IMBA – I SEM – FUNDAMENTALS OF COMPUTERS-unit -1

INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER:
Computer is an advanced electronic device that takes data as an input from the user through
input Devices and processes it, and produces a result (output) through output devices, and saves
it for future use is called Computer.

FUNCTIONALITIES OF A COMPUTER
If we look at it in a very broad sense, any digital computer carries out the following five
functions −

Step 1 − Takes data as input.

Step 2 − Stores the data/instructions in its memory and uses them as required.

Step 3 − Processes the data and converts it into useful information.

Step 4 − Generates the output.

Step 5 − Controls all the above four steps.

ADVANTAGES OF COMPUTERS
Following are certain advantages of computers.

High Speed
 Computer is a very fast device.
 It is capable of performing calculation of very large amount of data.
 The computer has units of speed in microsecond, nanosecond, and even the picoseconds.
 It can perform millions of calculations in a few seconds as compared to man who will
spend many months to perform the same task. Accuracy
 In addition to being very fast, computers are very accurate.
 The calculations are 100% error free.
 Computers perform all jobs with 100% accuracy provided that the input is correct.

Storage Capability
  Memory is a very important characteristic of computers.
 A computer has much more storage capacity than human beings.
 It can store large amount of data.
 It can store any type of data such as images, videos, text, audio, etc.

Diligence
 Unlike human beings, a computer is free from monotony, tiredness, and lack of
concentration.
 It can work continuously without any error and boredom.
 It can perform repeated tasks with the same speed and accuracy.

Reliability
 A computer is a reliable machine.
 Modern electronic components have long lives.
 Computers are designed to make maintenance easy.

Automation
 Computer is an automatic machine.
 Automation is the ability to perform a given task automatically. Once the computer
receives a program i.e., the program is stored in the computer memory, then the program
and instruction can control the program execution without human interaction.
Reduction in Paper Work and Cost
 The use of computers for data processing in an organization leads to reduction in paper
work and results in speeding up the process.
 As data in electronic files can be retrieved as and when required, the problem of
maintenance of large number of paper files gets reduced.
 Though the initial investment for installing a computer is high, it substantially reduces
the cost of each of its transaction.
Disadvantages of Computers:
Following are certain disadvantages of computers.

 A computer is a machine that has no intelligence to perform any task.

 Each instruction has to be given to the computer.
 A computer cannot take any decision on its own.
CPU(Central Processing Unit):
Central Processing Unit (CPU) consists of the following features −

 CPU is considered as the brain of the computer.

 CPU performs all types of data processing operations.
 It stores data, intermediate results, and instructions (program).
 It controls the operation of all parts of the computer.

CPU itself has following three components.

 Memory or Storage Unit

 Control Unit
 ALU(Arithmetic Logic Unit)

Memory or Storage Unit

This unit can store instructions, data, and intermediate results. This unit supplies information to
other units of the computer when needed. It is also known as internal storage unit or the main
memory or the primary storage or Random Access Memory (RAM).

Its size affects speed, power, and capability. Primary memory and secondary memory are two
types of memories in the computer. Functions of the memory unit are −

 It stores all the data and the instructions required for processing.
 It stores intermediate results of processing.
 It stores the final results of processing before these results are released to an output
device.
 All inputs and outputs are transmitted through the main memory.

Control Unit:
This unit controls the operations of all parts of the computer but does not carry out any actual
data processing operations.

Functions of this unit are −

 It is responsible for controlling the transfer of data and instructions among other units of
a computer.
 It manages and coordinates all the units of the computer.
  It obtains the instructions from the memory, interprets them, and directs the operation of
the computer.
 It communicates with Input/output devices for transfer of data or results from storage.
 It does not process or store data.

ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit):

This unit consists of two subsections namely,

 Arithmetic Section
 Logic Section
Arithmetic Section
Function of arithmetic section is to perform arithmetic operations like addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and division. All complex operations are done by making repetitive use of the
above operations.

Logic Section
Function of logic section is to perform logic operations such as comparing, selecting, matching,
and merging of data.

HARDWARE: The thing which is able to touch and feel is called Hardware. The following are
the different Hardware 1. Input/output devices
2. Storage Devices and memory

INPUT DEVICES: Input Devices are used to feed the data and instructions into Computers.
The following are the different type of Input Devices
1. Keyboard
2. Pointing Devices
3. Optical Devices
4. Handheld devices
5. Audio/visual devices

KEYBOARD:
Keyboard is the most common and very popular input device which helps to input data to the
computer. The layout of the keyboard is called QWERTY .These are the first 6 letters in
keyboard. Key in the keyboard are classified into following categories 1. Typing Keys
2. Numeric Keys/Number Keys
 3. Functional Keys
4. Control Keys
5. Special Purpose Keys
S.No Keys & Description

Typing Keys
1
These keys include the letter keys (A-Z) and digit keys (09) which generally give
the same layout as that of typewriters.

Numeric Keypad

It is used to enter the numeric data or cursor movement. Generally, it consists of

2
a set of 17 keys that are laid out in the same configuration used by most adding
machines and calculators.(0-9 ,dot,enter,+,-,* and NUMLOCK)

Function Keys(F1-F12)

The twelve function keys are present on the keyboard which is arranged in a row at
3
the top of the keyboard. Each function key has a unique meaning and is used for
some specific purpose.

Control keys

These keys provide cursor and screen control. It includes four directional arrow
4
keys. Control keys also include Home, End, Insert, Delete, Page Up, Page Down,
Control(Ctrl), Alternate(Alt), Escape(Esc).

Special Purpose Keys

5 Keyboard also contains some special purpose keys such as Enter, Shift, Caps
Lock, Num Lock, Space bar, Tab, and Print Screen.
POINTING DEVICES: Pointing input Device enables the users to easily control the movement
of the pointer to select the items on the display. The following are some examples of pointing
devices 1. Mouse 2. Trackball 3. Touchpad etc.

MOUSE: Mouse is an input Device that was invented by engelbart in 1963. It is the key input
device used in a graphical user interface (GUI).With mouse the user no longer memorizes the
commands. It can be used to handle the pointer on the screen to perform various functions.
Mouse has two buttons and one scroll wheel. it can be held in the hand and easily moved. Once
a pointer placed at desire position then, the user may perform the following operations
1. Point 2. Click 3. Drag 4. Scroll
Point: place the mouse pointer over the word on the screen by moving the mouse on the desk is
termed as pointing
Click: pressing either left or right button of the mouse is called clicking. The following are the
different clicks. 1. Left click 2. Right click
Left click: pressing left button of the mouse is called left click. The following are the possible
left clicks i. single left click: it is for select the item from the screen/pointing the pointer in
desire place. ii. Double left click : it is for open the item from the screen
Right click: Pressing the right button of mouse is called Right click. Right click display the
menu pop up on the screen.
Drag: Dragging means pointing to the desire location on the screen while pressing left button
of the mouse
Scroll: the scroll well, which placed in between left and right button of the mouse, is used to
vertical scroll the through long document
The following are the some popular mouse
1. Mechanical mouse
2. Optical mouse
3. Cordless mouse
Advantages:
 it helps to quickly and easily draw the figures
 it is cheap
 by using mouse quickly place the pointer on the desire location

Disadvantages:
 Mouse needs extra desk space to place the mouse.
 The ball in the mechanical mouse must be cleaned to remove the dust from it.
TRACKBALL:
Trackball is the pointing device that is used to control the position of the cursor on the screen.it
is usually used in notebook computers; the user rolls the ball to position the pointer on the desire
location on the screen. The ball may be rolls by with thumb, fingers or palm of the hand.
Advantages:
 it occupies the less space
 it is easier to use as compared to a mouse as its use involves less hand and arm
movements
Disadvantages:
 the trackball chamber is often covered with dust, so it must be cleaned regularly

TOUCHPAD: a touch pad is a small, flat, rectangular pointing device with sensitive surface of
1.5 to 2 square inches. The user has to be slide his or her fingertips across the surface of the pad
to point the pointer on the screen. There are also buttons around the edge of the pad that work
like mouse buttons. These are widely used in laptops, and are in built on the laptop keyboards.
The working of the touchpad is similar to the trackball and mouse.
Advantages:
 Touchpad occupies less space.
 Easy to use compare to mouse.
 Touchpad is the in built in the keyboard, hence no need to carry any additional device.

OPTICAL DEVICES: Optical devices also called data scanning devices, use light as the
source of input for detecting or recognizing the different objects such as characters, marks,
codes, images. These devices convert the objects into digital data, and sends to the computer for
further purpose. The following are different optical devices
1. Barcode reader 2. Image scanner 3. Optical character recognition 4. Optical mark
recognition 4. Magnetic ink character reader.
Barcode reader: Barcode reader is a handheld input device that is used to capture and read
information stored in barcode. It consisting the scanner, decoder and a cable which contacted to
computer. The function of the barcode reader is to capture and translate the bar code into
numerical and/or alphabets. It is connected to computer for further processing of the captured
information. A barcode reader works by directing beam of light across the bar code and
measuring the amount of light reflected back. The dark bars reflect less light when compared to
the amount of light reflected by white spaces between those bars. The scanner converts the light
energy to electrical energy.bar code readers widely used in the following areas
 1. Super marks uses as POS devices
2. To check out books from library
3. To identify the Hospital patient details
4. Educational institutions and etc
Advantages: these are portable, cheap and easy to use.
Disadvantages: these should be handle with care .if any cracks on the screen the
function may not be work.
Image scanner: it is the handheld input device. That captures images, printed papers, and
handwritten papers from different sources and converts them into digital images for editing and
display on the computer. Lower resolution scanners give low quality output and higher
resolution scanners gives high quality prints. The scanners that we see in our colleges are called
as flatbed scanners. in this type, the object(images) to be scanned is placed on a glass pane and
an opaque cover is lowered over it.a sensor and light move along pane, reflecting off the image
placed on the glass.
Advantages: any hardcopy of the data can changed as softcopy,
Disadvantages: 1. scanners are costly device than other input device.
2. Text documents are scanned and stored as images
OPTICAL CHARACTER RECOGNITION: optical character recognition (OCR) is the process
of converting printed material into text or word processing files that can be easily edited and
stored. The steep involved in OCR include:
 Scanning the text character by character
 Analysis the scanned image to translate the character images into character codes
These are widely used in the following areas
 In libraries to digitize and presser documents
 To process checks and credit card slips
Advantages:1. printed documents can be converted into text files
2. Advanced OCR can recognize handwritten text and convert into computer readable text
files
Disadvantages: OCR cannot recognize all type fonts

AUDIO – VISUAL INPUT DEVICES: Audio-visual input devices are devices that capture
audio (sound) and/or visual (i.e. image or video) inputs, generating a signal that can be
accessed by other devices. The input device may not necessarily produce a signal but just record
the input onto a storage medium, an example of this would a camera. In other cases the input
device, such as a microphone, may produce a signal that can be picked up by a another device
such as a mixing console before being outputted to speakers.

Examples of audio-visual input devices include:

  Video Cameras: Video cameras are usually an example of audio-visual device and do
not produce an output signal. Instead, they normally save the audio and video content
from the camera straight onto the device storage. However, in some instances you may
find an audio-visual system has two different systems, one for video and one for audio.
In this case you will see the video feed from the video camera being outputted to a
system that is combining the video with the audio from a high quality audio feed -
mainly seen in halls with audio systems. Sometimes you see this with webcams,
webcams may record the video whilst the audio input may come from another audio
input device such as a desk microphone or a headset microphone.
 Microphones: Microphones, as an input, tend to produce an output signal that is
picked up and either combined with video or outputted to speakers. Some microphones
do not produce output signals and, like video cameras, save the audio onto the device
storage.
 Cameras: Most of the time cameras save the images onto the device storage that can
later be accessed from a computer. In some instances, with tethered photography, the
camera outputs the photo straight to the computer so the raw image can quickly be
viewed by the photographer.

OUTPUT DEVICES: Any device that gives information from the computer is called
output device. The following are different output devices classified based on either they
gives softcopy or hard copy.

SOFT COPY DEVICES: the device which produces the output on the screen is called Soft
copy output device. The flowing are the features of a soft copy output device

 The output can be viewed only when the computer is on

 The user can easily edit soft copy output
 Searching for data in a soft copy is easy and fast.

MONITOR: Monitor is the most commonly used output device in personal computer systems.
The text and graphics can be displayed on the monitor screen. The quality of the image displayed
on the monitor is determined by tow hardware devices, the monitor itself and the video
controller. Monitors are classified based on two factors i.e 1. Technology 2. Color witch can be
displayed.

According to technology: monitors are classified in to two categories

1. CRT MONITORS
2. FLAT PANEL MONITORS
1. LCD
2. LED

CRT MONITORS: The CRT monitor uses a large vacuum tube, called CATHODE RAY TUBE
(CRT). A CRT is an evacuated glass tube. An electron gun at the rear of the tube produces a
beam of electrons passes through a magnetic coli is called “yoke” and is directed towards the
front of the tube or screen. The inner side of the screen is coated with phosphor, which gives off
light when it is stroked by electrons. The screen’s phosphor coating is arranged into a grid of
dots. The smallest number of phosphor dots that the gun can focus on is called a pixel.

FLAT PANEL MONITORS: The following are the flat panel monitors

LCD Monitor

LCD monitor is a flat panel screen that is compact and light weight as compared to CRT
monitors. It is based on liquid crystal display technology. It has two layers of polarized glass
with liquid crystal solution between them. When the light passes through first layer an electric
current aligns the liquids crystals. The aligned liquid crystals allow varying level of light to pass
through the second layer to create images on the screen.

LED monitor

LED monitors also have flat panel display and use liquid crystal display technology like the LCD
monitors. The difference between them lies in the source of light to backlight the display. The
LED monitors use light emitting diodes to backlight the display and LCD monitors use cold
cathode fluorescent light to backlight the display.
Plasma Monitor

It is also a flat panel display that is based on plasma display technology. It has small tiny cells
between two glass panels. These cells contain mixtures of gases(neon gas). When voltage is
applied the gas in the cells turns into plasma and emits ultraviolet light that creates images on the
screen.

HARD COPY DEVICES: the device which produces the output on the paper is called Hard
copy output device. The flowing are the hard copy output device
Printers:
Printer is an output device, which is used to print information on paper.

There are two types of printers −

 Impact Printers
 Non-Impact Printers
Impact Printers
Impact printers print the characters by striking them on the ribbon, which is then pressed on the
paper.

Characteristics of Impact Printers are the following −

 Very low consumable costs

 Very noisy
 Useful for bulk printing due to low cost
 There is physical contact with the paper to produce an image
These printers are of two types −

 Character printers
 Line printers
Character Printers

Character printers are the printers which print one character at a time.

These are further divided into two types:

 Dot Matrix Printer(DMP)

 Daisy Wheel
Dot Matrix Printer

In the market, one of the most popular printers is Dot Matrix Printer. These printers are popular
because of their ease of printing and economical price. Each character printed is in the form of
pattern of dots and head consists of a Matrix of Pins of size (5*7, 7*9, 9*7 or 9*9) which come
out to form a character which is why it is called Dot Matrix Printer.
Advantages

 Inexpensive
 Widely Used
 Other language characters can be printed
Disadvantages

 Slow Speed
 Poor Quality
Daisy Wheel

Head is lying on a wheel and pins corresponding to characters are like petals of Daisy (flower)
which is why it is called Daisy Wheel Printer. These printers are generally used for word-
processing in offices that require a few letters to be sent here and there with very nice quality.

Advantages
  More reliable than DMP
 Better quality
 Fonts of character can be easily changed
Disadvantages

 Slower than DMP

 Noisy
 More expensive than DMP
Line Printers

Line printers are the printers which print one line at a time.

These are of two types −

 Drum Printer
 Chain Printer
Drum Printer

This printer is like a drum in shape hence it is called drum printer. The surface of the drum is
divided into a number of tracks. Total tracks are equal to the size of the paper, i.e. for a paper
width of 132 characters, drum will have 132 tracks. A character set is embossed on the track.
Different character sets available in the market are 48 character set, 64 and 96 characters set.
One rotation of drum prints one line. Drum printers are fast in speed and can print 300 to 2000
lines per minute.
Advantages

 Very high speed

Disadvantages

 Very expensive
 Characters fonts cannot be changed
Chain Printer

In this printer, a chain of character sets is used, hence it is called Chain Printer. A standard
character set may have 48, 64, or 96 characters.

Advantages

 Character fonts can easily be changed.

 Different languages can be used with the same printer.
Disadvantages

 Noisy
Non-impact Printers
Non-impact printers print the characters without using the ribbon. These printers print a
complete page at a time, thus they are also called as Page Printers.

These printers are of two types −

 Laser Printers
 Inkjet Printers
Characteristics of Non-impact Printers

 Faster than impact printers

 They are not noisy
 High quality
 Supports many fonts and different character size
Laser Printers
These are non-impact page printers. They use laser lights to produce the dots needed to form the
characters to be printed on a page.

Advantages

 Very high speed

 Very high quality output
 Good graphics quality
 Supports many fonts and different character size
Disadvantages

 Expensive
 Cannot be used to produce multiple copies of a document in a single printing
Inkjet Printers

Inkjet printers are non-impact character printers based on a relatively new technology. They
print characters by spraying small drops of ink onto paper. Inkjet printers produce high quality
output with presentable features.
They make less noise because no hammering is done and these have many styles of printing
modes available. Color printing is also possible. Some models of Inkjet printers can produce
multiple copies of printing also.

Advantages

 High quality printing

 More reliable
Disadvantages

 Expensive as the cost per page is high

 Slow as compared to laser printer

Memory:
A memory is just like a human brain. It is used to store data and instructions. Computer memory
is the storage space in the computer, where data is to be processed and instructions required for
processing are stored. The memory is divided into large number of small parts called cells. Each
location or cell has a unique address. The memory is classified in to followings.

1. Register
2. Cache memory
3. Primary memory
4. Secondary memory.

Register
Register memory is the smallest and fastest memory in a computer. It is located in the CPU in
the form of registers. A register temporarily holds frequently used data, instructions and memory
address that can be quickly accessed by the CPU.

Cache memory

It is small in size but faster than the main memory. The CPU can access it more quickly than the
primary memory. It holds the data and programs frequently used by the CPU. So if the CPU
finds the required data or instructions in cache memory it doesn't need to access the primary
memory (RAM). Thus, it speeds up the system performance. But compare to Register memory,
Registers are the fastest memory then Cache Memory.

Primary Memory

Primary Memory is of two types: RAM and ROM.

RAM (Volatile Memory)

It is a volatile memory. It means it does not store data or instructions permanently. When you
switch on the computer the data and instructions from the hard disk are stored in RAM.

CPU utilizes this data to perform the required tasks. As soon as you shut down the computer the
RAM loses all the data.

RAM is of two types −

 Static RAM (SRAM)

 Dynamic RAM (DRAM)

Static RAM (SRAM)

The word static indicates that the memory retains its contents as long as power is being
supplied. However, data is lost when the power gets down due to volatile nature. SRAMs are
made by using flip – flop, flip means true or 1. Flop means false or 0. SRAMs are faster and
more reliable then SRAMs. To store 1 bit of data require 4 or 5 transistors. That’s why the size
of the SRAM is big then DRAM.

Characteristic of Static RAM

 Long life
 No need to refresh
 Faster
 Used as cache memory
 Large size
 Expensive
 High power consumption
Dynamic RAM (DRAM)

DRAM, unlike SRAM, must be continually refreshed in order to maintain the data. This is
done by placing the memory on a refresh circuit that rewrites the data several hundred times per
second. DRAM is used for most system memory as it is cheap and small. All DRAMs are made
up of memory cells, which are composed of one capacitor and one transistor.

Characteristics of Dynamic RAM

 Short data lifetime

 Needs to be refreshed continuously
 Slower as compared to SRAM
 Used as RAM
 Smaller in size
 Less expensive
 Less power consumption

ROM (Non-volatile Memory)

It is a non-volatile memory. It means it does not lose its data or programs that are written on it at
the time of manufacture. So it is a permanent memory that contains all important data and
instructions needed to perform important tasks like the boot process.

The following are different ROMs

MROM (Masked ROM)

The very first ROMs were hard-wired devices that contained a pre-programmed set of data or
instructions. These kind of ROMs are known as masked ROMs, which are inexpensive.

PROM (Programmable Read Only Memory)

PROM is read-only memory that can be modified only once by a user. The user buys a blank
PROM and enters the desired contents using a PROM program. Inside the PROM chip, there
are small fuses which are burnt open during programming. It can be programmed only once and
is not erasable.

EPROM (Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory)

EPROM can be erased by exposing it to ultra-violet light for a duration of up to 40 minutes.
Usually, an EPROM eraser achieves this function. During programming, an electrical charge is
trapped in an insulated gate region. The charge is retained for more than 10 years because the
charge has no leakage path. For erasing this charge, ultra-violet light is passed through a quartz
crystal window (lid). This exposure to ultra-violet light dissipates the charge. During normal
use, the quartz lid is sealed with a sticker.

EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory)

EEPROM is programmed and erased electrically. It can be erased and reprogrammed about ten
thousand times. Both erasing and programming take about 4 to 10 ms (millisecond). In
EEPROM, any location can be selectively erased and programmed. EEPROMs can be erased
one byte at a time, rather than erasing the entire chip. Hence, the process of reprogramming is
flexible but slow.

Secondary Memory

The storage devices in the computer or connected to the computer are known as secondary
memory of the computer. It is non-volatile in nature so permanently stores the data even when
the computer is turned off. The CPU can't directly access the secondary memory. First the
secondary memory data is transferred to primary memory then CPU can access it.

The hard disk, optical disk and pen drive are some of the popular examples of secondary
memory or storage of computer.
Hard disk

It is a rigid magnetic disc that is used to store data. It permanently stores data and is located
within a drive unit.

Optical disk

It has a plastic coating. The data in optical disc is recorded digitally and the recorded data is read
with laser that scans its surface.

Pen drive

It is a compact secondary storage device. It is connected to a computer through a USB port to

store or retrieve data.

Software
It is a set of programs that enables the hardware to perform a specific task. All the programs that
run the computer are software. Software is of two types; system software and application
software.

i) System Software

System software is the main software that runs the computer. When you turn on the computer it
activates the hardware and controls and coordinates their functioning. The application programs
are also controlled by system software. Operating system is an example of system software.

ii) Application Software

Applications software is a set of programs designed to perform a specific task. It does not control
or coordinate the working of computer. A computer can run without application software.
Application software can be easily installed or uninstalled as required. Microsoft Office Suite,
Adobe Photoshop and any other software like payroll software or income tax software are
application software.

Translators: A program written in high-level language is called as source code. To convert

the source code into machine code, translators are needed.
A translator takes a program written in source language as input and converts it into a program in
target language as output.
It also detects and reports the error during translation.

Different type of translators

The different types of translator are as follows:
Compiler
Compiler is a translator which is used to convert programs in high-level language to low-level
language. It translates the entire program and also reports the errors in source program
encountered during the translation.

Interpreter
Interpreter is a translator which is used to convert programs in high-level language to low-level
language. Interpreter translates line by line and reports the error once it encountered during the
translation process.
It directly executes the operations specified in the source program when the input is given by the
user.
It gives better error diagnostics than a compiler.

Differences between compiler and interpreter

SI. Compiler Interpreter

No

1 Performs the translation of a program as Performs statement by statement

a whole. translation.

2 Execution is faster. Execution is slower.

3 Requires more memory as linking is Memory usage is efficient as no

needed for the generated intermediate intermediate object code is generated.
object code.
 4 Debugging is hard as the error messages It stops translation when the first
are generated after scanning the entire error is met. Hence, debugging is
program only. easy.

5 Programming languages like C, C++ Programming languages like Python,

uses compilers. BASIC, and Ruby uses interpreters.

Assembler
Assembler is a translator which is used to translate the assembly language code into machine
language code.

Programming Languages:

There are two major types of programming languages. These are Low Level Languages
and High Level Languages.
Low Level languages are further divided in to Machine language and Assembly
language.
Low Level Languages: The term low level means closeness to the way in which the
machine has been built. Low level languages are machine oriented and require extensive
knowledge of computer hardware and its configuration.
Machine Language : Machine Language is the only language that is directly
understood by the computer. It does not need any translator program. We also call
it machine code and it is written as strings of 1's (one) and 0’s (zero). When this
sequence of codes is fed to the computer, it recognizes the codes and converts it in
to electrical signals needed to run it.
For example, a program instruction may look like this: 1011000111101
It is not an easy language for you to learn because of its difficult to understand. It is
efficient for the computer but very inefficient for programmers. It is considered to
the first generation language.
Advantage:

 Program of machine language run very fast because no translation program is

required for the CPU.
Disadvantages

 It is very difficult to program in machine language. The programmer has to know

details of hardware to write program.
 The programmer has to remember a lot of codes to write a program which results
in program errors.
 It is difficult to debug the program.

Assembly Language
It is the first step to improve the programming structure. You should know that computer
can handle numbers and letter. Therefore some combination of letters can be used to
substitute for number of machine codes.
The set of symbols and letters forms the Assembly Language and a trans lator program is
required to translate the Assembly Language to machine language. This translator
program is called `Assembler'. It is considered to be a second-generation language.
Advantages:

 The symbolic programming of Assembly Language is easier to understand and

saves a lot of time and effort of the programmer.
 It is easier to correct errors and modify program instructions.
 Assembly Language has the same efficiency of execution as the machine level
language. Because this is one-to-one translator between assembly language
program and its corresponding machine language program.

Disadvantages:

 Assembly language is machine dependent.

 A program written for one computer might not run in other computers with
different hardware configuration.

High Level languages

You know that assembly language and machine level language require deep knowledge of
computer hardware where as in higher language you have to know only the instructions
in English words and logic of the problem irrespective of the type of computer you are
using.

 Higher level languages are simple languages that use English and mathematical
symbols like +, -, %, / for its program construction.
 You should know that any higher level language has to be converted to machine
language for the computer to understand.
 Higher level languages are problem-oriented languages because the instructions
are suitable for solving a particular problem.

For example COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language) is mostly suitable for
business oriented language where there is very little processing and huge output.
There are mathematical oriented languages like FORTRAN (Formula Translation)
and BASIC (Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) where very large
processing is required.
Thus a problem oriented language designed in such a way that its instruction may be
written more like the language of the problem. For example, businessmen use business
term and scientists use scientific terms in their respective languages.
Advantages of High Level Languages

 Higher level languages have a major advantage over machine and assembly
languages that higher level languages are easy to learn and use.
 It is because that they are similar to the languages used by us in our day to day
life.

NUMBER SYSTEMS: the following are the different number systems

1. Binary number system

2. Decimal number system
3. Hexadecimal number system

Binary Number System

Characteristics of the binary number system are as follows −

 Uses two digits, 0 and 1

 Also called as base 2 number system

 Each position in a binary number represents a 0 power of the base (2). Example 20

 Last position in a binary number represents a x power of the base (2). Example
2x where x represents the last position - 1.

Example
Binary Number: 101012

Calculating Decimal Equivalent −

Step Binary Number Decimal Number

Step 1 101012 ((1 x 24) + (0 x 23) + (1 x 22) + (0 x 21) + (1 x 20))10

Step 2 101012 (16 + 0 + 4 + 0 + 1)10

Step 3 101012 2110

Note − 101012 is normally written as 10101.

Decimal Number System

The number system that we use in our day-to-day life is the decimal number system. Decimal
number system has base 10 as it uses 10 digits from 0 to 9. In decimal number system, the
successive positions to the left of the decimal point represent units, tens, hundreds, thousands,
and so on.

Each position represents a specific power of the base (10). For example, the decimal number
1234 consists of the digit 4 in the units position, 3 in the tens position, 2 in the hundreds
position, and 1 in the thousands position. Its value can be written as

(1 x 1000)+ (2 x 100)+ (3 x 10)+ (4 x l)

(1 x 103)+ (2 x 102)+ (3 x 101)+ (4 x l00)
1000 + 200 + 30 + 4
1234

Hexadecimal Number System

Characteristics of hexadecimal number system are as follows −

 Uses 10 digits and 6 letters, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, F

 Letters represent the numbers starting from 10. A = 10. B = 11, C = 12, D = 13, E = 14,
F = 15

 Also called as base 16 number system

 Each position in a hexadecimal number represents a 0 power of the base (16). Example,
160

 Last position in a hexadecimal number represents a x power of the base (16). Example
16x where x represents the last position - 1
Example
Hexadecimal Number: 19FDE16

Calculating Decimal Equivalent −

Step Binary Decimal Number

Number

Step 1 19FDE16 ((1 x 164) + (9 x 163) + (F x 162) + (D x 161) + (E x 160))10

Step 2 19FDE16 ((1 x 164) + (9 x 163) + (15 x 162) + (13 x 161) + (14 x 160))10

Step 3 19FDE16 (65536+ 36864 + 3840 + 208 + 14)10

Step 4 19FDE16 10646210

Note − 19FDE16 is normally written as 19FDE.

Inter Conversions: There are many methods or techniques which can be used to convert
numbers from one base to another. The following are the different conversions

 Decimal to binary
 Decimal to Hexadecimal
 Binary to decimal
 Binary to hexadecimal
 Hexadecimal to decimal
 Hexadecimal to binary
Decimal to Other Base System(binary and hexadecimal)
Step 1 − Divide the decimal number to be converted by the value of the new base.

Step 2 − Get the remainder from Step 1 as the rightmost digit (least significant digit) of the new
base number.

Step 3 − Divide the quotient of the previous divide by the new base.
Step 4 − Record the remainder from Step 3 as the next digit (to the left) of the new base
number.

Repeat Steps 3 and 4, getting remainders from right to left, until the quotient becomes zero in
Step 3.

The last remainder thus obtained will be the Most Significant Digit (MSD) of the new base
number.

Example
Decimal Number: 2910

Calculating Binary Equivalent −

Step Operation Result Remainder

Step 1 29 / 2 14 1

Step 2 14 / 2 7 0

Step 3 7/2 3 1

Step 4 3/2 1 1

Step 5 1/2 0 1

As mentioned in Steps 2 and 4, the remainders have to be arranged in the reverse order so that
the first remainder becomes the Least Significant Digit (LSD) and the last remainder becomes
the Most Significant Digit (MSD).

Decimal Number : 2910 = Binary Number : 111012.

Binary ,hexadecimal to Decimal System

Step 1 − Determine the column (positional) value of each digit (this depends on the position of
the digit and the base of the number system).
Step 2 − Multiply the obtained column values (in Step 1) by the digits in the corresponding
columns.

Step 3 − Sum the products calculated in Step 2. The total is the equivalent value in decimal.

Example
Binary Number: 111012

Calculating Decimal Equivalent −

Step Binary Number Decimal Number

Step 1 111012 ((1 x 24) + (1 x 23) + (1 x 22) + (0 x 21) + (1 x 20))10

Step 2 111012 (16 + 8 + 4 + 0 + 1)10

Step 3 111012 2910

Binary Number : 111012 = Decimal Number : 2910

Other Base System to Non-Decimal System

Step 1 − Convert the original number to a decimal number (base 10).

Step 2 − Convert the decimal number so obtained to the new base number.

Example
Octal Number : 258

Calculating Binary Equivalent −

Step 1 - Convert to Decimal

Step Octal Number Decimal Number

Step 1 258 ((2 x 81) + (5 x 80))10

 Step 2 258 (16 + 5)10

Step 3 258 2110

Octal Number : 258 = Decimal Number : 2110

Step 2 - Convert Decimal to Binary

Step Operation Result Remainder

Step 1 21 / 2 10 1

Step 2 10 / 2 5 0

Step 3 5/2 2 1

Step 4 2/2 1 0

Step 5 1/2 0 1

Decimal Number : 2110 = Binary Number : 101012

Octal Number : 258 = Binary Number : 101012

Shortcut Method ─ Binary to Octal

Step 1 − Divide the binary digits into groups of three (starting from the right).

Step 2 − Convert each group of three binary digits to one octal digit.

Example
Binary Number : 101012

Calculating Octal Equivalent −

Step Binary Number Octal Number

 Step 1 101012 010 101

Step 2 101012 28 58

Step 3 101012 258

Binary Number : 101012 = Octal Number : 258

Shortcut Method ─ Octal to Binary

Step 1 − Convert each octal digit to a 3-digit binary number (the octal digits may be treated as
decimal for this conversion).

Step 2 − Combine all the resulting binary groups (of 3 digits each) into a single binary number.

Example
Octal Number : 258

Calculating Binary Equivalent −

Step Octal Number Binary Number

Step 1 258 210 510

Step 2 258 0102 1012

Step 3 258 0101012

Octal Number : 258 = Binary Number : 101012

Shortcut Method ─ Binary to Hexadecimal

Step 1 − Divide the binary digits into groups of four (starting from the right).

Step 2 − Convert each group of four binary digits to one hexadecimal symbol.

Example
Binary Number : 101012

Calculating hexadecimal Equivalent −

Step Binary Number Hexadecimal Number

Step 1 101012 0001 0101

Step 2 101012 110 510

Step 3 101012 1516

Binary Number : 101012 = Hexadecimal Number : 1516

Shortcut Method - Hexadecimal to Binary

Step 1 − Convert each hexadecimal digit to a 4-digit binary number (the hexadecimal digits
may be treated as decimal for this conversion).

Step 2 − Combine all the resulting binary groups (of 4 digits each) into a single binary number.

Example
Hexadecimal Number : 1516

Calculating Binary Equivalent −

Step Hexadecimal Number Binary Number

Step 1 1516 110 510

Step 2 1516 00012 01012

Step 3 1516 000101012

Hexadecimal Number : 1516 = Binary Number : 101012.

Internet:
nternet is a global network that connects millions of computers across the world. It uses standard
internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to connect billions of computer users worldwide. It is the fastest
mean of sending or exchanging information and data between computers across the world. Every
computer in internet is host. Host is identified by unique name i.e IP Address. Intranet is the
network within a network.

Some of the popular online services provided by the Internet are:

World Wide Web: It is a collection of billions of web pages or documents that can be viewed
with a web browser.

Email:
Email is a service which allows us to send the message in electronic mode over the internet. It
offers an efficient, inexpensive and real time mean of distributing information among people.

E-Mail Address
Each user of email is assigned a unique name for his email account. This name is known as E-
mail address. Different users can send and receive messages according to the e-mail address.

E-mail is generally of the form username@domainname. For example, imba@gmail.com is an

e-mail address where imba is username and gmail.com is domain name.

 The username and the domain name are separated by @ (at) symbol.

 E-mail addresses are not case sensitive.

 Spaces are not allowed in e-mail address.

E-mail Header
The first five lines of an E-mail message is called E-mail header. The header part comprises of
following fields:

 To

 Subject

 CC

 BCC

TO
The To field indicates the recipient’s address i.e. to whom the e-mail is sent.

SUBJECT
The Subject field indicates the purpose of e-mail. It should be precise and to the point.

CC
CC stands for Carbon copy. It includes those recipient addresses whom we want to keep
informed but not exactly the intended recipient.

BCC
BCC stands for Black Carbon Copy. It is used when we do not want one or more of the
recipients to know that someone else was copied on the message.

Social media: It includes the websites and apps that enable the users to share pictures,
comments, audio and video.

Online games: People can play online games if they have internet access.

Software updates: People can download latest versions of operating system, application
software and other software from the internet.

InternetConnection Types
There exist several ways to connect to the internet. Following are these connection types
available:
 1. Dial-up Connection

2. ISDN

3. DSL

4. Cable TV Internet connections

5. Satellite Internet connections

6. Wireless Internet Connections

Dial-up Connection
Dial-up connection uses telephone line to connect PC to the internet. It requires a modem to
setup dial-up connection. This modem works as an interface between PC and the telephone line.

There is also a communication program that instructs the modem to make a call to specific
number provided by an ISP.

Dial-up connection uses either of the following protocols:

1. Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP)

2. Point to Point Protocol (PPP)

The following diagram shows the accessing internet using modem:

ISDN
ISDN is acronym of Integrated Services Digital Network. It establishes the connection using
the phone lines which carry digital signals instead of analog signals.

There are two techniques to deliver ISDN services:

1. Basic Rate Interface (BRI)

2. Primary Rate Interface (PRI)

Key points:

 The BRI ISDN consists of three distinct channels on a single ISDN line: t1o 64kbps B
(Bearer) channel and one 16kbps D (Delta or Data) channels.

 The PRI ISDN consists of 23 B channels and one D channels with both have operating
capacity of 64kbps individually making a total transmission rate of 1.54Mbps.

The following diagram shows accessing internet using ISDN connection:

DSL
DSL is acronym of Digital Subscriber Line. It is a form of broadband connection as it
provides connection over ordinary telephone lines.

Following are the several versions of DSL technique available today:

1. Asymmetric DSL (ADSL)

2. Symmetric DSL (SDSL)

 3. High bit-rate DSL (HDSL)

4. Rate adaptive DSL (RDSL)

5. Very high bit-rate DSL (VDSL)

6. ISDN DSL (IDSL)

All of the above mentioned technologies differ in their upload and download speed, bit transfer
rate and level of service.

The following diagram shows that how we can connect to internet using DSL technology:

Cable TV Internet Connection

Cable TV Internet connection is provided through Cable TV lines. It uses coaxial cable which is
capable of transferring data at much higher speed than common telephone line.

Key Points:

 A cable modem is used to access this service, provided by the cable operator.

 The Cable modem comprises of two connections: one for internet service and other for
Cable TV signals.
  Since Cable TV internet connections share a set amount of bandwidth with a group of
customers, therefore, data transfer rate also depends on number of customers using the
internet at the same time.

The following diagram shows that how internet is accessed using Cable TV connection:

Satellite Internet Connection

Satellite Internet connection offers high speed connection to the internet. There are two types of
satellite internet connection: one way connection or two way connection.

In one way connection, we can only download data but if we want to upload, we need a dialup
access through ISP over telephone line.

In two way connection, we can download and upload the data by the satellite. It does not require
any dialup connection.

The following diagram shows how internet is accessed using satellite internet connection:
Wireless Internet Connection
Wireless Internet Connection makes use of radio frequency bands to connect to the internet and
offers a very high speed. The wireless internet connection can be obtained by either WiFi or
Bluetooth.