INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER COMPUTER It is an electronic device which processes given data to derive the required and useful information.

During the processing the computer has to perform various functions like (i) Accepting Instructions & data from the user. (ii) Performing various arithmetic and Logical operations as per Instructions given. (iii) Presenting the Information or utput to the user. CHARACTERISTICS OF A COMPUTER !he "haracteristics which make computer indispensa#le are 1)Speed !he computer is a#le to process the date and give the output in fractions of seconds such that required information is given to the user on time ena#ling the user to take right decisions on right time. A powerful computer is capa#le of e$ecuting a#out % million calculations per second. 2) Accuracy Inspite of its high speed of processing& the computers accurac' is consistentl' high enough which avoids an' errors. If it all there are errors& the' are due to errors in instructions given #' the programmer. 3) Reliable !he output generated #' the computer is ver' relia#le& #ut it is relia#le onl' when the data& which is passing as input to the computer and the program& which gives instructions are correct and relia#le. ) S!"ra#e Capaci!y

!he computer has a provision to store large volumes of data in the small storage devices& which have capacit' to store huge amounts of data and help the retrieval of data an eas' task. $) %er&a!ile !he computer perform three #asic operations () It is capa#le to access and accept information through various input)output devices from the user. *) It performs #asic Arithmetic and Logic operations on data as desired. %) It is capa#le to generate the desired output in the desired form. ') Au!"(a!i") nce the instructions fed into computer it works automaticall' without an' human intervention until the completion of e$ecution of program until meets logical instructions to terminate the +o#. *) Dili#e)! !he computer performance is consistent even to all e$tent of more than (, million calculations& it does each and ever' calculation with same speed and accurac'. +IMITATIONS OF COMPUTER () "omputer does not work on itself& it requires set of instructions to #e provided& else computer (-ardware) is waste. *) "omputer are not intelligent& the' have to #e instructed a#out each and ever' step which the' have to perform. %) "omputers cannot take decisions on its own& one has to program the computer to take an action if some conditional prevail. .) "omputers& unlike humans cannot learn #' e$perience. THE COMPUTER ,ENERATIONS

!he development of computers has followed different steps in the terminolog' used and these steps of technological differences are called as /0102A!I 13 in computer terminolog'. !here are totall' five generations of computers till toda'. 1- Fir&! ,e)era!i") C"(pu!er& .1/$01&) 2 !hese computer which used vaccum tu#es (valves) as ma+or electronic component the advantage of vaccum tu#es technolog' is that it made the advent of 0lectronic digital computer vaccum tu#es were onl' electronic devices availa#le during those da's which made computing possi#le. 2- Sec")d ,e)era!i") C"(pu!er& .1/'01&) 2 4ith the development of !ransistors and there use in circuits& magnetic core for memor' storage& the vaccum tu#es are replaced #' transistors to arrive at *nd generation of computers. !he si5e of transistors is much smaller when compared to vaccum tu#es& the' consume less power& generated less heat and faster and relia#le. Ad3a)!a#e& 2 (() 3i5e of "omputer has come down as well as power consumption. (*) !he "ost of "omputer reduced. 3- T4ird ,e)era!i") C"(pu!er& .1/*01&) 2 !he development of silicon chips& the third generation of computers came into e$istence. !hese computers are used Integrated "ircuits (I"6s) of silicon chips& in the place of transistors. 0ach of these I"6s consist of large num#er of chips in ver' small packages. Ad3a)!a#e2 !he si5e of computers& cost& heat generation and power consumption decreased to great e$tent& speed and relia#ilit' increased as compared to previous generation. !hese machines used I"6s with large scale Integration (L3I). - F"ur!4 ,e)era!i") .1/501&) 2

!he "omputers #elonging to these generations used Integrated circuits with 7er' Large 3cale Integration (7L3I). Ad3a)!a#e& 2 () !hese computers have high processing powers& low maintenance& high relia#ilit' and ver' low power consumption. *) !he si5e & cost of computers come down drasticall'. $- Fi6!4 ,e)era!i") .+a!e 1//01&) 27 !hese computers use optic fi#re technolog' to handle Artificial Intelligence& e$pert s'stems& 2o#otics etc.& these computers have ver' processing speeds and are more relia#le. C+ASSIFICATION OF COMPUTERS "omputers in general can #e classified into ma+or categories #ased on. (a) According to the purpose of the computer. (#) According to the operation si5e of computer. .a) Cla&&i6ica!i") a& per purp"&e "6 !4e c"(pu!er "lassification of digital computer as per the purpose of their use (. /eneral purpose digital computers. *. 3pecial purpose digital computer. 1- ,e)eral Purp"&e di#i!al c"(pu!er& !hese computers are theoreticall' used for an' t'pe of applications. !hese computers can #e used in solving a #usiness Pro#lem and also used to solve mathematical equation with same

accurac' and consistenc'. 8ost of the computer now are general purpose digital computers. All the P."6s& which have #ecome household affair.

2- Special Purp"&e C"(pu!er& !hese digital computer are designed& made and used for an' specific +o#. !hese are usuall' used for those purposes which are critical and need great accurac' and response like 3atellite launching weather forecasting etc. .b) Acc"rdi)# !" &i8e a)d capabili!ie& (. 3uper "omputers *. 8ain frame "omputer %. 8edium scale "omputer .. 8ini "omputers 9. 8icro "omputers. .1) Super C"(pu!er& !hese computers are characteri5ed as #eing the fastest& with ver' high processing speed& ver' large si5e& most powerful. !here are widel' used in comple$ scientific applications like processing geological data& weather data& genetic engineering etc. !hese computers with (: microprocessors& will recogni5e words upto length :. #its and more. !he speed of calculation is upto (.* #illion instructions;second& and the' can take input from more than (,,, individual work station. 0$. PA2A8 developed in India. .2) Mai)6ra(e C"(pu!er&

!hese "omputer will has capa#ilit' to support man' peripheral devices and terminals& which can process several 8illion Instructions ; second (8IP3)& as well which support (,,, remote s'stems& these computers are mostl' used for 2ailwa' reservation etc. .3) Mediu( Scale .&i8e) C"(pu!er& !hese computers are mini versions of mainframe computers& the' are relativel' smaller than mainframes and have less processing power than 8ainframes their processing speed support upto *,, remote s'stems. . ) Mi)i C"(pu!er& !hese computer are smaller and less e$perience than 8ainframe and medium si5ed computers. !he' are relativel' faster it can support a#out (,)*, user terminals. !hese computers are generall' eas' to use. !he' can handle data#ase& statistical pro#lems Accounting etc. .$) Micr" C"(pu!er !hese are the mostl' used categor' of computes called as personal computers (P"6s). !he word 8icro suggests onl' the si5e& #ut not the capacit'. !he' are capa#le to do all input ) output operations. !he' can also #e connected to peripheral devices.

ANATOM9 OF COMPUTERS 8a+or "omponents of "omputer are& (. -ardware *. 3oftware (.Hard:are

"omputer hardware is the collection of various ph'sical components of the computer& like the computer itself& the input)output devices. !his computer -ardware performs some operations like addition& 3u#traction& data transfer& control transfers and simple tests. *. S"6!:are 3oftware is set of instructions usuall' termed as program which are required for processing activities of the computer. !hese set of programs can #e used to solve real world pro#lems. !he capa#ilit' of computer depends upon the software components. HARD;ARE CU

A+U

MU Ce)!ral Pr"ce&&i)# U)i! .CPU) nce the data accepted it fed in to "entral Processing <nit #efore the output is generated as data has to #e processed& which is done #' "P<. !his unit of the computer is the #rain of computer s'stem& which does all the processing& calculations& pro#lem solving and controls all other functions of all other elements of the computer. !he "P< consists of the following three distinct units namel'. (. 8emor' <nit *. "ontrol <nit %. Arithmetic and Logic <nit (. Me("ry U)i!

4hich holds the data in in terms of Program and files. !he data stored can #e accessed and used whenever required #' the "P< for necessar' processing. !his memor' unit is usuall' referred as primar' storage section. !he units in which memor' unit is measured are known as =>!03. =>!0 is the space required to store ? characters or alpha#et or digits to an' other special character. ( ='te @ ? =its. ( Ailo#'te @ (,*. ='tes ( 8ega#'te @ (,*. Ailo#'tes ( /iga#'te @ (,*. 8ega#'tes ( !era#'te @ (,*. /iga #'tes 4here =its are spaces required to store one =inar' digits i.e. either , or (. *. C")!r"l U)i! !his unit which coordinates all the activities of each and ever' element of computer. It decodes the instructions given #' various users and it sends commands and signals that determine the sequence of various instructions. !hrough this unit does not process data #ut it acts as the central s'stem for data manipulation& as it controls the flow of data to and from the main storage. %. Ari!4(e!ic a)d +"#ic U)i!& !his unit performs arithmetic operations such as addition& su#traction& multiplication and division. It also does Logical perations such as comparison of num#ers etc. !hus this unit helps #' processing data and taking logical decisions. I)pu! U)i!

!he process of sending the data and Instructions for the processing through some suita#le devices such as Ae'#oard& 8ouse etc. is called Input. !he devices translate the data from human understanda#le form into electronic impulses which are understood #' the computer. Ou!pu! !he processing of e$tracting the data from "P< through some suita#le devices is called utput. !he common used output devices are 7D<& Printers& Plotter& magnetic media like flopp'& hard disks etc. Type& "6 Me("rie& !he memor' used #' computers can #e classified into various t'pes. 3ome of the commonl' availa#le memor' t'pes are 1- Ma#)e!ic C"re Me("ry !his is the memor' which uses small magnetic cores with wires running through then and electric current which flows through these wires& which generates magnetic field. Depending on direction of current and magnetic field& data is represented. !he semiconductor #ased memories are 2A8&2 8.

2- Ra)d"( Acce&& Me("ry.RAM) 4hile a program #eing is e$ecuted it requires data& such data is stored in 2A8&. !he data stored in 2A8 is volatile i.e. when there is a power failure the data in the 2A8 is lost. 4henever new data is stored in 2A8 the previous data is erased. 3- Read ") Me("ry .ROM) 4hich contain the =ootstrap Loader Programs& which loads the perating 3'stem( .3)

into memor'. As this program is stored in 2 8& it starts as soon as the computer is switched on and makes the computer read' to load 3 program in the memor'. !he contents of 2 8 cannot changed #ut for speciali5ed use contents of 2 8 can #e re)programmed using special circuits.

- Cac4e Me("ry !his is ver' high speed memor' which is used to store portion of a program from main memor' temporaril'. !he "ache memor' ver' e$pensive& #ut it is ver' fast&. !he data is transferred automaticall' #etween the #uffer and primar' storage& which lies #etween main memor' and 8icroprocessor. C"((u)ica!i") Pa!4& !he "P< consists of 8emor' <nit& "ontrol <nit& and Arithmetic and Logic <nit (AL<). !he "ommunication links #etween these three units are called #uses. !he #uses are the electrical paths for data to flow from point to point in a circuit. !he =uses for "ommunication in "P< are (. "ontrol =us *. Address =us %. Data =us (. C")!r"l <u& !he Path for all controlling and timing functions sent #' the control unit to other units of "P<. *. Addre&& <u& !his Path is used for locating the address of the memor' location where the ne$t instruction to #e e$ecuted or the ne$t piece of data is found. !his is used for data retrieval storage and manipulations where address of storage locations are required. %. Da!a <u& !his is the path on which actual data transfer takes place.

SOFT;ARE "ollection of Programs are 3oftware. !he 3oftware is those components which make the task of a user complete& as it is that component which helps a user to give set of instructions. !he 3oftware is categori5ed on the #asis of functions the' are (. 3'stem 3oftware *. Application 3oftware (. Sy&!e( S"6!:are 4hich controls all processing activities and makes sure that the resources and the power of the computer are used in most efficient manner . !he 3'stem software can categori5ed in to (. perating 3'stem *. Language Processors ( Assem#lers& "ompilers& Interpreters) %. Device Drivers .. <tilit' Programs etc. !he 3'stem software as a package which consists of various programs required for the functioning of the computer itself. It is also needed for translation& loading& controlling and running of the program. !he s'stem software #asicall' serves !4 ma+or purposes. a. It controls the e$ecution of programs on the computer. #. It helps the development of software. 1- Opera!i)# Sy&!e( 4hich is set of programs that controls and support hardware and provide various services which are used for #etter performance of computer . !he ma+or functions of .3 are

(. It assigns processors to tasks *. It manages memor' and other storage areas %. It acts as a command interpreter .. Bile management 9. Input) utput 8anagement :. 0sta#lishing data securit' & Integrit' !he perating s'stems can #e classified as 3ingle user and 8ultiuser (num#er of users

working on it at a given point of time) and 8ultitasking operating s'stems& 3ingle user perating s'stems ) 83D 3 8ulti)user perating 3'stem ) <1IC& Linu$ etc 8ultitasking perating 3'stem ) 4indows 2- +a)#ua#e Pr"ce&&"r& Tra)&la!"r& As the computer accepts digits and characters as input& such input to #e conversed. Into machine language. !he 3oftware which makes conversion possi#le and increases the productivit' of the programmer are called !ranslators. !here are three #asic t'pes of translators the' are iiiiiiC"(piler& C"(piler& I)!erpre!er& A&&e(bler

A compiler is a software that will convert the high level instructions into equivalent 8achine level instructions at a time. I)!erpre!er& A Interpreter is a software that will convert the high level instructions into equivalent 8achine level instructions step #' step. A&&e(bler Assem#ler is a software that will convert the high level instructions into equivalent 8achine level instructions #ut here& the input programs are in assem#l' language. !he output is in machine language. Ser3ice U!ili!ie& !hese utilities are those software programs which are provided #' the manufacturer of various hard wares to perform specific tasks which are common to all data processing installations. !he commonl' availa#le service utilities areD Device Drivers and Director' and Bile management <tilities.

a) De3ice Dri3er& !hese are special programs which are used to enhance the capa#ilit' of operating s'stems& so that it can support man' input;output devices like mouse& +o'sticks& printers etc. #) Direc!"ry a)d File (a)a#e(e)! U!ili!ie&2 !hese are those software programs which are used to manage data.

APP+ICATION SOFT;ARE !his is that software which serves specific purposes and allows the user to create applications which are for a given purpose like financial accounting& pa'roll e$aminations&

human resources management etc. !hese software can #e further classified& depending upon the source of development as well the usersD i) Pre :ri!!e) applica!i") &"6!:areii) U&er :ri!!e) applica!i") &"6!:arei) Pre :ri!!e) applica!i") &"6!:are !hese are those software packages which are developed #' group of people or an individual to #e used #' others. !he most commonl' availa#le prewritten application software areD i) 4ord processing software ii) 0lectronic spreadsheets iii) Data#ase management software iv) /raph generator v) 2eport generator vi) "ommunication software ;"rd pr"ce&&i)# S"6!:are !hese are those software& which usuall' automate the da' toda' documentation work of an organi5ation. Elec!r")ic &pread&4ee!& 0lectronic spreadsheets are like sheets are of paper with rows and columns. 0lectronic spreadsheets allow num#ers& characters& formulas and all other t'pes of data which has to #e entered in a ta#ular form into rows or columns. 3ome of the significant advantages areD a) It provides fle$i#ilit' and it is eas' to incorporate changes.

#) Automation of various calculations. c) Ble$i#ilit' to si5e and resi5e columns. 3ome of the most commonl' availa#le and used spreadsheets are Lotus)(& *& %& 83) 0$cel& 3uper "alc etc. Da!aba&e (a)a#e(e)! &"6!:are Data#ase is an organi5ed collection of data& which is logicall' related.

,rap4 #e)era!"r As graphical representation of data is much more eas' to understand as well is appearing& when the data presented in graphical from like =ar graphs& Pie charts& Line graphs etc. is called /raph generator. 3ome of the graphics generators are Lotus (*%& 0$cel etc. Rep"r! #e)era!"r !here is alwa's a need in da' to da' operations that timel' reports of various activities have to #e used& so as to depict& a situation or helping decision making. C"((u)ica!i") S"6!:are "ommunication is the essence of all operations. 0ffective commu?nication i.e.& sending and receiving data pla's a ke' role in the smooth running of an' organi5ation. racle graphics& 83