the primary
memory
2. Arithmetic logical unit (ALU) – performs the
computations(does simple BINARY arithmetic
and Logical operations).
System unit
 Motherboard - The motherboard is the main circuit board of
a microcomputer. It is also known as the main board or
system board.
 CPU (Central Processing Unit)- The CPU is the central
electronic chip that determines the processing power of the
computer.
 Memory - Memory is the part of the computer that
temporarily stores applications, documents, and stem
operating information.
 Bus - A bus is an electronic line that allows 1s and 0s to
move from one place to another.
 Expansion Slots - Expansions slots appear on the
motherboard. They are sockets into which adapters are
connected.
 Ports and Connectors - A port is a connector
located on the motherboard or on a separate
adapter.
 Bays - A bay is a space inside the computer
case where a hard drive, floppy drive or CD-
ROM drive sits.
 Power Supply - A power supply changes
normal household electricity into electricity
that a computer can use.
 Sound Components - A sound card lets a
computer play and record high quality sound.
Relationship between basic units of
stored data
 Note in the above table that when referring to
computers, the K (thousand) actually refers to
1,024 and not 1,000. Therefore, a document
stored on the computer's hard drive that is
listed as being 10 KB in size is actually
10,240 bytes (10 times 1,024) and not
10,000 bytes. If a computer contains 256 MB
of memory, it actually contains 268,435,456
bytes (256 times 1,048,576) and not
256,000,000.
 Bits, bytes, megahertz, and gigahertz.
 These are the most common terms that are used
to describe a computer's ability to store
information and the speed in which it can process
data.
 When you see the speed rating of a
communications device, such as a serial port or a
modem, the speed will be listed in bps or bits per
second. A modem that has a rating of 56K bps
(since K refers to thousand that is 56,000 bps)
would have the capability to sending or receiving
56,000 0s and/or 1s in one second.
Software Component
 All the programs that can be run on the
computer.
◦ A program is a sequence of commands/instructions
executed by the computer to perform a specific
task.
 Two main categories
1. System software such as the operating
system
2. Application software
Application software
 Programs developed to perform specific tasks
or solve a particular problem
 Examples:
1. Microsoft word – word processing
2. Internet Explorer – surfing the net
3. C++, Pascal, Mathematica – Programing
 Divided into 3 categories
1. Integrated software
2. General purpose software
3. Custom written or tailor made software
General purpose s/w
 Not written for any specific business but can
be used or adapted to suit specific needs.
 For example: a teacher can use a spreadsheet

and Microsoft word packages to prepare end

of term reports and write letters to parents,
respectively.
In a business, the same packages can be used
for accounting and memo-writing purposes.
 This s/w is usually well tested and relatively

cheaper
Integrated s/w
 A set of related, specialised programs combined
in a unified package that allows data to be
transferred easily between the programs.
 For example: Microsoft Office.
 Data can be transferred from one component to
another with ease. A simple copy and paste
operation can be used to incorporate a graph
created using a spreadsheet onto Microsoft
word.
 Very powerful and versatile s/w package and
cheaper than buying individual programs.
Tailor-made s/w
 A program written to meet specific need of a
business or organisation.
 For example, a program to regulate the

internet amongst staff and students in the

college.
 Can be written by individuals within the

company or a software house(a company that

specialises in writing programs).
 Usually very expensive.
Operating Systems
 A set of programs that governs the operation
of a computer.
◦ Computer can’t function without.
 Switched on as soon as you boot the
computer.
 The term booting refers to the process of

loading the operating system s/w into the

computer’s main memory.
Examples of the operating systems
 Some operating systems used in computers
include: windows 98, windows XP, windows
NT, windows 2000, Macintosh operating
system, Linux, Unix and more
Functions of the operating system
 Manages computer resources
Acts as an interface b/n application programs
and the h/w.
For example: Upon clicking the print button on
a Microsoft spreadsheet document, Excel
directs the O/S to select a printer through the
CPU. If the printer is available the O/S notifies
Excel to send the data to it. which it then
transfers to the printer through the CPU.
Manage files & memory
 Keeps track of the locations where the
programs and data are stored w/n the
computer memory
 Other management functions include:

copying, erasing, renaming, ... files

Maintaining security
 In networks and large computers, each user is
given a unique ID and password to gain
access to the computer.
◦ The O/S keeps register of all these names so that
only persons with valid ID and password can access
the system.
 This prevents hackers and unauthorised
people
• Managing tasks
 Allows multitasking.
◦ The ability of a computer to run more than one
program simultaneously.
◦ For Example: a user can play music while typing a
document and surfing the net at the same time.
 In the case of networks the multi-user
operating system allows more than one user
to access the same data at the same time.
Provide user interface
 The user controllable part of the operating
system which allows the user to communicate
or interact with it.
 Three types of user interface

1. Command driven interface

2. Menu driven interface
3. Graphical user interface
Cont.
 Command driven interface – command is
entered by typing in codes or words.
◦ DOS operating system is a typical example.
◦ A:\> delete *.* tells the OS to erase all files in the
floppy
 Menu driven interface – the user uses a
mouse or touch screen to make selection
from a menu.
◦ Menus contain commands like Print, Save, ...
◦ No need to memorise commands
Cont.
 Graphical user interface is the easiest
interface to use. It allows you to use graphics
(images) and menus as well as keystrokes to
choose commands, start programs and see
lists of files and other options. Some of these
images take a form of icons. Icons are small
pictorial figures that represent programs,
folders, files, tasks and so on.