Basics of a Computer

Hardware:
Hardware is typically directed by the software to execute any command or instruction. A
combination of hardware and software forms a usable computing system,
although other systems exist with only hardware.

Computer hardware includes the physical parts of a computer, such as the case, central
processing unit (CPU), random access memory
(RAM), monitor, mouse, keyboard, computer data storage, graphics card, sound
card, speakers and motherboard.

Software:
Software is a set of instructions, data or programs used to operate computers and
execute specific tasks. It is the opposite of hardware, which describes the physical
aspects of a computer. Software is a generic term used to refer to
applications, scripts and programs that run on a device. It can be thought of as the
variable part of a computer, while hardware is the invariable part.

Generations of Computers:

The modern computer took its shape with the arrival of your time. It had been around
16th century when the evolution of the computer started. The initial computer faced
many changes, obviously for the betterment. It continuously improved itself in terms
of speed, accuracy, size, and price to urge the form of the fashionable day computer.
This long period is often conveniently divided into the subsequent phases called
computer generations:

 First Generation Computers (1940-1956)

 Second Generation Computers (1956-1963)
 Third Generation Computers (1964-1971)
 Fourth Generation Computers (1971-Present)
 Fifth Generation Computers (Present and Beyond)

First Generation Computers: Vacuum Tubes (1940-1956)

The technology behind the primary generation computers was a fragile glass device,
which was called vacuum tubes. These computers were very heavy and really large in
size. These weren’t very reliable and programming on them was a really tedious task
as they used high-level programming language and used no OS. First-generation
computers were used for calculation, storage, and control purpose. They were too
bulky and large that they needed a full room and consume rot of electricity.

Second Generation Computers: Transistors (1956-1963)

Second-generation computers used the technology of transistors rather than bulky

vacuum tubes. Another feature was the core storage. A transistor may be a device
composed of semiconductor material that amplifies a sign or opens or closes a circuit .

Third Generation Computers: Integrated Circuits. (1964-1971)

During the third generation, technology envisaged a shift from huge transistors to
integrated circuits, also referred to as IC. Here a variety of transistors were placed on
silicon chips, called semiconductors. The most feature of this era’s computer was the
speed and reliability. IC was made from silicon and also called silicon chips .

Fourth Generation Computers: Micro-processors (1971-Present)

In 1971 First microprocessors were used, the large scale of integration LSI circuits
built on one chip called microprocessors. The most advantage of this technology is
that one microprocessor can contain all the circuits required to perform arithmetic,
logic, and control functions on one chip.
Fifth Generation Computers:

The technology behind the fifth generation of computers is AI. It allows computers to
behave like humans. It is often seen in programs like voice recognition, area of
medicines, and entertainment. Within the field of games playing also it’s shown
remarkable performance where computers are capable of beating human
competitors.

Hardware

Functional Units:

PC HARDWARE

Identify the peripherals of a computer, components in a CPU and it

functions.
Hardware is the physical appearance of the devices or tools. It is what which we can
touch and feel. Computer Hardware consists of the Monitor, CPU, Keyboard, Mouse
and all other devices connected to the computer either externally or internally.
A typical computer (personal computer, PC) consists of a desktop or tower case
(chassis) and the following parts:
1. CPU The central processing unit contains the heart of any computer, the
processor. The processor is fitted on to a Mother Board. The Mother Board
contains various components, which support the functioning of a PC.
2. System board/Motherboard which holds the Processor, Random Access Memory
and other parts, and has slots for expansion cards

3. RAM (Random Access Memory)- for program execution and short term data-
storage, so the computer doesn't have to take the time to access the hard drive to
find something. More RAM can contibute to a faster PC
4. Buses : PCI bus, PCI-E bus, ISA bus (outdated), USB, AGP
5. Power Supply - a case that holds a transformer, voltage control and fan

6. Storage controllers, of IDE, SCSI or other type, that control hard disk, floppy disk,
CD-ROM and other drives; the controllers sit directly on the motherboard (on-
board) or on expansion cards
7. Video display controller that produces the output for the computer display
8. Computer bus controllers (parallel, serial, USB, Fire wire) to connect the
computer to external peripheral devices such as printers or scanners
9. Some type of a removable media writer:

10. CD - the most common type of removable media, cheap but fragile.
 CD-ROM, , CD-RW, CD-R, DVD, DVD-ROM., DVD-RW, DVD-R,

11. Floppy disk

12. Tape Drive - mainly for backup and long-term storage

13. Internal storage - keeps data inside the computer for later use.
14. Hard disk - for medium-term storage of data.
15. Sound card - translates signals from the system board into analog voltage levels,
and has terminals to plug in speakers.
16. Networking - to connect the computer to the Internet and/or other computers
17. Modem - for dial-up connections
18. Network card - for DSL/Cable internet, and/or connecting to other computers.

[Link] peripherals: In addition, hardware can include external components of a

computer system. The following are either standard or very common.
Input , Keyboard, Pointing devices, Mouse, Trackball, Joystick, Game pad
 [Link] : The ouput devices are:
Printer, Speakers, Monitor, Networking, Modem, Network card

Components of CPU:
Block Diagram of Computer :
A computer can process data, pictures, sound and graphics. They can solve highly
complicated problems quickly and accurately.

Input Unit: Computers need to receive data and instruction in order to solve any
problem. Therefore we need to input the data and instructions into the computers. The
input unit consists of one or more input devices. Keyboard is the one of the most
commonly used input device. Other commonly used input devices are the mouse,
floppy disk drive, magnetic tape, etc. All the input devices perform the following
functions.

Accept the data and instructions from the outside world.

Convert it to a form that the computer can understand.

Memory
Hierarchy

Memory Size: All digital computers use the binary system, i.e. 0’s and 1’s. Each
character or a number is represented by an 8 bit [Link] set of 8 bits is called a byte.
A character occupies 1 byte space.
A numeric occupies 2 byte space.

Byte is the space occupied in the memory.

The size of the primary storage is specified in KB (Kilobytes) or MB (Megabyte). One

KB is equal to 1024 bytes and one MB is equal to 1000KB. The size of the primary
storage in a typical PC usually starts at 16MB. PCs having 32 MB, 48MB, 128 MB,
256MB memory are quite common.

Types Of Memory
Storage Unit: The storage unit of the computer holds data and instructions that are
entered through the input unit, before they are processed. It preserves the intermediate
and final results before these are sent to the output devices. It also saves the data for
the later use. The various storage devices of a computer system are divided into two
categories.

1. Primary memory: Stores and provides very fast. This memory is generally used to
hold the program being currently executed in the computer, the data being received
from the input unit, the intermediate and final results of the program. The primary
memory is temporary in nature. The data is lost, when the computer is switched off. In
order to store the data permanently, the data has to be transferred to the secondary
memory. The cost of the primary storage is more compared to the secondary storage.
Therefore most computers have limited primary storage capacity.

2. Secondary memory: Secondary storage is used like an archive. It stores several

programs, documents, data bases etc. The programs that you run on the computer are
first transferred to the primary memory before it is actually run. Whenever the results
are saved, again they get stored in the secondary memory. The secondary memory is
slower and cheaper than the primary memory. Some of the commonly used secondary
memory devices are Hard disk, CD, etc.,
 Input Devices
Keyboard
Keyboard is the most common and very popular input device which helps to input
data to the computer. The layout of the keyboard is like that of

traditional typewriter, although there are some additional keys provided for performing
additional functions.
Keyboards are of two sizes 84 keys or 101/102 keys, but now keyboards with 104 keys
or 108 keys are also available for Windows and Internet.

Mouse
Mouse is the most popular pointing device. It is a very famous cursor-control device
having a small palm size box with a round ball at its base, which senses the
movement of the mouse and sends corresponding signals to the CPU when the
mouse buttons are pressed.
 Generally, it has two buttons called the left and the right button and a wheel is present
between the buttons. A mouse can be used to control the position of the cursor on the
screen, but it cannot be used to enter text into the computer

Joystick
Joystick is also a pointing device, which is used to move the cursor position on a
monitor screen. It is a stick having a spherical ball at its both lower and upper ends.
The lower spherical ball moves in a socket. The joystick can be moved in all four
directions.

The function of the joystick is similar to that of a mouse. It is mainly used in Computer
Aided Designing (CAD) and playing computer games.

Light Pen
 Light pen is a pointing device similar to a pen. It is used to select a displayed menu
item or draw pictures on the monitor screen. It consists of a photocell and an optical
system placed in a small tube.

When the tip of a light pen is moved over the monitor screen and the pen button is
pressed, its photocell sensing element detects the screen location and sends the
corresponding signal to the CPU.

Track Ball
Track ball is an input device that is mostly used in notebook or laptop computer,
instead of a mouse. This is a ball which is half inserted and by moving fingers on the
ball, the pointer can be moved.

Since the whole device is not moved, a track ball requires less space than a
mouse. A track ball comes in various shapes like a ball, a button, or a square.

Scanner
Scanner is an input device, which works more like a photocopy machine. It is used
when some information is available on paper and it is to be transferred to the hard
disk of the computer for further manipulation
 Scanner captures images from the source which are then converted into a digital form
that can be stored on the disk. These images can be edited before they are printed.

Digitizer
Digitizer is an input device which converts analog information into digital form.
Digitizer can convert a signal from the television or camera into a series of numbers

that could be stored in a computer. They can be used by the computer to create a
picture of whatever the camera had been pointed at.

Digitizer is also known as Tablet or Graphics Tablet as it converts graphics and

pictorial data into binary inputs. A graphic tablet as digitizer is used for fine works of
drawing and image manipulation applications.
Microphone
Microphone is an input device to input sound that is then stored in a digital form.

The microphone is used for various applications such as adding sound to a

multimedia presentation or for mixing music.

Magnetic Ink Card Reader (MICR)

MICR input device is generally used in banks as there are large number of cheques to
be processed every day. The bank's code number and cheque number are printed on

the cheques with a special type of ink that contains particles of magnetic material that
are machine readable.
This reading process is called Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR). The main
advantages of MICR is that it is fast and less error prone.
Optical Character Reader (OCR)
OCR is an input device used to read a printed text.

OCR scans the text optically, character by character, converts them into a machine
readable code, and stores the text on the system memory.

Bar Code Readers

Bar Code Reader is a device used for reading bar coded data (data in the form of light
and dark lines). Bar coded data is generally used in labelling goods, numbering the

books, etc. It may be a handheld scanner or may be embedded in a stationary

scanner.

Bar Code Reader scans a bar code image, converts it into an alphanumeric value,
which is then fed to the computer that the bar code reader is connected to.

Optical Mark Reader (OMR)

OMR is a special type of optical scanner used to recognize the type of mark made by
pen or pencil. It is used where one out of a few alternatives is to be selected and
marked.

It is specially used for checking the answer sheets of examinations having multiple
choice questions

Monitors

Monitors, commonly called as Visual Display Unit (VDU), are the main output device of
a computer. It forms images from tiny dots, called pixels that are arranged in a
rectangular form. The sharpness of the image depends upon the number of pixels.

There are two kinds of viewing screen used for monitors.

Cathode-Ray Tube
(CRT) Flat-Panel
Display

Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT) Monitor

The CRT display is made up of small picture elements called pixels. The smaller the
pixels, the better the image clarity or resolution. It takes more than one illuminated
pixel to form a whole character, such as the letter ‘e’ in the word help.
 A finite number of characters can be displayed on a screen at once. The screen can
be divided into a series of character boxes - fixed location on the screen where a
standard character can be placed. Most screens are capable of displaying 80
characters of data horizontally and 25 lines vertically.

There are some disadvantages of CRT –

Large in Size

High power consumption

Flat-Panel Display Monitor

The flat-panel display refers to a class of video devices that have reduced volume,
weight and power requirement in comparison to the CRT. You can hang them on walls
or wear them on your wrists. Current uses of flat-panel displays include calculators,
video games, monitors, laptop computer, and graphics display.
 The flat-panel display is divided into two categories −

Emissive Displays − Emissive displays are devices that convert electrical energy
into light. For example, plasma panel and LED (Light-Emitting Diodes).

Non-Emissive Displays − Non-emissive displays use optical effects to convert

sunlight or light from some other source into graphics patterns. For example, LCD
(Liquid-Crystal Device).

Printers

Printer is an output device, which is used to print information on paper

There are two types of printers −

Impact Printers

Non-Impact Printers

Impact Printers

Impact printers print the characters by striking them on the ribbon, which is then
pressed on the paper.
Non-impact Printers
Non-impact printers print the characters without using the ribbon. These printers
print a complete page at a time, thus they are also called as Page Printers.

These printers are of two types −

Laser
Printers
Inkjet
Printers
They make less noise because no hammering is done and these have many styles of
printing modes available. Color printing is also possible. Some models of Inkjet printers
can produce multiple copies of printing also
 System software:

These software programs are designed to run a computer's application programs

and hardware. System software coordinates the activities and functions of the
hardware and software. In addition, it controls the operations of the computer
hardware and provides an environment or platform for all the other types of software
to work in. The OS is the best example of system software; it manages all the other
computer programs. Other examples of system software include the firmware,
computer language translators and system utilities.

Application software:

The most common type of software, application software is a computer software

package that performs a specific function for a user, or in some cases, for another
application. An application can be self-contained, or it can be a group of programs
that run the application for the user. Examples of modern applications include office
suites, graphics software, databases and database management programs, web
browsers, word processors, software development tools, image editors and
communication platforms.

Packages:

Packaged software is a collection of programs that perform similar functions or have

similar features. For example, Microsoft Office includes multiple applications such
as Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. Video and audio editing software may also be
available as packaged software, used for editing music and video files used in a movie.

Some programs included in packaged software may be available for purchase

individually. However, purchasing packaged software is often cheaper than purchasing
each software program separately.
Frameworks:

Software framework is an abstraction in which software, providing generic functionality,

can be selectively changed by additional user-written code, thus providing application-
specific software. It provides a standard way to build and deploy applications and is a
universal, reusable software environment that provides particular functionality as part of
a larger software platform to facilitate the development of software applications,
products and solutions. Software frameworks may include support programs, compilers,
code libraries, toolsets, and application programming interfaces (APIs) that bring
together all the different components to enable development of a project or system.

IDES:

An integrated development environment (IDE) is a software application that helps

programmers develop software code efficiently. It increases developer productivity by
combining capabilities such as software editing, building, testing, and packaging in an
easy-to-use application