Information System:

Hardware and Software

Archana Mehta
Contents
 History of Computers
 Evolution of IT Infrastructure
 Computer System: Hardware
 Computer System: Software
 Programming – Languages
 Types of Computer
 Network
History of Computers

Then Now
Computer Evolution
 1642 Blaise Pascal – mechanical adding machine. Babbage’s
machine was the 1st general purpose mechanical digital computer.
Later his analytical engine had a memory.
Computer Evolution
 Early 1800’s Jacquard – uses punch cards to control the pattern
of the weaving loom.
 1832 Charles Babbage - invents the Difference Engine
 1890 Herman Hollerith – invents a machine using punch card to
tabulate info for the Census. He starts the company that would
later be IBM.
Computer Evolution
 1946 – Mauchly and Eckert created the ENIAC (Electronic
Numerical Integrator And Computer ) computer, first electronic
computer is unveiled at University of Pennsylvania:
 Miles of wiring
 18,000 vacuum tubes
 Thousands of resistors and switches
 No monitor
 3,000 blinking lights
 Cost $486,000
 100,000 additions per second
 Weighed 30 tons
 Filled a 30x50 foot room
 Lights of Philadelphia would dim when it booted up
Computer Evolution
1950s -
 Vacuum Tubes were the components for the electronic
circuitry
 Punch Cards main source of input
 Speeds in milliseconds (thousands/sec)
 100,000 additions/sec.
 Used for scientific calculations
Computer Evolution
1960s -
 Transistors were electronic circuitry (smaller, faster,
more reliable than vacuum tubes)
 Speeds in microseconds (millionth/sec)
 200,000 additions/sec.
 Computers In Businesses: Emphasis on marketing of
computers to businesses
 Data files stored on magnetic tape
 Computer Scientists controlled operations
Computer Evolution
Late 60’s Early 70’s
 Integrated circuit boards
 New input methods such as plotters, scanners
 Software became more important
 Sophisticated operating systems
 Improved programming languages
 Storage capabilities expanded (disks)
Computer Evolution
1970’s Integrated circuits and silicone chips lead to
smaller microprocessors
Computer Evolution
Late 80’s to Current
 Improved circuitry – several thousand transistors
placed on a tiny silicon chip.
 Pentium chip named by Intel
 Modems – communication along telephone wires
 Portable computers: laptops
 Increased storage capabilities: gigabytes
 Emphasis on information needed by the decision
maker.
Evolution of IT Infrastructure
Evolution of IT Infrastructure
Evolution of IT Infrastructure
 Electronic Computing Machine Era – 1930-1950:
 Efficient for accounting tasks.
 Large and cumbersome machines.
 No programmers, and a human machine operator was the
operating system, controlling all system resource.

 General Purpose Mainframe and Mini computer era: 1959 to

present: Introduced by UNIVAC computers and the IBM 700
Series. IBM dominated mainframe computing from 1965 onward
and still dominates this$27 billion global market in 2004.

 Personal computing Era (1981 to present)

At first using the DOS operating system, a text-based command
language, and later the Microsoft Windows operating system, the
Windows operating system software on a computer with an Intel
micro- processor (Wintel PC computer) became the standard
desktop personal computer.
Evolution of IT Infrastructure
 Client/Server era (1983 to present)
Desktop or laptop computers called clients are networked to
server computers that provide the client computers with a variety
of services and capabilities. Computer processing work is split
between these two types of machines. The client is the user point
of entry, whereas the server provides communication among the
clients, processes and stores shared data, or manages network
activities. The term server refers to both the software application
and the physical computer on which the network software runs.
The server could be a mainframe, or a more powerful versions of
personal computers.

 Enterprise Internet computing era (1992 to present)

Networking standards and software tools integrate disparate
networks and applications throughout the firm into an enterprise-
wide infrastructure.
Evolution of IT Infrastructure
 Cloud computing (2000 to present)
Cloud computing is Web-based processing, whereby shared resources,
software, and information are provided to computers and other devices
(such as smartphones) on demand over the Internt. Details are abstracted
from the users, who no longer have need for expertise in, or control over,
the technology infrastructure "in the cloud" that supports them .

This frequently takes the form of web-based tools or applications that

users can access and use through a web browser as if it were a program
installed locally on their own computer.  Typical cloud computing providers
deliver common business applications online that are accessed from
another Web service or software like a web browser, while the software
and data are stored on servers.

The major cloud service providers include Salesforce, Amazon and

google. Some of the larger IT firms that are actively involved in cloud
computing are Fujitsu, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, IBM, VMware and Dell.
Evolution of IT Infrastructure
Cloud Computing Conceptual Diagram
IT Infrastructure Ecosystem
Computer System: Hardware
Computer Systems - Hardware

Hardware: The internal structure of

computers, how they operate and how
they are used in solving computer
problems.
Hardware Components

Memory

Input Output
Devices Devices

CPU
 Components of Hardware
1. CPU - central processing unit is the brain of the computer. Interprets and
executes instructions, controls input and output. It is an integrated circuit or “chip”

 CPU speed is measured by the number of completed instructions cycles per

second. Currently, CPU speed ranges from 600 MHz to 4 gigahertz (GHz or
billion cycles per second).

 The three major components of the CPU are:

Arithmetic Unit (Computations performed)
Accumulator (Results of computations kept here)
Control Unit (Has two locations where numbers are kept)
Instruction Register (Instruction placed here for analysis)
Program Counter (Which instruction will be performed next?)
Instruction Decoding Unit (Decodes the instruction)

 Motherboard: The place where most of the electronics including the CPU are
mounted.
 CPU types:
 Intel Pentium II, III, IV
 Intel Celeron
 AMD Athlon
Components of Hardware
2. Memory (Primary): Stores information. Capacity measured in
Megabytes/Gigabytes and speed in Nanoseconds. Classification
of Memory:
ROM (Read only Memory): Small, instructions are installed
permanently and check the computer resources.
RAM (Random Access Memory): Main memory, temporary,
programs and data are stored while being processed.

3. Input devices: Units that gather information and transform

that information into a series of electronic signals for the
computer. Keyboard, Mouse, Touch Tone Telephone, Touch
screens, Bar Code Scanner, Voice Recognition, Light Pen, Image
Scanner etc.

4. Output devices: Devices that display, print or transmit the

results of processing from the computers memory.. Monitor,
Printer, Voice and Music Speakers, Synthesizers
Auxiliary Storage Devices
 Used to keep data when the power to the computer is turned off.
 Magnetic storage devices store data by magnetizing particles
on a disk or tape. They have a limited life-span of 1 to 5 years,
depending on the device
 Optical storage devices store data as light and dark spots on
the disk surface. They have an unlimited life-span.
 Hard disk Drive: Capacity is measured in Gigabytes (GB) is
magnetic storage device, is permanently installed. Used to store
application software, utilities and data.
 Floppy disk drive capacity is 1.4 MB to 2 MB, magnetic.
 CD-ROM Drives: capacity is 600 to 700 MBs.
Most mass-produced commercial software
is packaged on a CD. Optical storage device.
 Other types are: Zip Drive, Tape Drive,
DVD Drive
Memory Measurements
Binary Number System: A method for representing numbers using only two
digits 0 and 1. Also referred to as Base 2 Binary Code.

Capacity: The amount of information that can be stored on the medium.

Unit Description Approximate Size

1 MB =
1 bit 1 binary digit 1024 KB
1 nibble 4 bits
1 byte 8 bits 1 character 1 GB=
1 kilobyte 1,024 bytes 1/2 page, double spaced 1024 MB
1 megabyte 1,048,576 bytes 500,000 pages 1TB=
1 million bytes 1024 GB
1 gigabyte 1,073,741,824 bytes 5 million pages
1 billion bytes
1 terabyte 1 trillion bytes 5 billion pages
Computer System: Software
Computer System: Software

Software: Instructions and associated

data, stored in electronic format, that
direct the computer to accomplish a task.
Layer Structure
Types of Software
Computer
Computer
Software
Software

Application
Application System
System
Software
Software Software
Software

General-
General- Application-
Application- System
System System
System
Purpose
Purpose Specific
Specific Management
Management Development
Development
Programs
Programs Programs
Programs Programs
Programs Programs
Programs
System Software
System software: Systems software is the control software that
operates the hardware and allows the applications to run.It
includes a combination of the following:
 Device Drivers – is a computer program allowing higher level
computer program to interact with hardware device
 Operating System - Software that translates a computers
commands and allows application programs to interact with the
computer’s hardware
 Servers - a computer program running as a service, to serve the
needs or requests of other programs (referred to in this context
as clients) which may or may not be running on the same
computer
 Utilities - designed to help analyze, configure, optimize and
maintain the computer
 Window System - basic support for graphics hardware, pointing
devices such as mice, and keyboards. The mouse cursor is also
generally drawn by the windowing system. Examples are
Microsoft Windows, Linux,
Programming Software
Programming software is a set of tools that include:

 Compliers - set of programs that transforms source code written

in a programming language into another computer language
(the target language, often having a binary form known as object
code)
 Debuggers
 Linkers or link editor: a computer progran that takes one or
objects  generated by a complier and combines them into a
single executable program
 Text Editors – type of program used for editing plain text file,
used for changing configuration files and programming language
source coed
Functions of an Operating System
User
Interface

Utilities
Resource Task File
and Other
Management Management Management
Functions

Managing memory, i.e. allocating memory to more than one program

running simultaneously.
Interrupts, for Enter, Printer out of paper, or a hardware or software
malfunction.
Diagnostic checks on the system on Boot up, sending error messages
where necessary.
Selecting and controlling peripheral devices through small Driver programs
Application Software
Application software is Easy-to-use programs designed to perform
specific tasks.

Typical applications include:

 Business Software
 Video Games
 Databases
 Mathematical software
 Spreadsheet
 Word Processing
 Decision Making Software
 Simulation software
 Telecommunications
 Medical software
Application Software
Application software can be grouped into three categories:
 Generic:
 general purpose for business;
 most common applications are Word Processing, Spreadsheet
& Database.
 Most generic software for business comes in an integrated
package such as: Microsoft Office
 Bespoke:
 tailor made, specifically written for a specific application.
 An expensive but a perfect solution to a requirement when
there is no suitable package available.
 Often a one off piece of software written for a large
organisation as a perfect match to their needs
 Specific Task:
 particular tasks for business;
 most common are payroll, CAD, and stock control.
 Cheaper to buy than separate packages
Trends in Computer Software
First Second Third Fourth Fifth
Generation Generation Generation Generation Generation
Trend: Toward Easy-to-Use Multipurpose Network-Enabled Application
Packages for Productivity and Collaboration

Natural &
Object-Oriented
DBMS Languages
User-Written Packaged Operating
Fourth-Generation Multipurpose
Programs Programs Systems
Languages Graphic- Interface
Machine Symbolic High-Level
Microcomputer Network-Enabled
Languages Languages Languages
Packages Expert-Assisted
Packages

Trend: Toward Visual or Conversational Programming Languages and

Tools
Programming
Programming Language
 Programming languages allow a programmer to write instructions
that a computer can understand.
 A program needs to be written in a language
 There are many programming languages
 Low-level, understandable by a computer
 High-level, needs a translator!
 C++ is a high level programming language

A sequence of instructions

An algorthm A program
(in human language) (in computer language)
Levels of programming language
 Machine binary language: for machine to understand
 Low-level assembly language
 Mnemonic names for machine operations
 Explicit manipulation of memory addresses
 Machine-dependent
 High-level language
 Readable
 Machine-independent
 Levels of programming language
– an example
Machine binary language Low-level assembly High-level
Software Development
 Major activities
 Editing (writing the program)
 Compiling (creates .obj file)
Source Program
 Linking with compiled files
(creates .exe file) Compile
 Object files
Library routines
 Library modules Edit Link
 Loading and executing
Other object files
 Testing the program Think Load

Execute
Categories of Programming Language
Machine Languages High Level Languages Markup Languages
Use binary coded Use brief statements Use embedded
instructions control codes
1001 1001 Compute X = Y + Z <H1>First heading</H>
1100 1101 <!ELEMENT Product
(#Item | manuf)>
Assembler Languages Fourth Generation Object-Oriented
Use symbolic coded Languages Languages
instructions Use natural statements Define objects that
contain data and actions
LOD Y SUM THE FOLLOWING
NUMBERS Document.write
ADD Z (“Hi There”)
Types of Computers
Types of Computer
Grouped according to speed, cost, size, and complexity.

Fast Expensive Complex Large

Super Computers

Mainframe Computers

Minicomputers

Microcomputer/PC

Palmtop Computer

Calculator

Slow Cheap Simple Small

Super Computers
 Largest category of computer
 Cost millions
 Mostly used for scientific and industrial
research: NASA, Stock Exchanges
Mainframe
 Large powerful computer often serving many connected
terminals.
 Large expensive computer capable of simultaneously
processing data for hundreds or thousands of users.
 Used to store, manage, and process large amounts of data
that need to be reliable, secure, and centralized.
 Usually housed in a closet sized cabinet.

Mini Computer
are similar to mainframes...they are used by business and
government to process large amounts of information.
Personal Computer
 are smaller and less powerful than the
others. They are used in homes, schools,
and small businesses. 3 Main types of PC
are:
 Desktop
 Portable (Notebook/Laptop)
 Hand-Held (PDA - Personal Digital Assistant).
Server
 A computer that processes request for HTML and
other documents that are components of Web pages.
 Purpose is to “serve.”
 A computer that has the purpose of supplying its
users with data; usually through the use of a LAN
(Local Area Network).
Network
Network
Two or more computers
and other devices
that are connected,
for the purpose of
sharing data, programs
and other system resources.
Network
Types of Network
 Local Area Network (LAN) – a network located
in a limited area.
 LANs are found in most businesses.
 Many campuses use LANs.
 Wide Area Network (WAN) – a network that
covers a large geographical area.
Internet - largest of all networks.

All types of networks require special networking

hardware and networking software to allow
different computers to communicate with each
other.
Thank You