Computer Merit Badge

September 2002 Tom Foss tomfoss@usa.net 322-1434

Requirements

Give a short history of computers. Describe the major parts of a computer system. Give four different uses of computers. Tell what a program is and how it is developed. Give three examples of programming languages and what types of programming they are used for. Describe a source program and an object program. Show how the following may be stored in computer memory: text, numbers, pictures, and sound.

Do THREE of the following: Use a database manager to create a troop roster, providing name, rank, patrol, and telephone number of each Scout. Sort the register by rank, by patrol, and alphabetically by name. Use a spreadsheet program to develop a weekend campout food budget for your patrol. Use a word processor to write a letter to parents of your troop's Scouts, inviting them to a court of honor. Use the mail merge feature to make a personalized copy of the letter for each family. Use a computer graphics program to design and draw a campsite plan for your troop. Be prepared to discuss various jobs in the computer field.

Requirements
Do TWO of the following: Visit a business or industry that uses computers. Study what the computer accomplishes and be prepared to discuss what you observed. Use a computer attached to a local area network or equipped with a modem to connect to a computer network or bulletin-board service such as Prodigy, CompuServe, or America Online. Send a message to someone on the network or download a program or file from the network. Use a general-purpose programming language to write a program application of your choice, subject to approval by your counselor. Be prepared to discuss several terms used in each of the following categories: Input/output devices Storage media Memory Processors and coprocessors Modems Networks Electronic mail Robotics Is it permissible to accept a free copy of a computer game or program from a friend? Why or why not? Describe several ways in which you and your family could use a personal computer other than for games and recreation.

History

Analog vs. Digital Abacus - Early Pascaline - 1612 Difference Engine 1888

Early Digital Computers- ABC

Atanasoff-Berry Computer - 1939

Early Digital Computers ENIAC - 1945

Harvard Mark 1 IBM ASCC - 1944

IBM 1401 1968 +/-

Apple 1 1975/Apple ][ - 1977 Macintosh - 1984

IBM PC - 1981

Parts of a Digital Computer

Input Output Processor Memory

ROM RAM
Hard Drive Floppy Disk CD-ROM

Storage

8080 1975 - 4500 Transistors

8086 1978 29,000 Transistors

80286 1982 90,000 Transistors

80386 1985 229,000 Transistors

80486 1989 1.2 Million

Pentium 1993 3.1 Million

Pentium Pro 1995 5.5 Million

Pentium 2 1997 7.5 Million

Pentium 3 1999 9.5 Million

Pentium 4 2001 42 Million

Core Memory

Use of Computers

Calculation Word Processing Communications Mapping Analysis ? ?

Computer Merit Badge

September 2002 Tom Foss tomfoss@usa.net 322-1434
Additional Material/Images from: Alter Information Systems 4th ed. 2002 Prentice Hall

Requirements

Give a short history of computers. Describe the major parts of a computer system. Give four different uses of computers. Tell what a program is and how it is developed. Give three examples of programming languages and what types of programming they are used for. Describe a source program and an object program. Show how the following may be stored in computer memory: text, numbers, pictures, and sound.

Do THREE of the following: Use a database manager to create a troop roster, providing name, rank, patrol, and telephone number of each Scout. Sort the register by rank, by patrol, and alphabetically by name. Use a spreadsheet program to develop a weekend campout food budget for your patrol. Use a word processor to write a letter to parents of your troop's Scouts, inviting them to a court of honor. Use the mail merge feature to make a personalized copy of the letter for each family. Use a computer graphics program to design and draw a campsite plan for your troop. Be prepared to discuss various jobs in the computer field.

Requirements
Do TWO of the following: Visit a business or industry that uses computers. Study what the computer accomplishes and be prepared to discuss what you observed. Use a computer attached to a local area network or equipped with a modem to connect to a computer network or bulletin-board service such as Prodigy, CompuServe, or America Online. Send a message to someone on the network or download a program or file from the network. Use a general-purpose programming language to write a program application of your choice, subject to approval by your counselor. Be prepared to discuss several terms used in each of the following categories: Input/output devices Storage media Memory Processors and coprocessors Modems Networks Electronic mail Robotics Is it permissible to accept a free copy of a computer game or program from a friend? Why or why not? Describe several ways in which you and your family could use a personal computer other than for games and recreation.

Networking

Protocol

Topology

Ethernet TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) Bus Star Wireless (802.11/WiFi) 254.12.123.16 Private Subnets (10.10/192.168) Routers

IP Addresses

Accessing the Internet

Dial Up

Modem (Modulator/Demodulator) 56K (realistically 45K) Always on High Speed DSL 500K/128K + dedicated Cable 784K/128K + shared Satellite 500K/128K

Broadband

Security

Virus Checkers

Must be Updated! Attachments - .exe, Javascripts

Port blocking Filtering Logging

Firewall

Virtual Private Networks

Software

Operating Systems

Applications

Windows DOS OS X Linux/Unix

Word Processing (Word) Spreadsheet (Excel) Browser (Internet Explorer) Data Base (Access) Presentation (PowerPoint) Specialized (Accounting, Ordering,.)

Programming As a Translation Process

31

Algorithm

32

Machine Languages/Object Code

The internal programming language for a particular chip The only language the processor can understand Very difficult for humans to use

33

Assembly Languages

Are automatically translated into machine language by assembler programs Makes programs easier to write because it avoids the problem of physical references Still very laborious and error-prone

34

High Level Languages

Also known as third generation languages

(3GLs)

The source code is translated into the object code (machine language) by a

COMPILER

The translation can also be accomplished by an INTERPRETER, which translates and executes each line of code (no object code is created)

35

Programming Languages

COBOL

Common Business Oriented Language

Fortran

Formula Translator

BASIC

Beginners All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code Visual Basic

Fourth Generation Languages (4GLs)

A loosely defined group of programming languages that permit nonprogrammers to do programming work Main categories:

Query languages Report generators

37

The Changing Nature of Programming

Greater nonprocedurality

Procedural program a program that specifies how something should be done Nonprocedural program a program that specifies what should be accomplished Nonprocedural programs are easier to develop

38

The Changing Nature of Programming

Greater modularity and reusability

Reusability using preexisting modules when developing new programs Machine independence programs can be executed under different operating system and on machines from different vendors Data independence possible to change the way the data are physically stored without changing the program
39

Greater machine and data independence

The Changing Nature of Programming

Tighter links between analysis and programming

Eliminating steps between the expression of what people want (analysis) and the instructions for the computer (programming) Computer aided software engineering (CASE) tools

40

Binary representation of text

Binary coding schemes ASCII:

Uses 8 bits (= one byte) for each character Enough for 256 different combinations

UNICODE:
A superset of ASCII Uses 2 bytes for each character Enough for 65,536 different combinations

Representation of sounds and pictures

Digitizing the process of creating a digital

representation of an image or sound

Pixel = picture element

Representations of this type are always

approximations

Data Storage

Jobs in Computers

Hardware Engineer Systems Analyst Programmer Operator Web Site Designer

Copyright/Ethics

Copyright

US & International Law

Licensing Types

Commercial Freeware Shareware

Copying & Sharing Commercial SW is Wrong!

Home Uses of Computers

Email Family Web Pages Accounting Bill Paying Research