COMPUTER SKILLS LT 02

Presented
By
Ms Veneranda Ruta
Understanding Computers
Simple Computer System
Understanding Comp....
 Understanding Computers
• Computers are everywhere
– For example cell phones, laptops, tablets
calculators, play stations, microwave, refrigerators
etc.
• Key components of computers
– Computer hardware
– Computer software
 Computer Hardware
• A computer contains many electronic and
mechanical components known as HARDWARE

Is a physical part of the computer system.

It is any computer accessory you can see, touch
and feel.
 Computer Hardware
• Computer hardware is the collection of physical parts of a
computer system.
• It includes all the parts of the computer that you can
physically touch.
• computer hardware comprise of the following components
– Input device
– Output device
– System unit/Processing Unit
– Storage device
– Communications device
INPUT DEVICES
 Input device
• An input device allows you to enter data and
instructions into a computer
Or
• An input device is a peripheral (piece of computer
hardware equipment) used to provide data and control
signals to an information processing system such as a
computer or information appliance.
• For example
• keyboard, microphone, Image scanner, Pointing device, Light pen,
Mouse, Touchpad, Touch screen, Webcam, Barcode reader, digital
camera etc.
 Input Devices cont..
• Examples of input devices
 (ii)Scanner/scanning devices
• This use beams and reflected light to translate
hardcopy ,images of text.
• Drawings, photos and the like into digital form
images can be then processed by a computer
and displayed on a monitor, stored in the
storage devices or communicated to another
computer.
Continue…
 (iii)Fax machines
• It is used to scans images on paper and sends
it as an electronic signal over the telephone
lines to receiving fax machine.
OUTPUT DEVICES
 Output devices
• A hardware component that conveys information to one
or more recipients.
Or
• Any device that is used to send data from a computer to
another device or user.
Or
• Any peripheral that receives data from a computer,
usually for display, projection, or physical reproduction
• Examples of output devices are printer, speaker, monitor,
headphones etc.
 Output devices cont..
• Examples of output devices.
 Output Devices: The Monitor

Most desktop computers use a monitor with a

Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) and most notebooks
use a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) monitor.
To get the full benefit of today's software with
full colour graphics and animation, computers
need a color monitor with a display or
graphics card.

Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Flat screen

© JORDAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE (JUCO) 17
 Output Devices: The Printers

Printers: The printer takes the information from your

computer and transfers it to paper or a hard copy.
There are many different types of printers with
various levels of quality . The three basic types of
printer are; dot matrix, inkjet, and laser.

© JORDAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE (JUCO) 18

 Output Devices: The Printers
Dot matrix printers work like a typewriter transferring
ink from a ribbon to paper with a series or 'matrix' of
tiny pins.
Ink jet printers work like dot matrix printers but fires
a stream of ink from a cartridge directly onto the
paper.
Laser printers use the same technology as a
photocopier using heat to transfer toner onto paper

© JORDAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE (JUCO) 19

 Both Input & Output Device: Modem

A modem is used to translate information transferred through

telephone lines or cable

The term stands for Modulate and Demodulate which

changes the signal from Digital, which computers use, to
Analog , which telephones use and then back again.

Modulation will refer to changing Digital Signal to Analog one

Demodulation will refer to changing Analog Signal to Digital

one

© JORDAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE (JUCO) 20

PROCESSING/SYSTEM
UNIT
 System Unit
• System unit: the main case of a computer

• The system unit houses the processing

hardware for that computer, as well as disk
drives, memory, the power supply, cooling
fans, etc.

• The system unit for a desktop PC often looks

like a rectangular box
Components of a System Unit
 Components of System Unit
1. Processor interprets & carries out the basic instructions that
operate a computer.
2. Memory holds data waiting to be processed & instruction
waiting to be executed.
3. Processor & Memory are connected to a circuit board called
the motherboard.
4. Adapter cards (expansion slots): are circuit boards that
provide connections and functions not built into the
motherboard.
5. Devices outside the system unit often attach to the ports.
6. A drive bay holds one or more disk drive.
7. The Power supply provide the computer with the electricity.
Rear side of System Unit
Inside a System Unit
 Internal hardware
Motherboard
• Is the largest circuit board inside the system
unit whereby the most hardware are
mounted.

• Motherboard contains different elements as

(memory, processor, modem, slots for graphic
card and LAN card ).
Motherboard labeled
 Computer fan
• The major function of the computer fan is to
keep the power supply and other components
from becoming hot, because electricity from
AC can generate a lot of heat.
 The Motherboard
• Circuit board: thin board containing chips—very
small pieces of silicon or other semi-conducting
material onto which integrated circuits are
embedded—and other electronic components

• Motherboard or system board: the main circuit

board inside the system unit

• External devices (monitors, keyboards, mice,

printers) connect to the motherboard by plugging
into a port exposed through the exterior of the
system unit
 Computer Hardware: Central Processing Unit
The Central Processing Unit (CPU) referred to as the brains of
a computer. It contains 2 basic components:
Control Unit (CU)- instructs the rest of the computer system
on how to follow a program instructions
Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) –performs both Arithmetic and
Logical operations.
The speed of the CPU (processor) is measured in Hertz (Hz)
unit.

This processor is fixed here

© JORDAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE (JUCO) 31

 Cont..
• The CPU interprets and caries out the basic
instructions that operates a computer, it manages
most of the computer’s operation. Most of the
devices connected to the computer communicate with
a CPU in order to carry out a task
• The CPU is divided into:
1.Control Unit and
2.Arthmetic/ Logic Unit

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CPU does the following functions..
• Fetching-A process of obtaining a program
instruction or data item from memory
• Decoding- a process of translating instructions into
command the computer understand
• Execution- a process of carrying out the commands
• Storing is a process of writing a results to memory

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 ALU/logic unit
 The ALU another components of CPU performs execution
part of a machine cycle
 Specifically the ALU performs the arithmetic, comparison
and logical operations
 Arithmetic operations include addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division
 Comparison operations involving comparing one data item
to another to determine if the first item is greater than,
equal to or less than the other item
 Logical operations work with conditions and logical
operators such as AND, OR and NOT
© University Computing Centre 34
STORAGE DEVICES
 STORAGE DEVICES
• A storage device is a device in the computer
that is used to store data.
• It Provides one of the core functions of
the modern computer.
 Types of computer storage
• There are four types of
computer storage:
– Primary Storage
– Secondary Storage
– Tertiary Storage
– Off-line Storage
 Primary Storage
• It is also known as main memory.
• Main memory is directly or indirectly
connected to the central processing unit
via a memory bus.
• The CPU continuously reads instructions
stored there and executes them as
required.
• Example:
– RAM
– ROM
– Cache
 RAM (Random Access Memory)
• It can read and write.
• It is a volatile form of memory meaning it is a
computer memory that requires power to
maintain the stored information,
• if the computer loses power, all the data stored
in RAM is lost or 'evaporates'.
• There are two types of RAM:
– DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory)
– SRAM (Static Random Access Memory)
 RAM (Random Access Memory)
• It is also called a volatile memory or
temporary memory.
• It is a type of temporary storage
device.
• RAM loses its data once the power
RAM is turned off.
• Random access memory is used to
directly store and retrieve data and
instructions
• RAM refers to read and write
memory
• The more the RAM is available in
the system the more the no of tasks
can be performed simultaneously.
 ROM (Read Only Memory)
• This memory is used as the computer begins
to boot up.
• ROM memory cannot be easily or quickly
overwritten or modified.
ROM
ROM:
• Read only memory chips
are used by
manufactures to
permanently store some
programs.
 Types of Computer Memory

 RAM
 Random Access Memory
 The main working memory of the computer
 Measured in Megabytes

 ROM
 Read Only Memory
 Contents are ‘hard wired’ and cannot be altered
 Often contains software used to get the hardware to talk to the
operating system

© JORDAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE (JUCO) 43

 Cache
• Cache is a high-speed access area that can be
either a reserved section of main memory or a
storage device.
• Most computers today come with L3 cache or
L2 cache, while older computers included only
L1 cache.
 Secondary Storage
• It is not directly accessible by the CPU.
• Computer usually uses its input/output
channels to access secondary storage and
transfers the desired data using intermediate
area in primary storage.
• Example:
– Hard disk
 Hard Disk
• The hard disk drive is the main, and usually
largest, data storage device in a computer.
• It can store anywhere from 160 gigabytes
to 2 terabytes.
• Hard disk speed is the speed at which
content can be read and written on a hard
disk.
• Disk access time is measured in
milliseconds
 Hard Disk
Internal Hard disk External Hard disk
Portability No Yes
Price Less expensive More expensive
Speed Fast Slow
Size Big Small
 Tertiary Storage
• Typically it involves a robotic mechanism
which will mount (insert) and dismount
removable mass storage media into a
storage device.
• It is a storage system that is usually very
slow,
• it is usually used to archive data that is
not accessed frequently.
• This is primarily useful for extraordinarily
large data stores, accessed without
human operators.
 Tertiary storage
• Examples:
– Magnetic Tape
– Optical Disc
 Magnetic Tape
• A magnetically coated strip of plastic on which
data can be encoded.
• Tapes for computers are similar to tapes used
to store music.
• Tape is much less expensive than other
storage mediums but commonly a much
slower solution that is commonly used for
backup.
 Optical Disc
• Optical disc is any storage media that holds
content in digital format and is read using a
laser assembly
• The most common types of optical media are
– Blu-ray (BD)
– Compact Disc (CD)
– Digital Versatile Disc (DVD)
 Optical Disk
CD DVD BD
Capacity 700MB 4.7GB – 50GB
17GB
Wavelength 780nm 650nm 405nm
Read/Write 1200KB/s 10.5MB/s 36MB/
Speed s
Example • CD-ROM, • DVD-ROM • BD-R
• CD-R • DVD+R/RW • BD-RE
• CD-RW • DVD-R/RW
• DVD-RAM
 Off-line Storage
• Also known as disconnected storage.
• Is a computer data storage on a medium or a
device that is not under the control of a
processing unit.
• It must be insertedor connected by a human
operator before a computer can access it
again
 Off-line Storage
• Examples:
– Floppy Disk
– Zip diskette
– USB Flash drive
– Memory card
 Floppy Disk
• A soft magnetic disk.
• Floppy disks are portable.
• Floppy disks are slower to access than hard
disks and have less storage capacity, but they
are much less expensive.
• Can store data up to 1.44MB.
• Two common sizes: 5 ¼” and 3 ½”.
 USB Flash Drive
• A small, portable flash memory card that
plugs into a computer’s USB port and
functions as a portable hard drive.
• Flash drives are available in sizes such as
1GB, 5GB, 16GB up to 125GB and are an
easy way to transfer and store
information.
 Memory Card
• An electronic flash memory storage disk
commonly used in consumer electronic
devices such as digital cameras, MP3
players, mobile phones, and other small
portable devices.
• Memory cards are usually read by
connecting the device containing the card
to your computer, or by using a USB card
reader.
 Storage Device Features
• Storage Device Features
• Volatility
• Accessibility
• Mutability
• Addressability
 Volatility
• Two types of volatility:
– Volatile Memory
– Non-Volatile Memory
 volatility
Volatile Memory
• Requires constant power to maintain
the stored information.
• The fastest memory technologies.
• All contents are erased when the system's
power is turned off or interrupted.
• It has been morepopularly known as
temporary memory.
 volatility
Non-Volatile Memory
• Will retain the stored information
even if it is not constantly supplied with
electric power.
• Non volatile memory is the device which
keeps the data even when the current is
off.
• It is suitable for long-term storage of
information
 Accessibility
• Two types of accessibility:
– Random access
– Sequential access
 Accessibility
Random Access
• Any location in storage can be accessed at any
moment in approximately the same amount of
time.
• Such characteristic is well suited for primary
and secondary storage.
 Mutability
• Allows information to be overwritten at
any time.
• A computer without some amount of
read/write storage for primary storage
purposes would be useless for many tasks.
• Three types of mutability:
– Read/write storage or mutable storage
– Read only storage
– Slow write, fast read storage
 Read/Write Storage or Mutable Storage

• Allows information to be overwritten at any

time.
• A computer without some amount of
read/write storage for primary storage
purposes would be useless for many tasks.
 Read Only Storage
• Retains the information stored at the time of
manufacture, and write once storage (WORM)
allows the information to be written only once
at some point after manufacture.
• These are called immutable storage
 Slow Write, Fast Read Storage
• Read/write storage which allows information
to be overwritten multiple times, but with the
write operation being much slower than the
read operation.
 Addressability
• Three types of addressability
– Location-addressable
– File addressable
– Content-addressable
• Location-addressable
– Each individually accessible unit of information in
storage is selected with its numerical memory
address.
 File addressable
• Information is divided into files of variable
length, and a particular file is selected with
human-readable directory and file names.
 Content-addressable
• Each individually accessible unit of
information is selected based on the basis
of (part of) the contents stored there.
• Content-addressable storage can be
implemented using software (computer
program) or hardware (computer device),
with hardware being faster but more
expensive option.
• Hardware content addressable memory is
often used in a computer's CPU cache.
Other Example of Storage Devices
• Punch card
• Cloud storage
• RAID
 Punched Card
• Early method of data storage used with early
computers
• Punch cards also known as Hollerith cards
• Containing several punched holesthat
represents data
 Cloud Storage
• Cloud storage means "the storage of data online
in the cloud," wherein a data is stored in and
accessible from multiple distributed and
connected resources that comprise a cloud.
• Cloud storage can provide the benefits of greater
accessibility and reliability; rapid deployment;
strong protection for data backup, archival and
disaster recovery purposes.
 Cloud Storage
• Examples:
– Google Drive
– Flickr
– Microsoft Sky Drive
– Dropbox
– Box
 RAID(Redundant Array of
Independent or Inexpensive Disks)
• It is a category of disk drives that employ two or
more drives in combination for fault tolerance
and performance.
• RAID disk drives are used frequently on servers
but aren't generally necessary for personal
computers.
• RAID allows you to store the same data
redundantly (in multiple paces) in a balanced
way to improve overall storage performance.
 Measuring Computer Storage Capacity
 Bit:
 All computers work on a binary numbering system, i.e. they process data in

one's or zero's. This 1 or 0 level of storage is called a bit

 Byte:
 A byte consists of eight bits

 Kilobyte:
 A kilobyte (KB) consists of 1024 bytes, approx 1,000 bytes

 Megabyte:
 A megabyte (MB) consists of 1024 kilobytes approx 1,000,000 bytes

 Gigabyte:
 A gigabyte (GB) consists of 1024 megabytes approx 1,000,000,000 bytes

 Terabyte:
 A terabyte (TB) consists of approx 1,000,000,000,000 bytes

© JORDAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE (JUCO) 76

 Storage Capacity Measurement

 1 Byte = 8Bits
 1 Character = 1Byte
 1 Kilobyte (KB) = 1024 Bytes
 1Kilobyte = 1024 Character
 1Megabytes (MB) = 1024KB
 1Gigabytes (GB) = 1024MB
 1Terabytes (TB) = 1024GB
 1Petabytes (PB) = 1024 Terabytes

© JORDAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE (JUCO) 77

11: A DVD with 4.7GB storage space, equal to:
i. ……..Megabytes
ii. ……..Kilobytes
iii. ........Bytes

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 Cont’d
 12: John has a Duo DVD with a storage capacity
of 8GB and he want to save a file with
1000bytes.How many Megabytes will remain as a
free space in a DVD after saving that file?

 13: Bill has a Duo DVD, and he want to save a

music file with 2GB and a video file of
2000MB.How many KB will remain as a free space
in a DVD after saving those two files.
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• A flash disk is one of the permanent storage
devices that have the capability of storing
about 1 GB (Giga bytes). How many audio
song can I put into my flash disk before it
becomes full (Assuming that each song
occupies 5MB).

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Computer
Software
© JORDAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE (JUCO) 81
 Concepts: Software
Is a set of instructions which tells the computer how
to do things. Software are also called programs.

82
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 Types Of Software
• There are two types of software on the basis of their
functionality:
– System Software
– Application Software

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 Introducing Computer Software

Is a set of instructions which tells computer how to

do things.
Operating System
 Required to make the computer work
 Translates between humans and the computer hardware

 Applications Software
 Applications such as a word-processor, spreadsheet or database

© JORDAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE (JUCO) 84

 1.System Software (OS)
• System Software is set of programs to
control and manage the operations of a
computer hardware.

• It enables application programs to execute properly.

• It consists of the basic operations as follows:
– Saving data on disk
– Making computer to work for us
– Printing a document etc.

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 Operating System (OS)
• An operating system (OS) is a collection
of software that manages computer
hardware resources and provides
common services for computer programs.
• The operating system is a vital component of
the system software in a computer system.
• Application programs usually require an operating
system to function.

M. Hammad Waseem 86
 Operating System Software

An operating system is the link between you and the

hardware/software
 DOS

 Windows 3

 Windows 95

 Windows 98

 Windows Millennium

 Windows NT

 Windows 2000

 Windows XP

 Others Operating systems(non-microsoft) are Macintosh and

© JORDAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE (JUCO)
Linux family including RedHat, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora 87
etc
 Utility program
• Utility program is a system software
that allows a user to analyze, configure
and Maintain the computer.
• It performs a specific task related to the
management of computer.

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 2. Application Software
• Application Software includes
programs that do real work for user.
• Application Software is created to
perform specific tasks for a user.

• It is also known as application package.

• Application software is used to perform
various applications on the computer.

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 Applications Software
Programs designed to do a specific task designed
mainly for users
 Word processing
 Microsoft Word
 Spreadsheet
 Microsoft Excel
 Database
 Microsoft Access
 Web browsing
 Microsoft Internet Explorer
 Accounting
 Sage
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 Graphical User Interface (GUI)
A Graphical User Interface (GUI) is simply an additional
part of the operating system that displays windows and
drop down menus, and also enables you to drive your
computer using a mouse.

© JORDAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE (JUCO) 91

 The Main Advantages of Using a GUI.
 All programs look similar.
 When you switch from a program supplied by one manufacturer to
one from a different manufacturer, you will find the transition very
easy.
 Application programs work in the same way as the underlying
operating system.
 The GUI also allows programmers to easily write consistent looking
programs.

© JORDAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE (JUCO) 92

 Systems Development
Computer-Based Systems are developed in the following
stages:

Analysis

Testing Design

Programming

© JORDAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE (JUCO) 93

 Computer Software: Exercise Four
1.What is an Operating System?
2.What is an Application Program?
3.Give examples of some common operating systems.
4.What is the latest version of Microsoft Windows
called?
5.What is an application program?
6.Give examples of word-processing applications.
7.Give examples of spreadsheet applications.
8.Give examples of database applications.
9.Give examples of Web authoring applications.
10.What is GUI short for?
11.What is the function of a GUI?
12.List a few advantages of using a GUI.
13.What is systems development?
14.What is a systems development cycle? 94
© JORDAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE (JUCO)
 Characteristics of Computer
1. Speed
2. Accuracy
3. Diligence
4. Versatility
5. Power of remembering
6. No I.Q
7. No Feelings
 ...Characteristics of Computer...

Speed...
 Fast device

 Work done as anormous speed as compare

to human beings

 Speed of Computer is meaured in term

microseconds,nanoseconds,and ever

picoseconds
 ...Characteristics of Computer...

Accuracy...

 Work with the higgest Accuracy

 Accuracy depends upon the

"Design of Computer"

 Human Errors are like wrong

command, inaccurate data input

etc
 ...Characteristics of Computer...

Diligence...

 Free from "monotony"

 Free from "Tiredness"

 Free from Lack of

"Consentration"
 ...Characteristics of Computer...

Versatility...

• Can perform all kind of job

simultaneously

• Can do diverse nature of works

like calculations,graphics

work,searching etc at the same

time
 ...Characteristics of Computer...

Power of Remembering...
• Unlike human being Computer can store huge amount of data

• Doesn't differentiate "Important" & "Not Important"

• Loss or Deletion of data is done by User

 ...Characteristics of Computer...

No IQ...

• Not a thinking machine

• Not Intelligent

• Never does a task as it own

• Follow human Instuctions

 ...Characteristics of Computer...

No Feeling...
• Follow Human Instructions

• Never decides at its own will

• No taste

• No emotions

• No knowledge