COMPUTER STUDIES 15/04/2016

NORTHERN PROVINCE
COMPUTER STUDIES NOTES 2016

COMPILED AND EDITED BY

Mr Siame K –Luwingu Day Seconday School

Mr Chileshe – Kasama Boys Secondary School

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COMPUTER STUDIES “JUNIOR” LEVEL NOTES

Hardware and Software

What is Hardware?

Hardware is the physical parts of the computer system – the parts that you can touch and see.

A motherboard, a CPU, a keyboard and a monitor are all items of hardware.

An analogy…

Your hardware is all of the parts that make up your body: bones, muscles, skin, blood, etc.

What is Software?

Software is a collection of instructions that can be ‘run’ on a computer. These instructions tell
the computer what to do.

Software is not a physical thing (but it can of course be stored on a physical medium such as a
CD-ROM), it is just a bunch of codes.

An operating system such as Windows XP or Mac OS X, applications such as Microsoft Word,

and the instructions that control a robot are all examples of software.

To continue the analogy…

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Your software is all of your thoughts and mental processes: these are the instructions that tell
your physical body what to do

The Difference between Hardware and Software

Computer hardware is the physical components that make up the computer system. Hardware
is useless without software to run on it.

Software is instructions that tell computer hardware what to do. Software is useless unless there
is hardware to run it on.

For a computer system to be useful it has to consist of both hardware and software.

Completing the analogy…

Your physical body cannot function without your thoughts.

And your thoughts need a physical body to exist within

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Next Up → Main Computer Components

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The CPU is the 'brain' of the computer. It is the device that carries out software instructions.

The Pentium processor made by Intel is an example of a CPU.

CPUs usually plug into a large socket on the main circuit board (the motherboard) of a computer.
They get very hot when they are operating so usually have a large fan attached to their top to
keep them cool.

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The speed of a CPU is measured in Hertz (Hz).

The speed generally corresponds to the number of actions the CPU can perform every second.

 1 Megahertz (MHz) is 1,000,000 (1 million) Hertz

 1 Gigahertz (GHz) is 1,000,000,000 (1 billion) Hertz

A typical, modern, fast CPU runs at around 2.8GHz. That means it can perform almost 3 billion
actions every second!

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Main Memory

Any data or instructions that are to be processed by the CPU must be placed into main
memory (sometimes known as primary storage).

Random Access Memory (RAM)

Random Access Memory (RAM) is the part of the computer that temporarily stores the
instructions that the computer is running, and the data it is processing.

RAM is a volatile storage device. This means that if the computer’s power is turned off the
contents of RAM disappear and are lost.

RAM, like the CPU, also plugs in to sockets on the motherboard.

When a computer is in use, its RAM will contain…

1. The operating system software

2. The application software currently being used
3. Any data that is being processed

The storage capacity of memory is measured in Bytes.

Usually RAM can hold millions of bytes of data, so you will see capacities measured in:

 Megabytes (MB) or 1,000,000 (1 million) Bytes

 Gigabytes (GB) or 1,000,000,000 (1 billion) Bytes

So, if a computer has 2GB of RAM, it can hold 2 billion bytes of data and instructions at any
time.

Read-Only Memory (ROM)

Read-Only Memory (ROM) is used in most computers to hold a small, special piece of software:
the 'boot up' program.

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This software runs when the computer is switched on or 'boots up'. The software checks the
computer’s hardware and then loads the operating system.

ROM is non-volatile storage. This means that the data it contains is never lost, even if the
power is switched off.
This 'boot up' software is known as the BIOS (Basic Input Output System)

Peripheral Devices

Technically, a computer need only be made up of a CPU and some RAM. But a computer like
this would not be much use to anybody – other devices need to be connected to allow data to be
passed in and out of the computer.

The general name for these extra devices is ‘peripheral devices’. They are usually categorised
into input devices, output devices and storage devices.

Input and output devices are explored more fully in Section 2.

Storage devices are explored more fully in Section 3.

'Peripheral' literally means 'around the edge'.

In other words these devices are not part of the central core of the computer.

What Are Input Devices?

Devices that pass data into the computer are known as input devices.

A keyboard, a mouse and a webcam are all examples of input devices.

They all take information from the outside world (key presses, hand movements, images),
convert them into data and then send this data into the computer for processing.

What Are Output Devices?

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Devices that take data from the computer are known as output devices.

A monitor, a printer and a loudspeaker are all examples of output devices.

They all take information from the computer and convert it into real world things (images, paper
hardcopy, sound).

What is Secondary / Backing Storage?

Secondary storage (sometimes called backing storage) is the name for all of the devices (apart
from ROM and RAM) that can store data in a computer system.

A hard drive, a CD-ROM, a floppy disc and a USB memory stick are all examples of secondary
storage devices.

Secondary storage is non-volatile, so data that is stored on these devices remains there safely.
When we talk about 'saving' a file, what we mean is moving data from volatile RAM to non-
volatile secondary storage.

e.g. If we are typing a letter using Word, the data for the letter is in RAM (if the power goes off
we lose it all).

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When we save the letter, the data is copied from RAM to a storage device such as a memory stick
or hard-drive for safe-keeping.

Next Up → What is an Operating System?

What is an Operating System?

n operating system is a special piece of software that manages the general operation of a
computer system:

 It provides a user interface so that we can interact with the computer

 It manages applications that are running on the computer, starting them when the user
requests, and stopping them when they are no longer needed
 It manages files, helping us save our work, organise our files, find files that we have
saved and load files
 It manages the computers memory, deciding what should be loaded into memory and
what should be removed
 It looks after computer security, preventing unauthorised access to the system
 It manages the computer’s input and output hardware such as printers, etc.

Without an operating system, a computer is of little use.

But, just having an operating system running alone on a computer is also not very useful - we
need to have application software (such as Word, Excel, etc.) so that we can actually do useful
tasks with the computer.
An operating system is a bit like the manager of a factory - the manager’s job is to keep the
factory running smoothly, to make sure all the sections of the factory work together, to check that
deliveries arrive on time, etc.

But, for the factory to actually make anything, other people (the workers) are required - the
manager cannot make anything him/herself.

Useless!

On its own, the hardware of a computer is a fairly useless lump of plastic and metal!

It Works!

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(But it's not very useful)

Add in an operating system and you have a computer that actually works.

Useful!

To do any useful work you will also have to add application software.

+ +

Operating systems that you may have heard of:

 Windows XP
 Windows Vista

User Interfaces
The system that people use to interact with a computer (to give it commands, to see the results
of those commands, etc.) is known as the user interface.
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There are two that you need to be aware of:

 Graphical User Interface (GUI)

 Command-Line Interface (CLI)

Graphical User Interface (GUI)

A GUI is an interface built around visual (graphical) things:

 Windows are regions of the screen used to display information

 Icons are small pictures that are used to represent folders, software, etc.
 Menus are lists of options the user can select from
 A pointer is an arrow that can be moved around the screen and is used to select things

Windows XP is an example of an operating system with a GUI.

GUIs are quite easy to use due to the visual nature of the interface – the user has lots of visual
clues as to what things do.

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However, to display all of the nice graphics required by a GUI takes a lot of computing power so
quite a powerful computer is needed.

A GUI is sometimes called a WIMP interface:

Windows, Icons, Menus, Pointer

Command Line Interface (CLI)

Many years ago when computers were not very powerful they could not display the colourful
graphics required for a GUI. The only interface available to most computer uses was the
‘command line’.

The user would see nothing but a black screen. They would have to type a command to make
anything happen.

e.g. To copy a text file called NOTES from a floppy disc to the hard drive the user would have to
type:

> COPY A:\NOTES.TXT C:\

The user would have to learn a whole set of strange commands so that they could make use of
the computer system. Plus it was not very interesting look at – no visual clues to tell you what to
do next.

This meant computers used to be quite difficult to use, so this type of interface is only really
suitable for expert users.

Command-line interfaces are still used today on many servers.

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These computers need to use all of their computing power running networks, etc. so they do not
use GUIs.

Next Up → 2. Types of Computer

Types of Computer

Computers come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. You are all familiar desktop PCs and laptops,
but did you know that computers can be as small as your mobile phone (in fact your phone is a
computer!) and as large as a room?!

Mainframe Computer

A mainframe computer is a large computer, often used by large businesses, in government

offices, or by universities.

Mainframe computers are typically:

 Powerful - they can process vast amounts of data, very quickly

 Large - they are often kept in special, air-conditioned rooms
 Multi-user - they allow several users (sometimes hundreds) to use the computer at the
same time, connected via remote terminals (screens and keyboards)

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From their invention back in the 1940s until the late 1960s, computers were large, very
expensive machines that took up the whole of a room (sometimes several!) These were the only
computers available.

The circuit-boards of these computers were attached to large, metal racks or frames. This gave
them the nickname 'mainframe' computers.

Some of the most powerful mainframe computers can process so much data in such a sort time,
that they are referred to as 'supercomputers'

Personal Computer (PC)

The early 1980s saw a revolution in computing: The creation of computers that were small
enough to fit on a desk, and cheap enough that everyone could have their own, personal
computer, instead of having to share access to a mainframe.

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These computers came to be known as desktop computers, or personal computers (PCs).

A typical PC contained the same basic components as a mainframe computer (CPU, RAM,
storage, etc.) but at a fraction of the size and cost.

Early PCs were quite unlike the PCs that we all use today:

 Displays were black and white, and only displayed text (no graphics)
 No hard-drives (way too expensive)
 Just a few 100 kB of RAM (not MB or GB!)
 Slow - a typical speed would be 5MHz (not GHz!)
 No mouse (no pointer to move!)
 Light brown case (for some reason every early PC was brown!)

Because PCs were so much smaller than mainframe computers, they were called
'microcomputers' for a while

Laptop Computer
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A 'laptop' computer is a light, compact and portable PC.

Laptops contain a rechargeable battery so that they can be used even when not plugged in to a
mains power supply. They also have a built-in LCD monitor.

To make them as portable as possible, most laptops try to avoid any sort of cable or wire. Instead
of a mouse, a trackpad is used. Instead of a wired connection to a network or printer, 'wireless'
radio connections are used.

Early portable computers were far from being 'laptops' - you would have crushed your legs if
you'd tried to put these beasts on your lap!

Palmtop Computer

A palmtop computer is similar to a laptop computer, but smaller. It's small enough to fit in the
palm of your hand (hence the name!)

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Palmtops are usually not very powerful since fast CPUs require a large battery and get hot - both
problems in a small device.

A typical palmtop have a very small keyboard - too small to type on normally. Instead the user
types using both thumbs. Also there is no room for a trackpad, so a touchscreen or tiny joystick
is used instead.

Palmtops are extremely portable, but the small keyboard and screen make the devices tiring to
use for long periods.

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Early palmtop computers were pretty basic by today's standards

Palmtops are often called ultra-mobile PCs (UMPC)

Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)

A PDA is similar to a palmtop computer, except it is even more compact, and typically has no
keyboard, using a touchscreen for all data input. Since the screen is so small, many PDAs have
a small stylus (plastic stick) that is used to press things on the screen.

Most PDAs use some sort of handwriting-recognition system to allow the user to write on the
screen, and have their writing converted into text.

PDAs tend to be used a 'digital diaries' allowing users to take their e-mail, documents,
appointments, etc. with them wherever they go.

Note: You never see PDAs any more since modern 'smart' phones can do all of this, and work as
a phone too!

Early PDAs, like early palmtops, were pretty basic. But they were a revolutionary way to take
digital data with you on the move.

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In the 1990s every business person either had, or wanted one of these!

PDAs are often called Pocket-PCs (for obvious reasons!)

Next Up → 2. Input and Output Devices

Input - Keyboards

Alphanumeric Keyboard

A very common, general purpose, input device that allows text (abc…), numbers (123…) and
symbols (%$@...) to be entered into a computer.

A keyboard is simply a set of buttons. Each button has a symbol assigned.

Numeric Keypad

A small keyboard that only has numbers.

Used to enter numeric data into computers such as those in ATMs.

Most computer keyboards have a numeric keypad on the right side, and most mobile phones
(there are also computers) have a one for entering phone numbers, etc.

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PIN Pad

This is a device with a numeric keypad used to enter a person’s Personal Identity Number
(PIN) e.g. when paying with a credit card.

PIN pads are also found on electronic door locks – you enter a PIN to unlock the door.

Next Up → Input - Pointing Devices

Input - Pointing Devices

These devices are used to move an on-screen pointer or cursor (usually an arrow). They are
commonly used with graphical user interfaces (GUIs)

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Mouse

A pointing device found on most PCs. Sensors on the bottom of the mouse detect when the
mouse is moved. Data about this movement is sent to the computer.

Often used to control the pointer in a GUI.

Touchpad / Trackpad

A pointing device found on most laptops. Used instead of a mouse since it takes up less space.
The user moves a finger across the touch pad and this movement data is sent to the computer.

Usually used to control the pointer in a GUI.

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Trackball / Tracker Ball

This pointing device is not moved about like a mouse, instead it has a large ball that the user
spins. Data about which direction the ball is spun is passed to the computer.

It can be used to control a GUI pointer.

Tracker balls are often used by people with limited movement (disabled) or by the very young
since they are easier to use than a mouse.

Touch Screen

A touch screen is an alternative to a separate pointing device. With a touch screen the user
selects items on the screen by touching the surface. This makes touch screen systems very
intuitive and simple to use.

Often used for information terminals in public places e.g. libraries or museums where mice or
keyboards may be stolen or damaged.

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Because they are so intuitive to use, and now they are getting cheaper to manufacture, touch
screens will probably become the most common hardware interface for our electronic gadgets.

Graphics Tablet

A pointing device often used by designers and artists to allow natural hand movements to be
input to graphics applications.

A stylus is held like a pen and moved over the surface of the tablet. Data about the stylus
movements are sent to the computer.

Since it is so like using a pen, it is very easy to create ‘hand-drawn’ sketches.

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Joystick / Joypad

Used mainly for playing games. The user moves the joystick left/right, forward/back and data
about these movements are sent to the computer.

Small joysticks can also be found on some mobile phones.

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Light Pen

A light pen is a device used as a pointing device or to ‘write’ on the screen of a computer.

Light pens are rarely used today since graphics tablets and high-quality touch screens provide
similar functionality.

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Next Up → Input - Audio / Visual Devices

Input - Audio / Visual Devices

Scanner

A device that ‘scans’ images, book pages, etc.

Scanning is basically taking a close-up photograph (just very slowly and with great detail). The
scanned image data is passed to the computer.

The most common type of scanner is the flat-bed scanner which has a glass plate on which the
item to be scanned is placed. The item is illuminated and an image of it is captured by a moving
scan ‘head’.

Scanned images can be further processed once inside the computer, e.g. OCR of printed text.

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Digital Camera

A device that captures digital photographs.

Most digital cameras do not directly input data into a computer - they store photographs on
memory cards. The photographs can later be transferred to a computer.

A modern digital camera can capture 10 Megapixels or more per photograph - that’s 10,000,000
coloured dots (pixels) in every photo!

A digital camera in fact contains a small computer that controls camera focus, stores images,
etc.

The camera’s computer runs a very simple operating system (stored on ROM) and usually
provides a menu-based GUI for the user.

Video Camera

A device that captures moving images, or video.

Like a digital camera, most video cameras do not directly input data into a computer – the
captured movies are stored on video-tape or memory cards and later transferred to a
computer.

However, there are some situations where video cameras do feed video data directly into a
computer: television production and video-conferencing. In these situations the video data is
required in real-time.

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Web Cam

This is a very basic video camera used to feed live video into a computer.

The video data from a web cam is low quality compared to a full video camera. However it is
good enough for web chats (e.g. using a messenger application such as MSN Messenger or
Skype).

Usually a web cam is clipped to the top of a monitor, but many laptops now have web cams built
into the edge of the screen.

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Microphone

An input device that converts sound into a signal that can be fed into a computer.

The signal from a microphone is usually analogue so, before it can be processed by a computer,
it must be converted into digital data. An Analogue-to-Digital Convertor (ADC) is used for this
(usually built into the computer’s sound card)

Many headphones now come with microphones to allow them to be used with chat and phone
applications

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Next Up → Input - Card Readers

Input - Card Readers

Magnetic Strip Reader

Many plastic cards, such as credit cards, have a strip of material that can be magnetised on the
back. Data can be stored here in the form of magnetised dots.

Usually the data stored on this strip in the same data shown on the front of the card (e.g. the
credit card number, expiry date and customer name).

The stripe allows this data to be input to a computer system faster and more accurately than by
typing it in.

A magnetic strip/stripe reader is used to read the data from the stripe. This is usually done by
‘swiping’ the card through a slot on the reader.

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Smart Card / 'Chip' Reader

Modern credit cards and ID cards don’t use a magnetic strip. Instead they have a tiny ‘chip’ of
computer memory embedded inside them. (These cards are often referred to as smart cards.)

Data can be stored in this memory and read back using a ‘chip’ reader.

A card is inserted into the reader where metal contacts connect to the metal pads on the front
face of the card. The reader can then access the memory chip and the data stored on it.

Smart cards can store much more data than magnetic strip cards, e.g. an ID smart card would
store not only the owner’s name and card number, but might also have a digital image of the
person.

Satellite TV decoders use smart cards to store which channels a user has paid for. The data is
encrypted so that it is not easy to alter (you can’t add new channels without paying!)

Many types of card use this system: id cards, phone cards, credit cards, door security cards,
etc.

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Next Up → Input - Reading Text / Codes

Input - Reading Text / Codes

All data could be input to a computer using a keyboard, but this would often be a slow process,
and mistakes would be made.

Sometimes speed and accuracy is required...

MICR Reader

Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) is a technology that allows details from bank
cheques to be read into a computer quickly and accurately.

The cheque number and bank account number are printed at the bottom of each bank cheque in
special magnetic ink using a special font. These numbers can be detected by an MICR reader.

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OMR Scanner

Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) is a technology that allows the data from a multiple-choice
type form to be read quickly and accurately into a computer.

Special OMR forms are used which have spaces that can be coloured in (usually using a
pencil). These marks can then be detected by an OMR scanner.

Common uses of OMR are multiple-choice exam answer sheets and lottery number forms.

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OCR Scanner

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is a software technology that can convert images of
text into an actual text file that can then be edited, e.g. using word-processing software). The
result is just as if the text had been typed in by hand.

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OCR is typically used after a page of a book has been scanned. The scanned image of the page
is then analysed by the OCR software which looks for recognisable letter shapes and generates
a matching text file.

Advanced OCR software can recognise normal handwriting as well as printed text - this is
usually called handwriting recognition.

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Barcode Reader / Scanner

A barcode is simply a numeric code represented as a series of lines.

These lines can be read by a barcode reader/scanner.

The most common use of barcode readers is at Point-of-Sale (POS) in a shop. The code for each
item to be purchased needs to be entered into the computer. Reading the barcode is far quicker
and more accurate than typing in each code using a keypad.

Barcode can be found on many other items that have numeric codes which have to be read
quickly and accurately - for example ID cards.

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Next Up → Input – Sensor

Input - Sensors
A normal PC has no way of knowing what is happening in the real world around it. It doesn’t
know if it is light or dark, hot or cold, quiet or noisy. How do we know what is happening around

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us? We use our eyes, our ears, our mouth, our nose and our skin - our senses.

A normal PC has no senses, but we can give it some: We can connect sensors to it...

A sensor is a device that converts a real-world property (e.g. temperature) into data that a
computer can process.

Examples of sensors and the properties they detect are...

Sensor What it Detects

Temperature Temperature

Light Light / dark

Pressure Pressure (e.g. someone standing on it)

Moisture Dampness / dryness

Water-level How full / empty a container is

Movement Movement nearby

Proximity How close / far something is

Switch or button If something is touching / pressing it

A sensor measures a specific property data and sends a signal to the computer. Usually this is an
analogue signal so it needs to be converted into digital data for the computer to process. This is
done using by an Analogue-to-Digital Converter (ADC).

Sensors are used extensively in monitoring / measuring / data logging systems, and also in
computer control systems.

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Next Up → Input - Remote Control

Output - Audio / Visual

CRT Monitor

A monitor displays text and image data passed to it by the computer.

A cathode-ray tube (CRT) monitor is the type that has been around for years and is large and
boxy.

CRT monitors are heavy and they take up a lot of desk space. They have largely been replaced
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by flat-screen monitors. However some are still used in the design industry since the colour
accuracy and brightness of CRT monitors is excellent, and designers need to see true-to-life
colours.

Also, CRT monitors are generally cheaper than flat-screen monitors.

Flat-Screen Monitor (TFT or LCD)

Over the past few years, as they have come down in price, flat-screen displays have replaced
CRT monitors.

Flat-screen monitors are light in weight and they take up very little desk space.

Modern flat-screen monitors have a picture quality that is as good as CRT monitors.

TFT and LCD are two of the technologies used in flat-screen monitors: TFT is Thin-Film-
Transistor, and LCD is Liquid-Crystal Display.

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Another technology that may replace these is OLED, or Organic Light-Emitting Diodes.

Digital / Multimedia Projector

Digital projectors are used in situations when a very large viewing area is required, for example
during presentations, for advertising, or in your home for watching movies.

A projector connects to a computer, a DVD player or a satellite receiver just like a ordinary
monitor.

The image is produced inside the device and then projected out through a large lens, using a
powerful light source.

Loudspeaker

If you want to hear music or sounds from your computer, you will have to attach loudspeakers.
They convert electrical signals into sound waves.

Loudspeakers are essential for applications such as music editing, video conferencing,
watching movies, etc.

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Next Up → Output - Printing / Plotting

Output - Printing / Plotting

If you want a physical copy of some data on paper (a ‘hardcopy’) you will need a device that
can make marks on paper - a printer or a plotter...

Dot Matrix Printer

A dot-matrix printer is named after the pattern (a grid or ‘matrix’) of dots used when creating the
paper printout.

These dots are formed by tiny pins in the printer’s print head that hit an inked ribbon against the
paper leaving marks. As the print head moves along it leaves a pattern of dots behind it which
can form letters, images, etc.

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Dot matrix printers often use continuous stationary: long, continuous strips of paper (rather
than separate sheets of A4 like ink-jet and laser printers use).

After printing, the printout is torn off from the long strip.

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Dot-matrix print quality is poor, the printers are noisy, and there are much better printing
systems available today. However, the dot-matrix printers are still used in certain situations:

 Since the pins actually hit the paper, several ‘carbon-copies’ can be printed in one go.
An example of this is airline tickets which have several duplicate pages, all printed in
one go
 The print mechanism is very cheap, and the inked ribbons last for a long time. So, where
cheap, low-quality printouts are required, dot-matrix printers are used. An example is
shop receipts.

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InkJet Printer

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Cheap, high-quality, full-colour printing became available during the 1980s due to the
development of ink-jet printers.

These printers have a similar print-head mechanism to a dot-matrix printer. The print-head
passes left and right across the paper. However, instead of using pins to hit inky marks onto the
paper, the ink-jet squirts tiny droplets of ink onto the surface of the paper. Several coloured inks
can be used to produce full-colour printouts.

The droplets of ink come from tiny holes (the jets) which are less than the width of a human hair
in size. Each droplet creates a tiny dot on the paper. Since the dots are so small, the quality of the
printout is excellent (1200 dots-per-inch are possible). This is perfect for photographs.

Ink-jet printers are very quiet in use. Since they have so few moving parts they are also cheap to
manufacture and thus cheap to purchase. However, the ink is very expensive to buy (this is how
the printer companies make their profits!) so the printers are expensive to use.

This is a close-up of the tiny ink dots on a page. The dots combine to form light and dark areas.

Laser Printer

Laser printers are very complex devices, and thus expensive to buy. However they are very
cheap to use. This is because they produce marks on paper using a fine dust called toner which
is relatively cheap to buy. A single toner cartridge will often last for 5,000-10,000 pages of
printing.

The laser printer uses a complex system, involving a laser, to make the toner stick to the
required parts of the paper. (This system is very different to a dot-matrix or ink-jet, and you
don’t need to know the details.)

The laser and toner system allows very fast printing compared to other printers (just a few

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seconds per page).

Laser printers are very common in offices since they print very quickly, are cheap to use and are
reasonably quiet.

Plotter

Plotters create hard-copy in a very different way to printers. Instead of building up text and
images from tiny dots, plotters draw on the paper using a pen.

The pens are held in an arm which can lift the pen up or down, and which can move across the
paper. The arm and pen create a drawing just like a human could, but much more accurately and
more quickly.

Different coloured pens can be used to produce coloured line drawings.

Plotters are often used by designers and architects since they work with huge pieces of paper,
far bigger than anything a normal printer could work with...

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Plotters are only suitable for producing line drawings. They cannot produce the kind of text and
images that an ink-jet or laser printer could. (So you cannot use a plotter to produce photos for
example)

Plotters have been largely superseded by large-format ink jet printers that can produce more
detailed printouts and in full-colour

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Next Up → Output - Control Actuators

Output - Control Actuators

A normal PC has no way of affecting what is happening around it. It can’t turn on the lights, or
make the room hotter. How do we change what is happening around us? We use our muscles to
move things, press things, lift things, etc. (and we can also make sound using our voice).

A normal PC has no muscles, but we can give it some. In fact we can give it the ability to do lots
of things by connecting a range of actuators to it…

An actuator is a device, controlled by a computer, that can affect the real-world.

Examples of actuators, and what they can do are...

Actuator What it Can Do

Light bulb or LED Creates light

Heater Increases temperature

Cooling Unit Decreases temperature

Motor Spins things around

Pump Pushes water / air through pipes

Buzzer / Bell / Siren Creates noise

Actuators are used extensively in computer control systems.

Note: some of these devices require an analogue signal to operate them. This means that they
need to be connected to the computer using a digital-to-analogue convertor (DAC)

Motor

Motors can provide movement.

For example, the motor in a washing machine can be controlled by a computer - it is switched
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on when the clothes are loaded for washing and switched off at the end of the wash.

Computer-controlled motors are also found in microwave ovens (to turn the food around) and
air-conditioning units (to drive the fan)

Pumps

A pump is basically a motor attached to a device that can push water or air along pipes. When
the motor is switched on, water or air flows along the pipes to places it is needed.

Pumps are used in many places: as part of watering systems in greenhouses, in factories, etc.

Buzzer

Buzzers can provide noise.

For example, the buzzer in a microwave oven can be switched on by the controlling computer
when the food is cooked.

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Louder noises can be made using a siren or an electric bell, for example in a burglar alarm
system.

Lights

Lightbulbs and LEDs can by used to provide light, or to indicate something.

For example, computer-controlled lights are used in traffic lights, at music concerts. Lights are
used in car dashboards to show if the any of the systems in the car have problems.

Heaters / Coolers

Heaters can provide heat, and coolers can cool things down.

A computer can switch a heater on or off when needed to keep a room or a greenhouse at the
correct temperature during winter.

A computer can switch a cooling unit on or off to keep a room at the correct temperature during
hot weather, or to keep food fresh.

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Next Up → 3. Storage Devices & Media

3. Storage Devices and Media

The syllabus says that you should be able to:

a. describe common backing storage media and their associated devices:

o magnetic tapes,
o CDs (all types),
o DVDs (all types),
o DVD-RAM discs,
o HD DVD discs,
o Blu-Ray discs,
o hard discs,
o memory sticks,
o flash memory
b. identify typical uses of the storage media, including types of access (e.g.
serial/sequential, direct/random) and access speeds;
c. describe the comparative advantages and disadvantages of using different backing
storage media;
d. define the term backup and describe the need for taking backups;
e. describe the difference between main/internal memory and backing storage, stating
the relative benefits of each in terms of speed and permanence.

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What is Data Storage?

When we talk about ‘storing’ data, we mean putting the data in a known place. We can later
come back to that place and get our data back again.

‘Writing’ data or ‘saving’ data are other ways of saying ‘storing’ data.

‘Reading’ data, ‘retrieving’ data or ‘opening’ a file are ways of saying that we are getting our
data back from its storage location.

Next Up → Backing Storage vs Main Memory

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Backing Storage vs Main Memory

Main Memory

Main memory (sometimes known as internal memory or primary storage) is another name
for RAM (and ROM).

Main memory is usually used to store data temporarily. In the case of RAM, it is volatile (this
means that when power is switched off all of the data in the memory disappears).

Main memory is used to store data whilst it is being processed by the CPU. Data can be put into
memory, and read back from it, very quickly.

Memory is fast to access, but only holds data temporarily...

Backing Storage

Backing storage (sometimes known as secondary storage) is the name for all other data
storage devices in a computer: hard-drive, etc.

Backing storage is usually non-volatile, so it is generally used to store data for a long time.

Backing storage devices are slower to access, but can hold data permanently...

Next Up → Storage Media and Devices

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Storage Media & Devices

The device that actually holds the data is known as the storage medium (‘media’ is the plural).

The device that saves data onto the storage medium, or reads data from it, is known as the
storage device.

Sometimes the storage medium is a fixed (permanent) part of the storage device, e.g. the
magnetic coated discs built into a hard drive

Sometimes the storage medium is removable from the device, e.g. a CD-ROM can be taken out
of a CD drive.

Next Up → Accessing Stored Data

Accessing Stored Data

We refer to a collection of data stored in a computer system as a ‘file’. Files are often organised
into ‘folders’.

Whenever you click ‘Save’ in an application, burn files to a CD-R, copy music onto your MP3
player, or drag and drop a file onto memory stick, you are using storage devices - devices that
can store and retrieve data.

Serial / Sequential Access

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A serial (or sequential) access storage device is one that stores files one-by-one in a sequence.

A non-computer serial access device that will be familiar to you is a VHS videotape. Because
video is stored on a long piece of tape, when TV shows are recorded onto the tape, they go on
one-by-one, in order...

If you want to watch a show that you recorded earlier, you have to rewind / fast-forward
through all other shows until you find it.

The shows are only accessible in the same order that you recorded them. This type of one-by-
one storage and access is called serial access.

Systems that store things on tape (video, music, computer data, etc.) are always serial access

Direct / Random Access

A direct (or ‘random’) access storage device is one that stores files so that they can be instantly
accessed - there is no need to search through other files to get to the one you want.

An example of a direct access device would be a DVD movie. Unlike the VHS videotape movie,
you can jump to any scene on a DVD.

All parts of the DVD are directly accessible. This type of file storage is called direct access.

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Next Up → Data Storage Capacity

Data Storage Capacity

Some storage media can only store a very limited amount of data, whilst others can store vast
amounts...

Data storage capacity is measured in bytes (B).

A thousand bytes is known as a kilobyte (kB)

1,000B = 1kB

A million bytes is known as a megabyte (MB)

1,000,000B = 1MB

A thousand million bytes is called a gigabyte (GB)

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1,000,000,000B = 1GB

A million million bytes is called a terabyte (TB)

1,000,000,000,000B = 1TB
Even a very basic storage devices like a floppy disc can storage over a megabyte of data - that's
over 1 million letters or numbers!

And modern hard drives can store a terabyte of data or more - that's more words than you could
type even if you started now, and typed until your old age!

Next Up → Data Access Speeds

Data Access Speeds

Some storage devices can access data very quickly, whilst others are extremely slow...

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* Note: Modern back-up tapes have very fast access speeds, but only to save/read data
sequentially (they are serial access devices). Tapes are very slow if you want to read files out of
order, since the tape has to be rewound and fast-forwarded.

Access speeds are measured in bytes per second (Bps).

Slow devices have speeds measured in thousands of Bps (kBps).

E.g. a floppy disc can save/read data at a speed of 60kBps

Fast devices have speeds measured in millions of Bps (MBps).

E.g. a hard-drive can save/read data at a speed of 300MBps (5000 times quicker than the
floppy!)

Next Up → Magnetic Storage Devices / Media

Magnetic Storage Devices / Media

Why Magnetic?

Magnetic storage media and devices store data in the form of tiny magnetised dots. These dots
are created, read and erased using magnetic fields created by very tiny electromagnets.

In the case of magnetic tape the dots are arranged along the length of a long plastic strip which
has been coated with a magnetisable layer (audio and video tapes use a similar technology).

In the case of magnetic discs (e.g. floppy disc or hard-drive), the dots are arranged in circles on
the surface of a plastic, metal or glass disc that has a magnetisable coating.

Hard Drives

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Hard-drives have a very large storage capacity (up to 1TB). They can be used to store vast
amounts of data. Hard-drives are random access devices and can be used to store all types of
films, including huge files such as movies. Data access speeds are very fast.

Data is stored inside a hard-drive on rotating metal or glass discs (called ‘platters’).

Fixed Hard Drive

A hard-drive built into the case of a computer is known as ‘fixed’. Almost every computer has a
fixed hard-drive.

Fixed hard-drives act as the main backing storage device for almost all computers since they
provide almost instant access to files (random access and high access speeds).

Portable Hard Drive

A portable hard-drive is one that is placed into a small case along with some electronics that
allow the hard-drive to be accessed using a USB or similar connection.

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Portable hard-drives allow very large amounts of data to be transported from computer to
computer.

Many portable music players (such as the iPod classic) contain tiny hard-drives. These miniature
devices are just not much bigger than a stamp, but can still store over 100MB of data!

Magnetic Tape

Magnetic tape is a large capacity, serial access medium. Because it is a serial access medium,
accessing individual files on a tape is slow.

Tapes are used where large amounts of data need to be stored, but where quick access to
individual files is not required. A typical use is for data back-up (lots of data, but rarely only
accessed in an emergency)

Tapes are also used and in some batch-processing applications (e.g. to hold the list of data that
will be processed).

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Removeable Media Magnetic Discs

Floppy Disc

A removable, portable, cheap, low-capacity (1.44MB) storage medium. Floppy discs are
random access devices used for transfer small amounts of data between computers, or to back-
up small files, etc. Access times are slow.

Almost every PC used to have a floppy disc drive. These are obsolete now, having been replaced
by higher capacity technology such as CD-ROMs, DVDs and USB memory sticks.

Zip Disc

A removable and portable storage medium, similar in appearance to a floppy disk, but with a
much higher capacity (100MB, 250MB or 750MB).

Zip discs are random access devices which were used for data back-up or moving large files
between computers.

Another obsolete storage device, zip discs were a popular replacement for floppy discs for a few
years, but they never caught on fully before being superseded by cheaper media like CD-ROMs
and CD-Rs

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Jaz Disc

A removable and portable storage medium based on hard-drive technology, with a large
capacity (1GB or 2GB).

Jaz discs are random access devices which were used for data back-up or moving large files
between computers.

Discs were expensive to buy and not very reliable.

Like the Zip disc, this system never really caught on and was superseded by far cheaper and
more reliable and cheaper technology.

Next Up → Optical Storage Devices / Media

Optical Storage Devices / Media

Why 'Optical'?

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Optical storage devices save data as patterns of dots that can be read using light. A laser beam
is the usual light source.

The data on the storage medium is read by bouncing the laser beam off the surface of the
medium. If the beam hits a dot it is reflected back differently to how it would be if there were no
dot. This difference can be detected, so the data can be read.

Dots can be created using the laser beam (for media that is writable such as CD-Rs). The beam
is used in a high-power mode to actually mark the surface of the medium, making a dot. This
process is known as ‘burning’ data onto a disc.

This is a magnified view of the dots on the surface of a CD.

The different patterns of dots correspond to the data stored on the disc.

Read-Only Optical Discs

Read-only optical discs have data written onto them when they are manufactured. This data
cannot be changed.

CD-ROM

Compact Disc - Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM) discs can hold around 800MB of data. The data
cannot be altered (non-volatile), so cannot be accidently deleted. CD-ROMs are random-access
devices.

CD-ROMs are used to distribute all sorts of data: software (e.g. office applications or games),
music, electronic books (e.g. an encyclopaedia with sound and video.)

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DVD-ROM

Digital Versatile Disc - Read-Only Memory (DVD-ROM) discs can hold around 4.7GB of data
(a dual-layer DVD can hold twice that). DVD-ROMs are random-access devices.

DVD-ROMs are used in the same way as CD-ROMs (see above) but, since they can hold more
data, they are also used to store high-quality video.

High Capacity Optical Discs

Blu-Ray

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Blu-Ray disks are a recent replacement for DVDs. A Blu-Ray disc can hold 25 - 50GB of data (a
dual-layer Blu-Ray disc can hold twice that). Blu-Ray discs are random-access devices.

Blu-Ray discs are used in the same way as DVD-ROMs (see above) but, since they can hold
more data, they are also used to store very high-quality, high-definition (HD) video.

The 'Blu' part of Blu-Ray refers to the fact that the laser used to read the disc uses blue light
instead of red light. Blue light has a shorter wave-length than red light (used with CDs and
DVDs).

Using a blue laser allows more data to be placed closer together on a Blu-Ray disc, than on a
DVD or CD, so Blu-Ray has a much higher storage capacity than these older discs.

HD DVD

High-density DVD (HD-DVD) discs can hold around 15GB of data (a dual-layer HD-DVD can
hold twice that). HD-DVDs are random-access devices.

HD-DVD discs are used in the same way as DVD-ROMs (see above) but, since they can hold
more data, they are also used to store very high-quality, high-definition (HD) video.

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The HD-DVD format was launched at the same time as Blu-Ray. For about a year they competed
to be the 'next DVD'. For various reasons, Blu-Ray won the fight, and the HD-DVD format has
been abandoned.

Recordable Optical Discs

Recordable optical discs can have data written onto them (‘burnt’) by a computer user using a
special disc drive (a disc ‘burner’).

CD-R and DVD-R

CD-Recordable (CD-R) and DVD-recordable (DVD-R) discs can have data burnt onto them,
but not erased. You can keep adding data until the disc is full, but you cannot remove any data
or re-use a full disc.

CD-RW and DVD-RW

CD-ReWritable (CD-RW) and DVD-ReWritable (DVD-RW) discs, unlike CD-Rs and DVD-Rs,
can have data burnt onto them and also erased so that the discs can be re-used.

When CD-Rs and DVD-Rs are burnt, the laser makes permanent marks on the silver-coloured
metal layer. This is why these discs cannot be erased.

When CD-RWs and DVD-RWs are burnt the laser makes marks on the metal layer, but in a way
that can be undone. So these discs can be erased.

DVD-RAM

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DVD-Random Access Memory (DVD-RAM) discs are a type of re-writable DVD. They often
come in a floppy-disc style case (to protect the disc).

DVD-RAM discs have a similar capacity to a normal DVD, holding 4.7GB of data. DVD-RAM
discs are random-access devices.

DVD-RAM discs are used in many camcorders (video recording cameras).

The discs are much higher quality than normal DVD-RWs and can reliably store data for up to
30 years. This means that they are often used for video and data back-up and archiving.

Next Up → Solid-State Storage Devices

'Solid-State'?

The term ‘solid-state’ essentially means ‘no moving parts’.

Solid-state storage devices are based on electronic circuits with no moving parts (no reels of
tape, no spinning discs, no laser beams, etc.)

Solid-state storage devices store data using a special type of memory called flash memory...

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Flash Memory

Flash memory is a type of Electronically-Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory

(EEPROM). Flash memory is non-volatile (like ROM) but the data stored in it can also be
erased or changed (like RAM).

Flash memory can be found in many data storage devices...

You might wonder why, since flash memory is non-volatile, normal computers don’t use it
instead of RAM. If they did we would have computers that you could turn off, turn back on again
and no data would be lost – it would be great!

The reason is speed – saving data to flash memory is very slow compared to saving it to RAM. If
a computer were to use flash memory as a replacement for RAM it would run very slowly.

However some portable computers are starting to use flash memory (in the form of solid-state
‘discs’ as a replacement for hard-drives. No moving parts mean less to go wrong and longer
battery life.

USB Memory Sticks

Memory sticks (or ‘thumb-drives’) have made many other forms of portable storage almost
obsolete (why burn a CD or DVD when you can more easily copy your files onto a memory
stick?).

Memory sticks are non-volatile, random-access storage devices.

Each of these small devices has some flash memory connected to a USB interface. Plug it into
your computer and it appears as a drive. You can then add files, erase files, etc. You can use it to
move any type of file between computers.

Flash memory used to be very expensive, but in recent years it has become much cheaper and
you can now buy a 16GB memory stick for just a few dollars.

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Memory Cards

Many of our digital devices (cameras, mobile phones, MP3 players, etc.) require compact,
non-volatile data storage. Flash memory cards provide this and come in a variety of shapes and
sizes.

One of the most common formats used by digital cameras is the SD Card. The cards store the
digital images taken by the camera.

Mobile phones contain a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card that contains the phone’s
number, the phonebook numbers, text messages, etc.

Many phones also have extra memory cards to store music, video, photos, etc. (e.g Tiny Micro-
SD cards).

Smart Cards

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Many credit cards (e.g. ‘chip-and-pin’ cards), door entry cards, satellite TV cards, etc. have
replaced the very limited storage of the magnetic strip (the dark strip on the back of older cards)
with flash memory. This is more reliable and has a much larger storage capacity.

Cards with flash memory are called smart cards.

Next Up → Backing Up Data

Backing Up Data

What is a Backup?

A backup simply means making one or more copies of your data.

For example, if you have a folder of photos stored on the hard-drive of your laptop, you might
back them up by copying them to a CD-R.

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Note: If you move the photos from the hard-drive to a CD-R, you do not have a back-up – you
still only have one copy of the photos, but now they are on a CD instead of the hard-drive.

You only have a backup if you have a second copy of your data.

Why Backup Your Data?

If you delete a file by accident, your computer breaks, your laptop is stolen, or your business
burns to the ground, having a backup copy means that you have not lost your precious data. You
can recover your lost files and continue working.

Most businesses use computers to store very important data (customer records, financial
information, designs for products, etc.) If this data is lost, the business could possibly have to
close. Backing-up business data is essential.

How Are Backups Created?

Personal backups of the data on your hard-drive can be made by…

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 Burning files to a CD-R

 Copying files to an external hard-drive
 Copying the files to another computer on a network

Businesses backup essential data by…

 Making copies of data very regularly

 Using large-capacity media such as magnetic tape
 Keeping old copies of backups, just in case
 Automating the system so that nobody forgets to do it!
 Keeping backup media off-site (in case of fire or theft)

Next Up → 4. Computer Networks

Backing Up Data

What is a Network?
A network is two or more computers, or other electronic devices, connected together so that
they can exchange data.

For example a network allows computers to share files, users to message each other, a whole
room of computers to share a single printer, etc.

Network connections between computers are typically created using cables (wires). However,
connections can be created using radio signals (wireless / wi-fi), telephone lines (and modems)
or even, for very long distances, via satellite links.
A computer that is not connected to a network is known as a standalone computer.

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Next Up → Why Use Networks?

Why Use Networks?

Using a computer connected to a network allows us to…

 Easily share files and data

 Share resources such as printers and Internet connections
 Communicate with other network users (e-mail, instant messaging, video-conferencing,
etc.)
 Store data centrally (using a file server) for ease of access and back-up
 Keep all of our settings centrally so we can use any workstation

In particular, if we use a computer connected to The Internet, we can…

 Make use of on-line services such as shopping (e-commerce) or banking

 Get access to a huge range of information for research
 Access different forms of entertainment (games, video, etc.)
 Join on-line communities (e.g. MySpace, Facebook, etc.)

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Next Up → Why Not Use Networks?

Why Not Use Networks?

Using a computer connected to a network means that…

 The computer is vulnerable to hackers

 If the network breaks, many tasks become very difficult
 Your computer can more easily be attacked by a virus

In particular, if we use a computer connected to The Internet…

 We have to be careful about revealing personal information

 We have to be careful to avoid suspect websites that might contain malware
 We have to be aware that information found on The Internet is not always accurate or
reliable

Next Up → Computers in a Network

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Computers in a Network
Computers connected together to create a network fall into two categories: servers and clients
(workstations).

Clients

Client computers, or workstations, are the normal computers that people sit at to get their
work done.

When you use your Web browser, you are in fact using a Web client. When you type in the URL
of a web page, you are actually providing the address of a Web server.

e.g. www.bbc.co.uk is the address of the BBC’s web server.

Your Web browser/client asks this server for the web page you want, and the server ‘serves’ the
page back to the browser/client for you to see.

Servers

Servers are special, powerful computers that provide ‘services’ to the client computers on the
network.

These services might include:

 Providing a central, common file storage area

 Sharing hardware such as printers
 Controlling who can or can’t have access the network
 Sharing Internet connections

Servers are built to be very reliable. This means that they are much more expensive that normal
computers.

In a small network one server might provide all of these services. In a larger network there might
be many servers sharing the work.

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Next Up → Types of Network

Types of Network

Local Area Network (LAN)

A Local Area Network is a network confined to one building or site.

Often a LAN is a private network belonging to an organisation or business.

Because LANs are geographically small, they usually use cables or low-power radio (wireless)
for the connections.

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Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)

A wireless LAN (WLAN) is a LAN that uses radio signals (WiFi) to connect computers instead
of cables.

At the centre of the WLAN is a wireless switch or router - a small box with one or two
antennas sticking out the back - used for sending and receiving data to the computers. (Most
laptops have a wireless antenna built into the case.)

It is much more convenient to use wireless connections instead of running long wires all over a
building.

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However, WLANs are more difficult to make secure since other people can also try to connect
to the wireless network. So, it is very important to have a good, hard-to-guess password for the
WLAN connections.

Typically, the range of a wireless connection is about 50m, but it depends how many walls, etc.
are in the way.

Wide Area Network (WAN)

A Wide Area Network is a network that extends over a large area.

A WAN is often created by joining several LANs together, such as when a business that has
offices in different countries links the office LANs together.

Because WANs are often geographically spread over large areas and links between computers
are over long distances, they often use quite exotic connections technologies: optical fibre
(glass) cables, satellite radio links, microwave radio links, etc.

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The Internet is an example of a global WAN .In fact it is the world’s largest WAN.

Computers on the International Space Station are linked to the Internet, so the you could say the
the Internet is now the first off-planet WAN!

Bluetooth (Personal Area Network)

Bluetooth is a wireless networking technology designed for very short-range connections

(typically just a few metres).

The idea of Bluetooth is to get rid of the need for all of those cables (e.g. USB cables) that
connect our computer to peripheral devices such as printers, mice, keyboards, etc.

Bluetooth devices contain small, low-power radio transmitters and receivers. When devices are
in range of other Bluetooth devices, they detect each other and can be 'paired' (connected)

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Typical uses of Bluetooth:

 Connecting a wireless keyboard to a computer

 Connecting a wireless mouse to a computer
 Using a wireless headset with a mobile phone
 Printing wirelessly from a computer or PDA
 Transferring data / music from a computer to an MP3 player
 Transferring photos from a phone / camera to another device
 Synchronising calendars on a PDA and a computer

Because Bluetooth networking only works over very short distances, and with devices belonging
to one user, this type of network is sometimes called a 'Personal Area Network'

Next Up → LAN Topologies

LAN Topologies
The word topology means ‘arrangement’, so when we talk about the topology of a network, we
mean how the different parts are arranged and connected together.

There are three common network topologies...

Bus Network

In this type of network, a long, central cable, the ‘bus’ is used to connect all of the computers
together. Each computer has a short cable linking it to the ‘bus’.

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A bus network…

 Is cheap to install (just one long cable)

 Can be quite slow since all computers share the same cable when communicating
 Will stop working if there is a break in the central bus cable.

Ring Network

In this type of network each computer is connected to a loop of cable, the ‘ring’. (If you took a
bus network and connected the ends of the bus cable together, you would have a ring network.)

A ring network…

 Can cope with a break in the ring cable since all computers are still joined together (it is
now a bus network)

Star Network

In this type of network every computer is connected to a central device. The device passes
messages between computers.

At the centre of a star network you might use a hub (cheap, but slower) or a switch (more

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expensive, but faster).

A star network…

 Is quite expensive to install (you have to buy lots of cable and the central device)
 Is very fast since each computer has its own cable which it doesn’t need to share
 Can cope with a broken cable (only one computer will be affected)
 Will stop working if the central device breaks
 Is the most common network topology

Hybrid Network

A hybrid network is simply one that combines two or more of the above basic topologies.

E.g. A network that has several star networks linked together is a hybrid network

Next Up → Networking Hardware

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Networking Hardware

Network Interface Card (NIC)

Any computer that is to be connected to a network, needs to have a network interface card (NIC).

Most modern computers have these devices built into the motherboard, but in some computers
you have to add an extra expansion card (small circuitboard)

Some computers, such as laptops, have two NICs: one for wired connections, and one for
wireless connections (which uses radio signals instead of wires)

In a laptop, the wireless radio antenna is usually built in to the side of the screen, so you don't
need to have a long bit of plastic sticking out the side of your computer!

Network Cable

To connect together different devices to make up a network, you need cables.

Cables are still used in most networks, rather than using only wireless, because they can carry
much more data per second, and are more secure (less open to hacking).

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The most common type of network cable cable in use today looks like the one shown above, with
plastic plugs on the ends that snap into sockets on the network devices.

Inside the cable are several copper wires (some used for sending data in one direction, and some
for the other direction).

Hub

A hub is a device that connects a number of computers together to make a LAN.

The typical use of a hub is at the centre of a star network (or as part of a hybrid network) - the
hub has cables plugged into it from each computer.

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A hub is a ‘dumb’ device: if it receives a message, it sends it to every computer on the network.
This means that hub-based networks are not very secure - everyone can listen in to
communications.

Hubs are pretty much obsolete now (you can't buy them any more), having been superseded by
cheap switches.

Switch

A switch, like a hub, is a device that connects a number of computers together to make a LAN.

The typical use of a switch is at the centre of a star network (or as part of a hybrid network) -
the switch has cables plugged into it from each computer.

A switch is a more ‘intelligent’ device than a hub: if it receives a message, it checks who it is
addressed to, and only sends it to that specific computer. Because of this, networks that use
switches are more secure than those that use hubs, but also a little more expensive.

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Router

A router is a network device that connects together two or more networks.

A common use of a router is to join a home or business network (LAN) to the Internet (WAN).

The router will typically have the Internet cable plugged into it, as well as a cable, or cables to
computers on the LAN.

Alternatively, the LAN connection might be wireless (WiFi), making the device a wireless
router. (A wireless router is actually a router and wireless switch combined)

Routers are the devices that join together the various different networks that together make up
the Internet.

These routers are much more complex than the one you might have in your home

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Proxy Server

A proxy server is a computer setup to share a resource, usually an Internet connection.

Other computers can request a web page via the proxy server. The proxy server will then get the
page using its Internet connection, and pass it back to the computer who asked for it.

Proxy servers are often used instead of router since additional software can be easily installed
on the computer such as anti-virus, web filtering etc.

Bridge

A bridge is a network device that typically links together two different parts of a LAN.

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Whereas a router is usually used to link a LAN to a WAN (such as the Internet), a bridge links
independent parts of a LAN so that they act as a single LAN.

Firewall

A firewall is a device, or a piece of software that is placed between your computer and the rest
of the network (where the hackers are!)

If you wish to protect your whole LAN from hackers out on the Internet, you would place a
firewall between the LAN and the Internet connection.

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A firewall blocks unauthorised connections being made to your computer or LAN. Normal
data is allowed through the firewall (e.g. e-mails or web pages) but all other data is blocked.

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In addition to physical devices, firewalls can also be software.

In fact most computer operating systems have a software firewall built in (e.g. Windows, Linux
and Mac OS)

Modem

Before the days of broadband Internet connections, most computers connected to the Internet via
telephone lines (dial-up connections).

The problem with using telephone lines is that they are designed to carry voices, which are
analogue signals. They are not designed for digital data.

The solution was to use a special device to join the digital computer to the analogue telephone
line. This device is known as a modem.

A modem contains a DAC and an ADC.

The DAC in the modem is required so that the digital computer can send data down the analogue
telephone line (it converts digital data into noises which is exactly what the telephone line is
designed to carry.)

The ADC in the modem is required so that the analogue signals (noises) that arrive via the
telephone line can be converted back into digital data.

The reason telephone lines were used is that almost every building in the world is already joined
to every other via the telephone system.

Using the telephone system for connecting computers meant that people didn’t have to install
new wires to their houses and offices just for computer use.

In the last few years however, this is exactly what people have done. Special cables have been
installed just for Internet access.

These special cables are designed to carry digital data, so no modem is required.

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The word modem is an abbreviation of MOdulator DEModulator.

A modulator acts as a DAC, and a demodulator acts as an ADC.

So, simply put, a modem is required because computers are digital devices and the telephone
system is analogue. The modem converts from digital to analogue and from analogue to digital.

If you have ever used a dial-up connection, you have probably heard the noises sent by the
modem down the telephone line.

They sound like a horrible screeching beeping sound.

Next Up → The Internet

The Internet
The Internet is a world-wide network that has grown and evolved from an experimental
network (ARPANet) created by the US military back in the 1960s. Over the years, as more and
more computers and networks have connected to this network, it has grown into the Internet that
we know today.

The Internet connects millions of people, and thousands of businesses, governments, schools,
universities and other organisations.

What Can We Use the Internet For?

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The Internet provides the network connections that links computers together. There are many
ways that we can use these connections:

 View web pages on the WWW (World-Wide Web)

 Sending and receiving e-mail messages
 Sharing files
 Communicating using voice (VOIP) and video (video-conferencing)
 Playing multi-player games
 Listening to streamed music or watching streamed video

The small, hand-drawn map above show the plan for the first connections between four
computers on the ARPANet. It was drawn by one of the engineers who created the network back
in 1969.

From these tiny beginnings, the Internet has grown to a size that would be hard to believe forty
years ago.

Statistics published at the start of 2008 show that 1.3 billion people now have access to the
Internet (20% of world population).

Next Up → Intranets

Intranets
An intranet is the name given to a private network that provides similar services to The
Internet: e-mail, messaging, web pages, etc.

However, these services are only for the users of the intranet – they are private, not public
(unlike Internet services which are generally public).

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Businesses and other organisations often have intranets for use by their employees.

Typical uses of an intranet would be:

 Viewing internal web pages (e.g. company calendars, etc.)

 Internal e-mail and instant-messaging between workers
 Sharing of internal documents

Next Up → Setting Up a Small Network

Setting Up a Small Network

If you were asked to build a small, Internet-connected network from scratch, what would you
need to do?

You would need to buy some hardware:

 One or more switches / hubs - to link devices together

 Network cables to connect devices to the switch, etc.
 A separate wireless access point (or this could be part of the switch) - to allow wireless
devices (e.g. laptops or smart-phones) to join the network
 A router to connect your LAN to the Internet (WAN)
 A firewall to protect your network from hackers
 Possibly a bridge if you already have a section of network and you want your new
network to connect to it
 Server(s) to manage network functions such as network security, network file storage,
shared resources (such as printers)

You would need to organise some other things:

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 Set up an account with an Internet Service Provider (ISP)

 Get an Internet connection installed from the ISP to your location
 Configure various bits of hardware and software so that everything worked with the
network

For any network that is more complex than a small home network, there is a lot to do.

It's not just a case of buying the parts and connecting them together...

 Routers and switches have to be configured (settings changed)

 Network devices need to be given network addresses
 Software needs to be configured to use the network
 Etc...

Networks are pretty complex thing to set-up. The people who do this are called Network
Engineers. It's a very interesting technical job, if you like that sort of thing!

Next Up → Network & Data Security

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Network & Data Security

As soon as your computer is connected to a network, you have to start thinking about security –
security of your files, information, etc.

A network allows a person who does to have physical access to your computer (they are not
sitting in front of it) to gain access all the same. If your computer is connected to a network,
other people can connect to your computer.

A person who gains unauthorised access to a computer system is often called a hacker.

Preventing Unauthorised Access

There are a number of security measures that you can take to prevent hackers accessing your
computer and all of the data stored on it:

Physical Security

The first thing to make sure of is that no unauthorised people can physically access (sit down in
front of) any of the computers on your network.

For example, by keeping office doors locked.

Use a Username and Have a Good Password

The most common way to protect your computer’s data is to setup user accounts with
usernames and passwords. Anyone not having a username, or not knowing the correct
password will be denied access.

For this to be effective passwords must be chosen that are not easy to guess. Passwords should
be a random combination of lowercase letters, uppercase letters and numbers (and symbols if this
is allowed):

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 ‘Weak’ passwords: password, 123456, david, 27dec1992

 ‘Strong’ passwords: s63gRdd1, G66ew$dQ, gdr298783X

Some computer systems replace the typing of usernames and passwords with other forms of user
identification such as ID cards, fingerprint readers, voice-print recognition, etc.
Strong passwords are often hard to remember. Here is a good method for creating a password
that is very strong, but also easy to remember:

Think of a phrase that you will never forget…

“My favourite food is chocolate ice cream”

Take the first letter of each word…

mfficic

Change some letters to similar numbers: I to 1, o to 0, s to 5, etc. and make some letters (e.g. the
first and last) uppercase…

Mff1c1C

A random-looking mixture of letters and numbers. As long as you like chocolate ice cream you
will never forget your password!

Always Install and Use a Firewall

A firewall is a device, or a piece of software that is placed between your computer / LAN and
the rest of the network / WAN (where the hackers are!)

You can read about firewalls in the Networking Hardware section.

Securing Your Data

Often we have data that is private or confidential. This data needs to be protected from being
viewed by unauthorised people. This is especially true if the data is to be sent via a public
network such as The Internet.

The best way to protect data is to encrypt it...

Data Encryption

Encryption is the process of converting information into a form that is meaningless to

anyone except holders of a ‘key’.

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For example, if Alice wants to send important, personal messages to Bob, she must go through
the following steps...

Encryption has been used for centuries to protect secrets.

Military leaders as far back as roman times have used encryption to protect important messages
sent to their armies, messages that must be kept secret from the enemy.

If the messenger was caught by the enemy, the message, being encrypted, remained secret
because they didn’t know the code to decrypt it.

First Alice needs to generate a secret ‘key’.

The key is usually a very long, random number.

The encryption scheme shown here is called Symmetric Key, or Single Key encryption.

There are many better schemes, such as Public Key Encryption, but the one shown here is the
easiest to understand!
Alice must then give a copy of this key to Bob. She must make sure that nobody else can get to
the key

(So maybe Alice will visit Bob and give him a copy of the key on a memory stick or floppy
disc).

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Now that Bob has a copy of the key, each time Alice needs to send him a message she starts by
encrypting it using special encryption software and the secret key.

The encrypted message now looks like a jumble of random letters and numbers.

Alice then sends the encrypted message to Bob.

She can use a public network like the Internet, since, even if it gets stolen, the encrypted
message cannot be read or understood without the key.

When Bob receives the message, he uses special decryption software and his copy of the secret
key to decrypt the message.

Bob can now read the original message from Alice.

Next Up → 5. Data Type and Organisation

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5. Data Type and Organisation

The syllabus says that you should be able to:

a. identify different data types:

o logical / Boolean
o alphanumeric / text
o numeric (real and integer)
o date
b. select appropriate data types for a given set of data: logical/Boolean,
alphanumeric/text, numeric and date;
c. describe what is meant by the terms
o file
o record
o field
o key field
d. describe different database structures such as
o flat files
o relational tables
o relationships
o primary keys
o foreign keys;
e. state the difference between analogue data and digital data;
f. explain the need for conversion between analogue and digital data.

Notes covering this section:

 Different Data Types

 Data Organisation
 Types of Database
 Analogue and Digital Data

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Different Data Types

Before we enter data into a computer system, we usually need to tell the computer what type of
data it is. This is because the computer stores and processes different types of data in different
ways...

Numeric Data

Numeric data simply means numbers. But, just to complicate things for you, numbers come in a
variety of different types...

Integers

An integer is a whole number - it has no decimal or fractional parts. Integers can be either
positive or negative.

Examples

 12
 45
 1274
 1000000
 -3
 -5735

Real Numbers

Any number that you could place on a number line is a real number. Real numbers include whole
numbers (integers) and numbers with decimal/fractional parts. Real numbers can be positive
or negative.

Examples

 1
 1.4534
 946.5
 -0.0003
 3.142

Some computer software used strange names for real data.

You might see this data type referred to as 'single', 'double' or 'float'.

Currency

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Currency refers to real numbers that are formatted in a specific way. Usually currency is shown
with a currency symbol and (usually) two decimal places.

Examples

 K12.45
 -K0.01
 K999.00
 K5500

Percentage

Percentage refers to fractional real numbers that are formatted in a specific way - out of 100,
with a percent symbol.
So, the real value 0.5 would be shown as 50%, the value 0.01 would be shown as 1% and the
number 1.25 would be shown as 125%

Examples

 100%
 25%
 1200%
 -5%

Inside the computer the 50% is stored as a real number: 0.5, But when it is displayed it is shown
formatted as a percentage

Alphanumeric (Text) Data

Alphanumeric (often simply called 'text') data refers to data made up of letters (alphabet) and
numbers (numeric). Usually symbols ($%^+@, etc.) and spaces are also allowed.

Examples

 DOG
 “A little mouse”
 ABC123
 enquiries@bbc.co.uk

Text data is often input to a computer with speech marks (". . .") around it:

"MONKEY"

These tell the computer that this is text data and not some special command.

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Date and Time Data

Date (and time) data is usually formatted in a specific way. The format depends upon the setup
of the computer, the software in use and the user’s preferences.

Date Examples

 25/10/2007
 12 Mar 2008
 10-06-08

Time Examples

 11am
 15:00
 3:00pm
 17:05:45

With inputting dates particular care has to be taken if the data contains American style dates
and the computer is setup to expect international style dates (or vice-versa)...

The date 06/09/08 refers to 6th September 2008 in the international system, but would be 9th
June 2008 in America!

Check your computer’s settings.

Boolean (Logical) Data

Boolean data is sometimes called 'logical' data (or in some software, 'yes/no' data). Boolean data
can only have two values: TRUE or FALSE

Examples

 TRUE
 FALSE

 ON
 OFF

 YES
 NO

Note that TRUE and FALSE can also be shown as YES / NO, ON / OFF, or even graphically as
tick boxes (ticked / unticked)

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Selecting Data Types

When we are presented with data to be input into a computer system, we must analyse it and
select appropriate data types for each value...
e.g. For the following data, we might use the date types shown:

Data Name Data Type Example

Data

 Name Text “Bob Gripper”

 Height Real 1.85
 Date of Birth Date 19 May 1980
 Phone No. Alphanumeric 01244565
 Pay Rate Pay Rate $35.75
 Tax Rate Percentage 15%

Note that the telephone number in the example to the left has a data type of alphanumeric.

You might think that it should be numeric, however phone numbers often have spaces, dashes,
etc. which numeric data cannot have.

Next Up → Data Organisation

6. The Effects of Using ICT

The syllabus says that you should be able to:

a. explain what is meant by software copyright;

b. describe what a computer virus is, what hacking is, and explain the measures that must
be taken in order to protect against hacking and viruses;
c. describe the effects of information and communication technology on patterns of
employment, including areas of work where there is increased unemployment;
d. describe the effects of microprocessor-controlled devices in the home, including their
effects on leisure time, social interaction and the need to leave the home;
e. describe the capabilities and limitations of IT;
f. describe the use of Internet developments such as:
o Web 2.0
o blogs
o wikis
o digital media uploading websites
o social networking websites;
g. discuss issues relating to information found on the Internet, including unreliability,
undesirability and the security of data transfer including phishing, pharming and
spam;

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h. describe the potential health problems related to the prolonged use of ICT equipment,
for example repetitive strain injury (RSI), back problems, eye problems and some
simple strategies for preventing these problems;
i. describe a range of safety issues related to using computers and measures for preventing
accidents.

Notes covering this section:

 Social Effects of ICT

 Health Effects of ICT
 Safety Issues with ICT
 Hacking and Hackers
 Malware and Viruses
 Software Copyright
 Internet Developments
 Internet Use Issues

Social Effects of ICT

Effect of ICT on Patterns of Employment

The personal computer (PC) was developed in the early 1980s. Before this date, computers were
huge, expensive machines that only a few, large businesses owned. Now PCs are found on
almost every desk in every office, all over the world.

Because companies now have access to so much cheap, reliable computing power, they have
changed the way they are organised and the way they operate. As a result, many people’s jobs
have changed...

Areas of Increased Unemployment

Some jobs have been lost as a result of computers being used to do the same work that people
used to do.
Some examples of areas have suffered job losses:

Manufacturing

Many factories now have fully automated production lines. Instead of using people to build
things, computer-controlled robots are used.

Robots can run day and night, never needing a break, and don’t need to be paid! (Although the
robots cost a lot to purchase, in the long-term the factory saves money.)
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Secretarial Work

Offices used to employee many secretaries to produce the documents required for the business
to run.

Now people have personal computers, they tend to type and print their own documents.

Accounting Clerks

Companies once had large departments full of people whose job it was to do calculations (e.g.
profit, loss, billing, etc.)

A personal computer running a spreadsheet can now do the same work.

Newspaper Printing

It used to take a team of highly skilled printers to typeset (layout) a newspaper page and to then
print thousands of newspapers.

The same task can now be performed far more quickly using computers with DTP software and
computer-controlled printing presses.

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Areas of Increased Employment

Although many employment areas have suffered job losses, other areas have grown and jobs
have been created.

Sometimes people who have lost their old job have been able to re-train and get a new job in
one of these growth areas.

Some examples of areas where jobs have been created:

IT Technicians

All of the computers in a business need to be maintained: hardware fixed, software installed,
etc.

IT technicians do this work.

Computer Programmers

All of the software that is now used by businesses has to be created by computer programmers.

Hundreds of thousands of people are now employed in the 'software industry'

Web Designers

Much of modern business is conducted on-line, and company websites are very important.

Company websites need to be designed and built which is the role of web designers.

Help-Desk Staff

People often need help using computers, and software applications.

Computer and software company have help-desks staffed by trained operators who can give
advice.

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Computerising the Workplace - Good or Bad?

As you have seen above, many jobs have changed over the past 30 years. But overall, is this a
good thing, or a bad thing? It depends who you ask of course - If someone has lost their job
because the work is now being done by a computer, that person will probably see it as a bad
thing!

But, on the whole, the computerisation of repetitive, menial tasks (such as working on a factory
production line, or calculating endless financial results) has freed people to do more pleasant,
less dangerous jobs.

There are downsides though. Many people can now access their office network from home via
The Internet. This means they can work from home (remote working) which sounds pretty nice.
However it often results in people working longer hours and missing out on home life.

Microprocessor-Controlled Devices in the Home

What is a Microprocessor?

A microprocessor is a small CPU built into a single 'chip' (see right).

Very powerful microprocessors can be found in PCs (the Core 2 Quad processor made by Intel is
one example) but smaller, less powerful microprocessors can be found in many everyday
devices in our homes.

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Typically, a special type of microprocessor, called a microcontroller, is used in everyday

devices.

In a single ‘chip’, a microcontroller contains:

 A CPU
 Some RAM
 Some ROM (Used for storing the devices software)

Often microcontrollers also contain ADCs and DACs to allow easy connection to devices such
as sensors and actuators.

(For more information about computer control systems, sensors and actuators, here).

Examples of Microprocessor-Controlled Devices

Many of the electronic devices that we use contain a microprocessor...

Some devices are used for entertainment:

 Games consoles
 DVD players
 MP3 players

Some devices help to make our lives easier (labour-saving devices):

 Programmable microwave ovens

 Programmable washing machines
 Home security systems
 Mobile telephones

When people talk about computer 'chips' they are referring to the little, black, square devices
that you can see stuck to computer circuit boards.

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Inside these lumps of black plastic are tiny electronic circuits that are built on slices (or 'chips')
of a special substance called a semiconductor.

In the image above, the 'chip' has been revealed by taking the black plastic off of the top.

These miniature circuits can contain millions of tiny parts called transistors (you would need a
very powerful microscope to see one of the transistors)

These computer chips have revolutionised our world. They have enabled us to pack huge
amounts of computing power into tiny devices such as mobile phones.

The Effect of These Devices on Our Lives

Look at the list of devices above. Now try to imagine living without them - washing your clothes
by hand! Life would be a lot tougher.

Microprocessor-controlled devices mean that we have more leisure time to relax and enjoy
ourselves instead of doing household chores.

We are able to communicate with people very easily using computers, mobile phones, etc. We
can become part of online social networks, making friends with people from all over the world.

Computers and Internet connections mean that many of the tasks that involved us leaving the
house, for example, shopping for music, clothes or food, can now be done on-line.

Online shopping gives us more choice of products and saves us time. It is also great from those
who are unable to get out of the house easily, such as the elderly, or the disabled.

Next Up → Effects on Health

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Health Effects of ICT

If we use a computer for many hours (as people often do at work), there are some health issues
that might affect us...

Eye-Strain

One health issue that can occur after using computers for a long time is eye-strain (tiredness of
the eyes).

This is caused by looking at a monitor which is a constant distance away. The muscles that
focus your eyes do not move, and so get tired and painful. Eye-strain can also cause headaches.

This problem can be solved:

 Look away from the monitor at regular intervals – re-focus on distant or close objects
to exercise the muscles in the eye.
 Take regular breaks.
 Use an anti-glare filter in front of the monitor to cut down on screen reflections that can
also tire the eyes.

Back and Neck Ache

Many people suffer from back and neck pain after working at a computer for a long time. This
is usually due to them having a bad sitting posture.

This problem can be solved:

 Use an adjustable, ergonomic chair, and take the time to set it up properly.
 The computer keyboard and monitor should be at the correct height for the seated
person (keyboard lower than the elbow, top of monitor at eye level).
 Take regular breaks: get up, walk around, stretch your muscles

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Bad Posture Good Posture

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The science of how we interact with the objects around us is called ergonomics.

An ergonomic chair is one that fits the body well, giving support to areas such as the lower back
(lumbar region)

Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) in Wrists and Hands

Any repetitive movement (same movement over and over again) can result in a health problem
called repetitive strain injury (RSI).

In particular, typing and using a mouse for long periods are common causes of RSI in the wrist
(it is often called carpal-tunnel syndrome).

This problem can be solved:

 Use a wrist-rest to support the wrists while typing and when using the mouse.
 Take regular breaks from typing or using the mouse.

Next Up → Safety Issues

Safety Issues with ICT

You wouldn't imagine that using computers could be dangerous, but there are a few situations
that can result in accidents...
Trailing Cables

Computer equipment is often connected to lots of cables: power, network, etc.

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If these cables are laying on the floor, they can cause people to trip over them

Solution: Place cables inside cable ducts, or under the carpet / flooring

Spilt Drinks
or Food

If any liquids are spilt on electrical equipment, such a s a computer, it can result in damage to
the equipment, or an electric shock to the user.

Solution: Keep drinks and food away from computers

Overloaded
Power Sockets

Plugging too many power cables into a socket can result in the socket being overloaded,
overheating, and a fire starting.

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Solution: Never plug too many cables into a socket. Always make sure there are fire
extinguishers nearby

Heavy Objects
Falling

Many items of computer equipment are very heavy: CRT monitors, laser printers, etc. Heavy
items can cause serious injury if they fall on people.

Solution: Make sure equipment is placed on strong tables / shelves

Next Up → Hacking

Hacking and Hackers

What is Hacking?

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The word 'hacking' has several meanings, but in the context of ICT, it is normally taken to mean
breaking in to a computer system.

Why Do Hackers Hack?

A hacker may break into a system just out of curiosity or for the challenge - can they get through
the system’s defences? But, it is more likely that they are breaking in to access data, usually
because the data has value.

For example, if a hacker enters your computer and steals financial information such as your
credit card number, or the password to your bank account, they could use that information to
make purchases.

If a lot of information about you is stolen, a hacker could use this to impersonate you on-line.

They might apply for new credit cards, take out bank loans, buy cars, etc. all in your name.

This is known as identity theft.

Can a Computer be Protected from Hacking?

Just as in the real world, there is no guaranteed way to stop someone breaking into a building
(you can make it very difficult, but every security system has its weaknesses), there is also no
guaranteed way to stop someone breaking into a computer system.

However, you can make it difficult enough so that a hacker moves on and looks for an easier
target.

You should:

 Use strong passwords to protect your user login account

 Never reveal your login password to anyone else
 Place a firewall between your computer and any network
 Disconnect from networks when you are not using them

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 Encrypt any sensitive information (just in case they get in)

Next Up → Malware and Viruses

Malware and Viruses

What is Malware?

Malware is short for malicious software.

Malware is the name given to any software that could harm a computer system, interfere with a
user's data, or make the computer perform actions without the owner's knowledge or
permission.

Basically malware is software that you really don't want to have on your computer!

People can end up with malware installed on their computer system in a variety of ways:

 Installing software that seems ok, but has malware hidden inside (know as a 'Trojan
Horse').
 Having their computer hacked, and the software installed by the hacker.
 Visiting dodgy websites and clicking on infected links
 The computer being infected by a computer virus

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Some examples of malware:

 Spyware (spys on you)

 Adware (pops up adverts all the time)
 Root kits (allows a hacker full access to your computer)

Ironically, one of the most infamous bits of spyware around is called Antivirus XP 2008/9.

This software is advertised as a genuine anti-virus product (for free too!), but if you install it,
you've actually installed some malware. (Read more here)

The software will 'scan' your computer, then tell you that your computer is infected. You'll then
be bullied with endless pop-ups into paying a fee to have your computer 'disinfected'.

In fact the only infection you really have is the fake anti-virus!

It is estimated that the creators of this malware have made millions of dollars from innocent,
gullible computer users.

It's best to assume that if software is given away for free, there is probably something dodgy
about it - Use Google to check any software out before downloading and installing

So, What is a Computer Virus?

A computer virus is a piece of software that can 'infect' a computer (install itself) and copy itself
to other computers, without the users knowledge or permission.

Most computer viruses come with some kind of 'payload' - the malware that does something to
your computer.

For example, the virus might install some spyware (software that watches what you do with your
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computer), it might search your computer for credit card information, or it might install
software that gives someone remote control of your computer (turning it into a 'zombie').

How Can a Computer Be Protected from Viruses?

There are some simple things you can do to help prevent a virus infecting your computer:

 Install anti-virus software and keep it up-to-date (this is the most important thing you
can do!)
 Install anti-malware software (stops software installing without your knowledge)
 Never download and install software from the Internet unless you are certain it is from
a source you can trust
 Don’t open e-mail attachments unless you have scanned them (even a file that seems to
be a picture can contain a virus)
 Don’t click links in websites that seem suspicious (if a site is offering prizes / free stuff /
etc. be suspicious!)
 If someone gives you a memory stick or CD-ROM, run a virus scan on it before
opening any files.
 Don’t trust cracked versions of software from file-sharing sites (often these have
viruses and other malware added to them - a Trojan horse)

Next Up → Software Copyright

Software Copyright

What is Software Copyright?

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When someone creates an original piece of software, that person then holds something called the
copyright for that software. (This is also true when people create books, films and songs.)

Holding the copyright for software means that you have the protection of the law if anyone tries
to steal your software.

Under copyright law, people must not:

 Copy the software for other people

 Lend the software to other people
 Rent the software to other people
 Install the software on a network when other users can access it (unless it is a special
‘network’ version)

If someone breaks the copyright, they can be punished by fines or even by imprisonment.

The reason for this is that creating software can involve the work of many people and may take
thousands of hours. It is only fair that all of this effort is protected
Illegally copying software is often referred to as software piracy.

If you make a copy of a game for a friend, get the latest version of Windows from a dodgy shop,
or ‘borrow’ some software from work, you are probably breaking the law.

For example, a team of 120 people put in over 1 million person-hours of work to create the
game Halo 3. The development of the game took over three years.

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That’s a huge amount of time and effort, and the company that created the game ought to be paid
for their work. Paying a few dollars for a game that took so much effort to create actually seems
like pretty good value!

Next Up → Internet Developments

Internet Developments

What is Web 2.0?

The original World-Wide Web ('The Web', WWW, or 'Web 1.0') was a collection of mostly
static websites that published information. You could visit the sites, read the webpages, look at
the pictures, but you couldn't really interact with the site: you couldn't login, leave comments, tag
images, discuss things, etc. The original Web was a mostly one-way experience where
information was delivered to you.

'Web 2.0' (pronounced "web two-point-oh") is the (slightly annoying) name given to the the
recent development of interactive websites that are quite different to the old, static websites.

Many websites on the Web today allow users to:

 share information (e.g. notes and photos on Facebook)

 interact (add comments, chat, etc.)
 collaborate on content (e.g. creating pages on Wikipedia)
 create their own content (e.g. videos on YouTube)

Web 2.0 is often called the 'Social Web' because of the way that users can interact and share. It's
also been called the 'Read-Write Web' because much of the content is now written by users
(they're not just reading)

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Blogs and Blogging

A blog is a website where someone (usually a normal person - not a professional writer) writes
about a topic.

Blogs can be personal (someone writing about their own life, or their personal views), based on
an interest (e.g. football), or some businesses also use blogs to write about new products, etc.

A blog allows someone to be a writer and publisher on the Web with very little effort or cost. A
blog can be setup with just a few clicks, whereas a few years ago you'd need a lot of technical
knowledge to create your own website.

Many blogs have systems that allow readers to leave comments and begin discussions connected
with the blog posts.

Blogging (the act of writing a blog) has become very popular over the past decade or so (there
are well over 200 million unique blogs).

Some blogs are very popular and have hundreds of thousands of readers, but many are only read
by a tiny number of readers (probably just the writer's family and friends!)

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Blogs allow people to publish their views and opinions very easily, without anyone else checking
what they are writing. For this reason, it is very important that you do not take the viewpoints
expressed on blogs as facts - they are just one person's opinion and maybe factually very wrong.

The word 'blog' is an abbreviation of 'web log'.

A 'log' is a place where a list of information is written down, so a 'web log' is a place where
people write a list of things on the Web.

Each entry on a blog is called a post.

The website Technorati measures the popularity of blogs.

 Top 100 blogs

 Top film blogs
 Top gaming blogs
 Top music blogs

One form of blogging, where people publish very short posts, is known as 'Micro-blogging'.

The most well-known micro-blog is Twitter.

Many famous celebrities use Twitter to let the world know what they are up to, e.g. Ashton
Kutcher

Wikis

A wiki is a website that allows users to collaborate (work together) to create the content. The
pages of a wiki can be edited by everyone (or those who have the password) so that different
people can add to the page, edit things, fix errors, etc.

Wikis often automatically create automatic links between pages. E.g. if a wiki page exists called
'Camels' and you write the word 'camel', the word will become a link to the Camel page. This
feature means that wikis are very useful for creating sites containing lots of connected

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information.

Wikis are used for websites such as:

 Encyclopaedia (e.g. Wikipedia)

 Help sites (e.g. This site for Ubuntu Linux)

Because many people can edit pages on a wiki, you have to be aware that the information you
read may not be entirely accurate - sometimes people edit pages and write things that are wrong.
Usually the errors are noticed and fixed by other wiki users, but not always.

The most famous wiki is wikipedia - a user-created encyclopaedia.

Many people do not trust Wikipedia because anyone can edit the pages. However because so
many people check the pages so often, errors are usually fixed within hours. Many studies have
found Wikipedia to be as accurate and reliable as other (non-wiki) encyclopaedia websites

Media Uploading Sites

There are many websites that allow users to create, upload and share their own media such as
photos, music or video. Usually other users can rate or comment on the media that is uploaded
leading to these sites often being referred to as 'Social Media' sites.

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All media upload sites have rules about the type of media that you can upload - you have to
either own the copyright to the image / music / video yourself, or have permission from the
copyright owner.

The most famous video upload site is YouTube.

Video upload sites are especially popular. However the videos that are uploaded can sometimes
contain offensive scenes (this is why YouTube is blocked in so many schools).

Some popular media upload sites:

 YouTube (video)
 Vimeo (video)
 Flickr (photos)
 PhotoBucket (photos)
 MySpace (music)
 ccMixter (music)

Social Networks

A social network website is a site that allows user to connect with other users who are friends /
relatives, or who share similar interests.

Connected users can then share information / pictures / files with each other, send messages,
chat, etc.

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One of the biggest social networking websites is Facebook.

For many people, social networking sites are the main method of communicating with friends
online.

In fact social networks have surpassed e-mail as the main communication link for non-business
Web users

Other examples of popular social networking sites:

 Bebo
 Friendster
 Habbo
 LinkedIn
 MySpace
 Orkut

Next Up → Internet Use Issues

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Internet Use Issues

The Internet and World Wide Web are a fantastic resource for finding and sharing information.
The Web contains literally billions of web pages containing information about every topic
imaginable.

However we need to take care when using the Internet to look for information, or to send
information...

Reliability of Information

The Internet and Web are not regulated - there is no organisation that controls who can create
web pages or what those pages can contain. Anyone can create web pages and say anything
they want to.

In many ways this is a good thing. It means that corrupt organisations or governments, who have
always been able to hide details of their activities, are no longer able to do so. When bad things
happen, people write about it on the Web and the world gets to know, and hopefully do
something about it.

But it’s also a bad thing. It means that people or organisations can easily spread lies and
hatred. There are thousands of websites containing bigoted viewpoints, and thousands more
that are full of information that is biased, inaccurate, or just plain wrong.

So... how do you which web pages to believe, which information to trust?

 Check several sources of information (go to lots of different websites). If they all say
them same thing, it is likely to be true
 Stick to websites that belong to trusted organisations. If the website address ends in
.gov.uk (the UK government site) it is more likely to be reliable than one like
www.tomiscool.net
 Look at the spelling and grammar used. Reliable websites are usually checked for
errors. Too many spelling errors mean it’s probably not to be trusted.

When you are using the Web to research your homework, do you just use the information on the
first website you find?
If you do, you could be making a big mistake! How do you know the information is correct? Why
should you trust it?

Keep searching and see if other websites agree.

Always double-check the information; otherwise you’ll be getting ‘F’ grades instead of ‘A’
grades!

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Undesirable Information

In addition to the Web being full of websites with inaccurate information, there are also a huge
number of websites that contain highly offensive, or illegal material.

Avoiding this type of material can be tricky. Many organisations such as schools, some
governments (e.g. for religious reasons), and also many parents, make use of web page
filtering software. This software attempts to prevent offensive and illegal material being
accessed.

Even if filtering software is not installed on a computer, you can still take steps to help you avoid
these types of sites:

 Use the 'safe search' feature on search engines such as Google.

 Don’t click the links that are shown in junk email (spam)
 Think carefully about the keywords that you use to search with.

If you are researching the causes of over-heating in young chickens, searching for ‘hot chicks’
might not find the information that you are looking for!

Security of Data Transferred Using the Internet

As has been discussed already, you should always consider encrypting any sensitive or
personal data that is sent or accessed over a public network such as The Internet.

Many websites, especially online shopping or online banking sites, require you to enter
personal information, such as credit card numbers, social security IDs, etc. To make sure your
data is safe, these websites use encryption - they are called secure websites.

You should always make sure that a website is secure before giving personal information...

 The website URL (address) should begin with https://... (normal, unsecure sites have
addresses that start with http://...)

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 Your web browser should show a closed padlock icon

Below are screenshots of two different web browsers, both showing a secure site. You can see
the https://... URL and also the padlock icon:
The address of a web page is properly called a URL, which means Uniform Resource Locator.

URLs have several parts, e.g.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools

 The first part is the protocol (language) to be used. In this case it is HTTP (HyperText
Transmission Protocol). A secure website would use HTTPS (S = Secure)
 The next part is the name of the web server (the computer that gives out the web pages).
In this case it is www.bbc.co.uk
 The final parts are the location and name of the web page on the web server. In this case
it is schools

Phishing

There have always been dishonest people who try to con (take through deception) money from
others. With the rise of the Internet, and e-mail in particular, these 'con-artists' have a new way to
reach millions of potential victims.

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'Phishing' is the nickname given to the sending of fraudulent e-mails that attempt to trick
people into revealing details about their bank accounts, or other online accounts (e.g. Amazon,
eBay, etc.)

The 'phishers' then use these bank details to login to the victim's bank account and take their
money.

This is an example of a phishing e-mail...

The e-mail looks very convincing. It even has the bank's logo. And it sounds urgent and scary...
someone has tried to take money from our bank account! What should we do?!

This is exactly the scare tactic that phishers use to make people panic.

If you were to click the link, you would be taken to a fake bank website. Then if you were to
enter your login details, these would be recorded by the phishers and used to empty your real
bank account.

The name 'phishing' comes from the fact that 'bait' (in the form of tempting e-mails) is used to
lure victims into a trap, just like a fisherman uses bait to catch fish.

('Ph' instead of 'F' at the start of a word is common in computer hacker jargon)

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Phishing does not involve any hacking of a person's computer - it is a deception that tricks
people into revealing secrets such as passwords. This type of deception is known as 'social
engineering'.

It is very difficult to get accurate estimates as to how much money is lost by victims to phishing
scams. Some estimates go as high as several billion dollars per year!

Don't become a victim of phishing!

If you receive an e-mail / SMS / instant message / VOIP message asking for your username /
password it is almost certainly a phishing attempt.

NEVER give out your username / password in response to any messages of any kind!

Pharming

'Pharming' is similar to phishing, but instead of deceiving you (as phishing does), a pharming
attack deceives your computer.

In a pharming attack, when you type in a completely genuine URL (e.g. for your online banking
website), your computer is tricked into displaying a fake website (often a very accurate copy).

Then, when you try to login to the fake website, your username / password are recorded and used
to take money from your real bank account.

It is very difficult to spot pharming attacks, because to the user everything seems to be normal.

The name 'pharming' is a mix of the terms 'phishing' and 'farming'.

Whereas phishing requires 'bait', pharming doesn't!

Certain settings in your computer may be altered when your computer is infected with malware.

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E-Mail Spam

'Spam' is the name given to unsolicited e-mails (ones sent without being asked for).

Spam e-mails usually contain adverts for products...

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Spam is a huge problem. It is estimated that 97% of all e-mail messages sent is spam. That's
several hundred billion spam e-mails every day!

If it wasn't for e-mail spam filters (which separate out spam messages from genuine messages,
or 'ham') our e-mail systems would be unusable.

You might wonder who actually responds to spam e-mails, and why the spammers would bother
to send them.

The answer is all to do with the massive numbers of spam messages that are sent...

Spammers send billions of messages every day. Even if only 0.01% of people click on the link in
a spam message, that still means thousands of links are being clicked. And spammers are paid
for every click.

The origin of the name 'spam' is connected to a Monty Python's Flying Circus comedy sketch
from the 1970s.

In the sketch, the only thing to east is spam (a horrible tinned meat product). When your e-mail
inbox is full of nothing but marketing e-mails, it seems like it's just 'Spam, spam, spam!'

Next Up → 7.1 ICT Use in Everyday Life

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7.1 ICT Use in Everyday Life

The syllabus says that you should be able to:

have an understanding of a range of IT applications in their everyday life and be aware of the
impact of IT in terms of:

a. communicating applications
o newsletters
o websites
o multimedia presentations
o music scores
o cartoons
o flyers / posters
b. interactive communication applications
o blogs
o wikis
o social networking websites
c. data handling applications
o surveys
o address lists
o tuck shop records
o clubs and society records
o school reports
o school libraries
d. measurement applications
o scientific experiments
o electronic timing
o environmental monitoring
e. control applications
o turtle graphics
o control of lights, buzzers and motors
o automatic washing machines
o automatic cookers
o central heating controllers
o burglar alarms
o video recorders / players
o microwave ovens
o computer controlled greenhouse
f. modelling applications
o 3D modelling
o simulation (e.g. flight or driving)
o spreadsheets for personal finance
o spreadhseets for tuck shop finances

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Notes covering this section:

 Communicating Ideas
 Handling Data
 Measuring Things
 Controlling Things on the Screen
 Controlling Real-World Things
 Modelling Things

Communicating Ideas

Why Use IT to Help Communicate Information?

We often have ideas or information that we wish to communicate with others, either personally,
or as part of our work.

Examples of personal communication: You may want to tell your friends about a party that you
are having, or you may want to let others know how about the impact of climate change.

Examples of business communication: In business, you may want to tell the world about a new
product that your company has just created (this is called marketing), or you have information
that you need to pass on to all of the employees in the business.

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In all of these examples, IT can be used to help pass on the message.

Producing and Editing Pictures

The production of graphics and pictures has been revolutionised by the use of IT. Image editors
such as PhotoShop allow computer users to easily manipulate images in many ways:

 Crop (cut off bits that you don't want)

 Resize
 Distort (e.g. bend, twist, stretch, etc.)
 Alter colour (e.g. brighten, make black & white, etc.)
 Add effects (e.g. shadows, glow, texture)
 Add graphics (e.g. lines, circles, borders, etc.)
 Add text
 Etc.

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High quality hard-copies can be obtained using colour laser printers or ink-jet printers.

It used to be the case that to produce images and graphics for posters or magazine, would take
highly trained artists many hours.

Photos would be taken using old film cameras, the pictures would be printed onto paper. Effects
could be applied during the printing by using clever darkroom techniques, but this took a lot of
skill.

After printing the photos could then be edited by actually cutting/pasting with glue and scissors,
or by adding lines, colour, etc. using paint, etc.

There was no 'undo'!

Today, with image editors like PhotoShop, anyone can produce and edit images. A user at home
can do in seconds what would have taken a professional editor many hours to do.

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The tiny coloured dots that make up a digital image are called pixels.

You make have heard this term in connection with digital cameras. A typical camera takes a 12
megapixel image, which means the image is made up of 12 million tiny dots!

Desktop Publishing

Desktop Publishing (DTP) is a system of software and hardware that allows a user to create and
print documents such as:

 books
 posters
 flyers
 magazine
 newspapers
 etc...

DTP software is WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get - meaning that the document
looks the same on the screen as it will when it's printed).

Document layout is produced using 'frames' - areas of the page that can contain text or images.

Text in frames can 'overflow' into other frames. Images can be added from scanners or digital
cameras, then cropped, rotated, resized, etc. Where text and images overlap, text can be
'wrapped' around images.

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The mid-1980s saw the first affordable DTP systems, using DTP software running on the newly
available GUI PCs, and printing using some of the first laser printers.

Before DTP was available, if you wanted to produce a printed document, you would have to pay
a professional designer and printer to do the work for you. And, unless you planned to print
thousands of copies of your document, the price was often too expensive.

Now, with relatively cheap DTP software and a good quality laser printer, it is easy for anyone
to produce their own posters, etc.

People can now publish documents literally from their own desktop!

Website Design

A website is a collection of web 'pages' that provide a mixtures of content:

 Text
 Images
 Animations
 Video
 Audio
 Hyperlinks (to jump to other content)

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Websites are a fantastic way to communicate with people since websites can be accessed by
literally millions of people.

However in some ways websites are not as good as printed documents for reaching people. Fore
example, to view websites:

 You need a computer (expensive)

 You need an Internet connection (not always available, and it can be expensive)
 You need some training to know how to use a computer (you don't need training to use
paper!)

The World Wide Web has transformed information communication. For many people, most of the
information that they consume each day comes via the Web, rather than as printed documents.
Websites use many of the techniques that printed documents have used for hundreds of years:
headings, columns of text, etc.

However, the fact that modern websites can contain interactive, animated content makes them
very different to printed documents.

The original Web when it was invented back in 1991 was a very different place to totday. At that
time webpages were very basic with just text and a few pictures. (The Internet then was far too
slow to stream video or audio.)

Below is the very first webpage ever created...

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Multimedia Design

'Multimedia' refers to documents / software applications that contain a mixture of:

 text
 images
 animations
 video
 audio

Multimedia applications are commonly used for training / education. Compared to learning
from a textbook, multimedia applications allow students to see animations, videos, etc. This can
bring a subject to life and make it much easier to learn.

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The modern Web has become a multimedia experience, with streaming video, streaming audio,
animations, etc.

Creating Music

In the same way the it is now very easy to create printed documents using IT, it has also become
easier to create and edit music with the help of computers.

To produce a musical score (sheets of written notes), you no longer need to write every note
down by hand. You can use a WYSIWYG editor to write the music on the computer, edit it, print
copies, etc.

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Once you have music data in a computer you can use the computer to play back the music
(converting the digital data back into sound with an ADC). You can add effects to the music,
simulate thousands of different instruments, add new 'tracks' of music over the top, etc.

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It is possible to play music into a computer and the notes will be recorded - note as sound, but as
digital music data.

Your analogue music is converted into digital data using an analogue-to-digital convertor
(ADC).

A computer can be used to control musical instruments (or it can be controlled by instruments)
using a system called Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI).

Most musical keyboards have MIDI connections, as do many electric guitars.

Interactive Communication

Communication does not need to be one-way as it is in many of the above examples. When
people create images, documents, music, etc. they are communicating their message, but they are
not listening to the responses that other may have.

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With the rise of the Internet, and especially with the recent 'Web 2.0' websites, such as wikis,
blogs and social networking sites, communication has now become very interactive.

By 'interactive' we mean that people can respond the information that they are given, add
comments, alter / improve it, rate it, etc.

To read more about these recent developments, see the Internet Developments page.

Next Up → Handling Data

Handling Data

Why Use Computers to Keep Records?

Even if you don't work for a huge business, It can be useful to use computers to keep track of
data.

Data that is stored on a computer (as opposed to data written on paper) can be easily:

 organised / sorted in different ways

 displayed / printed in a variety of styles and layouts
 searched for specific things
 updated - adding / changing / deleting items

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 backed-up - a copy can be made with just a few clicks

 stored / moved - a memory stick is much smaller than a cupboard full of paper!

Computerised databases can help organise even the most disorganised person!

What Might You Store on a Computer?

Your Address Book

Most people need to keep track of lots of telephone numbers, postal addresses, e-mail address,
etc.

We can use a computer (don't forget your phone is a computer too!) to help keep this data
organised in an address database.

A typical computerised address book might store:

 Name
 Address
 Phone number (home)
 Phone number (mobile)
 Phone number (work)
 E-mail address
 Birthday
 Photograph
 Etc.

Most address book applications have features that help you organise the records so that you can
quickly access the ones you want:

 Place your entries into groups (e.g. 'Family', Friends', 'Work', etc.)
 Search (by name, groups, address, etc.)
 Synchronisation with other devices (computer, phone, PDA, etc.)

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A few years ago, before we had PCs and mobile phones to tore this information in, most people
would have used a little address book.

However, this type of book was easy to lose (no back-up), a pain to update (you have to cross out
names, tear out pages, etc.) and slow to search through.

An electronic address book is much easier to keep up to date!

Club / Society Records

Clubs / societies need to keep track of their members. A membership database allows the club /
society to easily contact members, check that they have paid any fees, etc.

A typical computerised membership database might store:

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 Membership number
 Name
 Address
 Phone number
 Fees to charge
 Have fees been paid (Y/N)
 Etc.

If a letter needs to be sent to every member of the club / society, the names and addresses of the
members can be taken from the membership database and automatically placed onto a letter.
This is called a mail-merge.

A mail-merge is a very easy way to automatically create lots of letters that seem to be personally
written for each person, but in fact are all the same letter, just with the name and address
changed.

If this was your football club, you'd want to know a few facts about your club members. Using a
computer to keep hold of their details is much easier than using paper.

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Results of Surveys

Many groups / organisations undertake surveys to try to discover what people like / want / think.

Surveys can be performed using paper questionnaires, and then the results entered into the
computer by:

 Typing data in
 Scanning the paper forms, using OMR technology

Alternatively, results can be entered into the computer directly, using an on-screen form (e.g. if
using a tablet PC)

The survey results are best stored on a computer so that they can easily be analysed. Survey
results on a computer allow:

 Data to be quickly and easily queried (filtered)

 Charts to be easily created
 Summary reports to be created

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Sales Records for a Tuck Shop

It's important, when selling things, and dealing with cash, to keep track of the numbers involved.

A computer spreadsheet is an good way to record which items you have sold, and also to
perform calculations on the data (calculate totals, averages, etc.).

A typical sales spreadsheet might contain the following columns:

 Item code
 Item description
 Item cost
 Number sold
 Total cost
 Profit made

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Doing calculations manually can lead to mistakes. When money is involved, it's best to let a
computer do the work!

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School Reports

A school would typically keep data on student academic performance in a computerised

database. This would allow the school to easily track how students were doing as the year
progressed, as well as making the creation of printed reports very easy (compared to hand
writing every report)

A typical school report database might contain:

 Student ID
 Name
 Tutor group
 Grades for Term 1
 Attendance for Term 1
 Comments by teachers for Term 1
 Grades for Term 2
 Etc.

Most database programs allow data to be presented in attractively design reports that can
include headers and footers, school logos, etc.

(For a full discussion of school databases, see the School Management Systems page)

You might think that your report is written just for you, but often this is not entirely true...

Many school reporting systems allow teachers to select pre-written comments from a 'comment

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bank'. So those 'personal' comments on your report are actually from a database - they were just
the comments that best matched you!

School Library Database

Even a small library, such as the one in a school, needs to keep track of which books are
available, and who has borrowed any of them.

A typical school library system would store the following information:

Books Loans Borrowers

ID Number Book ID ID Number

Title Borrower ID Name

Author Date Borrowed Class

Publisher Returned? (Y/N) Date of Birth

Fiction? (Y/N) Fine to pay

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(For a more detailed description of library databases, see the Library Systems page)

Before the use of computers, libraries used drawers full of little cards to keep track of library
books. The system was hard to mange, and cards could easily get lost or mixed up.

Next Up → Measuring Things

surveys, address lists, tuck shop records, clubs and society records, school reports and school
libraries

Measuring Things

How Can Computers Measure Things?

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A sensor, such as a temperature sensor, can be connected to a computer. The computer can then
monitor the signal from the sensor, reacting to changes, or it can record the data from the
sensor at predefined time intervals.

Note: If the sensor is an analogue one then an analogue-to-digital convertor (ADC) will be
required.

Where is Computer Measurement Used?

Anywhere that data needs to be gathered regularly, a computerised data-logging system can be
used. Some examples are shown below…

Scientific experiments

Many experiments can be set-up and left to run with a data-logging system measuring things like
the temperature of a liquid, etc.

Weather stations

Often these are placed in very remote areas to collect data about rainfall, temperature, wind-
speed, wind-direction, etc. Data needs to be gathered all day, every day. This data can then be
used by weather forecasters to help predict the weather over the coming days.

Environmental monitoring

Scientists are very concerned about the effect that humans are having on the environment.
Computer-based data-logging is often used to help gather evidence of these effects: the level of
water in a dam, the speed of water flowing down a river, the amount of pollution in the air,
etc.

Why Use Computers to Measure Things?

The main reasons that you would want to use a computer-based data-logging system, instead of a
person taking measurements are...

 Computers do not need to take breaks - they can log data all day, every day, without
stopping
 Computers take much more accurate readings than humans can
 Computers can take data readings more frequently (1000s of times a second if
necessary)
 Since the logged data is already in a computer, the data can be analysed more quickly
and easily (graphs drawn instantly, etc.)
 Data logging systems can operate in difficult environments (e.g. in the Arctic, or on top
of a mountain)

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 People are free to do other more useful tasks (rather than watching a thermometer)

Next Up → Controlling Things On the Screen

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Controlling Things On the Screen

Turtle Graphics

One system designed to teach students the basics of computer programming and control, is called
‘Turtle’ Graphics.

A ‘turtle’ is an on-screen object that follows command given to it by the user. As the turtle
moves around the screen it drags a ‘pen’ that leaves a trail behind it.

The command language is called ‘LOGO’. LOGO has many commands, but the ones most
commonly used are:

FORWARD n Move forwards n steps

BACKWARD n Move backwards n steps

LEFT n Turn left n degrees

RIGHT n Turn right n degrees

PENUP Lift the 'pen' up from the 'paper'

PENDOWN Drop the 'pen' down onto the 'paper'

REPEAT n
Repeat the commands between these twno
...
commands n times
END REPEAT

Using these commands, any number of shapes and patterns can be drawn. Here are some simple
examples...

FORWARD 20
RIGHT 90
FORWARD 10
RIGHT 90
FORWARD 10
LEFT 90
FORWARD 10
RIGHT 90

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FORWARD 10
RIGHT 90
FORWARD 20

LEFT 90
REPEAT 6
FORWARD 10
RIGHT 60
END REPEAT

FORWARD 20
RIGHT 90
FORWARD 10
RIGHT 90
FORWARD 5
PENUP
FORWARD 10
PENDOWN
FORWARD 5
RIGHT 90
FORWARD 10

This is the story about how the on-screen cursor came to be called a ‘turtle’…

When the LOGO language was first developed, home computers did not have graphical displays
– all they could show on the screen was text.

So, instead of an on-screen cursor that moved, the computer was connected to a small buggy
which had motors and a pen inside. The computer could turn the motors on or off and so make

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the buggy move.

The buggy had a plastic dome on top that made it look a bit like a tortoise (or, as Americans
would call it, a ‘turtle’)

Next Up → Controlling Real-World Things

Controlling Real-World Things

How Can Computers Control Things?

A computer control system, like any system, is made up of three parts...

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1. Input devices called sensors feed data into the computer

2. The computer then processes the input data (by following a set of instructions)
3. As a result of the processing, the computer can turn on or off output devices called
actuators.

The best way to understand how a computer can control things is to think about how a person
controls something...

For example, how does a human control a car when he/she is driving?

The person looks ahead at the road to see what is approaching, thinks about what he/she has
seen, then acts upon it (turns the steering wheel and/or presses the pedals).

In other words the person reacts to what is happening in the world around them.

Computer-controlled systems work in a similar way – the system detects what is happening in the
world around it, processes this information, and then acts upon what it has detected.

Sensors

A normal PC has no way of knowing what is happening in the real world around it. It doesn’t
know if it is light or dark, hot or cold, quiet or noisy. How do we know what is happening around
us? We use our eyes, our ears, our mouth, our nose and our skin - our senses.

A normal PC has no senses, but we can give it some: We can connect sensors to it...

A sensor is a device that converts a real-world property (e.g. temperature) into data that a
computer can process.

Examples of sensors and the properties they detect are...

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Sensor What it Detects

Temperature Temperature

Light Light / dark

Pressure Pressure (e.g. someone standing on it)

Moisture Dampness / dryness

Water-level How full / empty a container is

Movement Movement nearby

Proximity How close / far something is

Switch or button If something is touching / pressing it

Note: many sensors are analogue devices and so need to be connected to the computer using an
analogue-to-digital convertor.

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Actuators

A normal PC has no way of affecting what is happening around it. It can’t turn on the lights, or
make the room hotter. How do we change what is happening around us? We use our muscles to
move things, press things, lift things, etc. (and we can also make sound using our voice).

A normal PC has no muscles, but we can give it some. In fact we can give it the ability to do lots
of things by connecting a range of actuators to it…

An actuator is a device, controlled by a computer, that can affect the real-world.

Examples of actuators, and what they can do are...

Actuator What it Can Do

Light bulb or LED Creates light

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Heater Increases temperature

Cooling Unit Decreases temperature

Motor Spins things around

Pump Pushes water / air through pipes

Buzzer / Bell / Siren Creates noise

Note: some of these devices require an analogue signal to operate them. This means that they
need to be connected to the computer using a digital-to-analogue convertor.

Making Decisions (The Process)

The steps followed by the computer in a control system are just about the same for all systems...

1. Check the data from the sensors

2. If necessary, turn on/off one or more of the actuators
3. Go back to step 1

That’s it! Of course the details vary, but that is basically how things work.

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Where is Computer Control Used?

Many of the devices that we use in our everyday lives are controlled by small computers...

 Washing machines
 Air-conditioning systems
 Programmable microwave ovens

If we look beyond our homes, we come across even more systems that operate automatically
under the control of a computer...

 Modern cars have engines, brakes, etc. that are managed and controlled by a computer
 Most factory production lines are computer-controlled, manufacturing products with
little or no human input
 Traffic lights are switched on and off according to programs running on computers
which manage traffic flow through cities

Of course, car engines, factories and traffic lights were not always computer-controlled. Before
microprocessors even existed, car engines ran, factories produced goods and traffic lights
changed.

However using computers to manage these systems has brought many benefits...

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Why Use Computers to Control Thing?

It is often far better to have a system that is managed and controlled by a computer rather a
human because...

 Computers never need breaks - they can control a system without stopping, all day,
every day
 Computers don’t need to be paid. To buy and install a computerised control system can
be very expensive, but, in the long-term, money is saved by not having to employee staff
to do the work
 Computers can operate in conditions that would be very hazardous to human health,
e.g. nuclear power stations, chemical factories, paint-spraying areas
 Computers can control systems far more accurately, and respond to changes far more
quickly than a human could

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An Example Control System - An Automated Greenhouse

A computer-controlled greenhouse might have a number of sensors and actuators:

 A light sensor to detect how much light the plants are getting
 A temperature sensor to see how cold/hot the greenhouse is
 A moisture sensor to se how wet/dry the soil is
 Lights to illuminate the plants if it gets too dark
 A heater to warm up the greenhouse if it gets too cold
 A water pump for the watering system
 A motor to open the window if it gets too warm inside

The process for this system would be...

1. Check light sensor

o If it is dark, turn on the lights
o If it is not dark, turn off the lights
2. Check temperature sensor
o If it is too cold, turn on heater and use motor to close window
o If it is too warm, turn off heater and use motor to open window
3. Check the moisture sensor
o If soil is too dry, turn on the water pump
o If soil is too wet, turn off the water pump
4. Go back to step 1 and repeat

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Note that if you have to describe a control process, never say that anything like:

“the temperature sensor switches on the heater”

This is totally wrong!

Sensors cannot control anything - all they can do is pass data to the computer.

The computer takes the actions and turns on/off the actuators.

Next Up → Modelling Things

Modelling Things

What is a Computer Model?

A computer model is a computer program that attempts to simulate a real-life system. In other
words, it is a ‘virtual’ version of something in the real-world.

The computer model is designed to behave just like the real-life system. The more accurate the
model, the closer it matches real-life.

Why Are Computer Models Used?

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There are several reasons that computer models are used…

 To test a system without having to create the system for real (Building real-life systems
can be expensive, and take a long time)
 To predict what might happen to a system in the future (An accurate model allows us to
go forward in virtual time to see what the system will be doing in the future)
 To train people to use a system without putting them at risk (Learning to fly an airplane
is very difficult and mistake will be made. In a real plane mistakes could be fatal!)
 To investigate a system in great detail (A model of a system can be zoomed in/out or
rotated. Time can be stopped, rewound, etc.)

Examples of Computer Modelling

Designing Safer Cars

A computer model of a car can be used to test how safe the design of the car is in a crash.

The virtual car can be crashed over and over again, the effects investigated and the design
easily changed until it is as safe as possible.

This is much quicker and cheaper than building and crashing real cars!

Weather Forecasting

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A computer model of a weather system can be used to predict storms.

The wind patterns, temperatures, etc. for the whole planet are simulated using very powerful
computers. If the computer model is accurate (it is very difficult to make an accurate model
since our planet is rather big) then weather forecasters can use it to ‘fast-forward’ into the
future to see a prediction of what the weather will be tomorrow, next week, next month.

(Since weather is so complex, and the models are not (yet) accurate enough, often the weather
forecast is wrong!)

Building Better Bridges

A computer model of a bridge can be used to test the design.

Bridges have to be able to survive extreme weather conditions. It is obvious not practical to
build a real bridge and then wait to see if it falls down in a storm. Instead, a computer model of
the bridge is created and tested in virtual storms.

If the model breaks, it can be quickly and cheaply re-designed and re-tested. If it doesn’t
break, the real bridge can be built, confident that it will survive real storms.

Bridges can also be tested to see if they can cope with heavy traffic. The virtual bridge can be
loaded with a traffic jam of virtual trucks to check that it won’t collapse.

A similar system is used by building designers, especially for very large or tall buildings, such as
skyscrapers.

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Running a Business

A computer model of a business can be used to help predict future profits.

If the workings of a business can be modelled accurately, in particular the financial systems, then
these models can be used to make predictions. The models are used to help answer ‘what if
…?’ type questions, e.g. “What if we decrease the workforce by 15%? Will our profits increase
or decrease?”

Based on the answers that the model gives, the managers of the business can make decisions.

Spreadsheets are often used to model the financial systems of a business.

Training Pilots to Fly an Airplane

Trainee pilots have many hours of lessons in flight simulators before being allowed to fly a
real airplane.

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Flight simulators behave almost exactly like real airplanes since they are controlled by a
computer with a very accurate and realistic model of the airplane. The main difference is that
the simulator can’t actually crash!

Pilots can make mistakes without putting anyone’s life at risk.

Flight simulators can provide a pilot with any number of highly realistic flying situations:
storms, engine failures, low cloud hiding the runway, etc.

The experience that pilots gain whilst using the simulator means that when they eventually start
flying real airplanes, they already have many of the required skills.

There are also car simulators that are used to help train learner drivers, and also ship
simulators to help ship captains learn how to navigate and manoeuvre large ships such as oil
tankers.

Next Up → ICT Use in Organisations

7.2 ICT Use in the Workplace

The syllabus says that you should be able to:

understand the differences between batch processing, on-line processing and real-time
processing.

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You should have an understanding of a wider range of work-related IT applications and their
effects, including:

a. communication applications
o the Internet
o electronic mail
o fax
o electronic conferencing
o mobile telephones
o Internet telephony (VOIP) services
b. publicity and corporate image publications
o business cards
o letterheads
o flyers
o brochures
c. applications in manufacturing industries
o robotics in manufacture
o production line control
d. applications for finance departments
o billing systems
o stock control
o payroll
e. school management systems
o registration
o records
o reports
f. booking systems
o travel industry
o theatre
o cinemas
g. applications in banking
o Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)
o ATMs for cash withdrawals and bill paying
o credit/debit cards
o cheque clearing
o phone banking
o Internet banking
h. applications in medicine
o doctors' information systems
o hospital and pharmacy records
o patient monitoring
o expert systems for diagnosis
i. applications in libraries
o records of books and borrowers
o issue of books
j. the use of expert systems

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o mineral prospecting
o car engine fault diagnosis
o medical diagnosis
o chess games
k. applications in the retail industry
o stock control
o POS
o EFTPOS
o internet shopping
o automatic re- ordering

Notes covering this section:

 Modes of Computer Use

 Preventing Data Misuse
 Communication Systems
 Publicity & Corporate Image
 Expert Systems

 Manufacturing Products

 Booking Systems
 Banking & Payment Systems
 Payroll Processing
 Retail (Selling) Systems

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 Stock Control Systems

 Medical & Hospital Systems
 School Management Systems
 Library Systems

Modes of Computer Use

You are used to using a personal computer by sitting down in front of it, and interacting with it
directly (opening files, running applications, etc.)

However not every computer is a personal computer. Some computers are huge and are shared
by many users. Some computers are embedded in systems that control things such as factories, or
aircraft. And businesses often use computers in totally different ways to you...

Batch Processing

Sometimes we have a lot of data to process and it is all of a similar form (e.g. we might have
to calculate the pay for 10,000 employees - the calculations we have to do for each employee are
very similar)

In cases like this, we can prepare the data into a set or 'batch' and hand it over to the computer to
be processed in one go. Once we have prepared the batch of data, no user input is required -
the computer works its way through the data automatically.

This type of data processing is known as batch processing.

An advantage of this type of system is that the processing can occur when the computer is not
being used for anything else (e.g. at night). The job is setup, people go home, and when they
return the next morning the work has been done.

Typical application where batch-processing can be used:

 Payroll processing

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 Processing bank cheques

 Printing of bank statements
 Updating of a stock database

Real-Time Processing

Sometime we need to process data immediately - we cannot wait and process it later (e.g. using
batch processing)

For example, if we want to book a seat on a flight, the booking must be processed immediately.
We can't put it in a pile and do it later, because other people might be trying to book the same
seat!

If an item of input data must be processed immediately, and the result is ready before the next
input data is accepted, this is known as a real-time system.

Typical application where real-time processing must be used:

 Any type of monitoring system (e.g. hospital patient monitoring)

 Any type of computer control system (e.g an automatic production line, an aircraft auto-
pilot, the system controlling a nuclear power station, etc.)
 Payment systems (e.g. EFPOS and ATM cash withdrawal)
 All booking systems (e.g. flight booking, cinema seat booking, etc.)

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 Computer games (e.g. FPS, driving games, etc.)

On-Line Processing

An on-line system is one where the user is directly interacting with the computer - the user is
'on-line' with the computer.

So, any system where the user is entering data directly into the computer must be an on-line
system. If data is being entered and then processed, it's an on-line processing system.

Examples of on-line processing systems:

 All booking systems (e.g. flight booking, cinema seat booking, etc.)
 Computer games (e.g. FPS, driving games, etc.)

Nowadays we tend to use the term 'on-line' to mean connected to the Internet.

However, historically, the term means that the user is connected to the computer. When a person
wanted to use one of the old multi-user, mainframe computers, they would have to connect their
terminal - taking it 'on-line'

Next Up → Preventing Data Misuse

Preventing Data Misuse

More and more businesses and organisations are storing our personal data so that it can be used
to contact us later, for purposes like marketing (selling us things). Every time you fill in a form
on a website, or sign up for a special offer, your details are stored in a database somewhere.

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If the data in a database falls into the wrong hands, this can lead to some very big problems...

Data Misue

If the wrong person has access to your data, they can misuse it in a variety of ways:

 Data could be deleted (e.g. your bank balance could be wiped out)
 Data could be changed (e.g. you could end up with a criminal record, for something you
didn't do)
 Data could be used for blackmail (e.g. your school record might contain information that
you are embarrassed about, and someone might threaten to reveal it to the press!)
 Data could be used to help someone impersonate you (e.g. they could apply for a bank
loan in your name). This is known as Identity Theft

Identity theft is becoming a huge problem. It's an easy way for a criminal to get money, or goods
- there is little risk to them since they are pretending to be someone else!

Imagine if you received a letter from the bank asking for repayment of a $20,000 loan that you
didn't apply for!

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How could you prove you didn't apply for it when the person who applied had all of your
personal information (your name, date of birth, ID numbers, address, parent's names, etc.)?

The more data you reveal about yourself, the more likely you are to be a victim of identity theft.

Time to change your privacy settings on FaceBook! Time to put good passwords on your mobile
phone and your laptop!

How Do Bad People Get Your Data?

So how does data end up in the wrong people's hands?

 A CD-ROM or memory stick might be left somewhere by mistake (e.g. on a train)

 A hacker might break in to a network
 A password might be guessed
 Information might be sent in an e-mail which is intercepted
 Someone might read things on an unattended monitor
 The data might be sold by someone for profit
 Discarded printouts can be found in bins

How Do You Stop Data Getting into the Wrong Hands?

You should always follow sensible precautions when dealing with other people's data:

 Encrypt files, especially when taken out of the office (e.g. on a memory stick, or sent via
e-mail)
 Use strong passwords
 Lock your computer when you are away from it
 Always shred printouts that contain sensitive data

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Data Protection Act

Many governments have realised the need to protect peoples' data from misuse, and have created
Data Protection Acts. These are a legal rules that must be followed by any business of
organisation that keeps a database containing peoples' personal data.

A typical Data Protection Act might include the following rules:

 Data must only be kept if it is necessary for the business / organisation (e.g. a store
shouldn't keep details of your political or religious views - they don't need to know this!)
 Data must be accurate and kept up-to-date (it is the duty of the business / organisation
to make sure the data has no errors)
 Data must not be kept longer than necessary (e.g. you can't keep a customer's details
forever - only whilst they are still your customer)
 Data must be kept secure (e.g. databases should be encrypted, firewalls should be used
for networks, etc.)
 Data must not be transferred to any country that does not have a similar data protection
laws

Next Up → Business Communication

Communication Systems
Good communication is essential to every organisation: communication between organisations,
and communication between parts of a single organisation (e.g. between offices in different
countries).

A wide variety of communication systems are used...

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Before the Internet, most business communication was via telephone, fax, telex (a way of sending
text messages that printed out on a printer), or by using mail - the old-fashioned paper version!

E-Mail

E-mail is a system that allows messages to be sent and received by computers. E-mail is the
most common form of electronic communication.

E-mail messages are text-based, but other types of file can also be sent as ‘attachments’.

E-mails that are received wait in a user's inbox until the user is ready to read them. (Unlike a
telephone call, the user is free to ignore e-mails until they have time to deal with them.)

An e-mail message usually has the following parts:

To send and receive e-mail, you need to have an e-mail address.

An address is made up of two parts: a username and an e-mail provider, with an '@' symbol in
the middle:

username@provider

To The address(es) of the person who the message is for

Subject A short sentance describing what the message is about

Message The text of the message. This can be as long as you like

An e-mail may also include the following parts:

CC The address(es) of people to copy the e-mail to (Carbon Copy)

The address(es) of people to copy the e-mail to without anyone else

BCC
knowing (Blind Carbon Copy)

Attachments Files linked to the message (images, documents, etc.)

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Video Conferencing

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Video-conferencing is a system that allows people to have conversations and meetings with
other people in different locations, but without leaving their office.

A video-conference involves people sitting in front of a camera and a microphone, whilst

watching other people of a screen and listening to them through loudspeakers.

Note: The camera is usually TV quality - much better than a standard webcam.

The system uses the following hardware:

 Video camera
 Monitor
 Microphone
 Loudspeakers
 High-speed network / Internet connection

Video conferencing is very popular with businesses as it means:

 No travel costs
 No time wasted travelling to other cities / countries
 Can organise meetings at short notice

However there are some problems with video conferencing:

 Less personal than face-to-face meetings

 Documents (e.g. contracts) cannot be signed

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Mobile Telephones

Mobile telephones allow people to be away from their workplace, yet still be contactable. This
means that people can still work, even when out of the office.

Modern smart-phones can perform a wide variety of tasks:

 Make and receive telephone calls just about anywhere

 Send a receive SMS (short message service) messages
 Send and receive e-mail
 Send and receive files such as images, text documents, etc.
 Edit documents
 Most people would be lost without their mobile phone!

However there are some downsides to the use of mobiles:

 Workers never get a chance to 'switch off' since they can always be contacted - can be
stressful
 Mobiles are easy to lose, and often contain a lot of personal and/or business information.
A lost mobile could be embarrassing / damaging if the wrong people got hold of it

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Internet Telephony / Voice Over IP (VOIP)

Internet telephony, or 'VOIP', is becoming very popular both for personal use, and within the
workplace.

Instead of using the normal telephone network (designed to carry voices using analogue signals),
VOIP systems send voices through the Internet as digital data, just like any other Internet data
(e.g. e-mails, files, webpages, etc.)

In other words, VOIP systems use your Internet connection to send and receive phone calls.

'Internet Telephony' means a telephone system that uses the Internet

'VOIP' means Voice Over IP, where IP means Internet Protocol - the system that the Internet
uses to transfer all data

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VOIP systems can work in several ways:

 VOIP software can be installed on a computer. Calls are then made using a headset
(headphones / microphone) or by using a special USB handset (looks just like a normal
phone)
 Special VOIP telephones can be plugged directly into the network (or can connect
wirelessly using WiFi)

VOIP systems have a number of advantages over a normal telephone system:

 No telephone line is required

 Call costs are very low, especially for long-distance calls
 Can include video

They also have some disadvantages:

 Require special hardware and an Internet connection

 Not as reliable as normal phones, so cannot be relied upon for emergency calls (911, or
999)
 Call quality depends on the speed of the Internet connection

The most well-known public VOIP service is Skype, but there are others such as Google Talk,
Vbuzzer, Fring, ooVoo, and SightSpeed.

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(Needless to say, the traditional phone companies don't like VOIP as it takes away their
business!)

Fax

Fax is short for ‘facsimile’ which means ‘copy’.

A fax machine is a device that can send a copy of a paper document over the telephone
network.

 The sending fax converts the light/dark areas of the printed document into noises.
 These noises travel through the phone system and are received by another fax machine.
 The receiving fax machine converts the noises into printed marks on a piece of paper -
making a copy of the original document.

Faxes are:

 Low quality - images are especially poor

 Slow to send (compared to e-mail)

Faxes have been used for many years as a quick way of sharing documents. However, now most
people have access to a computer, e-mail attachments are more commonly used.

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One reason that faxes are still used is that most businesses would accept a document such as a
contract that had been signed, and sent by fax. (Electronically signing e-mail attachments is not
yet widespread.)

Next Up → Publicity & Corporate Image

Publicity & Corporate Image

Businesses and organisations use computers and software applications to publicise ideas /
products / people / etc.

The techniques used are the same as those described in the Communicating Ideas page of this
site:

 Image editing
 Desktop publishing
 Multimedia editing
 Website design

However the type of document produced for businesses and organisations is often quite different
to the sort that you might create at home...

Corporate Identity

Businesses and organisations usually develop a corporate 'identity' - an image that they use for
all documents, websites, etc.

A corporate identity might consist of:

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 A logo to be used on documents, e-mails, website, etc.

 Set of colours / themes
 Set of fonts to be used for all documents
 A jingle (short tune) for TV / radio advertising
 A mascot / character to represent the organisation

Every communication the business or organisation has with the public, or with other
organisations, will use the corporate identity. This makes the organisation or business very
recognisable.

Business Cards

Business cards are used by people who want to give their contact details to someone else.

A business card has a person's name, telephone number, e-mail address, etc. pre-printed on it so
nothing needs to be written down.

Business cards use the logo / font / colour / style of the corporate identity so that the person
receiving the card recognises it immediately.

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Letterheads

A letterhead is a header / footer used for printed documents such as letters.

Letterheads usually contain details such as the organisation's name, address, telephone number,
website, etc.

Often organisations will order boxes of paper with the letterhead pre-printed on it. This paper can
then be used in printers, or for hand-written letters.

Letterheads use the logo / font / colour / style of the corporate identity so that the person
receiving the document recognises it immediately.

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Flyers

A flyer is a small, single sheet, printed document used to advertise an event, a product or an
idea.

Flyers are often handed out to the public to raise awareness of the event / product / idea.

Information such as date, time, location, contact details, etc. are placed on the flyer for people
to refer to later.

Flyers use the logo / font / colour / style of the corporate identity so that the person receiving the
document recognises it immediately.

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Brochures

Printed brochures are designed and produced to give details of an organisation / product / event.

Brochures normally consist of several pages, combining text, images and other graphical
elements. Glossy card may be used for brochure covers to give a more 'quality' feel.

Brochures use the logo / font / colour / style of the corporate identity so that the person receiving
the document recognises it immediately.

Next Up → Expert Systems

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Expert Systems

What is an Expert System?

An expert system is computer software that attempts to act like a human expert on a particular
subject area.

Expert systems are often used to advise non-experts in situations where a human expert in
unavailable (for example it may be too expensive to employ a human expert, or it might be a
difficult to reach location).

How Do Expert Systems Work?

An expert system is made up of three parts:

 A user interface - This is the system that allows a non-expert user to query (question)
the expert system, and to receive advice. The user-interface is designed to be a simple to
use as possible.
 A knowledge base - This is a collection of facts and rules. The knowledge base is
created from information provided by human experts
 An inference engine - This acts rather like a search engine, examining the knowledge
base for information that matches the user's query

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The non-expert user queries the expert system. This is done by asking a question, or by
answering questions asked by the expert system.

The inference engine uses the query to search the knowledge base and then provides an answer
or some advice to the user.

Where Are Expert Systems Used?

Medical diagnosis (the knowledge base would contain medical information, the symptoms of
the patient would be used as the query, and the advice would be a diagnose of the patient’s
illness)

Playing strategy games like chess against a computer (the knowledge base would contain
strategies and moves, the player's moves would be used as the query, and the output would be the
computer's 'expert' moves)

Providing financial advice - whether to invest in a business, etc. (the knowledge base would
contain data about the performance of financial markets and businesses in the past)

Helping to identify items such as plants / animals / rocks / etc. (the knowledge base would
contain characteristics of every item, the details of an unknown item would be used as the query,
and the advice would be a likely identification)

Helping to discover locations to drill for water / oil (the knowledge base would contain
characteristics of likely rock formations where oil / water could be found, the details of a
particular location would be used as the query, and the advice would be the likelihood of finding
oil / water there)

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Helping to diagnose car engine problems (like medical diagnosis, but for cars!)

Can Expert Systems Make Mistakes?

Human experts make mistakes all the time (people forget things, etc.) so you might imagine that
a computer-based expert system would be much better to have around.

However expert systems can some problems:

 Can't easily adapt to new circumstances (e.g. if they are presented with totally
unexpected data, they are unable to process it)
 Can be difficult to use (if the non-expert user makes mistakes when using the system, the
resulting advice could be very wrong)
 They have no 'common sense' (a human user tends to notice obvious errors, whereas a
computer wouldn't)

You can try a demonstration of a car fault diagnosis system on-line here.

The Scottish health service has a self-diagnosis expert system you can try on-line here.

Next Up → Manufacturing Products

Manufacturing Products
Computer-controlled manufacturing has revolutionised the way products are made. Modern
factories are full of robots; everything is automated.

In a modern factory the only people you will see are a few engineers who are responsible for

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keeping the robots and other machinery running smoothly.

This is very different to old factories, where everything was done manually by human workers.

What is an Industrial Robot?

When you think of the word 'robot', you might picture a human-shaped robot with arms, legs and
a head - the sort you see in sci-fi films. However this is not how the sort of robots used in
factories look.

Robots used in factories are called industrial robots, and they come in a wide variety of shapes
and sizes.

The most common type of industrial robot looks a little bit like a human arm. The robot has
joints (like our shoulder, elbow, and wrist) and some sort of manipulator / device on the end of
the arm (where our hand would be).

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The robot's joints are powered by very strong electric motors. These motors are controlled by a
computer.

A scene from an old factory - no robots in sight! This type of manual labour is repetitive and
boring.

In a new factory, the same tasks are performed by robots

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The robot's manipulator / device depends upon the job that the robot has to do. It could be:

 a gripper (like a hand, for picking things up)

 suction pads (for lifting sheet metal or glass)
 a paint spray gun (for painting things)
 a welding gun (for joining metal together)

How Are Robots Used in a Factory?

Robots in factories are used to:

 lift heavy items into from place to place

 assemble parts together to create things
 join parts together using glue, or by welding (melting metal)
 paint things

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Robots often work in groups, one robot holding a part, whilst another robot does something to it.

Watching robots work is fascinating - they move so quickly and confidently, that it seems almost
like a choreographed dance!

Watching robots work is fascinating - they move so quickly and confidently, that it seems almost
like a choreographed dance!

Here are some videos of robots at work:

 Industrial robots: how they're made and what they do

 Examples of industrial robots at work
 Two robot arms picking objects off a conveyor
 Huge robot arm handling sheets of glass
 Line of robots welding Toyota car bodies
 Demo of a huge robot arm lifting car bodies
 Mini Cooper cars built by robots
 Robots building computer power supplies
 Robots stacking trays of food
 Robots packing and stacking games

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Spray painting things (a hazardous job for a human - most paint is toxic)
Welding metals parts together (needs skill and accuracy)

Stacking boxes for shipping (tedious and hard for a human to do all day)

How Do Computers Control Robots and Production Lines?

The basics of computer control are explained in the Controlling Real-World Things section.

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In the case of factory production lines the control system consists of:

Sensors

Sensors (inputs to the computer) detect what is happening on the production line, and send data
to the computer so that it can decide what to do.

Examples of sensors would be:

 Switches / buttons - detect if something is touching them

 Pressure sensors - detect if something is pressing down on them
 Light sensors - detect if something is present (blocks the light)
 Temperature sensors - detect if items are hot/cool enough
 Liquid level sensors - detect how much liquid is in a container
 Cameras - detect the shape / colour of objects

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Process

The control software running on the computer is the process. It takes the data from the sensors,
checks if anything needs to be done, then turns on/off various actuators to make things happen.

For example, in a soft-drink factory, the production line involves filling bottles with fluid
(drink!)

1. The computer would make sure that a bottle was in place (using data from a pressure
sensor, a light sensor, or a camera) and then turn on the fluid control valve.
2. The data from a fluid level sensor would be checked to see if the bottle was full. When it
was full, the computer would turn off the fluid control valve.
3. These steps would then be repeated for the next bottle, and so on.

In a typical production line, there will be hundreds of sensors and dozens of actuators, all
connected to computers (often a large network of computers)

Actuators

Actuators (outputs form the computer) are the devices that make things happen on the
production line: robots picking things up, conveyor belts moving, etc.

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Examples of actuators would be:

 Motors - used to make almost everything move, from the joints of robot arms, to the
motion of conveyor belts.
 Valves - to turn on/off the flow of paint, etc.
 Relays (electrically operated switches) - turn on/off devices like welders

Why Use Computer-Controlled Robots?

The robots used in factories are very expensive. Many of the larger ones can cost as much as
$500,000. And some factories have dozens of robots.

So why would a factory owner spend so much money on these expensive machines?

There are a number of reasons that robots are used:

 Robots can work 24 hours a day, every day, with no breaks

 Robots don't need to be paid a wage (so money is saved)
 Robots are extremely accurate compared to humans, so product quality is high
 Robots can perform tasks more quickly than humans, so more products can be made
 Factories with robots don't need to be heated or even have the lights on, and they don't
need food (so lower day-to-day costs)
 Robots can work in very dangerous / unhealthy conditions (e.g. with dangerous
chemicals)
 Robots don't get bored / hate their job!

There are some downsides to the use of robots in factories:

 Robots are cannot easily adapt to unusual conditions like a human can (e.g. if an item on
the line is not in the correct place, a human worker would notice and correct it)

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 People are made unemployed because robots are doing their jobs (however some new
jobs are created - looking after the robots - and some employees can be retrained)
 People are deskilled (this means that, because the robots are doing the complex, skilled
tasks that the people used to do, the people are left doing simple, boring jobs)
 The robots are very expensive, and it can take several years to pay for them (paying with
the savings made by not paying any wages)

Some people get very upset when you talk about robots in factories - they see the robots 'stealing'
peoples' jobs.

It is true that many jobs have been replaced by robotic production lines, but these jobs were
often incredibly boring, repetitive, and often in dangerous conditions.

Some of the people who lost their jobs have been retrained to work with the robots - maintaining
them so they run smoothly.

As long as alternative work can be found for people, you could argue that robots have improved
the lives of people overall, since nobody has to perform those tedious and dangerous jobs
anymore.

Working alongside the robots

Next Up → Booking Systems

Using Cash Machines (ATMs)

ATMs can be used to for a range of banking services...

 Withdrawing cash
 Depositing money
 Checking the balance of accounts

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 Transferring money between accounts

 Paying bills

A customer identifies him/herself and their bank account by using a bank card. The card is
inserted into the ATM where it is read by a magnetic strip reader or a smart card reader. The
customer also types a secret PIN into the ATM's numeric keypad to confirm that they are the
real owner of the card

ATMs can be used by customers of other banks as the ATM can use EFT...

If a customer of Bank A uses her debit card to withdraw cash from an ATM belonging to Bank
B:

1. Bank B gives her the cash

2. Bank B now is owed money by Bank A
3. Bank B sends an EFT instruction to Bank A asking for money to be transferred from the
customer’s account to Bank B.
4. Bank B has now been paid back

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Electronic Payments for Goods (EFTPOS)

Banks allow goods to be paid for electronically, using a system called Electronic Fund
Transfer at Point-of-Sale (EFTPOS).

A full description of EFTPOS can be found here.

Internet Banking

It is now very common for bank customers to access their bank account from home using on-
line banking services.

Customers use a computer and connect to the bank’s secure (encrypted) website where they
login (usually with a username and a password)

Customers can use the on-line banking system to...

 Check the balance of bank accounts

 Pay bills
 Transfer money between accounts (using EFT)
 Apply for loans, or other services

Compared to traveling to your actual bank, Internet banking has a few advantages...

 More convenient - can be used 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

 Saves time and money since you don't have to travel anywhere to use it
 Data can be downloaded and analysed (e.g. in a spreadsheet) which can help with
planning budgets

But there are some disadvantages too...

 Requires you to have a computer and Internet access to use it

 Some people prefer to speak to a person (personal service)
 If your account is hacked, or your username / password is stolen (e.g. if your computer
has malware) money could be stolen from your account

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Telephone Banking

This is similar to Internet banking, but does not require a computer, only a normal telephone.

The system works by you calling the bank's telephone banking number then...

 You enter your account number (using the phone's number keys)
 You enter your PIN / secret code
 You then hear various options: ("Press 1 to find your balance, Press 2 to transfer
money...")
 You pick an option (using the phone's number keys)
 And so on...

Customers can use the telephone banking system to...

 Check the balance of bank accounts

 Pay bills
 Transfer money between accounts (using EFT)
 Speak to a bank representative to get financial advice

The advantages of telephone banking are similar to Internet banking, but there are some extra
things...

 You don't need a computer

 You can speak to an actual person

The disadvantage compared to Internet banking...

 The system can be difficult to use (working through all of those menus)

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Processing Cheques (Cheque 'Clearing')

Banks have to deal with thousands of hand-written, paper cheques every day.

When a cheque arrives at a bank, the information on the cheque has to be entered into the
bank’s computer system so that the correct funds can be transferred between the correct
accounts. Entering this data quickly and accurately is a time-consuming and difficult task.

To help speed things up, a special system of printing is used on cheques that can be read by a
reader connected to the computer system. At the bottom of every cheque, printed in a special
font using magnetic ink, is the bank account number and cheque number:

Each cheque is passed through an MICR reader that can read these special numbers. (A small
reader is shown here, but in large banks the MICR readers are much bigger and can thousands
hundreds of cheques.

The hand-written part of the cheque (the payee and the value of payment) can be entered into
the computer system by either using a human to read the writing and typing the data in, or by
using OCR.

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In the large cheque-clearing machine shown to the left, you can see the keyboard and screen
that is used by the human operator to input the hand-written information on the checks.

(The rest of the machine contains cheque stacking and sorting mechanisms, and the MICR
reader)

Next Up → Payroll Processing

Payroll Processing

What is a 'Payroll'?

The 'payroll' of a business is the system used to calculate the salary (how much they are paid for
their work) of each employee.

The inputs to a payroll system are:

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 Employee code (used to lookup the employee's other details, e.g. name, bank account,
etc.)
 Hours worked
 Rate of pay (e.g. $25 per hour)

The processing involves the following calculation:

Pay = Hours Worked X Rate of Pay

The outputs from a payroll system are:

 A printed payslip (given to the employee to show how his/her pay was calculated)
 A cheque, or an EFT payment directly into the employee's bank account

How is a Payroll Processed?

The payroll is usually processed once a week or once a month (depending upon how often the
business pays its employees).

This means that batch-processing is ideal for payroll processing:

 Working hours data is collected into a batch

 The data can be processed in one go at the end of the week/month
 The same calculations will be performed on all the data
 No user input is required during the processing
 The processing can be done during quiet times when the computer system is not being
used for other things (e.g. at night)

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Many places of work automatically record hours worked by the employees using systems such as
swipe-cards or fingerprint readers.

When an employee arrives at work, they swipe their ID card, and then do the same when they
leave.

Hours worked = Time out - Time in

Sometimes money may be added on to a person's pay (e.g. for working extra 'overtime')

Sometimes pay is taken away (e.g. as tax, or health insurance payments)

Next Up → Retail (Selling) Systems

Retail (Selling) Systems

What is a Point-of-Sale?

The Point-of-Sale (POS) in a store is the place that you pay for your purchases. It is usually
where the till (cash register) is located.

A typical POS will have...

 A method of inputting the codes of goods purchased - usually a bar-code scanner. The
codes are then used to find more information about the goods, such as price, from a
database
 A system to accept electronic payments - EFTPOS (see below)
 A system to update the stock-level of goods whenever they are sold, and possibly to
automatically re-order goods that have low stock-levels (see below)
 A method of producing a receipt for purchases - usually a small dot-matrix printer

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Handling Electronic Payments (EFTPOS)

When you use a bank card to pay for a purchase in a store, the payment is made using a system
called Electronic Fund Transfer at Point-of-Sale (EFTPOS).

This is how it works…

The EFT in EFTPOS is the same Electronic Fund Transfer system discussed here.

Customer gives the bank card to the cashier

The cashier runs the card through a card reader (the customer may have to enter a PIN). The
cashier enters the value of the purchase

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The store’s system then connects to the bank computer and sends a message

The bank computer uses the account number to access the customer’s record and checks the
balance

The bank computer sends back a confirmation or rejection message to the store’s system

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The cashier now confirms the purchase and an EFT message is sent to the bank

The bank computer subtracts $100 from the customer’s account and adds $100 to the store’s
account

The cashier gives the card back to the customer along with a receipt

'Chip & PIN' Payment System

Most bankcards no longer rely on a magnetic strip to store customer account details. Instead the
cards are smart cards. The cards contain a small amount of computer memory with the account
information stored inside.

Smart cards are more secure (since the data is encrypted) and more reliable than magnetic strip

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cards.

When a customer wishes to pay for goods in a store, the customer inserts the bankcard into a
smart card reader, and then types in a PIN to confirm that they are the true owner of the card.
Once the PIN is verified, the customer can remove the card.

One of the reasons this system has proven popular is the extra level of security it provides for
users: At no time does the bankcard need to be handled by anyone other than the card
owner, so with this system there is less chance of the card being stolen or copied.

The nickname for the tiny memory device inside the bankcard is a ‘chip’, and the system uses a
PIN as identity proof, so the system is nicknamed ‘Chip and PIN’ in the UK.

PIN stands for Personal Identification Number.

A PIN is usually a four digit secret code used to confirm a person’s identity (e.g. when
withdrawing cash from an ATM)

Note: You should not say ‘PIN number’ since that would mean ‘Personal ID Number number’!

Automatic Re-Ordering of Stock

In many stores, the POS system is linked to the stock control system...

'Stock' means the things that you have in your store / warehouse.

'Stock Control' is the system that keeps track of what you have in stock

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When goods are sold, the POS system send the details of the sale to the stock-control system

The stock-control system updates the stock-levels in the stock database for the purchased
goods

If the stock-level falls below a pre-set value, the stock-control system sends an order to the
suppliers

The suppliers send a delivery to the store.

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The stock-control system updates the stock-levels in the stock database for the delivered goods

Internet Shopping (e-Commerce)

In the last few years, Internet shopping has become very popular. Stores like Amazon and the
iTunes Store are some of the largest retail businesses in the world. Online you can buy anything
from air flights to fresh eggs.

Customers like Internet shopping because...

 The convenience of being able to browse goods from your home

 Stores are open 24 hours a day, every day of the year
 The wider range of choice - can access stores all over the world
 Easy if you have limited mobility (due to a disability, or old age)
 Goods are often cheaper than in stores
 Payment is simple using credit cards or services such as PayPal

Businesses like Internet shopping because...

 Lower costs since no expensive retail stores and less staff

 Lower costs = lower selling prices = higher sales = bigger profits
 Many more potential customers

However there are some problems too...

 You cannot try items before purchasing (e.g. clothes)

 You may have to wait several days before receiving your goods
 Returning goods or getting help can be difficult
 There is a security risk using credit cards online. The card details may be stolen and
used to commit fraud.

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Next Up → Medical & Hospital Systems

Medical & Hospital Systems

Computer system are used in several quite different ways within doctor's surgeries and
hospitals...

Monitoring of Patients

When a patient is in hospital, they often require close monitoring. It is not possible for a doctor
or nurse to monitor patients continuously, 24 hours a day, so computerised monitors are used
instead.

Sensors are attached to the patient. Senors are used to monitor:

 Pulse rate (heart beats per minute)

 Temperature
 Breathing rate (breathes per minute)
 Blood oxygen levels

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 Blood pressure

The sensors feed information back to a computer which processes the data:

 Data is checked for any problems (e.g. pulse rate too low/high)
 Data is logged so that it can be checked later

Several outputs from the computer system let hospital staff the patient's condition:

 A large display / monitor shows graphs of pulse, breathing, etc.

 A loud buzzer / alarm can be sounded if there is a problem to attract the attention of a
nurse/doctor
 A small printer can produce a hard-copy of the data

The data from several patients can be fed back to a central nursing station so that the nursing
staff can see exactly what is happening in the ward.

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Diagnosis of Illness

Body Scanners

CT scanners and MRI scanners allow doctors to investigate what is happening inside a
patient's body without intrusive surgery.

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The complex signals that come back from these huge machines are picked up by sensors and fed
into a computer. The computer processes the data, then outputs full-colour images, sometimes
in 3D, for the doctor, giving views of the patient's body.

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Expert Systems

Expert systems allow medical staff with limited medical knowledge (e.g. nurses) to get advice
from a computer 'expert'

Expert systems are described here. But they essentially work by:

1. Medical staff inputs patient's symptoms (or answers questions about them)
2. The expert system's search engine searches the knowledge base (a collection of medical
knowledge) to find possible diagnoses
3. The system outputs a list of possible diagnoses, and treatments

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Managing Patient Records

Doctors and hospitals have to deal with thousands of patients every week. It is essential that the
medical details of every patient is recorded accurately so that the correct diagnosis can be
made, and the correct treatment can be given.

For this reason, hospitals make use of computerised databases to store patient records.
Computerised databases mean that:

 Patient data can be easily shared between doctors, pharmacies and other hospitals
 It is easy to search for and retrieve patient records
 Doctors can instruct a pharmacy to issue medication for a patient (no paper note needs
to be written)

Databases are described fully here. In the case of hospitals, the patient data that would be
typically stored would be:

 Patient ID (number or text) - this would be the key field

 Name (text)
 Date-of-birth (date)
 Gender (boolean)
 Blood group (text)
 Allergies (text)
 Medical history (text)
 Doctor currently treating (text)
 Current symptoms (text)
 Current diagnosis (text)
 Current treatment (text)
 Current medication (text)
 X-rays or body scans (links to image/video files)

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It used to be the case that patient records were all written on paper, and stored in huge, manual
databases.

This made accessing the records slow. Sometimes records could get lost, and there was no easy
way to make a back-up copy.

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Doctors can access a patients record whilst they are visiting patients, by using a computer
connected wirelessly to the hospital network.

Doctors often use tablet computers (which are portable like laptops, but have a touch screen,
and no keyboard) as they can be held in one hand, and operated with the other.

Notes can be written on the screen using a stylus, and handwriting-recognition software
converts it into computer text data.

Next Up → School Management Systems

School Management Systems

Schools have to manage many different sets of data:

 Pupil information (name, contact details, etc.)

 Staff information (name, bank details for pay, etc.)
 Timetable (rooms, times, subject, staff, classes, etc.)
 Pupil attainment (marks, grades, comments, etc.)
 Pupil behaviour (dates, incidents, notes, etc.)
 Administration data (letters, forms, etc.)
 Financial records (wages, fees, etc.)
 Exam entries (times, dates, pupils, results, etc.)

Rather than use lots of different systems to manage this information, many schools use a School
Management System (sometimes called a School Information System, or SIS). This is a
system that manages all of a school's data in a single, integrated application.

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Having all of the information in a single system allows schools to more easily connect data
together.

For example, when viewing a pupil's record, the user could follow a link to the pupil's class, and
from there a link to the pupil's teacher, and from there a link to the teacher's other classes, and
so on.

These connections between sets of data allow complex tasks to easily be performed such as:

 Sending letters to all parents of pupils who scored below 50% in their last English test
 Printing personalised timetables for IGCSE pupils (even though they have all chosen
different options)
 Monitoring the progress of pupils in multiple subjects, over a number of years

As you can imagine, School Management Systems are pretty complex. Most systems are based
on a complex relational database. The database contains many tables of data, each table having
many records and many fields.

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An Example...

An example of a part of a typical school database showing the different data tables, the fields
within each table, and the relationships between the tables:

Pretty complicated, isn't it? And this would just be a small part of the overall School
Management System database!

(Don't worry - you don't have to learn this diagram - it's just an example to show you that this is
not a simple database!)

If you have studied and understood the notes about relational databases, you will notice that
many of the above tables contain foreign keys (primary keys from one table that are used in
another table to create a relationship / link)

E.g. The PUPIL Data table contains two foreign keys: Family ID and Tutor Group ID. These
foreign keys link a pupils to a specific family and tutor group
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Next Up → Library Systems

Library Systems
Libraries often contain many thousands of books, magazines, CD-ROMs, etc. In fact, some of
the largest libraries (e.g. The British Library in the UK) contain well over 100 million items -
that's a lot of things to keep track of!

For this reason, libraries use computer-based systems to keep a record of their books, and of the
people who borrow the books.

A computerised library database allows for:

 Quick and easy searching for books

 Easy printing out of book lists / labels
 Easy tracking of book loans (who has it, when it was borrowed, etc.)
 Automatic printing of warning letters for borrowers who have not returned books

International Standard Book Number (ISBN)

Every published book has an International Standard Book Number (ISBN).

The ISBN is typically printed on the back of the book in numeric form, and as a barcode (to
allow for quick data entry)

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It's important to note that a book's ISBN cannot be used as the primary key field in a library's
book database.

Why? Because if you have several copies of the same book, they will all have the same ISBN.
And the primary key must be unique.

For this reason, library books are given a unique ID number / code.

The Book Database

A typical library book database might contain:

 Book ID (number / text)

 Title (text)
 Author (text)
 Publisher (text)
 ISBN (number)
 Fiction / non-fiction (boolean)
 Genre / category (text)
 Cost (number)
 Date of purchase (date)

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Before computers, libraries had to use manual paper-based systems.

Details of books were recorded on small cards which were then kept in small drawers (in order
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of author's name, for fiction books, or in order of subject, for non-fiction books)

You can probably imagine that keeping these cards up-to-date, and making sure non got lost, or
put back in the wrong place, was a huge job!

The Borrower Database

A typical library borowwer database might contain:

 Borrower ID (number / text)

 Name (text)
 Phone number (text)
 Address (text)
 E-mail address (text)
 Date of birth (date)

Borrowers are commonly given library cards that have their details printed on, so that they
don't have to remember their ID.

Most cards also have the borrower's ID in the form of a barcode for quick and easy data input
when borrowing books

The Loans Database

The loans database has records added to it when someone borrows a book. The loans database
links together records from the books database and the borrower database.

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A typical loans database would contain:

 Book ID (number / text)

 Borrower ID (number / text)
 Date of loan (date)
 Due date (date)

The loans database can be regularly checked for loans that are late back. The computer simply
has to search the database for records where:

Due date is before Today

When a late record is found, the borrower ID can be used to link to the borrower's record. The
borrower's address / e-mail can then be used to send out an automatic reminder letter.

As with the manual book catalogue mentioned above, before computers all loans were recorded
using a paper-based, manual system

Next Up → 8. Systems Analysis & Design

8 Systems Analysis & Design

The syllabus says that you should be able to:

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8.1 Analysis

a. describe different methods of researching a situation;

b. state the need for recording and analysing information about the current system;
c. state the need for identifying features of the existing system.

8.2 Design

a. state the need for producing designs;

b. produce designs to solve a given problem;
c. chose the method of verification.

8.3 Development and Testing

a. understand that the system is created from the designs and then tested;
b. describe testing strategies;
c. understand that improvements could be needed as a result of testing.

8.4 Implementation

a. describe the different methods of system implementation;

b. identify suitable situations for the use of different methods of system implementation,
giving advantages and disadvantages of each.

8.5 Documentation

a. identify the components of technical documentation for an information system;

b. identify the components of user documentation for an information system.

8.6 Evaluation

a. explain the need for evaluating a new system;

b. state the need for a variety of evaluation strategies.

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Notes covering this section:

 What is Systems Analysis?

 Researching the Present System
 Analysing the Present System
 Designing the New System
 Testing the New System
 Documenting the New System
 Implementing the New System
 Evaluating the New System

What is Systems Analysis?

Systems Analysis is, as the name states, the analysis of systems!

The systems that we are talking about are the systems within organisations and businesses -
systems of communication, financial systems, manufacturing systems, etc. - basically the
systems that make the organisation or business work.

A person who analyses systems is known as a Systems Analyst.

Often systems analysts are employed by organisations of businesses to help them improve their
systems and so become more efficient, and for businesses, more profitable.

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A systems analyst would generally perform the following steps in the order shown...

Research

Collecting information about the present system works

Analysis

Examining out how the present system works and identifying problems with it

Design

Coming up with a new system that will fix the present systems problems

Production

Creating the new system from the design. (Note: details of this stage are not required for IGCSE)

Testing

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Checking if the newly created system works as expected

Documentation

Creating documents that describe how to use the new systems, and how it works

Implementation

Replacing the present system with the new system

Evaluation

Checking that the new system meets all expectations

It’s very important you understand that just about everyone has a slightly different way of
describing the stages of Systems Analysis

Some textbooks you might read will include more steps, others will have less. Some with use
different names for the stages.

Don’t worry about this! They are all describing the same overall process.

What is important is that you understand how the process works, and that you can describe some
of the key activities that are required along the way.

Next Up → Researching the Present System

Researching the Present System

Before the systems analyst can make any recommendations about a new system, they first have
to understand how the present system works.

Gathering / Collecting Information

As much information about the present system needs to be gathered as possible.

The system analyst can use a number of techniques...

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Research

Analysis

Observation

This involves the systems analyst walking around the organisation or business, watching how
things work with his/her own eyes.

Observation allows the systems analyst to gather first-hand, unbiased information.

The downside to observation is that often people won't work the way they normally do if they
know they are being watched.

Interviews

The systems analyst can interview key people within the system to find out how it works.

Interviews allow lots of very detailed information to be gathered, but they take a long time to
do, so are not possible if large groups of people are involved.

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Questionnaires

With large groups of people, a questionnaire is a quick and simple way to gather information.

However the information gathered is limited by the questions set by the systems analyst (people
could have a lot of useful information in their heads, but if the questionnaire doesn’t ask the
right questions, they will not be able to pass it on)

Also many people do not take the time to fill in questionnaires seriously.

Collecting Documents

Most businesses and organisations use documents to record information, or to communicate

information (forms get filled in and passed to other offices, etc.)

The systems analyst needs to collect examples of the documents used to get an understanding of
the type and quantity of data that flows through the business or organisation.

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Next Up → Analysing the Present System

Analysing the Present System

Having collected as much information about the present system as possible, the systems analyst
now looks though it all to understand how the system works, and to try and identify problems
that need to be fixed.

This process is called analysis.

Research

Analysis

Design

Identifying the Inputs, Outputs and Processes

Every system has inputs and outputs and the systems analyst needs to identify the data input to
the present system, and the data output.

This is because any new system that is designed will have to deal with similar inputs and
outputs as the present system.

For example, the payroll system in a business might have the following inputs and outputs...

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Identifying the inputs, outputs and processes helps the Systems Analyst really understand how a
system works:

 What goes in?

 What happens inside?
 What comes out?

Any new system that is created will need to take in the same input data (the number of hours
worked by employees), and will have to produce the same three outputs.

For similar reasons, the systems analyst also has to understand how the present system works
(the processes – who does what and when)...

It is important to know exactly how the system works because some parts of the present system
may work very well, and it would be a waste of time and effort to replace them.

Most large systems are actually made up of many sub-systems. We call these sub-systems
processes.

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Each process takes data from the inputs or from other processes, processes the data, and
produces an output. The output is passed to other processes, and so on.

Identifying Problems

No system is perfect and it is the job of the systems analyst to try and identify where the
problems in a system are.

If these problems can be fixed, the system will work more smoothly, be more efficient and, in
the case of a business, be more profitable.

In the above payroll example, the following problems might be identified...

 The payroll often takes over three days to process, resulting in many employees being
paid late
 Timesheets sometimes get lost before being processed. This means that sometimes pay
has to be estimated
 The reports sent to management do not show enough information.

Hopefully you have realised why all of the research and analysis is necessary. Unless we really
understand how a system works, we can't begin to identify the parts that are broken and need
fixing / replacing

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New System Requirements Specification

Now the problems with present system are understood, the system analyst can begin to plan how
the new system will fix those problems.

The systems analyst specifies a list of requirements for the new system (‘requirements’ simply
means targets or aims).

This list is usually called the Requirements Specification.

For the payroll example the requirements might be...

1. Payroll processing should be completed within 24 hours

2. The recording of hours worked should use a system that means the data cannot be lost
3. Management reports should contain detailed information about pay for each department,
overtime payments and average hours worked by each employee
4. Management reports should be electronic so that managers can analyse the data more
easily

Any new system that is designed must meet these requirements.

The whole point of any system analysis is to end up with a better system than presently exists.
The Requirements Specification is the document that lists all of the improvements that we hope
the new system will bring.

What Hardware and Software Will Be Required?

The systems analysts will now need to decide what hardware and software will be required for
the new system...

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Hardware

 How many computers?

 What type of network?
 How many servers?
 Any special input devices? (e.g. barcode readers)
 Any special output devices?

Software

 Is ready-made, off-the-shelf software available?

 Is custom-written software required?

Off-the-shelf software is software that is created for use by a large range of customers - it tends
to be quite general-purpose.

Custom-written software is designed and written specifically for one customer.

Off-the-shelf software:

 Cheaper
 More reliable (because most problems will have been found by one of the many users)
 Has lots of support and help available (because lots of other people are using it)

Custom-written software:

 Very expensive
 Provides exactly what the customer needs (a ‘perfect fit’)
 Only has one user, so little help is available

Next Up → Designing a New System

Designing a New System

Using the list of requirements, the systems analyst now has to design the new system.

In most cases the new system will be computer-based. The ease with which computers can
communicate and process data means that are usually the best tool for the job.

Analysis

Design
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Testing

Designing the System Inputs

To get data into a system is a two-part process:

1. Data must first be ‘captured’ (collected in a way that then makes it easy to input)
2. Data must be input into the computer

The systems analyst will select a data capture method and data input method that best suit the
requirements of the new system.
Sometimes the two steps of data capture and data input are performed at the same time.

For example a barcode reader captures the data (the numeric code on the barcode) and inputs it
to a computer in one go.

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Choosing the Best Data Capture and Data Input Methods for the System

Collecting data into a form that is ready for input to a computer system can be done in many
ways...

Paper Forms

Form can be a simple ones with spaces for numbers and text to be written in. The data form
this form would then be typed into the computer

Forms can also be machine-readable, such as OMR forms

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Barcode Reader

Barcode readers capture the numeric code that the barcode represents.

Typically used with POS systems and also stock-control systems

Card Reader

Many cards contain data stored on a magnetic strip or in a small bit of memory (smart cards)
which can be captured with a card reader

Used in systems such as EFTPOS

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Camera

Capture still or moving images which can then be input to a computer for processing

In the payroll example, the hours worked by the employees could be captured using...

 A paper form (a timesheet) - simple and cheap, but the needs to be manually input
(slow) and the form can be lost
 Barcode reader - employees could have ID cards and swipe them at the start and end of
work (can cheat easily)
 Fingerprint reader - employees could put a finger on the reader at the start and end of
work (hard to cheat)

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Designing On-Screen Forms for Data Input

Much of the data that enters computer systems needs to typed in. A well-designed on-screen
form can make this task easier and quicker.

On-screen forms should...

 Have all of the necessary fields

 Have obvious places for user input (boxes, use of colour, etc.)
 Use appropriate controls (see below) for each field
 Have text box controls that are the right size for the data
 Have easy-to-understand instructions (if needed)
 Make good use of the screen area available

Form Controls

On-screen forms can have a variety of controls (the little buttons / boxes that you click or type
in):

Textbox
Used for normal text input

Buttons
Used to perform an action

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Option / Radio Buttons

Used to select an option (only one can be picked)

Tick / Check Boxes

Used to select options (more than one can be ticked)

Drop-Down Menus
Used to select options from a list

As data is entered into the form, it needs to be checked for accuracy. Two techniques help us do
this: validation and verification...

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Above is an example of a well-designed on-screen form.

Note the clear instructions, labels and layout.

Note that appropriate controls have been used for each field

Data Validation Techniques

When data is input to a computer, it is a good idea for the computer to check that the data is
sensible (no dates of birth in the future, etc.)

Checks like this are called validation checks (is the data valid?)

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Different validation checks can be used on different fields, depending on the type of data being
entered...

Presence Check
Is data actually present in a field, or has it been missed out?

Range Check

Is the data value within a set range?

(E.g. an exam mark should be between 0% and 100%, a month should be between 1 and 12)

Length Check

Is an item of text too short or too long?

Type Check

Is the data the correct type?

(E.g. the letter ‘A’ should not be allowed in a numeric field)

Format Check

Is the data in the correct format?

(E.g. a date of birth should be entered as dd/mm/yyyy)

If one of the validation checks fails (because the data entered is invalid) the computer should
show a nice, friendly error message such as...

“You have forgotten to enter a name”

Data Verification Techniques

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Data validation only checks whether the data entered is sensible - it does not mean that the data
is the right data.

For example, if you are entering a date of birth and you mis-type it…

 Correct date of birth: 12/11/1982

 Date of birth entered: 12/11/1928

. . . you would not see an error, since 12/11/1928 is a valid date of birth.

To check that data is the correct value, we use a system called data verification.

There are two methods of data verification...

Proof Reading

After the data has been entered a person compares the original data with the data in the
computer (either on the screen or using a print-out).

If mistakes are spotted they can be corrected by the person.

Proof-reading is quick and simple, but doesn’t catch every mistake.

Double-Entry

The data is entered into the computer twice (preferably by two different people).

The computer compares the two sets of data to see if they match. If not it generates an error
and a person will need to correct the mistake.

Double-entry takes more time and effort, but it catches almost every mistake.

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A common example of double-entry verification is when you are asked to choose a new password
- you are usually asked to type it in twice to make sure you've typed it correctly (since the actual
letters are hidden)

Designing the System Processes

Any system has to process the data it is given. The system designer has a number of things to
consider...

Designing Data and File Structures

A data structure is an organised collection of data. Most commonly, this will be some sort of
database in which data will be stored as it is being processed.

When designing a database, the system designer needs to consider:

 The type of data being stored (numbers, text, dates, etc.)

 The size of the data (how long is a typical name, etc.)
 The field names to use
 How many records will need to be stored

(see the Data Types section for more details about these)

The designer also need to consider which backing storage device and media will be suitable to
store the data:

 How often will the data need to be accessed

 How quickly the data needs to be accessed
 How large will the data files be

So, for example, if there is a large amount of data that needs to be accessed quickly, and
regularly, then a hard drive would be the best storage device to use.

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Designing the How the Data Will be Processed

Of course, the system designer also needs to design the actual steps to be followed to processing
the data (the algorithm).

(This part of the design is outside of the scope of the IGCSE syllabus, but I've mentioned it for
completeness)

You don't need to know how to write algorithms for IGCSE!

Designing the System Outputs

There are usually two types of output from a system that need to be designed:

 On-screen reports (information displayed on the monitor)

 Printed reports (hard-copy to be mailed, filed, etc.)

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Designing On-Screen Reports

Designing an on-screen report is similar to designing an on-screen form (see above). There are a
number of things that the designer should consider.

On-screen reports should...

 Show all of the necessary fields

 Have fields that are the right size for the data
 Have easy-to-understand instructions (if needed)
 Make good use of the screen area available
 Make good use of colours and fonts to make the data clear

This is an example of a well-designed on-screen report used to show details of an employee…

On-screen reports can include more than just text...

Reports can include:

 Text
 Images
 Bar charts
 Pie charts
 Animations

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 Video

Designing Printed Reports

Designing a printed report is just like designing an on-screen report (see above), except that the
report needs to fit a piece of printer paper, rather than the screen. The report might also include
page numbers, a header / footer, etc

This is an example of a well-designed printed report used to show details of an employee…

Printed reports often have features that on-screen reports don't have, such as page headers and
footers (containing page numbers, etc.)

Next Up → Testing the New System

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Testing the New System

Once the system has been created, it needs to be thoroughly tested.

A test plan is usually written whilst the system is being developed. The test plan will contain
details of every single thing that needs to be tested.
For example:

 Does the system open and close properly?

 Can data be entered?
 Can data be saved?
 Can reports be printed?
 When you do something wrong, does an error message appear?
 Is invalid data rejected? E.g. if you are not allowed to enter an amount above £1,000 on
the system then a value of 1,001 should not be accepted (i.e. does the validation work?)

Test plans are very detailed, and contain many tests. Each test is specified very precisely.

A typical test would contain:

 Details of what is being tested

 The test data to use
 What is expected to happen when the test is performed

Design

Testing

Documentation

Selecting Test Data

When choosing what data to use to test a system, you need to think about why we are testing the
system: to see if it works, and to check it doesn't break.

To do this, we use three types of test data...

Normal Data Values

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This is data that would normally be entered into the system.

The system should accept it, process it, and we can then check the results that are output to make
sure they are correct.

E.g. In a system that was designed to accept and process test marks (percentages), then normal
test values would include:

 10
 25
 63
 89

Extreme Data Values

Extreme value are still normal data.

However, the values are chosen to be at the absolute limits of the normal range.

Extreme values are used in testing to make sure that all normal values will be accepted and
processed correctly.

E.g. In a system that was designed to accept and process test marks (percentages), then extreme
test values would be:

 0 (lowest possible value)

 100 (highest possible value)

In systems that deal with text, the extreme values are defined by how long the text can be. The
limits would be:

 "" (nothing entered)

 "ABCDEF..." (max. length)

Abnormal Data Values

This is data that should not normally be accepted by the system - the values are invalid.

The system should reject any abnormal values.

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Abnormal values are used in testing to make sure that invalid data does not break the system.

E.g. In a system that was designed to accept and process test marks (percentages), then
abnormal test values would include:

 -1
 101
 200
 -55

When is the System Tested?

Testing is normally done in two stages...

The first phase of testing is done by the designers and engineers who created the system, usually
before the system is delivered to the customer.

The test data that is used in this first phase is similar to data that would be used by the actual
customer.

The second phase of testing is done after the system has been delivered and installed with the
customer.

The data used in the second phase is usually 'live' data - data that is actually part of the
customer's business / organisation.

These two phases of testing are often referred to as Alpha Testing (testing by the
designers/engineers) and Beta Testing (testing by real users, with real data)

What Happens if the System Fails Some Tests?

The whole point of testing is to try and find areas that don't work as they should, or areas that
can be improved.

If any failures are found, the systems analyst goes back and does some further research,
analysis and design to fix these areas.

Next Up → Documenting the New System

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Documenting the New System

There are two types of documentation that should be produced when creating a new system:

 User documentation
 Technical documentation

Testing

Documentation

Implementation

User Documentation

The user documentation is intended to help the users of the system.

The users are usually non-technical people, who don't need to know how the system works.
They just need to know how to use it.

User documentation usually includes:

 List of minimum hardware and software required to use the system

 How to install the system
 How to start / stop the system
 How to use the features of the system
 Screenshots showing the system in typical use
 Example inputs and outputs
 Explanations of any error messages that might be shown
 A troubleshooting guide

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If you've ever purchased any computer software (e.g. a game), then you will have seen a user
guide - it's the little booklet that comes in the CD case (that you didn't read!)

If you buy a car, it comes with a user guide that explains how to start it, unlock the doors, fill it
with fuel, etc. (nobody reads those either!)

Technical Documentation

The technical documentation is intended to help the maintainers of the system (the people who
need to keep the system running smoothly, fix problems, etc.)

The maintainers are usually technical people, who need to know exactly how the system works.

Technical documentation usually includes:

 Details of the hardware and software required for the system

 Details of data structures (data types, field names, etc.)
 Details of expected inputs
 Details of validation checks
 Details of how data is processed
 Diagrams showing how data moves through the system
 Flowcharts describing how the system works

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If you buy a car, you wouldn't normally want the technical documentation for it.

Your mechanic would be the person who would need the technical documents. If the car needed
servicing, or fixing, the mechanic would look in the document to understood how the various
systems in the car worked.

Next Up → Implementing the New System

Implementing the New System

The implementation of the new system occurs when the old system is replaced by the new one.

There are a new of ways of implementing a new system...

Documentation

Implementation

Evaluation

Direct Changeover

The old system is stopped completely, and the new system is started. All of the data that used
to be input into the old system, now goes into the new one.

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This is has its advantages...

 Takes the minimal time and effort

 The new system is up and running immediately

But there are also disadvantages...

 If the new system fails, there is no back-up system, so data can be lost

Sometimes a direct changeover is the only way to implement a new system.

E.g. an aircraft's auto-pilot system can't have a new and old version running side-by-side,
arguing about what to do!

Parallel Running

The new system is started, but the old system is kept running in parallel (side-by-side) for a
while. All of the data that is input into the old system, is also input into the new one.

Eventually, the old system will be stopped, but only when the new system has been proven to
work.

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This is has its advantages...

 If anything goes wrong with the new system, the old system will act as a back-up.
 The outputs from the old and new systems can be compared to check that the new
system is running correctly

But there are also disadvantages...

 Entering data into two systems, and running two systems together, takes a lot of extra
time and effort

Phased Implementation

The new system is introduced in phases (stages, or steps), gradually replacing parts of the old
system until eventually, the new system has taken over.

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This is has its advantages...

 Allows users to gradually get used to the new system

 Staff training can be done in stages

But there are also disadvantages...

 If a part of the new system fails, there is no back-up system, so data can be lost

Pilot Running

The new system is first of all piloted (trialled) in one part of the business / organisation (e.g. in
just one office, or in just one department).

Once the pilot system is running successfully, the new system is introduced to the all of the
business / organisation.

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This is has its advantages...

 All features of the new system can be fully trialled

 If something goes wrong with the new system, only a small part of the organisation is
affected
 The staff who were part of the pilot scheme can help train other staff.

But there are also disadvantages...

 For the office / department doing the pilot, there is no back-up system if things go wrong

A 'pilot' is someone who guides others - someone who leads the way.

On an airplane, the pilot guides all of the passengers safely to their destination.

In a port, the pilot is a person on a small boat who guides large ships safely into the harbour.

Next Up → Evaluating the New System

Evaluating the New System

Once the new system has been implemented and is in full use, the system should be evaluated
(this means that we take a long, critical look at it).

The purpose of an evaluation is to assess the system to see if it does what it was supposed to do,
that it is working well, and that everyone is happy with it.

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Evaluation

What Does an Evaluation Look For?

When the systems analyst evaluates the new system, the following questions will be asked:

Is the system...

...efficient?

Does it operate quickly, smoothly and with minimal waste?

Is the system saving time, and resources?

...easy to use?

Are all of the system's users able to use the system easily and effectively?

Can new staff understand and use the system with minimal training?

...appropriate?

Is the system suitable for the particular business / organisation?

Does the system actually meet the needs of the business / organisation?

But how can we find the answers to these questions?

How is a System Evaluated?

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The systems analyst will use a number of techniques to evaluate the system...

Check against the

Requirements Specification

If you remember, earlier on in the Systems Analysis, the old system was analysed, and a
checklist of targets was drawn up for the new system.

This list was called the Requirements Specification.

The systems analyst will use this document to check the new system. Going through the
requirements one-by-one the analyst will check if they have been met.

Check the
Users' Responses

It is essential to get feedback from the users of the system...

 Do they like it?

 Does it make their work easier?
 What, if anything, could be improved?

The systems analyst can get this feedback in the same way they collected information about the
original system...

 Questionnaires
 Interviews
 Observations

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What Happens Next?

The outcome of the evaluation will be to identify any limitations or problems with the new
system.

The system analyst will then need to begin the task of system analysis from the beginning, but
this time analysing the new system, and then designing, testing and implementing
improvements.

Thus the whole process repeats...

The fact that the process of Systems Analysis is often repeated over and over (constantly building
upon and improving systems) means that it is often referred to as a cyclic (repeating) process.

The stages of Systems analysis are often shown in a circle

Next Up → Nothing! That's the end of the theory notes

So what now...?
Take a break, have a stretch, get a snack.
Then... go back to the beginning and read them all again!

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