Computer Studies 10 Notes

COMPUTER STUDIES
GRADE 10
SENIOR SECONDARY
SUMMARISED NOTES
PREPARED BY: Daka Shadreck

© 2019 THE DAKAZ PUBLISHER
CONTACTS: 0978000816 / 0966256340

Email: shadreckthedakaz@gmail.com
LUSAKA – ZAMBIA
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TABLE OF CONTENT
Page
Chapter 1: COMPUTER CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
1.1 Careers in Information and Communication Technology……………………...2
1.2 Opportunities for further Education in ICT…………………………………....2
Chapter 2: SOFTWARE
2.1 Application and System Software……..………………………………….....…2
2.2 Customise Software…….……………………………………………………...4
2.3 Software for people with Special Needs…………………………………….…6
2.4 Classification of Software……………………………………………………...6
Chapter 3: PROGRAMMING
3.1 Programming Languages...…………………………………………………….9
3.2 Program Structure……………………….……………………………………10
3.3 Code Simple Programs in Programming Languages (Pascal and C++)……...14
Chapter 4: DATA REPRESENTATION AND PROCESSING
4.1 Data and Information…………………………………………………………15
4.2 Data Collection and Preparation……………………………………………...16
4.3 Data Representation…………………………………………………………..18
4.4 Binary Arithmetic Operations…………………………………………...……21
4.5 Data Processing Cycle………………………………………………………..24
Chapter 5: HARDWARE OF COMPUTER SYSTEM
5.1 Hardware……………………………………………………………………..25
Chapter 6: OPERATING SYSTEM AND FILE MANAGEMENT
6.1 Operating System…………………………………………………………….37
6.2 File Management……………………………………………………………..38
Chapter 7: PRESENTATION PACKAGES
7.1 Introduction to Presentation Packages………………………………………..41
7.2 Creating Slides………………………………………………………………..42
7.3 Add Animation to Slides………...……………………………………………43
7.4 Formatting Slides……………………………………………………………..43
Chapter 8: GENERAL COMPUTER APPLICATIONS
8.1 Home Application…………………………………………………………….44
8.2 Office Application…………………………………………………………….44
8.3 Commercial Application……………………………………………………...45
8.4 Information System…………………………………………………………..46
Chapter 9: COMPUTER SECURITY
9.1 Computer Security Assets……………………………………………………46
9.2 Security Policies and Terminology…….……………………………………..46
9.3 Security Concerns and Threats……………………………………………….47
9.4 Computer Security Professionals……………………………………………..49
9.5 Computer Security Systems…………………………………………………..50
DAKAZ©2019 Grade10 COMPUTER STUDIES NOTES by: Daka Shadreck.

Contacts: 0978000816 / 0966256340 Email: shadreckthedakaz@gmail.com
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Chapter 1: COMPUTER CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Careers in Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
Careers in ICT field are in high demand and the industry is expected to grow. They
include a variety of roles and tasks associated with planning, installing, researching and
monitoring the performance of ICT systems and transmissions.
1. Computer technician: assembles and repairs computers.
2. Computer programmer or developer: writes new computer software.
3. Computer operator: monitors and controls computer systems, especially
mainframe computers in a company or organization.
4. Computer trainer or lecturer: trains people how to use various software or
how to become a computer programmer.
5. Web developer: designs, creates and maintains websites.
6. Network administrator: maintains and controls networks.
7. Network engineer or developer: designs network layout, installs and
maintains network infrastructure.
8. Database administrator: captures and verifies the data that is stored in a
database.
9. Sales professionals: provide information and sells ICT hardware, systems
and services on behalf of the ICT companies.
10. ICT managers: direct and oversee the operations and facilitation of ICT
services in companies and organisations.
11. Security consultant: designs and implement information encryption systems.
Encryption is the process of protecting data by encoding it so that it can not be read
directly.
Opportunities for Further Education in ICT

- Acquiring the relevant certificate at a recognized computer training institution.
- Acquiring a diploma in related ICT studies and gain hand-on experience from
recognized colleges, polytechnician or research institutions.
- Acquiring a Bachelor's degree in computer science at a recognized university.
Chapter 2: SOFTWARE
Software is a set of instructions or programs that can be run on a computer.
Software can be divided into two types namely; application software and system
software.
 Application software perform a specific set of tasks.
 System software controls the operations of the computer and its devices.
Differences between Application and System software

- Application software are software that are written to perform a specific set of
tasks while System software are software that controls and coordinates the
operations of the computer and its devices.
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- Application software are developed to make the more effective and efficient in
his or her job while system software serves as an interface between the user, the
application software and the computer hardware.
Examples of:
Application software System software
• Accounting software • Operating System (Windows and Linux)
• Spreadsheet software • Utility software (Antivirus)
• Word Processing software • Programming languages (C++)
• Photo editing software • Device drivers
• Scientific software • File management tools
Basic Programs which are bundled with the Windows Operating System are: Paint,
Snipping Tool and Calculator.
Application Software
Generic and Baspoke Software
Generic (also called General-purpose) software: is designed to do many different
tasks. It provides a great deal of flexibility. It is content free or little. The user develops
the content.
Examples:
• Word Processing • Spreadsheet • Database • Desktop Publishing
Advantages of Generic software
- It is cheaper as the cost is shared amongst many users.
- It is commonly available in shops.
- It can be bought and installed straight away.
- It is tried and tested.
- Training and support may be available from different service providers.
Disadvantages of Generic software
- It has high initial developing cost.
- It is less efficient.
- Revisions to the software can only be done by developers.
Bespoke (also called Special-purpose or Custom or Tailor-made) software: is

written to achieve a particular purpose, such as payroll, accounts or stock control
systems.
Advantages of Bespoke software
- It has no unwanted features.
- It is designed to do exactly what the user wants.
- It can be integrated with the existing software.
- It can be written to run on specified hardware.
Disadvantages of Bespoke software

- Writing it from the scratch can be very expressive.
- It takes time to develop, test and debug it.
- There is less support and Online help.
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- Training and support costs are likely to be much higher.

- It lacks the ability to solve many different classes of problems.
Customise Software
Customising a Word Processing and Desktop Publishing program using Macros
- A macro is a series of Commands that you can use to automate repeated task,
which can be run when you have to perform the task.
Functions of a Macro
• Adding the address and current date into a business letter.
• Routine editing and formatting.
• Creating a table of specific size with a specific number of rows and
columns.
Creating a Macro in Word

1. Click on the View tab and click on the arrow on the Macros button.
2. To view existing macros, select View Macros. To create a macro, select
Record Macro.
3. Type in the name for the macro in the Textbox under
Macro name.
4. Click a keyboard button to assign a hotkey. Place the cursor in the Press new
shortcut key box and assign a hotkey by pressing a key
combination. Click Assign the hotkey to the macro, then
click on OK.
This image indicates that Macro is being recorded.
To stop Recording the Macro

1. Click on the View tab and from the Macro options, Click Stop Recording.
To run a Macro
1. Click on the View tab and from the Macro options Click on View Macros.
Select the macro that you want to apply and click on the Run button.
Drawbacks (Demerits or Disadvantages) of Macros

- There is no type checking.
- Difficult to debug as they cause simple replacement.
- Macro don’t have namespace, so a macro in one section of code can
affect section.
- Macros can cause side effects.
Advantages of Macros
- The speed of the execution of the program is the major advantage of
using a macro.
- It saves a lot of time that is spent by the compiler for invoking / calling the
functions.
- It reduces the length of the program.
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Customising a Spreadsheet program using Functions and Formulae

A formula is a calculation written by the user to perform some mathematical
operations.
Examples of formulae: =A2 + B4, =(A1 - C1) * 3 or =D4/(B3*E7)
A mathematical function is a pre-written formula that performs mathematical

calculations automatically.
Examples of functions:
• =SUM( ) to add the values in a series of cells together. E.g. =SUM(A1:A10)
or =SUM(A3,C2,D5).
• =AVERAGE( ) to find the average of all the values in a range of cells given
between the brackets. E.g. =AVERAGE(A1:A6).
• =MIN( ) to find the lowest (minimum) value in a range of values.
E.g. =MIN(A1:A6).
• =MAX( ) to find the highest (maximum) value in a range of values.
E.g.=MAX(A1:A6).
• =COUNT( ) to count only numeric entries in a range of cells.
E.g. =COUNT(A1:A6).
• =COUNTA( ) to count both numeric and text entries in a range of cells.
E.g. =COUNTA(A1:A6).
A logical function allows you to produce different results depending on the outcome of
a condition.
Examples of logical functions:
1. IF Function:
=IF(test condition, value_if_true, value_if_false)
E.g. =IF(C3 > 40, "Pass", "Fail") or =IF(A1="Win","Gold","Silver")
2. SUMIF Function: to add only the values that meet a criteria condition.
E.g. people who are older than 15.
=SUMIF(range, criteria, [sum_range])
- Range refers to the cells that must be evaluated using the criteria.
- Criteria refers to a number, expression, or segment of text that defines which
cells will be added.
- Sum_range refers to the actual cells to add if their corresponding cells in the
range match the criteria.
Example of SUMIF function.

A B C
1 ITEM STOCK SALES
2 Apples 124 45
3 Maize 320 70
4 Eggs 87 30
5 Flour 35 15
6 Bananas 15 45
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• =SUMIF(B2:B6,">100") returns 596 (because it adds 124, 320 and 152 in the
range B2 to B6).
• =SUMIF(B2:B6,">110",C2:C6) returns 160 (because it adds 45, 70 and 45 in
the range C2 to C6 based on the values in column B that match the condition).
• =SUMIF(A2:A6,"Apples",B2:B6) returns 124 (because it adds the values in
column B when the item in column A is "Apples").
Software for people with Special Needs

• Voice recognition software such as Dragon Naturally Speaking: allows voice
commands to access programs and menus as well as turn speech into text.
• Predictive text software such as SoundsLike and SoothSayer: help the user to
spell correctly and reduces typing.
• Google Voice Search: it works with Google Chrome and a Microphone to
search for information.
• Screen reader software: reads screen text aloud for the visually impaired.
• Dyslexia support software: provides a screen ruler to help the user read on
screen.
• Literacy intervention software: offer reading interventions that focus on
skills of reading, including phonemic awareness, deciding text for
understanding, phonics and developing comprehension abilities.
• Mathematics intervention software: aims to develop mathematical
proficiency.
• Education software for learners with learning disabilities: provides
multi-sensory experiences, interaction, positive reinforcement, individualised
instruction and repetition, which assist in skill building.
Classification of different types of Application Software

1. Productivity software: allows the user to create an end product, such as a letter
using a word processor or a monthly budget using a spreadsheet. It is used by
business to increase secretarial efficiency at performing routine Office tasks, such
as typing, filling and basic bookkeeping.
2. Enterprise computing software: helps the different departments called functional

units of large enterprises (organizations) to do their tasks well.
Each functional unit uses specific software:
• Human resource software: manages employee information, such as personal
information, training, sick leave, vacation time and promotions.
• Accounting software such as Pastel Accounting, QuickBooks and Pastel
Payroll: manages everyday transactions, such as sales and payment to
customers and suppliers.
• Financial software: helps managers to budget, forecast and analyse financial
information.
• Engineering and product development software: allows engineers to
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develop plans for new products and test their product design.
• Manufacturing software: assist with controlling and monitoring the
manufacturing process and manages the scheduling and control inventory.
• Sales software: enables salespersons to schedule appointments, manage
product information, take orders and manage contracts.
• Distribution software: tracks the distribution of inventory.
• Customer service software: manages the day-to-day functioning and
Communication with customers, such as phone calls, e-mail messages, web
interaction and instant messaging.
• Information and Communication Technology (ICT): staff use various
software procedures to maintain and secure the hardware and software.
3. Reference and Educational software

Reference software provides excellent and thorough Information for people in all
works of life. It includes encyclopedias, dictionaries and medical and health guides.
Educational software it is used to learn new concepts or skills or to revise and
practise existing knowledge and skills.
4. Gaming and Entertainment software: They include computer games and

software for playing music and watching movies.
5. Communication software: enables the exchange of information between

commuting devices. Convergence of technology means that activities that used to
be limited to a computer are now possible on a cellular telephone and vice versa.
Examples:
• E-mail software: enables rapid, reliable communication anywhere in the
world.
• Instant messaging: enables people to send short messages to each other.
• VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) e.g. Skype: enables you to make phone
calls and participate in live video chats over your Internet connection anywhere
in the world.
• Mass communication systems: are used to send out bulk e-mails and SMSs.
• Fax software: enables computers to send and receive faxes.
6. Computer-aided design (CAD) software: it is used by architects and interior

designers and design buildings and building interiors.
7. Graphics software: it is used for the editing, creating, manipulating and viewing of
graphic files. Examples of image-editing programs are Paint and Illustrator and
photo-editing software, such as PhotoShop.
8. Multimedia software: it includes a combination of any or all of the following: text,

static images, video, animation and sound.

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Examples:
• The creation of animated movies.
• Educational software and Interactive e-learning training courses.
• Multimedia artwork installations.
• Computer Simulation that help train people.
9. Web applications: they run on the Internet or an intranet using a web interface in a
web browser.
Examples of Web applications:
• Online games, such as World of Warcraft.
• Social networking applications, such as Facebook and Twitter.
• VoIP applications, such as Skype.
• Online storage, such as Google Drive.
• Blog facilities, such as Tumblr or Blogspot.
• Wikis, such as Wikipedia.
• Learning management systems, such as Moodle.
Advantages of Web applications:
- Create and share your work online.
- Collaboration on projects and documents online.
- It is used anywhere anytime.
- It is often free to use.
- No need of software updates.
- No need of using disk space.
Disadvantages of Web applications:
- You can not access your applications and documents if you don't have Internet
access.
- High security risks or threats.
- You have no control over software updates.
- It could be different to source custom software that is unique to a certain business
or organization.
- It is easy for the company secrets to be shared with people outside the company in
an online collaboration.
10. Mobile applications: they run on mobile phones, such as smartphones and tablet
computers, such as Apple iPad.
11. Integrated and Stand-alone software

Integrated software (also called a software suite) is a collection of several
applications bundled as a single package while Stand-alone software are software
that do not come bundled with other applications.
Examples of Integrated software
• Microsoft Office • Adobe Creative Suite • Star Office
Advantages of Integrated software
- Less bundle costs
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- All applications have a similar look and feel.

- The output from one application can readily be imported or embedded into
another application. E.g. a spreadsheet graph can be embedded in a word
processing document.
Advantages of Stand-alone software

- Can work offline without a network connection.
- Do not need Operating services to function.
- Can run without having to be installed.
12. Off-the-shelf and In-house software

Off-the-shelf (also called packaged or ready-made) software is mass-produced
copyright software that is sold at retail stores or on the Web while In-house
software is software that is tailor-made to meet the specific requirements of a
business or industry.
Types of System Software

1. Operating System (OS).
2. Utility software:
Utility programs (also called a utility) is system software that assists the user to
manage, maintain and control the operations of the computer and its resources.
Examples: • File management software • Backup software
• Antivirus software • Scandisk software
• Defragmenter.
Functions of Utility programs
- Managing files. - Defragmenter disks.
- Searching for files. - Backing up files and disks.
- Cleaning up disks. - Setting up screen savers
- Uninstalling programs. - Compressing files and burning optical discs.
Device drivers: any device, such as a scanner, printer or mouse must have its drivers
Installed before you can use it. A driver (short for device driver) is a small program that
indicates to the Operating System (OS) how to communicate with a particular device.
The OS itself already has drivers for many devices. If the OS does not have a driver for
the device, then you have to install it from the CD that you received when you bought
the device.
Chapter 3: PROGRAMMING
Programming Languages (PL)
Programming languages is a set of grammatical rules for instructing a computer to
perform specific tasks. It is how people talk to computers.
Examples of PL: C++, Pascal, COBOL, Fortran, Java, Python, etc.

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Programming Languages Terms

• Assembler: is a program that translates mnemonic to specific machine code.
• Machine code (Machine language and Assembly language): is a code that is
only understood by the computer and not humans. (Series of 0s and 1s).
• Source code: is a code written by a programmer in a high-level language, which
is readable by people but not computers.
• Compiler: is a program that converts source code into machine code.
• Interpreter: is a program that is able to execute high-level programming
instructions.
Types of Computer Programming Languages

1. Low-level Computer Programming Languages (LLCPL):
These languages belong to the first generation of computer. They are divided into
Machine language that consists a sequence of binary bits 0s and 1s, and Assembly
language that uses a program called assembler.
Advantages of (LLCPL):
- No need of a compiler.
- They can directly communicate with hardware devices.
- They are faster.
- They have more memory efficiency.
Disadvantages of (LLCPL):
- They have more error prone programs.
- Programs are machine dependent.
- They produce poor Programming productivity.
- They are difficult to learn.
2. High-level Programming Languages (HLCPL):

These languages uses words which are easier for humans to understand. Their source
code needs a compiler or an interpreter to convert the code into machine language
that the hardware can understand.
Advantages of (HLCPL):
- They are easy to write and maintain.
- They are easy to learn.
- They have less error prone.
- They produce better programming productivity.
Disadvantages of (HLCPL):
- They can't communicate directly with the hardware.
- They have less memory efficiency.
- They are slower.
- They need compilers or translaters.
Program Structure
Program structure include:
1. Program header: it consists of a program name.
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E.g. Pascal PROGRAM HELLOWORD ;
C++ #include <iostream >
2. Comments: are messages the programmer place in the source code to explain what a
section of code does. They are used to make program notes and to temporarily
exclude code that has a mistake.
E.g. Pascal ( * program to print Hello World * )
C++ //main ( ) is where the program execution begins

Syntax error: is an error resulting from a typing error or from disobeying one of the
Pascal programming rules.
Logic error: is a mistake in the logic of the steps followed in the program.
3. Variable declaration: it is used to introduce any suitable variables that will

be used later in the program. When you declare variables, the compiler
reserves space for the variables in primary memory.
E.g. Pascal VAR
x , y : INTEGERS ;
z : REAL ;
4. Instruction block: it is the executable part of the program that consists of

the BEGINNING, MAIN BODY and ENDING.
E.g. Pascal BEGIN
Ctrscr ;
WriteIn ( ' Hello World ' ) ;
ReadIn ;
END .
C++ int main ( ) is the start of the main function

Count <<. "Hello World!" ; Serves as an instruction to computer.
return 0 ; Indicates the end of the program.
Programming Reserved Words

Reversed words in Pascal version 7 and C++ for Windows 7 and 8
A reserved word is a word that has special meaning in a programming language and
that can not be used for any other purpose.
Examples include:
• Begin: is a start of a block of code. BEGIN
• Clrscr: it clears the screen. It makes output from the screen look neater.
Clrscr ;
• Write and WriteIn: print text or variables on the screen.
E.g: Write ('Test'); prints "Test" on the screen.
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WriteIn ('Hello World!'); prints "Hello World!" on the screen and

moves the cursor on the next row.
The difference between Write and WriteIn is that WriteIn prints the text on the screen
then places the cursor on the first place of the next row on the screen.
• Read and ReadIn: reads a variable from the keyboard until Enter key is pressed.
E.g: Read ; or ReadIn ;
The difference between Read and ReadIn is that readIn reads a variable from the
keyboard and when the user press Enter key, it moves the cursor on the next line.
• End is an end of a block of code, a record or certain other constructs. END .
Data Types
The two forms of Data type are Pre-defined and User-defined data types.
Pre-defined data type is data type that is already defined internally while
User-defined data type is data type that is created by the user.
Reasons for defining your own Data Types:
• You find the pre-defined data type too long to type and you want to redefine
it with a shorter name.
• You want to use an easy-to-remember reference to the data type.
How to define Data Types

1. In Pascal we use the keyboard TYPE as follows:
PROGRAM datatype ;
USES crt ;
TYPE hours=1 . . 24 ;
Caps= 'A' . . 'Z' ;
VAR time : hours ;
letter : caps ;
BEGIN
Ctrscr ;
time : =5 ;
WriteIn ( ' Time = ' , time) ;
letter : = ' N ' ;
WriteIn ( ' Caps = ' , letter) ;
WriteIn ;
ReadIn ;
END .
Time will store an integer and letter will store a character.
2. In C++ we use the keyboard typedef as follows:

// define the new data types
typedef char. CH ;
typedef unsigned int UNINT ;
typedef char word [ 21 ] ;

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// declaration of variables
CH c1 ;
UNINT number1 ;
word mytext ;
C1 will store a character, number1 will store an unsigned integer, and
mytext will store a string of text up to 20 characters long.
Types of Variables
A variable is used as a placeholder in the computer memory in which certain values
can be stored.
• Real variables: are used to store real numbers.
• Character variables (char): are used to store characters, such as letters,
punctuation marks and other symbols.
• Integer variables (int): are used to store negative and positive numbers
including zero.
• Boolean variables: are variables that can only contain two values; TRUE or
FALSE . These variables are used for answering questions whose answer is yes
or no.
• Constants (const): A variable can also be declared constant using keyword const
so that its value can never be changed during program execution.
E.g. Const int a=500;
Declaration of Variables
Declaration is the process of creating a variable, stating what type of data it will store,
and giving it a name.
Variables need to be given a unique identifier name as follows:
- No spaces are allowed.
- They may contain letters, digits or the underscore character (_).
- Identifiers must always begin with a letter or underscore character but no a digit.
- They may not be a reserved word or a keyword.
Example of Valid Variable declaration
VAR no_days : INTEGER ;
price : REAL ;
name : STRING [10] ;
flag : BOOLEAN ;
Initialising Variables
Initialisation is the process of assigning a value to a variable.
Examples of initialised variables
Pascal BEGIN C++ int number ;
name : = ' Peter ' ; number = 10 ;
no_days : true ; OR
flag : = true ; int number = 10 ;
answer : = ' Y ' ;
END .
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Using String Variables

- Strings are variables that can store alphanumeric values that are longer than one
single character.
- Alphanumeric values are values that can consist of the letters of the alphabet and
digits.
- Overwriting is the process of changing a value stored in a variable and
discarding the old value that it held before.
- Escape character is a special character preceded by a backslash (\) that performs
a specific function in the code.
- Spring literal is a sequence of Alphanumeric characters that are not included in
calculations, indicated by quotation marks.
- Namespace is a logical grouping of the names used within a program; also called
name scope.
- Array is a series of objects of the same size and type.
Code Simple Programs in a Programming Language

Pascal code
You need a computer, Pascal compiler, Turbo Pascal and an emulator, e.g. DOSBox.
To Install and Run Turbo Pascal 7.0
1. Copy the Turbo Pascal 7.0 file from your Pupil CD onto your computer.
2. Unzip Turbo_Pascal7.0 and rename the Turbo-7.0 folder as TP.
3. Copy or move the TP folder to drive C.
Install DOSBox to run Turbo Pascal

1. Copy the DOSBox 0.74-win32-installer file onto your computer.
2. Double-click on the DOSBox 0.74-win32-installer file and Install the
DOSBox program.
3. Click on the Start button in Windows, select All Programs and click on
the DOSBox 0.74 folder.
4. Select the options folder and click on DOSBox 0.74 Options. Add the
following after the last line of code:
mount d c : \ tp \
d:
cd bin
tpx
5. Save the file. You can run it by double-clicking on the DOSBox shortcut
on the desktop. Press Alt + Enter to make the screen bigger.
How to Write a Simple Pascal program

• You must type with 100% accuracy.
• Pascal is not case-sensitive.
• Pascal ignores blank lines.

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Type instructions into a Pascal program

1. Open your Pascal compiler and choose the New option from the pull-down
menu in the File menu. Type in the Pascal program.
2. Choose the Compile option from the Compile menu.
3. Save your program with an appropriate filename.
4. Click on the Run menu and select Run from the pull-down menu.
C++ Code
You need a computer, Turbo C++ compiler. Compiler provides space in which to type
the programming source code and to create the executable program file.
How to write a Simple C++ program
• You must type with 100% accuracy.
• C++ is case sensitive and the use of upper-case and lower-case characters can
have very different meanings in the code.
• C++ ignores blank lines.
Type instructions into a C++ program

1. Open your C++ compiler and type the following code in the editor window.
#include < iostream. h>
//main ( ) is where the program execution begins
int main ( )
{
count<<"Hello World!" ;
return 0 ;
}
2. Save your program with a suitable filename.
3. Choose the Compile option from the Turbo C++ menu.
4. Choose the Run option to execute your program.
Chapter 3: DATA REPRESENTATION AND PROCESSING

Data and Information
 Data is a collection of raw or unprocessed facts that does not have any meaning
on its own. Examples of Data: •text •numbers •images •audio •video
 Information is processed data that has meaning and is useful to the user or
organisation in making decisions or solving problems.
Differences between Data and Information

- Data is unprocessed facts while information is processed data.
- Data is meaningless facts while information is meaningful data.
- Data is a raw material which information is a product.
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Data Collection and Preparation

 Data collection is the process of bringing data from various sources to one
central point or place.
 Data preparation is the process of classifying data into sub-groups.
Things to Consider before starting the Data Collection
Knowing: • What to collect? • How long to collect it?
• When to collect? • How to manage it?
• Where to collect it?
Methods of Data Collection

1. Interviews, such as Face-to-face interviews, Telephone interviews and
Computer-Aided Personal interviewing (CAPI).
2. Questionnaires, such as Paper-pencil questionnaires and Wed-based
questionnaires.
3. Survey, examination or a particular view of something.
Methods of Data Preparation

1. Database
2. Statistical analysis program, such as Microsoft Excel.
Data Errors
Data processing errors occur during data collection, when data is being captured for
processing and during processing.
Examples of Processing Data Errors
• Routing errors: e.g. the interviewer asks the wrong questions or asks questions
in a wrong order.
• Consistency errors: e.g. contradictory responses, such as a respondent
identifying himself as a male but indicating that he has given birth to two
children.
• Range errors: e.g. responses outside the range of reasonable answers, such as
an age of 190.
• Transpositions: e.g. 19 becomes 91 during data entry.
• Copying errors: e.g. 0 (zero) becomes the letter O during data entry.
• Coding errors: e.g. a gender is incorrectly coded because of changes to the
coding scheme.
Data Verification and Validation

Data must always be validated and verified for human errors.
Data verification is the process of performing checks to ensure that the data entered
exactly matches the original source.
Methods of Data Verification
1. Double-entry: the data is entered twice and the two copies are compared for
errors. However, double-entry increases the workload and is costly.

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2. Proofreading data: the second person checks the data entered against the
original document.
Data validation is the process of comparing data against a set of rules or values to
determine whether the data is valid.
Methods of Data Validation
1. Validation rules 3. Input masks 5. Combo boxes
2. Required fields 4. Specific file sizes 6. Default values
Conversion between Analogue and Digital

 An analogue signal is a signal that has a value that varies smoothly.
Examples of analogue: • Human speech • Dimmer light switches
 A digital signal is a signal represented in one of the two binary digits either 0 or
1.
Examples of digital data: • text • numbers • audio
• music • images • video
Analogue-to-Digital converters (ADC)
ADC is a device that converts an analogue signal (e.g. wave signal) into a digital
number (e.g. 01001101).
Devices that uses ADC (Do not interpret analogue signals)

• Digital Video records (e.g. DVDs) • Up converters • Modern TV set
Digital-to-Analogue converter (DAC)

DAC is a device that converts a digital number (e.g. 01001101) into an analogue signal
(e.g. wave signal).

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Devices that uses DAC (Do not interpret digital signals)

• CD players • iPods • MP3 players • Older TV sets
Devices that acts as a ADC and DAC
• Sound card • Modern • Router
Sources of Data
• People • Barcodes
• Internet • Optical Mark Recognition (OMR)
• Ink Character Recognition (ICR) • Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
Data Representation
Data representation refers to the form in which data is stored, processed and
transmitted. Data can be represented using analogue and digital signals.
- The computer uses millions of electronic switches to represent data in only one of
two distinct states either OFF (0) or ON (1).
- Data is also stored in digital form on CDs, DVDs and flash memory Representing
data as 0s and 1s is known as the binary system.
- Computers use a sequence of unique 0s and 1s to represent each character as
defined by a coding scheme.
- A character is any letter, number, symbol or punctuation mark that you type onto
the computer.
Coding scheme is a Standard which tells the user’s machine which character represents
which set of bytes.
Examples of Coding Schemes that can represent 65 000 characters
• American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII, pronounced
'ass-kee'): is sufficient for English and Western European languages, but is not
large enough for Asian languages and other languages that use different
alphabets.
• Unicode: is capable of representing almost all the world's current written
languages. It has 30 000 reserved codes for future expansion.
Reasons for Data Representation

• The need for quality, accurate and timeline data.
• For easy accessibility.
• For current data digitising trends, e.g: newspapers on the Internet, telephone
system, video on DVD and facsimile.
• For media retrieval management.
• For easy communication and transmission of data.
Types of Data Representation

Data Storage / Capacity
Storage holds data, information and instructions for future use. Data can be stored on
CDs, DVDs, hard disks and USB flash drives. Computers uses binary digits (0s and 1s)
P a g e | 19
to process and store data.

- A bit is a binary digit, either 0 or 1.
- A byte is a group of 8 bits.
- A nibble is a group of 4 bits.
- A letter is a group of 8 bits (1 byte).
- A word is a group of one or more bytes (e.g. 8bytes or 16bytes or 64bytes).
Units of Measurement
1024 bytes = 1 Kb (Kilobyte)
1024 Kb = 1 Mb (Megabyte)
1024 Mb = 1 Gb (Gigabyte)
1024 Gb = 1 Tb (Terabyte)
The Number System

A number system is a set of symbols used to represent values derived from a common
base or radix.
Types of the Number System
1. Decimal Number System: we use it to perform our everyday calculations.
Base = 10
Number of elements = 10
Elements = 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
2. Binary Number System
Base = 2
Elements = 0 1
3. Octal Number System
Base = 8
Elements = 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4. Hexadecimal Number System
Base = 16
Elements = 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
NOTE: A = 10, B = 11, C = 12, D = 13, E = 14, F =15.
We write a number of a particular number system as:

Power
Power
2
Number Example:
5 Number
3 Base
Base
The Base indicate the number system to which the number belongs.
Example: • 2310 belongs to the Decimal Number System.
• 1012 belongs to the Binary Number System.
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The Power indicate the place value of a digit.

Example: • 2-1 = 0.5 • 21 = 2
• 20 = 1 • 22 = 4
How to indicate Powers of digits in a number

1. ...105 = ...12 01 50 2. ...562.16... = ...52 61 20 . 1-1 6-2...
Expanded Notation
Steps: 1. Indicate the power of each digit in the number.
2. Write any expression by multiplying each digit by the base raised to the power
of the same digit.
Example: Write each of the following numbers in expanded notation:
(a) 100 (c) 1011.12 (e) 2AF.B16
(b) 5432.910 (d) 417.238
Solution:
(a) 12 01 0010 = 1×102 + 0×101 + 0×100
(b) 53 42 31 20.9-110 = 5×103 + 4×102 +3×101 + 20×100 + 9×10-1
(c) 13 02 11 10.1-12 = 1×23 + 0×22 + 1×21 + 1×20 + 1×2-1
(d) 42 11 70.2-1 3-28 = 4×82 + 1×81 + 7×80 + 2×8-1 + 3×8-2
(e) 22 A1 F0.B-116 = 2×162 + A×161 + F×160 + B×16-1
Converting from Binary, Octal and Hexadecimal to Decimal

Steps: 1. Write an expanded notation of the given number.
2. Simplify the expression in its simplest form.
Example: Convert each of the following number to decimal number system:
(a) 1011.12 (b) 417.238 (c) 2AF.B16
Solution:
(a) 13 02 11 10.1-12 = 1×23 + 0×22 + 1×21 + 1×20 + 1×2-1
= 1×8 + 0×4 + 1×2 + 1×1 + 1×0.5
= 8 + 0 + 2 + 1 + 0.5
= 11.5 or 11.510
(b) 42 11 70. 2-1 3-28 = 4×82 + 1×81 + 7×80 + 2×8-1 + 3×8-2

= 4×64 + 1×8 + 7×1 + 2×0.125 + 3×0.015625
= 256 + 8 + 7 + 0.25 + 0.046875
= 271.296875 or 271.29687510

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(c) 22 A1 F0.B-116 = 2×162 + A×161 + F×160 + B×16-1

= 2×256 + 10×16 + 15×1 + 11×0.0625
= 512 + 160 + 15 + 0.6875
= 687.6875 or 687.687510
Converting from Decimal to Binary, Octal and Hexadecimal

Steps: 1. To convert a decimal to: Binary - divide the decimal by 2, Octal -divide by 8,
Hexadecimal - divide by 16 using Base - Number - Remainder table.
2. Write down the digits (final answer) in the remainder column from bottom to
top.
Example: Convert:
(a) 2510 to binary (b) 453 to octal (c) 3 45610 to hexadecimal
Solution:
(a) (b)
Base Number Remainder Base Number Remainder
2 25 8 453
2 12 1 8 56 5
2 6 0 8 7 0
2 3 0 0 7
2 1 1
45310 = 7058
2 0 1
2510 = 110012
(c)
Base Number Remainder
16 3 456
16 216 0
16 13 8
0 13 (D)
3 45610 = D8016
Binary Arithmetic Operations

Complement of Binary Number
The sign of a number:
- Computers can represent both positive and negative numbers.
- A positive number is indicated by a 0 and negative number by a 1.
The first digit of a number represent the sign of the number.
Example: State the sign of each number below.
(a) 01010 = Positive (because the first digit is 0)
(b) 11010 = Negative (because the first digit is 1)

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One's Complement of Binary Numbers

- The one's complement of 0 is 1 and of 1 is 0.
Example: Find the one's complement of each binary number below.
(a) 10011001 = 01100110 (b) 00001101 = 11110010
Addition and Subtraction in One's complement

Steps: 1. Convert the given numbers to binary numbers, using the following 8 bits:
128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
2. For positive numbers, add in base 2 (or binary).
3. For negative numbers, find the One's complement of the binary numbers and
then add in base 2 (or binary).
4. If there is a remainder beyond the left-most column, ignore it and add a 1.
5. An overflow occurs when the two numbers added have the same sign and the
answer has a different sign.
Example: Work out the following in one's complement using 8 bits. Determine whether
an overflow has occurred or not.
(a) Add 9810 and 7410 (b) Subtract 510 and 910
Solution:
(a) 128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
9810 = 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0
+ 7410 = +0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0
17210 = 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0
1 1
9810 + 7410 = 10101100
An overflow has occurred.
(b) 128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
910 = 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
- 510 = 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
= 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 {complement of -510}
Therefore: 910 = 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 00000011

- 510 = + 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 + 1 {add 1}
410 = 00000011 00000100
{Ignore the remainder} 1
910 - 510 = 00000100
There is no overflow
Exercise:
Work out the following using 8 bits: Determine whether an overflow has occurred.
1. Add -4710 and -2010 2. Subtract -7110 from 11710
Answers: 1. -4710 + (-2010) = 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 There is no overflow

2. 11710 - (-7110) = 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 An overflow has occurred
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Two's Complement of Binary Numbers

- To find the two's complement, find the one's complement and add 1.
Example: Find the two's complement of the following binary numbers:
(a) 10011001 = 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0
+ 1 = 01100111
(b) 00001101 = 11110010

+ 1 = 11110011
Addition and Subtraction in Two's Complement

Steps: 1. Convert the given numbers to binary numbers, using the following 8 bits:
128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
2. For positive numbers, add in base 2 (or binary).
3. For negative numbers, find the One's complement of the binary numbers and
then add in base 2 (or binary).
4. If there is a remainder beyond the left-most column, ignore it.
5. An overflow occurs when the two numbers added have the same sign and the
answer has a different sign.
Example: Work out the following in two's complement using 8 bits. Determine
whether an overflow has occurred.
(a) Add -8710 and -7210 (b) Subtract -3410 from -6310
Solution:
(a) 128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
-8710 = 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0
= 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 {complement of -87)
-7210 = 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1
= 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 {complement of -72}
Therefore: -8710 = 10101001

-7210 = +1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0
-15910 = 01100001
{Ignore the remainder} 1 111
-8710 + (-7210) = 01100001
An overflow has occurred
(b) 128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
1910 = 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1
- 6110 = 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0
= 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 {complement of -61}
Therefore: 1910 = 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1
- 6110 = + 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1910 - 6110 = 11010110
- 4210 = 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 There is no overflow
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Exercise:
Work out the following in two's complement using 8 bits. Determine whether an
overflow has occurred.
1. 9910 + 2910 2. - 6310 - (- 3410)
Answers: 1. 9910 + 2910 = 10000000 An overflow has occurred

2. -6310 - (-3410) = 11100011 There is no overflow
Uses of Binary Numbers in computing

• To represent computer text and instructions.
• Encoding data.
The Data Processing Cycle

The data processing cycle follows a specific sequence of events:
Input Processing Output
Storage
• Input: acquiring or gathering data and entering it into the computer system using an
input device, such as keyboard, mouse, microphone, etc.
Examples of data input:
- Capturing the prices of items in a supermarket using a barcode reader.
- Gathering information using a form on a website.
- Typing recipes using your word processing program.
• Processing: manipulation of data into information by the Central Processing Unit
(CPU). All data that is currently being processed by the CPU is stored temporarily in
Random Access Memory (RAM) to speed up data processing and access.
• Storage: saving data or output for future use. Data and information can be stored on
internal hard drives, CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray, external hard drives (fixed and portable)
and USB flash.
• Output: presenting the information in the required format for the user. Output can be
in form of hardcopy, softcopy, audio or video.
• Communication: computers are able to send and receive information among
themselves. This information can be in form of e-mails, instant messaging (IM),
short text messaging (SMS), multi-media service (MMS), videoconferencing, blogs
and social networking.
Example of the Operations in a Data Processing Cycle

When the customer pays, the cashier captures this transaction using the keyboard on the
till (input) and the computer processes the amount of change (process). After payment,
a sales slip is printed (output) for the customer.

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Data Integrity
Data Integrity is the accuracy and consistency of data.
Factors that ensures Data Integrity
• Data validity • Data accuracy • Data consistency
• Data completeness • Data timelines
Factors that reduces Data Integrity
• Data errors • Data invalidity • Data inaccuracy
• Data incompleteness • Data inconsistency
Types of Computer Processing Files

A file is a collection of organised data.
• The master file: contains all the permanent or semi-permanent data relating to a
particular application. E.g. the details of all the customers.
• A transaction file: contains all the transactions that are captured as they occur over a
period of time (e.g payments made by customers or amount bought on credit), and it
is used to update the master file.
The Update Process include:
- Editing or changing data. - Adding data. - Deleting data
• Report files: are derived from records within a master or transaction file. E.g. a
schedule of customers who have not settled their debt in full within a three-month
period.
• Backup files: are duplicate copies of important files that are stored in a safe place
and used to recreate the master file in case of loss of data.
Backups can take place in:
- Batch Processing (Grandfather-father-son backup), three generations of the
master and transaction files are usually kept.
- Cloud storage, the data is stored in an external server on the Internet.
• Reference files: contains referential data, such as tables and lists, which are
necessary to support the data processing.
Examples of referential data:
- Tax rate tables - Charts of accounts - Tables of inventory codes
Chapter 5: HARDWARE OF THE COMPUTER SYSTEM

Hardware refers to the physical components of a computer that you can see and touch.
Main Hardware Components of a General-Purpose computer
Input Devices and their uses: Input devices enter data into a computer.
• Mouse • Keyboard • Touch screens • Joysticks
• Webcam • Digital camera • Cellphone • Touchpad
• Scanner • Video camera • Microphone • Light pen
Mouse ( plural Mice)

- A mouse is a pointing device that fits under the palm of your hand.

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Types of Mice:
Cable Right button
Left button Scroll wheel
Scrollwheel Left button

Connector
Optical mouse Cordless mouse
• Optical mouse has no moving parts and uses light technology to detect movements.
• Wireless or Cordless mouse is a battery-operated mouse that uses wireless
technology, such as infrared light waves to transmit data. Its operation depends on
battery power.
Mouse Operations
- Left click (or click): press left button once.
- Right click: press right button once.
- Double click: press left button twice quickly (rapidly).
- Drag: press and hold down left button then move.
Uses of the Mouse
- Left click (or click): is used for selecting or deselecting an object (item).
- Right click: is used for displaying a short menu.
- Double click: is used for starting a program and opening a file or folder.
- Drag: is used for moving an object (item) and icon from one location to another.
Keyboard
- A keyboard is an input device that contains keys (buttons) that the user presses to
enter data and information into a computer.
Keyboards have a standard QWERTY layout similar to a typewriter. A typical keyboard

has 101 to 105 keys.
Home keys:
Left-hand fingers Right-hand fingers
A S D F J K L ;
Uses of a Keyboard
- Entering (typing) data and information into a computer.

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Advantages of a keyboard
- They are inexpensive.
- They come standard when buying a computer.
- Specialised keyboards are available.
Disadvantages of a keyboard
- User must learn how to type, or may not be accurate typists.
- Prolonged frequent use can cause Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSIs).
- They are difficult for people with paralysis or muscular disorders to use.
Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Magnetic Ink Character Recognition

(MICR) and Optical Mark Recognition (OMR)
OCR MICR OMR

• OCR is a technology that can read typewritten, computer-printed characters from
hardcopy documents and converts these into images. Companies use OCR characters
on turnaround documents, such as a utility bill where the client is required to tear off
a portion of the bill and send it back to the company with their payment.
• MICR is a technology in which an MICR reader reads the magnetic ink characters
printed at the bottom of each cheque in a bank cheque book.
• OMR is a technology in which an OMR reader captures human-marked data from
printed forms, such as surveys, test forms or questionnaires.
Scanners
Optical Scanners Barcode Scanners

An Optical scanner scans images, printed text, handwriting or an object and converts
them into a digital image. Most scanners today have optical character recognition (OCR)
software, which enables the scanner to read and convert text documents into electronic
files, which can be edited using a word processor. The resolution of a scanner is
measured in pixels per inch (ppi) or dots per inch (dpi). Example: 600×4800 ppi, 600
refers to the number of bits per pixel and 4800 refers to the number of pixels per inch.
Advantages of Scanners
- Scanned images can be included in electronic documents or can serve as
attachments for further use.
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- Scanned images can be manipulated using a graphics application.

- Old documents can be stored in digital form.
Disadvantages of Scanners
- Images can take up a lot of memory space.
- Images lose some quality in the scanning process.
- The quality of the final image is dependent on the quality of the original image.
A Barcode Scanner or reader is an input device that reads barcode labels to

automatically capture data. A wand also reads barcode labels.
Barcodes
Barcodes are lines of numbers printed with a pattern of black and white bars.
Barcoding helps to track an item and to capture the details of an item.
Barcodes Barcode Printer
- A barcode printer prints barcode labels.
Items that can use barcodes

• Books • CDs • DVDs • Groceries
Barcode Check Digit

A barcode has a check digit used for validation when scanning.
How to calculate a Check digit
Step 1: Identify digits in the Even (E) and Odd (O) positions in a given barcode.
Example: In the barcode number 1 0 5 4 2;
1 0 5 4 2
E O E O E
Even positions = 1, 5 and 2 Odd positions = 0 and 2
Step 2: Add together the digits in the odd positions and multiply them by 3.
Step 3: Add together the digits in the even positions.
Step 4: Add the two results (from step 2 and 3) together.
Step 5: Identify the next multiple of 10 after the result (sum) in step 4.
Step 6: Subtract the result in step 4 from the next multiple.
Example:
Calculate the check digit for the code 51043112017.
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Solution:
Step 1: Even position = 5, 0, 3, 1, 0, 7
Odd position = 1, 4, 1, 2, 1
Step 2: 1 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 9 then 9 × 3 = 27
Step 3: 5 + 0 + 3 + 1 + 0 + 7 = 16
Step 4: 27 + 16 = 43
Step 5: The next multiple of 10 after 43 is 50.
Step 6: Check digit = 50 – 4 = 7
NOTE: The check digit should be one of the digits in the code.
Exercise:
Calculate the check digit for each of the following codes:
1. 036000291452 2. 919867993567
Answers: 1. Check digit = 2
2. Check digit = 7
Touchpad
The touchpad is an input device which is used in a laptop. Its
function is to work as the mouse.
Input Devices for people with Special Needs
Braille keyboard Light pen Webcam
Microphone Trackball Joysticks
Braille Keyboard
A Braille Keyboard is a substitute for a normal keyboard, as blind people can't see
what they are typing, instead of having a printed letters on each button there are the
embossed system of Braille which the user can 'read' by touch.
Microphone
A microphone can be useful for people who find it difficult to use a keyboard or
mouse. People can say their input out loud and specialist software can be used to
P a g e | 30
convert the speech into text.
Eye Typer
This can be used by people who cannot use a hand or foot operated mouse and a
conventional keyboard. A webcam is mounted onto the computer and it is set to focus
on the user's eye. The camera determines where the user is looking and monitors
movements made by the eye. Mouse clicks are done with a slow eye blink.
Trackball
Trackballs that are similar to a computer mouse let’s you move the cursor on the
screen and click. You get a basic and an advanced trackball. These both reduce the need
to move your hands.
The elements of the Input Phase

• A program is a set of instructions (written by a programmer) that tells the
computer how to execute a task.
• A command is an instruction that causes the computer to perform a particular
action. Commands can be typing, pressing keys, clicking, selecting, speaking in
a microphone, etc.
• A user response is an instruction given by the user to a particular question
displayed by the program.
Elements of the Processing Phase

Memory
- The memory of a computer stores data and information during processing.
Two types of Memory
RAM ROM
Random Access Memory (RAM) also known as Main Memory or Primary Memory
or Temporary memory: It is volatile memory, meaning that its contents are lost when
the computer is switched off. RAM holds operating system instructions that control the
basic functions of the computer system.
Read Only Memory (ROM): It is non-volatile, meaning it doesn't lose its contents. It
stores data and information permanently, and has a small set of instructions called the
ROM BIOS (Basic Input/Output System). The ROM BIOS includes the start-up (boot)
instructions and data used when the computer is first switched on.

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Cache Memory
Cache memory is a high-speed memory that is either stored as a block of RAM or
appears as memory on its own. It speeds up processing time. It is usually measured in
megabytes (MB). When a processor requires an instruction or data it first searches
cache memory. If they are not found in the cache memory, it searches the RAM. If is
not found, it searches the slower storage media, such as hard disks, CD or DVD.
Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The CPU also called the Processor is the brain of the computer
responsible for processing data into information in a systematic
manner.
A multi-core processor is a processor that can house more than one
processing unit on a single chip.
Control Unit (CU)

The CU directs and coordinates the operations in a computer. It fetches the data and
information stored in memory so that processing can take place.
Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
The ALU performs arithmetic operations such as addition and subtraction. It also
performs logical operations, such as comparing two numbers to determine whether they
are equal.
System Clock speed

A system clock controls the timing of all computer operations in the CPU. Clock speed
is measured in the number of clock pulses per second. Current computer speed are
measured in Gigahertz (GHz). A gigahertz = 1 billion clock pulses. The faster the
clock speed, the more instructions the processor can execute per second.
Types of Registers
A register is a small high-speed locations that temporarily store data and information.
Registers are used when an instruction is fetched from memory, decided and then
executed.
• Memory address register (MAR) - holds the memory address of either the data
or instruction to be fetched from memory to the CPU, or the address to which
data will be sent and stored in memory.
• Instruction register (IR) - holds the current instruction to be executed.
• Program counter (PC) - keeps track of the memory address of the next
instruction in memory to be executed after the current instruction.
• Accumulator register (AR) - used for storing the results produced by the CPU
during processing.
• Memory data register (MDR) or Memory buffer register (MBR) - found in
the CU and used to store:
- The data or instruction fetched from memory.
- The data to be stored to memory.
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The Fetch-Execute cycle

Fetch-Execute cycle or Machine cycle or Instruction cycle refers to the process in
which a computer executes a single instruction.
Four Basic Operations performed on a Single instruction
Step 1:
Fetch
Step 4: Step 2:
Store Decode
Step 3:
Execute
Step 1: Fetch. The instruction or data is fetched (collected) from memory by the CU.
Instruction address is copied from PC to MAR to MBR and then to IR.
Step 2: Decode. The CU can interpret the instruction stored in the AR, gather the
specified data or instruct the ALU to begin processing.
Step 3: Execute. Instruction is given out or executed. The ALU performs logical and
arithmetic calculations on the data and the results are stored in the AR. Results
to be stored in memory are moved from the AR to the MBR.
Step 4: Store. The content of the MBR is copied to memory if necessary.
In some computers, the processor fetches, decodes, executes and stores
one instruction at a time. The next instruction is processed only once the
current instruction's fetch-execute cycle is completed.
Today's personal computers support pipelining. Pipelining is when the
processor begins fetching a second instruction before it completes the fetching
cycle for the first instruction.
Output Devices
Output devices are used to communicate the results of data processing to the user (or
outside world).
- Softcopy output refers to electronic information that is displayed on screen.
- Hardcopy output refers to physically printed copy of information from your
computer.
Types of Output Devices
• Monitors • Headsets • Projector • Speakers
• Printers • Fax machine • Fax modems
Printers
A printer produces a hardcopy or physical copy of text and graphics.
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An impact printer produces a copy using a mechanism that hits against an inked
ribbon, which in turn strikes the paper. A non-impact printer produces a copy without
physically striking the paper. Non-impact printers are faster and quieter than impact
printers.
Types of Printers
Laser Printer Inkjet Printer Multifunction Printer
Laser Printer
A laser printer is a non-impact printer that operates by shining a laser beam to produce
an image on a drum. The drum is then rolled in tonner (powdered ink). Using a
combination of heat and pressure, the ink is transferred to the paper. A laser printer is a
high-speed, high-quality printer. It is expensive to buy, but cheaper than Inkjet per
printed page. Colour laser printers combine tonner colours to produce an image, but are
expensive to run.
Inkjet Printers (also known as OfficeJet or DeskJet or BubbleJet)

An inkjet printer is a non-impact printer in which tiny drops of ink are sprayed onto a
page to create an image. They are popular colour printers for use in homes or small
businesses because of their lower cost and good-quality and high-quality graphics and
photograph printouts though it is more expensive to print a page.
Multifunction Printers (also known as all-in-one device)

A multifunction printer is a single device that offers a combination of functions, such
as copying, printing, faxing and scanning. It is ideal for home office or small office use.
Advantages of multifunction printer
• It is convenient. • It offers many functions.
• It is less expensive to buy than buying • It is a space saving machine.
each device separately.
Disadvantage of multifunction printer
• All its functionality is lost when the printer malfunctions.
Things to consider when buying a Printer

• Purpose of the printer. • Speed of the printer.
• Colour of the printouts. • Networking features built by the printer.
• Cost of the printer. • Printer RAM (memory).
• Quality of the printer • Duplex printing (printing on both sides of the
paper).
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Monitors
A monitor is a device that displays text, graphics and videos, and is a visual window
for the user.
Two types of Monitors
Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitors - are yesterday's technology for ordinary PC
users. They are popular amongst graphic artists and typesetters because of their crisp
Images.
Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) monitors - are flat-panel displays that use liquid
crystal technology. They are popular amongst PC users because they are flicker-free,
take up less space and are available in larger sizes. Their screen sizes are measured
diagonally from the bottom left corner to the right corner of the screen. The quality of
the monitor depends on its resolution.
Pixels
A pixel is the smallest unit of a digital image. A monitor with a resolution of 800×600
displays 800 pixels per horizontal inch and 600 pixels per vertical inch to create an
image on the screen.
Factors that determine the quality of a Monitor
• Resolution - is the degree of fineness. The more the pixels in a monitor the
better the resolution.
• Screen size - screen must match its resolution.
• Refresh quality - is the speed with which a CRT monitor redraws an image on
the screen. It is measured in hertz (Hz).
• Pixel response time - is a measure of how long it takes for a pixel change
colour, measured in milliseconds (ms). Ghosting occurs when an image is
etched permanently on a monitor's screen.
Projectors
A projector displays information from a computer onto any large flat surface.
Types of Projectors
Data projector receives signals from a computer and project them as images onto a
screen, a wall or any flat surface. It is used for presentations, lectures, interactive
learning and demonstrations for a large audience due to its clear images.

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LCD projector uses its own light source to display the information shown on the
computer screen. It produces low-quality images.
Digital light processing (DLP) projectors use tiny mirrors to reflect light, which
produces sharper, brighter and more colourful images. Their displays can be seen
clearly in a well-lit room.
Plotter
Plotters is an output device and a kind of printer which is used to print the vector
graphics. It uses mostly pencil, pen or marker instead of the
toner.
Output Devices for people with Special Needs
Headsets Speakers
Headsets and Speakers can be useful for visually impaired people. Text is converted
into speech and can be output via the headset or speaker in a sound format.
Storage Devices
Storage medium is the physical material on which to store data, Instructions and
information. E.g. Internal and External hard disks, CDs, DVDs and USB flash drives.
Storage device is a hardware component that records and/or retrieves items to and from
a storage medium. E.g. CD/DVD writer records and retrieves information to and from a
CD or DVD.
Difference between Primary memory and Secondary memory
Primary memory Secondary memory

It is a temporary storage memory It is a permanent storage memory
It is volatile It is non-volatile
Has smaller storage capacity Has larger storage capacity
(2GB-8GB) (500GB-4TB)
It is faster It is slower
Directly accessible by the CPU Not directly accessible by the CPU

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Types of Storage devices

Floppy disk SD/Memory cards Zip disk
USB Flash drive CDs/DVDs
External hard disk
Internal hard disk
• Internal hard disks: store different types of data, information and programs.
Capacity ranges from 350 GB to 2 TB. They can also be used for Backups.
• Portable (External) hard disks: are used by mobile users and for backups. Capacity
ranges from 350 GB to 4 TB. They need to be handled with care because they have
moving parts.
• USB flash drives: are small, fast, able to store a large amount of data, and reliable
because they don't have moving parts. Capacity ranges from 1 GB to 128 GB.
• Compact disc (CD): is an optical storage medium that uses laser technology to read
and record data. Capacity is about 700 MB. CDs have a lifespan of 50 years.
- A CD-ROM is a read-only format that can be read by any number of times.
- A CD-R (CD recorder) allows the user to write to a section of the disc and later
write to another section of the disc.
- A CD-RW (CD rewriteable) allows the user to write and erase multiple times.
- A CD-ROM drive can only CDs.
- A CD-RW drive can read from and write to CDs.
- LightScribe burns a title to a CD or DVD that has been specially treated.
• Digital Versatile discs or Digital Video discs (DVDs): are optical storage media
that use laser technology to read and record data. DVDs stores images with higher
quality and greater speed than CDs. They also have a lifespan of 50 years. Capacity
ranges from 4.7 GB to 17 GB.
- A DVD-RW disk drive can read from and write to DVD.
- A Blu-ray player is required for high-definition DVDs. In Blu-ray format you
can record, rewrite and play back high-definition video.
• Memory cards: are found in digital devices, such as cameras, cellphones,
MP3/MP4 players. Capacity ranges from 8 MB to 32 GB.
Optical, Magnetic and Solid state memory/storage devices

Optical storage devices are flat, round disks that spins around their center.
They use laser light to read and write data in disks.
Examples: - CDs - DVDs - Blu-ray disks

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Magnetic storage devices are magnetic disks that uses different patterns of
magnetisation to store data. Information is accessed using one or more read/write
heads.
Examples: - Hard disks/drive - Floppy disks - Magnetic tapes are
Solid state storage device have no moving parts and separate media not necessary to
read or write heads.
Examples: - Memory sticks (such as Flash/USB/Jump drives and memory cards or
SD cards)
Chapter 6: OPERATING SYSTEMS AND FILE MANAGEMENT

Operating System (OP)
The operating system is the main software that controls all the operations that take
place in a computer and manages the computer hardware.
Types of Operating Systems User Interface
GUI CLI
Graphical User Interface (GUI): lt uses windows, icons, menus and mouse pointers
and mouse clicking (selecting, dragging or opening icons).
Examples of GUI System software
• Microsoft Windows 7, 8 or 10 • Chrome OS • Linux (like Ubuntu)
Advantages of GUI
- It is easy to use suitable for beginners.
- It has drag and drop features for folders.
- We can detect eyes and finger movement which is helpful for disabled.
Disadvantages of GUI
- It is difficult to develop and high cost. - It requires extra attention.
- It is lower than Command Line Interface. - It consumes a lot of space.
GUI Applications
- Web browser - Email messager - Music, games and video player
Command Line Interface (CLI): It is text based. It displays a prompt; the user types a
command on the keyboard and executes the command.
Examples of CLI Application software
• Shall displays the data on the screen.
• Console application used via a text only.
Advantages of CLI
- It is good for expert users. - It is very flexible with use of switches (options).
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- It uses the fewest System resources.

Disadvantages of CLI
- It has hidden features. - It is not good for notive (beginners).
- It requires the user to learn complex commands or languages.
CLI Applications
- System administration - Engineering application
- Scientific application. - Ideal for visually impaired users
Differences between GUI and CLI

- CLI enables a user to communicate with the system through commands while GUI
permits a user to interact with the system by using graphics which includes
images, icons.
- CLI has low memory consumption while GUI has high memory consumption.
Functions of the Operating System

• Starting up a computer: The Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) performs the
Power On Self Test (POST) to ensure that the computer hardware connected to the
computer is correctly installed and fully functional. It further instruct the computer to
start (boot).
- Booting is the process of starting or restarting a computer.
- Cold booting is switching a computer on.
- Warm booting is restarting a computer that is already on.
• User interface: is a combination of hardware and software that helps people and
computers to communicate with each other.
• Managing programs and tasks: a single user/single tasking operating system
allows only one user to run one program at a time, e.g. word processing. A single
user/multi-tasking operating system allows a single user to work on two or more
programs that reside in memory.
• Task manager: displays a list of processors.
• Configuring devices: controls input and output.
• Scheduling tasks and updates: Plug and play the OS automatically configures new
devices as you install them. Trigger causes a task to run.
• Memory management: it optimises the use of RAM. Thrashing is when the
operating system spends too much of its time paging instead of executing
applications.
• Security features: resources access control done through identification and
authentication.
• Monitoring performance of the processor, disks, network and memory usage.
File Management
Files Empty folder Folder with files

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A file is a collection of organised facts. Files are stored in folders on a computer.

Three types of Files
• Data file: is a file that contains data and information. E.g. text files, image files,
sound files and video files.
• Program file or Executable file: is a file that consists of a set of instructions that
orders a computer to perform tasks.
• Shortcut file: is an address of another file or folder. You can access the file or
folder from a shortcut instead of directly opening them.
A Folder is a logical representation of a location where you can store files or other
folders. Folders help people to organise their computer documents for quicker and
easier access. A folder within another folder is known as a subfolder.
A Directory is a system classification that contains a set of computer files and other
folders. Files and Folders are viewed in a hierarchical format.
• A root directory is the top of a directory hierarchy on a storage medium.
• A file path identifies the location of a file on a storage medium.
Example of a file path: C:\Users\ICT\Global.docx
File Organisation and Access

File organisation is a methodology that is applied to a structured computer file.
Objectives of File Organisation
• Ease of the creation and maintenance.
• An efficient means of storing and retrieving information.
File Organisation Methods
The selection of a particular file organisation method depends on:
• Type of application • Size of file • File volatility
• Method of processing • File query capabilities • Response time
1. Sequential file organisation method: data records are physically stored one
after the other in ascending, descending or chronological order of a key field.
This method is used in applications, such as payroll management.
Advantages
- Simple to understand.
- Easy to maintain and organise.
- Easy to reconstruct the files.
- Loading a record requires only the record key.
- Relatively inexpensive.
Disadvantages
- Very low activity rate.
- Impossible to handle random enquiries.
- High data redundancy.
- An entire file has to be processed to retrieve specific information.
2. Direct (or Random or Relative) file organisation method: data records are
stored in direct or random access storage media using an identifying key. The
identifying key is an actual storage location on the storage medium.
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Advantages
- Less access time.
- Transaction need not to be sorted.
- Existing records can be amended or modified.
- Very easy to handle random enquiries.
- Most suited to interactive Online applications.
Disadvantages
- Data may be accidentally erased or overwritten.
- Risks of loss of accuracy and breaches of security.
- Less efficient use of storage space.
- Expensive hardware and software are required.
- High complexity in programming.
File access is a way in which information can be retrieved.

File Access Methods
1. Direct access or Random access method: the information/data/records stored
on a device can be accessed randomly and immediately. E.g. in Hard disks,
USB flash and CD/DVD data can be accessed directly and quickly.
2. Sequential access method: the information/data/records stored on a storage
medium are accessed in the exact order in which they were stored. E.g. In
older storage media, such as magnetic tapes data is accessed sequentially.
Backing up and Restoring Data

A backup is a copy or duplicate of a file or data from the original that can be used to
restore data after a data loss.
Backups can take place daily or weekly. Backups can be stored on hard disk drives,
USB flash drive, CDs, DVDs, local servers in a local network or an Internet based
server (Online or Cloud storage).
Types of Backups
• Full backup - a new copy of every file and folder you've specified is created.
• Differential backup - only those files and folders that were added or changed
since the last full backup are copied.
• Incremental backup - backs up files that were added or changed since the last
backup.
Backup Utilities: enable users to make copies of certain files or the entire hard disk to
another disk or other storage medium. Backups must be kept in a different location
(off-site) or in fireproof safe.
How to make a Backup
(i) Click the Start button to open the backup utility, then select Control Panel.
Type
backup in the search box and then click Backup and Restore.
(ii) Select the appropriate action to perform.

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Restoring Data
- Restoring data means the act of recovering data from a backup.
- A restore point is a snapshot of your computer settings; is a backup of the
Windows Registry.
How to use Restore Points
(i) Click on the Start button and type system restore in the search box.
(ii) Select the appropriate action to perform.
Chapter 7: PRESENTATION PACKAGES

Introduction to Presentation Packages
- Microsoft Suite includes Microsoft PowerPoint as the presentation application.
- Presentation packages allows you to easily include multimedia, such as text,
images, animated images, sound clips and video clips in your presentation.
The basic PowerPoint Presentation work space (or screen)
The slide area consists of:

• The slide • The Scroll bars
• The ruler • The slide work place
The Slide Views
• Normal - is the default view in which you edit the slides.

• Slide Sorter - shows you all the slides in order and allows you to rearrange,
duplicate or delete slides easily. It is a useful view in which to add transitions
and timings.
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• Reading view - allows you to see the slide full screen as it would appear when
running the slide show.
• Slide show - it is used to run the show so that you see the slides without any of
the Ribbon or other Window elements showing.
• Previous - displays the previous viewed slide.
• Next - displays the next slide to be viewed.
Creating Slides
To create a Slide
1. Click inside the placeholder and type in the title and the subtitle.
To add Slides to a Presentation
1. Click on the New Slide menu on the Home tab and choose the layout you require
for the new slide. OR
2. Press Ctrl + M on the keyboard.
Slide Layouts
• Title slide - has placeholders for a title and subtitle.

• Title and Content - has placeholder for a title and one of the body of the slide.
It could be a bulleted list of text, image, sound/video clips, chart, ClipArt, etc.
• Section Header - provides information for the subsection of the presentation.
• Two Content - provides space for the title and two columns of content.
• Comparison - the two columns would have the same type of content, such as
two lists so that they can be compared.
• Title Only - enables you to add any content you like below the title.
• Blank - enables you to design your own content using text boxes, shapes and
images.
• Content with Caption - enables you to add text down the left side with more
graphical content in the larger space on the right.
• Picture with Caption - can contain a large graphic with a caption.
- New Slide adds new slides to a presentation.
- Duplicate Slide makes an exact copy of the current active slide.
- Delete Slide removes the slide currently selected.
- Esc key on gets you out of the view.
- Notes Page View on the view tab allows the presenter to view the notes on
their own.
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To run a Slide Show

Ways to start a Slide Show
1. Click on the Slide Show shortcut at the bottom right of the Window. OR
2. Go to the Slide Show tab and choose the "From Beginning" or the
"From Current" slide option. OR
3. Press the F5 key to start Show from the first slide. OR
4. Press Shift + F5 key to start the Slide Show from the current slide.
Adding Animations to Objects on a Slide

- To animate is to make a static object move.
- Animation menu tab has four groups namely:
• The Preview option: enables you to see how the animations and the slide
transitions you have chosen look without having to change to the Slide Show
view.
• The Animation group: enables you to animate individual objects on a slide.
Effects options: enables to customise how exactly the animation will take place.
• The Advanced Animation: allows you to further customise an animation.
- Trigger allows you to choose which action will make the animation start.
- Animation Painter allows you to copy the animation settings of one object
onto another.
• The Timing group: allows you to set various timing options, such as whether the
animation starts on the click of the mouse or starts automatically to the set time.
Adding sound effects to animations

1. Activate the Animation Pane, then select the required object.
2. Click on the drop-down list to the right of the object's name.
3. Choose the Effect Options item and choose the sound effect from the list.
Adding Slide Transitions

A transition is a special effect, such as animations and timing that are applied to
change the way in which you move from one slide to the next.
1. Click on the Transition tab and choose the one you require.
Formatting Slides
Slides are in landscape orientation by default.
To apply a Theme to a Slide
- A theme consists of a combination of backgrounds, colour set combinations and
font sets.
- Themes provide uniformity and help to make a presentation look colourful
and professional.
1. Select the Design tab and choose from the many themes available in the
Themes group.
2. Right-click on a theme to choose how to apply it.

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To apply a set of Theme colours to a Slide

1. Click on the Colours option to the right of the Themes group and choose the
theme colour.
To apply a set of Theme fonts to a Slide

1. Click on the Fonts option to the right of the Themes group and choose the font.
Apply Effects to Shapes in a Slide

1. Click on the Effects option to the right of the Themes group and choose the
effects.
Change the Slide Background

1. Click on the last group of the Design tab and choose the background.
Chapter 8: GENERAL COMPUTER APPLICATIONS

Introduction to range and Scope of Computer Applications
Home Applications
Household Entertainment and Recreation
- Playing online and offline computer games. - Watching TV.
- Browsing on the Internet. - Playing online and offline music.
- Watching online and offline movies. - Communicating via social media.
- Downloading movies and music into a computer or an MP3 player.
Household Appliances and Devices that are controlled by Embedded
Microprocessors
- Washing machine - Microwave ovens - Digital watches - Digital cameras
Office Applications
Office Equipment
- Computer - Printers - Photocopier - Scanners
- Fax machine - LCD projectors - Telephone
Office automation, such as computer and telephone systems – improves employee
productivity and efficiency and assists with communication amongst employees.
Office Communication
• Office Information System (OIS) - enables employees to perform tasks using
computers and other electronic devices in organisations.
• Intranets - are internal or private networks that uses Internet technology to
facilitate communication between people or work-groups to improve data sharing
and the overall knowledge base of an organisation's employees.
Examples of Intranets: - Viewing company benefits.
- Policies
- Internal telephone directions.
- Calendar for the year.
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• The Internet is the world's largest computer network. It can also be used for
communication.
• Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is the latest way of making phone calls.
Regular voice calls are sent via computer networks rather than ordinary
telephone networks. Businesses use VoIP because costs are low.
• The Mobile Office operates away from the office. Mobile users often have a
laptop computer and cellphone to talk to colleagues and clients, and access
e-mails and the Internet.
Advantages: - Time flexibility - Decreased expenses
- Location flexibility - Improved productivity
Disadvantage: It may intrude on your personal time when communicating with
colleagues across time zones.
• The Virtual Office takes the mobile office a step further. Your business is run
using mobile technology without a formal office space. Computers needed for
virtual office are a laptop, a modem or router for Internet access, a cellphone and
a fax machine or fax-to-e-mail.
Decentralisation of Labour
Employees work from home (known as teleworking or telecommuting) or from a place
other than the traditional work-place, using Internet, e-mails, fax and phone services.
An employee log into the company network to access data over the Internet.
Advantages
- Employees can work more flexible hours.
- There is no wasted time traveling to work.
- Business save on Office space.
- Business benefit from a decrease in employee absenteeism.
Disadvantages
- Employees must own the required ICT devices.
- Meetings are dependent on video and teleconferencing technology.
- There is less direct and personal interaction among fellow employees and
clients.
Commercial Applications
• Point-of-Sale (POS) is a Computerised system that captures sales where the
transaction occurs. It is a combination of a cash register, a printer and a barcode
reader. Some POS systems are web-enabled allowing them to update stock at other
locations.
• Stock Control is a Computerised system which ensures that stock is ordered and
maintained in the correct quantities.
Importance of Stock Control
- It ensures there are enough raw materials to meet planned production.
- It allows a company to buy in bulk at lower prices.
- Holding stock is a safeguard against price increases.
- It helps to identify the cheapest and fastest suppliers.
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- It allows for integration with other systems.

• Traffic Controls
- Traffic management and control systems, monitor, operates and controls traffic
lights.
- Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) monitoring system, have improved response
times to incidents by emergency services and traffic controllers.
- Real-time monitoring uses highly reliable and intuitive GUI to monitor.
• Robotic farm tractors, are used for cultivation and harvest in agriculture.
Information Systems
Industrial uses of Computers
• Improving the accuracy of the processes, such as designing clothing, creating
patterns or embroidering designs in textile industry.
• The use of automation and robotics in mining industry.
• For gaming, music composition, greeting cards and stimulations in entertainment
industry.
• For beverage, liming and cement production in manufacturing industry.
Technical uses of Computers
• For electronic transaction systems.
• For intelligent traffic systems.
• For data and telecommunication.
Scientific uses of Computers
• For carrying out scientific research.
• Scientists use computers to model data and make predictions, e.g. predicting
weather conditions.
• Scientists use computers for solving complex mathematical equations.
Chapter 9: COMPUTER SECURITY

Computer Security Assets
- Assets are any useful or valuable things or resources.
- Threats or Concerns are any possible dangers that might occur to cause a possible
harm.
Systems Security Policy Structure
System Security policy is a policy that formally describes how the organisation deals
with security issues.
Examples of Specific Security Policies
• Acceptable use policy - spells out (say) clearly what every employee or member
of the organisation may or may not do on the computer network.
• Password protection policy - makes the employees responsible for protecting
their passwords.
• Software installation policy - specifies who may install software and what
software may be installed on a network.
• E-mail policy - specifies which employees have access to e-mail at work.
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• Web access policy - specifies who may access the Internet and what may be
accessed on the Internet.
• Data encryption policy - states which, if any, documents or files must be
encrypted and how they will be encrypted. Encryption is the process of making
data unreadable.
• Privacy policy - specifies the protection of both employees and clients.
• Disaster recovery policy - specifies measures of recovering lost items.
• Data backup policy - specifies ways of backing up data.
• Workstation protection policy or Physical resources protection policy -
specifies ways of protecting physical resources at the workstation.
Reasons for a System Security Policy

- To protect physical computer equipment and infrastructure against abuse, damage
and theft.
- To protect organisation's data stored on the computer system.
- To protect personal information about clients and business partners.
How to maintain Security Policy

- Check it constantly. - Update it frequently.
Security Concerns or Threats

1. Hardware failure - you might not be able to retrieve data stored on a failed
computer or storage device. This could be disastrous for an organisation.
Protection against Hardware failure
- Backup all your important information and programs regularly.
2. Human errors - include: deleting a file accidentally, saving a file wrongly,
making typing mistakes, not entering all the data provided, etc. Computer bugs
are errors in the actual cost of computer program that cause unexpected or
erroneous behavior or results.
Prevention against Human errors
- Build good interfaces that do error-checking as the user enters data.
- Build data verification processes into your system security policy. Data
verification are processes to check that data entered is correct.
- Build data validation into input screens that check for things like the correct
date format. Data validation is a policy that formally describes how the
organisation deals with security issues.
- Use system security settings.
3. Power failure - unsaved data or files on the computer that has shutdown due to
power failure could be lost or corrupt files. This cause a big problem when
accessing data on a network server.
Corrupted file is a damaged or unreadable file.
Network server is a powerful computer that runs the software that controls the
network.

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Protection against Power failure

- Install an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) to protect computer
equipment. An UPS is a device that supplies battery backup power to a
computer in case of a power failure.
- Saving regularly when working on a computer.
- Install generators in a highly critical system like a bank.
- Make regular backups of important data to other devices.
4. Natural disasters - include: storm damage, lightning strikes, fires, floods and
earthquakes that completely destroy a computer system.
Protection against Natural disasters
- Implement disaster recovery policy. The policy includes the backup of all
data offsite and puts the system out of action for a minimum time in case of a
total disaster.
5. Computer viruses called malware - are computer programs that are installed
on a computer without the permission of the user and they are harmful to the
computer.
Examples of Malware:
• Computer worm is a software that does not attach itself to a particular file
but duplicate itself and spread easily through a network and via e-mail.
• Trojan horse appears to be useful software and it does not duplicate itself,
but once installed on a computer it does damage to the system.
• Spyware is software that collects various types of information from web
browsing habits to logging the keystrokes that the user performs on the
computer. This can be used to gain knowledge of usernames and passwords
that can then be used for further illegal activity.
• Adware is software that displays advertisements on your computer. It is
harmless, but advertisements pooping up all the time can be very annoying.
Protection of computer system against Malware
- Ensure that the system is protected by a good anti-virus software.
- Set security settings on a computer network in order to make it impossible to
install any kind of software.
6. Unauthorised access
• Hacking - hackers access a system only to prove that they can overcome the
security measures put in place.
• Cracking - crackers overcome security measures with the intention of doing
harm like destroying or stealing data. Hackers and crackers gains knowledge
of someone's password and then logs into the system using their username
and password.
- Password is a secret word used to gain access to information.
- Username is a name that uniquely identifies someone on computer
system.
- Log in or Log on is the entering of identifier information into a system
by the user in order to access that system.

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- Log out or Log off is the process by which the user end or stop the
access to the system.
Measures to prevent Unauthorised access
- Force all the users to change their passwords regularly.
- Educate all users on password security and correct password choice.
- Important and confidential data should be encrypted.
- The computer system or network must be protected by a firewall.
7. Theft of Data and Hardware
Prevention of Computer equipment theft
- Put burglar alarms and burglar bars.
- Security guards to search everyone entering and leaving venues containing
computer equipment.
- Access controlled areas that require PIN codes or biometric scans.
- Locks and cables that lock equipment to permanent fixtures.
Prevention of Computer data theft
- Encrypt important data.
- Use strong password on important data.
- Use firewall to prevent unauthorised access.
- Disabling DVD drives and USB ports so that data can not be copied on to
portable media.
- Limiting access to e-mails and Internet.
8. Cloud storage
• Cloud computing is the use of online software applications and storage on
the Internet.
Issues an organisation needs to consider when using Cloud storage
- Trust an external service provider with the security of your data.
- If you have no Internet access, you have no access to your data.
- If you have important data stored in the cloud, any employee with access to
this storage can access the data from anywhere in the world.
9. Loss of portable storage devices - such as memory sticks and external hard
disks, are very easy to lose and break.
Prevention of loss and breaking of portable devices
- Keep them away from fire and water or moisture.
- Store them in safe place to avoid breaking them.
10. Gaining unauthorised control of Surveillance system
• Surveillance is a close observation of an individual or group of people or
persons under suspicion.
Computer Security Professionals

• Chief security officer - is responsible for the overall security system in an
organisation.
• Network security specialist - is a special kind of network administrator who looks
after all security aspects of the network, such as firewalls and anti-virus system.

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• Computer hacker - tests for weak points in the system security in order to fix the
security problem.
• Other jobs related to computer system security include:
- Computer crime investigator.
- Ant-virus and ant-spyware software developer.
- Disaster recovery expert.
Computer Security Systems

Areas and Restriction to Systems
Include: access control, biometric security, PAP, authentication and UOP.
Automated Security methods
1. Access control is a process by which users are granted access and certain
privileges to systems, resources or information. In access control systems, users
must present credentials, such as PIN or password before they can be granted
access.
2. Biometric security is a security mechanism used to authenticate and provide
access to a facility or system based on the automatic and instant verification of
an individual's physical characteristics. They store human body characteristics
that do not change over an individual's lifetime.
Human body characteristics used by Biometric
• Fingerprints • Facial recognition • Voice
• Eye texture • Hand patterns
Biometric input is used for identity verification.
3. Personal Identification Number (PIN) is a secure alphanumeric or numeric

code used for authenticated access to a system. It provides security when a
credit/debit card is lost or stolen because the PIN must be known prior to
making money withdrawal.
4. Authentication is a process that ensures and confirms a user's identity. The

Public key infrastructure (PK) authentication method uses digital certificates to
prove a user's identity. Other authentication tools are key cards and USB tokens.
Three factors that can be used for authentication are:
• Password or PIN
• Fingerprint, retina scan or biometric measurement.
• Card or key
5. Passwords Authentication Protocol (PAP) is a simple user authentication

protocol that does not encrypt the data and sends the password and username to
the authentication servers as plain text. PAP is very vulnerable to being read
from the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) data packets exchanged between the
authorization servers and the user's machine.

P a g e | 51
6. User Operation Prohibition (UOP) is a feature that prohibits the user from
performing certain functions parts of a DVD or Blu-ray disc. This is used to
protect one from skipping legal disclaimers or advertisements.
7. Internal attack occurs when an individual or a group within an organisation

seeks to disrupt operations or exploit organisational assets. The best way to
protect against Internal attack is to implement an intrusion detention system and
to configure it to scan for both external and internal attacks.
All forms of attacks should be logged, and the logs should be reviewed
regularly.
Access and Restriction to buildings and rooms

• Use of single-door entry.
• Use of swipe cards.
• Use of biometrics.
Restriction to informal Eavesdropping

Eavesdropping is the act of intercepting communications between two points secretly.
• Use screen savers.
• Use strict time out.


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COMPUTER STUDIES

PREPARED BY: Daka Shadreck

CONTACTS: 0978000816 / 0966256340

DAKAZ©2019 Grade10 COMPUTER STUDIES NOTES by: Daka Shadreck.

Chapter 1: COMPUTER CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Opportunities for Further Education in ICT

Differences between Application and System software

Bespoke (also called Special-purpose or Custom or Tailor-made) software: is

Disadvantages of Bespoke software

- Training and support costs are likely to be much higher.

Creating a Macro in Word

To stop Recording the Macro

Drawbacks (Demerits or Disadvantages) of Macros

Customising a Spreadsheet program using Functions and Formulae

A mathematical function is a pre-written formula that performs mathematical

Example of SUMIF function.

Software for people with Special Needs

Classification of different types of Application Software

2. Enterprise computing software: helps the different departments called functional

3. Reference and Educational software

4. Gaming and Entertainment software: They include computer games and

5. Communication software: enables the exchange of information between

6. Computer-aided design (CAD) software: it is used by architects and interior

8. Multimedia software: it includes a combination of any or all of the following: text,

DAKAZ©2019 Grade10 COMPUTER STUDIES NOTES by: Daka Shadreck.

11. Integrated and Stand-alone software

- All applications have a similar look and feel.

Advantages of Stand-alone software

12. Off-the-shelf and In-house software

Types of System Software

DAKAZ©2019 Grade10 COMPUTER STUDIES NOTES by: Daka Shadreck.

Programming Languages Terms

Types of Computer Programming Languages

2. High-level Programming Languages (HLCPL):

E.g. Pascal PROGRAM HELLOWORD ;

C++ #include <iostream >

C++ //main ( ) is where the program execution begins

3. Variable declaration: it is used to introduce any suitable variables that will

4. Instruction block: it is the executable part of the program that consists of

C++ int main ( ) is the start of the main function

Programming Reserved Words

WriteIn ('Hello World!'); prints "Hello World!" on the screen and

How to define Data Types

2. In C++ we use the keyboard typedef as follows:

DAKAZ©2019 Grade10 COMPUTER STUDIES NOTES by: Daka Shadreck.

Using String Variables

Code Simple Programs in a Programming Language

Install DOSBox to run Turbo Pascal

How to Write a Simple Pascal program

DAKAZ©2019 Grade10 COMPUTER STUDIES NOTES by: Daka Shadreck.

Type instructions into a Pascal program

Type instructions into a C++ program

#include < iostream. h>

//main ( ) is where the program execution begins

Chapter 3: DATA REPRESENTATION AND PROCESSING

Differences between Data and Information

Data Collection and Preparation

Methods of Data Collection

Methods of Data Preparation

Data Verification and Validation

DAKAZ©2019 Grade10 COMPUTER STUDIES NOTES by: Daka Shadreck.

Conversion between Analogue and Digital

Devices that uses ADC (Do not interpret analogue signals)

Digital-to-Analogue converter (DAC)