Fundamentals of Computer

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FUNDAMENTALS OF
COMPUTER
BASIC OF COMPUTER
INTRODUCTION
A computer generally means a programmable machine.
Computer is an electronic device that manipulates
information, or data. It has the ability to store, retrieve,
and process data. You probably already know that you can
use a computer to type documents, send email, play games,
and browse the Web. You can also use it to edit or
create spreadsheets, presentations, and even videos.
Computer consists of at least one processing element,
typically a central processing unit (CPU), and some form
of memory. The processing element carries out arithmetic
and logic operations or other mathematical operations.
Peripheral devices allow information to be retrieved from an
external source, and the result of operations saved and
retrieved. Peripheral devices means input and output devices.

HISTORY OF COMPUTER
The history of computer science began long before the
modern discipline of computer science that emerged in the
20th century. The progression from mechanical inventions
and mathematical theories towards the modern computer
concepts and machines, formed a major academic field and
the basis of a massive worldwide industry.

The earliest known tool for use in computation was
the Abacus, developed in period 2700–2300 BC. It is a
calculating tool that was in use centuries before the adoption
of the written modern numeral system and is still widely used
by merchants, traders and clerks in Asia, Africa, and
elsewhere. Its original style of usage was by lines drawn in
sand with pebbles . Abacus of a more modern design are still
used as calculation tools today and it is also used as a toy for
kids.
Charles Babbage is often regarded as one of the first
pioneers of computing. In 1822, Charles Babbage began
developing the Difference Engine, which was considered to
be the first automatic computing engine that was capable of
computing several sets of numbers and making hard
copies of the results. Unfortunately, because of funding he
was never able to complete a full-scale functional version of
this machine.
Later, in 1837 Charles Babbage proposed the first general
mechanical computer, the Analytical Engine. The Analytical
Engine contained an Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), basic flow
control, and integrated memory and is the first generalpurpose computer concept. Unfortunately, because of
funding issues this computer was also never built while
Charles Babbage's was alive. In 1910, Henry Babbage,
Charles Babbage's youngest son was able to complete a
portion of this machine and was able to perform basic
calculations.
First programmable computer
The Z1, originally created by Germany's Konrad Zuse in his
parent’s living room in 1936 to 1938 and is considered to be

the first electro-mechanical binary programmable (modern)
computer and really the first functional computer.
First concepts of what we consider a modern computer
The Turing machine was first proposed by Alan
Turing in 1936 and became the foundation for theories about
computing and computers. The machine was a device that
printed symbols on paper tape in a manner that emulated a
person following a series of logical instructions. Without these
fundamentals, we wouldn't have the computers we use today.
The early British computer known as the EDSAC is
considered to be the first stored program electronic
computer. The computer performed its first calculation on
May 6, 1949 and was the computer that ran the first
graphical computer game, nicknamed "Baby".
Later, IBM introduced its first personal computer called the
IBM PC in 1981. The computer was code named and still
sometimes referred to as the Acorn and had
a 8088 processor, 16 KB of memory, which was expandable
to 256 and utilized MS-DOS.
Intel introduces the first microprocessor, the Intel 4004 on
November 15, 1971. The IBM 5100 is the first portable
computer, which was released on September 1975. The
computer weighed 25kg and had a five inch CRT display, tape
drive, 1.9MHz PALM processor, and 64KB of RAM.
Below is a listing of some of the major computers companies
first computers.

 Compaq - In March 1983, Compaq released its first
computer and the first 100% IBM compatible computer the
"Compaq Portable."
 Dell - In 1985, Dell introduced its first computer, the "Turbo
PC."
 Hewlett Packard - In 1966, Hewlett Packard released its
first general computer, the "HP-2115."
 Toshiba - In 1954, Toshiba introduces its first computer,
the "TAC" digital computer.
 Apple - Steve Wozniak designed the first Apple, known as
the Apple I, in 1976.

TYPES OF COMPUTER
Since the advent of the first computer different types and
sizes of computers are offering different services. Computers
can be as big as occupying a large building and as small as a
laptop or a microcontroller in mobile & other systems. The
four basic types of computers are.
 Super computer
 Mainframe Computer
 Minicomputer
 Microcomputer

 Super computer: Supercomputers are one of the fastest
computers currently available. Supercomputers are very
expensive and are employed for specialized applications
that require immense amount of mathematical calculations
(number crunching). For example, weather forecasting,
scientific simulations, (animated) graphics, fluid dynamic
calculations, nuclear energy research, electronic design,
and analysis of geological data (e.g. in petrochemical
prospecting)..
The super computers are very expensive and very large
in size. It can be accommodated in large air-conditioned
rooms; some super computers can span an entire
building.
Popular Supercomputers are cray 1, cray 2 , and
latest model is tianhe 2 launched in November 2014.
 Mainframe computer: Although Mainframes are not as
powerful as supercomputers, but certainly they are quite
expensive, and many large firms & government
organizations uses Mainframes to run their business
operations. The Mainframe computers can be
accommodated in large air-conditioned rooms because of
its size. Mainframes can process & store large amount of
data. Banks educational institutions & insurance
companies use mainframe computers to store data about
their customers, students & insurance policy holders.
Popular Mainframe computers are Fujitsu’s ICL VME &
Hitachi’s Z800.
 Minicomputer: Minicomputers are used by small
businesses & firms. Minicomputers are also called

as “Midrange Computers”. These are small machines
and can be accommodated on a disk with not as
processing and data storage capabilities as supercomputers & Mainframes. These computers are not
designed for a single user. Individual departments of a
large company or organizations use Mini-computers for
specific purposes. For example, a production department
can use Mini-computers for monitoring certain production
process. Popular Minicomputers are K-202, Texas
Instrument TI-990, SDS-92, IBM Midrange computers.
 Micro-computer: Desktop computers, laptops, personal
digital assistant (PDA), tablets & smartphones are all types
of micro-computers. The micro-computers are widely
used & the fast growing computers. These computers are
the cheapest among the other three types of computers.
The Micro-computers are specially designed for general
usage like entertainment, education and work purposes.
Well known manufacturers of Micro-computer are Dell,
Apple, Samsung, Sony & Toshiba.
Desktop computers, Gaming consoles, Sound &
Navigation system of a car, Netbooks, Notebooks, PDA’s,
Tablet PC’s, Smartphones, Calculators are all type of
Microcomputers.

COMPUTER ORGANIZATION
Computer Organization is a lower level and detailed
description of the system that involves how the different

parts of the system are interconnected or Computer
organization is a study of a Computer Architecture. E.g.
Memory, Registers, RAM, ROM, CPU, ALU, 16 bit/ 32 bit/ 64 bit
architecture, what different parts makes a computer, etc.
 Memory: Memory refers to the physical devices used to
store programs or data on a temporary or permanent basis
for use in a computer or other digital electronic device.
Permanent memory are externally attached while
temporary are internally attached or built-in inside
motherboard. The temporary memory is also called
primary memory which is used for the information in
physical systems which function at high-speed
(i.e. RAM,ROM). While permanent memory is also called
secondary storage or auxiliary memory which are
used to store programs or data (i.e. HARDDISK,USB).
Secondary memorys offers higher storage capacity but are
slow as compared to primary memory. Primary memory are
fast but has less storage capacity.
 Registers: In a computer, a register is a small amount
of storage area available as part of computer processor. A
register may hold a computer instruction , a storage
address, or any kind of data. 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 be 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.)
 CPU: CPU stands for Central Processing Unit. As it is
central processing ubit therefore it is most important part
of computer. It acts as brain of computer without CPU
computer is nothing. It carries out the instructions of

a computer program by performing the basic arithmetic,
logical, control and input/output(I/O) operations.
 ALU: ALU stands for Arithmetic Logic Unit. It performs
arithmetic operations like addition, subtractiom,
multiplication, divison (+,-,/,x) etc. And it also performs
logic operations like making decisions such <, >, =, <=
,>= etc

COMPUTER SOFTWARE
INTRODUCTION OF SOFTWARE
Software is just instructions written by a
programmer which tells the computer what to do.
Programmers are also known as software developers.
Software programs can have millions of lines of code. If one
line doesn't work, the whole program could break! Even
the process of starting software goes by many different
names in English. Perhaps the most correct technical term
is “execute”.
Software acts as soul of hardware, it tells the hardware to
do task. Hardware and software will not work without each
other. Software will not work without hardware and
hardware will not work without software.

TYPES OF COMPUTER SOFTWARE
Software components of a computer system have no physical
presence, they are stored in digital form within computer
memory. There are different categories of software,
including system software, utilities and applications software.
 System Software.
 Application Software.
 Utility Software.

 Programming Software.
 System Software: System software is the software
used to manage and control the hardware components and
which allow interaction between the hardware and the
other types of software. The most obvious type of system
software is the computer's operating system but device
drivers are also included within this category.
 Application Software: Applications software (also
known as 'apps') are designed to allow the user of the
system to complete a specific task or set of tasks. Popular
examples of application software are the Microsoft office
suite which includes Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Internet
explorer, Mozilla Firefox are applications used to access the
internet. E-mail software like Outlook express is used to
manage Emails. It is obvious that all software utilized for
working on a computer is classified as application software.
 Utility Software: Utility software is software such
as anti-virus software, firewalls, disk defragmenters which
helps to maintain and protect the computer system. Utility
software helps in the management of computer hardware
and application software.
 Programming Software: Now this is a kind of
computer software which is used exclusively by computer
programmers. Unless we are also programmers, we are
unlikely to come across programming languages. A simple
way to understand programming languages is to think of
them as bricks which can be used to create applications
and operating system. C++, Java,PHP and Simlab are
some popular programming languages. Generally Java is
used for internet applications. C++ is a language of
professional developers and used extensively in developing
operating systems. PHP is another language used for

internet applications. There is a new class of languages
which are being utilized for the mobiles. These are light
weight, modular languages which are used to design
mobile applications.

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