P.N.C. & K.R.

DEGREE COLLEGE :: NARASARAOPET

I Sem B.C.A – COMPUTER FUNDAMENTALS & MS-OFFICE
U2

Unit- II (Understanding computer memory and software)

Memories: primary, secondary and cache memory,

Software: types of software, system software, Application software, commercial
software, open-source software, domain software and free ware software,
Programming Languages: Introduction to Programming Languages and Generations of
Programming Languages

MEMORY

Memory is the storage area of computer where all the inputs are stored before
processing and the outputs are stored after processing of inputs. The data and instructions
that are entered into the computer by using input devices need to be stored in the computer
memory before the actual processing. The intermediate results during the processing
and the final results after processing also need to be stored in the computer memory. So
computer memory basically provides a space for storing of the data and instructions before
processing, during processing and after processing. The memory of the computer can be
divided in to three types.

1. PRIMARY MEMORY
2. SECONDARY MEMORY
3. CACHE MEMORY

STORAGE DEVICES

PRIMARY STORAGE SECONDARY STORAGE

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 P.N.C. & K.R. DEGREE COLLEGE :: NARASARAOPET
I Sem B.C.A – COMPUTER FUNDAMENTALS & MS-OFFICE
U2
Q1.) Write about Primary memory in the computer?

Ans.) Primary storage is also known as Main Memory. It is a direct access storage device
consisting of a number of storage locations. Each location in the storage has a unique
number called storage address. The system assigns a unique memory location to each data
element. One the data element is assigned to a location, the system accesses it directly by
means of the address of the particular storage location.

Features of Primary storage:-

● Primary storage is mainly used by CPU. So it is termed as primary memory or main

memory.
● It has limited storage capacity.
● It is typically high-speed memory and very costly.
● It is a type of memory that is available in the form of silicon chips.
● In this memory the data transfer is done between CPU and Main memory.

PRIMARY STORAGE

RAM ROM CACHE MEMORY

(RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY) (READ ONLY MEMORY)

S-RAM D-RAM P-ROM EP-ROM EEP-ROM

RAM (RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY) :- Whenever user enters any kind of data into
the computer system, it moves into primary memory for storage. This type of primary

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 P.N.C. & K.R. DEGREE COLLEGE :: NARASARAOPET
I Sem B.C.A – COMPUTER FUNDAMENTALS & MS-OFFICE
U2
storage is known as RAM. It is most randomly access storage type among all types of
storage.

● The RAM is a volatile in nature that is once the system is switched off, the contents
of RAM will automatically be erased.
● RAM will stores the data purely on temporary basis i.e., user can remove the
previous data and write new data into it whenever required.
● RAM is small both in terms of its size and in the amount of data it can hold.
● RAM isa semiconductor memory, so it is very costly. Still many people use large
amount of RAM in order to increase the speed of the computer.

Memory Management:-

0/1 1 BIT
4 bits 1 NIBBLE
8 bits 1 BYTE
1024 bits 1 KILO BYTE
1024 KB 1 MEGA BYTE
1024 MB 1 GIGA BYTE
1024 GB 1 TERA BYTE
1024 TB 1 PETA BYTE
1024 PB 1 EXA BYTE
1024 EB 1 ZETTA BYTE
The Random Access Memory is of two types. They are
1. Static RAM
2. Dynamic RAM.

The Static RAM holds data without external refresh as long as the computer powered on.
The static RAM is made up of D-flipflops, in which the memory cells flip flop between 0
and 1.
The Dynamic RAM contains a millions of memory cells made up of transistors and
capacitors and used a small amount of power for one and no power for zero. A refresh
process is required to clear the memory cells and carried out multiple times in second.

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 P.N.C. & K.R. DEGREE COLLEGE :: NARASARAOPET
I Sem B.C.A – COMPUTER FUNDAMENTALS & MS-OFFICE
U2

ROM (READ-ONLY MEMORY) :- This type of memory can store instructions one time
and reads multiple times. In computers small amount of ROM is available to store BIOS
program (Basic Input / Output System) called Firmware. This program is loaded at first
when computer is switched on.
The ROM’s are of three types. They are
i) PROM (Programmable ROM)
ii) EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM)
iii) EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM)

i) PROM: - It is also called one-time programmable ROM. In this you can write
programs using a special device called PROM Programmer. The PROM programmer
uses high voltage to remove the content and creates internal links in the chip. In this
chip we can store one time. The process of storing into the PROM is called Burning.
ii) EPROM: - In this type of ROM you can erase and reprogrammed. Erasing the content
by passing Ultraviolet rays for 10 minutes through the chip and then reprogrammed
the new instructions in the chip.
iii) EEPROM: - It is also called Read/Write PROM. The user can programme and
reprogrammed the instructions accordingly to their requirements. The instructions
will be reprogrammed through special electrical pulses. In EEPROM user can
electrically erase a portion of the contents of the ROM. This is very high cost
compared with other ROMs.

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 P.N.C. & K.R. DEGREE COLLEGE :: NARASARAOPET
I Sem B.C.A – COMPUTER FUNDAMENTALS & MS-OFFICE
U2
Q2.) Write about Secondary memory in the computer?

Ans.) The Secondary memory is used to store data and instructions permanently in the
computer system. It is not directly accessed by the Central Processing Unit. The secondary
memory is of three types. They are

i) Magnetic Storage
ii) Optical Storage
iii) Solid State Storage

SECONDARY STORAGE

MAGNETIC OPTICAL SOLID STATE

SECONDARY STORAGE SECONDARY STORAGE SECONDARY STORAGE

FLOPPY DISK HARD DISK CD DISK DVD DISK

MAGNETIC STORAGE:- A storage medium in which different patterns of

magnetization are used to represent stored bits or bytes of information is called magnetic
storage . The magnetic storage consists of two types.
1. Magnetic Tapes
2. Magnetic Disk

1. MAGNETIC TAPES:- Magnetic tapes provide a compact and inexpensive method

of storing data and programs. Magnetic tapes are mainly used for backup of data. The
Magnetic tape is half inch wide tape of mylar material coated with magnetic material.
It have much higher data transfer rate and are preferred for high speed applications.

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 P.N.C. & K.R. DEGREE COLLEGE :: NARASARAOPET
I Sem B.C.A – COMPUTER FUNDAMENTALS & MS-OFFICE
U2
Magnetic tapes are portable in size ie., we can carry this storage devices one reusable
i.e., data can be erased from tape and new data can be stored on it.
2. MAGNETIC DISKS:- Magnetic Disks are the most popular medium of data storage.
It is like gramphone record, which is made up of plastic like material called Milar.
The Example is Floppy Disk.

Floppy Disk:- Floppy Disk is one of the most popular data storage used for permanent
data storage and data transfer before invention of Compact Disk. If consists of a round
flat piece of plastic, coated with magnetic material. The size of the floppy desk is 3.5
inches and it can store 1.44 MB of data. Another type of Floppy disk size is 5.25 inches
and storage capacity is 1.2 MB. The floppy disks are reusable. It is used 3 – 4 times.

Hard Disk:- The Hard Disk is a part of computer that stores all the data and
programmes. The hard disk is used to store large amounts of data. It is fixed inside the
system unit with screws permanently. In today the hard disk can store GIGA BYTES to
TERA BYTES of information.
A Hard disk is a set of disks with magnetic material. These are called platters.
As set of platters are placed on a spindle like phonographic records. Each platter is
divided into tracks and sectors to store the data. For each platter we have a read/write
head for both sides. The entire equipment si sealed in an aluminum box.

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 P.N.C. & K.R. DEGREE COLLEGE :: NARASARAOPET
I Sem B.C.A – COMPUTER FUNDAMENTALS & MS-OFFICE
U2

OPTICAL STORAGE:- Optical storage refers to storing of data on the optical readable
medium by making marks in a plotters. The most popular optical storage devices are CD-
ROM, DVD-ROM.
CD-ROM:- It is a example of optical storage medium and it is circular shaped disk
coated with very thin reflective layer of aluminum. The data is stored on the disk in the
form of pits and lands, while reading the data a land will reflects the laser light and read as
binary digit 1. On the other hand the pit will not reflects as read as binary digit 0. Like
magnetic disk the optical disk is also divided into tracks and sectors. The Capacity of CD-
ROM is 700 MB.
DVD-ROM:- The DVD-ROM is a new type of optical storage medium, which
stores 4.3 GB to 17 GB. If uses the same optical technology like CD-ROM. In the DVD
the tracks are arranged nearby each other.

SOLID STATE STORAGE:- They are also called Flash Memory. They can store data
and programmes permanently. The solid state storage is of two types. They are pen drives
and memory cards. These devices are connected to the computer with the help of USB
(Universal Serial Bus) port. These devices can store the data using circuit elements. They
are used in MP3 players, Digital cameras, Video cameras and others for storing data and
programmes.

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 P.N.C. & K.R. DEGREE COLLEGE :: NARASARAOPET
I Sem B.C.A – COMPUTER FUNDAMENTALS & MS-OFFICE
U2
CACHE MEMORY:- Cache memory is an extremely fast memory type that acts as a
buffer between RAM and the CPU. It holds frequently requested data and instructions so
that they are immediately available to the CPU when needed. Cache memory is used to
reduce the average time to access data from the Main memory. Cache memory operates
between 10 to 100 times faster than RAM, requiring only a few nanoseconds to respond to
a CPU request.

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 P.N.C. & K.R. DEGREE COLLEGE :: NARASARAOPET
I Sem B.C.A – COMPUTER FUNDAMENTALS & MS-OFFICE
U2
Q3.) Write about Software in the computer?

Ans.) The software is a set of computer programmes that instruct the computer what to do
and when to do. In other words the computer software is a set of programmes that makes
the computer system as a useful tool. A programme is a sequence of instructions written
for solving a problem. The software will plays a key role of mediator between user and
hardware. In absence of software user cannot perform any task on the computer. The
software can broadly classify in to 2 types. They are

a) System Software
b) Application software

COMPUTER SOFTWARE

SYSTEM APPLICATION
SOFTWARE SOFTWARE

OPERATING TRANSLA- UTILITY LANGUAGES PACKAGES

SYSTEMS TORS TOOLS

A) SYSTEM SOFTWARE:- The system software is a computer software designed to

operate computer hardware and creates a platform to run the applications. The system
software is classified into 3 types. They are

i) Operating Systems
ii) Translators
iii) Utility Software.

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 P.N.C. & K.R. DEGREE COLLEGE :: NARASARAOPET
I Sem B.C.A – COMPUTER FUNDAMENTALS & MS-OFFICE
U2
i) OPERATING SYSTEMS:- The major goal of the operating system is to make the
computer system convenient and efficient to use. The operasting system works as
interface man and machine. The operating systems are categorized in to 4 types. They
are
I. Single user single task operating system MS-DOS
II. Single user multi task operating systems Windows-95, 97, ME
III. Multi user single task operating systems Novel Netware
IV. Multi user multi task operating systems Windows 2000, 2003 etc.,

FUNCTIONS OF OPERAING SYSTEMS:- The operating system perform different kinds of

activities in the computer systems. They are

❖ FILE MANAGEMENT:- It includes creating a file, viewing the file, edit the file content
and deleting the file.
❖ DISK ORGANISATION:- The operating system will stores your files and programmes
in the secondary memory and displays immediately whenever you want.
❖ MEMORY MANAGEMENT:- It also refresh the memory periodically and removes
unused and completed memory space.
❖ PLATFORM TO APPLICATION SOFTWARE:- The operating system will create a
convenient environment to run the application software.
❖ HANDLING THE HARDWARE:- The operating system can also communicates with
hardware like monitor, printer, keyboard and other devices to do their work.
ii) TRANSLATORS:- The translators are another type of system software which
converts the data and instructions into machine language for computer understanding. The
examples of translators are compilers, interpreters, linkers and loaders.
❖ A Compiler is a computer program that transforms source code written in a programming
language into machine language. The machine code is called object code.
❖ An Interpreter is a common kind of language processor that reads statement by statement
from the input, converts it to an intermediate code, then execute. If an error occurs, interpreter
stops execution and report it.

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 P.N.C. & K.R. DEGREE COLLEGE :: NARASARAOPET
I Sem B.C.A – COMPUTER FUNDAMENTALS & MS-OFFICE
U2
❖ An Assembler translates assembly language programs into machine code. The output of
assembler is called an object code.
❖ Linker is a computer program that links and merges various object files together in order
to make executable file.
❖ Loader is a part of operating system and is responsible for loading executable files into
memory and executes them.
iii) UTILITY TOOLS:- These are used to analyze, configure, optimize and maintain
the computer system. There are so many varieties of utility tools are available. Software
like disk cleanup and management tools, anti-viruses, defragmenters, compression tools
etc. is all utility software.
2. APPLICATION SOFTWARE:- Application software is atype of computer
software that is used to perform user defined tasks. The examples of application software
are Word processors, spreadsheets, CAD & CAM Applications, games, media players etc.
The application software are broadly classified into 2 types. They are
1. LANGUAGES
2. COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE
3. OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE
4. DOMAIN SOFTWARE
5. FREE WARE SOFTWARE
1. LANGUAGES:- A programming language is a computer language used to write
instructions for the computer in well defined format. The collection of instructions for a
particular task is called programme. The computer languages are categorized in to 5 types.
They are
i.MACHINE LANGUAGES
ii.ASSEMBLY LANGUAGES
iii.HIGH LEVEL LANGUAGES
iv.NON-PROCEDURAL LANGUAGES
v.ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCY

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 P.N.C. & K.R. DEGREE COLLEGE :: NARASARAOPET
I Sem B.C.A – COMPUTER FUNDAMENTALS & MS-OFFICE
U2
⮚ Machine Language is the only language can a computer understood. This language
was used in the 1st generation computers. All the information in the computer is handled
using electronic component. They recognize two states. One state is represented with
binary digit 1 and another state with 0.
⮚ Assembly Language was used in the 2nd generation computers. In this language we
use small English words like ADD, SUB, MUL, DIV to instruct the computer. These words
are called Mnemonics. The assembler is a programme used to convert assembly language
instructions into machine language.
⮚ High Level Languages are the languages used in 3rd generation computers. These
language instructions are written in pure English sentences. So it is very easy to write
programmes. Several types of high level languages like FORTRAN (FORmula
TRANslator), BASIC (Beginners All purpose Symbolic Instruction Code), COBOL
(COmmon Business Oriented Language), PASCAL, ‘C’ language etc.
⮚ Non-procedural languages are used in 4th generation computers. It is easy to learn
and these languages are machine independent. These are used to avoid procedural
instructions. These are also called 4 GL’s. The example is SQL (Structured Query
Language).
⮚ Artificial Intelligence Languages are the advanced languages in the computer used
for natural languages, machine learning, speech recognition etc. The example is Prolog.
2. COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE:- Commercial software is any software or
program that is designed and developed for licensing or sale to end users or that serves a
commercial purpose. Microsoft products such as the Windows Operating System and MS
Office are some of the most well-known examples of commercial software.
3. OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE:- Open source software is software with source
code that anyone can inspect, modify, and enhance. Its authors make its source code
available to others who would like to view that code, copy it, learn from it, alter it, or share
it. LibreOffice and the GNU Image Manipulation Program, Apache HTTP web server are
examples of open source software.

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 P.N.C. & K.R. DEGREE COLLEGE :: NARASARAOPET
I Sem B.C.A – COMPUTER FUNDAMENTALS & MS-OFFICE
U2
4. DOMAIN SOFTWARE:- Domain software is any software that has no legal,
copyright or editing restrictions associated with it. It is free and open-source software that
can be publicly modified, distributed or sold without any restrictions. SQLite, I2P and
CERN httpd are popular examples of public domain software. Public domain software has
no ownership and is available for use, modification and commercialization by anyone.
5. FREE WARE SOFTWARE:- Freeware software is a software that is available
free of cost. A user can download freeware from internet and uses it. These software’s do
not provide any freedom of modifying, sharing and studying the program as in open source
software. Freeware is closed source. Users prefer freeware because Available Free of cost
and can be distributed free of cost. Examples are Adobe PDF, yahoo messenger, Google
Talk, MSN messenger etc.

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