Introduction to Computer Chapter 1 ‘An Overview of the Computer System Rana M Luthfur Rahman Pir Assistant Professor Department of CSE Leading University, Sylhet * Agomutes system has three gin com ya computers 3 omrerenitneae Honea je machine. This means it st of can execute a programmed structions and respond to new instructions that it is given. Today, however, the term is most often used to refer to the desktop and laptop computers that most people use. When referring to a desktop model, the term "computer" technically only refers to the computer itself -- not the monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Still, it is acceptable to refer to everything together as the computer. If you want to be really technical, the box that holds the computer is called the "system unit."Functionalities of a Computer System Digital computers carries the following four functions: A Computer system must contain 4 things. They are: Hardware Software Operational Procedure UserThe term "device" refers to ai jiece of hard d by the 8 CD-ROM drive: 9 Dicken drive. 40 Hard dave 3 32 Printer 20% 44 Expansion boardinci cana” IN Some programs exist for the computer's use, to help it manage its own tasks and devices. Other programs exist for the user, and enable the computer to perform tasks for you, such as creating documents. Operational Procedure Operations of a data processing center require an extensive and clearly defined set of procedures for performing the essential functions. These functions generally includes preparing and enter data into computer, initiating a new program and changing and deleting old one etc.| Categories of Computer Hardware * Motherboard * Central Processing Unit (CPU) * Hard Drive * RAM/ROM Motherboard _ ewes p out critical system components and provides connectors for devices such as, the power supply, memory, hard drive, input/output slots and the central processing unit (CPU). If you examine a motherboard, it looks like a street map. The lines on the motherboard are physical addresses to a device which carries instructions to the central processing unit which is the brain or scheduler of the computer system.Central Processing Unit (CPU) instructions from the motherboard and software applications. Today's CPUs can process data measured in milliseconds. The CPU also has a co-math processor built into the chip to handle mathematical functions. For example, when a spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel calculates formulas, the program is accessing the co- math processor function of the CPU. Hard Drive Since the days of 20 megabyte storage, hard drive devices have come a lone way. hard ve stores programs, data and infomation The most important attribute of the hard drive is the boot sector record which reads information from the disk to "boot up" the operating system for a person to use software applications. Modern hard drives have RAM memory chips sets built-in to help send a program application to the CPU.RAM/ROM chips are made up of mil e when the computer is turned on and while the computer is on, it helps allocate memory to system operations, especially the CPU while releasing other devices and processes which are not actively using RAM resources. Random Access Memory (RAM)/Read Only Memory (ROM) can only be read from the system and primarily holds the instructions for the performance of low-level system devices. Without instructions located in ROM, a user would not be able to power up a computer. Pictures of Computer Hardware Processor Hard Drive Motherboard RAM and ROMClassification of Software Software is a program, which is a sequence of instructions directs a computer to perform specific task. When a computer is using a particular program, it is said to be running or executing the program. Software is generally categorised as: * System Software * Application Software System Software System software exists primarily for the computer itself, to help the computer perform specific functions. One major type of system software is the operating system (OS). All computers require an operating system. The 05 tell the computer how to interact with the user andits own devices, Common operating systems include Windows, the Macintosh OS, OS/2, and UNIXApplication Software Applicati Some important kinds of application software are: Word processing programs Spreadsheet software Database management Presentation programs Graphics programs Networking software Web design tools and browsers Internet applications ‘Communications programs Utilities Entertainment and education Multimedia authoring History of Computers an * Since then, over time, computer has become much more stronger and developed with greatly increased speed, storage, memory and power. * The development was so far reaching that they are generally categorized by generations. Each generation is initiated by significant advances in computer hardware or software.First Generation (1942 ~ 1959) First generation utilized vacuum tubes in their circuitry and for storage of data and instructions. The vacuum tubes were bulky and used to cause over heating problem. It was also not reliable. It used to breakdown easily and caused inefficient operations. Examples: IBM 650 IBM 704 IBM 705 Mark II Mark III etc. it Le * Slow input and output devices + Huge size * Non-portable"Second Generation (1960 — 1965) The second generation computers saw the replacement of vacuum tubes by transistors, A transistor can be considered as a switch with no moving parts. Because of high speed operation and small size, computers of this generation could perform a single operation in micro seconds and were capable of storing thousands of characters, Second generation computers were reliable, compact in size and free of heat problem. Second generation computers supported programming in Machine Language and Assembly Language. Examples: IBM 1400 IBM 1600 RCA 501 NCR 300 etc. KOE sie ‘Smaller size as compared to first generation computers * Generates less heat as compared to first generation computers + Consumed less electricity as compared to first generation computers Faster than first generation computers + Still very costly * AC requiredThird generation were characterized by integrated circuits and with components so small that in many cases it was hardly visible. generation of computers had storage capabilities of millions of characters and could be randomly accessed in fraction of a second. Computers were able to process several programs or sets of instructions simultaneously. Programmers were able to make use of high level problem oriented and procedure oriented languages. Examples: IBM 360 IBM 370 POPS. POP 1letc. Se * More reliable in comparison to previous two generations * Smaller size > less heat * Lesser maintenance * Costly *ACrequired * Consumed lesser electricity| Four neon 7-980 Computers of fourth generation used Very Large Scale Integrated (Visi) circuits. VLsl circuits having about 5000 transistors and other circuit elements with their associated Circuits on a single chip made it possible to have microcomputers of fourth generation. Fourth generation computers became more powerful compact, reliable, and affordable. As a result, it gave rise to Personal Computer (PC) revolution. In this generation, time sharing, real time networks, distributed operating system were used. All the high-lével languages like C, C++, DBASE etc. were used in this generation. Examples: + DEC10 STAR 1000 POP 11 CRAY-1(Super Computer) CRAY-X-MP(Super Computer) est ni oem * Portable and reliable ‘© Use of PCs * Very small size * Pipeline processing * NoAC required + Concept of internet was introduced * Great developments in the fields of networks * Computers became easily availableIn the fifth generation, VLSI technology became ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration) technology, resulting in the production of microprocessor chips having ten million electronic components. This generation is based on parallel processing hardware and Al (Artificial intelligence) software. Alis an emerging branch in computer science, which Interprets the means and method of making computers think le human beings. Althe high-level languages like C and C++, Java, .Net etc., are used in this generation. Examples: + DEC 10 + STAR 1000 + POPAL + CRAY-1(Super Computer) + CRAY-X-MP(Super Computer) + Utsi technology Ye * Development of true artificial intelligence * Development of Natural language processing * Advancement in Parallel Processing * Advancement in Superconductor technology * More user-friendly interfaces with multimedia features * Availability of very powerful and compact computers at cheaper ratesHigh Speed + Computer is a very fast device. + Itis capable of performing calculation of very large amount of data. + The computer has units of speed in microsecond, nanosecond, and even the picosecond. + Itcan perform millions of calculations in a few seconds as compared to man who will spend many months to perform the same task. Accuracy + In addition to being very fast, computers are very accurate. + The calculations are 100% error free. * Computers perform all jobs with 100% accuracy provided that the input is correct. Storage Capability + Memory isa very important characteristic of computers. * Acomputer has much more storage capacity than human beings. + It can store large amount of data. * It can store any type of data such as images, videos, text, audio, etc. Diligence * Unlike human beings, a computer is free from monotony, tiredness, and lack of concentration. * It can work continuously without any error and boredom. + Itcan perform repeated tasks with the same speed and accuracy.Versatility + A computer is a very versatile machine. * A computer is very flexible in performing the jobs to be done. * This machine can be used to solve the problems related to various fields. * At one instance, it may be solving a complex scientific problem and the very next moment it may be playing a card game. Reliability * A computer is a reliable machine. * Modern electronic components have long lives. * Computers are designed to make maintenance easy. Automation + Computer is an automatic machine. + Automation is the ability to perform a given task automatically. Once the computer receives a program i.e., the program is stored in the computer memory, then the program and instruction can control the program execution without human interaction. Reduction in Paper Work and Cost * The use of computers for data processing in an organization leads to reduction in paper work and results in speeding up the process. * As data in electronic files can be retrieved as and when required, the problem of maintenance of large number of paper files gets reduced. + Though the initial investment for installing a computer is high, it substantially reduces the cost of each of its transaction.No1.Q. + Acomputer is a machine that has no intelligence to perform any task. + Each instruction has to be given to the computer. + Acomputer cannot take any decision on its own. Dependency * It functions as per the user's instruction, thus Environment + The oper No Feeling + Computers have no feelings or emotions. + It cannot make judgment based on feeling, taste, experience, and knowledge unlike humans. is fully dependent on humans. g environment of the computer should be dust free and suitable.