INTRODUCTION TO
COMPUTERS AND
PROGRAMMING
CS F111 Computer Programming
Levels of Transformations
Problems
Algorithms
Language
Machine (ISA) Architecture
Microarchitecture
Circuits
Devices
Algorithms
▪ Step-by-step
step procedure that has
– Finiteness (guarantees to terminate)
– Definitiveness (each step precisely stated)
– Effective computability (each step could be
computed)
Programs
▪ Transform the algorithm into a
computer program using a programming
language
▪ Programming languages are mechanical
and not natural; hence are unambiguous
▪ Many programming languages for variety
of purposes
Generations of Programming
Languages
▪ Machine language
– Comprised of 0s and 1s
▪ Natural language
– Ambiguous
– Redundancy
– Complex
– Hence unsuitable for computers
▪ Programming Language
– Abstraction level between human and computer
High level languages (HLLs)
– Machine independent
– Can be compiled to run on any machine
– Much easier to write than Low level
languages
– Higher productivity and abstractions
▪ Data structures like queues, stacks etc.
▪ Control structures like loops, switch etc.
Low level languages (LLLs)
(LLLs
– Machine specific
▪ Programmer exposed to the internal machine
organization
– They access very low level details
▪ Number and type of registers
▪ Specific instructions
▪ Hardware features
– Lower productivity but higher performing
code
– Generally called as assembly language
The C Language
▪ General-purpose
purpose programming language
▪ Closely associated with the UNIX system
▪ Language is not tied with any operating
system or machine
▪ Knowing C programming helps in other
disciplines too
▪ Product in itself – can create a career
based on programming unlike other courses
Operating System
▪ An OS is a layer of software interposed
between the application program and the
hardware, and serves two primary purposes:
– To protect the hardware from misuse by runaway
applications
– To provide applications with simple and uniform
mechanisms for manipulating complicated and often
wildly different low-level
level hardware devices (such
as processor, main memory, I/O devices)
▪ Single-user single-tasking
tasking OS, single-user
multi-tasking OS, multi-user,
multi multi-tasking
OS, real time OS
The UNIX Operating System
▪ Written in high-level
level language
▪ Simple user interface that can provide the
services user wants
▪ Allows complex programs to be built from
simpler programs
▪ Hierarchical file system allowing easy
maintenance
▪ Multi-user multi-process
process system; each user
can execute several processes
▪ Hides machine architecture from the user
The UNIX System
▪ Although written in C language, the
UNIX systems support other languages
including Fortran, Basic, Pascal, Ada,
Cobol, Lisp and Prolog.
Layered architecture of Unix
Kernel
▪ It can not directly interact with
the user.
▪ But interacts with shell (or user
program) through a set of
interfaces and with hardware
devices such as processor, memory,
disk drives etc.
▪ Kernel is a program that
constitutes the central core of
the Operating System.
System
Kernel
rnel provides basic services to all other parts of t
including:
Process Management
Creation, termination, suspension, communication
Memory Management
Allocation for executing process, swapping, paging system
File Management
Allocate secondary memory for efficient storage and retrieva
access rights, reclaims unused storage
I/O Management
Provide controlled access to I/O and network devices
Scheduling processes fairly
Shell
▪ Shell is a program that provides text-
text
only interface to the user.
▪ It’s primary function is to read commands
from the console and execute them.
▪ The term Shell comes from the fact that
it is the outer most part of the OS.
▪ Shell commands
File hierarchy in Unix
▪ Unix treats everything as a file!
▪ “Everything” includes directories (or
folders) as well
▪ Root directory is represented by /
▪ All others are nested within /
Some common operations in Unix
▪ Know the current location; change it
▪ Create, delete and rename files
▪ Filters – head, tail, grep
Three special files of Unix
▪ Standard input
▪ Standard output
▪ Standard error
Redirection and Piping
▪ Input redirection (data taken from a
file other than stdin)
stdin
▪ Output redirection (data goes into a
file other than stdout)
stdout
▪ Redirecting the standard error stream
▪ Piping – from one command to another
command
vi Editor
▪ A text-based
based editor of Unix used to
write programs
▪ Works in three modes:
– Command mode
– Command line mode
– Input mode
