INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER APPLICATION

DEFINITION AND MEANING OF COMPUTER

What is Computer?
A computer is nothing but a very dumb machine that has the ability to perform
mathematical operations, very rapidly and very accurately, but it can do nothing
without the aid of a program written by a human being. Moreover, if a human
being writes a program that turns good data into garbage, the computer will be
very obediently and rapidly turn the good data into garbage.
It is possible to write a computer program with one small error in it that will do
everything, and in some cases appearing to be generating good data. It is up to
the human
programmer to design a program to achieve the desired results.

In summary, computer can be defined as an electronic machine or device

which is capable of accepting data, processing data, storing and changing it into
information with the aid of sets of instructions called programs and the output
devices (printer).
Or
Computer is an electronic machine, programmable, capable of accepting data
through an input
device, store the data, and bring out the result as an output through output device
(e.g. Printer) with a little human intervention at a limited time.
Data: Data are the raw or unprocessed facts about anything. Data does not make
sense unless they are processed, e.g. e, t, g, r, e.t.c. and details of hours worked
by an employee in a school. Data may also be referred to as input. Note that the
singular of data is datum.

Information: It refers to data that has been processed in such a way that it is
meaningful and useful to the person who receives it. Therefore, Information is
referred to as the end product of data processing, e.g. the pay slips of an employee
showing gross pay, tax, net pay, e.t.c.
Information is also known as output.

Data/Input processing Information

CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPUTER
 Computer is electronic in nature
 It is fast and reliable
 It is versatile and flexible

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  It processes, stores and permits retrieval of information for editing and
updating in the future.
 Computer processes your data based on sets of instructions called program.
 It is durable
 It is also portable

Assignment
 Find the merits and demerits of computer
 Why it is that computer is called an electronic device?
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HISTORY OF COMPUTER
The history of computer development dates back to the period of scientific
revolution between
1543 and 1678. And notable among these inventions are the following:

1. The Abacus:
This early calculating device was developed by the Chinese as early as
500BC
2. Table of Logarithm:
This machine which is for easy calculation, multiplication and division of
large number(s) was invented by John Napier (1550-1617)
3. Slide rule:
This is an analog calculating device which was invented by an English man
called
Williams Oughtred between 1574-1760 in 1620, using the principal of John
Napier’s Table of Logarithm.
4. Digital Calculating Machine:
A French man Pascal Blaise (1623-1662) at the age of 19 years
introduced the first digital calculating machine to assist in the addition and
subtraction of
columns of figures.
5. The Weaving Loom:

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 Another French man Joseph Jacquard introduced this machine between
(1752-1834).
6. Difference Machine:
Charles Babbage (1792-1871) a French Professor of Mathematics at
the Cambridge University developed the Difference Machine used for
calculating and printing of mathematical table.
7. Analytical Engines:
In 1833, Charles Babbage further modified the Difference Machine to an
Analytical Engine that contained computer components such as memory,
arithmetic and
logical unit, input derives. Output devices etc. with instructions coded and
pinched on
cards. And for this work, Charles Babbage is today known as the father of
modern
computers.

CLASSFICATION OF COMPUTER
Computer can be classified into the following
  By generation
  By size
  By purpose

COMPUTER CLASSIFICATION BY GENERATION

Computer can classifieds by generation based on the data of manufacture into the
following
Classes;
1ST Generation
These are computers manufactured between 1945-1949. They are made-up of
electronic
valves (Vacuum Tubes) for the circuit. The vacuum tubes required greater amount
of energy and
generated much heat and has the following:
 It has memory
 It occupies a large space
 It is slow
 It generates a lot of heat

2 Generation
ND

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These were manufactured between 1950-1960 and were made to use transistors.
They were
smaller, faster, less expensive and emitted less heat than vacuum tubes and it has
the following
features:
  It was developed using transistors as the memory.
  It makes use of high level languages.
  It has high speed of operation than first generation computer

3RD Generation
They were manufactured between the late 1960s and early 1970 with integrated
circuit
replacing transistors. It has the following features:
 It was developed with integrated circuit (ICs)
 It gives rise to more developments in hardware technology
 It is durable and faster than first generation of computer

4TH Generation
These are manufactured between 1975-1990. This was the Era of Micro processors
and the
evolution of Micro Computers. The fourth generations of computers are roughly
hundred times smaller than those of the other generations, yet, they are powerful
than others.

COMPUTER TYPE BY SIZE

 Super Computers: -
They are at the top of computer range; they are the fastest computers and
performs hundred of calculations within a second. They are considered
National Resources; very few organizations require them or can afford them.
Initially, they were used for designing weapons but now, they are used for
weather forecasting, biomedical research and air-craft design. Example of
super computers is Paragon from International Corporation in USA and Micro-
computer.
 Main-frame Computers: -
These computers are powerful than Mini-computers. They operates at very
high speed, have large storage capacities and can support hundred and
sometimes thousands of users simultaneously. They are used for data

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 processing in large organizations where the records of thousand employees
have to be kept. They, however, have the following short comings:
 They are very expensive
 They are not portable
 They generate a lot of heat.

 Minicomputers: - These can be considered as scaled down version of the

mainframe
computer. They are large, better and costly than PC (personal computer).
They are designed to support more than one user at a time, usually up to two
hundred (200) users.
 Microcomputers: - These are the last to be developed. They are called
personal computer
(PC). The reason for the name personal computer is that, it can be used at
home or office
environment. They have the following features:
 It is durable and portable
 It is cheap compared to others
 It generate less heat
 It is fast based on 1.0 input, output and memory size/speed of processor
Type of Microcomputers
 Desktop
 Laptop
 Palmtop
COMPUTER TYPE BY PURPOSE
This is further divided into two:
 Special purpose computer
 General purpose computer
Special purpose computer:- They are computers designed for a particular job or
to solve problems
of restricted nature. Examples are computers designed for Air-traffic control, Road
Traffic etc.
General purpose computer: - These are computers designed to solve wide
variety of problems and can be used to carry out different jobs or tasks.

CLASSIFICATION BASE ON DATA (DEVICE) PREPARATION

 Analogue computers
 Digital computers
 Hybrid computer

Analogue Computer:-

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These are used in scientific and engineering works, and it is use to measure
physical quantity that is proportional to, such as temperature, reassures, voltage
and scientific applications etc. And it
does not have memory facilities. Examples of Analogue computers are:
stopwatch, thermometer, speedometer, Electric meter, stabilizer, Regulator etc.
Digital computers: -
This is a term used to describe computers used for commercial processing. The
information in the digital computer is represented in digital form. Examples of
digital computers are:
calculators, handsets & Microcomputers, etc.
Hybrid Computer: -
It combines the properties of both the digital and analogue computers. For
example, setting (programmed) on a modern-day television set involves both
digital and analogue.
You may first select the channel (digital), you then store the station on the channel
(analog), this is an example of a hybrid device. It involves different processes that
combines both the properties of
analogue and digital. An example is a Robot used in an industrial environment.

THE PYSICAL PARTS OF COMPUTERS

 Monitor: - It is that part of the computer that takes information from the CPU
and put it on the screen for you to see when you have turned on your
computer, whatever you are working on will appear on the monitor’s screen.
It is also called screen or VDU (Visual Display Unit). There are two types of
monitors,
1. Monochrome Monitors (Black & White): -
These type of monitors displays texts, pictures, and images in black and
white only.
2. Multi-Media (Colour) Monitors:
These monitors displays pictures in both colour, black and white. They are
always divided into the following:
 CGA (Colour Graphic Array)
 EGA (Enhanced Graphic Array)
 SVGA (Super Video Graphic Array)

 Central Processing Unit (CPU):-

This is where the computer reads and caries out instruction(s). It is known as
the brain of the computer system. Other names used to refer to the CPU are
processor, Central
processor, System box, Brain, etc.

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Classification of CPU
 MU (Memory Unit): it provides very fast access to the operation of the
computer.
 CU (Control Unit): It locates and retrieves instructions from Memory once at
time.
 ALU (Arithmetic Logical Unit): It carries out all arithmetic calculations on
keyboard.

FUNCTION OF CPU.
 It holds program instructions.
 It carries out data processing on input data according to instructions.
 It updates a master file that needs to be changed as a result of processing.
 It produces output information by transmitting the output device.

 Keyboard:- This is a hardware and a rectangular-shape object which

contains different types of keys, numbers, letters, symbols, and instructions.
As soon as you press the any key, the pressed characters appears on your
screen or instruction are carried out through CPU.
 Mouse: - This is a piece of hardware looking like a box which can be
connected to the computer by a cable. It is hand-held and has two or more
buttons i.e. the right-click and left-click buttons.
Functions of the mouse
1. To delete text in an instance
2. To insert a value into a worksheet
3. To select /highlight/move objects on a word area.
4. Use for navigation/location of a program
5. To choose command

Basic Mouse Movements

Pointing/location –This involves moving the mouse pointer until the tip rest on a
specific object or
area on the screen.
Clicking – This is pressing and releasing of the mouse button using the left button
to make
command.
Right clicking – This is pressing and releasing of the right button of the mouse to
carry out a short
cut command.

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Double clicking – This is the pressing and releasing of the mouse button in rapid
succession
especially the left mouse button twice.
Dragging - This is done by pressing the mouse button down and holding it down
while moving the
mouse pointer over an area.
The mouse pointer can assume various shapes depending on the operation and the
area it is
found.

Printer – It is a device or machine which allows you to transfer, copy text and
graphics from your
computer to hard copy (paper).
The types of printer are;
1. Deskjest (print colour, black and white)
2. Laserjet (print only black and white)

STORAGE DEVICES;
CD ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory): The compact disk (CD Drive) holds
large amount of
information either in the form of sound, text, graphics etc.
DISKETTE – Is a small flat magnetic device used for storing of data or information
such as text and graphics and is also called magnetic disk or magnetic disc. This is
slotted into the Diskett Drive.
DRIVES - These drives are piece of hard ware that read and write data to and from
CD’s disk, tape, etc. the most common drives are CD drive, floppy drive and hard
drive.

COMPONENTS OF COMPUTER;
1. SOFTWARE- software is a set of instruction or command given to your
computer, which the
computer obeys in order to perform certain operation(s). It can be an instruction or
commands given to computers to perform certain task and this usually comes from
the manufacturer e.g. system software and application software and computer
virus.
 Application software: - These are programs designed by skilled application
programmers to
meet the need of the users. This is the power of the computer to solve a specific
task or problem. The application software is referred to as application packages.

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Application software includes; Word Processing Packages like M.S. Word, Word
Perfect, Word Star, and e.t.c. Spread Sheet Packages like Lotus 1-2-3, M.S. Excel,
Quatro Pro, D-Base Paradox, M.S. Access etc. Accounting packages, Dac Excel,
Pacioli 2000 etc., Graphic Packages; e.g Lotus Freelance, Corel Draw, Venture, etc.
Architectural packages; like Auto Card, Customized Packages; Payoff Packages and
Stock Control Packages, etc.
 System software: - These are programs that run the computer system and
aids the application programs perform its work. It normally comes from the
manufacturer .Examples are Utility Software and Language Software.

o Utility Software: - This is a specially developed program written to perform

specific maintenance task, such as surface scanning, defragmentation, etc.
o Language Software: This is a specially developed program written to
convert or translate high or low level programming language to human or
machine language i.e. 0’ and 1’s. We have three types of programming
languages; Assembly Language, Low Level Language and High Level
Language.

2. HARDWARE: - The physical part of computer, the bits and piece of which is
made up are called
hardware. It can simply be defined as the physical part of computer that one can
see, touch and feel. E.g. monitor (VDU), Mouse, UPS, Keyboard, etc.

Control Unit: - The control unit coordinates the various operations specified by the
program
instructions. These operations include receiving data which enter the computer and
deciding how and when the data should be processed. The control unit corrects the
operations of the ALU and direct their implementation i.e. by sending signals to the
ALU, Memory, input and output devices.

Arithmetic Logical Unit: - It is the part of the CPU where the arithmetic and
logical operations are
carry-out. It include a special store location to hold results and some other data
temporally during
processing, and this store location is sometimes referred to as the arithmetic
register. It is not easy to distinguish the ALU from the control unit, because they are
all effective at the same time in the unit. The task of this in the CPU is to fetch
program instruction in the required sequence, decode them and carry them out.

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The type of instruction it can carry out are very simple and basic operation
Arithmetic (Addition, multiplication, division, etc.)

Input Device: - These are device that can transmit information or data into
computer. The input
devices are mouse, keyboard, light pen, scanner, etc.

Output Device: - These are device that can receive information from the
computer through copying into hard paper or sound. Examples of output device are
monitor, speaker, printer, etc.

Starting your computer:- This is the process of booting or pressing the CPU and
VDU power
button to start processing and this can be effective when the system has power
supply from a power source e.g. PHCN, Generator, Solar energy, Battery, etc.

There are the two types of booting;

Cold Booting: - It is the starting of the computer at its state of rest by pressing the
two power buttons (CPU & VDU) While
Warm booting: - is pressing the reset button to restart or using the keyboard
shortcut keys Ctrl + Alt + Delete or restart your computer.

PROCESSES TO SHUT DOWN THE SYSTEM OR COMPUTER

 Click start on the window task bar
 Click turn off computer or shutdown
Wait a little bit another option will display again.
 Click turn off.
 Computer will automatically turn off.

STEPS OF LOADING A PROGRAM

Having boot the system,
 Click on start on the window task bar
 Click all program or programs
 Select and click the program of your choice e.g. Microsoft Word etc.
OR When the program is on desktop use these ways:
 Click on the program and press enter key on your keyboard
 Double click on the program
 Right click and click on open

STEPS TO CLOSE AND OPEN DOCUMENT

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  Click on close (x) at the top right Conner of the screen,
 The program automatically close.
STEPS TO SAVE DOCUMENT IN A COMPUTER
Having load in a program and have the document display on the screen,
 Click file
 Click save
 Name the file by typing
 Click save
STEPS TO OPEN AN ALREADY SAVED DOCUMENT
 Open a particular program in which your work is done (Microsoft Office Word
or desktop etc)
 Click file
 Click open
 In the dialog box scroll and click on your file name
 Click open
STEPS TO DELETE A SAVED DOCUMENT
 Open to a program in which your work is located
 Click on file
 Click open
 Right click on your file name and selects delete or click and press delete on
your keyboard.
STEPS TO RESTORE A DOCUMENT FROM THE RECYCLE BIN
 On desktop click recycle bin icon and press enter key or double click the
recycle bin icon.
 Right-click your file name
 Click restores this item or restore.
STEPS TO CREATE A FOLDER ON DESKTOP.
 Right click on an empty space on the desktop or screen
 Click on new, it display the dialog box of new
 Click on “folder”

Having created a folder;

 Type your name or admission number
 Click anywhere to highlight the folder for you
 Load in the program
 Type your text
 Click file
 Select save as
 In your saving dialog box click and select your name folder with either your
name or admission

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  Number.
 Click save and close

CUSTOMIZING WINDOWS;
 To reset the date/time
 Click start menu
 Point to settings
 Click control panel
 On the date/time dialogue box select time type and follow the required steps
like selecting
year, minutes etch
 Click ok

HOW TO APPLY SCREEN SAVER

 Click start menu
 Point to setting
 Click control panel
 Double click display icon
 On the display properties menu select screen saver
 Scroll to select screen type and click ok
STEPS TO FORMAT A DISKETTE
 Having inserted your diskette inside the Floppy Disk of the system
 Right click on start on window or my computer
 Right click on explore
 Also right click on 3½ floppy “A”
 Select format
 Select either quick or create by MS-DOS
 Click start
 Click ok
After a little while, the computer will complete formatting
 Click ok
 Click close
STEPS TO SAVE DOCUMENT INTO A DISKETTE.
 Insert diskette inside the Floppy Disk Drive of the computer
 Display your document on screen
 Click save as
 In the dialog box click save in to display drives
 Select and click 3½ floppy “A”
 Name the file by typing
 Click save

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STEPS TO SAVE AND ALREADY SAVE DOCUMENT INTO A DISKETTE
 Insert diskette into the Floppy Disk Drive of the computer
 Click file
 Click open
 Scroll and right click on your file name
 Select send to
 Click on 3½ floppy “A”

COMPUTER APPLICATION AREAS;

Computer has been applied and is still being applied to almost many areas of
human life. The following are the areas that computer can be used:
1. Office purpose:
Computer is used in offices for typing memos, letters, records etc., with the use
of word processing packages. It is also applied for desktop publishing, graphical
application packages, this is for the
newspapers houses. Records keeping of people’s data are done using the
computer and there is limited access to information especially when they are
confidential
2. Businesses:
In business houses like banks, insurance companies, accounting firms etc. they
all use computer for keeping of records and balancing of accounts and ledgers.
3. Law profession:
Records of past cases are stored in the computer for easy and fast access and
reference to help lawyers when preparing a new case.
4. Medicine:
Computers are used for diagnosing patients, operations and keeping records of
patients.
5. Engineering: Computers are used for designs and measurement of various
kinds, measurement
can easily be done and results are seen on the screen immediately. This helps
engineering
designs and makes them easier than when using manual methods.
6. Education:
Computer is applied as learning tools and keeping of Academics records of
students.
As a learning tool, it helps students to be more exposed and to have great
potential.
7. Research:

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 When researches are being conducted, the process of analysis, the obtained data
can be
cumbersome and time consuming; it can take weeks, months and even years for
this to be done. But with the aid of computer, researches are conducted and
analyzed with ease.
8. Government:
The government applied computer operation in the field of census. It is used for
compiling census and survey data. Thus, computer application in census counting
will make it fast and easy, computer is still used for budget planning, economic
planning and forecasting.

COMPUTER VIRUS
Viruses are actively infectious computer program that destroy valuable data
and programs. A virus places copies of its self into other applications and programs
and hence, spreads the infection. When a program file that is infected with virus is
executed, the virus reaches the RAM and then stay there even after execution of
the program has been completed. When the next program is executed the virus
infects the new file, if this is taken to another machine, that machine also become
infected. Examples of Virus are: Raila Odinga, Trogen Horse, etc.

Effects of Virus.
Virus corrupt data in files
Virus cause improper display of VDU
Virus cause deletion of files on the disk
Virus cause increase in the size of files
It makes the computer very slow
Virus makes system behave abnormal (by tripping off the system)

Anti-virus software: -
This detects and clean only virus that has been programmed to detect and
clean. Thus anti-virus can detect only the viruses that are known at the time.
Example of Anti-Virus are:
Avast, Norton, Kerpersky, Avira, etc.

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