Video Display Adapter

A video display adapter must be attached to the computer to display graphics. It is also called video
graphics card. It is a circuit board that determines the following things:

Screen Resolution

The number of bits used to store color information about each pixel called bit depth.

The total number of colors that can be used to display images

• Speed with which images appear on the display screen

Types of Video Display Adapters

Different types of video display adapters are as follows:

1. VGA

VGA stands for Video Graphics Array. It uses 4-bit color. It supports 16 to 256 colors depending on
screen resolution. It supports 16 colors at 320x200 pixels and 256 colors at 640x840 pixels.

2. SVGA

SVGA stands for Super Video Graphics Array. It uses 8-bit color. It supports 256 colors at higher
resolution then VGA. It has two graphics modes. These are 800x600 pixels and 1024x768 pixels.

3. XGA

XGA stands for Extended Graphics Array. It uses 24-bit color or true color. It supports up to 16.7
million colors at a resolution of 1024x/68 pixels.

Q. Discuss different types of display screens.

Display screen are of two types. These are as follows:

1. CRT Monitor

CRI monitor is an older type of display screen. It looks like a television. It can display text, graphics
and videos. It is large, heavy and bulky. It uses more energy and emits harmful radiation. It has been
replaced by LCD monitor.

Working of CRT Monitor

it uses a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) to display an image on the screen. CRT consists of one or more guns
that fire a beam of electrons inside the screen. The screen is coated with tiny phosphor dots from
inside. The beam of electrons repeatedly falls on the surface of screen. Every beam-fall takes only a
fraction of a second.

CRT in color monitors consists of three guns. These guns generate red, green and blue (RGB) colors.
The other colors are generated with the combination of these three colors.

2. Flat Panel Display

Flat panel display take less space and are lightweight. They also consume less power than CRTs but
are more expensive than CRTs. Flat panel display is made up of two plates of glass. These plates
contain a substance between them. The substance is activated in different ways. There are three
types of technologies used in flat panel display screens:

i. Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)

This type of display screen contains a substance called liquid crystal. The molecules of this substance
line up in such a way that the light behind the screens blocked or allowed to create an image.

Electro Luminescent Display (ELD)

This type of display screen contains a substance that glows when it is charged by electric current.

11i. Gas Plasma Display

This type of display screen is similar to neon bulb. The display uses a gas that emits light in the
presence of an electric current. It is more expensive technology. Plasma screens are available in
larger sizes. They are typically used in media centers and conference rooms.

Advantages of Flat Panel Display over CRT

The advantages of flat panel display over CRT are as follows:

 It takes less desk space.

 It uses less energy:

 Its weight is less.

 It is mostly used in desktop and notebook computers.

 It does not emit harmful radiation

Printer

A printer is an output device that prints characters, symbols and graphics on paper.

The printed output is called hardcopy. The print quality of the printer depends on its resolution.
Printer resolution is commonly measured in dots per inch (dpi). The printers with higher dpi produce
higher quality output.

Categories of Printers

Different categories of printers are as follows:

1. Impact Printers
An impact printer works like a typewriter. It prints characters or images by striking a print hammer or
set of pins against an inked ribbon. Impact printers are the oldest print technologies which are still
produced. The impact printers are used where low-cost printing is required.

Three most common forms of impact printers are as follows:

 Dot Matrix Printers

 Daisy Wheel Printer

 Line Printer

2. Non-Impact Printers
A non-impact printer prints characters and graphics on paper without striking paper.

Some printers use spray ink while others use heat and pressure to create images. These printers are
faster than impact printer. However, they are more costly than impact printers.

They produce no noise during printing. The print quality of non-impact printers is better than impact
printers.

Different kinds of non-impact printers are as follows:

Laser Printer

 Inkjet Printer

 Thermal Printer

Q. What is impact printer? Discuss different types of impact printers.

Impact Printers

An impact printer works like a typewriter. It prints characters or images by striking a print hammer or
wheel against an inked ribbon.

Types of Impact Printers

Different types of impact printers are as follows:

Dot Matrix Printer

Daisy Wheel Printer

• Line Printer

1. Dot Matrix Printer

A dot matrix printer is an impact printer. It produces printed images when tiny pins on a print head
strike an inked ribbon. When the ribbon presses against the paper, it creates dots that form
characters and graphics. The print head on a dot matrix printer can contain 9 or 24 pins. This number
of pins depends on the manufacture and the printer model. A higher number of pins print more dots
that produce higher quality.

The speed of dot matrix printer is measured by the number characters printed in one second. The
speed of most dot matrix printers ranges from 350 to 1100 characters per second (cps). Dot matrix
printer do not provide high quality output. They produce a lot of noise while printing. The printing
cost of these printers is very cheap.
Daisy Wheel Printer

Daisy wheel printer is similar to a typewriter. It uses a print wheel. The print wheel is called daisy
wheel. Each petal of daisy wheel contains character. A motor rotates the wheel.

A hammer strikes a petal against the ribbon when the desired character reaches the position on the
paper. This prints the character on the paper. Daisy wheel printer is slower than dot matrix printer
but better in quality.

3. Line Printer

Line printer is a fast impact printer. It prints an entire line at a time. Its speed is measured in lines per
minute (1pm). Many line printers can print 3000 lines per minute. Two types of line printers are band
printer and chain printer. It is normally used by maintrame and minicomputers.

Q. What is non-impact printer? Discuss its different types.

Non-Impact Printer

A non-impact printer prints characters and graphics on a piece of paper without striking the paper.
Some of these printers use spray ink while others use heat and pressure to create images. These
printers are faster than impact printer.

Types of Non-impact Printers

Different types of non-impact printers are as follows:

1.

2.

Laser Printer

Inkjet Printer

Thermal Printer

1. Laser Printer

LASER stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. The laser printer is a non-
impact printer. Its working is similar to photocopying machine. It uses a laser beam and powdered
ink to create an image on the paper. The powdered ink is known as toner.

Figure: Laser printer toner

Laser printer prints complete page at a time. It is also known as page printer. The printing speed of
laser printers is 5 to 300 pages per minute (ppm). The speed depends on the contents being printed.
The plain text is printed faster than graphics.
Laser printer prints text and graphics in high quality resolution. A typical laser printer provides a
resolution of 1200dpi or more. It prints at higher speed than inkjet and dot matrix printers. It does
not make much noise. Laser printer is mostly used in business field

2. Inkjet Printer

An inkjet printer is a type of non-impact printer. It prints characters and graphics by spraying tiny
drops of liquid ink on paper. These printers can produce quality text and graphics in both black-and-
white and color including photos. A typical inkjet printer provides resolution of 300 dots per inch.
The latest inkjet printers provide higher resolution.

The speed of an inkjet printer is measured by the number of pages per minute (ppm).

Most inkjet printers can print from 10 to 35 pages per minute. The graphics and colors are printed at
a slower rate than text.

Inkjet printers

The price of inkjet printers is less than laser printers. However, they are slower than laser printers.
Most inkjet printers usually have two or more cartridges. One cartridge contains black ink and the
other contain colors. It is a popular type of printer for use at home.

Thermal Printer

Thermal printer uses color waxes and heat to produce images on special paper. The color wax sheets
are not required for black-and-white out put Thermal printers are expensive and require costly paper.
These printers are used to create the highest-quality color printing

Q. What is the usage of plotters? Explain different types of plotters.

Plotter

A plotter is an output device that is used to print high quality graphics in a variety of colors. Plotters
are typically used to print large posters, graphs, maps and engineering drawings etc. Plotters are
more expensive than printers.

Types of Plotters

Different types of plotters are as follows:

 Flatbed Plotter

 Drum Plotter

1. Flatbed Plotter
Flatbed plotter is used to plot or draw images. It contains pens for drawing images.

The paper is placed on table-like surface. Software instructs the pens to move down on the paper.
The pen then moves on the paper for creating images. Most flatbed plotters have one or more pens
of different colors and widths.
Figure: Flatbed Plotter

2. Drum Plotter

Drum plotter uses a rotating drum or cylinder. The drawing pens are mounted on the drum. The pens
move to the left and right as the drum rotates. This movement creates the desired image. The
advantage of drum plotter is that the length of the plot is almost unlimited. The roll paper can be
used to draw very lengthy images. The width of the image depends on the width of the drum.

Q. Which devices are used to output audio data from the computer?

Audio output devices are the components that produce voice, music and other audible sounds. The
most commonly used audio output devices are as follows:

1. Speaker

Speaker is the most common type of audio output device. It connects to a sound card in the system
unit and provides audio output for computer games, music, video clips and other applications. The
speakers for some desktop computers are built directly into the monitor. Portable computers and
mobile devices typically have speakers integrated into the device.

2. Headphone

Headphone can be used instead of speakers so that other people are not disturbed at places such as
public library.

3. Headset

Headset is a headphone with a built-in microphone. It is often used when making telephone calls or
participating in Web conferences using computer.

Q. Discuss basic units of data storage.

The basic units of data storage are as follows:

35

1. Bit

The binary digit 0 or 1 is called bit. It is the smallest unit for data storage. Computer works with
binary digits. One bit takes one storage location in memory.

2. Byte

A collection of eight bits is called byte. It is used to store single character. The capacity of the
memory or the storage is expressed in terms of bytes.

1. Kilobyte
A kilobyte consists of 1024 bytes. It is denoted by KB.

2. Megabyte
A megabyte consists of 1024 kilobytes. It is denoted by MB.
 3. Gigabyte
A gigabyte consists of 1024 megabytes. It is denoted by GB.

4. Terabyte
A terabyte consists of 1024 gigabytes. It is denoted by TB.
The commonly used storage capacity terms are as follows:

5. Word

6. A computer word is the number of bits in common unit of data defined by the computer
system. It is normally the size of a register. The length of a word is different in different
computers. The larger word size indicates more powerful computers.

7. The following tables indicates different word sizes:

Q. Convert 240MB of memory in bytes and kilobytes.

Number of bytes in one MB

- (2)20

Total Number of bytes in 240MB

-240 * 220 bytes

Number of kilo-bytes in one MB

- 210 KB

Total Number of Kilo-bytes in 240 MB

-240 * 1024 KB

- 1024 KB

Q. Convert 60 GB of memory into words?

Number of bytes in one GB = 230

Number of bytes in 60GB = 60 * 230

Number of words in 4 bytes =1W

Number of Words in 60 GB = 60/4 * 230

= 15 * 230 Words

Q. Define system and its components.

System

A system is a combination of different components that work with each other lo perform specific
tasks. Different procedures are used to perform different tasks in the system A procedure is a set of
steps performed in a regular and specified order to accomplish a task For example, the registration of
students is a procedure in an education system.
Components of System

Different components of an information system are as follows:

1. Hardware

2. Software

3. People / Users

4. Data / Information

5. Communication Setup

Q. What is SDLC? Discuss its different phases.

SDLE

SDIC stands for system development life cycle. It is a set of different steps that am performed to
develop a system. It is an organized way of developing successful systems. I consists of different
phases. These phases are as follows:

1. Preliminary Investigation

2. System Analysis

3. System Design

4. System Coding

5. System Testing

6. System Implementation

7. System Maintenance

1. Preliminary Investigation

Preliminary investigation is the first phase. In this phase, the system is investigate The objective of
this phase is to conduct an initial analysis and findings of system as follows

 System Identification

 System Scope

 Alternative Solutions

 Feasibility Study

 Preliminary Plan

2. System Analysis

In this phase, the current business system is studied in detail to find out how it works and how to
improve it. The analyst conducts the following activities:
Need Analysis

Data Gathering

Data Analysis

• Analysis Report

3. System Design

System design phase is used to design logical and physical model of new system. The system design
states how new system will meet the requirement identified in analysis phase.

4. Coding

This phase consists of writing programs for the system. Single programmer or a team of
programmers develops the system using different tools. This phase requires a lot of time, effort and
budget to develop the complete system.

5. Testing

Complete testing of the system is very important. A system must be tested to detect and remove
errors in it. The system is tested by giving sample data.

6. Implementation

Implementation consists of installing the hardware, software and files. A system can be implemented
after it has been tested. It is also called system conversion. It can be performed in any of the
following ways:

 Direct Implementation

 Parallel Implementation

 Phased Implementation

 Pilot Implementation