COMPUTER SYSTEM

Some decades ago, computers were known to a common man as simply a fast calculating
device. But now with Information Technology (IT) revolution, computers have entered into each
and every field of life. People in every walk of life now understand that the knowledge of
computers is very essential if they need to keep pace with the information and technology in
society. Computers have relieved us from the boring and tiring tasks like copying, comparing,
choosing, checking etc. and now human time and labour can be used much more effectively.
Let us quickly revise the definition of a computer.

CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPUTERS
Speed: Computers work at an enormous speed, so much so that while talking about
computer speed, minutes and seconds seem to be a lifetime because time taken by a
computer to execute an instruction ranges from picoseconds to nanoseconds to
microseconds.

Unit of Time Part of a Second

Millisecond (ms) One thousandth (1/103)

Microsecond (ms) One millionth (1/106)

Nanosecond (ns) One billionth (1/109)

Picosecond (ps) One trillionth (1/1012)

Usually the speed of computer is measured in MIPS (million instructions per second).
So if we say that the speed of a computer is 60 mips, it means that the computer can
execute 60 million instructions in one second.

2. Accuracy: Another very important characteristic of computers is the accuracy of

results. It can give a result of very complicated calculations accurate upto say 10
decimal places (depending upon the type of computer) within fraction of a second. But
yes, a computer follows the principle of GIGO i.e., Garbage in Garbage out. If the
computer is given correct data and instructions, then only it will return an accurate
result.

3. Diligence: Imagine doing the same work a number of times. You will definitely feel
tired or bored. But a computer neither gets tired nor bored doing the same task as many
number of times as you want.
4. Versatility: Computers are capable of doing varied types of jobs. For example, on
your personal computer you can play games, do mathematical calculations, surf the
Internet, send e-mail, draw pictures etc.

5. Enormous Storage Capacity: Computers can store a large amount of information

and data in their memory. The data can be stored on external storage devices like CDs
(Compact Disks) and Pen drives. This way the data can be taken anywhere. Data from
the computer’s memory and from the storage devices can be retrieved accurately
anywhere and at anytime. This has also made the workplaces free of the junk of loads
of files with old records.

BASIC OPERATIONS OF COMPUTERS

The most basic operations which a computer can perform at a primary level are:

1. Input/Output Operation: To understand the input/output operations, let us first study

the difference between Data and Information.
Input is the data and the instructions to be applied on the data which we give to the
computer. Input operation can be performed using various input devices such as
keyboard, mouse, light pen, scanner etc. Computer generates the output by applying
the instructions on the data. We can receive this output by using various output devices
like printers, VDU (Visual Display Unit), graphic plotters, COM (Computer Output on
Microfilm) etc.

2. Text Manipulation: The input given to the computer can be

(i) Numeric i.e., a combination of digits from 0 to 9.
(ii) Alphabetic i.e., a combination of alphabets from A-Z, ‘a’ to ‘z’ and special characters
such as (, ), *, !, { etc.
(iii) Alphanumeric i.e., a combination of alphabetic and numeric data.

3. Logical Operations: A logical expression is that statement which does not show a
numeric result but gives a result in the form of True/False or Yes/No. The logical
operators are OR, AND, NOT
If (p OR q) Yes print “Admission granted” else print “Admission not granted”
Matter will be printed according to whether p is Yes or q is Yes.

4. Mathematical Calculations: Various mathematical operations like addition (+),

multiplication (*), subtraction (-) and division (/) can be performed by a computer on
numeric data.

5. Summarizing Data: As computers work on enormous amount of data, understanding

the data by just viewing it is sometimes very difficult for us. Computers can represent
the data in the form of pie charts, bar graphs, line graphs, tables and reports. This helps
us in easier and quicker understanding of data.

6. Storage and Access: Any type of data can be stored by computers and any data
can be accessed by it within a fraction of a second. Various storage devices like
Magnetic tapes, disks, films etc. are used for this purpose.