Alijah Abigail R.

Jayme BSN2 – Henderson B – 2nd Semester ENDTERM Reviewer

ENDTERM 2nd Semester – COMPREHENSIVE EXAMS

NCM110NIF – NURSING INFORMATICS

I. COMPUTER HARDWARE
➢ All the physical components of the machine
➢ Composed of many different parts that enable the user to communicate with the
computer and with other computers to produce work
➢ Uses electronic components and instructions to perform calculations and
repetitive and complex procedures, process text and manipulate data and signals

Major Characteristics:
• Automatic
• Electronic
• General purpose such as:
o Speed
o Reliability
o Storage capacity

A. BASIC COMPONENTS OF COMPUTER HARDWARE

1. Central Processing Unit (CPU)
• It is considered to be the brain of the computer.
• It consists of one arithmetic and logic unit, a control unit and a memory.
o Arithmetic and Logic Units
o Control Unit
o Memory
▪ Read Only Memory (ROM) - permanent storage, can only be
read by the computer and cannot be erased or altered
▪ Random Access Memory - working memory primarily used for
working storage. It is changeable, can be accessed, used and
written on repeatedly.

2. Motherboard
• Is a printed circuit board and foundation of a computer that is the biggest
board in a computer chassis
• Allocates power and allows communication to and between the CPU, RAM,
and all other computer hardware components such as hard drives and video
cards

3. CPU Microchip
• Also known as “microprocessor”
• Is a complete computation engine that is fabricated on a single chip
• Is the heart of any normal computer, whether it is a desktop machine, a server
or a laptop
Alijah Abigail R. Jayme BSN2 – Henderson B – 2nd Semester ENDTERM Reviewer

• A CPU Chip’s performance is measured in MIPS or “millions of instructions per

second”

B. INPUT AND OUTPUT

• It is used as a way of receiving commands
and data from the outside and a way of
reporting out its work.
• These are wired to a controller that is
plugged into the slots or circuit boards

Input Devices
• Allows computer to receive information
from the outside world.

Output Devices
• Allows the computer to report its result to
the external world
• It can be in a form of text, data files,
sounds, graphics or signals to other devices

C. STORAGE MEDIA
• It includes the main memory but also
external devices on which programs
and data are stored
o HARD DRIVE – a peripheral that
has high speed and high density
o DISKETTES – a round magnetic
disk encased in a flexible or rigid
case
o CD ROM – rigid disk that holds a
much higher density of
information than a diskette and
has a much higher speed
o CD RW – new type of CD that
could be written on by the user
o USB DISK/FLASHDRIVE – small,
removable hard drive that is inserted into the USB port of a computer
o MAGNETIC TAPE DRIVES – run a magnetic tape the same with any music
tape player. (Today it is obsolete for home computer use)
o ZIP AND JAZ DRIVES – similar to floppy disk but are of higher capacity

D. HISTORY OF COMPUTERS

First Generation Computers complex engineering

• They used vacuum tubes in their applications.
design, they run hot thus required o Prototype World War II
a great deal of cooling. Military Computer
• The first true digital computer, o Vacuum Tube Computer
was built in 1943 with funding o Univac 1
from the U.S Military and used to
design airplane and other
Alijah Abigail R. Jayme BSN2 – Henderson B – 2nd Semester ENDTERM Reviewer

Second Generation Computers

• They were introduced in 1950’s. Fourth Generation
They used transistors instead of Computers/Modern Personal
vacuum tubes. Computer
• There is lesser heat, improve • They developed a new speed
reliability and much greater which could process instructions
speeds. rather than access and speeds
were measured by instructions
per second.
Third Generation Computers
o Intel 8008
• They were introduced in mid-
o Apple
1960’s. They used micro
o IBM 370
miniature; solid state components
called “integrated circuits”

E. SUPERCOMPUTERS

• They are computers with a high level of performance as compared to a general-

purpose computer. The performance of supercomputers is commonly measured
in floating point operations per second instead of million instructions per second.
o CDC 6600
o Cray I supercomputer

F. CLASSES OF COMPUTERS

1. Analog Computer – operates on continuous physical or electrical magnitudes,

measuring ongoing continuous analog quantities such as voltage, current,
temperature and pressure
2. Digital Computer – operates and discrete discontinuous numerical digits using
binary numbering system
3. Hybrid Computer – contains features of both the analog and digital computer; It
is used for specific applications such as complex signal processing and other
engineering-oriented applications

G. TYPES OF COMPUTERS
1. Supercomputers
• The largest type of computer, computational oriented specially designed for
scientific applications requiring gigantic amounts of calculations
2. Mainframes
• The fastest, largest and most expensive type of computer used in corporate
America for processing, storing and retrieving data
• It is a large multiuser central computer that meets the computing needs
especially the large number of repetitive calculations of bills and payroll of
large organizations
3. Microcomputers
• It is used for an increasing number of independent applications as well as
serving as a desktop link to the programs of a mainframe
• Commonly known as “Personal Computer”
4. Handheld Computers
• Small and special functioned computers
• It was introduced in the late 1990’s. It has the same functionality and
processing capabilities to the standard desktop microcomputer however,
there are limited expansion possibilities in the office network.
Alijah Abigail R. Jayme BSN2 – Henderson B – 2nd Semester ENDTERM Reviewer

H. COMMON HARDWARE PERIPHERALS

1. Keyboard – a most common the computer can accept,

input device; similar to a represent on the screen and
keyboard of typewriter and is process; Many types of graphics
connected to the box with a cord; images on paper such as x-rays
Different type of keys found in a 10. Digital Versatile Disk – looks
keyboard as follows: and feels like CD ROM but holds
a. Typewriter Keys much more information and
b. Function Keys contains many more multimedia
c. Numerical Keys features
d. Cursor Keys 11. Printers – converts information
e. Toggle Keys produced by the computer
f. Special Operation Keys system into printed form;
2. Monitor – a display screen Different kinds of printers are as
component that allows the user follows:
to see images, programs, a. Laser printers
commands; Similar to television b. Inkjet printers
screen however the resolution or c. Bubble Jet Printers
clarity is related to the number of 12. Modems – communication
dots, pixels on the screen device used to connect a terminal
3. Mouse and Track ball – hand with mainframe or another
controlled mechanical device that computer
electronically instructs the cursor
to move across the video display
screen
4. Touchpad and Mouse Button –
flat, rectangular depression on
the keyboard that senses
pressure and movement of the
user’s finger
5. Light pen/Touch Screen –
photosensitive device that
responds to light images when
placed against a monitor screen
6. Magnetic Ink Character
Recognition – use to exam the
shape of the Magnetic Ink
Character and convert them into
binary code for computer input
7. Voice Synthesizer – allows users
to input data through speaking
which is connected to a
microphone
8. Optical Character Recognition –
Allows data to be read directly
from a form or document; An
electronic optical scanning device
or a barcode reader that interpret
marks, codes, numbers, letters or
characters
9. Imaging – primarily transforms
images from various types of
graphics into digital form which
 Alijah Abigail R. Jayme BSN2 – Henderson B – 2nd Semester ENDTERM Reviewer

Computer systems are composed of many different component parts that enable
user to communicate with the computer, and with other computers to produce work.
The group of required and optional hardware items that are linked together to make up
a computer system is called its configuration.

Computers are now pervasive throughout the healthcare industry*. Their applications
are expected to continue to expand and thereby improve the quality healthcare while at
the same time reducing some costs**.

I. Computer Hardware Advancement in Healthcare

• Advances in 1900s and 2000s

• First work was administrative functions
• Non-invasive visualization in radiology.
• Computer enhanced surgical instruments.
• Telemedicine is now being used.

II. COMPUTER SOFTWARE

➢ The software is a kind of programs that enable a user to perform some specific
tasks or used to operate a computer.
➢ It directs all the peripheral devices on a computer system what to do and how to
perform work.
➢ Software is supplied as an organized instruction sets called program or more
typically as a set of related programs called package.

PURPOSES OF A COMPUTER SOFTWARE

• Needed to translate instructions created in human language into machine
language
• Needed to make the computer an economical work tool.

HISTORY OF COMPUTER SOFTWARE

• In 1800, Charles Babbage a mathematician invented a device that he named the
analytical machine.
• Augusta Ada Byron, Countess Lovelace, the first programmer, theorized the
use of automatic repetitions arithmetic steps that analytical engine would follow
to solve a problem this is known as Loop Concept.
Alijah Abigail R. Jayme BSN2 – Henderson B – 2nd Semester ENDTERM Reviewer

• The development of data processing machine was taken form field of textiles.
Joseph Jacquard invented the Jacquard Loom.
• In 1881, Herman Hollerith used Jacquard’s idea but developed a machine that
could read punched card and tabulate results
• Grace Murray Hooper, the world’s most expert programmer of early computers,
she greatly advanced the power of computers through her innovation in
computer programming and program languages.

3 TYPES OF SOFTWARE
1. Systems Software: controls the operations of the machine
2. Utility Software: supports efficiency, productivity, and security
3. Applications Software: all the programs the user employs to do the work

A. SYSTEM SOFTWARE
- Systems software controls the operations of the machine and how it works
peripheral equipment and supports utility and application programs.

There are 2 basic types of system software:

• Basic Input Output System
• Operating System

Important Features:
• System Software is closer to the system
• Generally written in a low-level language
• The system software is difficult to design and understand
• Fast in speed
• Less interactive
• Smaller in size
• Hard to manipulate
Alijah Abigail R. Jayme BSN2 – Henderson B – 2nd Semester ENDTERM Reviewer

B. UTILITY SOFTWARE
- Utility software supports efficiency, productivity,
and security of the systems software and
application programs.
- This software includes algorithms, file manager
tool, compression tool, Disk Management tool,
Disk clean up tool, Disk Defragmenter and
security programs such as antivirus.

File Management Tool – are utility software that manages

files of the computer system.

Compression Tool – condense digital files or folders to ensure they take up less disk
space.

Disk Management Tool – are utility software that is used to manage data on disk by
performing various functions on it.

Disk Clean-up Tool – scans your computer's hard drive for files that you no longer
need such as temporary files, cached webpages, and rejected items that end up in your
system's Recycle Bin.

Disk Defragmenter – also known as Disk Defragmentation is a process of organizing

the contents of the disk in a way that all portions of the file(s) are stored in a contiguous
manner. Disk Defragmentation helps reduce data access time and also consolidates the
free space on the disk.

Antivirus – a kind of software used to prevent, scan, detect and delete viruses from a
computer.

C. APPLICATION SOFTWARE
- includes various programs people used to do work, process data, play games,
communicate with others or watch multimedia programs on a computer.
- Application Programs are written in a particular programming language

Important Features:
• Perform more specialized tasks like word processing, spreadsheets, email, photo
editing, etc.
Alijah Abigail R. Jayme BSN2 – Henderson B – 2nd Semester ENDTERM Reviewer

• It needs more storage space as it is bigger in size

• Easy to design and more interactive for the user
• Generally written in a high-level language

Word Processing Software: It makes use of a computer for creating, modifying,

viewing, storing, retrieving, and printing documents.

Spreadsheet Software: Spreadsheet software is a numeric data analysis tool that allows
you to create a computerized ledger.

Database Software: A database software is a collection of related data that is stored

and retrieved according to user demand.

Graphics Software: It allows computer systems for creating, editing, drawings, graphs,
etc.

Education Software: Education software allows a computer to be used as a learning

and teaching tool.

Entertainment Software: This type of app allows a computer to be used as an

entertainment tool.

SYSTEM SOFTWARE VS APPLICATION SOFTWARE

• System Software are designed to manage the resources of the system, like
memory and process management, security, etc. whereas Application Software
are designed to fulfill the requirements of the user for performing specific tasks.
• The System Software is a general-purpose software while the Application
Software is specific-purpose software.
• System Software is written in a low-level language like a machine or assembly
language but Application Software is a high-level language is used to write
Application Software.
• System Software is capable of running independently while Application
Software can't run independently.
• The System Software starts running when the system is powered on and runs
until the system is powered off while the Application Software starts when the
user begins, and it ends when the user stops it.
• System Software are independent of the application software while an
Application Software needs system software to run.
Alijah Abigail R. Jayme BSN2 – Henderson B – 2nd Semester ENDTERM Reviewer

PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
• A computer cannot naturally understand human language
• Machine language
• More English like languages have been developed to facilitate programming

Five Generations of Programming Languages or Sometimes Divided into Three

Levels
1. FIRST LEVEL:
a. First Generation Language/Machine Language
b. Second Generation Language/Assembler Language

2. SECOND LEVEL:
a. Third Generation Language/Procedural Language
b. Fourth Generation Language/High level procedural Language
3. THIRD LEVEL:
a. Fifth Generation Languages/Natural Language/Visual Programming
Language

Machine Language
(First Generation – 1GL)
- Level of instructions and data that the processor is actually given to work on
binary number 0s and 1s
- The lowest level computer language; is conveyed to the computer by the
programmer as binary instructions
- 1940s and 1950s: computers were programmed by scientists sitting before
control panels equipped with toggle switches so that they could input
instructions as strings of zeros and ones.

Assembler Language
(Second Generation – 2GL)
- An assembler converts the assembler language statements into machine
language.
- Late 1950s: this language had become popular.
- Consists of letters of the alphabet; makes programming much easier than trying
to program a series of zeros and ones