COMPUTER FUNDAMENTALS

ASSIGNMENT
QUESTION 1 :WHAT ARE INPUT DEVICES? DISCUSS ANY TWO INPUT DEVICES.

ANSWER: A Computer is a powerful automatic electronic machine that handles the data. It
can receive, store, process, and retrieve the data to produce the information.

The major component of a digital computer are input devices, memory unit, CPU and output
devices. The input and output units are known as peripherals. An input device presents data to
the processing unit into machine readable form. It is a physical component of the computer
machine.

It can recieve data and instructions. It converts entered data into suitable binary forms.

The most common input device is the 'keyboard'. This device is similar to the normal type-
writer.

The I/O processor manages data transfer between secondary memory and primary
memory. The Central Processing Unit(CPU) enterprets data instructions and carries them out.
Random Access Memory temporary holds data instructions and results. An output device
presents data and information received from the CPU into user readable form.
 BLOCK DIAGRAM OF DIGITAL COMPUTER

CATEGORIZING INPUT HARWARE:

 Direct Entry- Card Reader

 Keyboard
 Scanning Devices- OMR, OCR, MICR, OBR

 Pointing Devices- Mouse, Light Pen

 Smart Card

 Voice Input Devices

KEYBOARD
A Keyboard is most common and popular input device it is similar to the ordinary type writer. It
may have 84, 104 or 126 keys. It contains alphabets, digits, special characters and some control
keys.

When a key is pressed an electronic signal is produced which is detected by an electronic circuit
called keyboard encoder. A keyboard encoder may be special IC or a single chip micro computer
used as encoder. The function of an encoder is to detect which key has been pressed and to
send a binary code to the computer. The binary code may be an ASCII, EDCDIC or HEX code.

SMART CARD
Smart cards also called chip card or integrated circuit card. It is a physical electronic
authorization device. It is used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card
sized card with an embedded integrated circuit . Many smart cards include a pattern of metal
contacts to electronically connect to the internet chip. Others are contact less and some are
both.

Smart cards can provide personal identification, authentication, data storage, and application
processing. Applications include identification, financial, mobile phones (sim card, memory
card), public transit, computer security, schools and health care. Smart cards may provide
strong security authentication for single sign or within organizations.

These are basically two types:

 Contact Smart Cards

 Contact less Smart Cards

CONTACT SMART CARDS

It have a contact area of approximately one square cm comprising several gold plated contact
pads. These pads provide electrical connectivity when inserted into a reader which is used as a
communications medium between the smart card and a host (easy computer laptop) or a
mobile telephone. Cards do not contain batteries. Power is supplied by the card reader.

CONTACT LESS SMART CARDS

Contact less smartcards communicate with an powered by the reader through RF induction
technology(it's data rates of 1062848 KB per second). These cards require only proximity to an
antenna to communicate. Like Smart Cards with contacts, contact less cards do not have an
internal power source. Instead, they use an inductor to capture some of the incident radio
frequency introgation signal, rectify it and use it to power the cards electronic.
QUESTION 2:EXPLAIN THE CHARACTERISTICS OF MICROS, MINIS AND
MAINFRAME COMPUTERS.

ANSWER: Computer is a powerful automatic electronic machine that handles the data. It can
recieve, store, process and retrieve the data to produce the information.

On the basis of capability, purpose and size computers are of different types. Computer in
general can be classified on the basis of following criteria:

 On the basis of logic(Application) used by computers,

 On the basis of size,

 On the basis of purpose.

On the basis of size computer can be classified into four categories. These types comes under
digital computer.

These are:

 MICRO Computers: These are the most widely used category of computer which we
commonly term as Personal Computers(PCs). A micro computer is a non-portable,
general purpose computer. Micro computers are low cost small computers. It is the
smallest general purpose processing system. It is a single user desktop computers. It can
be easily linked to large computers. They includes Portable and Personal computers.
They are related to Fourth generation of computers.

Some Features of micro computers are as follows:

1. Micro computer generally contains only one CPU.

2. Processing speed of these computers is 1-2 MIPS (Millions of Instructions Per Second).

3. These are small in size and can easily fit on tables, so these are called desktop
computers.

4. Generally designed to be used by one person at a time.

5. Micro computers are used for personal use, education, entertainment, in offices
commercial use, etc.
 6. PC's generally costs from a few tens of thousands to lakhs of rupees, depending on the
configuration.

7. Major manufactures are IBM, Apple, Compaq, Dell, Toshiba, Hewlett-Packard.

 MINI Computers: Mini Computers are medium cost of medium size computers. It is the
time sharing system. It is similar to 3rd generation of computers. It is of multiuser
desktop computers. It can be slowly linked to other generation of computers. They
introduce IBM computers. These computer are smaller and less expensive than
mainframe. These computers are relatively smaller and faster than micro computers.

Some major characteristics of mini computers are:

1. The size of mini computer is less than micro computers.

2. Mini computers can support about 10-20 user terminals connected to it.

3. The memory captivity processing speedn is more than micro computer.

4. These computers generally support multiuser environment.

5. Mini's are more expensive than micro computers.

6. Mini computers are used for engineering tasks. Network servers, work group systems,
application systems, banking, payroll generation, etc.

7. The biggest manufactures of mini's is seen Micro systems. Other manufacturers include
IBM, DEC, Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Silicon graphics.

 MAINFRAME Computers: Mianframe computers are high cost of large size computers. It has
large storage capacity and very high speed of processing. They supports more than 1,000
Remote systems. They are mostly used as Central Host Computer in distributive data
processing system. They are mostly used for Railways, Airlines, ATM, etc. Mainframe
computers are computers which has capability to support many peripheral devices and
terminals and can process several millions of instriuctons pre second (MIPS).

Some characteristics of mainframe computers are:

1. The memory capacity and processing speed is several times more than micro computer
and mini computer.
2. Mainframe computers support more than one CPU.
3. Mianframe computers support multiuser environment where a number of users can share
common computing faculty.

4. Mainframe computer is used as a central computer by organizations.

5. Mainframe computers are used in organizations such as banks, insurance, companies,
hospitals, railways, etc. that need on-line processing of large number of transactions.

6. Mainframe computers are very expensive. It cost from a few lakh to few croers of rupees.
7. Two major vendors of mainframe computers are IBM and DEC.
QUESTION 3: EXPLAIN THE TERMS CONTROL UNIT, BUSES, REGISTERS AND ALU.

ANSWER: CPU is the brain of the computer. The part of the computer that performs the bulk
of data processing operations is called central processing unit. The CPU fetches the instructions
of the program from the memmory at time , decodes it and then executes it. CPU takes the
data from the input unit , process it and passes the output to the output unit. In a computer
system all major calculations and comparisons are made by CPU. CPU is responsible for
activating and controlling the operations of other units of computer system. The CPU consists of
following units:

a. CONTROL UNIT: This is that unit of the CPU, which manages and coordinates all the activities
of each and every element of computer. Control unit does not perform any actual processing
on the data, it acts as a central nervous system for other components of computer system. It
controls the entire operations of the computer system. It fetches the instructions from the
memory, decodes the instructions, interprets the instruction to know what task are to be
performed, sends suitable control signal to other components to perform necessary step to
execute the instruction. It gives order to ALU what operation is to be performed. It generates
timing and control signal and provide them for all operation. It control the data flow
between CPU and peripherals.

b. FUNCTIONS OF CONTROL UNIT:

i. To retrieve data from input devices.

ii. To convert input data into computer understandable signal.

iii. To send each part of a signal to valid place like ALU or memory.

iv. To send result obtained from the ALU to output device.

All the instructions given by control unit send to various parts of a computer by the means of
system bus and control bus.

b. ARITHMETIC AND LOGIC UNIT (ALU):

All processors contain an arithmetic/logic unit, which is often reffered to simply as the ALU. The
ALU, as its name implies, is that portion of the CPU hardware which performs the arithmetic
and logical operations on the binary data. The ALU must contain an Adder which is capable of
combining the contents of the two registers in accordance with the logical of binary arithmetic.
This provision permits the processor to perform arithmetic manipulations on the data it obtains
from memory and from its other inputs. ALU performs arithmetic operations like Add, Subtract,
Multiply, Divide, etc. and logical operations like Logical And, Logical Or, Compare, Shift, Rotate,
etc.

c. REGISTERS: Registers are special,high-speed storage area within CPU. All data must be
represented in a register before it can be processed. For example, if two numbers are to be
multiplied , both numbers must in registers and the result is also placed in a register. The
register can contain the address of a memory location where data is stored rather than the
actual data itself. Register consists of flip-flops. These flip-flops are connected in parallel. A CPU
contains a number of registers to store data temporarily during the execution of a program. The
number of register is taht it can be retrieved faster than memory because the number of
register in the memory is veryless. The drawbacks of using the register is that it is very
expensive.

d. BUSES OR CONTROL BUS SYSTEM: Information flows around the computer in bytes. Bytes are
carried along metal paths called buses, thus buses are set of parallel wires. Every bus consists of
, several tracks and each track carries one bit. There are three types of bus:

data bus, control bus, and address bus.

DATA BUS: A data bus carries data between the CPU and the memory, or between the CPU and
an input or output devices.

CONTROL BUS: A control bus carries instructions from the CPU to other parts of the computer.
For example, a signal can be send from the CPU telling the memory wether a peice of data is to
be stored or taken out.

ADDRESS BUS: An address bus carries the number (addresses) that identifies each pace in the
computer's memory.
QUESTION 4:EXPLAIN THE TERM ASSEMBLER,COMPILER, INTERPRETER.

ANSWER: Langauage processor or Langauage translator -A language processor or translator is

a program which converts statements written in one langauge into statements in another
language.

When program written in a language other than the machine language of computer the
computer will not understand it. Hence, the program written in other langauge must be
translated into machine language of the computer. Such translation is done with the aid of
software. This type of software is known as langauge processor.

Translator are basically of three types:

a. ASSEMBLER: An Assembler is a program that converts program written in assembly

language in equivalent machine code so that the computer can understand and execute it.
Assembly langauge program can be written by making use of mnemonic code (symbolic
code). The use of symbolic references is a key feature of assemblers, saving tedious
calculations and manual address updates after program modifications. An assembler,
which runs on the computer for which it is produces the object code, is called self-
assembler. The assembler runs on the computer other than that for which it produces the
object code is called cross assembler.

b. COMPILER: A program which translates a high-level langauge program into a machine

language program is called a compiler. A compiler is more intelligent than an assembler. It
checks all kinds of limits, ranges, errors, etc. But its program execution time is more, and
occupies a large part of the memory. It has low speed and low efficiency of memory
utilization. If a compiler runs on a computer other than that for which it produces object
code, then it is called a cross-compiler.

c. INTERPRETER: An interpreter is a program which translates statements of a high-level

langauge program into machine codes. It translates one statement of the program at a
time. It reads one statement of a high-level language program, translates into machine
code and executes it. Then it reads the next statement of the program, translates it and
executes it. Then it reads the next statement of the program , transaltes it and executes it.
In this way it proceeds further till all the statements of the program are translated and
executed. On the other hand a complier goes through the entire high-level language
program once or twice and then translates the entire program into machine code. A
compiler is 5 to 25 times faster than interpreter . An interpreter is a smaller program as
compared to compiler. It occupies less memory space. It can be used in a smaller system
which has limited memory space. The object program produced by the compiler is
permanently saved for further references. On the other hand the object code of the
statement produced by an interpreter is not saved. If an instructions is used next time, it
must be interpreted once again and translated into machine language.
QUESTION 5: DESCRIBE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SYSTEM SOFTWARE.

ANSWER: SYSTEM SOFTWARE- system software controls all activities and make sure that
resources and power of the computer are used in most efficient manner.The major purpose of
system software is to control the execution of program and help in the developement of
software.

FUNCTIONS OF SYSTEM SOFTWARE

i. Supports the developement of other application software.

ii. Supports the execution of other application software.

iii. Monitors the effective use of various hardware resources such as CPU memory, peripherals,
etc.

iv. Communicates with and control the operations of peripherals devices such as Printer, Disk,
Tape, etc.

TYPES OF SYSTEM SOFTWARE:

a. OPERATING SYSTEM

b. LANGUAGE PROCESSOR

c. UTILITY SOFTWARE

OPERATING SYSTEM: An operating system is a series of programs which organises and controls
a computer. An operating system(OS) is a master control program that runs the computer and
act as a scheduler. It controls the flow of signals from the CPU to the various parts of the
computer. Some tasks are as follows:

1. OS contols the hardware, such as the keyboard, the printer and the screen.

2. OS performs job scheduling and monitoring.

3. OS controls the processes that stored data on disks and take data from disks.
4. Controls the operation of application software.

5. Organisez the hard and floppy disks so they can stored data.

LANGUAGE PROCESSOR OR LANGUAGE TRANSLATOR

A langauge processor and translator is a program which converts statements written in one
langauge into statements in another language.

When a program written in a language other than the machine langauge of computer the
computer will not understand it. Hence, the program written in other language must be
translated into the machine language of the computer. Such tarnslation is done with the aid of
software. These type of software is known as language processor.