Module 1 - Computer Basics & Operations

Computer Basics & Operations {Module 1} Making India Employable

Chapter Objectives 1. Explain the history and Generation of Computer 2. Know about the basic terminologies of Computer 3. Explain the Architecture of computer 4. Types of Computer 5. Advantages & Disadvantages of Computer 6. Printing & Scanning

Computer • A computer is a programmable electronic device that accepts raw data as input and processes it with a set of instructions (a program) to produce the result as output. • It renders output just after performing mathematical and logical operations and can save the output for future use. • It can process numerical as well as non-numerical calculations. • The term \"computer\" is derived from the Latin word \"computare\" which means to calculate.

• A computer is designed to execute applications and provides a variety of solutions through integrated hardware and software components. • It works with the help of programs and represents the decimal numbers through a string of binary digits. • It also has a memory that stores the data, programs, and result of processing. • The components of a computer such as machinery that includes wires, transistors, circuits, hard disk are called hardware. Whereas, the programs and data are called software.

Development Phases of Computer Depending upon the technologies used the development of electronic computers can be divided into five generations. 1. In 1822, Charles Babbage conceptualized and began developing the Difference Engine, considered to be the first automatic computing machine. Charles Babbage is also known as the father of the computer. 2. Then after almost a decade, Charles Babbage proposed the first general mechanical computer, the Analytical Engine. The Analytical Engine contained an Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), basic flow control, and integrated memory concept and is the first general-purpose computer. 3. In 1946, ENIAC- Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer was the first electronic general- purpose computer. It was the first large-scale computer to run at electronic speed without being slowed by any mechanical parts. And it was invented by J.Presper Eckert and John W. Mauchly. 4. Douglas Engelbart invented the first computer mouse. 5. First computer with RAM – MIT introduces the Whirlwind machine, a revolutionary computer that was the first digital computer with magnetic core RAM and real-time graphics. 6. The first minicomputer – In 1960 Digital Equipment Corporation released its first of many PDP computers the PDP-1. 7. The first laptop – First Laptop was introduced in 1981 by Adom Osborne and the company “EPSON” manufactured first Laptop.

The following table categorizes generations of computers and other important factors associated with the generations:

Subject 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th generation generation generation generation generation Period Circuitry 1940-1956 1956-1963 1964-1971 1971-present present & beyond Vacuum tube Transistor Memory Integrated chips Microprocessor (VLSI) ULSI (Ultra Large Capacity 20 KB 128KB (IC) Scale Integration) Processing 1MB technology Speed Magnetic core memory, ULSI Programming LSI and VLSI. High Language Capacity Example 300 IPS 300 IPS 1MIPS (1 million Faster than 3rd Very fast of computers instructions Per inst. Per sec.) generation Assembly language & early sec. high-level C,C++ Higher level languages, All the Higher level Machine, C,C++,Java languages, Neural Language languages(FORTRAN, COBOL, ALGOL) networks, UNIVAC, EDVAC IBM 1401, IBM 7094, CDC IBM 360 series, Pentium series, Artificial Intelligence, 3600,D UNIVAC 1108 1900 series Multimedia, Robotics

Basic Terminologies of Computer Term Description Server A computer that other computers can connect to via a network. Modem A hardware device that is used to transfer information between computers via a phone line. Modem comes from the 2 words Modulation & Demodulation. A Modem converts information from analog to digital and vice versa. Digital information is represented in a series of 1's & 0's. Analog information varies continuously like a sound wave. Typically when you send an E-mail, your modem converts the digital E- mail message to analog. Software A package of instructions that causes the computer to do something. Examples include application programs and games. Directory A catalog for files stored on the Hard disk of a computer. It is a mechanism to group files. The topmost directory is called the root directory; the directories within a directory are called sub directories. Database A collection of data organized and designed for easy access. Floppy Disk A magnetic disk which is used to store data. Floppy disks are often used to transfer files from one computer to another or to backup important files. Application A Program that has been created to perform a specific task that is useful to the user. Examples include Program Word Processors (Word), Spreadsheets (Excel), Browsers (Netscape) and Drawing Packages (Paint).

Term Description Keyboard An input device that is used for entering data into a computer or giving it an instruction to do something specific. The key arrangements resemble that of a typewriter plus it has additional keys for specific functions. Mouse An input device used to maximize the benefits of a Graphical User Interface. The mouse also has a pointer on the screen that is moved by moving the mouse up or down or from side to side. Generally a mouse has two buttons which activates various tasks either by a single or a double click. CPU Central Processing Unit. This refers to the brains of the computer- the microchip. Memory Chips that hold information that the computer needs to use. These chips are connected directly to the Microprocessor. There are two types of Memory Chip:-  Random Access Memory (RAM)  Read Only Media (ROM) CD-ROM Compact Disk - Read only Media. Plastic disc that can contain enormous amounts of information. GUI Graphical User Interface. A Graphical User Interface is designed so that the user can perform tasks by using a mouse to point & click to navigate around the computer. Active Window In Windows, the front-most window on the desktop. The window which accepts any keyboard input

Term Description PC Personal Computer. Also sometimes used to distinguish an IBM compatible computer from a Macintosh computer. RAM Random Access Memory. It is a temporary storage area that the processor uses to execute programs and to hold data. Output Stuff you get back from the computer. Examples of output are: text/graphics displayed on the monitor, sounds from the speakers, a printed page from the printer. Input Stuff you tell the computer to do. This can be from external devices like a keyboard, mouse, or microphone. Hard Disk The Hard Disk is where the data is stored within the computer. Disk Drive The hardware which performs the basic operations on the hard disk - including rotating the disk & reading/writing data to the disk. Hardware The physical components of a computer including things like monitors, keyboards, mice, and printers. Monitor Used to display the computer output. Desktop Visual display of computer environment viewed on the monitor.

Architecture of Computer • Computer is an electronic machine that makes performing any task very easy. In computer, the CPU executes each instruction provided to it, in a series of steps, this series of steps is called Machine Cycle, and is repeated for each instruction. One machine cycle involves fetching of instruction, decoding the instruction, transferring the data, executing the instruction. • Computer system has five basic units that help the computer to perform operations, which are given below: 1. Input Unit 2. Output Unit 3. Storage Unit 4. Arithmetic Logic Unit 5. Control Unit

Input Unit: Input unit connects the external environment with internal computer system. It provides data and instructions to the computer system. Commonly used input devices are keyboard, mouse, magnetic tape etc. Input unit performs following tasks: • Accept the data and instructions from the outside environment. • Convert it into machine language. • Supply the converted data to computer system. Output Unit: It connects the internal system of a computer to the external environment. It provides the results of any computation, or instructions to the outside world. Some output devices are printers, monitor etc.

Storage Unit: This unit holds the data and instructions. It also stores the intermediate results before these are sent to the output devices. It also stores the data for later use. The storage unit of a computer system can be divided into two categories: • Primary Storage: This memory is used to store the data which is being currently executed. It is used for temporary storage of data. The data is lost, when the computer is switched off. RAM is used as primary storage memory. • Secondary Storage: The secondary memory is slower and cheaper than primary memory. It is used for permanent storage of data. Commonly used secondary memory devices are hard disk, CD etc. Arithmetic Logical Unit: All the calculations are performed in ALU of the computer system. The ALU can perform basic operations such as addition, subtraction, division, multiplication etc. Whenever calculations are required, the control unit transfers the data from storage unit to ALU. When the operations are done, the result is transferred back to the storage unit.

Control Unit: It controls all other units of the computer. It controls the flow of data and instructions to and from the storage unit to ALU. Thus it is also known as central nervous system of the computer. CPU: It is Central Processing Unit of the computer. The control unit and ALU are together known as CPU. CPU is the brain of computer system. It performs following tasks: • It performs all operations. • It takes all decisions. • It controls all the units of computer.



All types of computers follow the same basic logical structure and perform the following five basic operations for converting raw input data into information useful to their users. S. No. Operation Description 1 Take Input The process of entering data and instructions into the computer 2 Store Data system. 3 Processing Data Saving data and instructions so that they are available for processing as and when required. Performing arithmetic, and logical operations on data in order to convert them into useful information. 4 Output Information The process of producing useful information or results for the user, such as a printed report or visual display. 5 Control the workflow Directs the manner and sequence in which all of the above operations are performed.

Input and Output Devices



Keyboard Parts: Basic

Keyboard Parts: In detail

Types of Computer On the basis of size, the computer can be of five types:

1) Supercomputer: Supercomputers are the biggest and fastest computers. They are designed to process huge amount of data. A supercomputer can process trillions of instructions in a second. It has thousands of interconnected processors. Supercomputers are particularly used in scientific and engineering applications such as weather forecasting, scientific simulations and nuclear energy research. The first supercomputer was developed by Roger Cray in 1976. Characteristics or applications of supercomputers: • It has the ability to decrypt your password to enhance protection for security reasons. • It produces excellent results in animations. • It is used for virtual testing of nuclear weapons and critical medical tests. • It can study and understand climate patterns and forecast weather conditions. It can run in NOAA's system (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) that can execute any type of simple and logical data. • It helps in designing the flight simulators for pilots at the beginner level for their training. • It helps in extracting useful information from data storage centres or cloud system. For example, in insurance companies. • It has played a vital role in managing the online currency world such as stock market and bitcoin. • It helps in the diagnosis of various critical diseases and in producing accurate results in brain injuries, strokes, etc. • It helps in scientific research areas by accurately analysing data obtained from exploring the solar system, satellites, and movement of Earth. • It also used in a smog control system where it predicts the level of fog and other pollutants in the atmosphere.

2) Mainframe computer: Mainframe computers are designed to support hundreds or thousands of users simultaneously. They can support multiple programs at the same time. It means they can execute different processes simultaneously. These features of mainframe computers make them ideal for big organizations like banking and telecom sectors, which need to manage and process high volume of data. Mainframe computers are designed to support hundreds or thousands of users simultaneously. They can support multiple programs at the same time. It means they can execute different processes simultaneously. These features of mainframe computers make them ideal for big organizations like banking and telecom sectors, which need to manage and process a high volume of data that requires integer operations such as indexing, comparisons, etc. Characteristics of Mainframe Computers: • It can process huge amount of data, e.g. millions of transactions in a second in the banking sector. • It has a very long life. It can run smoothly for up to 50 years after proper installation. • It gives excellent performance with large scale memory management. • It has the ability to share or distribute its workload among other processors and input/output terminals. • There are fewer chances of error or bugs during processing in mainframe computers. If any error occurs it can fix it quickly without affecting the performance. • It has the ability to protect the stored data and other ongoing exchange of information and data.

Applications of mainframe computers: • In health care, it enabled hospitals to maintain a record of their millions of patients in order to contact them for treatment or related to their appointment, medicine updates or disease updates. • In the field of defence, it allows the defence departments to share a large amount of sensitive information with other branches of defence. • In the field of education, it helps big universities to store, manage and retrieve data related to their courses, admissions, students, teachers, employees and affiliated schools and colleges. • In the retail sector, the retail companies that have a huge customer base and branches use mainframe computers to handle and execute information related to their inventory management, customer management, and huge transactions in a short duration.

3) Miniframe or Minicomputer: It is a midsize multiprocessing computer. It consists of two or more processors and can support 4 to 200 users at one time. Miniframe computers are used in institutes and departments for tasks such as billing, accounting and inventory management. A minicomputer lies between the mainframe and microcomputer as it is smaller than mainframe but larger than a microcomputer. Characteristics of miniframe or minicomputer: • It is light weight that makes it easy to carry and fit anywhere. • It is less expensive than mainframe computers. • It is very fast compared to its size. • It remains charged for a long time. • It does not require a controlled operational environment. Applications of minicomputers: A minicomputer is mainly used to perform three primary functions, which are as follows: • Process control: It was used for process control in manufacturing. It mainly performs two primary functions that are collecting data and feedback. If any abnormality occurs in the process, it is detected by the minicomputer and necessary adjustments are made accordingly. • Data management: It is an excellent device for small organizations to collect, store and share data. Local hospitals and hotels can use it to maintain the records of their patients and customers respectively. • Communications Portal: It can also play the role of a communication device in larger systems by serving as a portal between a human operator and a central processor or computer.

4) Workstation: Workstation is a single user computer that is designed for technical or scientific applications. It has a faster microprocessor, a large amount of RAM and high speed graphic adapters. It generally performs a specific job with great expertise; accordingly, they are of different types such as graphics workstation, music workstation and engineering design workstation. Characteristics of workstation computer: • It is a high-performance computer system designed for a single user for business or professional use. • It has larger storage capacity, better graphics, and more powerful CPU than a personal computer. • It can handle animation, data analysis, CAD, audio and video creation and editing. Any computer that has the following five features, can be termed as a workstation or can be used as a workstation. • Multiple Processor Cores: It has more processor cores than simple laptops or computers. • ECC RAM: It is provided with Error-correcting code memory that can fix memory errors before they affect the system's performance. • RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks): It refers to multiple internal hard drives to store or process data. RAID can be of different types, for example, there can be multiple drives to process data or mirrored drives where if one drive does not work than other starts functioning. • SSD: It is better than conventional hard-disk drives. It does not have moving parts, so the chances of physical failure are very less. • Optimized, Higher end GPU: It reduces the load on CPU. E.g., CPU has to do less work while processing the screen output.

5) Microcomputer: Microcomputer is also known as a personal computer. It is a general-purpose computer that is designed for individual use. It has a microprocessor as a central processing unit, memory, storage area, input unit and output unit. Laptops and desktop computers are examples of microcomputers. They are suitable for personal work that may be making an assignment, watching a movie, or at office for office work. Characteristics of a microcomputer: • It is the smallest in size among all types of computers. • A limited number of software can be used. • It is designed for personal work and applications. Only one user can work at a time. • It is less expansive and easy to use. • It does not require the user to have special skills or training to use it. • Generally, comes with single semiconductor chip. • It is capable of multitasking such as printing, scanning, browsing, watching videos, etc.

Notebook or laptop computers are small and lightweight enough to be carried around with the user. They run on battery power, but can also be plugged into a wall outlet. They typically have a built-in LCD display that folds down to protect the display when the computer is carried around. They also feature a built-in keyboard and some kind of built-in pointing device (such as a touch pad). While some laptops are less powerful than typical desktop machines, this is not true in all cases. Laptops, however, cost more than desktop units of equivalent processing power because the smaller components needed to build laptops are more expensive. There are also less-powerful versions of notebook computers called subnotebooks, and netbooks that are used mainly to access the Internet. A Tablet Computer (often just called a tablet) generally has the format of a handheld slate consisting of a large LCD touchscreen used for both input and output. Tablets typically include a WiFi and/or cellular network data connection to access the Internet. Tablets run applications specifically designed for these touchscreen devices, but they also can do some activities such as word processing or spreadsheets, although the lack of a physical keyboard usually makes such activities more cumbersome on tablets than they are on desktop or notebook machines. Examples of tablet computers include the Apple iPad and machines from various manufacturers that run the Android OS.

Smartphones are high-end mobile phones that typically run operating systems similar to the tablet computers discussed above, so they often share the same applications as tablets. They combine the features of a mobile phone, PDA (see below), camera, music player, GPS device, etc. Many smartphones use a touchscreen for input, but some include physical keyboards. A Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) is a handheld microcomputer that trades off power for small size and greater portability. They typically use a touch-sensitive LCD screen for both output and input (the user draws characters and presses icons on the screen with a stylus). PDAs communicate with desktop computers and with each other either by cable connection, infrared (IR) beam, or radio waves. PDAs are normally used to keep track of appointment calendars, to-do lists, address books, and for taking notes. A palmtop or handheld PC is a very small microcomputer that also sacrifices power for small size and portability. These devices typically look more like a tiny laptop than a PDA, with a flip-up screen and small keyboard. They may use Windows CE or similar operating system for handheld devices. Some PDAs and palmtops contain wireless networking or cell phone devices so that users can check e-mail or surf the web on the move. All the computers that are developed are not alike rather they have different designs and features. Some computers have very high capacity as well as working speed; however, some are slow. Depending upon the requirements, computers are being developed.





Advantages of Using a Computer There are many advantages of using computers. However, the following are some of the most important ones to know: 1. Provides access to more information 2. Completes tasks that might be impossible for humans to complete 3. Saves time 4. Automates repetitive tasks 5. Allows for greater productivity 6. Allows for better communication and connections 7. Entertainment

Disadvantages of Using a Computer Unfortunately computers also have some disadvantages. These disadvantages include:. 1. Social risks: computers provide humans access to social media, which can be addictive, make people less happy, lead to jealousy, and get in the way of real-world friendships. In fact, a study found that of 1 500 Facebook users interviewed, 62% said Facebook occasionally made them feel like they are not good enough, and 60% said that comparing themselves to other people on Facebook made them jealous. 2. Health risks: research has shown that excessive computer use can result in several medical problems, including back pain, eyestrain, obesity, carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and repetitive strain injury (RSI). However, with good ergonomic practices, many of these health risks could be reduced or removed.  RSI (REPETITIVE STRAIN INJURY) – a painful inflammation of the tendons that often results from overuse. A tendon is tissue that attaches muscle to the bone  Ergonomics – the study of how humans interact with fabricated objects, the goal is to create an environment that is well suited to the users’ physical needs

3. Security risks: computer security risk can be created by malware, that is, bad software that can attack your computer system, destroy your files, steal your data, or allow an attacker to gain access to your system without your knowledge. Computers are programmed to follow instructions, and sometimes people program computers to act in a way that harms a user. 4. High cost: computers are expensive. Even the most affordable computers are still very expensive for the average person in South Africa. Since computers empower people, the high cost of computers puts pressure on people who are not able to afford them, and places them at a disadvantage. 5. Distractions/disruptions: if you have ever spent hours browsing the internet or watching videos on YouTube, then you know how distracting computers can be! Because of their high entertainment value, it is easy for computers to distract people and stop them from being productive. 6. Environmental impact: computers use a lot of electricity and in most cases the generation of electricity is harmful to the environment because of the carbon emissions. This has a huge impact on our planet.

Printing Basics Introduction to Printing: • Printing involves producing physical copies of digital documents using a printer. • Important for both personal and professional use. Types of Printers: • Inkjet, laser, and thermal printers are common types. • Different features and quality of output.

Using Your Printer How to Use a Printer: • Connect: Plug in and connect the printer to your computer. • Load Paper: Insert the appropriate paper type and size into the tray. • Install Drivers: Install printer drivers/software on your computer. • Print Command: Send the document to print from your software. Printing Dos and Don'ts: • Do: Check ink or toner levels before printing important documents. • Do: Use the correct paper type and size for the best results. • Don't: Overload the paper tray with too much paper.

Scanning Essentials Introduction to Scanning: • Scanning converts physical documents into digital format using a scanner. • Useful for archiving, sharing, and editing documents. How to Scan a Document: • Prepare Document: Place the document on the scanner bed. • Settings: Choose resolution, color, and format (PDF, image). • Initiate Scan: Start the scan process using the scanner software.

Scanning Tips Scanning Dos and Don'ts: • Do: Clean the scanner bed to avoid dust affecting scan quality. • Do: Adjust settings based on the document type (text, image). • Don't: Fold or crumple documents before scanning. Scanning to PDF and Image Formats: • PDF: Preserves formatting and supports text recognition (OCR). • Image Formats: JPEG, PNG for various purposes.

Videos:- Video:- Computer Basics Tutorials for Beginners | Part-1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_f0JcM41pg) Video:- Computer Basics Tutorials for Beginners | Part-2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-hDCxs_fmk) Video:- Computer Basics: Getting Started with Windows : (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPZ94SwJoJo)

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