Computer System Overview

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
• Speed
• Accuracy
• Huge storage
• Versatility
• Tirelessness
Disadvantages of computer
• Data security issue
• Computer crimes
• Health risk
• Bad impact on environment if not properly disposed off
Any digital computer performs five functions:
1. Take data as input
2. Stores data/instructions
3. Process those stored data
4. Generate the output
5. Control all above steps
Hardware: Computer hardware is the collection of physical elements/parts that constitutes a
computer system,such as the monitor, mouse, keyboard, computer data storage, hard drive
disk (HDD), system unit (graphic cards, sound cards, memory, motherboard and chips), etc.
all of which are physical objects & can be touched.
Software :Software is a generic term for organized collections of computer data and
instructions,often broken into two major categories:
1. System software that provides the basic non task-specific functions of the computer,
2. Application software which is used by users to accomplish specific tasks.
 Hardware
Input Unit A device through which data and programs from the outside world enter the
computer system.
Output unit A device through which results stored in the computer memory are made
available outside the computer system
Central processing unit– Comprises three parts
1. Arithmetic/Logic Unit Performs basic arithmetic operations such as addition and
subtraction Performs logical operations such as AND, OR, and NOT. Most modern ALUs
have a small amount of special storage units called registers that can be accessed faster than
main memory.
2. Control unit It organizes the computer to work computer as single unit & generates control
signals for various devices regarding read/write or execute operation
3. Memory A collection of cells, each with a unique physical address. Most computers are

byte-addressable.
Memory Units– How much memory is required for a file/data/progam etc. is measured by
memory units. Following are the memory units.
Refer text book for the storage units
Memory Types-Primary Memory and Secondary Memory
*Primary Memory-RAM and ROM
Random Access Memory (RAM) - is a type of volatile memory that is stores information on
an integrated circuit which hold the data mainly when the program is being executed by the
CPU. As it is volatile in nature so it can't store data permanently.
Read Only Memory (ROM) - a non-volatile memory chip in which data are stored
permanently, and cannot be altered by the programmer.
*Secondary Memory: A storage, which supplements the main memory of a computer. Often
referred to as secondary storage, this section of computer's memory is non-volatile and has
low cost per bit stored, but it generally has an operating speed far slower than that of the
primary storage.

*Cache Memory :A small high speed memory, which is used to increase the speed of
processing by making current programs and data available to the CPU at a rapid rate.It is the
volatile computer memory which is very nearest to the CPU,so also called CPU memory, and
is between CPU and RAM all the Recent Instructions are Stored into the Cache Memory. It is
the fastest memory that provides high-speed data access to a computer microprocessor
Difference between RAM and ROM

Input devices can send data or information to a computer or another device.

Keyboard: It is an input device which sends data in to the computer. The data send depends
on the key pressed by the user.
Mouse: A mouse is a small handheld input device which controls a cursor in a graphical user
interface. It can move and select text, files, folders etc. on our computer according to the user
input.
Scanner: Scanner optically reads and document, file or image and then changes it into digital
signal and sends to the computer.
OMR: optical mark recognition/ reader, is used to read marks on a document and send them
to the computer.
OCR: OCR stands for optical character Recognition, is an input device which reads printed
text and sends that to computer.
MICR: Magnetic Ink Character Reader is an input device which generally finds application
is banks to process cheques.
Microphone: it receives audio generated by some input source and sends the same to a
computer.
Webcam: it sends the captured images to a computer.
Graphics Tablets: This input device is used to draw using hand.
Trackballs: an upside down mouse ,encased within a socket. Is a cursor control device.
Barcode reader: It is used to read the barcode of various items and feed the same to
computer.
Gamepad: Also known as joy pad is the input controller for video games.
Joystick: these input devices are used to control video games
Output Devices: A device that can receive data from computer or another device and create
output with that data is called output device. Examples of various output devices are as :
Monitor: A monitor is an output device that is responsible for receiving data from a computer
and displaying that information as text or images for users to see.
Speakers: Receives sound signal from a computer and then plays that sound signal and thus
we hear songs or music or any other audio.
Printer: A printer is a device that accepts text and graphics output from a computer, and it
transfers this information to paper, Depending upon the printing methods and the quality of
images produced, printers are of two major types:

1. Impact Printers
2. Non-Impact Printers
Impact Printers
This type of printer works with paper via direct contact with an ink ribbon. It has similar
mechanisms to of typewriter. Examples of Impact Printers are Daisy-Wheel Printers, Dot-
Matrix Printers, Line Printers, etc.
Non-Impact Printers
Non-Impact Printers do not need to touch the ink ribbon to print the documents. Maintenance
of Non-Impact printers is easier than Impact printers.
Examples of non-impact printers are Inkjet printers, Laser Printers and etc.

Projector: Gets data from a computer and displays or projects the same information onto a
screen or a wall. Projector cannot directly accept data from a user and send that data to
another device.
Both Input / Output Devices
An input/output device is capable of receiving data from users or another devices and also
sending data to another devices or computers. That means a devices which can be used as
both input device and output device are called Input / Output (I/O) devices. Some examples
of input/output devices are as:
USB drive: Also known as pen drive or flash stick works as both input device to computer
and as an output device. USB drives receive or save data from a computer as an input and it
can also send data to a computer or another device.
Facsimile: Facsimile or FAX machine has a scanner which is an input device and a small
printer to provide output. Modems: It is used to transmit and receive data from one computer
to another computer or other devices using telephone lines.
CD-RW drives and DVD-RW drives: Receives data from a computer as input to copy onto
and save into writable CD or DVD. We also use CDs or DVDs to transfer data to a computer.
Touch Screen: Touch screen is both input and output device. By touching the screen input is
provided and being a screen, it is used as an output device.
Headsets: Headset consists of speaker as an output device and microphone functions as an
input device.
SOFTWARE
Software is an organized instructions/code written by programmers using any of various
special computer languages for specific purpose.
TYPES OF SOFTWARE:
1. System software: controls the basic functions of a computer & hides complexity of
computer system from user and application software. E.g. Operating System,
Compiler, Interpret etc.
2. Application software: It handles specialized/ common tasks a user wants to perform,
such as banking, hotel management, any data processing, word processing etc.
3. Utility software: Which helps to manage, maintain and control computer resources.
E.g. are antivirus software, backup software and disk tools.
(1) SYSTEM SOFTWARE
OPERATING SYSTEM An Operating System (OS) is a system program that controls
and manages the computer resources(resource manager) so that application software can
run on it. Example: Microsoft Windows, Solaris, Linux, MAC OS,Ubuntu, Apple’s i-
Phone OS etc
FUNCTIONS OF OPERATING SYSTEM
• Processor management :Loads, schedules and execute process/programs.
• Memory management :Allocates /De-allocation of memory for program execution.
• Device management :Communicate and controls various I/O devices.
• Storage management: Manages and controls the storage device to provide space to
program for execution & data save.
• Application interface: API/drivers provide a way for applications to make use of
hardware • User interface structure for interaction between a user and the computer
TYPE OF OPERATING SYSTEM
* Single-User, Single Task Operating System: These operating systems work on single
task & single user at a time.E.g. DOS
 * Single-User, Multi-Task Operating System: These operating systems works on more
than one task and process them concurrently at a time.E.g. windows 95 or later version of
windows
* Multiuser Operating System: In these OS, multiple users are allowed to access the
same data or information at a time via a network. E.g. Unix,Linux,Windows7.
* Multiprocessing Operating System: Here, a single process runs on two or more
processors. All the processing and their management takes place in a parallel way, hence
this OS are also called as Parallel Processing. E.g. Linux, UNIX and Windows 7.
* Embedded Operating System: These are embedded in a device, which is located in
ROM.E.g. OS of microwaves,washing machine.
* Distributed Operating System: In these OS, the computers work in co-operation with
each other
LANGUAGE PROCESSOR/PROGRAMMING TOOL As the computer understand
machine language(0/1) where as Humans understand High level/Human Lang. Language
Processors does the conversion task(high level to machine lang.) These are of 3 types
Language processors
1.Compilers-It convert high-level language code to machine code in one session. It takes
time because it has to translate high-level code to lower-level machine language all at once
and then save the executable object code to memory.
2. Interpreters-It translates code like a compiler but reads the code and immediately
executes that code, and therefore it is initially faster than a compiler.
3. Assemblers-It translates an assembly language program into machine language.
Difference between Compiler and Interpreter:

(2) APPLICATION SOFTWARE

* General Purpose application software These are ready to use software for daily use
purpose e.g. word processor,spread sheet,presention,DBMS etc.
* Specific Purpose application software Softwares which are designed for specific
task e.g. Payroll,Hotel Mgmt,Hospital Mgmt,Stock Mgmt etc.
 (3) UTILITY SOFTWARE/SYSTEM UTILITIES that assist OS in carrying out certain
specialized tasks are called utility software.

❖ Antivirus- An anti-virus scans the system for any virus and if detected, gets rid of it
by deleting or isolating it. ▪ Compression tools- Compression tools are utilities that
assist operating systems in shortening files so that they take less space
❖ Disk Cleanup- Disk cleanup tools assist users in freeing up disk space.
❖ Disk Defragmenter- Disk defragmenter is a disk management utility that increases
file access speeds by rearranging fragmented files on contiguous locations.
❖ Backup- Backup utility enables backing up of files, folders, databases or complete
disks. ▪ File management tools- Utility software providing regular file management
tasks like browse, search, update, preview, etc. are called file management tools.
❖ Restore–This utility restores the backup earlier taken.
❖ Device driver or hardware driver is a group of files that enable one or more
hardware devices to communicate with the computer's operating system. Without
drivers, the computer would not be able to send and receive data correctly to hardware
devices, such as a printer