Chapter-2

Computer
Hardware
PREPARED BY: SUSHANT BHATTARAI
Introduction 2

 the three related terms that require introduction are computer architecture,
computer organization and computer design
 Computer architecture refers to the structure and behavior of the
computer. It includes the specifications of the components, for example,
instruction format, instruction set and techniques for addressing memory,
and how they connect to the other components.
 computer organization focuses on the organizational structure. It deals with
how the hardware components operate and the way they are connected
to form the computer system specifications.
 computer design focuses on the hardware to be used and the
interconnection o f parts.
Introduction 3

 A computer consists of three main components

 Input/Output (I/O) Unit: The purpose of I/O unit is to provide data and
instructions as input to the computer and to present relevant information as
output from the computer.
 Central Processing Unit (CPU): CPU controls the operations of the computer
and processes the received input to generate the relevant output.
 Memory Unit: The memory unit stores the instructions and the data during
the input activity, to make instructions readily available to CPU during
processing. It also stores the processed output.
 The computer user interacts with the computer via the I/O unit. The purpose
o f I/O unit is to provide data and instructions as input to the computer and
to present relevant
CPU(Central Processing Unit) 4

 Central Processing Unit (CPU) or the processor is also often called the brain
of computer.
 It consists of Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) and Control Unit (CU). In addition,
CPU also has a set of registers which are temporary storage areas for
holding data, and instructions.
 ALU performs the arithmetic and logic operations on the data that is made
available to it.
 CU is responsible for organizing the processing of data and instructions. CU
controls and coordinates the activity of the other units of computer.
 CPU uses the registers to store the data, instructions during processing.
Components of CPU 5

 ALU
 CU
 Register unit
ALU 6

 ALU consists of two units arithmetic unit and logic unit.

 The arithmetic unit performs arithmetic operations on the data that is made
available to it.
 Some of the arithmetic operations supported by the arithmetic unit are—
addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
 The logic unit of ALU is responsible for performing logic operations. Logic unit
performs comparisons of numbers, letters and special characters.
 Logic operations include testing for greater than, less than or equal to
condition.
 ALU performs arithmetic and logic operations, and uses registers to hold the
data that is being processed
Registers 7

 Registers are high-speed storage areas within the CPU, but have the least
storage capacity. Registers are not referenced by their address, but are
directly accessed and manipulated by the CPU during instruction
execution.
 Registers store data, instructions, addresses and intermediate results of
processing.
 Registers are often referred to as the CPU’s working memory.
 The data and instructions that require processing must be brought in the
registers of CPU before they can be processed.
 For example, if two numbers are to be added, both numbers are brought in
the registers, added and the result is also placed in a register.
 Registers are used for different purposes, with each register serving a
specific purpose.
 Register 8
 Some of the important registers in CPU are:
 Accumulator (ACC) stores the result of arithmetic and logic operations.
 Instruction Register (IR) contains the current instruction most recently
fetched.
 Program Counter (PC) contains the address of next instruction to be
processed.
 Memory Address Register (MAR) contains the address of next location in the
memory to be accessed.
 Memory Buffer Register (MBR) temporarily stores data from memory or the
data to be sent to memory.
 Data Register (DR) stores the operands and any other data
Control Unit 9

 The control unit of a computer does not do any actual processing of data. It
organizes the processing of data and instructions. It acts as a supervisor and,
controls and coordinates the activity of the other units of computer.
 CU coordinates the input and output devices of a computer. It directs the
computer to carry out stored program instructions by communicating with the
ALU and the registers.
 CU uses the instructions in the Instruction Register (IR) to decide which circuit
needs to be activated. It also instructs the ALU to perform the arithmetic or logic
operations.
 When a program is run, the Program Counter (PC) register keeps track of the
program instruction to be executed next.
 CU tells when to fetch the data and instructions, what to do, where to store the
results, the sequencing of events during processing etc.
 CU also holds the CPU’s Instruction Set, which is a list of all operations that the CPU
can perform.
Memory Unit 10

 The memory unit consists of cache memory and primary memory.

 Primary memory or main memory of the computer is used to store the data
and instructions during execution of the instructions.
 Random Access Memory (RAM) and Read Only Memory (ROM) are the
primary memory.
 In addition to the main memory, there is another kind of storage device
known as the secondary memory. Secondary memory is non-volatile and is
used for permanent storage of data and programs. A program or data that
has to be executed is brought into the RAM from the secondary memory.
 Cache Memory 11
 Cache memory is a very high speed memory placed in between RAM and
CPU. Cache memory increases the speed of processing.
 Cache memory is a storage buffer that stores the data that is used more
often, temporarily, and makes them available to CPU at a fast rate.
 During processing, CPU first checks cache for the required data. If data is
not found in cache, then it looks in the RAM for data.
 To access the cache memory, CPU does not have to use the
motherboard’s system bus for data transfer
Cache Memory 12

 The CPU has a built-in Level 1 (L1) cache and Level2 (L2) cache, as shown
in Figure.
 In addition to the built-in L1 and L2 cache, some CPUs have a separate
cache chip on the motherboard. This cache on the motherboard is called
Level 3 (L3) cache.
 Nowadays, high-end processor comes with built-in L3 cache, like in Intel
core i7. The L1, L2 and L3 cache store the most recently run instructions, the
next ones and the possible ones, respectively.
 Typically, CPUs have cache size varying from 256KB (L1), 6 MB (L2), to 12MB
(L3) cache.
 Cache memory is very expensive, so it is smaller in size. Generally,
computers have cache memory of sizes 256 KB to 2 MB.
 Primary Memory 13
 Primary memory is the main memory of computer. It is used to store data
and instructions during the processing of data. Primary memory is
semiconductor memory.
 Primary memory is of two kinds—Random Access Memory (RAM) and Read
Only Memory (ROM).
 RAM is volatile. It stores data when the computer is on. The information
stored in RAM gets erased when the computer is turned off. RAM provides
temporary storage for data and instructions.
 ROM is non-volatile memory, but is a read only memory. The storage in ROM
is permanent in nature, and is used for storing standard processing
programs that permanently reside in the computer.
Secondary Memory 14

 The secondary memory stores data and instructions permanently. The

information can be stored in secondary memory for a long time (years), and is
generally permanent in nature unless erased by the user. It is a non-volatile
memory.
 It provides back-up storage for data and instructions. Hard disk drive, floppy
drive and optical disk drives are some examples of storage devices.
 The data and instructions that are currently not being used by CPU, but may be
required later for processing, are stored in secondary memory.
 Secondary memory has a high storage capacity than the primary memory.
 Secondary memory is also cheaper than the primary memory.
 It takes longer time to access the data and instructions stored in secondary
memory than in primary memory.
 Magnetic tape drives, disk drives and optical disk drives are the different types
of storage devices.
Instruction Format 15

 A computer program is a set of instructions that describe the steps to be

performed for carrying out a computational task. The program and the
data, on which the program operates, are stored in main memory, waiting
to be processed by the processor. This is also called the stored program
concept.
 An instruction is designed to perform a task and is an elementary operation
 An instruction is divided into groups called fields. The common fields of an
instruction are Operation (op) code and Operand code
 The operation code represents action that the processor must execute. It
tells the processor what basic operations to perform.
 The operand code defines the parameters of the action and depends on
the operation. It specifies the locations of the data or the operand on
which the operation is to be performed. It can be data or a memory
address.
 Instruction Set 16
 A processor has a set of instructions that it understands, called as instruction set.
 An Instruction Set is the set of all the basic operations that a processor can
accomplish.
 The instructions in the instruction set are the language that a processor
understands. All programs have to communicate with the processor using these
instructions.
 The instruction set is embedded in the processor (hardwired), which determines
the machine language for the processor.
 Two processors are different if they have different instruction sets. A program run
on one computer may not run on another computer having a different
processor.
 Two processors are compatible if the same machine level program can run on
both the processors.
 Therefore, the system software is developed within the processor’s instruction set.
 17
Instruction Cycle
 CPU executes each instruction in a series of steps, called instruction cycle
 A instruction cycle involves four steps
 Fetching The processor fetches the instruction from the memory. The fetched
instruction is placed in the Instruction Register. Program Counter holds the
address of next instruction to be fetched and is incremented after each fetch.
 Decoding The instruction that is fetched is broken down into parts or decoded.
The instruction is translated into commands so that they correspond to those in
the CPU’s instruction set. The instruction set architecture of the CPU defines the
way in which an instruction is decoded.
 Executing The decoded instruction or the command is executed. CPU performs
the operation implied by the program instruction. For example, if it is an ADD
instruction, addition is performed.
 Storing CPU writes back the results of execution, to the computer’s memory.
Instruction Cycle 18
Microprocessor 19

 A processor’s instruction set is a determining factor in its architecture. On

the basis of the instruction set, microprocessors are classified as
 RISC(Reduced Instruction Set Computer)
 CISC(Complex Instruction Set Computer)
CISC 20

 CISC architecture hardwires the processor with complex instructions, which

are difficult to create otherwise using basic instructions
 CISC has a large instruction set that includes simple and fast instructions for
performing basic tasks, as well as complex instructions that correspond to
statements in the high level language.
 An increased number of instructions (200 to 300) results in a much more
complex processor, requiring millions of transistors.
 Instructions are of variable lengths, using 8, 16 or 32 bits for storage. This
results in the processor’s time being spent in calculating where each
instruction begins and ends.
 With large number of application software programs being written for the
processor, a new processor has to be backwards compatible to the older
version of processors.
 AMD and Cyrix are based on CISC
RISC 21

 RISC has simple, single-cycle instructions, which performs only basic instructions.
RISC architecture does not have hardwired advanced functions.
 RISC has fewer instructions and requires fewer transistors, which results in the
reduced manufacturing cost of processor.
 The instruction size is fixed (32 bits). The processor need not spend time in finding
out where each instruction begins and ends.
 RISC architecture has a reduced production cost compared to CISC processors.
 The instructions, simple in nature, are executed in just one clock cycle, which
speeds up the program execution when compared to CISC processors.
 RISC processors can handle multiple instructions simultaneously by processing
them in parallel.
 Apple Mac G3 and PowerPC are based on RISC.
Pipelining 22

 Pipelining improves instruction execution speed by putting the execution

steps into parallel.
 A CPU can receive a single instruction, begin executing it, and receive
another instruction before it has completed the first.
 This allows for more instructions to be performed, about, one instruction per
clock cycle.
Parallel Processing 23

 Parallel Processing is the simultaneous execution of instructions from the

same program on different processors.
 A program is divided into multiple processes that are handled in parallel in
order to reduce execution time.
 Computer Bus 24

 Bus is a set of electronic signal pathways that allows information and signals to travel
between components inside or outside of a computer.
 The different components of computer, i.e., CPU, I/O unit, and memory unit are
connected with each other by a bus.
 The data, instructions and the signals are carried between the different components
via a bus.
 The features and functionality of a bus are as follows—
 A bus is a set of wires used for interconnection, where each wire can carry one bit of data.
 A bus width is defined by the number of wires in the bus.
 The Internal Bus connects components inside the motherboard like, CPU and system
memory.
 It is also called the System Bus. shows interaction between processor and memory.
 The External Bus connects the different external devices, peripherals, expansion slots, I/O
ports and drive connections to the rest of computer.
Computer Bus 25

 A system bus or expansion bus comprise of three kinds of buses data

bus, address bus and control bus.
 The interaction of CPU with memory and I/O devices involves all the
three buses.
 The command to access the memory or the I/O device is carried by the
control bus.
 The address of I/O device or memory is carried by the address bus.
 The data to be transferred is carried by the data bus.
System Bus 26

 The functions of data bus, address bus and control bus, in the system bus,
are as follows—
 Data Bus :
 It transfers data between the CPU and memory.
 The bus width of a data bus affects the speed of computer. The size of data bus
defines the size of the processor. A processor can be 8, 16, 32 or 64-bit processor.
 An 8–bit processor has 8 wire data bus to carry 1 byte of data. In a 16–bit
processor, 16–wire bus can carry 16 bits of data, i.e., transfer 2 bytes, etc.
 Interaction between CPU, memory and peripheral devices
 System Bus 27
 Address Bus
 It connects CPU and RAM with set of wires similar to data bus.
 The width of address bus determines the maximum number of memory
locations the computer can address.
 Currently, Pentium Pro, II, III, IV have 36–bit address bus that can address
236 bytes or 64 GB of memory.
 Control Bus specifies whether data is to be read or written to the memory,
etc.
Expansion Bus 28

 The functions of data bus, address bus and control bus, in the expansion
bus, are as follows
 The expansion bus connects external devices to the rest of computer. The
external devices like monitor, keyboard and printer connect to ports on the
back of computer.
 These ports are actually a part of the small circuit board or expansion card
that fits into an expansion slot on the motherboard. Expansion slots are easy
to recognize on the motherboard.
 Expansion slots make up a row of long plastic connectors at the back of the
computer with tiny copper ‘finger slots’ in a narrow channel that grab the
connectors on the expansion cards.
Expansion Bus 29

 Data Bus is used to transfer data between I/O devices and CPU. The
exchange of data between CPU and I/O devices is according to the
industry standard data buses. The most commonly used standard is
Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) which is a 32-bit bus
architecture. Some of the common bus technologies are
 Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus for hard disks, sound cards,
network cards and graphics cards,
 Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) bus for 3–D and full motion video,
 Universal Serial Bus (USB) to connect and disconnect different devices.
 Address Bus carries the addresses of different I/O devices to be accessed
like the hard disk, CD ROM, etc.
 Control Bus is used to carry read/write commands, status of I/O devices,
etc.
 External Ports 30
 The peripheral devices interact with the CPU of the computer via the bus.
The connections to the bus from the peripheral devices are made via the
ports and sockets provided at the sides of the computer.
 The different ports and sockets facilitate the connection of different devices
to the computer.
 Some of the standard port connections available on the outer sides of the
computer are port for mouse, keyboard, monitor, network, modem, and,
audio port, serial port, parallel port and USB port.
 The different ports are physically identifiable by their different shapes, size of
contact pins and number of pins.
Components of a Computer 31

Cabinet
 Computer Cabinet is the casing where the CPU resides.
 There are various component that is inside this computer cabinet.
Some of them are listed below:
 Motherboard:
 The computer is built up around a motherboard. The motherboard is the most
important component in the PC. It is a large Printed Circuit Board (PCB), having
many chips, connectors and other electronics mounted on it.
 The RAM, hard drive, disk drives and optical drives are all plugged into interfaces
on the motherboard. The motherboard contains the processor, memory chips,
interfaces and sockets, etc.
 The motherboard may be characterized by the form factor, chipset and type of
processor socket used.
 The Basic Input Output System (BIOS) and Complementary Metal-Oxide
Semiconductor (CMOS) are present on the motherboard.
Components of a Computer
32
Cabinet (Ports and Interface)
 Motherboard has a certain number of I/O sockets that are connected to the ports and interfaces
found on the rear side of a computer.
 We can connect external devices to the ports and interfaces, which get connected to the
computer’s motherboard.
 Serial Port— to connect old peripherals.
 Parallel Port— to connect old printers.
 USB Ports—to connect newer peripherals like cameras, scanners and printers to the computer. It uses a thin
wire to connect to the devices, and many devices can share that wire simultaneously.
 Firewire is another bus, used today mostly for video cameras and external hard drives.
 RJ45 connector (called LAN or Ethernet port) is used to connect the computer to a network. It corresponds to a
network card integrated into the motherboard.
 VGA connector for connecting a monitor. This connector interfaces with the built-in graphics card.
 Audio plugs (line-in, line-out and microphone), for connecting sound speakers and the microphone. This
connector interfaces with the built-in sound card.
 PS/2 port to connect mouse and keyboard into PC.
 SCSI port for connecting the hard disk drives and network connectors.
Components of a Computer 33
Cabinet (Expansion Slots)
 The expansion slots are located on the motherboard. The expansion cards
are inserted in the expansion slots. These cards give the computer new
features or increased performance. There are several types of slots:
 ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) slot—To connect modem and input devices.
 PCI (Peripheral Component Inter Connect) slot—To connect audio, video and
graphics . They are much faster than ISA cards.
 AGP (Accelerated Graphic Port) slot—A fast port for a graphics card.
 PCI (Peripheral Component Inter Connect) Express slot—Faster bus architecture
than AGP and PCI buses.
 PC Card—It is used in laptop computers. It includes Wi-Fi card, network card and
external modem.
Components of a Computer 34

Cabinet
 Memory Chip
 The RAM consists of chips on a small circuit board . Two types of memory chips—
 Single In-line Memory Module (SIMM) and Dual In-line Memory Module (DIMM)
are used in desktop computers.
 The CPU can retrieve information from DIMM chip at 64 bits compared to 32 bits
or 16 bits transfer with SIMM chips.
 DIMM chips are used in Pentium 4 onwards to increase the access speed.
Components of a Computer 35

Cabinet
 Storage device
 The disk drives are present inside the machine.
 The common disk drives in a machine are hard disk drive, floppy drive and CD
drive or DVD drive.
 High-storage devices like hard disk, floppy disk and CDs are inserted into the hard
disk drive, floppy drive and CD drive, respectively.
 These storage devices can store large amounts of data, permanently.
Components of a Computer 36

Cabinet
 Processor
 The processor or the CPU is the main component of the computer.
 Select a processor based on factors like its speed, performance, reliability and
motherboard support. Pentium Pro, Pentium 2 and Pentium 4 are some of the
processors.
Computer Memory(Introduction) 37

 The computer’s memory stores data, instructions required during the

processing of data, and output results.
 Storage may be required for a limited period of time, instantly, or, for an
extended period of time. Different types of memories, each having its own
unique features, are available for use in a computer.
 The cache memory, registers, and RAM are fast memories and store the
data and instructions temporarily during the processing of data and
instructions.
 The secondary memory like magnetic disks and optical disks have large
storage capacities and store the data and instructions permanently, but
are slow memory devices.
Memory Representation
 Binary digit or bit is the basic unit of memory. A bit is a single binary digit, i.e., 38
0 or 1. A bit is the smallest unit of representation of data in a computer.
 the data is handled by the computer as a combination of bits. A group of 8
bits form a byte. One byte is the smallest unit of data that is handled by the
computer.
 One byte can store 28 , i.e., 256 different combinations of bits, and thus can
be used to represent 256 different symbols. In a byte, the different
combinations of bits fall in the range 00000000 to 11111111.
 A group of bytes can be further combined to form a word. A word can be
a group of 2, 4 or 8 bytes.
Memory Hierarchy 39

 The memory is characterized on the basis of two key factors—capacity and

access time.
 Capacity is the amount of information (in bits) that a memory can store.
Access time is the time interval between the read/ write request and the
availability of data.
 The lesser the access time, the faster is the speed of memory.
 The computer uses a hierarchy of memory that is organized in a manner to
enable the fastest speed and largest capacity of memory
Memory Hierarchy 40
 Memory Hierarchy 41
 The internal memory and external memory are the two broad categories of
memory used in the computer. The internal memory consists of the CPU registers,
cache memory and primary memory.
 Internal Memory—The key features of internal memory are
 limited storage capacity
 temporary storage
 fast access
 high cost.
 Registers, cache memory, and primary memory constitute the internal memory.
 The primary memory is further of two kinds:- RAM and ROM.
 Registers are the fastest and the most expensive among all the memory types. The
registers are located inside the CPU, and are directly accessible by the CPU. The
speed of registers is between 1-2 ns (nanosecond).
Memory Hierarchy 42

 Cache memory is next in the hierarchy and is placed between the CPU and the
main memory. The speed of cache is between 2-10 ns. The cache size varies
between 32 KB to 4MB
 Any program or data that has to be executed must be brought into RAM from
the secondary memory. Primary memory is relatively slower than the cache
memory.
 Secondary Memory—The key features of secondary memory storage devices are
 very high storage capacity
 permanent storage (non-volatile), unless erased by user
 relatively slower access
 stores data and instructions that are not currently being used by CPU but may be
required later for processing
 cheapest among all memory
Memory Hierarchy 43

 The speed of magnetic disk is around 60ms.

CPU register 44

 Registers are very high-speed storage areas located inside the CPU.
 After CPU gets the data and instructions from the cache or RAM, the data
and instructions are moved to the registers for processing.
 Registers are manipulated directly by the control unit of CPU during
instruction execution. That is why registers are often referred to as the CPU’s
working memory.
 Since CPU uses registers for the processing of data, the number of registers
in a CPU and the size of each register affect the power and speed of a
CPU.
Cache Memory 45

 Cache memory is placed in between the CPU and the RAM. Cache
memory is a fast memory, faster than the RAM.
 When the CPU needs an instruction or data during processing, it first looks in
the cache. If the information is present in the cache, it is called a cache hit,
and the data or instruction is retrieved from the cache.
 If the information is not present in cache, then it is called a cache miss and
the information is then retrieved from RAM.
 The content of cache is decided by the cache controller (a circuit on the
motherboard). The most recently accessed information or instructions help
the controller to guess the RAM locations that may be accessed next.
 To get good system performance, the number of hits must far outnumber
the misses. The two main factors that affect the performance of cache are
its size and level (L1, L2 and L3).
Primary Memory 46

 Primary memory is the main memory of computer. It is a chip mounted on

the motherboard of computer. Primary memory is categorized into two
main types-
 Random Access Memory (RAM), and
 Read Only Memory (ROM)
 RAM is used for the temporary storage of input data, output data and
intermediate results
 the data once stored in ROM either cannot be changed or can only be
changed using some special operations
RAM 47

 RAM is used to store data and instructions during the operation of computer.
 The data and instructions that need to be operated upon by CPU are first brought to
RAM from the secondary storage devices like the hard disk.
 CPU interacts with RAM to get the data and instructions for processing.
 RAM loses information when the computer is powered off. It is a volatile
memory.
 When the power is turned on, again, all files that are required by the CPU are
loaded from the hard disk to RAM.
 Since RAM is a volatile memory, any information that needs to be saved for a
longer duration of time must not be stored in RAM.
 RAM can be read from and written to with the same speed.
 RAM affects the speed and power of a computer. More the RAM, the better it is.
RAM 48

 There are two categories of RAM, depending on the technology used to

construct a RAM
 Dynamic RAM (DRAM)
 Static RAM (SRAM)
DRAM 49

 DRAM is the most common type of memory chip. DRAM is mostly used as
main memory since it is small and cheap.
 It uses transistors and capacitors. The transistors are arranged in a matrix of
rows and columns. The capacitor holds the bit of information 0 and 1. The
transistor and capacitor are paired to make a memory cell.
 DRAM must be refreshed continually to store information.
 DRAM gets its name from the refresh operation that it requires to store the
information; otherwise it will lose what it is holding.
 The refresh operation occurs automatically thousands of times per second.
DRAM is slow because the refreshing takes time.
 Access speed of DRAM ranges from 50 to 150 ns.
SRAM 50

 SRAM chip is usually used in cache memory due to its high speed.
 SRAM uses multiple transistors (four to six), for each memory cell. It does not
have a capacitor in each cell.
 A SRAM memory cell has more parts so it takes more space on a chip than
DRAM cell.
 It does not need constant refreshing and therefore is faster than DRAM.
 SRAM is more expensive than DRAM, and it takes up more space.
 It stores information as long as it is supplied with power.
 SRAM are easier to use and very fast. The access speed of SRAM ranges
from 2– 10 nanosecond.
ROM 51

 ROM is a non-volatile primary memory. It does not lose its content when the
power is switched off.
 ROM has only read capability and no write capability. After the information
is stored in ROM, it is permanent and cannot be corrected.
 ROM comes programmed by the manufacturer. It stores standard
processing programs that permanently reside in the computer. ROM stores
the data needed for the start up of the computer.
 The instructions that are required for initializing the devices attached to a
computer are stored in ROM.
 The ROM memory chip stores the Basic Input Output System (BIOS). BIOS
provides the processor with the information required to boot the system.
ROM 52

 ROMs are of different kinds. They have evolved from the fixed read only
memory to the ones that can be programmed and re-programmed.
 They vary in the number of re-writes and the method used for the re-writing.
 Variants of ROM are:
 PROM(Programmable ROM): can be programmed with a special tool, but
after it has been programmed the contents cannot be changed. PROM
memories have thousands of fuses (or diodes).
 EPROM(Erasable Programmable ROM): can be programmed in a similar
way as PROM, but it can be erased by exposing it to ultra violet light and re-
programmed. EPROM chips have to be removed from the computer for re-
writing.
 EEPROM(Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM): memories can be
erased by electric charge and re-programmed. EEPROM chips do not have
to be removed from the computer for re-writing.
Flash Memory
 It is a kind of semiconductor-based non-volatile, rewritable computer 53
memory that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed.
 It is a specific type of EEPROM.
 Flash memories are high-speed memories, durable, and have low-energy
consumption. Since flash memory has no moving part, it is very shock-
resistant.
 Due to these features, flash memory is used in devices such as digital
camera, mobile phone, printer, laptop computer, and record and play
back sound devices, such as MP3 players.
Secondary Memory 54

 The secondary memory is also called the storage device of computer.

 The secondary memory stores much larger amounts of data and
information for extended periods of time.
 The data and instructions stored in secondary memory must be fetched into
RAM before processing is done by CPU.
 Magnetic tape drives, magnetic disk drives, optical disk drives and
magneto-optical disk drives are the different types of storage devices.
Access type of storage 55

 The information stored in storage devices can be accessed in two ways—

 Sequential access
 Direct access/Random Access
Sequential Access 56

 Sequential access means that computer must run through the data in
sequence, starting from the beginning, in order to locate a particular piece
of data.
 Magnetic tape is an example of sequential access device.
Direct Access/Random Access 57

 Direct access devices are the ones in which any piece of data can be
retrieved in a non-sequential manner by locating it using the data’s
address.
 It accesses the data directly, from a desired location.
 Magnetic disks and optical disks are examples of direct access devices.
 There is no predefined order in which one can read and write data from a
direct access device.
Magnetic Tape
 Magnetic tape is a plastic tape with magnetic coating .
58
 It is a storage medium on a large open reel or in a smaller cartridge or
cassette (like a music cassette).
 Magnetic tapes are cheaper storage media. They are durable, can be
written, erased, and re-written.
 Magnetic tapes are sequential access devices, which mean that the tape
needs to rewind or move forward to the location where the requested data
is positioned in the magnetic tape.
 Due to their sequential nature, magnetic tapes are not suitable for data files
that need to be revised or updated often.
 They are generally used to store back-up data that is not frequently used or
to transfer data from one system to other.
Magnetic Tape 59

 The features of magnetic tape are

 Inexpensive storage device
 Can store a large amount of data
 Easy to carry or transport
 Not suitable for random access data
 Slow access device
 Needs dust prevention, as dust can harm the tape
 Suitable for back-up storage or archiving
Magnetic Disk
 Magnetic disk is a direct access secondary storage device. 60
 It is a thin plastic or metallic circular plate coated with magnetic oxide and
encased in a protective cover.
 Data is stored on magnetic disks as magnetized spots.
 The presence of a magnetic spot represents the bit 1 and its absence
represents the bit 0.
 The surface of disk is divided into concentric circles known as tracks.
 The outermost track is numbered 0 and the innermost track is the last track.
Tracks are further divided into sectors.
 A sector is a pie slice that cuts across all tracks. The data on disk is stored in
sector.
 Sector is the smallest unit that can be read or written on a disk. A disk has
eight or more sectors per track
Magnetic Disk 61

 The features of magnetic disk are:

 Cheap storage device
 Can store a large amount of data
 Easy to carry or transport
 Suitable for frequently read/write data
 Fast access device
 More reliable storage device
 To be prevented from dust, as the read/write head flies over the disk. Any
dust particle in between can corrupt the disk.
Floppy Disk 62

 Floppy disk (FD) is a flat, round, single disk made of Mylar plastic and enclosed in
square plastic jacket
 Floppy Disk Drive (FDD) is the disk drive for floppy disk.
 The floppy disk is inserted into the floppy disk drive to read or write data to it.
 Floppy disk has a write-protect slide tab that prevents a user from writing to it.
 A floppy disk may be single-sided or double-sided disk, i.e., data can be read
and written on one and both sides of floppy disk, respectively.
 They are portable. They can be removed from the disk drive, carried or stored
separately.
Floppy Disk 63

 They are small and inexpensive.

 Floppy disks are slower to access than hard disk. They have less
storage capacity and are less expensive than hard disk.
 They come in two basic sizes—5-¼ inch and 3-½ inch.
 The 5-¼ inch disk came around 1987. It can store 360 KB to 1.2 MB of
data.
 The 3-½ inch disk has capacity of 400 KB to 1.44 MB. It usually
contains 40 tracks and 18 sectors per track and can store 512 bytes
per sector.
Optical Disk
 Optical disk is a flat and circular disk which is coated with reflective plastic material 64
that can be altered by laser light. Optical disk does not use magnetism.
 The bits 1 and 0 are stored as spots that are relatively bright and light, respectively.
 An optical disk consists of a single spiral track that starts from the edge to the center
of disk.
 Due to its spiral shape, it can access large amount of data sequentially, for example
music and video.
 The random access on optical disk is slower than that of magnetic disk, due to its
spiral shape.
 The tracks on optical disk are further divided into sectors which are of same length.
Thus, the sectors near the center of disk wrap around the disk longer than the sectors
on the edges of disk.
 Reading the disk thus requires spinning the disk faster when reading near the center
and slower when reading near the edge of disk.
 Optical disks are generally slower than hard disks.
CD-ROM
 Originally, Compact Disk (CD) was a popular medium for storing music. Now, it is used 65
in computers to store data and is called Compact Disk-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM).
 As the name suggests, CD-ROM is an optical disk that can only be read and not
written on. CD-ROM is written on by the manufacturer of the CD-ROM using the laser
light.
 A CD-ROM drive reads data from the compact disk. Data is stored as pits
(depressions) and lands (flat area) on CD-ROM disk. When the laser light is focused on
the disk, the pits scatter the light (interpreted as 0) and the lands reflect the light to a
sensor (interpreted as 1).
 As CD-ROM is read only, no changes can be made into the data contained in it.
 Since there is no head touching the disk, but a laser light, CD-ROM does not get worn
out easily.
 The storage density of CD-ROM is very high and cost is low as compared to floppy disk
and hard disk.
 Access time of CD-ROM is less. CD-ROM drives can read data at 150Kbps. They come
in multiples of this speed like—2x, 4x, 52x, 75x, etc.
 It is a commonly used medium for distributing software and large data.
 Magneto-optical Disk 66
 A magneto-optical disk is a rewritable disk that makes use of both magnetic
disk and optical technologies.
 Magneto-optical disks use laser beam to read data and magnetic field to write
data to disk.
 These are optical disks where data can be written, erased and re-written.
 They are expensive and outdated.
 They were used during the mid 1990s.
 One of the most well-known examples of a magneto-optical disk is the Sony
MiniDisc.
Input-output unit 67

 A computer interacts with the external environment via the input-output

(I/O) devices attached to it.
 The I/O devices that are attached, externally, to the computer machine
are also called peripheral devices.
 An I/O unit is a component of computer. The I/O unit is composed of two
parts:-input unit and output unit.
 The input unit is responsible for providing input to the computer and the
output unit is for receiving output from the computer
Input Unit 68

 The input unit gets the data and programs from various input devices and
makes them available for processing to other units of the computer.
 The input data is provided through input devices, such as:-keyboard,
mouse, trackball, joystick, scanning images, voice recording, video
recording, etc.
 All input devices must translate the input data into a form that is
understandable by the computer, i.e., in machine readable form.
 The transformation of the input data to machine readable form is done by
the input interface of input device.
Output Unit 69

 The output unit gets the processed data from the computer and sends it to
output devices to make them available to the user of computer.
 The output data is provided through output devices like display screen,
printer, plotter and speaker.
 The processed data sent to the output device is in a machine
understandable form.
 This processed data is converted to human readable form by the output
interface of output device.
Input Devices
 Input devices allow users and other applications to input data into the computer, for
70
processing.
 The data input to a computer can be in the form of text, audio, video, etc. users
working in an office.
 The data is entered manually by the user or with minimal user intervention.
 Input devices are classified as follows
 Human data entry devices
 Keyboard
 Pointing devices—mouse, trackball, joystick, digitizing tablet
 Pick devices—light pen, touch screen
 Source data entry devices
 Audio input—speech recognition
 Video input—digital camera
 Scanner—hand-held scanner, flat-bed scanner
 Optical Scanner—OCR, OMR, MICR, barcode reader
Human Data Entry Device- 71

Keyboard
 Keyboard is a common input device. It is provided along with the
computer, and is easy to use.
 It is used for entering the text data. For inputting the data, the user types the
data using the keyboard.
 When the data is being typed, the display monitor displays the typed data.
 Cursor is a vertical line, an underscore, blinking line, etc. Cursor moves with
each typed character.
 The position of cursor indicates the location on monitor where the typed-in
character will be displayed.
Keyboard 72

 The design of a keyboard is similar to a standard typewriter. The modern

keyboards are QWERTY keyboard (Q, W, E, R, T, Y are the sequence of keys
in top row of letters).
 Standard keyboard contains 101 keys which are arranged in the same
order as a typewriter. The keyboard has five sections (1) Typing keys (1, 2,
3…, A, B, C…), (2) Numeric keypad (numeric keys on right side), (3) Function
keys (F1, F2…. on top side), (4) Control keys (cursor keys, ctrl, alt.…), and (5)
Special-purpose keys (Enter, shift, spacebar…).
 Some keyboards have 110 keys, where the extra keys are designed to work
with the Windows operating system.
Keyboard 73

 When a key is pressed, keyboard interacts with a keyboard controller and

keyboard buffer.
 The keyboard controller stores the code of pressed key in keyboard buffer
and informs the computer software that an action has happened on the
keyboard.
 The computer software checks and reads the keyboard buffer and passes
the code of pressed character to the system software.
 Due to a time gap between pressing of a key on keyboard and reading by
the system software, keyboard buffer is designed to store many keystrokes
together.
Pointing Device 74

 Pointing devices are used for providing the input to computer by moving
the device to point to a location on computer monitor.
 The input data is not typed; instead, the data is entered by moving the
pointing device.
 The cursor on the computer monitor moves with the moving pointing
device.
 Operations like move, click and drag can be performed using the pointing
devices.
 Mouse, trackball, joystick and digitizing tablet are some of the common
pointing devices.
Mouse 75

 It is the most common pointing input device. The data is entered by

pointing the mouse to a location on the computer screen.
 The mouse may also be used to position the cursor on screen, move an
object by dragging, or select an object by clicking.
 The key benefit of using a mouse is that the cursor moves with the mouse.
So, the cursor can be positioned at any location on the screen by simply
moving the mouse.
 It provides an easy way to select and choose commands from menus,
dialog boxes, icons, etc.
 Mouse is used extensively, while working with graphics elements such as
line, curve, shapes, et
 Mouse 76
 Mouse is a small hand-held device having two or three buttons on its upper side.
 In addition to the buttons, mouse also has a small wheel between the buttons.
 The wheel of the mouse is used for the up and down movement, for example,
scrolling a long document. A mouse is classified as physical mouse or optical
mouse.
 Physical Mouse
 It has a rubber ball on the bottom side that protrudes when the mouse is moved.
 It requires a smooth, dust free surface, such as a mouse pad, on which it is rolled.
 Optical Mouse
 It uses a Light Emitting Diode (LED) and a sensor to detect the movement of mouse.
 Optical mouse requires an opaque flat surface underneath it.
 Optical mouse was introduced by Microsoft in 1999.
 Optical mouse is better than physical mouse as there is no moving part that can cause
wear and tear, and dirt cannot get inside it.
Mouse 77

 In a physical mouse, rollers and sensors are used to sense the direction and
rate of movement of mouse.
 When the ball of mouse moves, the rollers sense the horizontal and vertical
movement and sensors sense the speed of movement.
 This information is passed to computer via the mouse chord. When an
optical mouse is moved, a beam of light is reflected from its underside.
 These pulses of light determine the direction and rate of movement. This
information is sent to computer via the mouse chord
 Trackball 78

 Trackball is a device that is a variant of the mouse but has the functionality
of mouse.
 It is easy to use and takes less space than a mouse. Trackball is generally
built in laptops since there is no space for the mouse to move on the lap.
 Trackballs come in various sizes small and big.
 Trackball looks like an upside-down mouse. Instead of moving the whole
device to move the cursor on computer screen, trackball requires the ball
to be rotated manually with a finger.
 The trackball device remains stationary.
 The cursor on the computer screen moves in the direction in which the ball
is moved.
 The buttons on trackball are used in the same way as mouse buttons.
 Joystick 79
 Joystick is a device which is commonly used for playing video games.
 Joystick is mainly used to control the speed of the cursor and is thus popular
in games involving speed like racing and flying games.
 The direction of push of the stick and the amount of deflection determines
the change in position and the change in speed, respectively.
 It is a stick with its base attached to a flexible rubber sheath inside a plastic
cover.
 The plastic cover contains the circuit that detects the movement of stick
and sends the information to computer.
 The position of the stick movement is given by the x and y coordinates of
the stick.
Digitizing Tablet
 It is an input device used primarily to input drawings, sketches, etc. 80
 Digitizing tablet is used for Computer Aided Design (CAD) for the design of buildings, automotive
designs, and designing of maps, etc.
 Digitizing tablet consists of two parts electronic tablet and pen.
 The electronic tablet is a flat bed tablet. The pen looks like a ball pen but has an electronic head.
 The pen in moved on the tablet. Each position on the tablet corresponds to a fixed position on the
screen.
 Drawings can be made on the tablet using a pen, and is provided as input to computer, where, a
location on the tablet corresponds to a specific location on the screen.
 The tablet contains circuit that can detect the movement of pen on the tablet, convert the
movements into digital signals and send the digital signal to the computer.
Pick Devices 81

 Pick devices are used for providing input to the computer by pointing to a
location on the computer monitor.
 The input data is not typed, the data is entered by pointing the pick device
directly on the computer screen.
 Light pen and touch screen are some common pick devices.
 Light Pen 82

 It is a light sensitive pen-like input device and is used to select objects

directly on the computer screen.
 It is used for making drawing, graphics and for menu selection.
 Figures and drawings can be made by moving the pen on computer
screen.
 The pen contains a photocell in a small tube.
 When the pen is moved on the screen, light from the screen at the location
of pen causes the photocell to respond.
 The electric response is transmitted to the computer that can identify the
position on screen at which the light pen is pointing.
Touchscreen 83

 It is an input device that accepts input when the user places a fingertip on
the computer screen.
 The computer selects the option from the menu of screen to which the
finger points.
 Touch screen are generally used in applications like Automated Teller
Machine (ATM), public information computers like hospitals, airline
reservation, railway reservation, supermarkets, etc.
 Touch screen consists of a clear glass panel that is placed over the view
area of computer screen.
 In addition to the glass panel with sensors, it has a device driver, and a
controller that translates the information captured by the glass panel
sensors to a form that the computer can understand.
 Touchscreen 84
 Touch screens have an infrared beam that criss-cross the surface of screen.
 When a fingertip is touched on the screen, the beam is broken, and the
location is recorded.
 Some touch screens have ultrasonic acoustic waves that cross the surface
of screen.
 When a fingertip is touched on the screen, the wave is interrupted, and the
location is recorded.
 The recorded location is sent to the computer via the controller of touch
screen, in a form that the computer can understand.
Source Data Entry Devices-Audio
85
Input Device
 Audio input can be provided to the computer using human voice or speech.
 Audio input to the computer can be used for different purposes.
 It can be used for making telephone calls, for audio and video conferencing over
Internet, to record voice, to create audio files and embed these files to be sent over e-
mail, or, to translate spoken words into text, etc.
 Audio input devices like a microphone is used to input a person’s voice into the
computer. A sound card translates analog audio signals from microphone into digital
codes that the computer can store and process.
 Sound card also translates back the digital sound into analog signals that can be sent to
the speakers.
 Translating spoken words into text is also known as speech recognition or voice
recognition.
 The audio input along with the software for voice recognition forms the speech
recognition system or voice recognition system.
 Source Data Entry Devices-Audio 86

Input Device
 The computer can be operated using voice commands.
 The user can dictate the commands to the computer, instead of typing
them.
 The computer has to be trained to recognize the voice of user using the
speech patterns and pronunciation of words.
 The system thus adapts to the voice of user. Speech recognition systems are
costly and difficult to develop.
 They are generally used by people who have difficulty in typing, people
with disabilities or by corporate world for dictation.
 Audio input can be recorded on an mp3 recorder and provided as an
input to computer.
Video input devices-Digital 87

Camera and Video Camera

 Video Camera
 Video input is provided to the computer using video camera and digital camera
 Video camera can capture full motion video images.
 The images are digitized and can be compressed and stored in the computer
disk. Webcam is a common video camera device.
 It is placed on the computer above the screen to capture the images of the user
who is working on the computer.
 A video capture card allows the user to connect video devices like camcorders
to the computer.
 Video input devices-Digital 88

Camera and Video Camera

 Digital Camera
 Digital camera works like video camera but can capture still images.
 The digital camera digitizes images, compresses them and stores them on a
memory card like flash memory.
 The information from the digital camera can be brought into the computer and
stored.
 The video files can be edited using software like VLC media player.
 Computer vision is an area of computer science that deals with images.
 Computer vision has applications in areas like robotics and industrial processing.
Optical Input Device 89

 Optical input devices allow computers to use light as a source of input.

 Scanner is an example of optical input device.
 Other common optical input devices are magnetic ink character reader
used for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR), optical mark reader
used for Optical Mark Recognition (OMR), optical character reader for
Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Barcode Reader.
Scanner 90
 Scanner is an input device that accepts paper document as an input.
 Scanner is used to input data directly into the computer from the source
document without copying and typing the data.
 The input data to be scanned can be a picture, a text or a mark on a paper.
 It is an optical input device and uses light as an input source to convert an
image into an electronic form that can be stored on the computer.
 Scanner accepts the source paper document, scans the document and
translates it into a bitmap image to be stored on the computer.
 The denser the bitmap, the higher is the resolution of the image.
 The quality of scan increases with the increase in resolution.
 Scanners come with utility software that allow the stored scanned documents
to be edited, manipulated and printed.
 Hand-held scanner and flat-bed scanner are the two common types of
scanners.
 Handheld Scanner 91
 Hand-held Scanners are portable and are placed over the document to
be scanned.
 They consist of light emitting diodes.
 The scanned documents are converted and stored as an image in the
computer memory.
 Hand-held scanners have to be moved at a constant speed over the
document to be scanned, to get good quality scans.
 They are preferably used for low volume of documents, small pictures or
photos.
 They are difficult to use if there is a need to scan a full page document.
 Some of the documents that are primarily scanned using hand-held
scanners are price tags, label and ISBN number on books.
Flatbed Scanner 92

 Flat-bed Scanners provide high quality scan in a single pass.

 It is a box shaped machine similar to a photocopy machine and has a glass
top and a lid that covers the glass.
 The document to be scanned is placed on the glass top, which activates
the light beam beneath the glass top and starts the scan from left to right.
 They are largely used to scan full page documents.
OCR(Optical Character Recognition)
93
 OCR is a technique for the scanning of a printed page, translating it, and
then using the OCR software to recognize the image as ASCII text that is
editable.
 OCR uses optical character reader for recognition. The optical character
reader stores the scanned image as bitmap image which is a grid of dots.
 We cannot edit the text that has been scanned. To edit the scanned text,
you need OCR software.
 The OCR software translates the array of dots into text that the computer
can interpret as words and letters.
 To recognize the words and letters of text, the OCR software compares the
pattern on the scanned image with the patterns stored inside the
computer. The text files generated via OCR can be stored in different
formats.

Fig:OCR system
MICR(Magnetic Ink Character
94
Recognition)
 MICR is used in banks to process large volumes of cheques.
 It is used for recognizing the magnetic encoding numbers printed at the bottom of a cheque. The
numbers on the cheque are human readable, and are printed using an ink which contains iron particles.
 These numbers are magnetized. MICR uses magnetic ink character reader for character recognition.
 When a cheque is passed through Magnetic Ink Character Reader, the magnetic field causes the read
head to recognize the characters or numbers of cheque. The readers are generally used in banks to
process the cheques.
 The numbers in the bottom of the cheque include the bank number, branch number and cheque
number. The reading speed of MICR is faster than OCR.
Optical Mark Recognition(OMR) 95

 OMR is used to detect marks on a paper. The marks are recognized by their
darkness. OMR uses an optical mark reader to read the marks.
 The OMR reader scans the forms, detects the mark that is positioned
correctly on the paper and is darker than the surrounding paper, and
passes this information to the computer for processing by application
software.
 For this, it uses a beam of light that is reflected on the paper with marks, to
capture presence and absence of marks.
 The optical mark reader detects the presence of mark by measuring the
reflected light.
 The pattern of marks is interpreted and stored in the computer.
 OMR is widely used to read answers of objective type tests, where the
student marks an answer by darkening a particular circle using a pencil.
OMR is also used to read forms, questionnaires, order forms, etc.
OMR 96
 Barcode Reader 97
 Barcodes are adjacent vertical lines of different width that are machine
readable. Goods available at supermarkets, books, etc. use barcode for
identification.
 Barcodes are read using reflective light by barcode readers.
 This information is input to the computer which interprets the code using the
spacing and thickness of bars.
 Hand-held barcode readers are generally used in departmental stores to
read the labels, and in libraries to read labels on books.
 Barcode readers are fast and accurate. They enable faster service to the
customer and are also used to determine the items being sold, number of
each item sold or to retrieve the price of item.
Output Devices
 Output devices provide output to the user, which is generated after processing the 98
input data.
 The processed data, presented to the user via the output devices could be text,
graphics, audio or video.
 The output could be on a paper or on a film in a tangible form, or, in an intangible form
as audio, video and electronic form. Output devices are classified as follows:
 Hard Copy Devices
 Printer
 Plotter
 Computer Output on Microfilm (microfiche)
 Soft Copy Devices
 Monitor
 Visual Display Terminal
 Video Output
 Audio Response
Hard Copy Devices 99

 The output obtained in a tangible form on a paper or any surface is called

hard copy output.
 The hard copy can be stored permanently and is portable. The hard copy
output can be read or used without a computer.
 The devices that generate hard copy output are called hard copy devices.
 Printer, plotter and microfiche are common hard copy output devices.
Printer 100

 A printer prints the output information from the computer onto a paper.
 Printers are generally used to print textual information, but nowadays
printers also print graphical information.
 The print quality (sharpness and clarity of print) of the printer is determined
by the resolution of the printer. Resolution is measured in dots per inch (dpi).
 Printers with a high resolution (more dpi) provide better quality output.
Different kinds of printers are available for different types of applications.
 Printers are classified into two categories
 Impact Printer
 Non-Impact Printer
Impact Printer 101

 Impact printers use the typewriter approach of physically striking a typeface

against the paper and inked ribbon.
 Impact printers can print a character or an entire line at a time.
 Impact printers are low-cost printers useful for bulk printing.
 Dot matrix printers, daisy wheel printers and drum printers are examples of
impact printers.
 Sound produced by an impact printer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEJYNtI2ul4
 Dot-matrix Printer 102
 Dot Matrix Printers print one character at a time.
 The speed of dot matrix printer lies between 200 and 600 characters per
second (cps) and their resolution ranges from 72 to 360 dpi(dots per inch).
 Dot matrix printers normally come in two sizes—80 column printer and 132
column printer.
 Dot matrix printers can print alphanumeric characters, special characters,
charts and graphs.
 They can print only in black and white. Some dot matrix printers can print in
both directions - left to right and right to left.
 Dot matrix printers are commonly used for printing in applications like payroll
and accounting.
 Daisy Wheel Printer 103
 Daisy Wheel Printers print one character at a time.
 They produce letter quality document which is better than a document
printed by a dot matrix printer.
 The speed of daisy wheel printers is about 100 cps.
 The print head of the printer is like a daisy flower, hence the name.
 These printers are slow, can only print text (not graphics), and are costly in
comparison to dot matrix printers.
 Daisy wheel printers are used where high quality printing is needed and no
graphics is needed.
Daisy Wheel Printer
104
Drum Printer 105
 Drum Printers are line printers.
 They are expensive and faster than character printers but produce a low
quality output. They can print 200–2500 lines per minute.
 Drum printers are generally used for voluminous print outputs.
Non-impact Printer 106

 Non-Impact Printers do not hit or impact a ribbon to print. They use electro-
static chemicals and ink-jet technologies.
 Non-impact printers are faster and quieter than impact printers.
 They produce high quality output and can be used for printing text and
graphics both in black and white, and color.
 Ink-jet printers and laser printers are non-impact printers.
 Ink-jet Printer 107
 Ink-jet Printers spray ink drops directly on the paper like a jet.
 Their resolution is more than 500 dpi.
 They produce high quality graphics and text.
 Ink-jet printers are commonly found in homes and offices.
Laser Printer
 Laser Printers provide highest quality of text and graphics 108
printing.
 Laser printers process and store the entire page before
printing and are also known as page printers.
 The laser printer can print 5–24 pages of text per minute and
their resolution ranges from 400 to 1200 dpi.
 They are faster and expensive than impact printers.
 Laser printers are used in applications requiring high quality
voluminous printing.
Plotter
 A plotter is used for vector graphics output to draw graphs, maps, 109
blueprints of ships, buildings, etc.
 Plotters use pens of different colors (cyan, magenta, yellow and
black) for drawing.
 Plotters draw continuous and accurate lines, in contrast to printers
where a line is drawn as closely spaced dots.
 Plotter is a slow output device and is expensive.
 Plotters are of two kinds—drum plotter and flatbed plotter.
 Plotters are mainly used for drawings in AUTOCAD (computer
assisted drafting), Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer
Aided Manufacturing (CAM) applications.
Computer output in microfilm
 A microfilm is in a fiche or roll format, and is used to record 110
computer output directly from the computer tape or cartridge.
 Computer Output on Microfilm (COM) is a high speed and low
cost process.
 It can produce data in microfilm form at a much faster speed from
that of a paper printer.
 The standard roll film is 16 mm wide with a film image that is 1/24 of
the original document. The copy of the image on microfilm retains
its original clarity.
 Microfilm can be indexed to facilitate retrieving information from
it.
 For reading images stored on microfilm, a microfilm reader is used.
 A screen is used for viewing the enlarged images. COM is suited
for storing large amounts of data for manuals and archive records
for long periods of time that have to be referenced occasionally.
 COM is used for storing output in banking and insurance
applications, medical X rays, etc.
Soft Copy output devices 111

 The output obtained in an intangible form on a visual display, audio unit or

video unit is called soft copy output.
 The soft copy allows corrections to be made, can be stored, and, can be
sent via E– to other users. The soft copy output requires a computer to be
read or used.
 The devices that generate soft copy output are called soft copy devices.
 Visual output devices like computer monitor, visual display terminal, video
system and audio response system are common soft copy output devices.
Monitor 112

 Monitor is a common output device. The monitor is provided along with the
computer, to view the displayed output.
 A monitor is of two kinds - monochrome display monitor and color display
monitor.
 A monochrome display monitor uses only one color to display text and color
display monitor can display 256 colors at one time.
 The number of colors displayed by a color monitor varies with the kind of
color adapter attached to it—CGA, EGA, VGA, XGA and SVGA.
 Monitors are available in various sizes like 14, 15, 17, 19 and 21 inches.
 Monitor 113
 An image on the monitor is created by a configuration of dots, also known
as pixels. The clarity of image on the computer screen depends on three
factors
 Resolution of Screen:-the number of pixels in horizontal and vertical
direction. More the number of pixels, the sharper is the image. The common
resolution of computer screen is 800x600 and 1024x768
 Dot Pitch:-the diagonal distance between two colored pixels on a display
screen, and
 Refresh Rate:-the number of times per second the pixels are recharged so Fig: LED monitor
that their glow remains bright.

Fig: CRT monitor

 Visual Display Terminal 114
 A monitor and keyboard together are known as Visual Display Terminal
(VDT).
 A keyboard is used to input data and monitor is used to display the output
from the computer.
 The monitor is connected to the computer by a cable. Terminals are
categorized as dumb, smart and intelligent terminals.
 The dumb terminals do not have processing and programming capabilities.
 Smart terminals have built-in processing capability but do not have its own
storage capacity.
 Intelligent terminals have both built-in processing and storage capacity.
Video Output 115

 Screen image projector or data projector is an output device that displays

information from the computer onto a large white screen.
 The projector is mainly used to display visual output to a large gathering of
people required for the purposes of teaching, training, meetings,
conference presentations, etc.
Audio Response 116
 A complete sound system consists of sound card, microphone, speaker and the
appropriate software. In addition to recording and playing the sound, the
software allows editing of sound, like cutting, copy, amplification and creation of
vibrant sound effects.
 Audio response provides audio output from the computer. Audio output device
like speakers, headset or headphone is used for audio output sound from
computer.
 The signals are sent to the speakers via the sound card that translates the digital
sound back into analog signals.
 The audio response from the computer may be generated by synthesizing the
input human speech to give audio output, or may be a result of a set of rules that
are used to create artificial speech.
 Audio output is commonly used for customer service in airlines, banks, etc. It is
also used in video conferences, surveys, etc. Audio response is used by visually
impaired to read information from the screen. For speech impaired people,
audio response helps them to communicate with other people.
Input/Output Port 117

 The peripheral devices can be connected to computer in several ways.

 Devices such as network adapters and sound cards are connected to
expansion slots inside the computer.
 Printers and scanners are connected to ports on the backside of the
computer. Also in a portable computer, the PC Card connects to the PC
Card slot on it.
 The I/O ports are the external interfaces that are used to connect input and
output devices like printer, modem and joystick to the computer.
 The I/O devices are connected to the computer via the serial and parallel
ports, Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, Firewire port, etc.
 Input/Output Port 118

 Parallel Port :
 A parallel port is an interface for connecting eight or more data wires.
 The data flows through the eight wires simultaneously.
 They can transmit eight bits of data in parallel. As a result, parallel ports provide high
speed data transmission.
 Parallel port is used to connect printer to the computer.
 Serial Port:
 A serial port transmits one bit of data through a single wire.
 Since data is transmitted serially as single bits, serial ports provide slow speed data
transmission. Serial port is used to connect external modems, plotters, barcode reader ,
etc.
 Input/Output Port 119
 USB Port:
 USB is a common and popular external port available with computers. Normally, two to
four USB ports are provided on a PC.
 USB allows different devices to be connected to the computer without requiring re-boot
of the computer.
 USB also has the plug and play feature which allows devices ready to be run simply by
plugging them to the USB port.
 A single USB port can support connection of up to 127 devices.
 Firewire (IEEE 1394):
 It is used to connect audio and video multimedia devices like video camera.
 It is an expensive technology and is used for large data movement. Hard disk drive and
new DVD drives connect through firewire.
 It has data transfer rate of up to 400 MB/sec. In addition to the above ports, other ports
also exist like Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) port to connect musical
instruments like synthesizers and drum machines, PC expansion boards, and PC card
and many more
Input/Output Port 120
I/O system 121

 The working of I/O system combines I/O hardware and I/O software.
 The I/O hardware includes ports, buses and device controllers for different
devices, and I/O devices.
 The I/O software is the device driver software that may be embedded with
operating system or comes with each device. The working of I/O system is
described as follows
 I/O Devices:
 They are attached to computer via the ports of computer.
 There are many standard ports available on the backside of the computer case
like serial port and parallel port.
 If one or more devices use a common set of wires, it is called a bus. For example,
PCI bus, PCI Express bus, etc.
I/O system
 Device Controller: 122
 It operates on a bus, a port or a device. It controls the signals on the wires of port or bus.
 The controllers have one or more registers for data and control signals.
 Controller may be simple like a serial port controller for a serial port, or, complex like a
SCSI controller. Some devices have their own built-in controllers.
 Device Driver:
 It is software via which the operating system communicates with the device controllers.
 Each device has its own device driver, and a device controller which is specific to the
device.
 The device drivers hide the differences among the different device controller and
present a uniform interface to the operating system.
 Application programs:
 It is used an I/O device by issuing commands and exchanging data with the device
driver. The device driver provides correct commands to the controller, interprets the
controller register, and transfers data to and from device controller registers as required
for the correct device operation.