This is Computer Fundamentals Tutorial, In this post you shall learn about Computer Fundamentals.
Table of Contents
What is User?
Who use the Computer.
What is Computer?
Computer is an electronic data Processing device, which accepts data from user through input device, process it and gives information as output through output device is called computer.
Father of the computer
Charles Babbage was considered to be the father of computing after his invention and concept of the Analytical Engine in 1837. The Analytical Engine contained an Arithmetic Logic unit (ALU), basic flow control, and integrated memory.
What meaning by the word of Computer?
The word “Computer” comes from the Greek word “Compute” which means to calculate every thing arithmetic and logical operation.
Full Detail the word of Computer?
C – Communally
O – Operated
M – Machine
P – Purposely
U – Used For
T – Technical/Trade
E – Education
R – Research
Basic Computer Operations :
A computer basically performs five major operations such as:
👉Accepts data or instructions by way of input.
👉Stores data.
👉Processes data as required by the user.
👉Gives results in the form of output
👉Controls all operations inside a computer.
What is Data?
Data is a collection of facts which is in raw form.
What is Information?
When data converted into meaningful and useful forms after processing it is known as information.
What is Input?
When we Feed Data into the Computer is called the input.
What is Storage?
When data and instructions are saved/stored permanently before and after processing in storage unit is called the Storage.
What is Processing?
The task of performing operations like arithmetic and logical operations is called processing.
What is Output?
When we take Data from the Computer is called the output.
What is Control?
When control unit takes control and care step by step processing of all operations inside the computer like input, processing and output are called control.
Computer System.
A Computer System is divided into three separate units.
👉Arithmetic Logical Unit
👉Control Unit
👉Central Processing Unit.
(1) Arithmetic Logical Unit (ALU)
The processing of the data and instructions are performed by Arithmetic Logical Unit. The major operations performed by the ALU are addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, logic and comparison. For processing, data is transferred from storage unit to ALU. After processing, the output is returned back to storage unit for further processing or for storing purpose.
(2) Control Unit (CU)
It is the manager of computer. All type of management can be done by this. It coordinates the operation of hardware.
(3) Central Processing Unit (CPU)
The ALU and the CU of a computer system are jointly known as the Central Processing Unit (CPU). You may call CPU as the brain of any computer system. It is just like brain that takes all major decisions, makes all sort of calculations and directs different parts of the computer functions by activating and controlling the operations. The CPU is the device that interprets and executes instructions.
How does work Computer?
Computer works on IPO Cycle.
Input → Process → Output
Uses of Computers.
Computers are used to control large and small machines, which in the past were controlled by humans.
Top uses of computers in our daily life.
Uses of computer in the business.
Uses of the computer in marketing.
Uses of the computer in Education field.
Uses of the computer in hospitals.
Uses of the Computer in banking sector.
Uses of the computer in government offices
Uses of the computer in the home.
Uses of the computer in the school.
Uses of the computer in the College.
Uses of the computer in the railway stations and airport.
Uses of the computer in the Film-making.
Uses of the computer in the offices.
Uses of the computer in the police departments.
Uses of the computer in the shops.
Characteristics of Computer
Let us now identify the major characteristics of a computer. These are:
👉 Speed :- A computer can work very fast. It takes only a fraction of a second for calculations that manually take hours to complete. It takes few minutes for the computer to process huge amount of data and give the result.
👉 Accuracy :- The degree of accuracy of computer is very high and every calculation is performed with the same accuracy. The accuracy level is determined on the basis of design of the computer. The errors in computer are mainly due to human and inaccurate data.
👉 Diligence :- A computer is free from tiredness, lack of concentration, fatigue, etc. It can work for hours without any error.
👉 Versatility :- The computer is highly versatile. You can use it for a number of tasks simultaneously such as, for inventory management, preparation of electrical bills, preparation of pay cheques, etc. Similarly, in libraries computer can be used for various library house keeping operations like acquisition, circulation, serial control, etc. and also by students for searching library books on the computer terminal.
👉 Power of Remembering :- Computer has the power of storing large amount of information or data. Any information can be stored and recalled whenever required for any numbers of years. It depends entirely upon you how much data you want to store in a computer and when to retrieve or delete stored date.
👉 Dumb Machine with no IQ :- Computer is a dumb machine and it cannot do any work without instructions from the user. It performs the instructions at a tremendous speed and with great accuracy as it has the power of logic. It is for you to decide what you want to do and in which sequence. So, a computer cannot take decision of its own as human beings can take.
👉 Storage :- The computer has an in-built memory where it can store huge amount of data. You can also store data in secondary storage devices such as CD, DVD and pen drive which can be kept outside the computer and can be carried to other computers.
Difference Between MAN and the Computer.
There are Many differences between MAN and the Computer.
MAN :- Man can take his own decisions.
COMPUTER:- A computer cannot take its own decisions.
MAN :- Man gets tired after some time.
COMPUTER:- A computer never gets tired.
MAN :- Man gets bored doing the same work again and again.
COMPUTER:- A Computer can do the same work again and again. It never gets bored.
MAN :- Man can make mistakes.
COMPUTER:- A computer does not makes any mistake.
MAN :- Man does not need any instruction to work.
COMPUTER:- A computer needs instructions to work.
MAN :- A Man has feeling.
COMPUTER:- A computer does not have any feelings.
MAN :- Man may forget the information stored in his mind.
COMPUTER:- A computer stores a large amount of information and never forgets it.
MAN :- Man cannot work as fast as a computer.
COMPUTER:- A computer can work very fast.
Storage Unit of Computer
0 or 1 = 1 Bit
4 bits = 1 Nibble
8 bits = 1 Byte/Octet
1024 bytes = 1 Kilobyte
1024 KB = 1 Megabyte
1024 MB = 1 Gigabyte
1024 GB = 1 Terabyte
1024 TB = 1 Petabyte
1024 PB = 1 Exabyte
1024 EB = 1 Zettabyte
1024 ZB = 1 Yottabyte
History of Computer.
👉 Abacus (2500 BC) :- This is a hand-held device made of beads stung on rods in a frame. The rods correspond to positions of the digits while the beads correspond to the digits.
👉 Napieris Bone (2500 BC) :- This was invented by John Napieris (1550-1617). This consists of small rods with appropriate marking on them. It is a mechanical aid to computation that consists of nine such rods with one for each digit 1 through 9. He also invented logarithms which made possible to do division and multiplication by performing addition and subtraction.
👉 Slide Rule (1600 AD) :- This was invented by William Oughtred (1575-1660) in 1622 but announced it in 1632 this consist f rules on which marking represent logarithms of numbers and also permits calculation involving exponents, trigonometric functions, etc.
👉 Pascal mechanical calculator (1600) or Numerical wheel calculator:- Blaise Pascal (1623-1664) in 1642 invented the first adding machine called pascaline. The brass rectangular box use eight movable dials to add and sum up of eight figures long using base 10. It can perform all the four arithmetic operation with previous unheard speed.
👉 Leibnitz Mechanical Multiplier (1600) : In 1694 Gottfried Wilhem Von Leibnitz (1646-1716) improved upon the pascaline by creating a machine that can also multiply using a system of dial and gear.
👉 Colmaris Calculator (1820) :- This was invented by Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar. This presented a more practical approach to computing.
👉 Punched-Card Machine (Jacquardis Loom):- This was invented by Joseph Marie Jacquard in 1801.
👉 Mechanical Computer:- This was invented by Charles Babbage (1792-1871), who is the father of computer. Difference engine powered by steam and large as locomotive the machine has a stored program and could perform calculation and print the result automatically. He is also invented Analytical Engine.
👉 Hollerithis System Punch-card reader machine:- This was invented by Herman Hollerith (1860-1929) for counting census result in 1890 in US.
Formed Tabulating Machine Company in 1896 (TMC).
Automatic Tabulating Machine (ATM) 1900
TMC was renamed to International Business Machine Corporation (IBM) in 1924 after series of mergers.
Generation of Computers
Generations of Computers are being presented in given below.
👉 First Generation – 1940-1956 : Vacuum Tubes :- The first computers used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and were often enormous, taking up entire rooms. They were very expensive to operate and in addition to using a great deal of electricity, generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause of malfunctions. First generation computers relied on machine language to perform operations, and they could only solve one problem at a time.
👉 Second Generation – 1956-1963 : Transistors :- Transistors replaced vacuum tubes and ushered in the second generation of computers. The transistor was invented in 1947 but did not see widespread use in computers until the late 50s. The transistor was a vast improvement over the vacuum tube, allowing computers to become smaller, faster, cheaper, more energy-efficient and more reliable than their first generation predecessors. Second-generation computers still relied on punched cards for input and printouts for output. Second-generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine language to symbolic, or assembly, languages, which allowed programmers to specify instructions in words. High-level programming languages were also being developed at this time, Such as early versions of COBOL and FORTRAN.
👉Third Generation – 1964-1975 : Integrated Circuits :- The development of the integrated circuit was the hallmark of the third generation of computers. Transistors were miniaturized and placed on silicon chips, called semiconductors, which drastically increased the speed and efficiency of computers. Instead of punched cards and printouts, users interacted with third generation computers through keyboards and monitors and interfaced with an operating system, which allowed the device to run many different applications at one time with a central program that monitored the memory. Computers for the first time became accessible to a mass audience because they were smaller and cheaper than their predecessors.
👉 Fourth Generation – 1975-1989 : Microprocessors :- The microprocessor brought the fourth generation of computers, as thousands of integrated circuits were built into a single silicon chip. What in the first generation filled an entire room could now fit in the palm of the hand. In 1981 IBM introduced its first computer for the home user, and in 1984 Apple introduced the Macintosh. Microprocessors also moved out of the realm of desktop computers and into many areas of life as more and more everyday products began to use microprocessors. As these small computers became more powerful, they could be linked together to form networks, which eventually led to the development of the Internet. Fourth generation computers also saw the development of GUIs, the mouse and handheld devices.
👉 Fifth Generation – Present and Beyond : Artificial Intelligence :- Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in development, though there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today. The use of parallel processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a reality. Quantum computation and molecular and nanotechnology will radically change the face of computers in years to come. The goal of fifth generation computing is to develop devices that respond to natural language input and are capable of learning and self organization.
TYPES OF COMPUTERS
👉 Analog Computer:- It is an electronic machine capable of performing arithmetic functions on numbers which are represented by some physical quantities such as temperature, pressure, voltage, etc. Analog refers to circuits or numerical values that have a continuous range.
👉 Digital Computer:- All modern computers are digital.it refers to the processes in computers that manipulate binary numbers (0 or 1), which represent switches that are turned on or off by electrical current.
👉 Hybrid Computer:- This is when a Computer make is of both analog and digital components and techniques. Such computer require analog to digital and digital to analog converter which will make analog and digital data palatable to it.
The basic classification nowadays uses the following.
👉 Desktop:- A computer is referred to as desktop when it is relatively small enough to be positioned on top of a table where a person is working.
👉 Laptop:- A computer is called laptop when it combines the CPU, The monitor, the keyboard, and the mouse in one unit to be so small that you can carry it on your laps when traveling or commuting.
👉 Palmtop Computer/Digital Diary/Notebook/PDA (Personal Digital Assistant):- It is a hand sized computer, Palmtop, does not have keyboard, but its screen serves both as an input and output device.
👉 Server/Workstations:- A server is a computer that holds information that other computers, called workstations can retrieve. Such workstations are connected to the server using various means. this means that they could be connected using cable, wireless connection, etc.
👉 Mini Computer:- it is a mid sized computer in size and power. It lies between workstations and mainframes. In the past decade, the distinction between large minicomputers and small mainframes has blurred. In general, a minicomputer is a multiprocessing system capable of supporting from 4 to about 200 users simultaneously.
👉 Mainframe:- It is a very large and expensive computer and is capable of supporting hundreds, or even thousands of users simultaneously. In the Hierarchy that starts with a simple microprocessor at the bottom and moves to supercomputers at the top, mainframes are just below supercomputers. In some ways, mainframes are more powerful than supercomputers because they support simultaneous programs. But supercomputers can execute a single program faster than a mainframe.
👉 Super Computer:- Supercomputers are fastest computers and are very expensive. These are employed for specialized applications that require immense amount of mathematical calculations. For example-weather forecasting requires a supercomputer. Other uses of supercomputers include animated graphics, fluid dynamic calculations, nuclear energy research, and petroleum exploration.
HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE
- Hardware
That part of computer which can be touch and seen is called Hardware
OR
Hardware is the term given to the physical components of a computer
Example:- Monitor, Keyboard, CPU, Mouse, Floppy Disk Drive. - Software
That part of computer which we can not touch and seen is called software. It is electronic information. It is the set of instruction that tells the computer what to do and when to do it.
Example:- Operating System, Computer Programs, Microsoft Word.
There are two types of software.
1. System Software
2. Application Software
1. System Software:- It is a type of computer program that is designed to run a computer’s hardware and application.
There are three types of System Software.
(a). Operating System
(b). Utility Software
(c). Language translator
(a). Operating System:- It is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs.
(b). Utility Software:- It is system software that helps to maintain the proper and smooth functioning of a computer system.
(c). Language translator:- It is a program which is used to translate instructions that are written in the source code to object code.
2. Application Software:- It is a computer software package that performs a specific function directly for an end user or, in some cases, for another application.
There are some application areas and its package.
👉 Word processing:- NotePad (Text editor), Word Pad, Word perfect, Word Start, Microsoft word.
👉 Budgeting, accounting:- Lotus 1-2-3, Microsoft excel
👉 Databases :- Database 3, 4 oracle, Microsoft excel, Corel Paradox, dBase, SQL, Microsoft Access
👉 Graphics:- Corel Draw, Adobe Photoshop, Java Script, Paint Shop Pro, Instant Artist, Print Artist.
👉 Spreadsheets:- Microsoft Excel and Access, Corel Quattro pro, Sun Star Calc
👉 Book Publishing:- Page Maker, Microsoft Publisher
👉 Seminar presentation:- Power Point
👉 Auto CAD, ArchiCAD, electronic desktop.
👉 Statistical analysis:- SPSS, SPLUS, statistical.
👉 Web design:- Microsoft Front Page
Components of Computer:-
(A) Essential Components:-
(1) RAM (Random Access Memory)
(2) ROM (Read Only Memory)
(3) CPU (Central Processing Unit)/Microprocessor
(4) HDD (Hard Disk Drive)
(5) Mother Board or Main Board
(6) Mouse
(7) VDU (Visual Display Unit / Monitor / CRT (Cathode Roy Tube)
(8) UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply)
(B) Optional Components:-
(1) Printer
(2) Speaker
(3) Scanner
(4) Web Camera
(5) Modem
(6) Light Pen
(7) Pen Drive
(8) CD ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory) / CD Drive (Compact Disk Drive)
(9) CD RW Drive (Compact Disk Re-Writable Drive)
(10) FDD (Floppy Disk Drive)
(11) Touch Screen
(12) Joy Stick
(13) Track Ball
(14) Mic
Parts of Computer:-
👉 Input Device :- By which device we can feed data into the Computer is called the Input Devices.
Example:- Keyboard, Mouse, Scanner, Light pen, Joystick, Microphones, Optical Character Reader (OCR), Magnetic Ink Character Reader Recognition (MICR), Bar Code Reader, Badge Reader, Digitizer, Touch Screen, Optical Mark Reader (OMR)
👉 Output Device :- By which device we can get our result on the hard copy or soft copy is called Output Device.
Example:- Monitor, Printer, Plotter, Speaker.
👉 Processing Device (Memory/Control Unit) :- It is called as the brain of computer. The processing devices is only one in any computer. The processing device is used for processing on a data according to the given instruction, store it in its memory and then show the output. The computer is dead without processor.
Monitor
It is use to display the output on the screen. There are various technologies for the display unit, Visual Display Unit (VDU), Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), Electro Luminescent Screens or Projector. Monitors come in different sizes (12″, 14″, 15″, 17″, 19″, 21″, 29″, etc)
System Box or Computer Console
The System box is where all the computations that the computer performs take place. Inside are the CPU processor, the motherboard, the hard disk, any network, sound cards, RAM, Printer Port, and the drive bays for floppy disks, Zip disks or CDs. Outside the casings are the power buttons (ON/OFF and Restart) with some additional facilities like the casing USB ports, Webcams, etc.
Keyboard
It is an Input device which is used to enter any alphabetical number or alpha-numeric data in the computer system. It is one of the ways you can tell the computer what to do.
There are some important keys.
Alphabetic keys :- 26 (A to Z)
Numeric keys :- 10 (0 to 9)
Relational keys :- 3 (<,>,!)
Symbolic keys :- 27 (!, @, #, $, %, ^, &, *, (, ), etc)
Functional keys :- 12 (F1 to F12)
Other keys :- (shift, Ctrl, Alt, Home, Insert, End, Page Up, Delete, etc)
The Keyboard is made of three main categories of keys.
Character Keys:- These comprise of letters, numbers and the symbols.
Action Keys:- These are not used to type anything, instead they cause an action. Example:- Escape, Tab, Caps Lock, Shift, Control, Alt, Backspace, Enter, Windows, Win Menu, Print Screen, Scroll Lock, Pause Break, Number Lock, Insert, Home, Page Up, Delete, End, Page Down, Power, Sleep, Wake up, Up Arrow, Left Arrow, Right Arrow, Down Arrow, Space Bar.
Application Dependent Keys:- These are called function keys. They are F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F7, F8, F9, F10, F11 and F12.
Key Combinations
Some keys can be combined to produce uppercase letters or to access the upper symbols of some keys. Press two or more keys at the same time.
Shortcuts
A shortcut is a quick action you ask a program to perform when you press one particular key or a combination of keys.
Mouse
It is an input device. It is used to drew any graphical image and select the item on the screen.
A mouse is primarily made of three parts:
👉 The Buttons
👉 The handling area
👉 The sensor
Printer
It is an output device. which is used to take a print out the text/graph on the paper.
Printer is divided into two types.
Impact Printer
Non-Impact Printer
There are following types of Impact Printer.
Dot Matrix Printer
Daisey Wheel Printer
Line Printer
Drum Printer
There are following types of Non-Impact Printer.
Inkjet Printer
Thermal Printer
Laser Printer
Electro Magnetic Printer
Electro Static Printer
Plotter
A plotter is used to take the print out of graphical file. The plotter is used to take the output of graphs on a paper. It has some pens of different colors which move up and down and create at the graphical images on the paper. The quality of plotter image is good as compares to printer.
There are mainly two types of plotters.
Flat Bed Plotter
Drum Plotter
Scanner
Scanner is an input device which is used to scans documents and converts them into digital data.
CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU)
It is the main brain of the Computer. It controls all activities of Computer. It is the most important part of a personal computer. It does all the calculative work.
Most CPU chips are composed of four functional sections:
👉 ALU:- Calculating ability either arithmetical or logical operations.
👉 Registers:- Temporary storage areas that hold data, keep tracks of instruction, and hold the location and results of these operations.
👉 Control Section:- Times and regulates the operation of the entire computer system, by using its instruction decoder to read patterns of data in a designated register and translate the patterns into activities, such as addition or comparison. It also uses its interrupt input to indicate the order in which individual operations uses the CPU and regulates the amount of CPU time allotted to each operation.
👉 Internal Bus:- Network of communication lines that connects the internal elements of the processor and also leads to external connectors that links the processor to the other element of the computer.
It has three parts.
(i) Arithmetic and logic Unit.
It is also called as ALU. It performs all the arithmetic and logical function such as addition, subtraction, division and multiplication etc.
(ii) Control Unit.
It is the manager of computer. All type of management can be done by this. It coordinates the operation of hardware.
(iii) Memory Unit.
All instructions or date are stored in memory unit before being used in ALU or CU. The memory unit is divided into a number of storage locations.
MOTHERBOARD
The motherboard is a printed circuit board that connects other components through the use of traces, of electrical pathways. the motherboard is indispensable to the computer and provides the main computing capability.
Light Pen
Light pen is a pointing device, which is use to select the option simply touching on the screen and draw figure directly on the screen. It contains light sensors that identify which portion of the screen it is passed over.
Pen Drive
It is a removal storage device. we can store text of graphics. It is also know as flash drives. It is used to storage, backup and transfer of computer files. They are more durable and reliable because they have no moving parts.
Speaker
Speaker is an output device. which is use to change electronic wave into sound.
UPS
It is use to do regularly power supply. It has a battery which keeps your computer ON for a short time when electricity is gone.
Joy Stick
It is a Pointing device composed of a lever that moves in multiple directions to navigate a cursor or other graphical object on a computer screen. It is just like a remote of video game. which is used to play the game on the computer.
Microphone
This is a device for converting sound into signals that can then be stored, manipulated and played back by the computer.
Modem
It stands for modulator-demodulator, It is a device that connects a computer to a telephone line or cable television network and allows information to be transmitted to or received from another computer. Each computer that sends or receives information must be connected to a modem.
Video Graphic Adapter
By this device CPU is displayed information on the screen of monitor.
Storage Device
Storage device provide permanent storage of information and program for retrieval by the computer.
There are different types of storage device.
👉Disk Drive :- (Hard Disk Drive, Floppy Disk, Magneto-Optical, Compact Disk)
👉Memory
Hard Disk
It is a storing device. In which we can store a large amount of data/information and retrieve that information very quickly. It store information in magnetic particles embedded in a disk. It is permanent part of the computer. It is different sizes such as 500 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB, etc.
Floppy Disk
It is a kind of storage device. It is made flexible plastic coted with magnetic oxide. It is of 2 type 51/4 floppy disk and 31/2 floppy disk. It is also store information in magnetic particles embedded in removable disks.
Magneto-Optical Disc
It can store information on removable disc which is sensitive to laser light and magnetic field.
CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory)
The CD is a disk that is used to store information. It is round in shape and runs on the CD drive fitted inside the CPU box. In which we store data and graphics, it can store 750 MB Data.
DVD-ROM (Digital Video Disk Read Only Memory)
The DVD is a disk that is used to store information. It is round in shape and runs on the DVD drive fitted inside the CPU box. It has several time in higher speed and storing capacity from DVD-ROM.
Flash drive
A small, portable data storage device that plugs into the USB Port of a computer system that is called Flash drive.
Memory Card
A solid state electronic data storage device which is used widely in personal computer and in other electronic device is called Memory card.
Memory
Memory is the part of the computer that temporarily stores applications, documents and system operating information.
There are mainly two types of Memory.
👉Main Memory / Primary Memory.
👉Secondary Memory / Auxiliary Memory
There are two types of Primary Memory.
👉Random Access Memory (RAM)
👉Read Only Memory (ROM)
There are two types of RAM.
👉Dynamic RAM
👉Static RAM
There are three types of Dynamic RAM.
👉Synchronous Dynamic RAM (SDRAM)
👉Rambus Dynamic RAM (RDRAM)
👉Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic RAM (DDR SDRAM)
There are four types of Static RAM.
👉Non-Volatile SRAM
👉Special SRAM
👉Asynchournous SRAM
👉Synchournous SRAM
System Memory
Memory refer to the computer chips that store information for quick retrieval by the CPU.
System Memory is basically divided into two types.
(1) Random Access Memory (RAM)
(2) Read Only Memory (ROM)
RAM (Random Acces Memory)
It is a primary storage device. It is also known as volatile memory because the information within the computer chips is lost when power to the computer is turned off or the computer hanged. It is used to store information and instruction for operate the computer program.
ROM (Read Only Memory)
In which we cannot do any type of change. It contains critical information and software that must be permanently available for computer operation.
Hardware Connections
By which port serves as an interface between the computer and other computer or peripheral devices is called Hardware Connections.
Serial Connection
Serial Connection is a wire or set of wires used to transfer information from the CPU to an external device such as a Mouse, Keyboard, Modem, Scanner, and some types of printers. This is slow therefore this type of connection transfer only one piece of data at a time. It is provide long distance.
Parallel Connection
It is use to multiple sets of wires to transfer block of information simultaneously. It is much faster than a serial connection, but it is limited to distance of less than 3 meter between the CPU and the external device.
Head Phones
Projector