Chapter one

Introduction to Computer Application

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 Chapter objectives

• After completing this chapter, you should be able to

know:
 Overview of Computer : Some terminologies
 Introduction to Information and Communication
Technology
 Definition of Computer
 Evolution and generation of computer
 Characteristics of computers
 Types of computers
 Applications of computers
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 Introduction
• Overview of Computer : Some terminologies
 Data
 Information
Knowledge
 Knowledge

Data Process Information

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 What is Data?
 Raw facts, figures, events and transactions
 Statistics used for reference or analysis
 Numbers, characters, symbols, images etc.,
which can be processed by a computer
 Data must be interpreted, by a human or
machine, to derive meaning (no context)

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 What is information?
 "Information is any kind of knowledge that is
exchangeable amongst people, about things,
facts, concepts, etc., in some context."
 Data with context
 Meaningful data
 Value added to data
 Information is interpreted data

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Information and Communication Technology(ICT)

Information refers to the knowledge obtained from

reading, investigation, study or research.
The tools to transmit information are the
telephone, book, internet ,television and radio etc.
We need information to make decisions and to
predict the future.

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COMMUNICATION
 Communication is an act of transmitting messages.

 It is a process whereby information is exchanged between

individuals using symbols, signs or verbal interaction.
TECHNOLOGY
 Technology is the use of scientific knowledge, experience
and resources to create, processes and products that fulfill
human needs.
 Technology is vital in communication.

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So What is ICT?
 ICT is the technology required for information
processing.
 In particular, the use of electronic computers,
communication devices and software application to
convert, store, protect, process, transmit and retrieve
information from anywhere and anytime.
Examples of ICT Use
 Mobile telephones
 Video and tele-conferencing
 Desktop or Lap-top computers
 E-mail
 Multi-media communications(fax, telephone, TV)
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 Definition of computer
 Computer is a Latin word.. Compute meaning: Calculation
Machine
 A calculating device that can perform arithmetic operations at
enormous speed
 The original objective for inventing a computer was to create
a fast calculating machine.
 But more than 80% work done by computers today is of non-
mathematical or non-numeric nature.
 Hence a computer may be defined as a device that operates up
on information or data.
 Computer is an electronic device which is used for
information processing.

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 Definition of Computer…..cont’d
 An electronic device that accepts, processes, displays, and

stores data.
 A programmable electronic device that can store, retrieve,

and process data.

 Computer, electronic machine that performs tasks, such as

calculations or electronic communication, under the control

of a set of instructions called a program

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 Generations and evolution of computers
Evolution of Computers
 Before the 1500s, in Europe, calculations were made
with an abacus.
 Used to count and calculate.
 still widely used in Asia!
 Invented around 500BC, available in many countries (China,
Mesopotamia, Japan, Greece, Rome, etc.)
 In 1642, Blaise Pascal (French mathematician, physicist,
philosopher) invented a mechanical calculator called the
Pascaline.
 In 1671, Gottfried von Leibniz (German mathematician,
philosopher) extended the Pascaline to do
multiplications, divisions, square roots: the Stepped
Reckoner
 None of these machines had memory, and they required
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human intervention at each step.
 Generation of computers
• A generation refers to the state of improvement in the
product development process.
• With each new generation, the circuitry has gotten
smaller and more advanced than the previous generation
before it.
• As a result of the miniaturization, speed, power, and
computer memory has proportionally increased.
• Each generation of computers is characterized by major
technological development that fundamentally changed
the way computers operate, resulting in increasingly
smaller, cheaper, and more powerful and more efficient
and reliable devices
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Generation of computer……..
 Based on the following five factors, computers can be
classified into five generations. The factors are:
 Circuit elements
 Type of secondary storage device
 Programming Language
 Operating System
 Access Time

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The generations which are divided in to fifth
categories can be describe as:
Generation Period Technology

First Generation 1945 – 1954 Vacuums Tube

Second Generation 1955 – 1964 Transistors

Third Generation 1965 – 1974 Integrated Circuits (ICs)

Fourth Generation 1975 - present Microprocessor/Large Scale

Integration

Fifth Generation Present and future Artificial Intelligence

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First Generation
 The vacuum tubes were used in the circuits of these
computers
 The machine was capable to do one job at a time,
therefore batch processing was adopted.
 The language used by these computers was machine
language and assembly language.
 Most applications were scientific calculations.
 Example of Computers: UNIVAC, IBM 650
EDVAC, ENIAC, EDSAC, etc.

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 First Generation

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Second Generations
 Show the characteristics of modern day computers with utilities such as
printers, disk storage and operating systems.
 Much financial information was processed using these computers.

 High-level languages such as COBOL (Common Business-Oriented

Language) and FORTRAN (Formula Translator) were used
 The most widely used

Transistors were used in the circuits.

 For external storage magnetic tapes were used.

 The machine was capable to process multiple tasks concurrently

 Examples: IBM 1620, IBM 1401 and IBM 7094

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 Second Generation

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Third Generation
• Integrated circuits replaced transistors

• Smaller size, they were capable to perform better than transistors.

• For data input and output operations monitors and keyboards replaced the
punched cards.

• For external storage magnetic disks were used.

• Sophisticated operating systems, which were capable of handling several jobs

concurrently were used.

• More advanced high level languages like PASCAL were used.

• Example

– IBM system /360 was the dominant

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– IBM 1130
 Third Generation

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Fourth Generation

• The modern day computers.

• It reduced the size and price of the computers at the same time
increasing power, efficiency and reliability.
• The circuits used VLSI and microprocessors of virtually
microscopic size, which led to drastic cut on the size of
computer.

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 Fourth Generation….

• Micro computers have evolved.

• Magnetic disks were the primary devices used for external
storage.
• The use of special software for maintaining large data bases
became popular.
• The application software for micro computer essentially
became popular in this generation.
Example: IBM System
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 Fourth Generation

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The fifth Generation computer (future)
• These computers will be under Artificial Intelligence (AI), they
will be able to take commands in an audio visual way and carry
out instructions.
• Many of the operations which require low human intelligence
will be performed by these computers.
• Parallel Processing is coming and showing the possibility that
the power of many CPU's can be used side by side,
• These computers will have:
– Intelligent processors, i.e., processors which can draw
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 Characteristics of computers
 Storage capacity ->Computers help to save space and

economy by storing very large amount of data.

 Speed :These days’ computers process tasks in very short

period of time.
The amount of work performed by a human in
an entire year can be done by a computer in a few seconds .
• Accuracy : Once well programmed, computers accomplish
tasks accurately ( The perfectness of the set of instruction )
Errors occur only due to human errors or technological weaknesses.
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 Characteristics of computers…… continued

 Versatility :Computers accomplish various types of tasks

at the same time or at different time. For this reason they
are called versatile. For example, while you are writing
some text, you can listen music
 Reliability: Now a day’s computers are used in sensitive
areas that need very high reliability. For example hospitals
are using computers in patient diagnosis
 Diligence : Computers are capable of performing any task
given to them repetitively(persistent work or effort) or
consistency
• Automatic: Once necessary information and program is
feed to the computer, it performs processing without
human intervention.
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• No IQ (Intelligence Quotient)
 A computer is not a magical device, it has no intelligence of it’s own,

 It cannot do any work without instruction from the user, thus, user can

determine, what tasks will the computer perform.

 No feeling

 It denotes that the computers never get tried as the humans do, if there

are surplus amount of executions to be made then each and every

execution will be executed at the same time period.

 It has no heart & soul

 GIGO

 Stands for "Garbage In, Garbage Out." It means that if invalid data is
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entered in a computer program, the resulting output will also be invalid.
 Types of computers
We can classify computers based on the following criteria
Purpose

 Method of operation (working principle)

Physical size, price, capacity and performance

 Classification by purpose of application

 Computers can be applied or used for different purposes.

Based upon their application.

Special purpose

General purpose computers.

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 Continued…..
 Special purpose computers
 They are designed to solve a single type of problem, that is their

components and their functions are uniquely adapted to a specific

situation involving specific application.
Example:
 The public telephone box

 Traffic control system

 Ticket machines (used in grocery, super market)

 Pocket-calculators etc.

 Counters

 Most analog computers are special purpose computers

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Continued……..

General purpose computers

 They are designed to solve variety of problems through the use of

“store program concept”. A program or set of instructions designed

to solve a problem is read and stored into the memory and then
executed by the computer one by one. General purpose computers
are more flexible and versatile. Examples
 Micro computers

 Mini computers

 Mainframe

 Super computers etc.

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Continued……….
Classification by the method of operation (processing)
 Computers are classified by the type of data they are
designed to process. They are classified into three:
Analog ,Digital and Hybrid Computers
Analog computer
 Analog computers operate by measuring. They deal with
continues variables, they don’t compute directly with
numbers, rather, they operate by measuring physical
magnitude such as pressure, temperature, voltage, current
etc.
Examples: Thermometer ,Voltmeter, Speedometer
 They are special purpose computers.
 However, analog computers have limited accuracy
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Continued……..

Digital Computers

 Digital computers deal with discrete

variables; they operate by counting rather

than measuring. They operate directly up on
numbers (or digits) that represent numbers,
letters, or other special symbols.
Examples: Abacus, Desk & pocket computers
 The general purpose computers

 Digital computers have very high accuracy

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and speed than the analog ones.
Continued……

Hybrid computers
 The best features of analog and digital computers can be

combined into a single device to form a hybrid computer.

 A hybrid computer processes the information by collecting

input data with analog method, converts it into digital

quantities, processes the digital values and converts the
output from digital to analog form.

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 Continued…..
Example:

 In hospital insensitive-care unit analog devices may measure a

patient’s heart function, temperature and other vital signs.

 These measurements may then be converted into numbers and

supplied to a digital component in the system. This component

is used to monitor the patient’s vital signs and to send an

immediate signal to the nurse’s station if any abnormal readings

are detected.
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Continued……..
Classification by physical size, price, capacity and
performance
 At this stage, by a computer, we mean a general-purpose

digital computer.
 General-purpose digital computers are then classified as

follows by their capacity, price and size:

 Super computer

 Mainframe computers

 Mini computers

 Micro computers
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Continued………..
 Super computer: is the fastest, largest and most
potential type of computer. They are used to process
huge amount of data and are commonly used in space
technology centers, meteorology stations, and
astronomical observatories, intercontinental
communications, airline organizations .Example of
super computers are Cray, IBM and Hewlett-Packard.
 Mainframe computers: - Smaller than in size and
capacity, lower in speed & memory capacity than the
super computers. However they are multi-user systems
and handle hundreds of users, usually used in large
organizations.
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Continued…….


Mini computers: - have relatively lower speed, can handle

multi-users, are smaller in size than the mainframe computers

Mini computers are used in small organizations


Micro computers: - are the most widely used type of computers.

A small, single-user computer based on a microprocessor.

Microcomputers : are sometimes referred as personal
computers(pc)

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 Continued…………..
• Micro computer are the smallest computer system. There size
range from calculator to desktop size. Its CPU is
microprocessor
• They are further classified into
 Desktop Computers

 Laptop(notebook) Computers

 Handheld Computers(PDAs)

 Workstation

 Palmtop

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Application areas of computer
Computer is applicable on many areas
A) Commercial and business area application
 Covers the use of computer to clerical ,administration,
production and business use
 Text processing
 Accounting and finical management
 Inventory control
 Database management
 Statically analysis
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B) scientific, engineering and research application
 Computer are used for scientific research complex mathematical

calculation, design work analysis and control of physical system

E.g.

 Space technology

 Meteorological observation system

 Astronomical invitation

 Design of machine

 Control of manufacturing process

 Nuclear control system

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Limitation of computers
Computers have the following limitations:-
 Cannot decide how to be programmed.

 Does not provide its own inputs, unless people provide with the
input
 Interpretation of data and implementation of decision is left for
human beings
 Unlike human beings, computers are incapable to:
• Think

• Create

• Judge and
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• Motivated