CLASS-XI COMPUTER SYSTEMS ORGANISATION UNIT-1

CHAPTER-1
COMPUTER SYSTEM OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
A computer is an electronic device, under the control of instructions stored in its memory that can
accept data (input), process the data according to specified rules(Program) on processor & produces
information (output), and store the information for future use.

Data vs Information
Data are raw numbers or other findings which, by themselves, are of limited value. Information is data
that has been converted into a meaningful and useful context.

Advantages of computer
1. Speed 4. Reduces work load
2. Accuracy 5. Tirelessness
3. Huge storage 6. Communication

Disadvantages of computer
1. Data security issue
2. Computer crimes
3. Health risk
4. Bad impact on environment if not properly disposed off

Any digital computer performs five functions in gross term.

1. Take data as input 4. Generate the output
2. Stores data/instructions 5. Control all above steps
3. Process those stored data

COMPUTER COMPONENTS
Hardware: The physical electronic components of a computer are called hardware, e.g., keyboard,
CPU, monitor, printer etc.
Software: These are the recorded instructions and programs that govern the working of a computer.
A program is a set of instructions to carry out a specific task or achieve a specific work goal.

BASIC COMPUTER ORGANISATION

Computer organisation refers to logical structure of a computer describe how its components are
connected to one another; how they affect one another’s functioning.
Computers follow IPO principle i.e. Input->Process->Output.

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Input Unit
1. An Input unit takes the input and converts it into binary form so that it can be understood by the
computer.
2. Examples are keyboard, mouse, magnetic ink character reader (MICR), optical mark reader (OMR),
joystick etc.
3. A computer can understand two stages ON/OFF or HIGH/LOW voltage or binary language that uses
just two symbols: 1 for ON and 0 for OFF.
4. The Input unit is comprised of different input devices that take the input in different forms and pass
them in digital form to CPU for processing.

Output Unit
1. The output unit is formed by the output devices attached to the computer.
2. The output coming from the CPU is in the form of electronic binary signals which needs conversion
in some form which can be easily understood by human beings.
3. Some examples of output devices are: Monitor, printer, speaker etc.

Both Input/Output Devices

1. An input/output device is capable of receiving data from users or another devices and also sending
data to another devices or computers.
2. That means a device which can be used as both input device and output device are called Input /
Output (I/O) devices.
3. Some examples of input/output devices are: USB drive, FAX machine, Modems, CD-RW, DVD-RW,
touchscreens, headsets etc.

CPU (Central Processing Unit)

CPU is the main control centre and processing unit also known as brain of the computer as it guides,
directs, controls and governs the performance of a computer.
Sub-components of CPU are:
1. Arithmetic Logic unit (ALU) 3. Registers
2. Control Unit (CU)

1. Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)

The ALU performs all the four arithmetic (+, -, *, /) and some logical operations (<, >, =, <=, >=, ! =).
When tow numbers are required to be added, these numbers are sent from memory to ALU where
addition takes place and the result is put back in the memory.

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2. Control Unit (CU)
a. The CU controls and guides the interpretation, flow and manipulation of the data and
information.
b. The CU sends control signals until the required operations are done properly by ALU and
memory.
c. Another important function of CU is the program execution i.e. carrying out all the instructions
stored in the program.
d. The CU gets program instructions from memory and executes them one after the other.
e. The CU also controls the flow of data from input devices to memory and from memory to
output devices.

3. Registers
a. Registers are small units of data holding places.
b. The CPU uses registers to temporarily hold some processing information during the time the
processing is taking place.
c. CPU may store some data or memory addresses or instructions in the processing registers.

Memory (Main Memory/Primary memory)

1. The memory of a computer is like a pre-defined working place, where it temporarily keeps
information and data to facilitate its performance.
2. The memory of a computer can be thought of as ‘cells’.
3. Each cell is broken down into smaller parts known as bits. A bit means a binary digit i.e. either
0 or 1.

4. A bit is an elementary unit of the memory. Eight bits together form a byte and a group of 4 bits
is called a nibble.
5. One byte is the smallest unit which can represent a character. Other units of memory are KB,
MB, GB, and TB.

6. Main memory is temporary, secondary memory space is needed to store data and information
permanently for later use.
7. Some of the secondary storage media are the hard disk, CD-RWs, pen drive etc.
8. The secondary memory devices are also called storage devices.

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Parts of Main Memory
1. In RAM, memory cells can be accessed for information transfer from any desired random
location.
2. The main drawback of RAM is that it is a volatile memory. That is, when the power goes off,
the contents of RAM get erased.
3. The RAM chips in a computer can be of two types:
i) Dynamic RAM (DRAM): These are made up of transistors and capacitors. The amount of
time taken to produce data required of memory, from the start of access until the
availability of data is called memory access time.
ii) Static RAM: these are made up of flip flops and offer faster access times than DRAMs. Thus
used in specialized applications while DRAM are used in primary storage sections of most
computers.

Read Only Memory (ROM)

1. ROM is a memory that performs the read operation only; it does not have a write capability.
2. The binary information stored in a ROM is made permanent during the hardware production
of the unit and cannot be altered by writing different words into it (hence non-volatile).
3. ROM is slower than RAM.
4. Types of ROM:
i) PROM (Programmable ROM): Also called OTP (One Time Password). PROM is a user-
programmable emmory in which information is burnt using special equipment called ROM
burner.
ii) EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM): IN EPROM, one can program the memory chip
and erase it many times as needed.
iii) EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable PROM): The EPROM erased electrically is
faster. Also EEPROM can erase selective bytes whereas EPROM erase the entire bytes.
iv) Flash EEPROM: It is like EEPROM but is very fast comparatively. Also it erares fully and
not selectively.
v) Mask ROM: It refers to a kind of ROM in which the contents are programmed by the IC
manufacturer. It is not a user-programmable ROM.

The Storage Unit

Since primary memory has a limited storage capacity and is not permanent, secondary storage devices
are used to store large amount of data permanently.
Storage capacity of storage devices is represented in kilo bytes (KB), mega bytes (MB), giga bytes (GB)
and tera bytes (TB).
1. Hard disks: It stores information on one or more circular platters (or disks) which are
continually spinning. These rotating disks are coated with a magnetic material and stacked with
space between them. Information is recorded on the surface of rotating disks by magnetic
heads as tiny magnetic spots.
2. Compact Disks (CD): CD is an optical media. These are relatively cheap and have a storage
capacity of up to 700 Mb. Types of CDs:
a. CD-ROM: This is used only to read information and cannot be used to store/write data.
b. CD-R (Recordable): Data can be written on only once and disk can’t be erased.
c. CD-RW: It is an erasable disk and you can write on multiple times.
3. DVD: It is an optical storage device that looks same as a CD but is able to hold about 15 times
as much information and transfer it to the computer about 20 times as fast as a CD-ROM. A
DVD is also called a Super density Disk (SD), can hold upto 17 GB of data or 4 hours of movie
on a side. Types of DVDs:
i) DVD-ROM ii) DVD-R iii) DVD-RW

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4. Flash Memory: A flash drive is a small, ultra-portable storage device with a solid state memory
i.e. it has no moving parts unlike magnetic storage devices, no does it make use of lasers. It
works in a similar way to RAM. The key difference is that data is retained in flash memory even
when the power is switched off. Typical size ranges from 256 MB up to 128 GB. Eg. Pen drives.

Cache Memory
1. A cache used by the CPU of a computer to reduce the average time to access data from the
main memory.
2. The cache is a smaller, faster memory which stores copies of the data from frequently used
main memory locations.
3. Most CPUs have different independent caches, including instruction and data caches, where
the data cache is usually organized as a hierarchy of more cache levels (LI, L2, etc.)
4. When the processor needs to read from or write to a location in main memory, it first checks
whether a copy of that data is in the cache.
5. If so, the processor immediately reads from or writes to the cache, which is much faster than
reading from or writing to main memory.

The System Bus

It is an electronic pathway composed of connecting cables and that connects the major components
of a computer system. Through system bus, data and instructions are passed among the computer
system components.
 The data carrying part of system bus is called data bus.
 The control instruction carrying part of system bus is called control bus.
 The memory address carrying part of system bus is called Address bus.
 A separate type of bus called I/O Bus connects the Input, Output and other external devices to
the system.

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CLASS-XI COMPUTER SYSTEMS ORGANISATION UNIT-1
TYPES OF SOFTWARE
Software represents the set of programs that govern the operation of a computer system and make
the hardware run. Types of software:
1. System Software 2. Application software

System Software
The software that controls internal computer operations (i.e. reading input from input devices,
transmitting processed information to the output devices, checking system components, converting
data to computer understandable form etc.) is known as system software. They can further be
classified into:
i) Operating System ii) Language Processor

Operating System
1. An operating system is a program which acts as an interface between a user and the hardware.
2. The primary goal of an operating system is thus to make the convenient to use and secondary goal
is to use computer hardware in an efficient manner.
3. An operating system is an important component of a computer which controls all other
components of the computer.
4. Major components of a computer system are:
a. The Hardware: Provides the basic computing resources
b. The Operating System: Controls and coordinates the use of the hardware among the various
application programs for the various users.
c. The Application program routines (compiler, linkers, database management systems, utility
programs): Define the ways in which these resources are used to solve the computing problems
of the users.

Language Processors
It is a special type of computer software that can translate the source code into an object code or
machine code. Or, language processors are software that convert source code into object code.
 A source code refers to the program-code written by a programmer in a high level
programming language (HLL) such as in C, C++, Java etc.
 An object code refers to a code usually in machine language or binary code, a language that
computer can understand easily and run on hardware.

There are 3 types of language processors:

i) Assembler: It converts the program written in assembly language into machine language.
ii) Interpreter: It translates and executes instructions written in a computer language line-by-line,
unit by unit etc.
iii) Compiler: It translates and executes instructions written in a computer program in one go.

Application Software
1. An Application Software is the set of programs necessary to carry out operations for a specified
application.
2. These types of software pertain to one specific application. For instance, software that can
perform railway reservation functions cannot prepare result for a school.
3. These are the programs written by programmers to enable computer to perform a specific task
such as processing words, inventory control, medical accounting etc.
4. Application software can be subdivided into 4 categories:
i) Packages iii) Customized software
ii) Utilities iv) Developer Tools

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Packages
1. As applications may be numerous, it is not feasible to design software for each one of them.
2. Rather some general software are designed that may be used by individual users in the manner it
suits their needs and requirements.
3. Such general-application software are known as packages. Examples are:
i) Word Processing Software iv) Graphics, multimedia, and presentation
ii) Spreadsheets applications
iii) Database management Systems

Utilities
1. Utilities are those application programs that assist the computer by performing housekeeping
functions like backing up disk or scanning/cleaning viruses or arranging information etc.
2. Utilities bridge the gaps by helping to solve the problems and maximise computer’s potential.
3. Some important utilities are:
i) Text Editor: It is used for creating, editing text files.
ii) Backup Utility: It facilitates the backing-up of disk. Back-up means duplicating the disk
information so that in case of any damage or data-loss, this backed-up data may be used.
iii) Compression Utility: It facilitates compression of files. Large files can be compressed so that
they take less storage area.
iv) Disk Defragmenter: A file is fragmented when it becomes too large for computer to store in a
single location on a disk. When this happens, the computer splits the file up and stores it in
pieces. We can use fragmented files, but it takes the computer longer to access them.
Disk Defragmenter program speeds up disk access by rearranging files and free space on
computer; so that files are stored in contiguous units and free space is consolidated in one
contiguous block.
v) Antivirus Software: It ensures virus-free work environment. A computer virus is a malicious
computers program that disrupts normal functioning of a computer.
Antivirus software scans your disk for viruses and removes them, if any virus is found.
Moreover, some antivirus software remains present in memory all the time so they can detect
the viruses and counterattack them.

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