LECTURE THREE

COMPUTER ORGANISATION
 BASIC COMPUTER OPERATIONS

A computer performs basically five major

operations or functions irrespective of their
size and make.
These are
It accepts data or instructions by way of input
It stores data
It can process data as required by the user
 It gives results in the form of output and
It controls all operations inside a computer.
BASIC COMPUTER OPERATIONS DIAGRAM
BASIC COMPUTER OPERATIONS Cont …..
Input:
 This is the process of entering data and programs in to
the computer system.
 You should know that computer is an electronic
machine like any other machine which takes as inputs
raw data and performs some processing giving out
processed data.
 Therefore, the input unit takes data from us to the
computer in an organized manner for processing.
Storage:
The storage unit performs the following major
functions:
 All data and instructions are stored here before and
after processing.
 Intermediate results of processing are also stored here.
BASIC COMPUTER OPERATIONS Cont …..
 Processing:
 The task of performing operations like arithmetic and logical operations is
called processing.
 The Central Processing Unit (CPU) takes data and instructions from the
storage unit and makes all sorts of calculations based on the instructions
given and the type of data provided.
 It is then sent back to the storage unit.
 Output:
 This is the process of producing results from the data for getting useful
information.
 Similarly the output produced by the computer after processing must also
be kept somewhere inside the computer before being given to you in
human readable form.
 Again the output is also stored inside the computer for further processing.
 Control:
 The manner how instructions are executed and the above operations are
performed. Controlling of all operations like input, processing and output
are performed by control unit. It takes care of step by step processing of
all operations in side the computer
Physical Components
The physical components that make the
computer work. These are
 Central Processing Unit (CPU)
 Computer Memory (RAM and ROM)
 Data bus
 Ports
 Motherboard
 Hard disk
 Output Devices
 Input Devices
All these components are inter-connected for
the personal computer to work.
 FUNCTIONAL UNITS

The computer system is divided into three

separate units for its operation.
They are
Arithmetic Logical Unit
Control Unit And
Registry.
FUNCTIONAL UNITS Cont ….
 Arithmetic Logical Unit (ALU)
 The major operations performed by the ALU are addition, subtraction,
multiplication, division, logic and comparison.
 Data is transferred to ALU from storage unit when required.
 After processing the output is returned back to storage unit for further
processing or getting stored.
 Control Unit (CU)
 Control Unit acts like the supervisor seeing that things are done in
proper fashion.
 The control unit determines the sequence in which computer programs
and instructions are executed.
 It also acts as a switch board operator when several users access the
computer simultaneously.
 Thereby it coordinates the activities of computer’s peripheral
equipment as they perform the input and output. Therefore it is the
manager of all operations mentioned in the previous section.
 Registers:
 The CPU processes data and instructions with high speed, there is also
movement of data between various units of computer.
 It is necessary to transfer the processed data with high speed.
 They are not part of the main memory but they store data or
information temporarily and pass it on as directed by the control unit.
MEMORY SYSTEM IN A COMPUTER
 There are two kinds of computer memory:
 Primary memory
 Secondary memory.
Primary memory is accessible directly by the
processing unit.
 RAM is an example of primary memory.
 As soon as the computer is switched off the contents of the
primary memory is lost.
 You can store and retrieve data much faster with primary
memory compared to secondary memory.
 Secondary memory such as floppy disks, magnetic disk,
etc., is located outside the computer.
 Primary memory is more expensive than secondary memory.
 Because of this the size of primary memory is less than that of
secondary memory.
 Computer memory is used to store two things:
 Instructions to execute a program
 Data.
 Memory Forms
 The following terms related to memory of a computer are
discussed below:
 Random Access Memory (RAM):
 The storage of data and instructions inside the primary
storage is temporary.
 It disappears from RAM as soon as the power to the
computer is switched off.
 The memories, which loose their content on failure of
power supply, are known as volatile memories .
 So now we can say that RAM is volatile memory.
 Memory Forms cont…
 Read Only Memory (ROM):
 There is another memory in computer, which is called Read Only
Memory (ROM).
 Again it is the ICs inside the PC that form the ROM.
 The storage of program and data in the ROM is permanent.
 The ROM stores some standard processing programs supplied by
the manufacturers to operate the personal computer.
 The ROM can only be read by the CPU but it cannot be changed.
 The basic input/output program is stored in the ROM that
examines and initializes various equipment attached to the PC
when the switch is made ON.
 The memories, which do not loose their content on failure of
power supply, are known as non-volatile memories. ROM is non-
volatile memory.
 Memory Forms
 PROM:
 There is another type of primary memory in computer,
which is called Programmable Read Only Memory
(PROM).
 You know that it is not possible to modify or erase
programs stored in ROM, but it is possible for you to
store your program in PROM chip.
 Once the programmed are written it cannot be changed
and remain intact even if power is switched off.
 Therefore programs or instructions written in PROM or
ROM cannot be erased or changed.
 Memory Forms cont …
 EPROM:
 This stands for Erasable Programmable Read Only
Memory, which over come the problem of PROM &
ROM.
 EPROM chip can be programmed time and again by
erasing the information stored earlier in it.
 Information stored in EPROM exposing the chip for
some time ultraviolet light and it erases chip is
reprogrammed using a special programming facility.
 When the EPROM is in use information can only be read.
SECONDARY STORAGE
The storage capacity of the main memory is also very
limited. Often it is necessary to store hundreds of
millions of bytes of data for the CPU to process.
Therefore additional memory is required in all the
computer systems.
This memory is called auxiliary memory or
secondary storage. In this type of memory the cost
per bit of storage is low. However, the operating
speed is slower than that of the primary storage.
Huge volume of data are stored here on permanent
basis and transferred to the primary storage as and
when required.
Most widely used secondary storage devices are
magnetic tapes and magnetic disk.
 SECONDARY STORAGE Cont ….
 Magnetic Tape:
 Magnetic tapes are used for large computers like
mainframe computers where large volume of data is
stored for a longer time.
 In PC also you can use tapes in the form of cassettes.
The cost of storing data in tapes is inexpensive.
 Tapes consist of magnetic materials that store data
permanently.
 The deck is connected to the central processor and
information is fed into or read from the tape through the
processor.
 It similar to cassette tape recorder.
 Secondary Storage
 Advantages of Magnetic Tape:
 Compact:
 A 10-inch diameter reel of tape is 2400 feet long and is
able to hold 800, 1600 or 6250 characters in each inch of
its length. The maximum capacity of such tape is 180
million characters. Thus data are stored much more
compactly on tape.
 Economical:
 The cost of storing characters is very less as compared to
other storage devices.
 Fast:
 Copying of data is easier and fast.
 Long term Storage and Re-usability:
 Magnetic tapes can be used for long term storage and a
tape can be used repeatedly with out loss of data.
SECONDARY STORAGE Cont ….
 Magnetic Disk:
 You might have seen the gramophone record, which is
circular like a disk and coated with magnetic material.
 Magnetic disks used in computer are made on the same
principle. It rotates with very high speed inside the
computer drive. Data is stored on both the surface of the
disk.
 Magnetic disks are most popular for direct access
storage device. Each disk consists of a number of
invisible concentric circles called tracks.
 Information is recorded on tracks of a disk surface in the
form of tiny magnetic spots.
 The information stored in a disk can be read many times
without affecting the stored data.
 So the reading operation is non-destructive. But if you
want to write a new data, then the existing data is
erased from the disk and new data is recorded.
 SECONDARY STORAGE Cont ….
 Floppy Disk:
 It is similar to magnetic disk discussed above.
 They are 5.25 inch or 3.5 inch in diameter.
 They come in single or double density and recorded on
one or both surface of the diskette.
 The capacity of a 5.25-inch floppy is 1.2 mega bytes
whereas for 3.5 inch floppy it is 1.44 mega bytes.
 It is cheaper than any other storage devices and is
portable.
 The floppy is a low cost device particularly suitable for
personal computer system.
 SECONDARY STORAGE Cont ….
Optical Disk:
With every new application and software there is greater
demand for memory capacity. It is the necessity to
store large volume of data that has led to the
development of optical disk storage medium.
Optical disks can be divided into the following categories:
Compact Disk/ Read Only Memory (CD-ROM):
 CD-ROM disks are made of reflective metals. CD-ROM
is written during the process of manufacturing by high
power laser beam.
 Here the storage density is very high, storage cost is
very low and access time is relatively fast. Each disk is
approximately 4 1/2 inches in diameter and can hold
over 600 MB of data. As the CD-ROM can be read only
we cannot write or make changes into the data
contained in it.
 SECONDARY STORAGE Cont ….
 Write Once, Read Many (WORM):
 The inconvenience that we can not write any thing in to a CD-ROM
is avoided in WORM.
 A WORM allows the user to write data permanently on to the disk.
Once the data is written it can never be erased without physically
damaging the disk.
 Here data can be recorded from keyboard, video scanner, OCR
equipment and other devices.
 The advantage of WORM is that it can store vast amount of data
amounting to gigabytes (109 bytes). Any document in a WORM can
be accessed very fast, say less than 30 seconds.
 Erasable Optical Disk:
 These are optical disks where data can be written, erased and re-
written.
 This also applies a laser beam to write and re-write the data.
 These disks may be used as alternatives to traditional disks.
 Erasable optical disks are based on a technology known as
magnetic optical (MO).
 To write a data bit on to the erasable optical disk the MO drive's
laser beam heats a tiny, precisely defined point on the disk's
surface and magnetizes it.
 INPUT OUTPUT DEVICES

 A computer is only useful when it is able to communicate

with the external environment.
 When you work with the computer you feed your data and
instructions through some devices to the computer.
 These devices are called Input devices.
 Similarly computer after processing, gives output through
other devices called output devices.
Input Devices
 Input devices are necessary to convert our information or data
in to a form which can be understood by the computer.
 A good input device should provide timely, accurate and useful
data to the main memory of the computer for processing
 Followings are the most useful input devices.
 Keyboard: -
 This is the standard input device attached to all computers.
 The layout of keyboard is just like the traditional typewriter
of the type QWERTY.
 It also contains some extra command keys and function keys.
 It contains a total of 101 to 104 keys.
 A typical keyboard used in a computer.
 You have to press correct combination of keys to input data.
 The computer can recognize the electrical signals
corresponding to the correct key combination and processing
is done accordingly.
Mouse: -
Mouse is an input device that is used
with your personal computer.
It rolls on a small ball and has two or
three buttons on the top.
When you roll the mouse across a flat
surface the screen censors the mouse in
the direction of mouse movement.
The cursor moves very fast with mouse
giving you more freedom to work in any
direction.
 It is easier and faster to move through
a mouse.
 Input Devices Cont ….
Scanner:
 The keyboard can input only text through keys provided
in it.
 If we want to input a picture the keyboard cannot do
that.
 Scanner is an optical device that can input any graphical
matter and display it back.
 The common optical scanner devices are Magnetic Ink
Character Recognition (MICR), Optical Mark Reader
(OMR) and Optical Character Reader (OCR).
 Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR): -
 This is widely used by banks to process large volumes of
cheques and drafts.
 Cheques are put inside the MICR. As they enter the reading
unit the cheques pass through the magnetic field which
causes the read head to recognise the character of the
cheques.
 Input Devices Cont…
Optical Mark Reader (OMR):
This technique is used when students have appeared in
objective type tests and they had to mark their answer by
darkening a square or circular space by pencil.
These answer sheets are directly fed to a computer for grading
where OMR is used.
Optical Character Recognition (OCR): -
This technique unites the direct reading of any printed
character. Suppose you have a set of hand written characters
on a piece of paper. You put it inside the scanner of the
computer.
This pattern is compared with a site of patterns stored inside
the computer.
Whichever pattern is matched is called a character read.
Patterns that cannot be identified are rejected. OCRs are
expensive though better the MICR.
 Output Devices
Followings are the most useful output devices.
Visual Display Unit/monitor:
The most popular input/output device is the Visual Display Unit
(VDU). A Keyboard is used to input data and Monitor is used to
display the input data and to receive massages from the computer.
A monitor has its own box which is separated from the main
computer system and is connected to the computer by cable. In
some systems it is compact with the system unit. It can be color or
monochrome.
Terminals:
It is a very popular interactive input-output unit. It can be divided
into two types: hard copy terminals and soft copy terminals. A
hard copy terminal provides a printout on paper whereas soft
copy terminals provide visual copy on monitor.
A terminal when connected to a CPU sends instructions directly to
the computer.
Terminals are also classified as dumb terminals or intelligent
terminals depending upon the work situation.
Assignment No 1
1. Why is computer known as data processor?
2. Explain in brief the various generations in
computer technology?
3. Write a short note on Fifth Generation of
computer. What makes it different from Fourth
generation computer?
4. Why did the size of computer get reduced in
third generation computer?
5. Give short notes on the following o (a) Versatility
(b) Storage (c) Slide Rule (d) Babbage’s
Analytical Engine
6. Distinguish between Microcomputer and
Mainframe computer.