BASIC CONCEPTS

COMPUTER HARDWARE
What Is a Computer
Hardware?
Computer hardware is composed of the following components:
central processing unit (CPU), input devices, output devices,
primary storage, secondary storage, and communication devices.

 Input devices accept data & instructions and convert

them to a form that the computer can understand.
 Output devices present data in a form people can
understand.
 The CPU manipulates the data and controls the tasks
done by the other components.
 Primary storage (internal storage) temporarily stores
data and program instructions during processing.
 Secondary storage (external) stores data and programs
for future use.
 Communication devices provide for the flow of data
between external computer networks.
What Is a Computer
System?
Binary Computers
Today’s computers are based on integrated circuits (chips), each
of which includes millions of subminiature transistors. Each
transistor can be in either an “on” or “off” state that is used to
establish a binary 1 or 0 for storing one binary digit, or bit.

ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)

EBCDIC (Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code)
 Units of Measure
Computer hardware is composed of the following components:
central processing unit (CPU), input devices, output devices,
primary storage, secondary storage, and communication devices.
 Representing time and size of bytes. Time is represented in
fractions of a second. The following are common measures
of time:
 Millisecond 11000 second
 Microsecond 11,000,000 second
 Nanosecond 11,000,000,000 second
 Picosecond 11,000,000,000,000 second
 Size is measured by the number of bytes. Common
measures of size are:
 Kilobyte 1,000 bytes (actually 1,024)
 Megabyte 1,000 kilobytes 106 bytes
 Gigabyte 109 bytes
 Terabyte 1012 bytes
 Petabyte 1015 bytes
 Exabyte 1018 bytes
The Evolution Of Computer
Hardware
Computer hardware has evolved through four stages, or
generations, of technology. Each generation has provided
increased processing power and storage capacity, while
simultaneously exhibiting decreases in costs.

 First generation of computers, from 1946 to about 1956,

used vacuum tubes to store and process information.
 Second generation of computers, 1957–1963, used
transistors for storing and processing information.
 Third-generation computers, 1964–1979, used integrated
circuits for storing and processing information.
 Early to middle fourth-generation computers, 1980–1995,
used very large-scale integrated (VLSI) circuits to store and
process information.
The Evolution Of Computer
Hardware
Continued
 Late fourth-generation computers, 1996 to the present,
use grand-scale integrated (GSI) circuits to store and
process information.
 Fifth generation of computers use massively parallel
processing to process multiple instructions simultaneously.
 Types Of Computers
Computers are distinguished on the basis of their processing
capabilities.
 Supercomputers are the computers with the most processing
power. The primary application of supercomputers has been in
scientific and military work, but their use is growing rapidly in
business.
 Mainframes are not as powerful and generally not as
expensive as supercomputers. Large corporations, where data
processing is centralized and large databases are maintained,
most often use mainframe computers.
 Minicomputers are smaller and less expensive than
mainframe computers. They are usually designed to
accomplish specific tasks such as process control and
engineering applications. Larger companies gain flexibility by
distributing minicomputers in organizational units instead of
centralizing at one location.
 Types Of Computers
Continued

Computers are distinguished on the basis of their processing

capabilities.
 Servers typically support computer networks, enabling users
to share files, software, peripheral devices and other network
resources. Server farms are large groups of servers.
 Workstations provide high levels of performance to technical
users such as designers and are typically based on RISC
(reduced instruction set computing) architecture.
 Microcomputers or personal computers (PCs), are the smallest
and least expensive category of general-purpose computers.
They may be subdivided into five classifications:
 Desktops
 Thin clients
 Laptops
 Notebooks,
 Mobile devices
 Types Of Computers
Continued

 Desktop personal computer is the typical, familiar

microcomputer system.
 Thin-client systems are desktop computer systems that do not
offer the full functionality of a PC.
 One type of thin client is the terminal
 Another type of thin client is a network computer.
 Laptop computers are small, easily transportable, lightweight
microcomputers that easily fit into a briefcase
 Notebooks are smaller laptops.
 Mobile devices as handheld computers, often called personal
digital assistants (PDAs) or handheld personal computers.
Types Of Computers
Mobile Devices

Some mobile devices offer mapping capabilities using

GPS. Global positioning systems
Types Of Computers
Other Mobile Devices
 Tablet PC technology runs touch-sensitive displays that you tap
with a pen, forgoing a mouse or touch pad.
 Wearable computers are designed to be worn and used on the
body.
 Embedded computers are placed inside other products to add
features and capabilities.
 Active badges are worn as ID cards by employees who wish to
stay in touch at all times while moving around the corporate
premises.
 Memory buttons are nickel-sized devices that store a small
database relating to whatever it is attached to.
 Smart cards which has resulted from the continuing shrinkage of integrated
circuits are similar in size and thickness to ordinary plastic credit
cards. They contain a small CPU, memory, and an input/output
device that allow these “computers” to be used in everyday
activities such.
The Microprocessor
The central processing unit (CPU) is the center of all computer-
processing activities, where all processing is controlled, data are
manipulated, arithmetic computations are performed, and logical
comparisons are made.
 The CPU consists of the
 Control unit
 Arithmetic-logic unit (ALU)
 Primary storage (or main memory)
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 The Machine Instruction
Cycle
The cycle of processing is called the machine instruction cycle
and it speed depends on the following four factors of chip design:
 The preset speed of the clock that times all chip activities, measured in
mega­hertz (MHz), millions of cycles per second, and gigahertz (GHz),
billions of cycles per second. The faster the clock speed, the faster the
chip.
 The word length, which is the number of bits (0s and 1s) that can be
processed by the CPU at any one time. The majority of current chips
handle 32-bit word lengths, and the Pentium 4 is designed to handle 64-
bit word lengths. The larger the word length, the faster the chip.
 The bus width. The wider the bus (the physical paths down which the
data and instructions travel as electrical impulses), the more data can be
moved and the faster the processing. A bus transfers data is measured in
megahertz.
 The physical design of the chip - the distance between transistors is
known as line width. The smaller the line width, the more transistors can
be packed onto a chip, and the faster the chip.
 Evolution Of The
Microprocessor
Moore’s Law - Gordon Moore’s 1965 prediction that microprocessor
complexity would double approximately every two years is based
on the following changes: Increasing miniaturization of transistors,
Compacting the physical layout of the chip’s components
(decreasing line width) and using better conducting materials.
 Computer
Architecture
The arrangement of the components and their interactions is called
computer architecture. Computer architecture includes the
instruction set and the number of the processors, the structure of the
internal buses, the use of caches, and the types of input/output (I/O)
device interfaces.
 An instruction set is the set of machine instructions
that a processor recognizes and can execute.
Complex instruction set computers (CISC) and
reduced instruction set computers (RISC), dominate
the processor instruction sets of computer
architectures.
 A CISC processor contains more than 200 unique coded
commands, one for virtually every type of operation.
 The other, a more recent approach is RISC processors,
which eliminate many of the little-used codes found in the
complex instruction set.
 Primary Storage
Primary storage, or main memory, stores data and program
statements for the CPU. It has four basic purposes:

1. To store data that have been input until they are

transferred to the ALU for processing.
2. To store data and results during intermediate stages of
processing.
3. To hold data after processing until they are transferred
to an output device.
4. To hold program statements or instructions received
from input devices and from secondary storage.
Primary
Memory/Example

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 Categories Of
Memory
There are two categories of memory: the register, which is part of
the CPU and very fast and the internal memory chips, which
reside outside the CPU and are slower. The control unit, the CPU,
and the primary storage all have registers. Small amounts of data
reside in the register for very short periods, prior to their use.
Internal memory is used to store data just before they are
processed by the CPU. Immediately after the processing it
comprises two types of storage space: RAM and ROM.

 Random-access memory (RAM) is the place in which the CPU

stores the instructions and data it is processing.
 Dynamic random access memories (DRAMs)
 Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM)
 Read-only memory (ROM) is that portion of primary storage
that cannot be changed or erased. ROM is nonvolatile.
 Programmable read-only memory (PROM)
 Erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM)
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 The Control Unit
The control unit reads instructions and directs the other
components of the computer system to perform the functions
required by the program. The control unit does not actually
change or create data; it merely directs the data flow within the
CPU.

 It interprets and carries out instructions

contained in computer programs
 Selects program statements from the primary
storage
 Move program statements to the instruction
registers in the control unit
 Controls input and output devices
 Handles data-transfer processes from and to
memory.
 Buses
A bus is a channel (or shared data path) through which data are
passed in electronic form. Three types of buses link the CPU,
primary storage, and the other devices in the computer system.
The capacity of a bus, called bus width, is defined by the number
of bits they carry at one time.

 The data bus moves data to and from primary

storage.
 The address bus transmits signals for locating a
given address in primary storage.
 The control bus transmits signals specifying
whether to “read” or “write” data to or from a
given primary storage address, input device, or
out­put device.
Example

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Input/Output Devices
The input/output (I/O) devices of a computer are not part of the
CPU, but are channels for communicating between the external
environment and the CPU. I/O devices are controlled directly by
the CPU or indirectly through special processors dedicated to
input and output processing.
Secondary storage

Peripheral Devices
Input Devices
Output Devices
Communications Media
COMPUTER SOFTWARE
 Types Of Software
Computer hardware cannot perform a single act without
instructions. These instructions are known as software or
computer programs. There are two major types of
software: application software and systems software.
 Application software is a set of computer instructions,
that direct computer hardware to perform specific
data or information processing activities that provide
functionality to the user.
 Systems software acts primarily as an intermediary
between computer hardware and application
programs, and provides important self-regulatory
functions for computer systems, such as loading itself
when the computer is turned on, managing hardware
resources such as secondary storage for all
applications; and providing commonly used sets of
instructions for all applications to use.
Types Of Software
Unlike computer hardware, which can be designed and
manufactured on automated assembly lines, most software
must be programmed by hand.

Both application software and systems software are

written in coding schemes called programming languages.
 Application Software
Because there are so many different uses for computers, there are
a correspondingly large number of different application programs.
 Tailor-made application software addresses a specific or
unique business need for a company.
 Off-the-shelf application software can be purchased,
leased, or rented from a vendor that develops programs
and sells them to many organizations (Vertical Markets).
 General-purpose application programs that are not linked
to any specific business task, but instead support general
types of information processing
 Spreadsheet
 Data management
 Word processing
 Desktop publishing
 Graphics
 Multimedia
 Communications
 Development tools - software used to construct applications
 Application Software
Continued

 Spreadsheet software transforms a computer screen into a

ledger sheet, or grid. Packages include already-programmed
statistical, financial, and other business formulas and are
primarily used for decision support processing.
 Data management software supports the storage, retrieval,
and manipulation of data. There are two basic types of data
management software:
 Simple filing programs patterned after traditional, manual data
filing techniques
 Database management systems (DBMS's) a collection of files
serving as the data resource for computer-based information
systems.
 Word processing software allows the user to manipulate text
rather than just numbers.
 Application Software
Continued

 Desktop publishing software allows

microcomputers to create newsletters,
announcements, advertising copy, and other
specialized documents by combining
photographs, diagrams, and other images with
text to produce a finished, camera-ready
document.
 Graphics software allows the user to create, store,
and display or print charts, graphs, maps, and
drawings.
 Multimedia. There are two general types of
multimedia software:
 Presentation software presents a sequential procession
of information similar to a movie or television show.

 Application Software
Continued

 Communications software allows computers located close

together or far apart to exchange data over dedicated or public
cables, telephone lines, satellite systems, or microwave circuits.
 Speech-recognition software translates voice patterns into text.
There are two types:
 Discrete speech recognition can interpret only one word at a time, so
users must place distinct pauses between words.
 Continuous speech recognition can interpret a continuing stream of
words.
 Software suites are collections of application software packages
bundled together.
 Workgroup software helps groups and teams work together by
sharing information and by controlling workflow within the group.
Products are designed to support tasks such as:
 Project management
 Scheduling (called calendaring)
 Workflow
 Retrieving data from shared databases
 Application Software
Continued

There exist hundreds of other application software products.

 Middleware is software designed to link
application modules developed in different
computer languages and running on
heterogeneous platforms.
 Enterprise software consists of programs that
manage the vital operations of an organization
(enterprise), such as:
 Supply-chain management
 Inventory replenishment
 Ordering
 Human resources management
 Manufacturing
 Operations
 Accounting and financial management.
 Application Software
Continued

There exist hundreds of other application software products.

 Componentware is a term to describe a form of
application software, in which each program
manages one type of operation
 Presence technology can detect when you’re
online and what kind of device you’re using.
 Schematics software can create schematics,
space plans, layouts, etc.
 Many more …
 Systems Software
Systems software is the class of programs that controls and
supports the computer hardware and its information processing
activities. It also facilitates the programming, testing, and
debugging of computer programs.
 Systems software can be grouped into three functional
categories:
 System control programs are programs that control the
use of hardware, software, and data resources of a
computer system during its execution of a user’s
information processing job. An operating system is the
prime example.
 System support programs support the operations,
management, and users of a computer system by
providing a variety of services. System utility programs,
performance monitors, and security monitors are
examples.
 System development programs help users develop
information processing programs and procedures and
Application Software are software with a specific function to produce,
such as word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, graphics, and video editing

Software Functionality
Wordprocessor This software specializes on word processing such as
producing text, documents, letters, calling cards, brochures,
leaflets and memorandum.
Spreadsheet This software is similar to an accounting system and can use
formulas, for are grading, inventory, payroll, billing,
registration and voting system. It is also equipped with
creating graphs such as line, bar and pie chart.
Presentation This software is useful in presentations such as business
proposals, corporate meetings, seminars and educational
activities.
Graphics This software specializes in editing images. Common types of
image file formats are: .JPG (.JPEG Joint Photographic Experts
Group), .BMP (Bitmap) and .GIF (Graphics Interchange Format).
Application Software

Software Functionality
Sound Editor This software enhances sound, such music
mixing, clearing sounds, converting music and
sound effects.
Video Editor This software is primarily use is to edit videos.
One of its functionality is rendering text, images,
sound and animation.
Publisher This software is primarily design to published
newspapers, journals, magazines, and books.
System Software are software that help and supports the
operating system in maintaining the computers: Here are notable system
software and their area of functionality

Software Functionality
Scandisk This software are primarily designed to check the integrity
of the system. It checks if there are possible bad sectors
in the cluster of the array of data installed in the system
unit.
Disk Defragmenter This software is used to re-arrange the cluster and sector
to each category it is related. Therefore, it helps in
speeding up the activities in the system unit.
Anti-Virus This software is used to disinfect or remove computer
virus thus helping the system unit process data without
virus corruption.
Programming
Programming Software
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Customized
system Functionality
Payroll System This customized system is used for computing the salary of
employees of a certain business or profession.
Inventory System
This customized system is used for organizing the stocks of
an entities equipment, merchandise and assets.
Registration This customized system is used for controlling records
System
such as personal profiles, attendance monitoring, and
scheduling activities of an entity.
Programming Software

Billing System This system is used for computing the consumption of an entity
such as electricity, water, communication, and internet service.
Sales System This system is used for sales and retail where the real time
computation of transactions is done.
Voting System This customized system is used for computing voters turn out
similar to a survey system where the candidates votes are
tallied. It usually includes a chart for graphic analysis.
Crime System This customize system is used to record, analyze and interpret
data that are related with crimes. It usually is used by
authorities like the police and criminal investigation agencies.
Accounting System This system is for accounting processes such as trial balancing,
sales/ expenses and assets monitoring. It is very helpful in
speeding up and producing accurate accounting methods.
Package Software refers to software that are bundled with the
Operating or System software. Here are some examples of package
software

Software Functions
Computer Games This software are usually bundled with any electronic
gadgets such operating system or customized built by
programmers using sophisticated programming languages.
Games nowadays are either 2D or 3D in form. There are
embedded programs in microchip that are used for virtual
reality type of games.
Calculator This miniature program is bundled to any operating system
in the market and function just as a normal calculator with
extra features as add-ons.
Calendar This miniature programs are bundled to any operating
system that gives the user the features of a common
calendar and a schedule organizer at the same time.
Media player This program is used to play music or videos normally
attached to a folder called accessories.
Database Software these refers to software for storing large volumes of
information and controlling purposes is one of its features. A common database
software has a table that is used in partitioning the data or files. Here is a simple
graphical idea of how a database software works

Text Text
Images Images
Sound
Sound
Videos
Videos
Operating Systems
The main component of systems software is a set of programs
collectively known as the operating system. It supervises the
overall operation of the computer, including monitoring the
computer’s status, handling executable program interruptions, and
scheduling operations, which include the controlling of input and
output processes.
 Operating Systems Continued

The operating system performs three major functions in the

operation of a computer system.

 Job management is the preparing, scheduling,

and monitoring of jobs for continuous
processing by the computer system.
 Resource management is controlling the use
of computer system resources employed by
the other systems software and application
software programs being executed on the
computer.
 Data management is the controlling of the
input and output of data as well as their
location, storage, and retrieval.
Operating Systems Continued

A variety of operating systems are in use today. The operating

system used on most personal computers is some version of
Microsoft’s Windows

 Windows
 UNIX
 Linux
 Mac OS X
 JavaOS
 Pocket PC
 OS/390
 OS/400
 AIX
Sample Operating Systems
System Supports
Programs
System utilities are programs that have been written to accomplish
common tasks such as sorting records, merging sets of data,
checking the integrity of magnetic disks, creating directories and
subdirectories, restoring accidentally erased files, locating files
within the directory structure, managing memory usage, and
redirecting output.

System performance monitors - monitor computer system

performance and produce reports containing detailed statistics on
the use of system resources, such as processor time, memory
space, I/O devices, and system and application programs.

System security monitors are programs that monitor the use of a

computer system to protect it and its resources from unauthorized
use, fraud, or destruction. It also controls the use of the hardware,
software, and data resources of a computer system.
System Development
Programs
Systems Development Programs, compilers or interpreters,
translate programs (source code) written in a high level language
into object or machine level code (binary).

Translation Programs
Programming Languages
Programming languages provide the basic building blocks for all
systems and application software. Programming languages allow
people to tell computers what to do and are the means by which
systems are developed. Programming languages are basically a set
of symbols and rules used to write program code. Each language
uses a different set of rules and the syntax that dictates how the
symbols are arranged so they have meaning.

The Evolution of Programming Languages

Programming Languages
Continued

Machine Language (1st Generation)

Binary Code (1101)
Actual Wire Connections
Today we compile down to native code
Assembler Language (2nd Generation)
Symbolic Code acronyms (ADD Z)
Today we still program system level
Many HL store as intermediate code.
High-Level Languages (3rd Generation)
Statements
Compilers
Interpreters Interprete
r
COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language) Source Code

Basic (Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) Results

FORTRAN (Formula Translator) Compiler Object

Code
C AT&T Bell Lab’s
machine
Programming Languages
Continued

Object Oriented Languages

Visual Basic (Exe)
Java (JVM)
C++ (Compiled)
Object COBOL (Compiled)
?ML (Markup Languages)
HTML, DHTML, XML, WML (Software
Servers) Interprete

(CF, ASP) (Software Servers) Source Code

r

Results

Compiler Object
Code

machine
Programming Languages
Continued

4GL 4th Generation Language

SQL, Query Languages Or Natural Language
Report Generators
Graphics Tools
Application Generators (“Wizards”)
Very High-Level Pgm. Languages (APL)
Application Language (Application Software
Data mining languages
Painters (NetObjects, Dreamweaver, )
“End-user” Languages
Spreadsheets
Word Processing Interprete
r

Desktop Publishing Source Code

Data management (Access)

Results

Presentations Compiler Object

Code

machine
 Case Tools
Computer-aided software engineering (CASE) is a tool for
programmers, systems analysts, business analysts, and systems
developers to help automate software development and at the
same time improve software quality. It is a combination of software
tools and structured software development methods.

 CASE tools have several advantages:

 CASE improves productivity by helping the analyst
understand the problem and how to solve it in an
organized manner.
 CASE facilitates joint application and design (JAD) sessions,
resulting in better interaction among users and information
systems professionals.
 CASE makes it easier to create prototypes, so that users
can see what they are going to get at an early stage in the
development process.
 CASE makes it easier to make system design changes as
Case Tools Continued
 REFERENCES

 Patterson,
David A. (2017) Computer
Organization and Design: Hardware
and Software Interface
 Seatwork No. 1

 What is a computer? (5 points)

 Two Primary Parts of Computer System
(5 pts)
 Give 5 examples of hardware
 Give 5 examples of software