Bank Probationary Officer
GeneralAwareness
COMPUTER
A computer is an electronic device that can
perform a variety of operations in accordance with a
set of instructions called program. It is essentially a
data processor. It can store, access and process data
millions of times faster than humans can. Computers
can do a lot of different tasks such as playing games,
weather forecasting, error detection and controlling a
flight of space aircraft etc.
Data in computer terminology means raw facts such
as name of a person, name of a city, amount of a thing etc.
For eg: Sachin, 1947, A, -160.5 are data.
A processed data is called information. That is,
data are aggregated and summarized in various
meaningful ways to form information.
Characteristics of Computers
1. Speed:- Computers are much faster as
compared to human beings. A computer can perform
a task in a minute that may take days if performed
manually. Usually the speed of computers are
expressed in microseconds or nanoseconds.
2. Accuracy:- The accuracy of a computer is
consistently high. It can perform all the calculations
and comparisons accurately provided the hardware
doesnot malfunction.
3. High storage Capacity:- Computers can store
a large amount of information in very small space. It can
store and recall any amount of information because of its
secondary storage capability. Every piece of information
can be retained as long as desired by the user.
4. Reliability:- Computers are immune to
tiredness and boredom or fatigue. Thus they are more
reliable than human beings.
The Generations of computer
The term 'computer generation' is often used in
relation to the hardware of computers. Each phase of
computer development is known as a separate generation
of computers. Each phase of development is characterised
by the type of switching circuits it utilized.
AWARENESS
Most computers today use the idea of 'stored
program computer', proposed by Dr. John Von
Neumann in 1945. The archhitecture is based on three
key concepts;
i. Data and instructions are stored in a single
read-write memory.
ii. The memory contents are addressable by
locations.
iii. Execution takesplace in a sequential fashion,
from one instruction to the next unless modified
explicity.
First Generation Computers (1949-55)
The first generation used vaccum tubes, and
machine laguage was used for giving instructions.
They used the concept of 'stored program'. They were
very large in size and their programming was a difficult
task. Some computers of first generation are,
i. ENIAC: Electronic Numerical Integrator And
Calculator (ENIAC) was the first electronic computer
developed. It has a very small memory. Their programs
are wired on boards. The addition of two numbers
was achieved in 200 microseconds and multiplication
in 2000 microseconds.
ii. EDVAC: The binary arithmetic was used in the
construction of computer called the Electronic Discrete
Variable Automatic Computer (EDVAC). The Von
Neumann concept of stored program was also applied
in EDVAC. With this, the operations became faster
since the computer could rapidly access both the
program and data.
iii. EDSAC: The Electronic Delay Storage
Automatic Computer (EDSAC) used mercury delayed
lines for storage. It also used Neumann concept of
stored program. This allowed easy implementation of
program loops. The addition operation was
accomplished in 1500 microseconds and multiplication
operation in 4000 micro seconds.
 iv. UNIVAC-I: The Universal Automatic Computer
(UNIVAC) was the first digital computer developed.
Initial applications of computers were in science and
engineering but with the advent of UNIVAC-I, the
commercial applications started.
The first generation computers suffered from
some 'big' limitations like slow operating speed,
restricted computing capacity, high power
consumption, very large space requirement and limited
programming capabilities.
Second Generation Computers (1956-65)
The second generation computers emerged with
the transistors being the brain of the computer. They
used magnetic cores to construct large random access
memories. The increased realiability and availability
of large memories gave the way for the development
of high level languages. With speedy CPUs and the
advent of magnetic tape and disk storage, operating
systems came into being. Some of the second
generation computers with their area of application
are given.
Model Area of application
IBM - 1401 Business
IBM - 1620 Scientific
IBM - 7094 Scientific and Business
CDC - 1604 Scientific
CDC - 3600 Scientific
RCA - 501 Business
UNIVAC - 1108 Scientific and Business
High level languages such as FORTRAN, COBOL,
Algol and Snobol etc are developed. Batch operating
systems ruled the second generation.
Third Generation Computers (1966 - 1975)
The advent of microelectronics technology made
it possible to integrate large number of circuit elements
into very small surface of silicon known as chips. This
technology known as integrated circuits (ICs) is
applied in the third generation computers. From small
scale integrated (SSI) circuits, technology developed
to medium scale integrated (MSI) circuits. The size of
main memory reached about 4MB. Magnetic disk
technology improved to have a capacity upto 100MBs.
The CPUs become powerful with the capacity of
carrying out 1 million instructions per second. Some
of the mainframe and mini computers developed during
this generation are,
Main frame computers Mini computers
IBM - 360 series ICL - 2903
ICL - 1900 series CDC - 1700
IBM - 370/168 series PDP - 11/45
ICL - 2900 series
Honey well model 316 series
Honeywell 6000 series
ICL - International Computers Limited
CDC - Control Data Corporation
PDP - Personal Data Processor
Computers also found place in other areas like
education, survey, analysis etc. Time shared operating
system was introduced in this generation.
Fourth Generation Computers (1976-
Present)
Medium scale integrated circuits yielded to Large
Scale Integration (LSI) and Very Large Scale Integration
(VLSI) circuits. It led to the advent of microprocessor
(CPU on a single chip) and marked the beginning of
the fourth generation computers. Semi conductor
memories replaced magnetic core memories. The cost
of computer came down so rapidly. The faster
accessing and processing speeds and increased
memory capacity helped in development of much more
powerful operating systems.
Many of the mainframe CPU features became part
of the microprocessor architecture in 90s. In 1995 the
most popular CPUs were Pentium, Power PC etc. Also
RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer)
microprocessors are preferred in powerful servers for
numeric computing and file services.
The hard disks are also available of the sizes upto
20GB. For larger disks RAID (Redundant Array of
Inexpensive Disks) gives storage upto hunderes of
GB. CDROMs can store upto 1 GB.
The computer networks are one of the most
popular ways of interacting with computer chains of
millions of users. The computers are being applied in
various areas like simulation, visualization, parallel
computing, virtual reality, multimedia etc.
Fifth Generation Computers (coming)
The fifth generation computers using magnetic
bubble memories and other recent developments are
on the way. They will be based on advances in silicon
technology.
 The researchers are aiming at developing a
machine that can speak simple plain language and able
to converse the way the human beings do. For this
the concept of Artificial Intelligence is being used.
Types of Computers
The computers have been classified into three
categories. (1) Analog computers (2) Digital
computers, (3) Hybrid computers
Analog Computers
An analog computer is that it operates on data
that is in the form of continuously varying physical
quantities such as voltage, current, length, temperature
etc. The devices that measure such quantities are
analog devices. Analog computers operate by
measuring rather than counting. The main advantage
of analog computers is that all calculations takes place
in parallel and hence these are faster. But their
accurracy is poor as compared to digital computers.
They are mostly used in Engineering & Scientific
applications. An electronic weighing scale is an
example of an analog computer.
Digital Computers
A digital computer works on discontinuous data.
The word digital implies that the information in the
computer is represented by variables that take a limited
number of discrete values. They convert the data in to
digits (binary digits 0 and 1) and all operations are
carried out on these digits at extremely fast rates. It
basically knows how to count the digits and add the
digits. Computers used for business and scientific
applications are digital computers.
Digital computers can be classified into two.
i. purpose wise ii. Size and performance wise
Purpose wise digital computers are further
classified into special purpose and general purpose
computers.
Special purpose computer is the one that is
designed to perfom a specific task. The programs to
carry out a task are permanently stored in the machine.
For the scientific tasks, this type of computer works
efficiently but such computers are not versatile.
General purpose computer is the one that can
work on different types of programs and thus be used
in many applications. The programs are not perma-
nently stored but are input at the time of execution.
These computers are very versatile. Size and perform-
ance wise digital computers can be classified into four
types, microcomputers, minicomputers, mainframe
computers and supercomputers.
Microcomputers: A microcomputer is a computer
whose CPU is a microprocessor. It is the smallest
category of computer having a microprocessor as its
CPU. A microprocessor is a processor whose all main
components are on a single integrated circuit chip.
Those are normally single processor, single-user
systems designed for performing basic operations like
educational, small business applications, playing
games etc. IBM PCs, Apple Mac, IBM PS/2 are some
popular micro computers.
Minicomputers: Minicomputers are more
powerfull computers than microcomputers in terms of
processing power and capabilities. They are relatively-
fast but small and inexpensive computer with somewhat
limited input/output capabilites. They are mainly
multiuser systems and possess greater storage
capacity and larger memories as compared to
microcomputers. Examples for minicomputers are PDP-
11, VAX 7500, MAGNUM etc.
Mainframe computers: Mainframe computers are
designed to handle huge volumes of data and
information. They can support more than hundred
users at same time and are very large and expensive
computers having great processing speeds and very
large storage capacity as compared to minicomputers.
They even possess and work with more than one
processor at the same time. So they are multiuser,
multiprocessor systems. Very sophisticated operating
systems are needed to control and supervise the
operation of these mainframe computers. Examples of
mainframe computers are ICL 39, CDE 6600, VAX 8842,
IBM 3090/600, IBM 4381.
Super Computers: Super computers are the most
powerful computers among digital computers. They
consists of several processors running together sothat
they are capable of handling huge amounts of
calculations at higher speeds that are beyond human
capabilites. Super computers can perform billions of
instructions per second. Some of today's
supercomputers have the computing capability equal
to that of 40,000 microcomputers. These are mainly
used in applications like weather forecasting, nuclear
science research, aerodynamic modelling, seismology,
metrology etc. Examples of super computers are CRAY
X-MP/14, CDC - 205, ETA GF-10, FUJITSU VP-400,
NEC SX-2, PARAM, ANURAG. PARAM and
ANURAG are super computers produced by India.
Hybrid Computers
Hybrid computers utilize the best qualities of both
the digital and analog computers. In these computers
some calculations takesplace in analog manner and
rest of them takesplace in digital manner. Hybrid
computers are best used in hospital where analog part
is responsible for measurement of patient's heart beat,
blood pressure, temperature and other vital signs and
then the operation is carried out in digital fashion.
They are also used in weather forecasting.
Analog and hybrid computers perform specilized
task but the digital comptuers are used almost
everywhere in business and scientific applications.
DIGITAL NUMBER SYSTEMS
Many number systems are in use in digital
technology. The most common are the decimal, binary,
octal and hexadecimal systems. The decimal system is
clearly the most familiar because it is a tool that we
use everyday.
Decimal System
The decimal system consists of 10 numerals or
symbols. These 10 symbols are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
and 9. Using these symbols as digits of a number, we
can express any quantity. The decimal system, also
called base-10 system, is a positional-value system in
which the value of a digit depends on its position.
For eg: Consider a decimal number 532. The digit
5 actually represents 5 hundreds, 3 represents 3 tens
and 2 represents 2 units. Then 5 carries the most weight
of the three digits, it is referred to as the most
significant digit (MSD). Then 2 carries the least weight,
it is referred to as the least significant digit (LSD).
The decimal number 87.41 can be written as equal
to 8 tens plus 7 units plus 4 tenths plus 1 hundredths.
The decimal point is used to separate the integer and
fractional parts of the number.
The decimal position value of 87.41 as powers of
10, relative to the decimal point is,
1
10 10 0 1
10 10 2
Positional values ( weights)
any value from 0 to 7. The digit positions in an octal
8 7 . 4 1
MSD LSD
Decimal po int
Then
87.41 = (8 101) + (7 100) + (4 10-1) + (1 10-2)
In general, any number is simply the sum of the
products of each digit value and its positional value.
Binary System
The decimal number system does not lend itself
to convenient implementation in digital systems. For
eg: it is very difficult to design an electronic equitmept
so that it can work with 10 different voltage levels,
each one representing one decimal character, 0 through
9. For this reason, almost every digital system uses
binary number system as the basic number system for
its operations.
In the binary or base-2 system there are only two
symbols or possible digit values, 0 and 1. This base-2
number system can be used to represent any quantity
that can be represented in decimal or other number
systems. It will take a greater number of binary digits
to express a given quantity. All the statements
concerning the decimal system are equally applicable
to the binary system. It is also a positional-value
system, where each binary digit has itsown value or
weight expressed as a power of 2.
Binary position values of 1011.101 as powers of
2, relative to the binary point is,
2 3 2 2 21 2 0
Posititional values 2 1 2 2 2 3
1 0 1 1 . 1 0 1
MSB Binary point LSB
In the binary system the term binary digit is often
abbreviated to the term, bit. The left most bit having
the largest weight is the most significant bit (MSB).
The right most bit having the smallest weight is the
least significant bit (LSB).
Octal Number System
The octal number system has a base of 8,
meaning that it has eight possible digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6 and 7. Thus, each digit of an octal number can have
number have weights as follows.
83 82 81 8 0 . 8 1 8 2 8 3 8 4
Octal point
Hexa decimal number system
The hexadecimal number system uses base 16. 1 1 0 1 1
Thus it has 16 possible digit symbols. It uses the digits 2 2 0 2 2 0 16 8 2 1
4 3 1

0 through 9 plus the letters A, B, C, D, E and F as 16

digit symbols. The hex digits A through F are = 2710
equivalent to the decimal values 10 through 15. The subscript is used to represent the
Relationships between hexadecimal, decimal and corresponding base of the number.
binary is shown. Eg:2. Convert 1101.112 to decimal
Hexadecimal Decimal Binary 1 1 0 1 . 1 1
0 0 0000
1 1 0001 2 2 0 2 2 2 2
3 2 0 1

2 2 0010 = 8 + 4 + 1 + .5 + .25
3 3 0011 = 13.7510
4 4 0100 Decimal to Binary Conversion
5 5 0101
6 6 0110 Decimal to binary conversion uses the division-
7 7 0111 remainder method. In this method the decimal number
8 8 1000 is repeatedly divided by 2 and writing down the
9 9 1001 remainder after each division until a quotient of 0 is
A 10 1011 obtained. The binary result is obtained by writing the
B 11 1010 first remainder as the LSB and the last remainder as
C 12 1100 the MSB.
D 13 1101 Eg: 1. Convert 8510 to binary
E 14 1110
F 15 1111 Re mainders
The binary number system is the most important 2 85 1
one in digital systems. The decimal system is important 2 42 0
because it is universally used to represent quantities
2 21 1
outside a digital system. There will be situations where
decimal values have to be converted into binary values 2 10 0
before they are entered into the digital system. 2 5 1
Likewise, there will be situations where the binary 2 2 0
values at the outputs of a digital circuit have to be
converted to decimal values for presentation to the 2 1 1

outside world. Also the octal and hexadecimal number 0 ( MSB) 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 ( LSB)
systems are useful to provide an efficient means for
representing large binary numbers. For eg: a single 8510 10101012
hexadecimal digit can be used to represent a group of
4 binary digits. Eg: 2 Convert 0.6562510 to binary.
NUMBER CONVERSIONS In the case of fractional decimal to binary
conversion, the number is first multiplied by 2. Then
Binary to Decimal Conversion the integer part of the result is taken as the MSB of the
fractional binary number and the fractional part of the
Any binary number can be converted to its
result is multiplied by 2. Again the integer part is taken
decimal equivalent simply by summing together the
as the right digit of the MSB. The above process is
weights of the various positions in the binary number
repeated until either the result of multiplication
which contain a 1.
becomes zero or the significant bits of the resultant is
Eg. 1. Convert 110112 to decimal obtained.
0.65625 0.31250 0.62500 0.25000 0.50000 0.59 0.72 0.76
2 2 2 2 2
8 8 8
1.31250 0.62500 125000
. 0.50000 1.00000
4.72 5.76 6.08
1 0 1 0 1

Thus, 4 5 6
0.6562510 = 0.101012 0.5910 = 0.4568
Eg: 3. Convert 10.62510 to binary
Octal to decimal conversion
integer part:
Eg: 1 Convert 3728 to decimal
2 1 0 3 82 + 7 81 + 2 80
2 5 0 = 3 64 + 7 8 + 2 = 25010
2 2 1 3728 = 25010
2 1 0 Eg: 2. Convert 0.548 to decimal
1 1
0 1 5 8-1 + 4 8-2 = 5 4
8 64
= 0.625 + 0.0625
1010 = 10102 = 0.6875
fractional part : 0.548 = 0.687510
0.625 0.250 0.500 Octal to Binary conversion
2 2 2 In this case the octal number is first converted
1.250 0.500 1.000 into decimal and this decimal in turn is converted into
binary.

Eg: Convert 4728 to binary
1 0 1 4728 to decimal:
0.62510 = 0.1012 4728 = 4 82 + 7 81 + 2 80
Thus, 10.62510 = 1010.1012 = 256 + 56 + 2 = 31410
31410 to binary:
Decimal to Octal conversion
A decimal integer can be converted to octal by 2 314
using the same division-remainder method with a 2 157 0
divison factor of 8.
2 78 1
Eg: 1. Convert 42810 to octal.
2 39 0
8 428 2 19 1
8 53 4 2 9 1
8 6 5 2 4 1
0 6 2 2 0
42810 = 6548 2 1 0
Eg: 2. Convert .5910 to octal 0 1

Thus, 4728 = 1001110102

Binary to Octal conversion using the division-remainder method with a division
factor of 16. Any remainder which is greater than 9 is
The binary number is first converted to decimal converted to its hex representation.
and this decimal inturn is converted to binary.
Eg: 1. Convert 42310 to hex
Eg: Convert 1000110012 to Octal.
1000110012 to decimal : 16 423
1 28 + 1 24 + 1 23 + 1 20 16 26 7
= 256 + 16 + 8 + 1 16 1 10
= 28110 0 1
28110 to Octal : 1 A 7
8 281 Thus, 42310 = 14716
8 35 1 Eg: 2. Convert 0.7610 to hex.
8 4 3
0 4 0.76 .
016 0.56 0.96
Thus 16 16 16 16
1000110012 = 4318 12.16 2.56 8.96 15.36
Shortcut method - Octal and Binary
The primary advantage of the octal number C 2 8 F
system is the case with which conversion can be made Thus,
between binary and octal numbers. The conversion
0.7610 = .C28F16
from octal to binary is performed by converting each
octal digit to its 3 - bit binary equivalent. Hex to decimal conversion
Eg: Convert 4728 to binary Eg: 1. convert 2AF16 to decimal
4 7 2 2 162 + 10 161 + 15 160
= 2 256 + 160 + 15
100 111 010 = 68710
2AF16 = 68710
Thus, 4728 = 1001110102
Eg. 2. Convert 2B.C416 to decimal
For binary to octal conversion, the bits of the
binary number are grouped in to groups of 3-bits 2 161 + 11 160 + 12 16-1 + 4 16-
2
starting for the bits to the left of binary point and
starting at the MSB for the bits to the right of binary = 32 + 11 + 0.75 + 0.0156
point. Then each group is converted to its octal = 43.765610
equivalent.
2B.C416 = 43.765610
Eg: Convert 1001110102 to octal
Hex to binary Conversion
100 111 010
The hex number is first converted into decimal
and this decimal inturn is converted into binary.
4 7 2 Eg : Convert F216 to binary
Thus, 100 111 1012 = 4728 F216 to decimal:
Decimal to Hex Conversion 15 161 + 2 160 = 240 + 2 = 24210
24210 to binary:
Decimal to hex conversion can be performed by
 For binary to hex conversion, the bits of the
2 242 binary number are grouped into groups of 4 bits,
starting at the LSB, for the bits to the left of binary
2 121 0
point and starting at the MSB, for the bits to the right
2 60 1 of binary point. Then each group is converted to its
2 30 0 hexadecimal equivalent.
2 15 0 Eg: Convert 1110100110.110012 to hex
2 7 1 0011 1010 0110 . 1100 1000
2 3 1
2 1 1 3 A 6 . C 8
0 1
1110100110.110012 = 3A6.c816
In the case of short cut conversion method
Thus, F216 = 111100102 dealing hex and octal, the uncompleted groups can be
Binary to hex conversion filled by adding extra zeros. For the group to the left of
binary point the zeros are added as MSB and for the
The binary number is first converted to decimal
group to the right of binary point the zeros are added
and the decimal number in turn is converted to hex. as LSB.
Eg: Convert 110100112 to hex.
When converting from octal to hex or viceversa,
110100112 to decimal first convert to binary, then convert into the desired
1 27 + 1 26 + 0 25 + 1 24 + 0 23 + 0 22 number system.
+1 2 + 1 20
1
COMPUTER CODES
= 128 + 64 + 16 + 2 + 1
Numeric data is not the only form of data that is
= 21110
to be handled by a computer. We often require to
21110 to hex: process alpha numeric data also. An alpha numeric
16 211 data is a string of symbols where a symbol may be one
of the letters A, B, C, ......, Z or one of the letters a, b, c
16 13 3 ....., z or one of the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, ......, 9 or a special
0 13 character, such as +, , *, /, ., ( , ), = etc.
When numbers, letters or words are represented
Thus,
by a special group of symbols, they are said to be
110100112 = D316 encoded and the group of symbols is called a code.
Shortcut method - hex and binary However, binary coding schemes are used to represent
any data in the computer memory. In binary coding,
Like the octal number system, the hexa decimal every symbol that appears in the data is represented
number system is used primarily as a short hand by a group of bits. The group of bits used to represent
method for representing binary numbers. The method a symbol is called a byte.
is almost similar to the case of octal number but here
Digital systems all use some form a binary
each hex digit is converted to its 4-bit equivalent.
numbers for their internal operation, but the external
Eg: Convert 9F2.A616 to binary world is decimal in nature. This means that
conversions between the decimal and binary systems
9 F 2 . A 6 are being performed often. Since the conversion
between decimal and binary becomes complicated for
large numbers, a means of encoding decimal numbers
1001 1111 0010 . 1010 0110 that combines some features of both the decimal and
binary systems are used.
9F2.A616 = 10011111 0010.101001102
Binary Coded Decimal (BCD) Code
BCD code is based on the idea of converting
each digit of a decimal number into its binary equivalent
rather than converting the entire decimal value into a
pure binary form. Since a decimal digit can be large as
9, four bits are required to code each digit (binary
code for 9 is 1001).
For eg: the BCD representation of 874 is
8 7 4 ( decimal)
Representing signed numbers
1000 0111 0100 ( BCD )
4 bit BCD coding system can be used to represent
only decimal numbers because 4 bits are insufficient
to represent the various characters used by the
computer. In the 6-bit BCD code, the four BCD numeric
place positions are retained, but two additional zone
positions are added. With 6 bits, it is possibile to
represent 64(26) different characters. So decimal digits
(10), alphabets (26) and other special characters (28)
are represented using the 6-bit BCD code. The 6-bit
BCD code can be grouped into two 3 bit groups and
each group can be represented by one octal digit.
Thus octal number system is used as the short cut
notation and the memory dump volume gets one-to-
three reduction.
Extended Binary Coded Decimal
Interchange Code (EBCDIC)
The major problem with BCD code is that only 64
different characters can be represented in it. This is
not sufficient for providing decimal numbers, lower-
case letters, capital letters and a large number of special
characters. Hence the 6-bit BCD code was extended
to 8-bit EBCDIC code. In this code, 256(28) different
characters can be represented.
Because EBCDIC is an 8-bit code, it can be divided
into two 4-bit groups. Each of these 4-bit groups can
be represented by one hexadecimal digit. Thus, hexa
decimal number system is used as shortcut notation
for memory dump by computers that use EBCDIC for
internal representation of characters. This results is a
one-to-four reduction in the volume of memory dump.
Most of the IBM models use the EBCDIC code.
American Standard Code for
Information Interchange (ASCII)
Very widely used computer code is the ASCII
code. This code is popular in data communications,
is used almost exclusively to represent data internally
in most microcomputers, minicomputers and in many
mainframes. The ASCII is a 7-bit code, and so it has 27 = 128
possible code groups. This is more than enough to represent
all of the standard keyboard characters as well as control
functions.
The ASCII code is used for the transfer of
alphanumeric information between a computer and
input/output devices such as video terminals or
printers.
In digital system, the binary numbers are
represented by a set of binary storage devices Each
device represents one bit. For eg:, a 6-bit register could
strore binarynumbers ranging from 000000 to 111111 (0 to
63 in decimal). This represents the magnitude of the
number. In order to represent a negative number a
sign bit is added to the number. In general, a 0 in the
sign bit represents a positive number and a1 in the
sign bit represents a negative number.
0 1 1 0 1 0 0 52 10
Sign bit magnitude 52 10
1 1 1 0 1 0 0 52 10
Sign bit magnitude 52 10
The representation using the sign bit is called
signed-magnitude system. Since the circuit
implementation of signed magnitude system is
complicated, another method known as 2's
complement system is used for representing signed
binary numbers.
1's complement form
The 1's complement of binary number is obtained
by changing each 0 to 1 and each 1 to 0. ie, change
each bit in the number to its complement.
Eg:
1 0 1 1 0 1 (original number )
0 1 0 0 1 0 (complement number )
Thus, 1's complement of 101101 is 010010
2's complement form: Boolean algebra is used to express the effects
The 2's complement of a binary number is formed that various digital circuits have on logic inputs, and
by taking the 1's complement of the number and adding to manipulate the logic variables for the purpose of
determining the best method for performing a given
1 to the least significant bit position. The process for
circuit function. In Boolean algebra there are only three
finding the 2's complement of a number is given. basic operations : OR, AND and NOT. These basic
operations are called logic operations.
1 0 1 1 0 0
Digital circuits can be constructed from diodes,
transistors and resistors connected in such a way that
0 1 0 0 1 1 the circuit output is the results of a basic operation
performed on the inputs and such circuits are called
1
logic gates.
0 1 0 1 0 0
Truth Table
Representing Signed Numbers using 2's compliment A truthtable is a means for describing how a logic
The 2's complement system for representing circuit's output depends on the logic levels present at
signed numbers is the circuits inputs. The table lists all possible
i. If the number is positive, the magnitude is combinations of logic levels present at inputs along
represented in its true binary form, and a sign bit of 0 with the corresponding output level. There are 4 table
is placed in front of MSB. entries for the two-input truth table and 8 entries for a
three-input truth table. The number of input
ii. If the number is negative, the magnitude is combinations will equal 2N for an N-input truth table.
represented in its 2's complement form, and a sign bit
of 1 is placed in front of MSB. OR operation
The OR operation is defined as : the output of an
0 1 0 1 1 0 1 4510 OR gate is 1 if and only if one or more inputs are 1 and
output is 0 if and only if all inpouts are 0. The logical
equation for 2 input OR operation is given by
Sign bit True binary
Y=A+B
1 0 1 0 0 1 1 4510 where A and B represent two independent logic
variables and Y represent the result of OR operation.
and '+' represents the OR operation.
Sign bit 2' s complement OR gate: An OR gate is a circuit that has two or
more inputs and whose output is equal to the OR sum
The 2's complement system used, allows to of the inputs. The logic symbol and the truth table for
perform the operation of subtraction by actually
a 2 input OR gate is given.
performing addition.
BOOLEAN ALGEBRA AND LOGIC A
GATES Y
Digital or logic circuits operate in the binary mode B
where each input and output voltage is either a 0 or 1;
the 0 and 1 designations represent predefined voltage
ranges. This characteristic of logic circuits allows to Output
A B
use Boolean Algebra as a tool for the analysis and YAB
design of digital systems. 0 0 0
Boolean algebra differs in a major way from 0 1 1
ordinary algebra in that Boolean constants and
variables are allowed to have only two possible values. 1 0 1
A Boolean variable is a quantity, that may, at different times, 1 1 1
be equal to either 0 or 1.
AND Operation The presence of a small circle, known as the
bubble always denote inversion in digital circuits.
The AND operation is defined as: the output of
AND gate is 1 if and only if all the inputs are 1 and Implementing logic circuits from
output is 0 if and only if any of the input is 0. The Boolean expressions
logical equation or boolean equation for 2 input AND
operation is given by Any logic circuit can be completely described
using the Boolean operations defined, because the
Y = A. B OR, AND and NOT gates are the basic building blocks
Where A and B are independent Boolean of digital systems. Also, if the operation of a circuit is
variables, represents the AND operation and Y defined by a Boolean expression, the logic circuit
represents the results of AND operation. diagram can be implemented directly from that
AND gate: An AND gate is a circuit that has two expression.
or more inputs and whose output is equal to the AND For eg: Consider the boolean equation
product of the logic inputs. The logic symbol and the
Y AC BC ABC . This expression contains three
truthtable for a 2 input AND gate is given.
terms, AC, BC , ABC which are ORed together. So a
A three input OR gate is required with these three inputs.
A
Y BC
B
A BC
A B YAB
0 0 0 Y AC BC ABC
0 1 0 A AC
A
1 0 0 C

1 1 1

B
NOT operation B

The NOT operation requires only one logic input C C BC

and the operation is defined as: the outputs of NOT Y AC BC ABC
gate is 1 if and only if its input is 0 and output is zero
if and only if its input is 1. The boolean equation for A
B
NOT operation is given by Y A
C A BC
The NOT operation is also referred to as inversion
or complementation. Each OR gate input in turn is an AND product term,
NOT gate (inverter): The NOT gate is a circuit which means that an AND gate with approximate inputs
can be used to generate each of these terms. The inverters
that has only a single input and its output logic level
is always opposite to the logic level of this input. The can be used to produce A and C terms required in the
logic symbol and truth table for the NOT gate is given. expression.
Boolean theorems
A Boolean theorems are laws that can be used to
Y simplify Boolean expressions and logic circuits that
are expressed its operation mathematically using
A YA Boolean algebra.
0 1 Boolean identities
1 0 And Operations
1. A . 1 = A
 2. A . 0 = 0 = B + AC [ A + 1 = 1]
3. A . A = A
AB + A(B + C) + B(B + C) = B + AC
4. A . A = 1
OR Operation 2.
Simplfy expression AB(C BD) A B C using
5. A + 0 = A Boolean algebra.
6. A + 1 = 1
7. A + A = A ( AB ( C BD) A B) C
8. A + A = 1 (ABC ABBD A B) C
NOT Operation
9. A = A = ( ABC A B ) C B. B 0
Commutative law
10. AB = BA = ABCC A BC
11. A + B = B + A
Associative law = ABC ABC C. C C
12. A+(B + C) = (A + B) + C
13. A(BC) = (AB)C = BC(A A )
Distributive law
14. A(B + C) = AB + AC = BC A A 1
15. A+(BC) = (A + B) . (A + C)
De Morgans theorem ( AB ( C BD ) A B ) C BC
16. A B A . B
3. Simplify using DeMorgran's theorem
17. A . B A B
Some useful results i. Y A BC D( E F)
18. A + AB = A
19. A . (A + B) = A
= A BC . D( E F)
20. A + A B = A + B
21. A( A + B) = AB = (A BC ) . D( E F) [ A A ]
22. (A + B) (A + C) = A + BC
23. AB + AC = A(B + C)
= (A BC ) . ( D ( E F))
De Morgan's theorems
De Morgan's first theorem states that compliment
of a sum is same as the product of their complements. = ( A BC ) ( D E F) [ A A

ie, A B A. B
De Morgan's second theorem states that
complement of a product is same as the sum of their A BC D( E F) (A BC ) ( D E F)
complements.
ie, A. B A B ii. Y A B CD
Eg:1. Simplify the expression AB + A(B + C) +
B(B + C) using Boolean algebra. (A B) . CD
AB + A(B + C) + B(B + C)
= AB + AB + AC + BB + BC ( A B) . CD
= AB + AC + B + BC [ AB + AB = AB, BB = B]
= AB + AC + B(1 + C) ( A B) . CD
= AB + AC + B [ 1 + C = 1]
= B (A + 1) + AC
 iii. Y ABC ( D E ) EXCLUSIVE-OR (EX-OR) operation
The EX-OR operation is not a basic operation
Y A B C ( D . E) and can be performed using the basic AND, OR, NAND
or NOR gates. The EX-OR operation is defined as: the
= A B C D. E output of an EXOR gate is 1 if and only if both the
inputs are different and output is 0 if and only if both
ABC ( D E ) A B C D. E inputs are same. So this EX-OR gate finds application
NOR gates and NAND gates where two digital signals are to be compared. The
Boolean equation is given by
NOR and NAND gates actually combine the basic
operations AND, OR and NOT, which make it relatively Y AB AB
easy to describe them using the Boolean algebra AB
operations.
A B Y AB
NOR gate : NOR gate is combination of OR and
NOT gates. The NOR gate operates like an OR gate A 0 0 0
followed by an inverter. The Boolean expression for Y 0 1 1
NOR gate is given by. B 1 0 1
1 1 0
Y= A B
The logic symbol and truth table of NOR gate is EXCLUSIVE-NOR (EX-NOR) operation
given. The EX-NOR operation is defined as: the output
of EX-NOR gate is 1 if and only if both the input are
A B Y AB same and output is 0 if and only if both the input are
A 0 0 1 different. The Boolean equation for EX-NOR gate is
0 1 0 given by
B YAB Y = A B AB
1 0 0
1 1 0 A B

NAND gate: NAND gate is a combination of AND A B YA.B

and NOT gate. The NAND gate operates like an AND 0 0 1
gate followed by an inverter. The Boolean expression 0 1 0
for NAND gate is given by, 1 0 0
Y = AB 1 1 1
The logic symbol and truth table NAND gate is
given. Universality of NAND gates and NOR
gates
A B Y AB All Boolean expressions consist of various
0 0 1 combinations of the basic operations of OR, AND and
A NOT. It is possible to implement these basic operations
0 1 1
and any logic expressions using only NAND gates or
B Y AB 1 0 1
using only NOR gates. Due to this characteristics of
1 1 0 NAND gate and NOR gate, they are known as universal
gates.
 NOT gate NOR gate used as NOT gate

OR gate Two NOR gates used as an OR gate

AND gate Three NOR gates used as an AND gate

NAND gate Four NOR gates used as a NAND gate.

Universal Property of NAND gates
NAND gates can be used to generate NOT, AND, OR and NOR functions.

NOT gate

AND gate Two NAND gates used as an AND gate

 OR gate Three NOR gates used as an OR gate.
NOR gate
COMPUTER ORGANIZATION
Computer Organization is concerned with the way
the hardware components operate and the way they
are connected together to form the computer system.
The task is to investigate the organizational structure
to verify that the computer parts operate as intended.
The block diagram of the basic computer organization
is shown. It consists of four major parts. The Central
Processing Unit (CPU) contains an Arithmetic and
Logic Unit (ALU) for manipulating data, a number of
registers for storing data, and a Control Unit (CU) for
fetching and executing instructions. The input unit is
used for passing data and instructions to the computer
system. The output unit is used to supply information
and results of computations to the outside world. The
memory unit contains storage for instructions and
data.
Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
The arithmetic logic unit performs the required
microoperations for executing the instructions. All
calculations and all comparisons are made in the ALU.
The data stored in the memory are transfered, as and
when needed, to the ALU where processing takes
place. No processing is done in the memory unit. ALU
is designed to perform the four basic arithmetic
operations add, subtract, multiply, divide and logic
operations or comparisons such as less than, equal to
or greater than.
Four NAND gates used as a NOR gate
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
The part of the computer that performs the bulk
of data processing operations is called CPU. The three
major parts of CPU are ALU, CU and registers. CPU is
also responsible for activating and controlling the
operations of other units of the computer system.
CP U
AL U
Input Output
Unit Unit
Regis-
CU ters
Memory
Unit
Control Unit (CU)
By interpreting the program instructions, the
control unit is able to maintain order and direct the
operations of the entire system. It does not perform
any actual processing on the data. It obtains
instructions from the program stored in the memory,
interprets the instructions, and issues signals that
cause other units of the system to execute them.
Memory Unit
The memory unit is an essential component in a
computer since it is needed for storing programs and
data. The memory unit that communicates directly with
the CPU is called the main or primary memory. Devices
that provide backup storage are called auxiliary or
secondary memory. Only programs and data currently
needed by the processor reside in main memory and
all other information is stored in auxiliary memory and
transferred to main memory when needed.
Main Memory
The main memory is the central storage unit in a
computer system. It is a relatively fast memory used
to store programs and data during the computer
operation. Only programs and data currently needed
by the processor reside in main memory. The principal
technology used for the main memory is based on
semiconductor integrated circuits. The main memory
is divided into two types.
i. Random Access Memory (RAM)
ii. Read Only Memory (ROM)
RAM
RAM means Random Access Memory. In RAM
it is possible to select and use any random location of
this memory to store and retrieve data. It is also known
as read/write memory because contents can be read
from as well as written into it. It is used for storing
programs and data that are subject to change. Since
RAM is volatile, its contents are destroyed when
power is turned off. Integrated circuit RAM chips are
available in two possible operating modes. Static
RAM and Dynamic RAM. The dynamic RAM offers
reduced power consumption and larger storage
capacity in a single memory chip. The static RAM has
shorter read and write cycles.
Registers
A register is a storage unit of data. It is required
in the CPU for storing the instruction-code after it is
read from memory. There are eight processor registers.
1. Data Register (DR): The data register holds the
data read from the memory.
2. Address Register (AR): The AR holds the
address of the memory location whose content
is to be accessed for processor operation.
3. Accumulator (AC): The accumulator register is a
general purpose processing register, in which the
result of an arithmetic or logic operation is formed.
4. Instruction Register (IR): The instruction register
is for storing the instructions read from the
memory.
5. Temporary Register (TR): TR is used for holding
temporary data during the processing.
6. Program Counter (PC): The program Counter
stores the address of the next instruction to be
fetched from the memory.
7. Input Register (INPR): It stores the input
character received from an input device.
8. Outpur Register (OURT): The OUTR holds a
character for an output device.
Sequential access memory
A sequential access memory is one in which the
access time depends upon the location of the stored
data. The accessing of the desired location is preceded
by sequencing through other locations, so that access
time varies according to the location. Examples for
sequential access memory device is magnetic tape.
Direct access memory
A direct access memory is one in which any
location in the memory may be selected at random,
access to the information stored is direct and
approximately equal access time is required for each
location. Example for such devices are magnetic disk,
floppy disk, optical disk etc.
ROM
ROM means Read Only Memory. In ROM,
contents are permanently stored. The infomation from
the memory can only be read and it is not possible to
write fresh information into it. Since ROM is non
volatile, its contents are not destroyed when the power
is turned off.
A variation from ROM is PROM, EPROM and
EEPROM. PROM is the Programmable Read Only
Memory. It can be programmed once. ie, the PROM
becomes a ROM once it has been programmed.
EPROM is Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory.
It is possible to erase information stored in an EPROM
and can be reprogrammed to store new information.
When an EPROM is in use, information can only be
read and the information remains on the chip until it is
erased. The EPROM is erased by exposing the chip to
ultraviolet light.
 EEPROM is Electrically Erasable ROM. This type
of ROM can be programmed and erased by electrical
signals. Its main application is as a backup to RAM.
Auxiliary Memory
Devices that provide backup storage are called
auxiliary memory. They are used for storing system
programs, large data files and other backup
information. They are slower than primary memory.
Auxiliary memory holds the information that are not
presently used by the CPU. The most common auxiliary
memory devices are magnetic disks, magnetic tapes
and optical disks. Auxiliary memory is divided into
two types according to the method of accessing the
stored information. They are sequential or serial access
and direct or Random Access Memory.
Secondary Storage Devices
The storage capacity of a high speed main
memory of a computer system is limited. The sotrage
capacity of primary storage is not sufficient to store
large volume of data handled by most data processing
centres. So low cost large capacity secondary storage
devices are used for the backup of primary memory.
According to the storage technology used, there are
different types of secondary storage devices.
Magnetic Tape
Magnetic tape is one of the most popular storage
medium for large data that are sequentially accessed
and processed. The tape is a plastic ribbon usually for
1/2 inch wide and is coated on one side with an iron
oxide material which can be magnetized. It is similar to
the audio tape with higher quality and durability. It
can be erased and reused indefinitely.
Information is recorded on the tape in the form of
tiny invisible magnetized and non magnetized spots
(representing 1s and 0s) on the iron oxide side of the
tape. The tape is divided into vertical columns called
frames and horizontal rows called channels or tracks.
One character is recorded per frame using one of the
computer code representations. There must be a
magnetic tape drive to read from the magnetic tape.
Magnetic tape drive is a machine that can either read
data from a tape in to the CPU or it can write the
information being produced by the computer on to a
tape. Advantages of magnetic tape storages are low
cost, higher data transfer rate etc. and disadvantages
of tape storages are lack of random access
environmental problems etc.
Magnetic Disk
A magnetic disk is a thin, circular metal plate
coated on both sides with a magnetic material. A disk
pack consists of a number of these disks, three or
more mounted about half-an-inch apart from each other,
on a central shaft which rotates at high speed. Thus all the
disks of the pack move simultaneously in the same direction
and at equal speed.
In a disk pack, information is stored on both the
surfaces of each disk plate except the upper surface
of the top plate and the lower surface of the bottom
plate, which are not used. Each disk consists of a
number of invisible concentric circles called tracks. A
set of corresponding tracks in all the surfaces is called
a cylinder. Each track is subdivided into sectors.
Information is recorded on the tracks of a disk surface
in the form of invisible tiny magnetic spots. The
presence of magnetic spot represents binary 1 and
absence, binary 0. The data stored on a disk remains
indefinitely until they are erased and reused at a future
time.
Floppy Disk
The popular direct access secondary storage
medium for micro and mini computer systems is the
flopy disk. The flopy disk is made of flexible plastic
which is coated with magnetic oxide. The flexible disk
is enclosed within a square plastic or cardboard jacket.
Unlike the hard disk drives, the read/write head of a
floppy disk unit make direct contact with the disk
surface during the process of reading or writing.
Floppy disks are typically 3, 5 or 8 inches in
diameter. The capacity of diskettes varies depending
on their size. They come in either single or double
density versions and recorded on one or both surfaces
of a diskette. There are different versions,
i. Single Sided Single Density (SSSD)
ii. Single Sided Double Density (SSDD)
iii. Double Sided Single Density (DSSD)
iv. Double Sided Double Density (DSDD)
Floppy disks are inexpensive and can be used as
both on-line (connected to computer and under the
control of CPU) storage and as off-line (not connected
to computer system) storage.
Winchester or Hard disk
It is a metallic disk pack in which units are
permanently housed in sealed, contamination free
containers. The disks are coated with a special lubricant
which reduces the friction. The container is usually
not removed from the disk drive. The number of tracks
are increased and thus the storage density per track is
increased. Compared to the floppy disk hard disk has
large storage capacity, high speed and expensive
All computers use this multiplatter disks for their
main data storage. Data are recorded on tracks and
each surface have its own read/write head. This head
floats over a cushion of air generated by the spinning
platters.
Optical Disks
An optical disk storage system consists of as
rotating disk which is coated with a thin metal or other
material that is highly reflective. Data recording is done
by focussing high power laser beam on the surface of
the spinning disk. The laser beam is turned on and off
at a varying rate because of which tiny pits are burnt
into the metal coating on the disk along its tracks. In
order to read the data, a less-powerful beam is focussed
on the disk surface and weakly reflected by the pits,
producing patterns of on-off reflections that can be
converted into electronic signals. Once the data is
recorded the storage unit cannot be re-recorded. So
this type is known as Compact Disk Read Only
Memory (CDROM). Information on a CDROM is
written as a single continous spiral, unlike magnetic
disks with their discrete cylinders and tracks.
Magnetic Bubble Memory (MBM)
It is a non electro mechanical secondary storage
device. It is an electronic secondary storage made with
solid-state electronic chips and have no moving parts.
They are formed by applying magnetic fields to thin
sheets of certain magnetic materials. The magnetic field
strengthen and weaken some regions in the material.
The strengthened regions resemble positive charge.
The presence or absence of these charged bubbles
corresponds to a 1 or 0 in the binary code.
Magnetic bubble memories are used as main
memory in several microprocessor applications. These
chips are nonvolatile.
Charge Coupled Device (CCD)
It is also a completely electronic memory,
fabricated on semiconductor chips. It uses electrons
within a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) crystal to
store data. CCD is faster than MBM, very compact
and inexpensive. This CCD is a volatile secondary
storage medium.
Processor
The instructions given to the computer are
interpreted and carried out by the processing unit.
The set of instruction codes which are used to instruct
the processor to perform operations, is known as the
instruction set of that proecessor. A sequence of
particular instructions to perform an operation is
known as a software or a program.
The basic computer has eight registers, a memory
unit, an ALU and a control unit. The memory unit
stores the instructions and data, on which these
instructions operate. The control unit interpret the
instructions from memory and generate corresponding
control signals for other units, to perform the specified
operation. The ALU performs arithmetic and logic
operations on the data from memory, according to the
control signals from control unit. The registers stores
the data temperorily.
Common Bus System
There must be paths for transferring information
from one register to another and between memory and
registers. If there is data path for all possible transfer,
there will be excessive wires. The wired path which
provides transfer of data is known as bus. A more
efficient scheme for transferring information in a
system with many units is to use a common system
bus. The binary information is transferred through the
bus under the control of a control signal.
The control signal determines which units take
part in the data transfer.
Buses are classified into three types:
1. Data bus: - A bus which carries a word to or from
the memory is known as data bus.
2. Address Bus : An address bus carries the
address value which indicates a particular
memory location.
3. Conrol Bus : The control bus carries the control
signals between the different units of a computer.
The data bus, address bus and control bus are
together known as system bus.
Instruction cycle
The basic function of a computer is program
execution. The CPU does the acutal work by executing
the instructions specified in the program. The program
execution mainly consists of three micro operations,
fetch cycle, decode cycle and execution cycle. The
fetch cycle fetches the instruction stored in the
memory. The decode cycle decodes or interprets the
instruction fetched. It also fetches the data from
memory, if the instruction specifies. The execution cycle
executes the instruction and stores the result. These
three cycles together known as instruction cycle or fetch-
decode-execute cycle.
Input/Output Devices
Input/Output (I/O) devices are means of
communication between the computer and external
environment. Regardless of the nature of the I/O
devices, special processors called I/O interfaces or I/
O processors are required to convert the input data to
the internal codes used by the computer and to user
readable form while supplying the output.
Input Devices:
Input devices are used to enter data into the
primary storage. Some of the input devices are general
purpose, that is, they may be used by any computer.
Special purpose devices are Magnetic Ink Character
Reader (MICR), Optical Mark Reader(OMR), Optical
Character Reader (OCR) and Barcode Reader.
Punched Card Reader
It uses a card having punched holes representing
different characters. A punched card reader reads the
information punched in to the card, converting the
presence or absence of a hole into an electrical signal
representing a binary 0 or 1. Thus the holes in a card
are converted into coded electrical pulses that the CPU
can accept.
Key Board
The most commonly used input device is the
keyboard. Key board enters data directly into the
primary memory. It contains key for each character.
When a key is pressed, corresponding electric pulses
will be generated and this pulse code is converted
into binary codes and stored in primary memory.
Mouse
Mouse is a pointing device with a roller on its
base. When the mouse rolls on a flat surface, the cursor
on the screen also moves in the direction of the mouse
movement. The movement of the mouse actually causes
a roller to move and this relative motion is then converted
into digital values and used as the input data. A mouse
has two or three buttons to control the input data.
Joystick
A joystick is a stick set in two crossed grooves
and can be moved left or right, forward or backward.
The movements of the stick are sensed and are
translated into binary instructions with the help of
electrical contacts in its base. It is used as a graphical
input device.
Light pen
It is also a pointing device. It consists of a
photocell mounted in a penshaped tube. When the
pen is brought in front of a picture element on the
screen, it senses light coming from the point on the
screen. This light causes the photo cell to respond by
generating a pulse. The processor identifies the
graphical point the light pen is pointing to.
Magnetic Ink Character Reader (MICR)
MICR is used for reading human readable
characters on documents such as cheques, that are
printed using a special magnetic ink. The characters
in a special font are scanned and converted into their
representations.
Optical Mark Reader (OMR)
OMR is used for reading the data from a specially
marked data sheet. They are capable of recognising a
predetined type of mark made by pencil or pen. The
marking is scanned by passing light through the paper.
Optical Character Reader (OCR)
OCR is a device capable of detecting alphabetic
and numeric characters printed on a paper. These
characters may be either typewritten on hand written.
The character pattern is detected and the
corresponding electrical signal is generated.
Bar Code Reader
Data coded in the form of light and dark lines or
bars are known as bar codes. A bar code reader is
used for reading these data. The reading is performed
by a laser beam scanner which is linked to a computer.
Voice Recognition system
It allows the users to communicate verbally with
the computer. The signal patterns corresponding to
the voice are matched against the pre-stored patterns.
When a close match is found, the word is recognised
by the system.

All the secondary storage devices are commonly
used as input/output devices.
Output Devices:
The output device accept data from the primary
storage and supply them to the users. Depending upon
the applications, there are different types of output
devices available.
Visual Display Unit (VDU)
VDU is the most popular output device. In this
unit a cathode ray tube that looks like a television
screen is used to display the input data as well as the
messages and processed output from the computer.
No hard copy of the data is obtained using VDU.
Printer
Printer is used to prepare permenant documents
in human readable form. The printer uses a printing
mechanism to print the characters on the paper.
Depending on their speed and approach of printing,
printers are classified as character printers, line
printers and page printers. There is also another
classification according to the type of printing
mechanism used. Impact printers use the familar
typewriter approach of hammering a typeface against
paper and inked ribbon. Non impact printers do not
hit or impact a ribbon to print. They use thermal,
electrostatic, chemical and inkjet technologies.
Drum printer, chain printer, dot matrix printer etc.
are examples of impact printers. Electromagnetic
printers, thermal printers, inkjet printers, laser printers
etc. are examples of non-impact printers.
Plotters
A plotter is an output device used to produce
hard copies of graphs and designs. Plotters are
basically of two types - drum and flat bed plotter. In
the drum plotter, the paper on which the design has to
be made is placed over a drum that rotates back and
forth to produce vertical motion. There are one or more
pen which can be moved to produce horizontal motion.
Voice Response Devices
Just as a voice recognition system allows the
user to talk to the computer, a voice response system
enables a computer to talk to the user. In this system
all the sounds needed to process the possible
enquiries are pre-recorded. When enquiries are
received, the computer follows a set of rules to create
a reply message in a coded form. This coded message
is then trasmitted to an audio response device.
COMPUTER SOFTWARE
The terms hardware and software are frequently
mentioned in connection with computers. Hardware
refers to the physical devices of a computer system
such as input, storage, processor, output devices etc.
These hardware units cannot do anything on its own.
A sequence of instructions that a computer must
perform to solve a problem, written in a language that
can be understood by a computer is called a program.
The term software refers to a well built program, whose
objective is to enhance the capabilities of the hardware
machine.
Types of Software
Computer software is normally classified into two
broad categories - application software and system
software. Application software is a set of one or more
programs designed to carry out operations for a
specified application. System software also known as
a systems package, is a set of one or more programs,
designed to control the operation of a computer
system.They are general programs written to assist
humans in the use of the computer system by
performing tasks, such as controlling all of the
operations required to move data into and out of a
computer and all the steps in executing an application
program.
Relation ship between harware, software and the
user of a computer system.
Hard ware
System Software
Application Software
User
System software consists of the operating system
and translating programs.
Firmware
Firmware refers to a sequence of instructions
(software) that is substituted for hardware. Computer
software in conventional systems is supplied on
storage media like floppies, tapes, disks etc. With the
advancement in technology and reduction in hardware
cost, software is also available in ROM chips. These chips
can be plugged into the computer system to form a part of
the hardware. Such software made available on hardware is
known as firmware.
OPERATING SYSTEM
An operating system is an important component
of a computer system which controls all the other
components of a computer system. It is a program
which octs as an interface between user and the
hardware. Major components of a computer system
are,
1. Hardware
2. Operating System
3. Application programs
4. Users
The hardware provides the basic computing
resources, the application programs define the ways
in which these resources are used to solve the
computing problems of the users and the operating
system controls and coordinates the use of hardware
among the various application programs for various
users.
The operating system (OS) acts as a resource
allocator. Many computer resources are required to
solve a problem. Different resources are CPU time, I/O
devices, memory space, file storage etc. The OS acts
as the manager of these resources and allocate them
to specific programs and users as necessary for their
tasks, thus maintains the efficiency of the computer.
This control program is responsible for the
execution of user programs in an efficient and proper
way so as to prevent errors and improper use of the
computer.
Types of Operating System Services
The OS provides certain services for the
convenience of the programmer, to make the
programming task easier. Some common services
provided by OS are,
1. Program execution:- The system must be able to
load a program in to the memory, run that program
and to end the program either normally or
abnormally.
2. I/O Operations:- During a program execution the
Input/Output operations performend by some
devices cannot be controlled by the users, are
performed by the operating system.
3. File System manipulation:- The manipulation on
file system such as reading, writing and deleting
files are performed by OS.
4. Error detection:- The OS constantly checks for
errors resulting from CPU, memory, I/O devices,
user program etc and appropriate actions are
taken for solving the error.
5. Resource allocation:- The OS is responsible for
the better allocation of resources among various
users so that the efficient utilization of the
resources are ensured.
6. Protection:- The independent processes which
are executing concurrently in the processor are
protected for interfering each other. It also
provides security of the system from outside
users.
Types of Operating Systems
There are different types of OSs available, which
require different types of hardware to run upon.
i. Single Program OS:- This OS is a single user
operating system, so only one user program can
be supported and executed by it at any point of
time.
ii. Multiprogram OS:- Unlike the single program OS,
this multiprogram OS allows more than one user
programs to be loaded and active in the main
store at the same time. Actually the multiprogram
OS allows the interleaved execution of two or
more different and independent programs by the
same computer.
iii. Time Sharing OS:- It is a multiprogrammed
multiuser OS. In this, the active user program is
given a fair share of CPU time, if the time elapses
or an I/O operation is requested, CPU shifts over
to the next job waiting and the previous program
is put to wait. The active programs are scheduled
for execution using certain job scheduling
techniques.
iv. Real time OS:- Real time means immediate
 response from the computer. A system in which
a transaction accesses and updates a file quickly
enough to affect the original decision making is
called a real time system. In real time OS, the jobs
have fixed dead lines and the jobs have to be
completed within their dead lines.
v. Multiprocessing OS:- The multiprocessing OS is
capable of handling more than one processor, as
the jobs have to be executed on more than one
processor.
Major functions of operating system
1. Processor Management
2. Memory management
3. Input/Output management
4. File management
Processor Management
Processor or process management means the
assignment of processor to different tasks, being
performed by the computer system. It is also known
as CPU scheduling. The scheduling not only assign
priority to jobs but also admits new jobs for processing
at appropriate times.
There are two different scheduling techniques
i. Non-pre-emptive scheduling
ii. Pre-emptive scheduling
Non pre-emptive scheduling - In this type, the
scheduled job always completes before another
scheduling decision is made. Therefore finishing order
of the job is same as their scheduling order. Different
non preemptive scheduling are, first come first served
(FCFS), shortest job next (SJN) and dead line
scheduling.
Pre-emptive Scheduling:- In preemptive
scheduling, a scheduling decision can be made even
while the job is executing where as in non-preemptive
scheduling a scheduling decision is made only after a
job completes its execution. The preemptive
scheduling may force a job in execution to release the
processor so that the execution of some other job can
be under taken. Example for preemptive scheduling is
round robin scheduling.
Multiprocessor Scheduling
There are two approaches to process
management in a multiprocess system.
Master slave configuration:- In this approach
one processor controls the process management and
other processors only assist the main processor. The
master processor decides everything regarding which
process is to execute next in which processor and for
how long, etc.
Symmetrical multiprocessors:- In this approach,
the process management responsibility is shared
equally by all the processors in the system. In such
configuration any processor can take up a control
operation.
Deadlocks
In a multiprogramming environment, general
processes may compete for a finite number of
resources. A deadlock is a state that occurs when
multiple processes are waiting for availability of a
resource that will not become available because it is
being held by another process that is in a similar wait
state. It also occurs when multiple processes are
waiting for an action by or a response from another
process that is in a similar wait state.
Memory management
In a uniprogramming system, main memory is
divided into two parts, one part for the operating
system and one part for the program currently being
executed. In a multiprogramming system, the user part
of memory must be further subdivided to accomodate
multiple processes. The memory management system
of an OS is responsible for memory subdivision,
memory allocation, memory protection etc.
Memory allocation
A program must be assigned some memory area
and loaded into memory in order to execute. It is known
as memory allocation. When a program terminates, its
memory space is declared free, and the next program
may be
given the same memory area. It is known as memory
deallocation.
Contiguous memory allocation:- In this
approach, each program which is to be executed is
allocated a continuous storage locations. Each job is
considered as a single independent entity for
allocation. So the OS must ensure that sufficient
contiguous memory is available for the program to be
executed.
Non contiguous memory allocation:- In this
approach, the program to be executed can be stored in
non contiguous memory areas ie, the program is divided
into smaller components. These components are then
stored in available non contiguous memory areas.
Input/Output management
Because I/O devices inevitably involve
mechanical operations, they cannot complete with the
micro or nano second speed of the processor and
memory. The design of I/O management system largely
reflects the need to minimize the problems caused by
this disparity. Of central importance is the need to
make most of the I/O devices to operate at maximum
efficiency.
Device drivers
A device driver is a software module which
manages the communication with, and the control of a
specific I/O device. It is the task of the device driver to
convert the logical requests from the user to specific
commands directed to the device itself.
Device Controller
It is a hardware unit which is attached to the I/O
bus of the computer and provides a hardware interface
between the computer and the I/O device itself. Since
it connects the computer bus, the controller is designed
for the purposes of a computer system.
Interrupt
The interrupt system is totally essential for the
functioning of any operating system. Its purpose is to
alert the OS when a number of events occur, so that it
can suspend its current activity and deal appropriately
with the new situation. This means that the processor
can be used to sustain several executing programs
and I/O transfers simultaneously, servicing each as
the need arises. They are also helpful to compensate
the speed differences between the processor and I/O
devices.
Direct Memory Access (DMA)
DMA is a technique used to directly transfer data
between memory and I/O devices with less effort on
the operating system. DMA is often used when dealing
large amount of input or output data. The DMA unit
has access to the data bus and can transfer data
autonomously in and out of memory, and thus reduces
the load on the processor. It is not an interrupt because
the current program context is not saved and the CPU
doesnot do something else.
File Management
A file is a collection of similar records. The file is
treated as a single entity by users and applications
and may be referenced by name. In some applications
the input to the application is by means of a file or
output is stored in a file for a long term storage. A file
management system is that set of system software
that provides services to users and applications, in
the use of files.
File management functions
Users and application programs interact with the
file system by means of commands for creating and
deleting files and for performing operations on files.
Before performing any operation, the file system must
identify and locate the selected file. This requires the
use of some sort of directory that serves to describe
the location of all files and their attributes. It requires
access control to provide only the authorized users to
access a particular file in a particular way.
OS controlled software
A computer can do nothing with a program of
instructions and each job must have its own special
program. There are many tasks that all computer users
require their machine to perform from time to time. It is
waste if each user spent a lot of time writing programs
for these tasks. So these programs are supplied along
with the OS. These OS controlled softwares reduce
the time and expense of preparing application
programs and are normally grouped according to their
purposes. They are language processors linkers,
loaders, library programs and utility programs.
Language processors
Language processors also known as translating
programs, are system programs that translate a source
program written by the user to an object program which
is meaningful to the hardware of the computer. These
include the assemblers, compilers and interpreters.
Assembler:- Assembler converts a program
written in assembly language in to machine language.
Interpreter:- Interpreter converts a high level
language program into machine language by
converting and executing it line by line. If there is any
error in any line, it reports it at the same time and the
program execution cannot resume until the error is
rectified. Interpreter must be present in the memory
every time the program is executed.
 Compiler:- Compiler is also used for converting
high level language program in to object program. It
converts the entire program in one go and reports all
the errors of the program. After all the errors are
removed, the program is recompiled and after that the
compiler is not needed in the memory as the object
program is available.
Linkers and loaders
The function of a linker is to take as input, a
collection of separate object modules and produce a
load module, consisting of an integrated set of object
modules.
Once an object program is prepared, that program
must be placed into memory before execution. A loader
is a program that places object program into memory
and prepares them for execution.
Library programs
Library programs consist of frequently used
standard routines. These standard routines are called
up by the OS wherever they are required in the
processing of other programs. This eliminates the need
for a programmer to rewrite these modules everytime
they are used. Example for commonly used library
routines are mathematical functions such as square
roots, exponential functions etc.
Utility programs
Utility programs, also known as service programs,
are routines that perform needed services such as
editing texts or programs, debugging programs to
correct logical mistakes, transferring data from one I/
O device to another, storing of data etc.
BUSINESS DATA PROCESSING
Data are a collection of facts, unorganized but
able to be organized into useful information.
Manipulated and well organized data are called
information. Processing is a series of actions or
operations that convert data into useful information.
The basic building block of data is a character,
which consists of letters (A, B, C ....., Z, a, b, ......, z),
numeric digits (0, 1, 2, ......, 9) or special characters (+ ,
, /, *, ., ........). These characters are put together to
form a field or data item. A field is a meaingful collection
of related characters. It is the smallest logical data
entity that is treated as single unit in data processing.
Fields are normally grouped together to form a
record. A record is a collection of related fields that
are treated as a single unit.
Records are grouped to form a file. Then, a file is
a number of related records that are treated as a single
unit.
A master file is a file which contains almost
permanent and usually, the latest data. Where as, a
transaction file is a file which contains temporary data
and stores such data for a particular time period.
A database is a collection of integrated and
related master files. It is a collection of logically related
data elements that may be structured in various ways
to meet the multiple processing and retrieval needs of
different data base users.
File Organizations
There are different methods to organize, access,
and process records and files in different ways
depending on the type of application and the need of
users. The three commonly used file orgaizations are
sequential, direct and indexed sequential
organizations. File organization requires the use of
some key field or unique identifying value that is found
in every record in the file.
Sequential files: In a sequential file, records are
stored one after another as ascending or descending
order determined by the key field of the records. To
access the records the computer must read the file in
sequence from the beginning. The first record is read
and processed first, then the second record in the file
sequence and so on.
Direct files: The direct file consists of records
organized in such a way that it is possible for the
computer to directly locate the key of the desired record
without having to search through a sequence of other
records.
Indexed Sequential files: The records in indexed
sequential files are organized in sequence and an index
table is used to speed up access to the records without
requiring a search of the entire file. The records of the
file can be stored in random sequence but the index
table is in sorted sequence on the key value.
DataBase Management System (DBMS)
A data base management system consists of a
collection of interrelated data and a set of programs to
access those data in a meaningful way. The primary
goal of DBMS is to provide an environment that is
both convenient and efficient to use in retreiving and
storing database information.
Major components of DBMS are,
 1. Data collection of data to be stored and used
2. Hardware helps to store and access the data
3. Software for accessing the stored data
efficiently
4. Users uses the data stored, with the help of
software.
Different Kinds of DBMS users
End users: Who interact with the database
system by invoking application programs.
Application programmers: Who are professional
programmers responsible for developing application
programs for the end users. The application programs
could be written in a general purpose programming
language which includes the commands required to
manipulate the database.
Data Base Administrator (DBA): Who is the
centralized control of the database. They are
responsible for creating, modifying and maintaining
the database and also responsible for backup,
authorization checks etc.
DATA COMMUNICATION AND
COMPUTER NETWORKS
The merging of computers and communication
has a considerable influence on the way computer
systems are organized. Today, the old mode of a single
computer serving all of the organization's
computational needs has been replaced by one in
which a large number of separate but interconnected
computers do the job. These systems are called
computer networks.
Computer network means a collection of
autonomous computers interconnected by a single
technology. Two computers are said to be
interconnected if they are able to exchange
information. This connection need not be via a copper
wire but; fiber optics, microwaves, infra red and
communication satellites can also be used. Networks
come in many sizes, shapes and forms.
Basic elements of a communication
system
Communication is the process of transferring
messages from one point to another. The three basic
elements of a communication system are,
1. a sender (source) which creates the message
to be transmitted.
2. a channel or medium which carries the message.
3. a receiver (sink) which recieves the message.
Data communication is the function of
transporting data from one point to another. In this
case, the sender and receiver are normally machines,
in particular, computer devices and the transmission
medium may be telephone lines, microwave links,
satellite links etc. Unlike computers that process and
rearrange data, data communication systems transmit
data from one point to another without any change.
Data Transmission modes
There are three modes for transmitting data from
one point to another. They are,
i. simplex
ii. half duplex
iii. full duplex
Simplex mode
If transmission is simplex, the communication is
unidirectional. Devices connected to such a system is
either a send only or receive only device. For eg: printer
communication, TV transmission, Radio transmission
etc. This mode of transmission is not an efficient one,
since the data receiver could not send any
acknowledgement, control or error signal to the sender.
Sender Receiver
Half duplex mode
A half duplex system can transmit data in both
directions, but only in one direction at a time. Thus a
half duplex system can alternately send and receive
data. This is the most common type of transmission
for voice communications because only one person is
supposed to speak at a time. It is also used to connect
a terminal with a computer. The terminal might transmit
data and then the computer responds with an
acknowledgement.
Sender Receiver
(or receiver) or (or sender)
Full duplex mode
In a half duplex system, the line must be turned
around each time the direction of communication is
reversed. This switching time will affect the high speed
capabilities of the computer. Also some applications
require simultaneous transmission in both directions.
In such cases a full duplex system is used, that allows
information to flow simultaneously in both directions
on the transmission path.
Sender Receiver
and Receiver or and Sender
Data Transmission Speed
A term used to describe the data handling
capacity of a communication system is bandwidth.
Bandwidth is the range of frequencies that is available
for the transmission of data. Wider the bandwidth of
the communication system, it permits more and rapid
information flow.
When dealing with computer input/output
devices the speed is in terms of characters per second.
However, in case of data transmission, the speed is in
terms of bits per second. For data communication,
additional bits are added to control the data transfer
process. Although the number of bits depends upon
the communication system used, commonly
encountered systems use a total of either 10 or 11 bits
per character. Hence a terminal having a speed of 40
characters per second would probably be used with a
communication system which transmits at the rate of
400 bits per second.
Depending on their transmission speeds,
communication channels (paths) are grouped into
three categories-narrow band, voice band and broad
band.
Narrow band
Narrow band or subvoice grade channels range
in speed from 45 to 300 baud. They are used for
handling low data volumes and are adequate for low
speed devices. They are used mainly for telegraph
lines and low speed terminals.
Voice band
Voice band channels handle moderate data
volumes and can transmit data at speeds upto 9600
baud. They are so called because their major application
is for ordinary telephone voice communication. They
are also used for data transmission from card reader to
CPU or from CPU to line printer. Moreover, most remote
teminals are connected to computers through voice
band channels.
Broad band
Broad band or wideband channels are used when
large volumes of data is to be transmitted at high speed.
These systems provide data transmission rate of 1
million baud or more and are used for high speed
computer to computer communication or for
simultaneous transmission of data to several different
devices.
Transmission Media
There are several types of physical channels or
transmission media through which data can be
transmitted from one point to another. Some of the
most common data transmission media are twisted wire
pairs, coaxial cables, optical fibres, micro wave system,
communication satellite etc.
Optical fibres
In fiber optics, semiconductor lasers transmit
information in the form of light along hair-thin glass
(optical) fibres at 186,000 miles per second (the speed
of light), with no significant loss of intensity over very
long distances.
The system basically consists of fiber optic
cables that are made of tiny threads of glass or plastic
Towards its source side is a converter that converts
electrical signals into light waves. These light waves
are transmitted over the fiber. Another converter
placed near the sink converts the light waves back to
electrical signals by photoelectric diodes. These
electrical signals are amplified and send to the receiver.
Optical fibres may be used to communicate either
analog or digital signals. Fiber optic transmissions are
not affected by electromagnetic interference. They
provide low error rate transmission of signals at very
high speeds of 1 giga bits per second.
BANK PROBATIONARY
GENERAL AWARENESS
COMPUTER TERMINOLOGY
Basic Terms you need to know. Computer instruc-
tions will use these terms repeatedly, and if you
don't know them, you will be confused! This ref-
erence should help you know what they are talk-
ing about. Look through the list when you need
a definition, some items are listed together for
Mac and PC, so you may not find it under the
word you are used to.
applet- A small Java application that is downloaded
by an ActiveX or Java-enabled web browser.
Once it has been downloaded, the applet will run
on the user's computer. Common applets include
financial calculators and web drawing programs.
access time - The performance of a hard drive or other
storage device - how long it takes to locate a file.
active program or window - The application or win-
dow at the front (foreground) on the monitor.
alert (alert box) - a message that appears on screen,
usually to tell you something went wrong.
alias - an icon that points to a file, folder or application.
application- Computer software that performs a task
or set of tasks, such as word processing or
drawing. Applications are also referred to as
programs.
application menu - on the right side of the screen
header. Lists running applications.
ASCII (pronounced ask-key) - American Standard
Code for Information Interchange. a commonly
used data format for exchanging information be-
tween computers or programs.
background - part of the multitasking capability. A
program can run and perform tasks in the back-
ground while another program is being used in
the foreground.
backup - a copy of a file or disk you make for archiving
purposes.
Bandwidth- A range within a band of frequencies or
wavelengths or the amount of data that can be
transmitted in a fixed amount of time. For digital
devices, the bandwidth is usually expressed in
bits per second (bps) or bytes per second
binary code - The most basic language a computer
understands, it is composed of a series of 0s and
1s. The computer interprets the code to form
numbers, letters, punctuation marks, and symbols.
BIOS - BIOS stands for Basic Input/Output System
and it is a low level program used by your sys-
tem to interface to computer devices such as your
video card, keyboard, mouse, hard drive, and
other devices.
Bit - A binary unit of data storage that can only be a
value of 0 or 1.
Boot - A term used to describe what happens to a
computer when it is turned on, the operating sys-
tem begins to run, and then the user is able to
use the computer successfully.
browser - Software used to navigate the Internet.
Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet
Explorer are today's most popular browsers for
accessing the World Wide Web.
bug - a programming error that causes a program to
behave in an unexpected way.
bus - an electronic pathway through which data is
transmitted between components in a computer.
Byte - 8 bits of data which has a possible value from 0
to 255.
card - a printed circuit board that adds some feature to
a computer.
cache- (pronounced cash) A small data-memory
storage area that a computer can use to instantly
re-access data instead of re-reading the data from
the original source, such as a hard drive. Browsers
use a cache to store web pages so that the user
may view them again without reconnecting to
the Web.
CAD-CAM- Computer Aided Drawing-Computer
Aided Manufacturing. The instructions stored
in a computer that will be translated to very
precise operating instructions to a robot, such
as for assembling cars or laser-cutting signage.
cartridge drive - a storage device, like a hard drive, in
which the medium is a cartridge that can be re-
moved.
CD-ROM disk - A disk with about 640Mb of storage
capacity which are more commonly read than
written to.
CD-ROM drive - The hardware component that is used
to read a CD-ROM or write to it.
Crash - A common term used to describe what hap-
pens to a computer when software errors force it
to quit operating and become unresponsive to a
computer user.
Chooser - A desk accessory used to select a printer,
or other external device, or to log onto a network.
Clock Rate (MHz) - The instruction processing speed
of a computer measured in millions of cycles per
second (i.e., 200 MHz).
command (apple) key - a modifier key, the Command
key used in conjunction with another keystroke
to active some function on the Mac.
compiler - a program the converts programming code
into a form that can be used by a computer.
compression - a technique that reduces the size of a
saved file by elimination or encoding redundan-
cies (i.e., JPEG, MPEG, LZW, etc.)
control key - seldom used modifier key on the Mac.
Cookies- information stored on your hard drive con-
taining data about your preferences and prior
visits on certain web pages. Whenever you visit
a web site and it seems to "remember you", it's
because of cookies. information stored on your
hard drive containing data about your preferences
and prior visits on certain web pages. Whenever
you visit a web site and it seems to "remember
you", it's because of cookies.
crash - a system malfunction in which the computer
stops working and has to be restarted.
CGI - Common Gateway Interface. A programming
standard that allows visitors to fill out form fields
on a Web page and have that information interact
with a database, possibly coming back to the
user as another Web page.
CGI may also refer to Computer-Generated
Imaging, the process in which sophisticated
computer programs create still and animated
graphics, such as special effects for movies.
chat - Typing text into a message box on a screen to
engage in dialog with one or more people via the
Internet or other network.
client - A single user of a network application that is
operated from a server. A client/server
architecture allows many people to use the same
data simultaneously. The program's main
component (the data) resides on a centralized
server, with smaller components (user interface)
on each client.
cracker- A person who breaks in to a computer
through a network, without authorization and
with mischievous or destructive intent (a crime
in some states).
Dat Files- Virus definition files that are necessary to
keep your McAfee virus scan current and use-
ful. Without the current dat files you are vulner-
able to viruses. Short for data.
database - A collection of similar information stored in
a file, such as a database of addresses. This
information may be created and stored in a
database management system (DBMS).
daisy chaining - the act of stringing devices together
in a series (such as SCSI).
data - (the plural of datum) information processed by a
computer.
defragment - (also - optimize) to concatenate frag-
ments of data into contiguous blocks in memory
or on a hard drive.
debug - To find and correct equipment defects or
program malfunctions.
default - The pre-defined configuration of a system or
an application. In most programs, the defaults
can be changed to reflect personal preferences.
desktop publishing - The production of publication-
quality documents using a personal computer in
combination with text, graphics, and page layout
programs.
DHCP- Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol- An IP
address is automatically assigned to each com-
puter as needed by the network administrator.
digitize - to convert linear, or analog, data into digital
data which can be used by the computer.
disk - Two distinct types. The names refer to the media
inside the container:
disk drive - the machinery that writes the data from a
disk and/or writes data to a disk.
disk window - the window that displays the contents
or directory of a disk.
DOS - acronym for Disk Operating System - used in
IBM PCs.
DPI - acronym for Dots Per Inch - a gauge of visual
clarity on the printed page or on the computer
screen.
A hard disc stores vast amounts of data. It is
usually inside the computer but can be a separate
peripheral on the outside. Hard discs are made
up of several rigid coated metal discs.
domain - Represents an IP (Internet Protocol) address
or set of IP addresses that comprise a domain.
The domain name appears in URLs to identify
web pages or in email addresses.
 The name of a network or computer linked to the
Internet. Domains are defined by a common IP
address or set of similar IP addresses.
Dongle- An adapter cable connecting a special edge-
type connector (on a PCMCIA or on-board
Ethernet card) to a standard RJ45 Ethernet jack.
Download, Upload- When you copy a file from another
computer to your own, you're downloading. You
can download files and save them to your com-
puter and also download web pages and view
them on your computer. When you copy a file
from your computer and save it on another com-
puter, you are uploading that file. Usually up-
loading occurs when you are creating or main-
taining a web page
Driver - A specially written program which under-
stands the operation of the device it interfaces
to, such as a printer, video card, sound card or
CD ROM drive. It provides an interface for the
operating system to use the device.
Drop- In campus buildings, the connector box used to
connect your computer to the Ethernet.
Drop-down menu - A menu window that opens
vertically on-screen to display context-related
options. Also called pop-up menu or pull-down
menu.
DSL - Digital Subscriber Line. A method of connecting
to the Internet via a phone line. A DSL connection
uses copper telephone lines but is able to relay
data at much higher speeds than modems and does
not interfere with telephone use.
DVD - Digital Video Disc Similar to a CD-ROM, it stores
and plays both audio and video.
ebook - An electronic (usually hand-held) reading
device that allows a person to view digitally
stored reading materials.
email - Electronic mail; messages, including memos or
letters, sent electronically between networked
computers that may be across the office or
around the world.
emoticon - A text-based expression of emotion created
from ASCII characters that mimics a facial expression
when viewed with your head tilted to the left. Here
are some examples::) Smiling:-( Frowning;-
)Winking:_(Crying
encryption - The process of transmitting scrambled
data so that only authorized recipients can
unscramble it. For instance, encryption is used
to scramble credit card information when
purchases are made over the Internet.
Ethernet- An Ethernet is a popular type of local-area
network (LAN) that many offices use to link com-
puters, printers, and servers.
ethernet card - A board inside a computer to which a
network cable can be attached.
expansion slot - a connector inside the computer which
allows one to plug in a printed circuit board that
provides new or enhanced features.
extension - a startup program that runs when you start
the Mac and then enhances its function.
File - A collection of data into a permanent storage
structure. Stored on a permanent storage media
such as a computer hard drive.
Firmware - Software written into permanant storage
into the computer.
firewall - A set of security programs that protect a
computer from outside interference or access via
the Internet.
Firewire - ApplexAE; Computer's high-speed data
transfer. Frequently used to import video to a
computer.
fibre channel - as applied to data storage and network
topology - link to FC Glossary.
Floppy disk - A low capacity storage media which can
be written to as easily as it is read.
Floppy Drive - The hardware component that is used
to read or write to a floppy disk.
font - a typeface that contains the characters of an
alphabet or some other letterforms.
footprint - The surface area of a desk or table which is
occupied by a piece of equipment.
fragmentation - The breaking up of a file into many
separate locations in memory or on a disk.
Frames- Today's Web browsers allow site builders to di-
vide the browser window into two or more sections
called frames. Each frame is filled with a distinct Web
page, but the appearance is of one cohesive page.
Frames can be troublesome if you are trying to book-
mark or print a certain chunk of data
freeze - a system error which causes the cursor to
lock in place.
freeware - Software created by people who are willing
to give it away for the satisfaction of sharing or
knowing they helped to simplify other people's
lives. It may be freestanding software, or it may
add functionality to existing software.
FTP- File transfer protocol. This is the method of mov-
ing files from one location to another over a net-
work connection.
get info - a Finder File menu command that presents
an information window for a selected file icon.
gig - a gigabyte = 1024 megabytes.
glitch - The cause of an unexpected malfunction.
Gopher - An Internet search tool that allows users to
access textual information through a series of
menus, or if using FTP, through downloads.
GUI- Graphical User Interface. A system that simplifies
selecting computer commands by enabling the
user to point to symbols or illustrations (called
icons) on the computer screen with a mouse.
groupware - Software that allows networked
individuals to form groups and collaborate on
documents, programs, or databases.
hacker- A person with technical expertise who
experiments with computer systems to determine
how to develop additional features. Hackers are
occasionally requested by system administrators
to try and break into systems via a network to
test security. The term hacker is sometimes
incorrectly used interchangeably with cracker. A
hacker is called a white hat and a cracker a black
hat.
Hardware - Describes the physical parts of your com-
puter which you can physically touch or see such
as your monitor, case, disk drives, microproces-
sor and other physical parts.
hard copy - A paper printout of what you have prepared
on the computer.
head crash - a hard disk crash caused by the heads
coming in contact with the spinning disk(s).
high density disk - a 1.4 MB floppy disk.
highlight - to select by clicking once on an icon or by
highlighting text in a document.
home page - The main page of a Web site used to greet
visitors, provide information about the site, or to
direct the viewer to other pages on the site.
HTML - HyperText Markup Language. A standard of
text markup conventions used for documents on
the World Wide Web. Browsers interpret the
codes to give the text structure and formatting
(such as bold, blue, or italic).
HTTP - Hypertext Transfer Protocol. A common system
used to request and send HTML documents on
the World Wide Web. It is the first portion of all
URL addresses on the World Wide Web.
HTTPS - Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. Often
used in intracompany internet sites. Passwords
are required to gain access.
hyperlink - Text or an image that is connected by
hypertext coding to a different location. By
selecting the text or image with a mouse, the
computer jumps to (or displays) the linked text.
hypermedia - Integrates audio, graphics, and/or video
through links embedded in the main program.
hypertext - A system for organizing text through links,
as opposed to a menu-driven hierarchy such as
Gopher. Most Web pages include hypertext links
to other pages at that site, or to other sites on the
World Wide Web.
icons - Symbols or illustrations appearing on the
computer screen that indicate program files or
other computer functions.
initialize - to format a disk for use in the computer;
creates a new directory and arranges the tracks
for the recording of data.
input - Data that goes into a computer device.
input device - A device, such as a keyboard, stylus
and tablet, mouse, puck, or microphone, that
allows input of information (letters, numbers,
sound, video) to a computer.
insertion point - in word processing, the short flash-
ing marker which indicates where your next typ-
ing will begin.
installer - software used to install a program on your
hard drive.
instant messenging (IM) - A chat application that
allows two or more people to communicate over
the Internet via real-time keyed-in messages.
interface - The interconnections that allow a device, a
program, or a person to interact. Hardware
interfaces are the cables that connect the device
to its power source and to other devices. Software
interfaces allow the program to communicate with
other programs (such as the operating system),
and user interfaces allow the user to communicate
with the program (e.g., via mouse, menu
commands, icons, voice commands, etc.).
Internet - An international conglomeration of
interconnected computer networks. Begun in the
late 1960s, it was developed in the 1970s to allow
government and university researchers to share
information. The Internet is not controlled by any
single group or organization. Its original focus
was research and communications, but it
continues to expand, offering a wide array of
resources for business and home users.
interrupt button - a tool used by programmers to en-
ter the debugging mode. The button is usually
next to the reset button.
IP (Internet Protocol) address - An Internet Protocol
address is a unique set of numbers used to locate
another computer on a network. The format of an
IP address is a 32-bit string of four numbers
 separated by periods. Each number can be from
0 to 255 (i.e., 1.154.10.266). Within a closed network
IP addresses may be assigned at random,
however, IP addresses of web servers must be
registered to avoid duplicates.
ISP - Internet Service Provider is an organization that
provides the ability to connect to the internet for
their customers. They also usually provide addi-
tional services such as e-mail and the ability to
host web sites.
Java - An object-oriented programming language
designed specifically for programs (particularly
multimedia) to be used over the Internet. Java
allows programmers to create small programs or
applications (applets) to enhance Web sites.
Javascript/ECMA script - A programming language
used almost exclusively to manipulate content
on a web page. Common Javascript functions
include validating forms on a web page, creating
dynamic page navigation menus, and image
rollovers.
keyboard shortcut - a combination of keystrokes that
performs some function otherwise found in a
pulldown menu.
landscape- in printing from a computer, to print side-
ways on the page.
laptop and notebook - Small, lightweight, portable
battery-powered computers that can fit onto your
lap. They each have a thin, flat, liquid crystal
display screen.
LDAP- Lightweight Directory Access Protocol is a
software protocol for accessing information di-
rectories. Useful when trying to include the con-
tents of the x500 directory in your e-mail client.
Linux - A UNIXxAE;-like, open-source operating
system developed primarily by Linus Torvalds.
Linux is free and runs on many platforms,
including both PCs and Macintoshes. Linux is
an open-source operating system, meaning that
the source code of the operating system is freely
available to the public. Programmers may
redistribute and modify the code, as long as they
don't collect royalties on their work or deny
access to their code. Since development is not
restricted to a single corporation more
programmers can debug and improve the source
code faster..
macro - A script that operates a series of commands
to perform a function. It is set up to automate
repetitive tasks.
Mac OS - An operating system with a graphical user
interface, developed by ApplexAE; for
MacintoshxAE; computers. Current System X.1
(10) combines the traditional Mac interface with
a strong underlying UNIXxAE; operating system
for increased performance and stability.
Mailer Daemon- Daemon is a general term for server
processes. The mailer daemon is a server pro-
cess that handles sending and receiving mail (i.e.,
the SMTP server).
Measurements (summary) -
a bit = one binary digit (1 or 0)
"bit" is derived from the contraction b'it (binary
digit) -> 8 bits = one byte
1024 bytes = one kilobyte
K = kilobyte
Kb = kilobit
MB = megabyte- 1024 kilobytes
Mb = megabit
MB/s = megabytes per second
Mb/s = megabits per second
bps = bits per second
i.e., 155 Mb/s = 19.38 MB/s
memory - Temporary storage for information, including
applications and documents. The information
must be stored to a permanent device, such as a
hard disc or CD-ROM before the power is turned
off, or the information will be lost. Computer
memory is measured in terms of the amount of
information it can store, commonly in megabytes
or gigabytes.
menu - a list of program commands listed by topic
merge - To combine two or more files into a single file.
MHz - An abbreviation for Megahertz, or one million
hertz. One MHz represents one million clock
cycles per second and is the measure of a
computer microprocessor's speed. For example,
a microprocessor that runs at 300 MHz executes
300 million cycles per second. Each instruction a
computer receives takes a fixed number of clock
cycles to carry out, therefore the more cycles a
computer can execute per second, the faster its
programs run. Megahertz is also a unit of measure
for bandwidth.
microprocessor - A complete central processing unit
(CPU) contained on a single silicon chip.
MIME - multipurpose internet mail extension
minimize - A term used in a GUI operating system that
uses windows. It refers to reducing a window to an
icon, or a label at the bottom of the screen, allowing
another window to be viewed.
modem - A device that connects two computers
 together over a telephone or cable line by
converting the computer's data into an audio
signal. Modem is a contraction for the process it
performs: modulate-demodulate.
monitor - A video display terminal.
mouse - A small hand-held device, similar to a trackball,
used to control the position of the cursor on the
video display; movements of the mouse on a
desktop correspond to movements of the cursor
on the screen.
MP3 - Compact audio and video file format. The small
size of the files makes them easy to download
and e-mail. Format used in portable playback
devices.
multimedia - Software programs that combine text and
graphics with sound, video, and animation. A
multimedia PC contains the hardware to support
these capabilities.
MS-DOS - An early operating system developed by
Microsoft Corporation (Microsoft Disc Operating
System).
nanosecond - one billionth of a second. ( or, the time
between the theatrical release of a Dudley Moore
film and the moment it begins to play on air-
planes).
native mode - using the computers original operating
system; most commonly used when talking about
the PowerPC can run software written for either
the 80x0 systems, or the PowerPCs RISC code.
Network - A general term describing to the cables and
electronic components that carry data between
computers. It is also generally used to refer to
the server computers that provide services such
as printing, file sharing, e-mail, and other ser-
vices.
Newsgroups, Usenet - Newsgroups, sometimes called
Usenet, are public discussions posted for any-
one who is interested in reading them. While simi-
lar in appearance to e-mail, newsgroups are mes-
sages that are posted to all members of the group
and not addressed to an individual person.
NuBus - expansion slots on the Mac which accept
intelligent, self-configuring boards. NuBus is a
different bus achitecture than the newer PCI bus
and the boards are not interchangable.
open source - Computer programs whose original
source code was revealed to the general public
so that it could be developed openly. Software
licensed as open source can be freely changed
or adapted to new uses, meaning that the source
code of the operating system is freely available
to the public. Programmers may redistribute and
modify the code, as long as they don't collect
royalties on their work or deny access to their
code. Since development is not restricted to a
single corporation more programmers can debug
and improve the source code faster.
operating system - A set of instructions that tell a
computer on how to operate when it is turned
on. It sets up a filing system to store files and
tells the computer how to display information on
a video display. Most PC operating systems are
DOS (disc operated system) systems, meaning
the instructions are stored on a disc (as opposed
to being originally stored in the microprocessors
of the computer). Other well-known operating
systems include UNIX, Linux, Macintosh, and
Windows.
optical disk - a high-capacity storage medium that is
read by a laser light.
output - Data that come out of a computer device. For
example, information displayed on the monitor,
sound from the speakers, and information printed
to paper.
palm - A hand-held computer.
Parallel - A data transmission method where data is
sent on more than one line at a time. This may be
any number of bits at a time, but is usually one
word at a time (two bytes) or possibly three bytes
at a time.
partition - a subdivision of a hard drives surface that
is defined and used as a separate drive.
PC - acronym for personal computer, commonly used
to refer to an IBM or IBM clone computer which
uses DOS.
PCI - acronym for Peripheral Component Interchange
- the newer, faster bus achitecture.
PDA - Personal Digital Assistant. A hand-held
computer that can store daily appointments,
phone numbers, addresses, and other important
information. Most PDAs link to a desktop or
laptop computer to download or upload
information.
PDF - Portable Document Format. A format presented
by Adobe Acrobat that allows documents to be
shared over a variety of operating systems.
Documents can contain words and pictures and
be formatted to have electronic links to other parts
of the document or to places on the web.
peripheral - Any external device attached to a
computer to enhance operation. Examples include
external hard drive, scanner, printer, speakers,
 keyboard, mouse, trackball, stylus and tablet, and
joystick.
petabyte - A measure of memory or storage capacity
and is approximately a thousand terabytes.
petaflop - A theoretical measure of a computer's speed
and can be expressed as a thousand-trillion
floating-point operations per second.
point - (1/72") 12 points = one pica in printing.
pop-up menu - any menu that does not appear at the
top of the screen in the menu bar. (may pop up or
down)
Power PC - a processing chip designed by Apple,
IBM and Motorola (RISC based).
Power Mac - a family of Macs built around the
PowerPC chip.
print spooler - a program that stores documents to be
printed on the hard drive, thereby freeing the
memory up and allowing other functions to be
performed while printing goes on in the back-
ground.
Protocols - A standard method used for communica-
tions or other internet and network functions.
Plug-in- a subordinate application to your internet
browser that allows for more specialized content
to be displayed or otherwise dealt with. Flash,
Quick Time, Real Player, and Adobe Acrobat
Reader are all Plug-ins
plug and play - Computer hardware or peripherals that
come set up with necessary software so that
when attached to a computer, they are recognized
by the computer and are ready to use.
pop-up menu - A menu window that opens vertically
or horizontally on-screen to display context-
related options. Also called drop-down menu or
pull-down menu.
Power PC - A competitor of the Pentium chip. It is a
new generation of powerful sophisticated
microprocessors produced from an Apple-IBM-
Motorola alliance.
program - A precise series of instructions written in a
computer language that tells the computer what
to do and how to do it. Programs are also called
software or applications.
programming language - A series of instructions
written by a programmer according to a given set
of rules or conventions (syntax). High-level
programming languages are independent of the
device on which the application (or program) will
eventually run; low-level languages are specific
to each program or platform. Programming
language instructions are converted into
programs in language specific to a particular
machine or operating system (machine language)
so that the computer can interpret and carry out
the instructions. Some common programming
languages are BASIC, C, C++, dBASE,
FORTRAN, and Perl.
Proxy- A software agent that acts on behalf of a user
as a bridge over secure networks by authenticat-
ing your identity and then helping you to access
the server.
puck - An input device, like a mouse. It has a
magnifying glass with crosshairs on the front of
it that allows the operator to position it precisely
when tracing a drawing for use with CAD-CAM
software.
pull-down menu - A menu window that opens vertically
on-screen to display context-related options.
Also called drop-down menu or pop-up menu.
Pulse- name of the web server for the main Tulane
web site and faculty and staff websites.
push technology - Internet tool that delivers specific
information directly to a user's desktop,
eliminating the need to surf for it. PointCast,
which delivers news in user-defined categories,
is a popular example of this technology.
QuickTime - the Apple system extension that gives
one the ability to compress, edit and play anima-
tion, movies and sound on the Mac.
Radio Button- a graphical way to force a user to make
only one selection from a list of options. Radio
buttons are represented by a group of small
circles. When you click on one of them, you get
a dot on your selection. There is always a default
selection.
RAID - Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks. A
method of spreading information across several
disks set up to act as a unit, using two different
techniques:
Disk striping: storing a bit of information across
several discs (instead of storing it all on one disc
and hoping that the disc doesn't crash).
Disk mirroring: simultaneously storing a copy
of information on another disc so that the
information can be recovered if the main disc
crashes.
Reboot- To restart a computer. It comes from "boot,"
which is a term that means starting the operating
system on the computer. When your computer
starts going haywire, your first course of action
should be to reboot.
reset switch - a switch on the Mac that restarts the
computer in the event of a crash or freeze.
resize box - the small square at the lower right corner
of a window which, when dragged, resizes the
window.
RISC - acronym for Reduced Instruction Set Comput-
ing; the smaller set of commands used by the
PowerPC and Power Mac.
Rj45 Cable- proper name for the wire or cable used to
connect your computer to the ethernet.
Router- A device that bridges an internal network to
another network. Take a ferry as an example: cars
that need to go to the other side of a body of water
(another network) need to use the ferry (the router).
If they want to stay on their side, they simply
don't go on the ferry. Also a device used to bridge
a computer to a long distance digital communica-
tions network, such as ISDN.
Rs6000- The name commonly used to refer to the
server cluster at Tulane. The RS/6000 complex is
comprised of six IBM spnodes in an SP2, each of
which use the Reduced Instruction Set Computer
(RISC) architecture. Each node offers multi-user,
multi-tasking capabilities for numerically-inten-
sive scientific applications, graphics engineer-
ing applications, and input/output (I/O)-inten-
sive applications. The RS/6000s' operating sys-
tems are AIX, which is IBM's implementation of
UNIX System V Release 3. It's compatible with
Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) 4.3 and con-
forms to the IEEE Portable Operating System for
Computer Environments (POSIX) Systems Ap-
plication Programming interface. It implements
the C, Bourne, and Korn command shells. On
Tulane's RS/6000 Complex the C shell is the de-
fault. For a more detailed explanation, click here.
Rs6000 account- Tulane Technology account on the
rs6000 cluster. This account will allow you ac-
cess to e-mail, dial in to the Tulane server from
off campus, allow you to apply for a Blackboard
account, access storage space on the rs6000, and
serve as the backbone for your computing ca-
reer at Tulane. In general when you see any men-
tion of logon or user name, you'll want to enter
your rs6000 user name.
root directory - the main hard drive window.
Safe Mode - This is a Windows 95 mode that is auto-
matically loaded if Windows crashes during boot
up. You can access Safe Mode anytime if you
press the "F8" key when the screen says "load-
ing Windows." This will bring you to a menu
that allows you to boot into safe mode. Safe Mode
is a special mode of Windows that loads with
minimal driver support. The purpose of it is to
help resolve boot problems. For example, if you
install the wrong graphics driver, Windows
crashes when it's loading. When you restart Win-
dows, it will boot into Safe Mode and use the
standard VGA driver with 60 Hz refresh rate. This
will allow you to go to the Display Properties
function and switch the video driver back to
something that works. There is no reason to go
into Safe Mode unless you are crashing during
boot up or you are trying to diagnose a driver
problem.
save - to write a file onto a disk.
save as - (a File menu item) to save a previously saved
file in a new location and/or with a new name.
Scroll- Moving up or down within a document in your
screen by clicking on the directional arrows found
on the right side and bottom of the active win-
dow.
scroll bar - a bar at the bottom or right side of a win-
dow that contains the scroll box and allows scroll-
ing.
scroll box - the box in a scroll bar that is used to navi-
gate through a window.
SCSI address - a number between zero and seven that
must be unique to each device in a SCSI chain.
Fast and Wide SCSI devices will allow up to 15
SCSI Ids (hexidecimal); however, the length re-
striction (3 meters) is such that it is virtually im-
possible to link 15 devices together.
SCSI terminator - a device placed at the end of a
SCSI chain to complete the circuit. (some SCSI
devices are self-terminating, or have active ter-
mination and do not require this plug).
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) - This is a protocol speci-
fied by Netscape that allows for "secure" pas-
sage of data. It uses public key encryption, in-
cluding digital certificates and digital signatures,
to pass data between a browser and a server. It is
an open standard and is supported by
Netscape's Navigator and Microsoft's Internet
Explorer.
search engine - Software that makes it possible to
look for and retrieve material on the Internet,
particularly the Web. Some popular search
engines are Alta Vista, Google, HotBot, Yahoo!,
Web Crawler, and Lycos.
Security flaw - A software bug allowing an attacker a
method to gain anauthorized access to a system.
Serial - A data transmission method where data is
sent on a single line and one bit is sent at at a
time. This is similar to a line which one item must
come one after another
Software - Describes the programs that run on your
system.
SPAM - A term used to describe junk and unsolicited
e-mail.
Storage Media - A term used to describe any mag-
netic device that computer data can be perma-
nently stored on such as a hard drive or floppy
drive.
shareware - Software created by people who are
willing to sell it at low cost or no cost for the
gratification of sharing. It may be freestanding
software, or it may add functionality to existing
software.
Site License - Usually, software manufacturers will
sell their software based on the amount of users
using the software. As the amount of users in-
creases, and prices get higher, software manu-
facturers will sometimes sell a site license that
entitles an entire site to use as many licenses as
they need to at a particular location for a single
price. This makes management of a large amount
of licenses unnecessary and simplifies things for
the customer and the software vendor. For ex-
ample, one company may have a 1-user, 5-user,
10-user, 25-user and finally a site-license version
of their software. The site license will be the most
expensive, but may be more economical if you
have a large amount of users.
Spam- unsolicited junk e-mail. Spammers will often
offer you the option of removing yourself from
their e-mailing list. But more often than not they
use non-functioning return e-mail addresses or
anonymous remailers so it's difficult to success-
fully unsubscribe from their lists (though recent
legislation has been passed outlawing this be-
havior). However you're not helpless: Tools like
e-mail filters and a spam-abuse hotline
(spam.abuse.net) do provide help for dealing with
spam.
System Tray- The system tray is the place holder on
the far right of the Windows taskbar. Within it
you will find the clock and other user-installed
programs that monitor the system or run con-
stantly. To see what each icon represents, sim-
ply hold your mouse pointer over an icon, or
right click an icon for a menu of options.
server - a central computer dedicated to sending and
receiving data from other computers (on a net-
work).
shut down - the command from the Special menu that
shuts down the Mac safely.
spider - A process search engines use to investigate
new pages on a web site and collect the
information that needs to be put in their indices.
SSH- Program that allows secure file transfer over a
network connection.
storage - Devices used to store massive amounts of
information so that it can be readily retrieved.
Devices include RAIDs, CD-ROMs, DVDs
Streaming - Taking packets of information (sound or
visual) rom the Internet and storing it in temporary
files to allow it to play in continuous flow.
start up disk - the disk containing system software
and is designated to be used to start the com-
puter.
surge suppressor - a power strip that has circuits de-
signed to reduce the effects of surge in electrical
power. (not the same as a UPS)
System file - a file in the System folder that allows
your Mac to start and run.
System folder - an all-important folder that contains
at least the System file and the Finder.
TCP/IP- Abbreviation for Transmission Control Pro-
tocol/Internet Protocol, the suite of communica-
tions protocols used to connect hosts on the
Internet.
Telnet- Telnet is a program that runs on your com-
puter and allows you to connect to a remote host
(computer). As an emulation program, the com-
mands you enter through telnet are executed as
if you were typing them directly into the host's
keyboard. To prevent unauthorized people from
accessing data, only folks with a valid username
and password are allowed to connect.
Tucan- TUCAN is Tulane's privately owned and op-
erated cable TV system. All students who live
on the campus have a free cable television outlet
in their residence hall rooms.
Uninterruptible Power Source (UPS)- a constantly
charging battery pack which powers the com-
puter. A UPS should have enough charge to
power your computer for several minutes in the
event of a total power failure, giving you time to
save your work and safely shut down.
URL- Uniform Resource Locator is the term used to
describe a link which points to a location of a file
 on the internet. Every single thing you see on
the Web has its own distinct address, or URL.
Web pages, images, scripts, and other various
multimedia shenanigans all have a distinct loca-
tion, which more often than not begins with
"HTTP" (which stands for "hypertext transfer
protocol") followed by a colon and two slashes
(http://). That, in combination with the file loca-
tion, www.tulane.edu/~tis, makes up a URL.
USB - Universal Serial Bus. An industry standard for
connecting different compatible peripheral
devices across multiple platforms. USB
peripherals offer the use of plug-and-play
convenience by eliminating the need to turn off
or restart the computer when attaching a new
peripheral. Users can connect USB peripherals
whenever they need them.
Userid- usually your first initial and last name, as as-
signed to you by Technology Services. Also the
first part of your @Tulane.edu e-mail address.
virtual memory - using part of your hard drive as
though it were "RAM".
virtual reality (VR) - A technology that allows one to
experience and interact with images in a simulated
three-dimensional environment. For example, you
could design a room in a house on your computer
and actually feel that you are walking around in
it even though it was never built. (The Holodeck
in the science-fiction TV series Star Trek: Voyager
would be the ultimate virtual reality.) Current
technology requires the user to wear a special
helmet, viewing goggles, gloves, and other
equipment that transmits and receives
information from the computer.
virus - An unauthorized piece of computer code
attached to a computer program or portions of a
computer system that secretly copies itself from
one computer to another by shared discs and
over telephone and cable lines. It can destroy
information stored on the computer, and in
extreme cases, can destroy operability.
Computers can be protected from viruses if the
operator utilizes good virus prevention software
and keeps the virus definitions up to date. Most
viruses are not programmed to spread
themselves. They have to be sent to another
computer by e-mail, sharing, or applications. The
worm is an exception, because it is programmed
to replicate itself by sending copies to other
computers listed in the e-mail address book in
the computer. There are many kinds of viruses,
for example:
Boot viruses place some of their code in the start-
up disk sector to automatically execute when
booting. Therefore, when an infected machine
boots, the virus loads and runs.
File viruses attached to program files (files with
the extension .exe). When you run the infected
program, the virus code executes.
Macro viruses copy their macros to templates
and/or other application document files.
Trojan Horse is a malicious, security-breaking
program that is disguised as something benign
such as a screen saver or game.
Worm launches an application that destroys
information on your hard drive. It also sends a
copy of the virus to everyone in the computer's
e-mail address book.
Vulnerablity - Software errors that allow some kind of
unauthorized access when they are used or ex-
ploited.
Word - Two bytes or 16 bits of data with a possible
unsigned value from 0 to 16535.
Worm - A term used to describe an unwanted pro-
gram that uses system or application vulnerabili-
ties to infect a computer without the user doing
anything but connecting to an infected network
WORM - acronym for Write Once-Read Many; an
optical disk that can only be written to once (like
a CD-ROM).
World Wide Web (WWW or the Web) - A network of
servers on the Internet that use hypertext-linked
databases and files. It was developed in 1989 by
Tim Berners-Lee, a British computer scientist, and
is now the primary platform of the Internet. The
feature that distinguishes the Web from other
Internet applications is its ability to display
graphics in addition to text.
X500- Online directory available to the Tulane com-
munity that contains e-mail and physical mailing
addresses. Updated monthly via an interface with
the Payroll/personnel and student information
systems.
zoom box - a small square in the upper right corner of
a window which, when clicked, will expand the
window to fill the whole screen
 a. logic b. storage
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS c. input device d. output device
1. Which of the following is the product of data 12. A program written in machine language is called
processing ........ program.
a. information b. data a. object b. computer
c. software program d. system c. assembler d. high level
2. The process of putting data into a storage location is 13. A source program is the program written in ..........
called language.
a. reading b. writing a. English b. symbolic
c. controlling d. hand shaking c. high level d. object
3. The process of copying data from a memory 14. A typical modern computer uses
location is called a. magnetic cores for secondary storage
a. reading b. writing b. LSI chips
c. controlling d. booting c. magnetic tape for primary memory
4. A list of instructions used by a computer is called d. more than 10,000 vaccum tubes
a. program b. CPU 15. A collection of 8 bits is called
c. text d. output a. byte b. record
5. The CPU consists of c. word d. nibble
a. input, output and processing 16. General purpose computers are those that can
be adopted to countless uses simply by changing
b. control unit, primary storage and secondary
its
storage
a. output device b. input device
c. Control unit; arithmetic logic unit and primarystorage c. processor d. program
d. input, processing and storage
17. The current generation of computers
6. Which of the following is true about primary
a. second b. fifth
storage c. fourth d. third
a. it is a part of the CPU
b. It allows very fast access to data 18. The boolean expression (A C ) ( B C ) simplifies
c. It is relatively more expensive to
d. all of the above
a. C AB b. C ( A B)
7. Which of the following is the most powerful type
of the computer c. BC A d. None of these
a. main frame b. super conductor 19. To implement all functions of the basic logic
c. micro computer d. super computer functions, it needs
8. Software instruction intended to satisfy a user's a. OR gate b. NOT gate
specific processing needs are called c. AND and NOT gates
d. None of these
a. system software b. process software
c. documentation d. application software 20. In the binary number 110.101, the fractional part
9. The computer device primarily used to provide has the value
hardcopy is the a. 0.625 b. 0.125
a. CRT b. line printer c. 0.875 d. 0.5
c. computer console d. card reader 21. The value of binary 1111 is
10. Which one of the following can produce the final a. 23 -1 b. 24
4
product of machine processing in a form usable c. 2 - 1 d. None of these
by humans 22. The value of 25 in octal system is
a. storage b. control a. 20 b. 40
c. input device d. output device c. 400 d. None of these
11. The term 'memory' applies to which one of the 23. A hexa decimal number 'AO' has the decimal value
following a. 80 b. 256 c. 100 d. 160
24. The binary representation of hexadecimal 'C3' is 35. Transmission of computerised data from one
a. 1111 b. 110011 location to another is called
c. 110001 d. 11000011 a. data transfer b. data flow
25. The ASCII code is for information interchange c. data communication d. datamanagement
by a binary code for 36. Which of the following items is not used in LAN
a. numbers only b. alphabets only a. computers b. modem
c. alphanumeric and other common symbols c. printer d. cable
d. None of these 37. Which is the device that converts compuer
26. A four bit number is given as 1001. Its 1's complement output into a form that can be transmitted over a
is telephone line
a. 1001 b. 11001 a. teleport b. multiplexer
c. 0110 d. 0101 c. concentrator d. modem
27. 2's complement representation of a decimal 38. What is the commonly used unit for measuring
number -4 is the speed of data transmission
a. 0100 b. 1100 a. bytes per second b. bits per second
c. 1011 d. 1010 c. baud d. either b or d
28. BCD numbers are obtained 39. A kilobyte also referred to as KB, is equal to
a. by converting decimal number to binary a. 1000 bytes b. 1024 bytes
b. by converting decimal to octal c. 2048 bytes d. 512 bytes
c. when each decimal digit is represented by four bit 40. Inputs to your computer is accomplished using the
binary
d. by converting binary to decimal. a. Screen b. keyboard
c. printer d. plotter
29. A gate in which all inputs must be low to get a
high output is called 41. Which of the following is not used as secondary
storage
a. an inverter b. a NOR gate
c. an AND gate d. a NAND gate a. Semiconductor memory
b. magnetic disks
30. For a logical circuit there are 'n' binary inputs. c. magnetic drums
Then the number of different input combinations d. magnetic tapes
in the truth table is
42. A collection of wires that connects several device is
a. 2n b. 2/n called
c. 2n d. 2(n+1)
a. link b. bus
31. Which of the following performs modulation and c. cable d. port
demodulation
43. A offline device is
a. Satellite b. modem
c. fiber optic d. amplifier a. a device which is not connected to CPU
b. a device which is connected to CPU
32. A characteristic of multiprogramming system is c. a device which is in breakdown stage
a. simultaneous execution of program d. None of these
instructions from two applications 44. Which of the following is the fastest
b. concurrent processing of two or more programs a. CPU
c. multiple CPU's d. all of the above b. magnetic tapes and disks
33. Communication circuits that transmit data in both c. video terminal
directions but not at the same time are operating d. sensors, mechanical controllers
in 45. Memories in which any location can be reached
a. simplex mode b. half-duplex mode in a fixed and short amount of time after specifying
c. full-duplex mode d. asynchronous mode its address is called
34. Operating system functions may include a. sequential access memory
b. random access memory
a. input/output control b. virtual storage c. secondary memory
c. multiprogramming d. all of the above d. mass storage
46. The register which contains the data to be written 56. In magnetic disks data is organized on the platter
into or read out of the addressed location is known in a concentric sets or rings called
as a. sector b. track
a. index register c. head d. block
b. memory address register 57. When we move from the outer most track to the
c. memory data register innermost track in a magnetic disk, the density
d. program counter
a. increases b. decreases
47. The register which keeps track of the execution c. remains the same
of a program and which contains the memory d. either remains constant or decreases
address of the next instruction to be executed is
known as 58. Which of the following device can be used to
directly input printed text
a. index register b. instruction register
c. memory address register a. OCR b. Mouse
d. program counter c. MIC d. Joystick
48. Which of the following is used as storage 59. Which device can draw continuous lines
locations both in the ALU and in the control a. daisy wheel b. plotter
section of a computer c. chain printer d. impact printer
a. accumalator b. register 60. In which storage device, recording is done by
c. adder d. decoder burning tiny pits on a circular disk
49. Accumulator is a a. punched cards b. floppy disk
a. hardwired unit b. sequential circuit c. magnetic tape d. optical disk
c. finite state machine d. register 61. Which of the following printers uses light beam
50. Non volatility is an important advantage of and electrostatically sensitive black powder
a. CCDs a. dot matric printer b. daisy wheel printer
b. magnetic tapes and disks c. chain printer d. laser printer
c. magnetic bubbles d. both b and c 62. The primary purpose of an operating system is
51. Which of the following memory is volatile a. to make the most efficient use of the computer
a. RAM b. ROM hardware
c. EPROM d. PROM b. to allow people to use the computer
52. The memory which is programmed at the time it c. to keep system programmers employed
is manufactured is d. to make computers fast.
a. ROM b. RAM 63. The operating system manages
c. PROM d. EPROM
a. memory b. processor
53. Which memory is non volatile and may be written c. disk and I/O devices d. all of the above
only once.
64. Scheduling is
a. RAM b. EE-PROM
c. EPROM d. PROM a. allowing job to use the processor
54. Which of the following statements is wrong b. unrelated performance considerations
a. magnetic core memory, RAMs and ROMs have c. quiet simple to implement, even on large main
constant access time b . frames
magnetic tape is non volatile d. the same regardless of the purpose of the system
c. semiconductor memories are used as mass 65. Which of the following translator program
memory medium converts assembly language program to object
d. An EPROM can be programmed, erased and program
reprogrammed by the user with an EPROM
programming instrument a. assembler b. compiler
c. macroprocessor d. linker
55. The fastest type of memory is
66. Multiprogramming systems
a. tape
b. semiconductor memory a. are easier to develop than single programming
c. disk d. bubble memory systems
 b. execute each job faster 77. The Boolean expression A . B A. B A . B is
c. execute more jobs in the same time period equivalent to
d. use only one large mainframe computer
a. A + B b. A . B
67. What device is used for entering x - y cordinates
c. A B d. A . B
a. card reader b. joystick
c. keyboard d. all of the above 78. The greatest negative number which can be
stored in a computer that has 8-bit wordlength
68. Impact printers
and uses 2's complement arithmetic is
a. strike a ribbon against the paper to produce
character images. a. -256 b. -255 c. -128 d. -127
b. include ink-jet and thermal devices 79. By taking 2's complement again of the 2's
c. are more expensive than laser printers complement of a binary, one gets
d. use optical technology a. the 1's complement b. the 2's complement
69. Bar codes stores information using c. the original number
a. punched holes b. dots d. the sign magnitude form of the numbers
c. thick and thin tines d. all of the above 80. The expression A(A + B) by writing the first term A
70. How many types of storage loops exist in as A + ) the expression is best simplified as
magnetic bubble memory a. A + AB b. AB
a. 8 b. 4 c. 3 d. 2 c. A d. A + B
71. In comparison to the internal (main) memory, tape 81. In the sign magnitude representation, the leading
or disk memory is bit
a. slower and more expensive a. is a part of the number itself
b. slower and less expensive b. is unit for positive numbers
c. faster and more expensive c. is always unit
d. faster and less expensive d. stands for the sign
72. One of the main features that distinguish 82. Which of the following is equivalent to the
microprocessor from microcomputers is Boolean expression Y A B B C C A
a. words are usually larger in microprocessors
b. words are shorter in microprocessors a. AB BC CA
c. microprocessor doesnot contain I/O devices b. ( A B) ( B C ) (A C)
d. computers are not fully integrated
c. ( A B)( B C)( C A )
73. microprocessor with 'n' address lines is capable
of addressing d. (A B) ( B C) (C A )
a. 2n locations b. 2(n + 1)locations 83. The OSI reference model defines the function for
c. 2n locations d. n2 locations
seven layers of protocols
74. Which technique is preferable for transferring a a. including the user and communication medium.
large amount of data to and from a memory in a b. not including the user or communication
short time medium
a. DMA b. Interrupt driven I/O c. including the communication medium but not
c. programmed I/O d. None of these the user
75. Boolean expression for the output of X-NOR d. including the user but not the communication
(equivalence) logic gate with inputs A and B is medium
a. AB AB b. AB AB 84. The OSI reference model is
a. worthless b. a protocol
c. ( A B) ( A B) d. ( A B) ( A B) c. not a protocol d. None of these
76. The binary representation 100110 is numerically 85. A data packet is a packet header together with
equivalent to a. a network layer
a. the decimal representation 46 b. an administrative layer
b. the octal representation 46 c. user data
c. the hexadecimal representation 46 d. a packet switch
d. the binary representation 26
86. The application layer of the OSI model is the 97. Which of the following component of a computer
a. seventh layer b. sixth layer system is the most important to a data base
c. fifth layer d. fourth layer management system
87. Working of the WAN generally involves a. mouse
a. satellite b. frame delay b. high resolution video display
c. ATM d. user agent c. printer
88. Which of the following technique provides d. high speed, large capacity disk
dedicated communication channel between two 98. What is the serious problem(s) of file management
stations. systems
a. switch network b. circuit switching a. data redundancy b. difficult to update
c. packet switching d. none of these c. program dependence
89. End-to-end conncectivity is provided from host- d. All of the above
to-host in 99. Which of the following contains complete record
a. network layer b. session layer of all activity that affected the contents of a
c. data link layer d. transport layer database during a certain period of time
90. Base band is a. master file b. transaction file
a. transmission of signals without modulation c. report d. query file
b. a signal all of whose energy is contained within 100. In a database, related fields are grouped to form
a finite frequency range. a. record b. file
c. the simultaneous transmission of data to a c. bank d. field group
number of stations 101. A table consists of
d. all of the above a. fields and columns b. rows and columns
91. The simultaneous transmission of data to a c. rows and cells d. none of these
number of stations is known as 102. The purpose of an index is to provide ........... to
a. broad cast b. bandwidth the file it is indexing
c. Aloha d. analog transmission a. strorage area b. access path
92. The communication mode that supports data in c. name d. number
both directions 103. The database environment has all of the following
a. simplex b. half duplex components execpt
c. duplex d. multiplex a. users b. separate files
93. Modulation is the process of c. database d. database adinistrator
a. sending a file from one computer to another 104. Which of the following is an advantage of the
computer database approach
b. converting digital signals to analog signals a. elimination of data redundancy
c. converting analog signals to digital signals b. ability to associate related data
d. echoing every character that is received c. increased security
94. A distributed network configuration in which all d. All of the above
data/information pass through a central 105. When changes occur in a data item, if every file which
computer is contains that field should not be updated then, it leads
a. bus network b. star network to
c. duplex d. multiplex
a. data redundancy b. data inconsistancy
95. To connect a computer with a device in the same c. data security d. data loss
room, you might be likely to use
106. When the same data field is stored more than
a. a coaxial cable b. a dedicated time once in a file, then it leads to
c. a ground station d. all of the above
a. data redundancy b. data inconsistancy
96. Administrative supervision of database activities c. data dependancy d. data independancy
is the responsibility of the
107. Data security threats include
a. data base administrator
b. DP Manager a. privacy invasion b. hardware failure
c. DB Manager c. fraudulent manipulation of data
d. VP-DP administrator d. all of the above
108. Updating a database means c. input-output intensive processing
a. revising a file structure d. all of the above
b. reorganizing the database 115. Which of the following storage is volatile
c. modifying or adding records a. semiconductor memory
d. all of the above b. floppy disk
109. Firmware means c. CD-ROM
a. software b. hardware d. core memory
c. software available on hardware 116. RAM chips
d. none of these a. allow the computer to store data electronically
110. For each instructions of program in memory the b. store data indefinitely unless you delete it
CPU goes through a c. are secondary memory
a. decode - fetch - execute sequence d. all of the above
b. execute - store - decode sequence 117. EEPROM is
c. fetch - decode - execute sequence a. easily erasable b. non-erasable
d. fetch - execute - decode sequence c. effectively erasable d. electrically erasable
111. Which of the following is the ascending order of 118. Multiprocessing
data hierarchy a. makes the operating system simpler
a. bit - byte - record - field - data base - file b. allows multiple processes to run simultaneously
b. bit - byte - field - record - file - database c. is completely understood by all major computer
c. bit - byte - file - field - record - database vendors
d. bit - record - byte - field - file - database d. allows the same computer to have multiple
112. A microcomputer consists of atleast an input unit, processors
an output unit, microprocessor unit and a 119. How many units in a single bus structure will
a. stabilizer b. memory unit communicate at a time
c. printer d. network a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 d. 14
113. Magnetic tape can serve as 120. Arithmetic logic unit
a. input media I. perform arithmetic operations
b. output media II. store data
c. secondary storage media III. perform comparison
d. all of the above IV. communicate with input devices of the above
114. Super computers are mainly useful for the correct one is
a. mathematical intensive scientific applications a. I only b. II only
b. data-retrieval operations c. I and II only d. I and III only

ANSWERS
1. a 2. b 3. a 4. a 5. c 6. d 7. d 8. d 9. b 10. d 11. b
12. a 13. c 14. b 15. a 16. d 17. c 18. a 19. c 20. a 21. c 22. b
23. d 24. d 25. c 26. c 27. b 28. c 29. b 30. c 31. b 32. b 33. b
34. d 35. c 36. b 37. d 38. d 39. b 40. b 41. a 42. b 43. a 44. a
45. b 46. c 47. d 48. b 49. d 50. d 51. a 52. a 53. d 54. c 55. b
56. b 57. a 58. a 59. b 60. d 61. d 62. a 63. d 64. a 65. b 66. c
67. b 68. a 69. c 70. d 71. b 72. c 73. c 74. a 75. c 76. b 77. a
78. c 79. c 80. c 81. d 82. c 83. b 84. c 85. c 86. a 87. a 88. b
89. d 90. a 91. a 92. b 93. b 94. b 95. a 96. a 97. d 98. d 99. b
100. a 101. b 102. b 103. b 104. d 105. b 106. a 107. d 108. d 109. c 110. c
111. b 112. b 113. d 114. a 115. a 116. a 117. d 118. d 119. b 120. d 102. b
103. b 104. d 105. b 106. a 107. d 108. d 109. c 110. c 111. b 112. b 113. d
114. a 115. a 116. a 117. d 118. d 119. b 120. d
 RELATIONAL MODEL

1. What are the parts of SQL language?

The SQL language has several parts:

data -definition language

Data manipulation language
View definition

Transaction control

Embedded SQL
Integrity
Authorization

2. What are the categories of SQL command?

SQL commands are divided in to the following categories:

data -definition language

data manipulation language
Data Query language
data control language
data administration statements
transaction control statements

3. What are the three classes of SQL expression?

SQL expression consists of three clauses:

Select
From
where

4. What is the use of rename operation?

Rename operation is used to rename both relations and a attributes.
It uses the as clause, taking the form:
Old-name as new-name
5. Define tuple variable?
Tuple variables are used for comparing two tuples in the same relation. The tuple variables are
defined in the from clause by way of the as clause.

List the string operations supported by SQL?

Pattern matching Operation

Concatenation
Extracting character strings
Converting between uppercase and lower case letters.

6. List the set operations of SQL?

1) Union

2) Intersect operation

3) The except operation

7. What is the use of Union and intersection operation?

Union: The result of this operation includes all tuples that are either in r1 or in r2 or in both r1
and r2.Duplicate tuples are automatically eliminated.
Intersection: The result of this relation includes all tuples that are in both r1 and r2.

10. What are aggregate functions? And list the aggregate functions supported by
SQL?
Aggregate functions are functions that take a collection of values as input and return a single
value.

Aggregate functions supported by SQL are

Average: avg
Minimum: min
Maximum: max
Total: sum
Count: count
11. What is the use of group by clause?
Group by clause is used to apply aggregate functions to a set of tuples.The attributes given in the
group by clause are used to form groups. Tuples with the same value on all attributes in the group
by clause are placed in one group.

12. What is the use of sub queries?

A sub query is a select-from-where expression that is nested with in another query. A common
use of sub queries is to perform tests for set membership, make setcomparisions, and determine
set cardinality.

13. What is view in SQL? How is it defined?

Any relation that is not part of the logical model, but is made visible to a user as a virtual relation
is called a view. We define view in SQL by using the create view command. The form of the
create view command is Create view v as <query expression>

14. What is the use of with clause in SQL?

The with clause provides a way of defining a temporary view whose definition is available only
to the query in which the with clause occurs.

15. List the table modification commands in SQL?

Deletion
Insertion
Updates
Update of a view

16. List out the statements associated with a database transaction?

Commit work
Rollback work
17. What is transaction?
Transaction is a unit of program execution that accesses and possibly updated various data items.

18. List the SQL domain Types?

SQL supports the following domain types.

1) Char(n) 2) varchar(n) 3) int 4) numeric(p,d) 5) float(n) 6) date.

19. What is the use of integrity constraints?

Integrity constraints ensure that changes made to the database by authorized users do not result in
a loss of data consistency. Thus integrity constraints guard against accidental damage to the
database.

20. Mention the 2 forms of integrity constraints in ER model?

Key declarations
Form of a relationship

21. What is trigger?

Triggers are statements that are executed automatically by the system as the side effect of a
modification to the database.

22. What are domain constraints?

A domain is a set of values that may be assigned to an attribute .all values that appear in a column
of a relation must be taken from the same domain.

23. What are referential integrity constraints?

A value that appears in one relation for a given set of attributes also appears for a certain set of
attributes in another relation.
24. What is assertion? Mention the forms available.
An assertion is a predicate expressing a condition that we wish the database always to satisfy.

Domain integrity constraints.

Referential integrity constraints

25. Give the syntax of assertion?

Create assertion <assertion name>check<predicate>

26. What is the need for triggers?

Triggers are useful mechanisms for alerting humans or for starting certain tasks automatically
when certain conditions are met.

27. List the requirements needed to design a trigger.

The requirements are
Specifying when a trigger is to be executed.
Specify the actions to be taken when the trigger executes.

28. Give the forms of triggers?

The triggering event can be insert or delete.
For updated the trigger can specify columns.
The referencing old row as clause
The referencing new row as clause
The triggers can be initiated before the event or after the event.

29. What does database security refer to?

Database security refers to the protection from unauthorized access and malicious destruction or
alteration.

30. List some security violations (or) name any forms of malicious access.
Unauthorized reading of data.
Unauthorized modification of data
Unauthorized destruction of data.
31. List the types of authorization.
Read authorization
Write authorization
Update authorization
Drop authorization

32. What is authorization graph?

Passing of authorization from one user to another can be represented by an authorization graph.

33. List out various user authorization to modify the database schema.
Index authorization
Resource authorization
Alteration authorization
Drop authorization

34. What are audit trails?

An audit trail is a log of all changes to the database along with information such as which user
performed the change and when the change was performed.

35. Mention the various levels in security measures.

Database system
Operating system
Network
Physical
human

36. Name the various privileges in SQL?

Delete
Select
Insert
update

37. Mention the various user privileges.

All privileges directly granted to the user or role.
All privileges granted to roles that have been granted to the user or role.
38. Give the limitations of SQL authorization.
The code for checking authorization becomes intermixed with the rest of the application code.
Implementing authorization through application code rather than specifying it declaratively in
SQL makes it hard to ensure the absence of loopholes.

39. Give some encryption techniques?

DES
AES
Public key encryption

40. What does authentication refer?

Authentication refers to the task of verifying the identity of a person.

41. List some authentication techniques.

Challenge response scheme
Digital signatures
Nonrepudiation

42. Define Boyce codd normal form

A relation schema R is in BCNF with respect to a set F of functional

Dependencies if, for all functional dependencies in F of the form.

43. List the disadvantages of relational database system

Repetition of data
Inability to represent certain information.

44. What is first normal form?

The domain of attribute must include only atomic (simple, indivisible) values.
45. What is meant by functional dependencies?
Consider a relation schema R and a

R and

R. The functional dependency a

holds on relational schema R if in any legal relation r(R), for all pairs of

tuples t1 and t2 in r such that t1 [] =t1 [], and also t1 [] =t2 [].

46. What are the uses of functional dependencies?

To test relations to see whether they are legal under a given set of functional dependencies.
To specify constraints on the set of legal relations.

47. Explain trivial dependency?

Functional dependency of the form a

is trivial if

C . Trivial functional dependencies are satisfied by all the relations.

48. What are axioms?

Axioms or rules of inference provide a simpler technique for reasoning about functional
dependencies.

49. What is meant by computing the closure of a set of functional dependency?

The closure of F denoted by F+ is the set of functional dependencies logically implied by F.
50. What is meant by normalization of data?
It is a process of analyzing the given relation schemas based on their Functional Dependencies
(FDs) and primary key to achieve the properties
Minimizing redundancy
Minimizing insertion, deletion and updating anomalies.

51. Define canonical cover?

A canonical cover Fc for F is a set of dependencies such that F logically implies all dependencies in FC
and Fc logically implies all dependencies in F. Fc must have the following properties.

52. List the properties of canonical cover.

Fc must have the following properties.
No functional dependency in Fc contains an extraneous attribute.
Each left side of a functional dependency in Fc is unique.

53. Explain the desirable properties of decomposition.

Lossless-join decomposition
Dependency preservation
Repetition of information

54. What is 2NF?

A relation schema R is in 2NF if it is in 1NF and every non-prime attribute A in R is fully functionally
dependent on primary key.
 IT & COMPUTER SCIENCE NETWORKS
Unit - 1
1. In Token Ring, when a frame reaches its destination station, then
(A) message is copied
(B) four bits in the packet are changed
(C) message is taken off the ring and replaced by the token
(D) both (a) and (b)
2. Which of the following is not a transceiver function ?
(A) Transmission and receipt of data
(B) Checking of line voltages
(C) Addition and subtraction of headers
(D) Collision detection
3. The station-to-hub distance in which of the following is 2000 meters ?
(A) 100 Base -TX (B) 100 Base -FX
(C) 100 Base-T4 (D) 100Base - T1
4. Ether LAN uses
(A) Polar encoding (B) differential manchester encoding
(C) manchester encoding (D) NRZ
5. Which houses the switches in Token Ring ?
(A) NIC (B) MAU
(C) Nine-pin connector (D) Transceiver
6. Which of the following uses an 8B/6T encoding scheme ?
(A) 100 Base -TX (B) 100 Base - FX
(C) 100 Base -T4 (D) 100 Base - T1
7. IBM's Token -Ring network uses
(A) adaptive routing (B) source routing
(C) alternative routing (D) spanned tree routing
8. In which circuit switching, delivery of data is delayed because data must be stored and retrieved from RAM ?
(A) space-division (B) time-division
(C) virtual (D) packet
9. If a network designer wants to connect 5 routers as point-to-point simplex line, then total number of lines required
would be
(A) 5 (B) 10
(C) 20 (D) 32
10. To interface a computer terminal with a modem, required physical layer standard is
(A) RS 424 - A (B) RS 232-C
(C) RS 449 (D) Either (B) or (C)
11. A 100 km long cable runs at the T1 data rate. The propagation speed in the cable is half the speed of light. How
many bits fit in the cable ?
(A) 572 (B) 672
(C) 772 (D) 873
12. How much bandwith is there in 0.1 micron of spectrum at a wavelength of 1 micron ?
(A) 20,000 GHz (B) 25,000 GHz
(C) 30,000 GHz (D) None of these
13. It is desired to send a sequence of computer screen images over an optical fiber. The screen is 480 x 640 pixels,
each pixel being 24 bits. There are 60 screen images per second. How much bandwidth is needed, and how many
microns of wavelenth are needed for this band at 1.30 microns ?
(A) 1.0 105 microns (B) 2105 microns
(C) 2.5 105 microns (D) 5 105 microns
14. A packet - switching network
(A) is free
 (B) can reduce the cost of using an information utility
(C) allows communications channel to be shared among more than one user
(D) both (B) and (C)
15. The main purpose of a data link content monitor is to
(A) detect problems in protocols
(B) determine the type of transmission used in data link
(C) determine the type of switching used in data link
(D) determine the flow of data
16. Establishing a virtual connection is virtually equivalent to
(A) connecting as virtual memory
(B) physically connection a DTE and DCE
(C) placing a telephone call prior to a conversion
(D) placing a modem prior to a conversion
17. Which company develops the TCP/IP protocol for networking ?
(A) IBM (B) DEC
(C) NOVELL (D) DARPA
18. How many digits of the network user Address are known as the DNIC (Data Network Identification Code) ?
(A) First three (B) First four
(C) First five (D) First seven
19. How many digits of the DNICC (Data Network Identification Code) identify the country ?
(A) First three (B) First four
(C) First five (D) First six
20. Which of the following digits are known as the area code of the network user address (NUA) ?
(A) 5 - 7 (B) 1 - 4
(C) 8 - 12 (D) 13 - 14
21. Which of the following digits are known as the terminal number of the network user address (NUA) ?
(A) 5 - 7 (B) 1 - 4
(C) 8 - 12 (D) 13 - 14
22. Four bits are used for packed sequence numbering in a sliding window protocol used in a computer network. What
is the maximum window size ?
(A) 4 (B) 8
(C) 15 (D) 16
23. A station in a network forward incoming packets by placing them on its shortest output queue. What routing
algorithm is being used ?
(A) Hot potato routing (B) Flodding
(C) Static routing (D) Delta routing
24. Which of the following program is used to copy files to or from another using timesharing system over a single
link ?
(A) VMTP (B) TFTP
(C) UUCP (D) UART
25. Working of the WAH generally involves
(A) telephone lines (B) micro waves
(C) satellites (D) all of these
26. Which of the following is a wrong example of network layer ?
(A) Internet protocol (I/P) ARPANET
(B) X.25 packet land protocols (PLP-ISO)
(C) Source routing and Domains Naming Usenet
(D) X.25 level 2-ISO
27. PURE ALOHA
(A) Does not require global time synchronization
(B) does require global time synchronization
(C) both (A) and (B)
 (D) none of these
28. Slotted ALOHA
(A) divide time into discrete intervals
(B) require global time synchronization
(C) both (A) and (B)
(D) none of these
29. CSMA / CD
(A) is an important protocol (B) is IEEE 802.3 (ethernet)
(C) both (A) and (B) (D) none of these
30. Start and stop bits are used in serial communication for
(A) error detection
(B) error correction
(C) synchronization
(D) slowing down the communication
31. Manchester code is a
(A) non-return to zero code (B) polar code
(C) both (A) and (B) (D) none of these
32. In the carrier sense network, if prevailing condition is a 'channel busy', then technique used is
(A) non-persistent then it results in randomised wait and sense
(B) 1-persistent then the channel is continually sensed
(C) p-persistent then randomised retransmission is done
(D) both (A) and (B)
33. Non-polling system is
(A) TDMA (B) stop and wait
(C) continuous ARQ (D) none of these
34. The systems that can be used in both priority and non-priority modes is
(A) TDM (B) Register insertion
(C) Carrier sense systems (D) All of these
35. Data link layer retransmits the damaged frames in most networks. If probability of a frame's being damaged is p,
them what is the mean number of transmissions required to send a frame if acknowledgements are never lost ?
K 1
(A) K p (B) K p

K p
(C) K (1 p)
(D)
K 1
36. A circuit switching network has the following characteristis:
Set up time = 5 sec
Propagation = 5 sec
Message size = 1 M bits
Data transmission rate =1 M bits
Data transmission rate = 1 Kbps
Number of hops = 10
When will the last bit of the message reach the receiver ?
(A) t = 520 sec (B) t =1000 ms
(C) t = 250 sec (D) t = 1025 sec
37. If a designer wants to design a point-to-point subnetwork with 10 routers of full duplex line, then total number of
lines among them would be
(A) 10 (B) 20
(C) 45 (D) 90
38. Two networks each provide reliable connection oriented service. One of them offers a reliable byte stream and the
other offers a reliable message stream. A process writes 1024 bytes, then
(A) both networks will receive 2048 bytes as a single unit
(B) message stream network will receive 1024 bytes only at one time. But byte stream network will receive 2048
bytes as a single unit
 (C) message stream network receives 2048 bytes as a whole. But bytes stream 1024 bytes only at a time
(D) both will receive 1024 bytes at one time since there is a gap between writes.
39. Frames are generated by
(A) DLLin OSI mode, SATNET in TCP/IP,TC in ATM
(B) DLL in OSI mode , TC in TCP/IP, SATNET in ATM
(C) DLL in OSI mode, ARPANET in TCP/IP, PMD in ATM
(D) DLL in OSI mode,PMD in TCP/IP, ARPANET in ATM
40. A packet switching network (highly loaded) has the following characteristics
Propagation delay = 2sec/hp
Data transmission rate = 1
Packet size = r bit = 512 bits
Number of hops = 10
At what time the last bit of the last packet will reach the receiver ?
(A) 1024.5 sec (B) 1038 sec
(C) 2048 sec (D) 512 sec
41. Maximum data rate of a noiseless 4kHz channel nusing T1 PCM system is
(A) 32 kbps (B) 56 kbps
(C) 80 kbps (D) 24 kbps
42 What is the percentage of over head on a T1 carrier (1.544Mbps) ?
(A) 25 % (B) 13 %
(C) 20 % (D) 47 %
43. Phase shift keying (PSK) method is used to modulate digital signals at 9600 bps using 16 levels. The line signals
Speed (i.e.modulation rate) will be
(A) 2400 bands (B) 1200 bands
(C) 4800 bands (D) 9600 bands
44. A noiseless 3 kHz channel transmits bits with binary level signals. What is the maximum data rate ?
(A) 3 kbps (B) 6 kbps
(C) 12 kbps (D) 24 kbps
45. Television channels are 6 MHz. How many bits can be sent if four level digital signals are used ?
(A) 24 Mbps (B) 12 Mbps
(C) 6 Mbps (D) 36Mbps
46. Given an infinite amount of buffer space. In the text it was stated that a satellite with two uplink and one downlink
slotted ALOHA channels can achieve a downlink utilization of
(A) 0.536 (B) 0.636
(C) 0.736 (D) 0.936
47. What is the maximum burst length on an 155.52 Mbps ATM ABR connection whose PCR value 200,000 and whose
L value is 25 msec ?
(A) 9 cells (B) 12 cells
(C) 15 cells (D) 18 cells
48. Maximum throughput for window sizes of 1 will be(
A) 5785 bps (B) 7585 bps
(C) 8755bps (D) none of these
49. Maximum throughput for window sizes of 7 will be
(A) 36 kbps (B) 48 kbps
(C) 53 kbps (D) 72 kbps
50. Which of the following network access standard disassembler is used for connection station to a packet switched
network ?
(A) X .3 (B) X .21
(C) X .25 (D) X .75
 Unit - 1

1. D 2. C 3. B 4. C 5. B 6. C 7. A 8. B 9. B 10. D
11. C 12. C 13. C 14. D 15. A 16. C 17. D 18. B 19. A 20. A
21. C 22. C 23. A 24. C 25. D 26. D 27. A 28. C 29. C 30. C
31. C 32. B 33. A 34. C 35. B 36. D 37. D 38. B 39. A 40. A
41.B 42. B 43. A 44. B 45. A 46. C 47. B 48. B 49. C 50. C
 Unit - 2

1. Which of the following network access standard is used for connecting station to a circuit switched network ?
(A) X .3 (B) X .21
(C) X .25 (D) X .75
2. IP address can be used to specify a broadcast and map to hardware broadcast if available. By conversion broadcast
address has hosted with all bits
(A) 0 (B) 1
(C) bothe (A) and (B) (D) none of these
3. How many hosts are attached to each of the local area network at your site?
(A) 128 (B) 254
(C) 256 (D) 64
4. ARP ( address resolution protocol ) is
(A) A TCP/IP protocol used to dynamically bind a high level IP addressto a low level physical hardware address
(B) ATCP/IP high level protocols for transferring files from one machine to another
(C) a protcol used to monitor computers
(D) a protocol that handles error and control messages
5. ICMP (internet control message protocol) is
(A) a protocol that handless error and control messages
(B) a protocol used to monitor computers
(C) both (A) and (B)
(D) none of these
6. Which of the following TCP/IP protocol is used for file transfer with minimal capability and minimal overhead ?
(A) RARP (B) FTP
(C) TFTP (D) TELNET
7. Which of the following TCP/IP protocol is used to monitor IP gateway and the networks to which they attach ?
(A) SGMP (B) SUMP
(C) FTP (D) both (A) and (B)
8. How many class A,B and C networks Ids can exist ?
(A) 2,113,658 (B) 16,382
(C) 126 (D) 128
9. Which of the following TCP/IP internet protocol a diskless machine uses to obtain its IP address from a server ?
(A) RDP (B) ARP
(C) RIP (D) X . 25
10. How many bits internet address is assigned to each host on a TCP/IP internet which is used in all communication
with the host ?
(A) 16 bits (B) 32 bits
(C) 48 bits (D) 64 bits
11. An example of a network layer is
(A) Internet Protocol (IP) - ARPANET
(B) x . 25 Packet Level Protocol (PLP) - ISO
(C) Source routing and domain naming - USENET
(D) all of these
12. How many characters per sec ( 7 bits + 1 parity) can be transmitted over a 2400 bps line if the transfer is
synchronous ( 1start and 1 stop bit ) ?
(A) 300 (B) 240
(C) 250 (D) 275
13. How many characters per sec ( 7 bits + 1 parity) can be transmitted over a 2400 bps line if the transfer is
asynchronous ( 1start and 1 stop bit ) ?
(A) 300 (B) 240
 (C) 250 (D) 275
14. In time division switches, if each memory access takes 100 ns and one frame period is 125 ms, then maximum
number of lines that can be supported is
(A) 625 (B) 1250
(C) 2300 (D) 318
15. End - to - end connectivity is provided from host - to - host in the
(A) network layer (B) transport layer
(C) session layer (D) none of these
16. Frequency of failure and network recovery time after a failure are measures of what concept of a network ?
(A) Performance (B) Reliability
(C) Security (D) Feasibility
17. When a protocol specifies that address of the sender must occupy the first four bytes of a message, what is this
issue ?
(A) Syntax (B) Semantics
(C) Timing (D) None of these
18. When a protocol specifies that address of the sender means the most recent sender and not the original source,
what does this mean ?
(A) Syntax (B) Semantics
(C) Timing (D) None of these
19. When data is transmitted from device A to device B, the header from A's layer 5 is read by B's
(A) physical layer (B) transport layer
(C) session layer (D) presentation layer
20. Which layer functions as a liaison, between user support layers and network support layers ?
(A) Network layer (B) Physical layer
(C) Transport layer (D) Session layer
21. Which of the following are session layer checkpoints ?
(A) Allow just a portion of a file to be resent
(B) Detect and recover errors
(C) Control the addition of headers
(D) Are involved in dialog control
22. Which of the following two networks can use possible hubs ?
(A) Ethernet (B) Arcnet
(C) Token ring (D) All of these
23. Gateways can function all the way upto
(A) transport layer (B) session layer
(C) presentation layer (D) application layer
24. A bridge has access to which address of a station on the same network ?
(A) Physical (B) Network
(C) Service access point (D) All of these
25. In session layer, during data transfer, the data stream responsible for the control purpose is
(A) regular data (B) typed data
(C) capability data (D) expendited data
26. A high speed communication equipment typically would not be needed for
(A) E-mail
(B) transferring large volume of data
(C) supporting communication between nodes in a LAN
(D) All of these
27. Protection of data from a natural disaster such as a tornado belongs to which of the following network issue ?
(A) Performance (B) Reliability
(C) Security (D) Management
28. If a protocol specifies that data should sent at 100 Mbps, what is this issue
(A) Syntax (B) Semantics
(C) Timing (D) None of these
29. Decryption and encryption of data are responsibility of
 (A) physical layer (B) data link layer
(C) presentation layer (D) session layer
30. Which of the following is possible in a token passing bus network ?
(A) in-service expansion (B) unlimited number of stations
(C) both (A) and (B) (D) unlimited distance
31. Which of the following is not relevant to networking ?
(A) Low-end stand alone hubs (B) Stackable hubs
(C) Mesh network (D) Bus hubs
32. In networking terminology UTP means
(A) Unshielded Twisted pair (B) Ubiquitious Teflon port
(C) Uniformly Terminating port (D) Unshielded T-connector port
33. Simple network management protocol (SNMP) is implemented with a daughter board in
(A) the nodes
(B) the server
(C) the hubs
(D) a separate PC that manages the network
34. The amount of uncertainty in a system of symbol is called
(A) Bandwidth (B) Entropy
(C) Loss (D) Quantum
35. What is the name of network architecture that was developed by IBM ?
(A) SNA (B) DECNET
(C) XNS (D) Novell
36. Which organisation draws up standards for modems ?
(A) CCITT (B) BELL
(C) AT and T (D) Hayes
37. Which one of the following is not a class of LAN ?
(A) Broad band (B) CSMA/CD
(C) Token bus (D) Token ring
38. Working of the WAH generally involves
(A) telephone lines (B) micro waves
(C) satellites (D) all of these
39. Modem is used in data trasmission. When was it involved and in which country ?
(A) 1963, USA (B) 1965, Germany
(C) 1950, USA (D) 1950, Japan
40. A local area network
(A) that connects thirty personnel computers can provide more computing power than a minicomputer
(B) controls error detection and correction
(C) constructs packets of data and sends them across the network
(D) none of these
41. Network operating system that does not support symmetric multiprocesing (SMP) is
(A) Banyan (VINES) (B) Microsoft NT Advanced server
(C) SCO unix (D) Novell network 3 . X
42. Different computers are connected to a LAN by a cable and
(A) modem (B) interface card
(C) special wires (D) telephone lines
43. Fibre optics have maximum segment is
(A) 500 m (B) 200 m
(C) 100 m (D) 2000 m
44. Twisted pair have maximum segment is
(A) 500 m (B) 200 m
(C) 100 m (D) 2000 m
45. Thick coax have maximum segemnt is
 (A) 500 m (B) 200 m
(C) 100 m (D) 2000 m
46. Method of communication in which transmission takes place in both directions, but only in one direction at a time,
is called
(A) simplex (B) four wire circuit
(C) full duplex (D) half duplex
47. Error detection at the data link level is achieved by
(A) Bit stuffing (B) Cyclic redundancy codes
(C) Hamming codes (D) Both B and C
48. The topology with highest reliability is
(A) bus topology (B) star topology
(C) ring topology (D) mesh topology
49. Baud means the
(A) number of bits transmitted per unit time
(B) number of bytes transmitted per unit time
(C) rate at which the signal changes
(D) none of these
50. Unmodulated signal coming from a transmitter is known as
(A) carrier signal (B) baseband signal
(C) primary singal (D) none of these

Answers
1. B 2. B 3. B 4. A 5. A 6. C 7. D 8. A 9. B 10. B
11. D 12. A 13. B 14.A 15. B 16. B 17. A 18. B 19. C 20. C
21. C 22.A,B 23. D 24. A 25. C 26. A 27. B 28. C 29. C 30. A
31. D 32. A 33. C 34. B 35. A 36. A 37. A 38. D 39. C 40.A
41.D 42. B 43. D 44. C 45. A 46. D 47. B 48. D 49. C 50. B
 Unit - 4

1. A group of 2m-1 routers are interconnected in a centralized binary tree. With router at each tree node. Router I
communicates with router J by sending a message to the root of the tree. If root then sends the message back down
J, the mean path length will be
(A) 2 (m-2) (B) 2 (2m-1)
(C) m - 1 (D) (2m-1)/mJ
2. A terninal multiplexer has six 1200 bps terminals and 'n'300 bps terminals connected to it. If outgoing line is
9600 bps, then maximum value of n is
(A) 4 (B) 16
(C) 8 (D) 28
3. A modern constellation diagram has data points at (0,1) and (0,2). The modern uses
(A) phase modulation (B) amplitude modulation
(C) bothe (A) and (B) (D) none of these
Common Data 4 to 6
Following diagram representing shortest path adaptive routing
FD NN OD
A
B
C
E
F
G
2 3

B C
4
2
3 2
3 3

6 5 3 3
A E D

3
4 4
6 3

5
F G

FD is the final destination, NN is the next node, OD is the overall delay. The routing table model is given for the
node D
4. Entry for NN if FD is node B, is
(A) E (B) C
(C) G (D) none of these
5. Entry of OD for the above case is
(A) 12 (B) 8
(C) 4 (D) 3
6. The OD if FD is node A is
(A) 13 (B) 11
(C) 9 (D) 7
7. ICI ( Interface Control Information) is
(A) use to transfer user data from layer to layer
(B) used to exchange information by peer entities at different sites on the network to instruct an entity to perform
a service function
(C) a combination of service data unit (SDU) and protocol control infromation (PCI)
(D) a temporary parameter passed between N and N-1layers to involve service functions between two layers
8. In an Ethernet network, what is the relationship between round-trip time and the collision domain ?
(A) Round-trip time increases ; collision domain decreases
 (B) Round-trip time decreases; collision domain decreases
(C) Round-trip time decrease; collision domain increases
(D) None of these
9. Repeaters function in
(A) physical layer (B) data link layer
(C) network layer (D) both (A) and (B)
10. What are the primary characteristics that distinguish a cell from a packet
(A) Cells are generally smaller than packets
(B) Cells do not incorporate physical address
(C) All cells have the same fixed length
(D) Packet cannot be switched
11. Adaptive or dynamic directory used in packet routing changes
(A) within each user session (B) with easch user session
(C) at system generation time only (D) both (A) and (B)
12. Three routers have to be inter-connected in a point-to-point network. Each pair of routers may be connected by a
high speed line, a medium speed line, a low speed line or no line. If time taken to generate and inspect each
topology, is 100 ms, how long will it take to inspect all of them to find one that best matches the expected load ?
(A) 12 sec (B) 14.4 sec
(C) 6.4 sec (D) 7.0 sec
13. A networking system has an n layers. Application generated message of length M bytes. At each of the layer, a h-
byte header is added, what fraction of the network bandwidth is filled with headers ?
(A) M/(n x M) bytes (B) h x n x M bytes
(C) (n x h ) / M bytes (D) M / (n x m)
14. For a packet switching network where
packet size = p bits
message size = x bits
propagation delay = d sec/hop
number of hops = k hops
Time required for the last bit of the last packet to reach to receiver is
x x
(A) t p k (d p / d ) sec (B) t p k (d b) sec

x
(C) t p k (d b) sec (D) t x b (k 1) xp / b kd sec
Linked Aswer 15 to 16
Let the clock-driven scheme for generating initial sequence numbers is used with a 15-bit wide clock counter. The
clock ticks one every 100 msec, and the maximum poacket lifetime is 60 sec.
15. How oftern need resynchronization take place in the worst case ?
(A) 2216.8 sec. (B) 2816.8 sec
(C) 3216.8 sec. (D) 3416.8 sec
16. How often need resynchronization take place when the data consumes 240 sequence numbers / min ?
(A) 3261.3 sec. (B) 4261.3 sec
(C) 5361.3 sec. (D) 6261.3 sec.
17. For a 1-Gbps network operting over 4000 km, the delay is the limiting factor, not the bandwidth. Consider a MAN
with the average source and destination 20 km apart. At what data rate does the round-trip delay due to the speed
of light equal the transmision delay for a 1-KB packet ?
(A) 24 Mbps (B) 36 Mbps
(C) 40 Mbps (D) 48 Mbps
18. What is the bit rate for transmitting compressed VGA color with 8 bits/pixel at 40 frames /sec ?
(A) 63.7 Mbps (B) 73.7 Mbps
(C) 83.7 Mbps (D) None of these
19. A group of 2n-1 routers are interconnected in a centralised binary tree, with a router at each tree node. Router i
communicates with router j by sending a message to the root of the tree. The root then sends the message back
down to j. The mean number of hops per message for large n, assuming that all router pairs are equally likely will
be
(A) n - 4 (B) 2n - 1
 (C) n - 2 (D) 2n - 4
20. Imagine that you have trained your St. Bernard, Bernie, to carry a box of three 8 mm Exabyte instead of a flask of
brandy (When your disk fills up, you consider that an emergency). These tapes each contain 7 gigabytes. The dog
can travel to your side, wherever you may be, at 18 khm/hour. For what range of distances does Bernie have a x
higher data rate than a 155 Mbps ATM line ?
(A) x < 2.4 (B) x < 4.2
(C) x < 5.4 (D) x < 7.2
21. One important characteristics of the hub architecture of ARC -net is
(A) directionalized trasmission (B) access control and addressing
(C) multiple virtual networks (D) alternate routing
22. Select the chip that an active hub contains
(A) multiport repeater chip (B) UART
(C) 386 SX (D) none of these
23. Which of the following device is used with an X-25 network to provide service to asynchronous terminals ?
(A) Repeater (B) Bridges
(C) Gateway (D) Paket assembled
24. Satelits Switched Time-Division Multiple Access (SS/TDMA) is
(A) the method of determining which device has access to the trasmission medium at any time
(B) a medium access control technique for multiple access transmission media
(C) a form of TDMA in which circuit switching is used to dynamically change the channel assignments
(D) all of these
25. A major security problem for operating system is
(A) authentication problem (B) physical problem
(C) human problem (D) none of these
26. The most common approach to authernticating a user identity is
(A) user passwords (B) user log in
(C) hardware device (D) none of these
27. In one time password
(A) the password is different in each instance
(B) the password is same in each instance
(C) both (A) and (B)
(D) none of these
28. Program threats are
(A) Trojan Horse (B) trap doors
(C) both (A) and (B) (D) none of these
29. Trojan Horse
(A) A code segment that misuses its file is called Trojan horse
(B) good for file accessing
(C) both (A) and (B)
(D) none of these
30. Trap door
(A) could be included in a complier
(B) pose a difficult problem because, to detect them
(C) bothe (A) and (B)
(D) none of these
31. Worm
(A) is a process that uses the spawn mechanism to clobber system performance
(B) spawns copies of itself, using up system resources and perhaps locking out system use by all other processes
(C) both (A) and (B)
(D) none of these
32. Worm was made up of
(A) one program (B) two programs
(C) three programs (D) all of these
33. Two programs of worm are
 (A) grappling hook program (B) main program
(C) both (A) and (B) (D) none of these
34. Boot strap or vector is called
(A) grappling hook program (B) main program
(C) secondary program (D) primary storage
35. Viruses
(A) another form of computer attack is virus
(B) virus are designed to spread into other programs and can wreak havoc in a system
(C) it modifying or destroying files and causing system crashes and program malfunctions
(D) all of these
36. Viruses
(A) are usually spread by users downloading viral programs from public bulletin boards or exchanging floppy
disks containing an infection
(B) are beneficial for program
(C) both (A) and (B)
(D) none of these
37. Protection against computer viruses is
(A) preventation
(B) practice of safe computing
(C) purchasing unopened software from vendors
(D) avoiding free or pirated copies from public sources
38. Threat monitoring technique is
(A) the system can check for suspicious patterns of activity in an attempt to detect a security violation
(B) a time sharing a system that counts the number of incorrect passwords given
(C) both (A) and (B)
(D) none of these
39. The security of a system can be improved by
(A) threat monitoring (B) audit log
(C) both (A) and (B) (D) none of these
40. An audit log
(A) simply records the time (B) user
(C) type of all access to an object (D) all of these
41. Audit log can be used to
(A) determine how and when the problem occurred
(B) what amount of damage was done
(C) when security has been violated
(D) all of these
42. Window NT
(A) security model is based on the notion of user accounts
(B) creates a security access token that includes the security ID for users
(C) NT operates with client server model
(D) all of these
43. Poor response time are caused by
(A) Process or busy (B) High I/O rate
(C) High paging rates (D) All of these
44. Global locks
(A) synchronize access to local resources
(B) synchronize access to global resources
(C) are used to avoid local locks
(D) prevent access to global resources
45. The file structure that redefines its first record at a base of zero uses the term
(A) relative organization (B) key fielding
(C) dynamic realloction (D) all of these
46. A file organization component of a VSAM file is
(A) relative record data set (B) keyed sequential data set
(C) entry sequential data set (D) all of these
47. Which of the following refers to the associative memory ?
(A) Address of the data is generated by the CPU
(B) Address of the data is supplied by the users
(C) There is no need for an address ie the data is used as an address
(D) Data are accessed sequentially
48. If ax b, by c, cz a, then value of xyz is
(A) 0 (B) 1
(C) 1/abc (D) abc
1 1 1
?
49. 1 xb xc 1 xa xc 1 xb xa
a a b b c c
(A) 0 (B) 1
(C) xa-b-c (D) none of these
50. A man sitting beside me at a hotel ate idlis one after the other by ordering plate by plate. He said to me after
drinking some water the last one I ate was my hundredth idli in last five days. Each day I ate 6 more than the
previous day. How many he ate yesterday ?
(A) 26 (B) 24
(C) 22 (D) 20

Answers
1. A 2. C 3. B 4. B 5. C 6. D 7. D 8. B 9. A 10. C
11. A 12. C 13. C 14. D 15. C 16. C 17. C 18. B 19. D 20. C
21. A 22. A 23. D 24. C 25. A 26. A 27. A 28. C 29. A 30. C
31. C 32. B 33. C 34. A 35. D 36. A 37. D 38. C 39. A 40..D
41.D 42. D 43. D 44. B 45. A 46. D 47. C 48. B 49. B 50. A
 Unit - 7
1. Shared sub-directories and files are example of
(A) a cyclic graph directory (B) tree structured direction
(C) one level directory (D) none of these
2. Which type of design problem in file system ?
(A) How the file system should look to the user
(B) Algorithm and data structure must be created to map the logical file system onto the secondary storage device
(C) Both (A) and (B)
(D) None of these
3. In MS-DOS, relocatable object files and load modules have extensions
(A) .OBJ and .COM or .EXE respectively
(B) .COM and .OBJ respectively
(C) .EXE and .OBJ respectively
(D) .DAS and .EXE respectivel
4. A file sometimes called a
(A) collection of input data (B) data set
(C) temporary place to store data (D) program
5. Access time is the highest in the case of
(A) floppy disk (B) cache
(C) swapping devices (D) magnetic disks
6. A file organization component of a VSAM file is
(A) relative record data set (B) keyed sequential data set
(C) entry sequential data set (D) all of these
7. The file structure that redefines its first record at a base of zero uses the term
(A) relative organization (B) key fielding
(C) dynamic reallocation (D) hashing
8. A partitioned data set is mostly used for
(A) a program or source library (B) storing program data
(C) storing back up information (D) storing ISAM files
9. Consider six file : F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6 with corresponding sizes 100, 200, 70, 40, 250, and 50 respectively, the files
are to be stored on a sequential device in such a way that as to optimize access time. In what order should the files
be stored ?
(A) F6, F5, F4, F3, F2, F1 (B) F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6
(C) F5, F2, F1, F3, F6, F4 (D) F4, F6, F3, F1, F2, F5
10. Consider six files F1, F2, F3, F4, F5 and F6 of corresponding sizes 100, 200, 70, 40, 250 and 50 respectively.
If the files are stored in such a manner to optimize access time, what will be the approximate average access time
of a record from one of the six files on the sequential device ?
(A) 131 (B) 198
(C) 286 (D) 433
11. Primitive disk operating system (POS) manages its disk files in contiguous blocks. A file is saved to the first
available space that is large enough to hold the file. Assume that a disk has only 10 contiguous blocks of available
free space. Which of the following set of file operations.
Fa = 1, Fb = 3, Fc = 5, Fd = 6
(A) save (fa), save (fb), save (fd), delete (fd), save (fc)
(B) save (fc), save (fa), delete (fc), save (fd)
(C) save (fd), save (fb), delete (fd), save (fd)
(D) save (fb), save (fa), delete (fb), save (fd)
A program D reads & processes 1000 consecutive records from a sequential file F stored on device D without
using any fine sytem facilites. Given the following:
(i) size of each record = 3200 bytes
(ii) Access time of D = 10 m secs
(iii) Data transfer rate of D = 800 x 103 bytes / sec
 (iv) CPU time to process each record = 3 m secs
12. What is the elapsed time of P if F contains unblocked records and P does not use buffering ?
(A) 12 sec (B) 14 sec
(C) 17 sec (D) 21 sec
13. What is the elapsed time of P if F contains unblocked records and P uses one buffer (i.e. it always reads ahead into
the buffer) ?
(A) 12 sec (B) 14 sec
(C) 17 sec (D) 21 sec
14. What is the elapsed time of P if records of F are organized using a blocking factor of 2 (i.e. each block on D
contains two records of F) and P uses one buffer ?
(A) 12 sec (B) 14 sec
(C) 17 sec (D) 21 sec
15. Supervisor state is
(A) entered by programs when they enter the processor
(B) required to perform any I/O
(C) only allowed to the operating system
(D) never used
16. Trojan-Horse programs
(A) are legitimate programs that allow unanuthorized access
(B) are hacker programs that do not show up on the system
(C) really do not usually work
(D) usually are immediately discovered
17. Link encryption
(A) is more secure than end-to-end encryption
(B) is less secure than end-to-end encryption
(C) cannot be used in a large network
(D) is used only to detect errors
18. Device busy
(A) is good, since that means the device is in use
(B) is bad, since that means the device is not available
(C) is bad only if the device busy rate is too high
(D) depends upon the system paging rate
19. Interrupts per second
(A) is a good measure of the system I/O activity
(B) is a good measure of the system paging activity
(C) should never be greater than 1000/ second
(D) is higher on smaller computers
20. Control-unit busy
(A) is the same as device busy
(B) shows the availability of the path of devices
(C) can be prevented with more devices
(D) can be prevented by reducing the paging rate
21. Real-time displays
(A) are used only for capacity planning
(B) are most useful for showing performance problems
(C) are useless for capacity planning
(D) cannot show the system paging rate
22. Seeks analysis
(A) is used for analyzing paging problems
(B) is used for analyzing device busy problems
(C) is used for analyzing control-unit busy problems
(D) is only shown on real -time displays
23. A long - term monitor
(A) should show any immediate performance problems
 (B) should show I/O, paging, and processor activity
(C) need show only the I/O and processor activity
(D) usually reports only on terminal displays
24. A long - term process display should
(A) show which processes used the most processor time
(B) show process activity by time interval
(C) show resources used by the most active processes
(D) all of these
25. Which types of file organization are supported by magnetic tape ?
(A) random files (B) contiguous sequential file
(C) indexed sequential file (D) all of these
26. Number of minimal set of required file operations are
(A) two (B) four
(C) five (D) six
27. How many common file type are there ?
(A) nine (B) six
(C) five (D) two
28. System supports two types of file, which are
(A) text files (B) executable binary files
(C) both (A) and (B) (D) none of these
29. The simplest directory structure is
(A) single level directory (B) two level directory
(C) tree structure directory (D) none of these
30. Solution of name collision problem is
(A) single level directory (B) two level directory
(C) tree structure (D) all of these
31. Path's name are
(A) absolute path (B) relative path
(C) both (A) and (B) (D) none of these
32. Which structure prohibits the sharing of files and directories ?
(A) tree structure (B) one level structure
(C) two level structure (D) none of these
33. A certain imcroprocessor requires 4.5 mircoseconds to respond to interrupt. Assume that the three interrupts I1,
I2, I3 require the following execution time after the interrupt is recognized
(i) I1 requires 25 microseconds
(ii) I2 requires 35 microseconds
(iii) I3 requires 20 microseconds
I1 has the highest priority and I3 has the lowest. What is the possible range of time for I3 to be executed assuming
that it may or may not occur simultaneously with other interrupts ?
(A) 24.5 microseconds to 93.5 microseconds
(B) 24.5 microseconds to 39.5 microseconds
(C) 4.5 microseconds to 24.5 microseconds
(D) 29.5 microseconds to 93.5 microseconds
34. The most difficult problem with co-processors is
(A) finding suitable applications (B) keeping all processors busy
(C) managing shared resources (D) cost
35. A file server uses a form of locking as a concurrency control technique. When a file is locked by a client, all
attempts to use or lock the file by other clients are prevented by the server. A potential problem exists if a client
requests a lock on a file and then crashes. This situation could result in the file being locked indefinitely. To
prevent this from occurring, the file server starts a time whenever it sets a lock. If the timer runs out before the
file is unlocked the server assumes that the client has crashed and releases the lock. Which of the following is
true of this strategy ?
(A) It provides a solution to the problem of preventing indefinite lockout. (B) It may result in interleaved
access to a file by two or more clients
(C) It will guarantee mutual exclusion
 (D) It will fail to guarantee the prevention of indefinite lockout
36. Domain of protection is
(A) process (B) objects
(C) both (A) and (B) (D) none of these
37. In MULTICS
(A) has segmented address space
(B) each segment is file
(C) segment is associated with the rings
(D) all of these
38. Domains are represented by
(A) rows (B) columns
(C) tables (D) all of these
39. Objects are represented by
(A) rows (B) columns
(C) tables (D) none of these
40. Contents of the access matrix entries requires
(A) copy (B) columns
(C) control (D) all of these
41. Hydra
(A) is a capability based protection system
(B) provides considerable flexibility
(C) both (A) and (B)
(D) none of these
42. A hydra
(A) subsystem is built on top of its protection kernel and may require protection of its own components
(B) is memory management device
(C) is used in interfacing
(D) all of these
43. CAP
(A) is simpler and less powerful than that of hydra
(B) is complex and less powerful than that of hydra
(C) is simple and greater power than that of hydra
(D) none of these
44. Capability of CAP is
(A) data capability (B) software capability
(C) both (A) and (B) (D) none of these
45. Software capability
(A) is protected by CAP microcode
(B) it is not interpreted by microcode
(C) it is interpreted by protected procedure
(D) all of these
46. Main motto of CAP system is
(A) use of software capability has allowed them to relative considerable economics in formulating and implement-
ing protection policies
(B) system provides him with no library of procedures to be used
(C) both (A) and (B)
(D) none of these
47. Security violation due to
(A) malicious (B) accidental
(C) both (A) and (B) (D) none of these
48. Malicious access are
(A) unauthorized reading of data
(B) unauthorized modification of data
(C) unauthorized destruction of data
 (D) all of these
49. Physical level
(A) computer systems must be physically secured against armed or surreptitious entry by intruders
(B) users must be screened carefully so that the chance of authorizing a user who then gives access to an intruder
(C) both (A) and (B)
(D) none of these
50. Human level
(A) computer system must be physically secured against armed or surreptitions entry by intruders
(B) users must be screened carefully so that the chance of authorizing a user who then gives access to an intruder
(C) both (A) and (B)
(D) none of these

Answers
1. A 2. C 3. A 4. B 5. D 6. D 7. A 8. A 9. D 10. C
11. C 12. C 13. B 14. A 15. C 16. A 17. B 18. C 19. A 20. B
21. B22. B 23. B 24. D 25. B 26. D 27. A 28. C 29. A 30. B
31. C32. A 33. A 34. B 35. A 36. C 37. D 38. A 39. B 40. D
41.C 42. A 43. A 44. C 45. D 46. C 47. C 48. D 49.C 50. B
 Unit - 10

1. A relational model which allows non-atomic domains is

(A) nested relational data model (B) non-atomic data model
(C) hierarchical data model (D) none of these
2. Let R (a,b,c) and S (d,e,f) be two relations in which d is the foreign key of S that refers to the primary key of R.
Consider following four operations R and S
I. insert into R
II insert into S
III delete from R
IV delete form S
Which of the following can cause violation of the referential integrity constraint above ?
(A) Both I and IV (B) Both II and III
(C) All of these (D) None of these
3. Which of the following is not true for the traditional approach to information processiong ?
(A) There is common sharing of data among the various applications
(B) It is file oriented
(C) Programs are dependent on the files
(D) It is inflexible
4. The database environment has all of the following components except
(A) users (B) separate files
(C) database (D) database adminstration
5. The way a particular application views the data from the database that the application uses is a
(A) module (B) relational model
(C) schema (D) subschema
6. The data manipulation language (DML)
(A) refers to data using physical addresses
(B) cannot interface with high-level programming language
(C) is used to define the physical characteristics of each record
(D) none of these
7. The relational model uses some unfamiliar terminology. A tuple is a equivalent to
(A) record (B) field
(C) file (D) data base
8. For two union compatible relations R1 (A, B) and R2 (C, D) what is the result of the opeation R1 A = C AB = D R2 ?
(A) R1 R2 (B) R1 R2
(C) R1 R2 (D) R1 R2
9. Relations produced from an E - R model will always be in
(A) 1 NF (B) 2 NF
(C) 3 NF (D) B CNF
10. Aprimary key, if combined with a foreign key creates
(A) parent child relationship between the tables that connect them
(B) many-to-many relationship between the tables that connect them
(C) network model between the tables cannect them
(D) none of these
11. Network models are complicated by physical keys, but the relation model is
(A) faster because it uses logical keys
(B) faster because it uses physical keys
(C) slower because it uses physical keys
(D) slower because it uses logical keys
12. Discrimination of the weak entity is
 (A) account number (B) transaction number
(C) {account number, date} (D) date
13. Primary key of the weak entity is
(A) account number
(B) {account number, transaction number}
(C) {account number, date}
(D) {transaction number, date}
14. Consider Join of a relation R with a relation S. If R hasm tuples and S has n tuples, then maximum and minimum
sizes of the Join respectively are
(A) m n and 0 (B) mn and 0
(C) m n and | m n | (D) mn and m n
15. A Network Schema
(A) restricts the structure to a one to many relationships
(B) permits many to many relationships
(C) stores data in tables
(D) none of these

16. In a relational Schema, each tuple is divided in to fields called

(A) relations (B) domains
(C) queries (D) none of these
17. The on line soft copy displays a customer's charge account to respond to an inquiry is an example of
(A) forecasting report (B) exception report
(C) regularly scheduled report (D) on demand report
18. If a field size is too small for the logest piece of data to be entered, then
(A) data base program will freeze (B) field will automatically expand
(C) part of the data will be cut-off (D) none of these
19. Consider a relation geq which represents "greater than or equal to ", that is,
(x, y) geq only if y x
Create table geq (lb integer not null ub integer not null primary keyIb foreign key (ub) references geq on delete
cascade)
Which of the following is possible if a tuple (x, y) is deleted ?
(A) a tuple (z, w) with z > y is deleted
(B) a tuple (z, w) with z > x is deleted
(C) a tuple (z, w) with w < x is deleted
(D) the deletion of (x, y) is prohibited
20. Given relations r (w, x) and s (y,z) the result of select distinct w,x form r,s is guaranteed to be the same as r, provided
:
(A) r has no duplicated and s is non-empty
(B) r and s have no duplicates
(C) s has no duplicates and r is non-empty
(D) r and s have the same number to tuples
21. In SQL, relation can contain null values, and comparisons with null values are treated as unknown suppose all
comparisons with a null value are treated as false.
Which of the following pairs is not equivalent ?
(A) x = 5 not (not(x=5))
(B) x=5x >4 and x < 6, where x is an integer
(C) x 5 not (x=5)
(D) none of these
22. The SQL expression
Select distinct T. branchname from branch T, branch S where T. assets >S. assets and S. branchcity = "TENALI"
finds the names of
(A) all branches that have greater assets than some branch located in TENALI
(B) all branches that have greater assets than all branches located in TENALI
(C) the branch that has the greatest asset in TENALI
 (D) any branch that has greater asset than any branch located in TENALI
23. The employee salary should not be greater then Rs. 2000. This is
(A) integrity constraint (B) referential constraint
(C) over-defined constraint (D) feasible constraint
24. Manager's salary details are hidden from the employee. This is
(A) conceptual level data hiding (B) physical level data hiding
(C) external level data hiding (D) none of these
25. Trigger is a
(A) statement that enables to start any DBMS
(B) statement that is executed by the user when debugging an application program
(C) condition the system tests for the validity of the database user
(D) statement that is executed automatically by the system as a side effect of a modification to the database
26. Which of the following is (are) logical data base structure ?
(A) Network (B) Tree
(C) Chain (D) All of these
27. Which of the following is not a relational data of DBMS ?
(A) Fox Pro (B) dBASE IV
(C) 4th Dimension (D) ReFlex
28. Which of the following Query transformations (i.e., replacing the L.H.S. expression by the R.H.S. expression) is
incorrect ?
R1 and R2 are relations, C1 and C2 are selection conditions and A1 and A2 are attributes of R1
(A) c1 ( c1 ( R1 )) c 2 ( c 2 ( R1 ))
(B) c1 ( A1 ( R1 )) A1 ( c1 ( R1 ))
(C) c1 ( R1 R2 ) c1 ( R1 ) c1 ( R2 ))
(D) A2 ( c1 ( R1 ) c1 ( A2 ( R1))
29. Match the following and select the correct answer from the codes given below the lists
:List - I List - II
A. secondary index 1. functional dependency
B. non-procedural Query language 2. B-Tree
C. closure of a set of attributes 3. domain calculus
D. natural - join 4. relational algebraic operations
A B C D
(A) 2 3 1 4
(B) 3 2 4 1
(C) 3 1 2 4
(D) 2 1 4 3
30. The relational algebra expression equivalent to the tuple calculus expression
t \ t r (t[ A] 10t[ B] 20)is
(A) ( A10vB 20) (r ) (B) ( A10) (r ) ( B 20) (r )
(C) ( A10) (r ) ( B 20) (r ) (D) ( A10) (r ) ( B 20) (r )
31. Data integrity control
(A) is used to setupper an dlower limits on numeric data
(B) requires the use of passwords to prohibit unauthorized access to the file
(C) has the data dictionary to keep the data and time of last access, last beck-up, and most recent modification for
all files
(D) none of these
32. Information can be transferred between DBMS and
(A) spread sheet program (B) word processor program
(C) graphics program (D) all fo these
33. A race condition occurs when
(A) two concurrent activities interact to cause a processing error
 (B) two users of the DBMS are interacting with different files at the same time
(C) both (A) and (B)
(D) none the these
34. Addresses are considered
(A) Numeric fields (B) Data fields
(C) Relational fields (D) Alpha fields
35. A data is often entered in a format such as 81/12/30 because
(A) 4military prefers this format (B) reader can find the year faster
(C) it allow the user to sort by year (D) none of these
36. Which of the following contains complete record of all activity that affected the contents of a database during a
certain period of time ?
(A) 4 GL (B) d-BASE
(C) Oracle (D) SQL
37. In amultiuser data base, if two users wish to update the same record at the same time, they are prevented from dong
so by
(A) jamming (B) password
(C) documentation (D) record lock
38. A relational data base management (RDBM) package manages data in more than one file at once. It organize these
files as
(A) tables (B) relations
(C) tuple (D) both (A) and (B)
39. If P and Q are predicates and P is the relational algebra expression, then which of the following equivalence are
valid ?
(A) P ( Q (e)) Q ( P (e) (B) P ( Q (e)) P ^Q (e)
(C) Q ( P (e)) P ^Q (e) (D) All of these
40. Which of the following contains a complete record of all activity that affected the contents of a database during a
certain period of time ?
(A) Report writer (B) Query language
(C) Data manipulation language (D) Transaction log
41. Data items are composed of data elements
(A) True (B) False
42. Updating a data base means
(A) revising the file structure
(B) reorganizing the database
(C) modifying or adding record occurrences
(D) all of these
43. One data dictionary software package is called
(A) DB/DC dictionary (B) TOTAL
(C) ACCESS (D) all of these
44. A logical schema
(A) is entire data base
(B) is a standard way of organizing information into a accessible part
(C) describes how data is actually stored on disk
(D) none of these
45. Subschema can be used to
(A) create very different personalized views of the same data
(B) present information in different formats
(C) hide sensitive information by omitting fields from the subschema description
(D) all of these
46. A data dictionary is a special file that contains
(A) name sof all fields in all files (B) data types of all fields in all files
(C) width of all fields in all files (D) all of these
47. With regard to expressive power of the formal relational Query languages, relational algebra
 (A) is more powerful than relational calculus
(B) has the same power as relational calculus
(C) has the same power as safe relational calculus
(D) none of these
48. If adjacency relation of vertices in a graph is represented in a table Adj (x,y) then which of the following Queries
can not be expressed by a relational algebra expression of constant length ?
(A) List all vertices adjacent to a given vertex
(B) List all vertices which have self loops
(C) List all vertices which belong to cycle of less than three vertices
(D) List all vertices reachable from a given vertex
49. Which of the following relational calculus expressions is not safe ?
(A) {t / u R1 (t[ A] u[ A[) ^ s R2 (t[ A] s[ A])}
(B) {t / (t R1 )}
(C) {t / u R1 (t[ A] u[ A[) ^ s R2 (t[ A] s[ A])}
(D) {t / u R1 (u[ A] " x" s R2 (t[ A] s[ A]^ s[ A] u[ A]))}
50. Queries to a data base
(A) are written in English
(B) can use aggregate functions like SUM and COUNT
(C) both (A) and (B)
(D) none of these

Unit 10

1. A 2. B 3. A 4. B 5. D 6. D 7. A 8. D 9. C 10. A
11. A 12. B 13. B 14. B 15. A 16. B 17. A 18. D 19. C 20. A
21. C 22. A 23. A 24. C 25. D 26. C 27. A 28. A 29. A 30. C
31. B 32.C 33.D 34. D 35. D 36. B 37. A 38. D 39. D 40.D
41.B 42. A 43. D 44. D 45. C 46. C 47. C 48. D 49.B 50.D
 Introduction&Characteristics of Computers
A computer is an electronic device that can perform a variety of operations in accordance with a set of instruc-
tions called program. It is essentially a data processor. It can store, access and process data millions of times faster
than humans can. Computers can do a lot of different tasks such as playing games, weather forecasting, error
detection and controlling a flight of space aircraft etc.
Data in computer terminology means raw facts such as name of a person, name of a city, amount of a thing etc.
For eg: Sachin, 1947, A, -160.5 are data.
A processed data is called information. That is, data are aggregated and summarized in various meaningful ways to
form information.
Characteristics of Computers
1. Speed:- Computers are much faster as compared to human beings. A computer can perform a task in a minute that
may take days if performed manually. Usually the speed of computers are expressed in microseconds or nanoseconds.
2. Accuracy:- The accuracy of a computer is consistently high. It can perform all the calculations and comparisons
accurately provided the hardware doesnot malfunction.
3. High storage Capacity:- Computers can store a large amount of information in very small space. It can store and recall
any amount of information because of its secondary storage capability. Every piece of information can be retained as long as desired
by the user.
4. Reliability:- Computers are immune to tiredness and boredom or fatigue. Thus they are more reliable than
humanbeings.

5.Automation :-A computer is much mre than just a calculations in which we need to give the instructions at
every step.It is an intelligent device and if programmed for an activity.It keeps doing it till finishes,without
any human intervention.
6.Deligence:-Computer being a
machine ,does not show any signs of fatigue,tiredness,lack of concentration or lost interest.The speed
accuracy and the quality would be absolutely same in the first and the last calculation.even if millions of
calculations are done by computer.
7.Versatality :-Computers can perform repetitive jobs effecntly .They can solve labour problem or do
hazardous jobs in hostle enviornment .They even can work in the areas where human brsin can error for
instance observing motion of very fast moving articles .
 A
Y
BOOLEAN ALGEBRA AND LOGIC B
GATES
Digital or logic circuits operate in the binary mode Output
where each input and output voltage is either a 0 or 1; A B
YAB
the 0 and 1 designations represent predefined voltage 0 0 0
ranges. This characteristic of logic circuits allows to
use Boolean Algebra as a tool for the analysis and 0 1 1
design of digital systems. 1 0 1
Boolean algebra differs in a major way from 1 1 1
ordinary algebra in that Boolean constants and
variables are allowed to have only two possible values.
A Boolean variable is a quantity, that may, at different times, AND Operation
be equal to either 0 or 1. The AND operation is defined as: the output of AND
Boolean algebra is used to express the effects gate is 1 if and only if all the inputs are 1 and output is 0 if
that various digital circuits have on logic inputs, and and only if any of the input is 0. The logical equation or
to manipulate the logic variables for the purpose of boolean equation for 2 input AND operation is given by
determining the best method for performing a given
Y = A. B
circuit function. In Boolean algebra there are only three
basic operations : OR, AND and NOT. These basic Where A and B are independent Boolean variables,
operations are called logic operations. represents the AND operation and Y represents the
Digital circuits can be constructed from diodes, results of AND operation.
transistors and resistors connected in such a way that AND gate: An AND gate is a circuit that has two or
the circuit output is the results of a basic operation more inputs and whose output is equal to the AND product
performed on the inputs and such circuits are called of the logic inputs. The logic symbol and the truthtable for
logic gates. a 2 input AND gate is given.
Truth Table
A

A truthtable is a means for how a logic
describing
circuit's output depends on the logic levels present at
the circuits inputs. The table lists all possible B Y
combinations of logic levels present at inputs along
with the corresponding output level. There are 4 table
entries for the two-input truth table and 8 entries for a
three-input truth table.
The of input
number A B YAB
combinations will equal 2N for an N-input truth table.
0 0 0
OR operation
0 1 0
The OR operation is defined as : the output of an
OR gate is 1 if and only if one or more inputs are 1 and 1 0 0
output is 0 if and only if all inpouts are 0. The logical 1 1 1
equation for 2 input OR operation is given by
Y= A+ B NOT operation
where A and B represent two independent logic The NOT operation requires only one logic input and
variables and Y represent the result of OR operation. the operation is defined as: the outputs of NOT gate is 1 if
and '+' represents the OR operation. and only if its input is 0 and output is zero if and only if its
OR gate: An OR gate is a circuit that has two or input is 1. The boolean equation for NOT operation is
more inputs and whose output is equal to the OR sum given by Y A
of the inputs. The logic symbol and the truth table for
The NOT operation is also referred to as inversion or
a 2 input OR gate is given.
complementation.
 NOT gate (inverter): The NOT gate is a circuit Each OR gate input in turn is an AND product term, which
that has only a single input and its output logic level means that an AND gate with approximate inputs can be used to
is always opposite to the logic level of this input. The generate each of these terms. The inverters can be used to
logic symbol and truth table for the NOT gate is given. produce A and C terms required in the expression.
Boolean theorems
A Boolean theorems are laws that can be used to simplify
Y Boolean expressions and logic circuits that are expressed
its operation mathematically using Boolean algebra.
A YA Boolean identities
0 1 And Operations
1 0 1. A . 1 = A
2. A . 0 = 0
The presence of a small circle, known as the 3. A . A = A
bubble always denote inversion in digital circuits. 4. A . A = 1
Implementing logic circuits from Boolean OR Operation
expressions 5. A + 0 = A
Any logic circuit can be completely described 6. A + 1 = 1
using the Boolean operations defined, because the 7. A + A = A
OR, AND and NOT gates are the basic building blocks
of digital systems. Also, if the operation of a circuit is 8. A + A = 1
defined by a Boolean expression, the logic circuit NOT Operation
diagram can be implemented directly from that 9. A = A
expression. Commutative law
For eg: Consider the boolean equation 10. AB = BA
Y AC BC ABC . This expression contains three 11. A + B = B + A
terms, AC, BC , ABC which are ORed together. So a Associative law
three input OR gate is required with these three inputs. 12. A+(B + C) = (A + B) + C
13. A(BC) = (AB)C
A Distributive law
BC 14. A(B + C) = AB + AC
A BC 15. A+(BC) = (A + B) . (A + C)
De Morgans theorem
Y AC BC ABC
16. A B A . B
A AC
A 17. A . B A B
C
Some useful results
18. A + AB = A
B B 19. A . (A + B) = A
20. A + A B = A + B
C C BC
Y AC BC ABC 21. A( A + B) = AB
22. (A + B) (A + C) = A + BC
A 23. AB + AC = A(B + C)
B
C A BC De Morgan's theorems
 De Morgan's first theorem states that compliment
of a sum is same as the product of their complements. A BC D( E F) (A BC ) ( D E F)
ie, A B A. B ii.
De Morgan's second theorem states that Y A B CD
complement of a product is same as the sum of their
complements. (A B) . CD
ie, A. B A B ( A B) . CD
Eg:1. Simplify the expression AB + A(B + C) +
B(B + C) using Boolean algebra. ( A B) . CD
AB + A(B + C) + B(B + C)
= AB + AB + AC + BB + BC iii. Y ABC ( D E )
= AB + AC + B + BC [ AB + AB = AB, BB =
B= AB + AC + B(1 + C) Y A B C ( D . E)
= AB + AC + B [ + C = 1]
= A B C D. E
= B (A + 1) + AC
= B + AC [ A + 1 = 1] ABC ( D E ) A B C D. E
AB + A(B + C) + B(B + C) = B + AC
NOR gates and NAND gates
2.
Simplfy expression AB(C BD) A B C using NOR and NAND gates actually combine the basic
Boolean algebra. operations AND, OR and NOT, which make it relatively
( AB ( C BD) A B) C easy to describe them using the Boolean algebra
operations.
(ABC ABBD A B) C
NOR gate : NOR gate is combination of OR and NOT
= ( ABC A B ) C B. B 0 gates. The NOR gate operates like an OR gate followed by
an inverter. The Boolean expression for NOR gate is given
= ABCC A BC
by.
= ABC ABC C. C C Y= A B
= BC(A A ) The logic symbol and truth table of NOR gate is given.

= BC A A 1 A B YAB
0 0 1
( AB ( C BD ) A B ) C BC A
0 1 0
3. Simplify using DeMorgran's theorem B YAB 1 0 0
i. Y A BC D( E F) 1 1 0

= A BC . D( E F) NAND gate: NAND gate is a combination of AND

and NOT gate. The NAND gate operates like an AND gate
= followed by an inverter. The Boolean expression for NAND
gate is given by,
(A BC ) . D( E F) [ A A ]
Y = AB
= (A BC ) . ( D ( E F)) The logic symbol and truth table NAND gate is given.
=
( A BC ) ( D E F) [ A A
 A B YA.B
A B Y AB 0 0 1
0 0 1 0 1 0
A
0 1 1 1 0 0
1 0 1 B Y AB 1 1 1
1 1 0
Universality of NAND gates and NOR gates
EXCLUSIVE-OR (EX-OR) operation
All Boolean expressions consist of various
The EX-OR operation is not a basic operation combinations of the basic operations of OR, AND and
and can be performed using the basic AND, OR, NAND NOT. It is possible to implement these basic operations
or NOR gates. The EX-OR operation is defined as: the and any logic expressions using only NAND gates or using
output of an EXOR gate is 1 if and only if both the only NOR gates. Due to this characteristics of NAND gate
inputs are different and output is 0 if and only if both and NOR gate, they are known as universal gates.
inputs are same. So this EX-OR gate finds application
where two digital signals are to be compared. The
Boolean equation is given by
Y AB AB
AB

A B Y A B
0 0 0
0 1 1
1 0 1
1 1 0

A
Y
B

EXCLUSIVE-NOR (EX-NOR) operation

The EX-NOR operation is defined as: the output
of EX-NOR gate is 1 if and only if both the input are
same and output is 0 if and only if both the input are
different. The Boolean equation for EX-NOR gate is
given by
Y = A B AB

A.B
NOT gate
NOR gate used as NOT gate

Two NOR gates used as an OR gate

OR gate

AND gate
Three NOR gates used as an AND gate

NANDgate Four NOR gates used as a NAND gate

Universal Property of NAND gates
NAND gates can be used to generate NOT, AND,
OR and NOR functions.

NOT gate

Two NAND gates used as an AND gate

AND gate

OR gate

Three NOR gates used as an OR gate

NOR gate
FourNANDgatesusedasaNORgate