Module II

INPUT OUTPUT DEVICES

A computer accepts input and processes it to get a desired output according to the sequence of instructions.
Essentially, a computer system consists of four components: input devices, CPU, output devices and memory.
A computer interacts with the external environment via the input-output (I/O) devices attached to it. Input
device is used for providing data and instructions to the computer. After processing the input data, computer
provides output to the user via the output device. The I/O devices that are attached, externally, to the computer
machine are also called peripheral devices. Different kinds of input and output devices are used for different
kinds of input and output requirements.
2.1 INPUT DEVICES
Input devices are used to enter the data (text, image, sound) and instructions into the computer system before
any processing can be performed. Computer accepts input in two ways, either manually or directly. Some of
the commonly used input devices are keyboard, pointing devices like mouse and joystick, speech recognition,
digital camera and scanners.
Input devices are classified as follows:
Human data entry devices:
o Keyboard
o Pointing devices-- mouse, trackball, joystick
o Pick deviceslight pen, touch screen
Source data entry devices:
o Audio inputspeech recognition
o Video inputdigital camera
o Scannerhand held scanner, flat-bed scanner
o Optical scannerOCR, OMR, MICR, barcode reader
2.1.1 KEYBOARDS
Keyboards are the most commonly used data entry devices. There are different types of keys on the keyboard.
When the data is being typed, the display monitor displays the typed data. Cursor is a vertical line,
underscore, blinking line etc. Cursor moves with each typed character.
The keys are categorized as:
Alphanumeric keys, including letters and numbers
Punctuation keys, such as colon(:), semicolon(;), question mark(?), single double quotes(, )
Special keys such as arrow keys, control keys, function keys (F1 to F12), HOME, END etc.
Slandered keyboard contains 101 keys. The layout of a keyboard comes in various styles. QWERTY is the
standard keyboard that comes with most computers. The standard layout of letters and numbers and
punctuation is known as QWERTY keyboard because the first six keys on the top row letters spell QWERTY.
Keyboard such as the DX1 allow placement of the keys in any position on the keyboard tray, and the keys can
be programmed to perform specific tasks.
Working: When a key is pressed, keyboard interacts with a keyboard controller and keyboard buffer. The
controller stores the code of pressed key in buffer and informs the computer software that an action has
happened on the keyboard. The computer software checks and reads the buffer and passes the code of pressed
character to the system softer. Due to time gap between pressing of a key on a keyboard and reading by the
software, buffer is designed to store many keystrokes together.
1

The virtual laser keyboard is a device that is about the size of a cellular phone. It projects the image of a
keyboard on any surface and sensors detect the motion of the fingers as type on a desk. Data transmitted via
Bluetooth technology.
2.1.2 POINTING DEVICES
Pointing devices are the input devices by which we can point out and select items rapidly from the multiple
options displayed on the screen. These devices can also be used to create graphic elements on the screen such
as lines, curves and freehand shapes. The common types of pointing devices available are the mouse,
trackball, joysticks, touch screens and light pens.
2.1.2.1 Mouse: Mouse is a small hand-held pointing device which can be used to input commands or
information. It contains two or three buttons and by pressing one of the buttons, the mouse either marks a
place on the screen or makes selections from the data on the screen. Common types of mouse action available
are pointing, click, double-click, right-click and drag and drop.
There are four basic types of mouse
1. Mechanical (Physical) Mouse: It has a rubber or metal ball on its underside that can roll in all directions.
Mechanical sensors within the mouse detect the direction the ball is rolling and move the screen pointer
accordingly.
2. Optomechanical Mouse: Same as a mechanical mouse, but uses optical sensors to detect motion of the
ball.
3. Optical Mouse: It uses a laser to detect the mouses movement. Optical mice have no mechanical moving
parts. They respond more quickly and precisely than mechanical and Optomechanical mouse, but they are
also more expensive.
4. Cordless Mouse: This mouse is need not physically connected at all. Instead they rely on infrared or radio
waves to communicate with the computer. Cordless mouse are more expensive than both serial and bus
mouse.
Working: In a Mechanical mouse, rollers and sensors are used to sense the direction and rate o f
movement of mouse. When the ball o f mouse moves, the rollers sense the horizontal and vertical
movement and sensors sense the speed of movement. This information is passed to computer via the mouse
chord. When an optical mouse is moved, a beam of light is reflected from its underside. These pulses of
light determine the direction and rate of movement. This information is sent to computer via the mouse
chord.
Using the mouse: Five different ways mouse can be use.
Pointing: Points to a location or object on the computer screen.
Click or Left Click: For select a button, command or icon on the screen.
Right Click: It display a menu that contain options like cut, copy, paste etc. for the item on which
the mouse is pointing
Double Click: Used to start a program or open a folder.
Drag and Drop: drag an object and drops it at another location.
2.1.2.2Trackball: Trackball is another pointing device. A trackball is an upturned mouse, with a movable ball
on the top of a stationary base. It is used to control the cursor movements and the actions on a computer
screen. It allows the user to perform each of these tasks separately. There are usually one to three buttons next
to the ball, which use just like mouse buttons. The advantage of trackball over mouse is that the trackball is
stationary so it does not require much space to use it.
Working: It works in the same way as a physical mouse.
2

2.1.2.3 Joystick: Joystick is a device that moves in all directions and controls the movement of the pointer.
The joystick offers three types of control: digital, glide, and direct. Digital control allows movement in a
limited number of directions such as up, down, left, and right. Glide and direct allow movements in all
directions (360 degrees). Direct control joysticks have the added ability to respond to the distance and speed
with which the user moves the stick. A joystick activates the computer with different parts and is used to
control the cursor on the screen. A joystick is similar to a mouse, except that with a mouse the cursor stops
moving as soon as stop moving the mouse. With a joystick, the pointer continues moving in the direction the
joystick is pointing. Most joysticks include two buttons called triggers. Joysticks are used mostly for
computer games, but they are also used occasionally for CAD/CAM systems and other applications.
2.1.3 PICK DEVICES
They are used for providing input to the computer by pointing location on the computer monitor. The input
data is not typed; the data is entered by pointing the pick device directly on the computer screen.
2.1.3.1 Light pen: The light pen (sometimes called a mouse pen) is a light-sensitive stylus, or pen-like device
connected by a wire to the computer terminal. The user brings the pen to a desired point on the display screen
and pressed the pen button, which identifies that screen location to computer. It is useful for identifying a
specific location. Since the light pen is a passive device with a sensor only, it provides no information when
held over a blank part of the screen. Engineers, graphic designers and illustrators use light pens.
Working: The pen consists of a photocell in a small tube. When the pen is moved on a screen, light from the
screen at the location of pen causes the photocell to respond. The electronic response is transmitted to the
computer that can identify the position on screen at which the light pen is pointing.
2.1.3.2 Touch screen: A touch screen is a type of display screen device that is placed on the computer
monitor in order to allow direct selection or activation of the computer when somebody touches the screen. It
registers the input when a finger or other object touches the screen. Touch screen is normally used when
information has to be accessed with minimum effort. Typically, they are used in information providing
systems like the hospitals, airlines and railway reservation counters, amusement park, and so on.
Working: They have an infrared beam that criss-cross the surface of screen. When a fingertip is touched on
the screen. The beam is broken, and the location is recorded. Some touch screens have ultrasonic acoustic
waves that cross the surface of screen. The recorded location is sent to the computer via the controller of
touch screen, in a form that the computer can understand.
2.1.4 AUDIO INPUT DEVICE
It can be provided to the computer using human voice or speech. It is used in different purposes; telephone
calls, for audio and video conferencing over internet, record voice etc.
Audio input devices like Microphone is used to input a persons voice into the computer. A sound card
translates analog audio signals from microphone into digital codes that the computer can store and process.
Sound card also translates back the digital sound into analog signals that can be sent to the speakers. Speech
recognition: Speech recognition is the technology by which sounds, words or phrases spoken by humans are
converted into digital signals, and these signals are transformed into coding patterns where the meaning has
been assigned. It is more generally called as sound recognition. Speech recognition is gaining popularity in
the corporate world among non-typist, people with disabilities, and business travellers who tape-record
information for later transcription. It allows the user to communicate with the computer directly without using
a keyboard or a mouse.
3

2.1.5 VIDEO INPUT DEVICE

Video input is provided to the computer using video camera and digital camera.
Video camera can capture full motion video images. The images are digitalized and can be compressed and
stored in the computer disk. Webcam is a common video camera device. It is placed on the computer above
the screen to capture the images of the user who is working on the computer. A video capture card allows the
user to connect video devices like camcorders to the computer.
Digital camera: Images can be input into a computer using a digital camera. These images can then be
manipulated in many ways using various imaging tools available. Digital camera records images in an
electronic form, that is, the image is represented in computers language of bits and bytes. It is a long string of
1s and 0s that represent all the tiny coloured dots or pixels that collectively make up the image. The big
advantage of digital cameras is that making photos is both inexpensive and fast because there is no film
processing.
2.1.6 SCANNERS
Scanner is an input device that accepts paper document as an input. It is used to input data directly into the
computer from the source document without copying and typing the data. That scans an image, a text or a
mark on a paper and transforms the image to ASCII codes. It is an optical input device and uses light as an
input source to convert an image into electronic form that can be stored on the computer. These images can be
edited, manipulated, combined and then printed. The quality of scan increases with increasing resolution. The
main advantage of these scanners is that the data need not be entered separately resulting in saving lot of time.
The common types of scanners are: handheld and flatbed.
2.1.6.1 Hand-held scanners: They are portable and are placed over the document to be scanned. It consists of
light emitting diodes, which are placed over the material to be scanned. This scanner performs the scanning of
the document very slowly from the top to the bottom, with its light on. They are preferably used for low
volume of documents, small pictures or photos. The size of the hand-held scanners is small. These devices
read the data on the price tags, shipping labels, inventory part number, book ISBN, and so on.
2.1.6.2 Flat-bed scanner: It provide high quality scan in a single pass. Flatbed scanner is like a photocopy
machine. It has a glass top and a lid that covers the glass. The documents to be scanned is placed on the top of
glass, which activates the light beam under the glass top and starts the scan from left to right. It consists of a
board on which lay books, magazines, and other documents that want to scan. These scanners can scan black
and white as well as colour images. The flat-bed scanners are large in size and more expensive than the handheld scanners.
2.1.7 OPTICAL SCANNERS
There are four types of optical recognition: Optical character recognition (OCR), optical mark recognition
(OMR), magnetic ink character recognition (MICR), and bar code reader.
2.1.7.1 Optical Character Recognition (OCR): It is a technique for the scanning of a printed page,
translating it, and then using the OCR software to recognize the image as ASCII text that is editable. All OCR
systems include an optical scanner for reading text, and sophisticated software for analyzing images. The
optical character reader stores the scanned image as bitmap image which is a grid of dots. Thus you cannot
edit the text that has been scanned. To edit the scanned text, you need OCR software. The OCR software
translates the array of dots into text that the computer can interpret as words and letters. To recognize the
words and letters of text, the OCR software compares the pattern on the scanned image with the patterns
4

stored inside the computer. The text generated in OCR can stored in different formats. OCR is used by
libraries in the creation of digital libraries from old magazines and books.
2.1.7.2 Optical Mark Recognition (OMR): OMR is used to detect marks on a paper. The marks are
recognized by their darkness. The optical mark recognition (OMR) is the process of detecting the presence or
absence of a mark, such as a pencil mark. OMR is used in tests such as aptitude tests. Optical mark reading is
done by a special device known as optical mark reader. Reader uses a beam of light that is reflected on the
paper with marks, to capture presence and absence of marks. The reader detects the presence of mark by
measuring the reflected light. The pattern of marks is interpreted and stored in the computer. OMR is typically
used for surveys, standardized tests, enrolment forms, and ballots. The advantages of OMR are the following:
It is relatively inexpensive to produce (in quantity)
It requires no complex technology for recording data
It is accurate, and is disposable
The limitations of OMR are it requires precise printing forms for accurate results and the cost of the OMR
readers are high.
2.1.7.3 Magnetic Ink Character Reader (MICR) A MICR is used to recognize the magnetic ink characters;
it reads the characters by examining their shapes in a matrix form. MICR is a direct entry method used in
banks. This technology is used to automatically read those frustrating looking numbers on the bottom of the
cheque. The reading speed of the MICR is higher. This method is very efficient and time saving for data
processing.
2.1.7.4 Bar code Reader Bar codes are machine-readable codes, represented in parallel vertical lines with
varying widths. These lines are normally alternate lines of black and white. By the combination of these
vertical lines (bars) and the spacing between them, bar codes represent the alphanumeric data. For reading
these barcoded data, a device is used, which is known as a bar code reader. Barcodes are read using reflective
light by barcode readers. This information is input to the computer which interprets the code using the spacing
and thickness of bars. Barcode readers are fast and accurate. They are very much useful in places like
supermarkets, at the point of sale, libraries, hospitals, warehouses etc. However, the bar codes have the
disadvantage of being read only by a machine.
2.2 OUTPUT DEVICES
Output devices are used to show the results of processed data. They are used to record the results obtained
from processing and present them to the user. It can be displayed or viewed on a monitor, printed on a printer,
or listened through speakers or a headset. Generally, there are two basic categories of output: the output which
can be readily understood and used by humans, and which is stored on secondary storage devices so that the
data can be used as input for further processing. The outputs which can be easily understood and used by
human beings are of the following two forms:
Hard Copy: The physical form of output is known as hard copy. In general, it refers to the recorded
information copied from a computer onto paper or some other durable surface such as microfilm. Hard
copy output is permanent and a relatively stable form of output. This type of output is also highly
portable. Paper is one of the most widely used hard copy output media. Printers, plotters and
microfilms are the most commonly used hard copy output devices
Soft Copy: The electronic version of an output, which usually resides in computer memory and/or on
disk, is known as soft copy. Unlike hard copy, soft copy is not a permanent form of output. It is
transient and is usually displayed on the screen. This kind of output is not tangible, that is, it cannot be
5

touched. Soft copy output includes audio and visual form of output, which is generated using a
computer. In addition, textual or graphical information displayed on a computer monitor is also a soft
copy form of output. Monitors, voice response systems, projectors, electronic whiteboards, and
headphones and headsets are some commonly used soft copy output devices.
2.2.1 COMPUTER MONITOR
A monitor is a commonly used output device, which is used to see data, graphics, images, and all other type of
information. A visual display unit or monitor is a piece of electrical equipment that displays viewable images
generated by a computer without producing a permanent record. Monitors are available in various sizes like
14, 15, 17, 19, and 21 inches. The size of the display is described based on two parameters: aspect ratio and
screen size. Aspect ratio is the ratio of the width of the display screen to the height, that is, the ratio of vertical
points to the horizontal points necessary to produce equal length lines in both directions on the screen. The
screen clarity depends on the three basic qualities:
1. Resolution: It refers the number of pixels in the horizontal and vertical directions on the screen. In medium
resolution graphics, pixels are large, whereas in high-resolution graphics, pixels are small.
2. Dot pitch: It is the measurement of the diagonal distance between two like coloured (red, green or blue)
pixels on a display screen. It is measured in millimeters and common dot pitches are .51mm, .31mm, .28mm, .
26mm, and .24mm.
3. Refresh rate: refresh rate is the number of times per second the pixels are recharged so that their glow
remains bright. Normally, screen pixels are made from phosphor. An electron beam strikes the phosphor and
causes it to emit light, resulting in the display of the image. The refresh rate for a monitor is measured in
Hertz (Hz) and varies from 60-75Hz
4. Colour Depth Colour depth, also referred to as bit depth, refers to the number of bits assigned to each
pixels in the image and the number of colours that can be created from those bits. In simple words, it refers to
the number of colours that a monitor can display. There are two types of monitors that are used with personal
computers- CRT monitors and flat-panel monitors.
CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) Monitor: Cathode ray tube (CRT) is the most common type of monitor for the
office and the home. CRT monitor is look like television set. In a CRT, an electron gun is used which fires
electrons at groups of phosphor dots coating the inside of the screen. When the electrons strike the phosphor
dots, they glow to give the colours. CRT monitors have long been used with desktop computers and are still
being used for most applications. They are very cheap and provide the brightest and clearest picture. But there
are some disadvantages also. CRT monitors are big, take up a lot of desktop space and are difficult to move as
they are very heavy. Another disadvantage is that the CRT monitors require a lot of power. Because of these
disadvantages many people are now turning to flat-panel monitors.
Flat- Panel Monitors: Flat-panel monitors have long been used with portable computers. But in the last few
years the flat-panel monitors are being increasingly used with desktop computers. There are several types of
flat-panel monitors. The most common is the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) monitor. The LCD technology is
the same as that used in calculators and digital watches. LCD monitors are much smaller than CRT monitors
and therefore take up far less space on a desktop. LCD monitors are also generally brighter than CRT
monitors and use different refresh methods for their pixels, which cause less eyestrain.
Another advantage is that LCD monitors use significantly less energy and emit less electromagnetic radiation,
making them more environmentally friendly. And finally, LCD monitors weigh less, making them the obvious
choice for mobile devices
6

2.2.2. PRINTERS
A printer is a device that prints information from the computer on to paper. The two major categories of
printer technologies are impact printers and non-impact printers.
2.2.2.1. Impact Printers: An impact printer forms characters and graphics on a piece of paper by striking a
mechanism against an ink ribbon that comes into physical contact with the paper.
It includes
Dot matrix printers
Daisy wheel printers
Drum printers.
Dot-matrix Printer: Dot matrix printers (also known as the wire matrix printer) create characters by
striking pins against an ink ribbon. Each pin makes a dot, and combinations of dots form characters and
illustrations. Dot matrix printers are inexpensive and relatively fast, but they do not produce high- quality
output. Dot matrix printers normally come in two sizes 80 column printer and 132 column printer.
Dot matrix printers vary in two important characteristics:
Speed- Given in characters per second (cps), the speed can vary from about 50 to over 500 cps. Most
dot-matrix printers offer different speeds depending on the quality of print desired.
Print quality- Determined by the number of pins (the mechanism that print the dots), it can vary from 9
to 24
Daisy Wheel Printer: Daisy wheel printers work in a similar manner to an electronic typewriter. The major
difference is that they use a new type of printing element called a daisy wheel. The main element in the
daisy wheel printer consists of a circular fan of metal or plastic petals radiating from a central hub. A single
character is embossed on each petal. That is they print one character at a time. An electro-mechanical hammer
slams the proper daisy wheel into contact with the ribbon, which transfers its inked impression on to the
surface of the paper. Daisy wheel printers cannot print graphics, and in general they are noisy and slow,
printing from 10 to about 75 characters per second.
Drum Printers: The dot matrix and daisy wheel printer are character or serial printers, that is, they print one
character at a time. However, drum printer is a line printer; it can print a line in a single operation. The drum
printer consists of a metal drum that rotates at a constant rate. All the characters to be printed are embossed on
the rotating metal drum in horizontal rows. Usually about 120 hammers are arranged side by side. Each one
serves a particular part along the line. Drum printers have high speed of printing, they are very expensive and
its character fonts cannot be changed. Moreover, the strike of the hammer should be precise. A single
mistimed strike of the hammer may lead to wavy and slightly blurred printing.
2.2.2.2. Non-Impact Printers
Printers that form characters and images without making direct contact between printing mechanism and
paper are called non-impact printers. They are categorized as ink-jet printers, laser printers etc.
Inkjet printer: Inkjet printers work by spraying ionized ink at a sheet of paper. Magnetized plates in the inks
path direct the ink onto the paper in the desired shapes. Inkjet printers are popular among home users,
especially with the rise of digital photograph. They tend to be less expensive, quieter, and faster, and they
offer better print quality.
Laser Printer: Laser printers print quickly and offer high quality printouts. Laser printer utilizes a laser beam
to produce an image on a drum. Laser printers are often used in schools and offices where multiple computers
share one printer. Although more expensive to buy than inkjet printers, over the long run, for high volume
printing, laser printers are more economical than inkjet.
7

Thermal Printer: This type of printer employs the non-impact technique but uses the thermal effect to
produce a particular character. The printed character will be in the form of dot matrix. These printers work
either by melting wax- based ink onto ordinary paper or by burning dots onto specially Jp coated paper. They
are used in stores to print receipts and in airport for electronic ticketing, among other places.
Hybrid document reproduction apparatus (HYDRA) printer: This printer popularly known as all-in-one
printer is a device that consolidates the capabilities of multiple devices in one machine. It may include some
or all of the devices like printer, scanner, photocopier and fax machine. Popular for their space-saving
convenience, all- in-one printers can be either inkjet or laser based.
2.2.3 PLOTTERS
Plotters are large printers used to produce oversize pictures that require precise continuous lines to be drawn,
such as maps, images, or architectural plans. Plotters are special-purpose drawing devices, which reproduce
graphic images on paper using a pen whose movements are controlled by the computer. The lines drawn by
these devices are continuous and very accurate. Plotters are considerably more expensive than printers. They
are mainly used for Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) applications
such as printing out plans for houses or car parts. There are two different types of plotters, the drum plotters
(where the paper moves) and the flat-bed plotters (where the paper is stationary).
2.2.4 SOUND OUTPUT
Most computers include inexpensive speakers as an output device for sound. This device converts an
electrical signal from an amplifier into sound. A loudspeaker driver is an electromechanical-acoustic device
with two electrical terminals, to which an electrical signal is applied, and a diaphragm which vibrates and
radiates sound. To provide a faithful reproduction of music or speech, a loudspeaker must be able to
reproduce wide range of audio frequencies.

2.3 SOFTWARE
2.3.1 DEFINITION
A set of instruction given to computer to solve a problem is called software. Software is also known as
program. Computer software specifies a sequence of operations to be performed by computer. It is responsible
for controlling, integrating, and managing the hardware components of a computer and to accomplish specific
tasks. In other words, software tells the computer what to do and how to do it.
2.3.2 CATEGORIES OF SOFTWARE
Computer software is normally classified into two board categories: application software and system
software.
System Software
System Software is set of programs to control and manage the operations of computer hardware. It controls
the usage and allocation of different hardware components. It enables application programs to execute
properly. It controls the basic operations like saving data on disk, making computer to work for us, printing a
document etc. Some examples of system software are as follows:
a) Operating System: The most important system software package for any computer is its operating system.
The operating system is a collection of programs that control the overall operation of a computer. It controls
8

the operations of CPU, controls the input-output units, storage units and provides various support service to
execute application programs. Examples of operating systems are Windows 7, UNIX, and Linux.
b) Utility Programs: System utility programs are used to support, enhance, and secure existing programs and
data in the computer system. They are generally small programs, having specific tasks to perform.
c) Device Drivers Device driver intermediates between the device and the software that uses the device. Each
device has its own device driver, which must be installed on the computer for the proper working of the
device. Device drivers can be character or block device drivers.
d) Language Translators Computer only understands a language consisting of 0s and 1s called machine
language. To ease the burden of programming entirely in 0s and 1s, special programming languages called
high level programming languages were developed that resembled natural languages like English. Therefore,
a tool was required which could translate a program written in a programming language to machine language.
Depending on the programming language used, language translators are divided into three major categories:
compilers, interpreter, and assembler.
1. Compiler: Compiler converts the program written the high level programming language into machine
language. As a system program, a compiler translates source code (user written program) into object code
(binary form).
2. Interpreter: An interpreter analyses and executes the source code in line-by-line manner, without looking
at the entire program. Programs produced by compilers run much faster than the same programs
executed by an interpreter.
3. Assembler: The assembly language program must be translated into machine code by a separate program
called an assembler.
Application Software
Application software is used to perform various applications on the computer. It helps a computer user to
perform specific tasks. Application software ranges from games, calculators, and word processors, to
programs that paint images on screen (image editor).
The main categories of application software are as follows:
a) Customized Software Customized software is a type of application software that is designed for a
particular customer or organization. Software that is developed for a particular university is an example of
customized software.
b) Package Software Package software is a type of application software that is developed for sale to the
general public. It is also known as off the shelf software. It enables the people to perform daily activities.
Some examples of package software are as word processor such as MS word, Spreadsheet such as MS excel
and Lotus 123 etc., Database software such as MS access and Oracle etc., Graphics software such as
CorelDraw and Adobe Photoshop etc.
Major Applications of Software
Word processors A word processor is a software used to compose, format, edit, and print electronic
documents. It involves not only typing, but also checking the spelling and grammar of the text and arranging
it correctly on the page. It is possible to include pictures, graphs, charts and many other things with in the text
of the document. There are many commercial word processing programs including Open Office Writer,
Microsoft Word, Corel WordPerfect and others.
Spreadsheets These are used to work with financial information. Spreadsheet charts are laid out in numbered
rows and lettered columns. Where the row and column intersects is called a cell. Each cell may contain text

and/or numbers. Cells may also contain equations that calculate results from data placed in other cells or
series of cells. Some popular spreadsheets are Microsoft Excel, Corel QuatroPro, Lotus 1-2-3 and others.
Presentation applications A presentation is a means of assessment, which requires presentation providers to
present their work orally in the presence of an audience. These presentations can be very basic outlines,
containing only a few words and simple graphics, or elaborate multimedia presentations with animated text,
graphic objects, and colourful backgrounds. Microsoft PowerPoint is one of the famous presentation
applications.
Image Editor Image editor programs are designed specifically for capturing, creating, editing, and
manipulating images. These graphics programs provide a variety of special features for creating and altering
images. These computer programs enable the user to adjust an image to improve its appearance. With image
editing software, one can darken or lighten an image, rotate it, adjust its contrast, crop out extraneous detail,
and much more. Examples of these programs are Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and CorelDraw.
Desktop publishing Desktop publishing (DTP) uses both word processing and graphics to produce
publications and presentations. These softwares are used for creating magazines, books, newsletters and so on.
Such software assists in creating sophisticated documents including complicated page designs, detailed
illustrations, and camera-ready typefaces. Quark Express and Adobe PageMaker are Desktop Publishing
software.
Database A database is a collection of information stored in files that makes it easy to retrieve, modify and
search. Database management software supports the structuring of the database in a standard format and
provides tools for data input, verification, storage, retrieval, query, and manipulation. There are many popular
database programs including Microsoft Access, Oracle, Corel Paradox, FileMaker and others.
Some basic difference between System software and Application software are:
System Software
1. It is general-purpose software
2. It is used to manage computer resources.
3. It executes all the time in computer
4. The number of system software is less than application software.
5. System software is essential for computer to work.
Application Software
1. It is specific purpose software
2. It is used to solve particular problems
3. It executes as and when required.
4. The number of application software is much more than system software
5. Application software is not essential for a computer to work.

2.3.3 SOFTWARE TERMINOLOGY

Different kinds of software are made available for use to users in different ways. The user may have to
purchase the software, can download for free from the Internet, or can get it bundled along with the hardware.
Nowadays with the advent of Cloud computing, much application software is also available on the cloud for
10

use through the Internet, e.g. Google Docs. The different ways in which the software is made available to
users are:
Retail Software is off-the-shelf software sold in retail stores. It comes with printed manuals and installation
instructions. For example, Microsoft Windows operating system.
OEM Software stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer software. It refers to software which is sold,
and bundled with hardware. Microsoft sells its operating system as OEM software to hardware dealers. OEM
software is sold at reduced price, without the manuals, packaging and installation instructions. For example,
Dell computers are sold with the Windows 7 OS pre-loaded on them.
Demo Software Demo software is a trial version of a software program which allows people to use it for
free while they decide whether or not to buy it. It is designed to demonstrate what a purchased version of the
software is capable of doing and provides a restricted set of features. To use the software, the user must buy a
fully-functional version.
Shareware is a program that the user is allowed to try for free, for a specified period of time, as defined in
the license. It is downloadable from the Internet. When the trial period ends, the software must be purchased
or uninstalled.
Freeware is software that is free for personal use. It is downloadable from the Internet. The commercial use
of this software may require a paid license. The author of the freeware software is the owner of the software,
though others may use it for free.
Public Domain Software is free software. Unlike freeware, public domain software does not have a
copyright owner or license restrictions. This software is free and can be used without restrictions, that is, the
user can copy, distribute, and even modify the software without obtaining permissions from the software
developer. Usually, public domain software is offered through websites, electronic bulletin boards, user
groups, and other sources.
Open-Source Software is software whose source code is available and can be customized and altered within
the specified guidelines laid down by the creator. Unlike public domain software, open-source software has
restrictions on their use and modification, redistribution limitations, and copyrights. Linux, Apache, Firefox,
OpenOffice are some examples of open-source software.
Fireware is a combination of software, permanently stored in the memory. As name suggests, fireware is a
program or data that has been written onto ROM.
2.4 OPERATING SYSTEM
2.4.1 INTRODUCTION
In the early days of computer use, computers were huge machines, which were expensive to buy, run and
maintain. The user at that time interacted directly with the hardware through machine language. A software
was required which could perform basic tasks such as recognizing input from the keyboard, sending output to
the display screen, keeping track of files and directories on the disk, and controlling peripheral devices such
as printers and scanners. The search for such software led to the evolution of modern day operating system
(OS). Initially, the OSs interface was only character-based. This interface provides the user with a command
prompt and the user has to type all the commands to perform various functions. As a result, the user had to
memorize many commands. With the advancement in technology, OS became even more user friendly by
providing graphical user interface (GUI). The GUI-based OS allows the user to interact with the system using

11

visual objects such as windows, pull-down menus, mouse pointers and icons. Consequently, operating the
computer became easy and intuitive.
2.4.2 DEFINITION
An operating system is a collection of system programs that together controls the operation of a computer
system. It is the most important part of any computer system. It acts as an intermediary between a user and the
computer hardware. The two objectives of an OS are controlling the computers hardware and providing an
interface between the user and the machine.
2.4.3 EVOLUTION OF OPERATING SYSTEM
In the early days, the computers lacked any form of OS. The user would arrive at the machine armed with his
program and data, often on punched paper tape. The program would be loaded into the machine and the
machine set to work. Then came machines with libraries of support code (initial OSs), which were linked to
the users program to assist in operations such as input and output. At this stage, OSs was very diverse with
each vendor producing one or more OSs specific to its particular hardware. Typically, whenever new
hardware architecture was introduced, there was a need of new OS compatible with the new architecture. This
state of affairs continued until 1960s when IBM developed the S/360 series of machines. Although there were
enormous performance differences across the range, all the machines ran essentially the same OS called
S/360. Then came the small 4 bit and 8 bit processors known as microprocessors. The development of
microprocessors provided inexpensive computing for the small businesses. This led to the widespread use of
interchangeable hardware components using a common interconnection, and thus creating an increasing need
for standardized OS to control them. The most important among the early OSs was CP/M-80 for the
8080/8085/Z-80 microprocessors. With the development of microprocessors like 386, 486 and the Pentium
series by Intel, the whole computing world got a new dimension. AT&T and Microsoft came up with
character-based OSs, namely, Unix and Disk OS, respectively, which supported the prevalent hardware
architectures. After the character-based OSs, Microsoft and Apple Macintosh came with their Windows 3.1
and MAC, which were GUIbased OSs and well suited for the Desktop PC market. Today, OSs such as
Windows 7 and Red Hat Linux have taken the drivers seat in personal desktops. These OSs with their
remarkable GUI and network support features can handle diverse hardware devices.
2.3.4 TYPES OF OPERATING SYSTEM
An operating system is a software component of computer system that is responsible for management of
various activities of the computer and the sharing of computer resources. The OS has evolved immensely
from its primitive days to the present digital era. From batch processing systems to the latest embedded
systems, the different types of OSs can be classified into different categories are:
Batch Processing OS:
This type of OS was one of the first to evolve. Batch processing OS allowed only one program to run at a
time. These kinds of OSs can still be found on some mainframe computers running batches of jobs. Batch
processing OS works on a series of programs that are held in a queue. The OS is responsible for scheduling
the jobs according to priority and the resources required. The suitability of this type of processing is in
programs with large computation time with no need of user interaction/involvement. Some examples of such
programs include payroll, forecasting, statistical analysis and large scientific number crunching programs.
Users are not required to wait while the job is being processed. They can submit their programs to operators
and return later to collect them. It has two major disadvantages:
i. Non- interactive environment: batch operating systems allow little or no interaction between users and
executing programs. Users have no control over intermediate results of a program.
12

ii. Off-line debugging: a programmer cannot correct bugs the moment it occurs.
Multi-user operating system
It allows simultaneous access to a computer system through two or more terminals. The multi-user OS builds
a user database account, which defines the rights that users can have on a particular resource of the system.
Time-sharing Operating system
A time sharing system allows the many users to simultaneously share the computer resources. Since each
action or command in a time-shared system take a very small fraction of time, only a little CPU time is
needed for each user.
Multi-programming Operating system
In this system, more than one process (task) can be executed concurrently. The processor is switched rapidly
between the processes. Hence, a user can have more than one process running at a time. For example, a user
on his computer can have a word processor and an audio CD player running at the same time. The
multitasking OS allows the user to switch between the running applications and even transfer data between
them. For example, a user can copy a picture from an Internet opened in the browser application and paste it
into an image editing application.
Real-time Operating system (RTOS)
It is a multitasking operating system that aims at executing real-time applications. This system is designed to
respond to an event within a predetermined time. They either have an event-driven or a time-sharing design.
An event-driven system switches between tasks based of their priorities while time-sharing operating systems
switch tasks based on clock interrupts. The main object of real time operating system is their quick and
predictable response to events. This kind of OS is primarily used in process control, telecommunications and
so on. The OS monitors various inputs which affect the execution of processes, changing the computers
model of the environment, thus affecting the output, within a guaranteed time period (usually less than one
second). As the real-time Oss responds quickly, they are often used in applications such as flight reservation
systems, railway reservation systems, military applications, etc.
Multi-processor Operating system
This system can incorporate more than one processor dedicated to running processes. This technique of using
more than one processor is often called parallel processing. The main advantage of multi-processor systems is
that they increase the system throughput by getting more work done in less time.
Embedded Operating system
It refers to the OS that is self-contained in the device and resident in the ROM. Since embedded systems are
usually not general-purpose systems, they are lighter or less resource intensive as compared to generalpurpose OSs. Most of the embedded OSs also offer real-time OS qualities. Typical systems that use embedded
OSs are household appliances, car management systems, traffic control systems and energy management
systems.
2.3.5 FUNCTIONS OF OPERATING SYSTEM
There are many functions that are performed by the operating system. But the main goal of operating system
is to provide the interface between the user and the hardware means provides the interface for working on the
system by the user.
Resource Management
Operating system also known as the resource manager means operating system will manages all the resources
that are attached to the system. All the resource like memory and processor and all the input output devices

13

that are attached to the system are known as the resources of the computer system and the operating system
will manage all the resources of the system.
Process Management:
As a process manager, the OS handles the creation and deletion of processes, suspension and resumption of
processes, and scheduling and synchronization of processes. A process is an execution of a sequence of
instructions or programs by the CPU. The operating system is responsible for managing all the processes that
are running on a computer and allocates each process a certain amount time to use the processor. To keep
track of the states of all the processes, the operating system maintains a table known as process table.
Memory Management:
In addition to managing processes, the operating system also manages the primary memory of the computer.
The part of the operating system that handles this job is called the memory manager. As a memory manager,
the OS handles the allocation and de-allocation of memory space as required by various programs.
File Management:
File system is one of the most visible aspects of the operating system. The file manager is responsible for the
maintenance of the file system. File system contains a hierarchical structure of data. The OS is responsible for
creation and deletion of files and directories. It also takes care of other file-related activities such as
organizing, storing, retrieving, naming and protecting the files.
Device Management:
Device management is an operating system refers to the process of managing various devices connected to the
computer. The device manager manages the hardware resources and provides an interface to hardware for
application programs. The OS provides input/output subsystem between process and device
driver. It handles the device caches, buffers and interrupts. It also detects the device failures and notifies the
same to the user.
Security Management:
The OS protects system resources and information against destruction and unauthorized use. Various security
techniques employed by the operating system to secure the information are user authentication and backup of
data.
User Interface:
The OS provides the interface between the user and the hardware. The user interface is the layer that actually
interacts with the computer operator. The interface consists of a set of commands or menus through which a
user communicates with a program. Common interfaces provided by different operating systems can be
categorized as Command Line Interface (CLI) and Graphical User Interface (GUI).
POPULAR OPERATING SYSTEMS
There are different types of operating systems. Some popular modern operating systems for personal
computers include Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.
Linux
Linux is an open source operating system which provides its users the maximum flexibility to use and modify
the code according to their choice. Due to its stability, Linux has gained popularity with ISPs as the OS for
hosting Web servers. IBM is supporting Linux for all of its hardware platforms in order to have a common OS
for all product lines. In 1990, Finnish computer science student Linus Torvalds turned Minix, a popular
classroom teaching tool, into Linux, which is closer to the real UNIX. Torvald created the kernel, and most of
the supporting applications and utilities came from the GNU project of the Free Software Foundation.
14

Key features of Linux Operating System:

Following are the key features of the Linux operating system:
Low cost: There is no need to spend time and huge amount money to obtain licenses since Linux and much
of its software come with the GNU General Public License.
Multitasking: several programs running at the same time.
Multiuser: several users can logon to the same machine at the same time
Multiplatform: Linux runs on many different CPUs that mean it supports multiprocessor machine.
Multiprocessor/multithreading: it has native kernel support for multiple independent threads of control
within a single process memory space.
Security: Linux is one of the most secure operating system. File ownership and permissions make Linux
more secure.
Wider choice: There are a large number of Linux distributions which gives a wider choice.
Performance: Provides a high performance on various networks. It has the ability to handle large numbers
of users simultaneously.
Fast and easy installation: Linux distributions come with user friendly installation.
Open source: Linux is an open source operating system.
Windows operating system
Microsoft Windows is an operating system created by Microsoft for PC computers. Microsoft's line of
Windows operating systems is the most used in the world. The original Windows operating system dates back
to 1981. Subsequent versions have included Windows 2.0, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows
NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista, Windows 7. The most recent, most advanced, and most
feature-rich version of the operating system is Windows 8. Windows updates and adds to its features with
each release; however some of the features of windows are.
Windows Live: Windows Live is a group of tools and software for use with Windows. All Windows users
can have access to Windows Live by creating a free account. Windows Live includes a chat client, networking
tools, a movie maker and photo gallery, and email and Internet functions.
Windows Search: Windows Search is a search function included with Windows that allows the user to
search their entire computer. Windows Search is located in the start menu. Users can search for files by name,
date and file.
Windows Updates: Windows includes an automatic update feature with the intended purpose of keeping its
operating system safe and up-to-date. Security updates are installed with this feature to help protect against
new risks as well as to apply any software updates and bug fixes.
Windows Taskbar: The taskbar is the main navigation tool for Windows. It includes the Start Menu, which
allows users to access programs and features. It also includes a clock, calendar, and program icons for things
such as commonly used programs and updates.
Graphical User Interface: The operating system provides users with pictures rather than just characters to
interact with the machine.
Virtual memory: virtual memory is a way of making the real memory of a computer system effectively
larger than it really is.
Multi tasking: The ability to execute more than one task at the same time, a task being a program.

15

 Plug-and-Play, PnP: It is an ability of a computer to detect and configure a new piece of hardware
automatically, without the requirements of the user to physically configure the hardware device with jumpers
or dip switches.
Clipboard: The clipboard is a temporary storage area. The clipboard stores cut or copied information until we
paste it or cut or copy new information.

16