Computer Concepts

I. THE COMPUTER:

An electronic digital device

- built to perform routine calculations with speed, reliability, and ease.
- capable of processing, interpreting and executing commands in the form of numbers, words,
pictures, and even sounds for input, output, computation and logical operation.
- capable of accepting an input, process the given input to produce a meaningful output.

A computer, when translated literally, is a device that computes. Man used to look for ways of making life
easier for himself. Man initially counted using his fingers, then with things like sticks and stones. Afterwards,
the abacus came about. Then came the slide rule, then the ordinary electronic calculator, then the scientific
calculator.

A computer is not just a computer, but it is a machine that can do things that help man make life simpler. It can
perform computations at speeds billions of times faster than a human mind. It can be used to enter and print
documents, which previously was the task of a typewriter. A computer nowadays can give you news,
information and even gossips previously tasked to the media people. It can give you music and recreation.

Characteristics of a Computer:
 It is a machine
 Electronic
 It has memory
 Has logical functions

Capabilities of a Computer:
 Speed
 Accuracy
 It can perform logical/mathematical operations
 It can store and recall information
 Self-checking/parity-checking
 Repetitiveness

Limitations of the Computer:

 It cannot generate information on its own.
 It cannot detect wrong data (GIGO) and cannot correct wrong instruction.
 Computer applications must be quantified.

II. ELEMENTS OF A COMPUTER SYSTEM:

1. HARDWARE
- refers to the physical components of the EDP system, which is tangible.

Computer hardware refers to the physical aspect of the computer. Hardware is divided into 4 major
components. These components include the input devices, the processors, the output devices, and the storage
devices.
 Input Control
Storage Unit
Unit Unit

Output ALU
Unit

I/O bus CPU

Input devices refer to the components of hardware that allows the user to enter data, commands, and other
information into the computer. Some examples of input devices include the keyboard, the mouse, the scanner,
the microphone, the video and digital cameras, joystick, track point, track ball, track pad, pen, etc.
Examples: light pen, mouse, keyboard, bar code scanner, joystick, microphone, web cam
Output devices refer to the components of hardware that are responsible for displaying or showing the data and
information to the user.
Examples include:
Monitors : CGA, EGA, VGA, SVGA, XGA
Printers : Impact and Non-impact
Speakers
Plotters

Input/Output (I/O) devices refer to hardware components that are used both for input and output of data or
information
Ex: touch screen, disk drives, MODEM
Processors refer to the components of hardware that are used to manipulate or process data. These are
responsible for generating information.

4 major components of a processor:

1. the motherboard
2 Audio/video card
3 Central processing unit ( ALU, the memory and the control unit)
4 The ROM-BIOS

THE CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU) – brain of the computer

Parts of the CPU

1. MEMORY UNIT (MAIN STORAGE OR PRIMARY STORAGE)
-referred to as the main or internal storage.
RAM (RANDOM ACCESS MEMEORY) - temporary memory storage
ROM (READ ONLY MEMORY) - permanent preprogramed instructions are stored
2. ALU(ARITHMETIC LOGIC UNIT) - contains the circuitry for performing arithmetic and logical
operations
3. CONTROL UNIT - regulates the operations of the main storage and the ALU

Storage Devices refer to the components of hardware where data, information, or software are stored for future
use.
Types of Storage Devices
1. Primary Storage Devices – refers to the memory unit of the CPU. Memory types include the ROM, the
RAM, and the Cache memory ( high speed memory that interfaces between the processor and the system
memory). Acts as a buffer or a temporary storage.
2. Secondary Storage Devices – also referred to as the external memory of the computer
2.a. Flash Drives/Memory Sticks
2.b. Floppy Disks
2.c. Memory Cards
2.d. External Hard Disks
2.e. Optic Media – CD-ROM and DVD ( Digital Versatile Disk)
2.f. Magnetic Optic Drives

CDROM/Optical disks – data is encoded by means of “burning” by laser a series of pits(holes) and flats(no
holes). Data is read by a laser light which reflects it back to a photo diode which would then convert these
digital data to analog signals

Removable disks/Tape – used for backup purposes only.

ROM-Read Only Memory – these are computer memory chips where computer programs (like BIOS ) are
stored.

Types of Hardware

Hardware is classified into four major types: the PCs and workstations, the portable computers, the
global servers (formerly called mainframes), and the embedded (or special purpose) computers. This
classification of hardware is based on the computer’s purpose or role, the computer’s physical size, and the
computer’s capability and capacity.

2. Software

Software is the general term given for the instructions to the computer by the user or manufacturer. It
tells the hardware what tasks are to be done and how.

General Types of Software

1. System software is the type of software that controls the operations of the other two types of software. The
operating system and its graphical user interface (GUI), both system software are at the heart of the software
action. All other software depends on and interacts with the operating system, the software that controls
everything that happens in a computer.

2. Utility software is the type of software that controls the computer’s day-to-day housekeeping operations.
These are normally supplied with the system software, thus the distinction between systems software
utilities software is hard to see. Utility software control operations such as making copies of operations,
displaying a list of user information and the like.
e.g.
diskcopy, chkdsk, format, etc. for MS-DOS
scandisk, defrag, etc. for MS Windows

3. Applications Software
These are software that perform specialized tasks, including calculating payrolls, guiding space shuttles,
word processing, etc. Application programs may either be custom written or packaged. A customized
application is prepared in accordance with the requirements of particular business operations
 application. Application packages have been prepared by software companies for general use (eg.
MSOffice).

Application Programs

 Wordprocessors – an application package that creates, edits, manipulates and prints text. Generally
used for writing documents such as letters and reports. (Examples: WordStar, WordPerfect, and
Word)

 (Electronic Spreadsheets) Financial Analysis – software package initially used to track the finances
of a company. This kind of software allows users to enter data in tabulated form and also perform
operations on these data. Common features include:
(Examples: Lotus-123, SuperCalc, VisiCalc, and Excel)

 Graphics – application software that allows the user to create, edit, display, and print graphic images.
May be separate software or integrated into another software program. (Examples: CorelDraw,
Photoshop, Picasa and Paint)

 Database applications - programs are used when very large amounts of data are to be stored in a
structured manner, maintaining various relationships among the data - for example, information of
all employees in a company. A very powerful feature is the ability to rapidly answer a variety of
queries from the user about the data in the database.

 Network applications - programs that enable us to communicate with and use facilities of remote
computers. These applications have proliferated with the spread of the Internet and the introduction
of the WWW.Commonly used programs are - E-Mail, Newsgroups, Chat, Games, File transfer,...

 Desktop Publishing – application software normally used for fixing typeset and layout of print
materials. (Examples: Ventura, Pagemaker, and Publisher)

3. Peopleware

Systems / Software Management Computer/ Network Hardware

Systems/Network Administrators Computer vendors
Systems Analysts Network engineers
Systems engineers Computer technicians

Developers Academic
Programmers Computer teachers
Encoders Students

Hackers - computer hobbyists who display a high level of programming expertise who attack computer systems
and computer networks.

Computer Networks

Computer Networks – interconnection of computers for the purpose of sharing resources like CPU, databases,
and Input-Output devices. A central server serves the file and program needs of workstations.

LAN –local area network – networks confined in a small geographical location

WAN – wide area network – networks covering a wide area, usually spanning countries.
Bridge – it connects networks
Router – used to locate nodes on a network
Hub – used to route data to various nodes.
Nodes – individual computer terminals identified through IP address( like 131.120.1.5)

The Internet
- global network of networks which communicate using a standard called TCP-IP(transmission control
protocol/internet protocol). Networks are physically interconnected by wired and cables. The internet
provides access to graphics, text, sound, video, and software through a variety of means:

History :

1960s - an experiment was carried out by US government using networks to transfer military information
in case of nuclear war.
1970s – American universities began to use the internet for communications to assist in research.
1994 – Browser (with graphical user interface) software was introduced (Mosaic, Netscape)
Present – up to 20-40 million are connected on-line with growth between 6%-20% per month.

Internet Services:

1. Hypertext (World Wide Web) – view web sites through web browsers.
2. Electronic mail(email) – send and receive mail electronically
3. News (usenet or network news) – get news and info from news sources and lists.
4. Remote login (telnet) – login to another server site
5. File transfer protocol (ftp) – download files from other servers.

Internet terms:

URL- Uniform Resource Locator - defines the location of a resource (the domain name), the type of
resource (HTTP, FTP, etc)
Web Site – a collection of web pages, located at the same domain usually focused on the same topic
HTTP- Hypertext Transfer Protocol – the transfer protocol used to manage communication between
browsers and servers.
HTML-hypertext Markup Language – programming language used to design how a web site would look
like.
ISP – Internet Service Provider – the company or institution from where you get your internet connection.
Modem – modulator-demodulator – converts digital data to analog signals and vice versa for transmission
over the telephone line.
Protocol – Rules or procedures that control how data are transmitted between computers.
Leased line - refers to the phone line that is rented for exclusive 24-hour, 7 days a week use from your
location to another location. The highest speed data connections require a leased line.