COMPUTER SOFTWARE &

SYSTEM
CHAPTER #
3
Introduction to Computing
 Computer System
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 System
 A group or combination of interrelated, interdependent, or
interacting elements forming a collective entity.
 Computer System
 A functionally related group of elements, especially a
network of related computer hardware, software and data
transmission.
 So a system of one or more computers and associated
software with common storage

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 Computer System
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 A complete computer system includes hardware, software,

data, and users
 Hardware consists of electronic devices, the parts you can
touch
 Software (programs) consists of instructions that control the
computer
 Data can be text, numbers, sounds, and images that the
computer manipulates
 People who operate computers are called users
 To manipulate data, the computer performs basic operations
which includes data input, processing, output, and storage

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 Basic Operations of Computer
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 Input
 it is the process of accepting data or information
 Processing
 it is the transformation process to convert the input into output
 the way that a computer manipulates data
 Output
 it is the result produced by the computer
 it is the outcome of the process
 Storing
 it is the process of storing or retaining the data or information or
instructions, so that the user can retain and retrieve it whenever required
 Controlling
 it is the process of directing the manner and sequence in which all the
operations are to be performed
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 Basic Operations of Computer
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 Basic Operations of Computer
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 Basic Operations of Computer
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 Components of Computer System
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 A computer system has four components

 Hardware
 Software
 User
 Data

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 Components of Computer Systems
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 Components of Computer Systems (Users)
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 Users
 are the people operating the computer
 are the most important part
 tell the computer what to do
 In fact the user is a critical part of a complete computer system,
especially when a personal computer is involved
 this may seem surprising, since we tend to think of computer as intelligent
devices, capable of performing amazing tasks
 People also sometimes believe that computer can think and make
decisions, just like human do
 but this is not the case
 even the most powerful supercomputer requires human interaction for
solving problems.
 When working with a personal computer, the user can take on several
roles, depending on what he or she wants to accomplish
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 Components of Computer Systems (Data)
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 Data
 Pieces of information
 Computer organize and present data
 Data is collection of facts as values or measurements.
 It can be numbers, words, observations or even just description of things
 This information may be in the form of
 Text documents
 Images
 Audio clips
 Software programs, or other types of data
 Communications devices perform both input and output functions,
allowing computers to share information
 In a computer, data consists of small pieces of information that, by
themselves, may not make sense to a person
 The computer manipulates data into useful information
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 Components of Computer Systems (Hardware)
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 Computer hardware is the collection of physical

elements that comprise a computer system
 Computer hardware refers to the physical parts or
components of a computer
 such as monitor, keyboard, Computer data storage, hard
drive disk, mouse, printers, CPU(graphic cards, sound
cards, memory, motherboard and chips), etc
 Hardware is tangible
 all of the hardware components are physical objects that
you can actually touch

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 Components of Computer Systems (Hardware)
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 Some of the hardware components are

 Processor  Serial ports
 Motherboard  Parallel port
 Keyboard/mouse  Sound card
 RAM  Video card
 Hard drive  Fan
 CD/DVD  Cables
 Floppy  Power switch
 USB port  Reset switch
 Network card  Case
 Modem

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 Components of Computer Systems (Hardware)
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 Components of Computer Systems (Hardware)
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 Components of Computer Systems (Software)
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 Computer software is a collection of computer programs and related data that

provides the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it
 Software is a set of programs, procedures, algorithms and its documentation
concerned with the operation of a data processing system
 Software exists as ideas, application, concepts, and symbols
 It is not tangible
 it has no substance
 Software tells the hardware what to do
 Through software we interact with the hardware
 software convert human understandable language in to computer understandable language
 It helps manage the computer hardware and provides common services for
efficient execution of various application software
 We use operating system software to help analyze, configure, optimize and
maintain the computer
 Software are used to model, analyze or calculate numeric, symbolic or geometric
data

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 Components of Computer Systems (Software)
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 Software are use for

 Security purposes
 Educational purposes like teaching and self learning
 Banking system e.g. ATMs, online banking etc
 Airline reservations
 Chatting, video conferences etc
 They are even used to run many application software’s
 Other software applications are used
 in many medical devices that monitor or control patients are
predominantly controlled by software e.g. heart rate, blood
pressure and breath rate checking monitors
 to make design of buildings, roads, traffic signals, bridges
 to protect the computers from viruses and prevent from a
loss
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 Computer Program
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 Software is a collection of computer programs

 This includes your computer operating system and other
computer programs which run
 A computer program is written in a computer language (such
as C++, Java, Python, or others) by programmers
 The computer language is in a text format (source code) and
can be read by a person
 if you do not understand the structure and rules of the language you
may not understand it very well
 Once a program is written, an operation is performed on it
which is called compiling
 it converts the source code into a form (binary language)
understandable by the computer hardware
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 Software Types
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 There are two general types of software

 Application Software
 System software

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 Application Software
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 Application software is computer software designed to help the user to

perform specific tasks
 They are also known as an application or an app
 in recent years, the abbreviation "app" has specifically come to mean
application software written for mobile devices
 Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites,
graphics software and media players
 Many application programs deal principally with documents
 Applications may be bundled with the computer and its system software,
or may be published separately
 Application programs are written in a computer language like any other
program

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 Application Software
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 There are two major categories of application software

 General Purpose
 These software are general purpose and available on retail shops or through internet
 They can be freeware or COTS (commercial off the shelf)
 e.g. Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Adobe Photoshop, Jet Audio etc.
 Custom
 These software are purposely custom build according to the needs of the user
 e.g. Riphah Campus Management System, HBL Banking System etc.
 Some program packages come in a set with multiple programs included to
provide multiple capabilities such as the Microsoft Office suite of
programs
 Microsoft Word is a program that gives the user the ability to write documents
 Microsoft Outlook is used to send and receive e-mail
 Other examples are word processors, spreadsheets, media players,
database applications etc.

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 System Software
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 System software is computer software designed to

 operate the computer hardware
 provide basic functionality, and
 provide a platform for running application software
 System software includes device drivers, operating systems, servers,
utilities, and window system
 It is responsible for managing a variety of independent hardware
components
 so that they can work together harmoniously
 Its purpose is to unburden the application software programmer from
the often complex details of the particular computer being used
 including such accessories as communications devices, printers, device
readers, displays and keyboards, and also to partition the computer's
resources such as memory and processor time in a safe and stable manner

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 System Software
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 Device drivers
 They provides basic functionality to operate and control the hardware
connected to or built into the computer
 Operating system
 It allows the parts of a computer to work together by performing tasks like
transferring data between memory and disks or rendering output onto a
display device
 e.g. Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux
 It also provides a platform to run high-level system software and application
software
 Utility software
 it helps to analyze, configure, optimize and maintain the computer
 Software Development Tools
 like a compiler, linker or debugger
 BIOS
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 Operating Systems
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 The operating system is the core software component of your

computer
 It performs many functions and is, in very basic terms
 an interface between your computer and the outside world
 Act as an intermediary between the user and the hardware
 Manage the resources of the computer
 Functions of Operating System
 Processor management
 assignment of processor to different tasks being performed by the computer system
 Establishment and enforcement of a priority system
 it determines and maintains the order in which jobs are to be executed in the
computer system
 Automatic transition from job to job as directed by special control
statements
 Interpretation of commands and instructions

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 Operating Systems
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 An operating system performs

 Resource Management
 CPU management
 Memory management
 File System management
 I/O management
 Resource Sharing
 Among Users
 Among CPUs
 Interfacing between hardware and users
 OS provides an interface to several component including
 monitor, keyboard, mouse etc using drivers

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 Operating Systems
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(operating system)

Operating Systems is intermediary between the User and the Hardware

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 Compiler
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 A compiler is a computer program (or set of programs) that transforms

source code written in a programming language (the source language)
into computer understandable language (machine Language)
 The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs that translate source
code (written in binary code) from a high-level programming language to
a lower level language (e.g., assembly language or machine code)
 Compilers bridge source programs in high-level languages with the
underlying hardware
 De Compilation
 is a anti compilation process in which low level language is translated back to a
higher level

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 Compiler
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3) An executable
program is
created
1) A programmer writes
a computer program
2) The compiler translates
the program into a form
that the computer can
understand

Anybody who has this

executable on their
computer can then
run (use) it

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 Device Drivers
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 A device driver is a program that controls a particular type of

device that is attached to your computer
 The operating system provides an interface to several
component
 including your monitor, keyboard, mouse etc using what is referred to
as "drivers"
 This is why sometimes when you install a new printer or
other piece of hardware, your system will ask you to install
more software called a driver
 There are device drivers for different hardware components
like printers, scanners and so on

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 BIOS (Basic Input Output System)
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 BIOS contains all the code required to control the keyboard,

display screen, disk drives, serial communications, and a
number of miscellaneous functions.
 BIOS software is stored on a non-volatile ROM chip built into
the system on the mother board.
 The BIOS provides a small library of basic input/output
functions used to operate and control devices
 such as the keyboard, text display functions and so forth, and these
software library functions are callable by external software

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 Software Placement in a Computer System
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