Basics of Computer

What is a computer?
A computer is an electronic device that performs logical operations on data automatically and
displays the results for a human being to see. There are two major components in a computer which
are :

1) Input devices: Input devices collect data from sources outside of the machine and put it in the
computer. There are four major types of input devices:

 Keyboard
 Mouse
 Scanner
 Web Camera

2) Output: The output will be displayed on the computer monitor. There are two types of output
devices:

 Monitor
o CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) Monitor
o LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) Monitor
o LED (Light Emitting Diode) Monitor
o OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) Monitor
o Plasma Monitor
o Touchscreen Monitor
o 4K/8K UHD Monitors
o Curved Monitor
o Quantum Dot Monitor
 Printers
o Inkjet Printer
o Laser Printer
o Dot Matrix Printer
o Thermal Printer
o Plotter

The Evolution of Computers

The history of computers spans thousands of years, from early counting devices to the powerful
systems we use today. The development of computers started in the mid nineteenth century and
the process continues till date. The development of computers has been divided into following major
eras in history:

History of computers:
Early Tools (before 1600s):

Devices like the abacus (used since 2400 BC) helped with basic calculations.

Mechanical Era (1600s–1800s):

1642: Blaise Pascal built the Pascaline, a mechanical calculator.

1801: Joseph Jacquard developed a loom controlled by punched cards.

1837: Charles Babbage designed the Analytical Engine — the first concept of a programmable
computer.

Electromechanical Era (1930s–1940s):

1936: Alan Turing proposed the concept of a universal machine (Turing Machine).
1944: The Harvard Mark I, an electromechanical computer, was developed.

Electronic Era – First Generation (1940s–1950s):

1946: First Generation general-purpose electronic computer, was created using vacuum tubes.

Slow, large, and consumed a lot of power.

Second Generation (1950s–1960s):

Used transistors instead of vacuum tubes — smaller, faster, more reliable.

Third Generation (1960s–1970s):

Introduction of integrated circuits (ICs).

Computers became smaller and more powerful.

Fourth Generation (1970s–Present):

Use of microprocessors (e.g., Intel 4004 in 1971).

Led to personal computers (e.g., Apple II, IBM PC).

Fifth Generation and Beyond (Present and Future):

Focus on AI, machine learning, quantum computing, and cloud computing.

What is Hardware?

A computer should have all the necessary hardware parts like CPU, keyboard, mouse, monitor etc.
so that it can run the software or program.

What is Software?

Programs are also called software. These are machine-readable instructions that cannot be
understood by humans. An operating system is also a software programme which controls the
entire system and helps users to run different programs like word processors, graphics editors,
games etc. Examples of programming languages are C++, Java and PHP etc.

What is an application?

It is a program that provides a service to its users like word processing (MS Word), graphic designing
(Adobe Photoshop) etc.

What is an Operating System?

An operating system is a set of software applications and various supporting utilities needed by
application programs, to operate
efficiently and with minimal
interaction.

Input-Process-Output Model

Computer input is called data and the

output obtained after processing it, based on users instructions is called information. Raw facts and
figures which can be processed using
arithmetic and logical operations to
obtain information are called data.

Block Diagram of
Computer
Input Unit − Devices like keyboard and mouse that are used to input data and instructions to the
computer are called input unit.

Output Unit − Devices like printer and visual display unit that are used to provide information to the
user in desired format are called output unit.

Control Unit − As the name suggests, this unit controls all the functions of the computer. All devices
or parts of computer interact through the control unit.

Arithmetic Logic Unit − This is the brain of the computer where all arithmetic operations and logical
operations take place.

Memory − All input data, instructions and data interim to the processes are stored in the memory.
Memory is of two types primary memory and secondary memory. Primary memory resides within
the CPU whereas secondary memory is external to it.

Control unit, arithmetic logic unit and memory are together called the central processing
unit or CPU. Computer devices like keyboard, mouse, printer, etc. that we can see and touch are
the hardware components of a computer. The set of instructions or programs that make the
computer function using these hardware parts are called software. We cannot see or touch
software. Both hardware and software are necessary for working of a computer.

Booting

 Starting a computer or a computer-embedded device is called booting. Booting takes place

in two steps −
 Switching on power supply
 Loading operating system into computers main memory
 Keeping all applications in a state of readiness in case needed by the user

Computer Memory:

Computer memory is measured in terms of how many bits it can store. Here is a chart for memory
capacity conversion.

1 byte (B) = 8 bits

1 Kilobytes (KB) = 1024 bytes

1 Megabyte (MB) = 1024 KB

1 Gigabyte (GB) = 1024 MB

1 Terabyte (TB) = 1024 GB

1 Exabyte (EB) = 1024 PB

1 Zettabyte = 1024 EB

1 Yottabyte (YB) = 1024 ZB

Computer memory can be said to be organized in a hierarchical way where memory with the fastest
access speeds and highest costs lies at the top whereas those with lowest speeds and hence lowest
costs lie at the bottom. Based on this criteria memory is of two types primary and secondary. Here
we will look at primary memory in detail.

What is Primary Memory?

The primary memory (or main memory) is a part of computer memory that can be directly accessed
by the computer CPU. The primary memories are faster and store data temporarily. The data stored
in the primary memory is erased when the computer is OFF. Thus, these memories are also known
as volatile memory.

Features of Primary Memory

The main features of primary memory, which distinguish it from secondary memory are −

 It is accessed directly by the processor

 It is the fastest memory available
 Each word is stored as well as
 It is volatile, i.e. its contents are lost once power is switched off

As primary memory is expensive, technologies are developed to optimize its use. These are broad
types of primary memory available.

Types of Primary Memory

The following are the main

types of primary memory:

 RAM
 ROM
 Cache Memory

1. RAM (Random Access

Memory)

RAM stands for Random Access

Memory. The processor
accesses all memory addresses
directly, irrespective of word
length, making storage and retrieval fast. RAM is the fastest memory available and hence most
expensive. These two factors imply that RAM is available in very small quantities of up to 1GB. RAM
is volatile but my be of any of these two types

2. ROM (Read Only Memory)

ROM stands for Read Only Memory. As the name suggests, ROM can only be read by the processor.
New data cannot be written into ROM. Data to be stored into ROM is written during the
manufacturing phase itself. They contain data that does not need to be altered, like booting
sequence of a computer or algorithmic tables for mathematical applications. ROM is slower and
hence cheaper than RAM. It retains its data even when power is switched off, i.e. it is non-volatile.
ROM cannot be altered the way RAM can be but technologies are available to program these types
of ROMs −

3. Cache Memory

The small piece of high speed volatile memory available to the processor for fast processing is
called cache memory. Cache may be a reserved portion of main memory, another chip on CPU or an
independent high speed storage device. Cache memory is made of fast speed SRAMs. The process of
keeping some data and instructions in cache memory for faster access is called caching. Caching is
done when a set of data or instructions is accesses again and again.Whenever the processor needs
any piece of data or instructions, it checks the cache first. If it is unavailable there, then the main
memory and finally secondary memory is accessed. As cache has very high speed, time spent in
accessing it every time is negligible as compared to time saved if data indeed is in the cache. Finding
data or instruction in cache is called cache hit.

What is Secondary Memory?

The secondary memory (or external memory) is a part of computer memory that cannot be directly
accessed by the computer CPU. The secondary memories are slower than primary memories and
store data permanently. The secondary memory is also known as non-volatile or auxiliary memory.
Characteristics of Secondary Memory

These are some characteristics of secondary

memory, which distinguish it from primary
memory −

 It is non-volatile, i.e. it retains data when

power is switched off
 It is large capacities to the tune of
terabytes
 It is cheaper as compared to primary
memory

Types of Secondary Memory

Magnetic Storage

 Hard Disk Drive (HDD)

 Floppy Disk (Obsolete)
 Magnetic Tape

Optical Storage

 CD (Compact Disc)
 CD-ROM (Read-Only Memory)
 CD-R (Recordable)
 CD-RW (Rewritable)
 DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)
 DVD-ROM
 DVD-R/DVD+R
 DVD-RW/DVD+RW
 Blu-ray Disc (BD)

Flash Storage (Solid-State Storage)

 Solid-State Drive (SSD)

 USB Flash Drive (Pen Drive)
 Memory Cards (SD Card, microSD, etc.)

Cloud Storage

 Google Drive
 Dropbox
 OneDrive
 Amazon S3

Hybrid Storage

 Hybrid Drive (HDD + SSD Combination)

 SSHD (Solid-State Hybrid Drive)

Let us look at some of the secondary memory devices available.

Hard Disk Drive

Hard disk drive is made up of a series of circular disks called platters arranged one over the other
almost inches apart around a spindle. Disks are made of non-magnetic material like aluminum alloy
and coated with 10-20 nm of magnetic material.Standard diameter of these disks is 14 inches and
they rotate with speeds varying from 4200 rpm (rotations per minute) for
personal computers to 15000 rpm for servers. Data is stored by magnetizing or
demagnetizing the magnetic coating. A magnetic reader arm is used to read data
from and write data to the disks. A typical modern HDD has capacity in terabytes
(TB).
 CD Drive

CD stands for Compact Disk. CDs are circular disks that use optical rays, usually lasers, to read and
write data. They are very cheap as you can get 700 MB of storage space for less than a dollar. CDs
are inserted in CD drives built into CPU cabinet. They are portable as you can eject the drive, remove
the CD and carry it with you. There are three types of CDs −

CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory) − The data on these CDs are recorded by the
manufacturer. Proprietary Software, audio or video are released on CD-ROMs.
CD-R (Compact Disk Recordable) − Data can be written by the user once on the CD-R. It cannot be
deleted or modified later.
CD-RW (Compact Disk Rewritable) − Data can be written and deleted on these optical disks again and
again.
DVD Drive

DVD stands for Digital Video Display. DVD are optical devices that can store 15 times
the data held by CDs. They are usually used to store rich multimedia files that need
high storage capacity. DVDs also come in three varieties read only, recordable and
rewritable.

Pen Drive

Pen drive is a portable memory device that uses solid state memory rather than
magnetic fields or lasers to record data. It uses a technology similar to RAM, except that
it is nonvolatile. It is also called USB drive, key drive or flash memory.

Blu Ray Disk

Blu Ray Disk (BD) is an optical storage media used to store high definition (HD) video and other
multimedia filed. BD uses shorter wavelength laser as compared to CD/DVD. This enables writing
arm to focus more tightly on the disk and hence pack in more data. BDs can store up to 128 GB data.

Notepad:
 Basic text editor: Designed for simple text editing tasks.
 Included with Windows: Comes pre-installed on most Windows operating systems.
 Closed source: Developed and owned by Microsoft.
 Limited features: Supports only basic editing and doesn't offer syntax highlighting or advanced
features.
Notepad++:
 Advanced source code editor: Offers a wide range of features for coding and programming.
 Free and open-source: Available for free to download and use, and the source code is open for
anyone to inspect.
 Syntax highlighting: Automatically detects and highlights the language of the code, making it easier
to read and understand.
 Tabbed editing: Allows you to open multiple files in separate tabs within the same window.
 Plugins: Offers a vast ecosystem of plugins to extend its functionality, such as comparing files,
integrating with external tools, and more.
 More suitable for programmers and developers: Provides the tools and features needed for writing
and managing code efficiently.
WordPad:
Function:A more advanced text editor and basic word processor for creating formatted documents.
Features:Allows formatting text, inserting images, creating tables, and includes various document
formats.
Uses:Suitable for creating simple documents like letters, notes, reports, or documents where some
formatting is needed.
Formatting:Offers font size, color, bold, italics, paragraph alignment, bulleted lists, etc
 Basic Shortcut keys

Basic Editing:

 Ctrl+C (copy): Copies the selected text or item to the clipboard.

 Ctrl+X (cut): Cuts the selected text or item and places it on the clipboard.
 Ctrl+V (paste): Pastes the contents of the clipboard into the current location.
 Ctrl+Z (undo): Reverts the previous action.
 Ctrl+Y (redo): Reapplies the last undone action.

File Management:

 Ctrl+S (save): Saves the current document or file.

 Ctrl+P (print): Opens the print dialog box.
 Ctrl+N (new): Creates a new file or document.
 Ctrl+O (open): Opens an existing file or document.
 Ctrl+W (close): Closes the current window or document.

Navigation and Selection:

 Ctrl+A (select all): Selects all text or items in the current window or document.
 Ctrl+F (find): Opens the find dialog box.
 Alt+Tab: Cycles through open applications.
 Windows Key + D: Shows or hides the desktop.
 Ctrl + Home: Moves the cursor to the beginning of the document.
 Ctrl + End: Moves the cursor to the end of the document.

Application Specific:

 Ctrl+T (new tab): Opens a new tab in web browsers.

 Ctrl + Shift + N (new folder): Creates a new folder.
 Alt + F4: Closes the current program or window.
 General Shortcut:

 Ctrl + Esc: Open the Start menu.

 Alt + Enter: Show properties of the selected file or folder.
 F2: Rename the selected file or folder.
 F5: Refresh the active window or webpage.
 Alt + Space: Open the window’s system menu (restore, minimize, maximize, close).
 Ctrl + Shift + Esc: Open Task Manager.
 PrtScn (Print Screen): Capture a screenshot of the entire screen.
 Alt + PrtScn: Capture a screenshot of the active window.

Text Editing
 Ctrl + B: Bold selected text.
 Ctrl + I: Italicize selected text.
 Ctrl + U: Underline selected text.
 Ctrl + ← / →: Move the cursor one word to the left/right.
 Shift + ← / → / ↑ / ↓: Select text character-by-character or line-by-line.
 Ctrl + Backspace: Delete the word to the left of the cursor.
 Ctrl + Delete: Delete the word to the right of the cursor.

Browser Shortcuts
 Ctrl + D: Bookmark the current page.
 Ctrl + H: Open browsing history.
 Ctrl + J: Open downloads.
 Ctrl + L or Alt + D: Focus the address bar.

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