Unit-1 Introduction

What is Computer?
• Computer is an electronic device. It takes input data from the user, process it
according to the instruction and produce output.
• Commonly Operating Machine Particularly Used for Technical Educational
Research.
• The term "computer" is derived from the Latin word "computare" which
means to calculate.
• Charles Babbage is also known as the father of the computer.
• It is believed that the Analytical Engine was the first computer which was
invented by Charles Babbage in 1837. It used punch cards as read-only
memory.

Explain characteristics of computer.

• Speed: It is related to the quantity of data processed per unit of time. A
computer is very fast device. The speed of computer is measured in micro,
Nano and Pico seconds.
• Accuracy: Computers perform calculations with 100% accuracy. Errors may
occur due to data inconsistency or inaccuracy.
• Errors are generated due to human rather than technology. The degree of
accuracy is dependent on the design of model of computer.
• Reliability: A computer is reliable as it gives consistent result for similar set of
data i.e., if we give same set of input any number of times, we will get the
same result.
• It operates under the most advance conditions without showing any signs of
tiredness. It is free from tiredness, boringness work and therefore it is used
for any type of jobs that requires accuracy. It does not lose concentration.

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• Memory: It has unlimited capacity to store data and recall any amount of
information because of storage capability.
• A computer has built-in memory called primary memory where it stores data.
Secondary storage are removable devices such as CDs, pen drives, etc., which
are also used to store data.
• Storage: Large no of the programs and data can be stored on the computer.
We don’t have to feed programs every time. Once a program for a job is
stored, it can be recalled and computer can be asked to execute it.
• Diligence (carefulness): A computer can perform number of functions
without suffering from tiredness, lack of concentration etc. If an instruction is
given to perform thousands of calculation, the computer will perform all with
same speed and accuracy.
• Versatility (flexibility): A computer can control a variety of jobs in various
fields.

Limitations
1. Lack of decision making power
2. No I.Q.
3. No realization

Generations of Computer

First Generation (1942-1955)

 Advantages
1. Computers were based on Vacuum tubes.
2. It could perform calculations in milliseconds.
3. They were fastest device of their time.

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 Disadvantages
1. Too bulky in size and unreliable
2. Thousands of vacuum tubes that were used emitted lot of heat.
3. Air condition required
4. Non portable as they were very vast
5. Commercial production was difficult and costly hence limited commercial
use

Second generation (1955-1964)

 Here instead of vacuum tube transistors were used.
 Advantages
1. Smaller in size as compared to the first generation computers.
2. More reliable.
3. Generated less heat
4. Better portability
5. Wider commercial use
6. They were faster
 Disadvantages
1. Air condition required
2. Frequent maintenance required
3. Commercial production was difficult and costly

Third Generation (1964-1975)

 They were still faster and less expensive compared to previous.
 Here integrated circuits were used instead of transistors. Parallel
programming, multi programming, multi user system etc were supported.

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 Advantages
1. Smaller in size compare to previous
2. More reliable
3. Lower heat generated
4. Computational time was reduced from micro to nano seconds
5. Maintenance cost was low and hardware failure was rare
6. Portable
7. Used for commercial application
8. Commercial production was easier and inexpensive.
9. These were developed for general purpose
 Disadvantages:
1. Air conditions was required in many cases
2. Highly sophisticated technology was required for manufacturing IC chip.

Fourth Generation (1975-1980 onwards)

 It integrate up to 100 components on a single chip called MSI (medium Scale
integration) or LSI (Large Scale Integration) which contained 30,000
component on single chip or VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) which
contained 1 million components on single chip.
 Advantages
1. Smaller in size because of solid chip
2. Very reliable
3. Less Heat generated
4. Less cooling was also ok
5. Faster computation
6. Minimum maintenance
7. Inexpensive of all generation

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8. Totally general purpose

 Disadvantages
1. Highly sophisticated technology required for manufacturing LSI or VLSI
chip.

Fifth Generation (1980 onwards)

 They are computers that is ability to motive logically and contain real
knowledge.
 The structure is be parallel. They perform multiple task simultaneously.
 Data and knowledge are processed. They follow KIPS rather than DIPS or LIPS.
 KIPS –Knowledge Information Processing system
 DIPS – Data Information Processing System
 LISP- Logical Information Processing System.

Applications of Computer
 Business
 Computer has high speed of calculation, diligence, accuracy, reliability and
versatility which made it an integrated part in all business organizations.
 Computer is used in business organizations for:
o Payroll calculations
o Budgeting
o Sales Analysis
o Financial forecasting
o Managing employees database
o Maintenance of stock etc.

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 Banking
 Today banking is almost totally dependent on computer.
 Bank provide following facilities:
o Banks provide online accounting facility which includes current
balances, deposits, overdrafts, interest charges, shares and trustee
record.
o ATM machines are making it even easier for customers to deal with
banks.

 Insurance
 Insurance companies are keeping all records up-to-date with the help of
computers. The insurance companies, finance houses and stock broking firms
are widely using computers for their concerns.
 Insurance companies are maintaining a database of all clients with
information showing:
o Procedure to continue with policies
o Starting data of the policy
o Maturity date
o Interests due
o Survival benefits
o Bonus

 Education
 The computer has provided a lot of facilities in the education system.
 The computer provides a tool in the education system known as CBE
(Computer Based Education.)

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 The computer education is rapidly increasing the graph of number of

computer students.
 There are number of methods in which educational institutions can use
computer to educate the students.
 It is used to prepare a database about performance of a student and analysis
is carried out on this basis.

 Marketing
 In marketing, uses of computer are following:
o Advertising
o At Home Shopping

 Health Care
 Computers have become important part in hospitals, labs, and dispensaries.
 The computers are being used in hospitals to keep the record of patients and
medicines.
 It is also used in scanning and diagnosing different diseases.
 ECG, EEG, Ultrasounds and CT Scans etc., are also done by computerized
machines.
 Some major fields of health care in which computers are used are:
o Diagnostic System
o Lab-diagnostic System
o Patient Monitoring System
o Pharma Information System
o Surgery

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 Engineering Design
 Computers are widely used in engineering purpose.
 One of major areas is CAD Computeraideddesign. That provides creation and
modification of images. Some fields are:
o Structural Engineering
o Industrial Engineering
o Architectural Engineering

 Military
 Computers are largely used in defense.
 Modern tanks, missiles, weapons etc. Military also employs computerized
control systems.
 Some military areas where a computer has been used are:
o Missile Control
o Military Communication
o Military Operation and Planning
o Smart Weapons

 Communication
 Communication means to convey a message, an idea, a picture or speech that
is received and understood clearly and correctly by the person for whom it is
meant for. Some main areas in this category are:
o E-mail
o Chatting
o Usenet
o FTP
o Telnet
o Video-conferencing

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 Government
 Computers play an important role in government.
 Some major fields in this category are:
o Budgets
o Sales tax department
o Income tax department
o Male/Female ratio
o Computerization of voters lists
o Computerization of driving licensing system
o Computerization of PAN card
o Weather forecasting

Types of Computer

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Types of Computer Based on Size, price and performance

1. Super computer
 They are very fast and powerful machines.
 Their internal architecture enables them to run at the speed of 10 MIPS
(million instructions per second).
 From 2017, supercomputer can perform 10^17 FLOPS (Floating Point
Operations Per Seconds)
 Super-computers are very expensive and for this reason are generally not
used for general applications.
 Examples of super-computers are: Cray , Param, Yuva and CDC Cyber.

2. Mainframe computer
 They are built for general computing, directly helping the needs of business
and engineering.
 Although these computing systems are a step below super-computers, they
are still very fast and will process information at about 10 MIPS.
 Mainframe computing systems are located in a centralized computing center
with 20-100+ workstations.
 This type of computer is still very expensive and is not easily found in general
design offices.

3. Mini computer
 They were developed in the 1960’s resulting from advances in microchip
technology.
 Smaller and less expensive than mainframe computers, minicomputers run at
several MIPS and can support 5-20 users.

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 Many user, throughout the 1960’s used minicomputers due to their low cost
and high performance.

4. Micro computer
 They were invented in the 1970’s and were generally used for home
computing and dedicated data processing workstations.
 Advances in technology have improved microcomputer capacities, resulting in
the explosive growth of personal computers in industry.
 In the 1980’s many medium and small design firms were finally introduced as
a direct result of the low cost and availability of microcomputers.
 Examples are: IBM, Compaq, Dell, Gateway etc.

o Desktop/personal computer :
o A desktop computer is a personal computing device designed to fit on
typical office desk.
o It include monitor, keyboard and mouse.
o Almost all desktop computers includes a built in modem and storage
devices.
o They are called so because they are designed for personal use of
individuals or small business units, office automation units or
professionals.
o Personal computers can be used for basic programming, fun and
games, business and professional applications, tele communications;
data base management, accounting, and word processing.

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o Laptop/Notebook :
o A laptop is a personal computers designed for mobile use and small
and light enough to sit on a person's lap while in use.
o A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop
computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device (a
touchpad, also known as a track pad, and/or a pointing stick), speakers,
and often including a battery, into a single small unit.
o The rechargeable battery is charged from an AC adapter and
typically stores enough energy to run the laptop for three to five
hours in its initial state, depending on the configuration and
power management of the computer.

o Palmtop :
o Palmtop is a small computer that literally fits in your palm.
o Compared to full-size computers, palmtops are severely limited, but
they are practical for certain functions such as phone books and
calendars.
o Palmtops that use a pen rather than a keyboard for input are often
called hand-held computers or PDAs (Personal Digital Assistance).
o Because of their small size, most palmtop computers do not include
disk drives.
o However, many contain PCMCIA slots in which you can insert disk
drives, modems, memory, and other devices.
o Palmtops are also called PDAs, hand-held computers and pocket
computers.

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o Tablet:
o A tablet is a wireless, portable personal computer with a touchscreen
interface for both input and output.
o The tablet has intermediate size between laptop and smart phone. It is
smaller than a notebook computer, but larger than a smartphone. They
are lighter than laptops.
o A key component among tablet computers is touch input on a
touchscreen display. This allows the user to navigate easily and type
with a virtual keyboard on the screen or press other icons on the
screen to open apps or files.
o It has longer battery life than laptop.
o Since the tablet is flat, it can be laid on the table like a piece of paper or
held in the lap and will be barely visible.
o Tablet uses Android, IOS, Chrome OS, or iPadOs as operating system.
o The screen size of tablet is too small in comparison with a laptop.
o The cost of tablet is higher compared to laptops for the same
processing power.
o It does not come with optical drives for use with CDs or DVDs.

o Smartphone:
o Smartphone is a mobile device having capability of a telephone with
some computational facility like web browsing, ability to run software
applications.
o Smartphones are limited in the number or ways they can accepts user
input and provide output.
o Smart phones are pocket sized computer having facilities, such as
calendar, calculator, notepad etc.

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o All smartphones come with some kind of personal information

management(PIM) software that typically handles the following tasks
to keep you organized.
 Store contact information.
 Make to-do list
 Track appointments
 Remind you of appointments
 Perform calculations
 Can connect to the internet
 Act as Global Positioning System(GPS) devices
 Run multimedia software

Draw the block diagram of computer and explain its

components. OR State the basic units of the computer,
name the subunits that make up the CPU and give the
function of each of the units.

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 Input Unit: The functions of input unit are to read necessary data into
computer system. Some of common input device are keyboard, mouse etc.
 Functions performed by I/P unit :
1. It provides data and instructions that are necessary to perform the task.
2. It converts input data into computer acceptable form.
3. It supplies the converted instruction and data to the computer system for
further processing.

 Output Unit: The function of output unit is just opposite to that of input unit.
Output unit supplies the processed data to the outside world. Thus it link
computer with the external environment.
 Functions performed by output unit:
1. It accepts the result produced by the computer.
2. It converts these coded result to human readable form
3. It supplies the converted result to outside world.

 Storage Unit: This unit can store instructions, data, and intermediate results.
 This unit supplies information to other units of the computer when needed. It
is also known as internal storage unit or the main memory or the primary
storage or Random Access Memory (RAM).
 Its size affects speed, power, and capability. Primary memory and secondary
memory are two types of memories in the computer.
 Functions of the memory unit are –
o It stores all the data and the instructions required for processing.
o It stores intermediate results of processing.
o It stores the final results of processing before these results are released
to an output device.

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o All inputs and outputs are transmitted through the main memory.

 Central Processing Unit: The CPU is the brain of a computer system. All the
data processing and calculations are performed within CPU.
 It is also responsible for controlling the operations of other units of computer
system.
 Two basic components of CPU are
1. Control unit and
2. Arithmetic logic unit (ALU).

 Arithmetic and logic Unit (ALU)

 It is the place where actual execution of instructions takes place during the
processing of operations. In general all arithmetic and comparison
calculations I.e. (+,-,*, /, <, <=,>,>=, ==, != ) takes place in ALU.
 This unit consists of two subsections namely,
o Arithmetic Section
o Logic Section
o Arithmetic Section
o Function of arithmetic section is to perform arithmetic
operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
All complex operations are done by making repetitive use of the
above operations.
o Logic Section
o Function of logic section is to perform logic operations such as
comparing, selecting, matching, and merging of data.

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 Control Unit
 The control unit sequences the operation of the computer, controlling the
actions of all other units.
 It understands the instructions and then directs the rest of the machines in its
operations.
 This unit does not perform actual processing of data; it just acts as central
system.
 Functions of this unit are –
o It is responsible for controlling the transfer of data and instructions
among other units of a computer.
o It manages and coordinates all the units of the computer.
o It obtains the instructions from the memory, interprets them, and
directs the operation of the computer.
o It communicates with Input/Output devices for transfer of data or
results from storage. It does not process or store data.

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