CHAPTERR
Computer Systems
INTRODUCTION
The word'compute' means to calculate'. You are familiar with
day to day calculations based on mathematical operations like
addition, subtraction, multiplication, etc. While calculating, it was
realized that simple calculations took less time while complex
calculations were time consuming. Another important factor was
accuracy. To overcome the above problems man developed a
machine which could calculate faster and with accuracy. This
gave birth to a device/machine called 'Computer.
The computer which one sees today is different from the
one developed in early days. Every day the latest technology is being
implemented to improve the speed, accuracy, processing etc. Computers Personal Computer
have made a rapid change in our day to day life. It seems that life without computers is unimaginable. Computer has
touched almost every sphere of life. Some of the areas are listed below:
Reservation ofTickets in Airlines and Railways
Payment of Telephone and Electricity Bills
Transaction of Money
- Medical Diagnosis
Weather Forecasting etc.
However, a computer has its own limitations. Remember computer is a dumb
machine. It has to be given proper instructions to carry out the needful tasks. It is
thus important to know in detail about a computer and its functioning.
WHAT 19 A cOMPUTER?
The term computer stands for Common Operating Machine Purposely Used in Training and Educational Research,
itis an electronic device it caters to the need of people at different levels. For example:
Computer is simply a calculator, which works automatically and fast.
Computer is a machine capable ofsolving problems& manipulating data.
Computer accepts and processes the data by carrying mathematical and logical operations and gives us the
desired output.
Nofe: Data can be name, age, sex, weight, height, income, savlngs, investments or marks obtained in various subjects etc.
Computer Applications X
The working of the computer can be summarized in a nutshell as follows :
accept data storedata
process data as desired retrieve data as and when required
print the result in desired format.
You will know more about these functions in detail as you progress further
nererore GIGO plays a vital role. GlGO stands for "Golden in Golden out" or "Garbage in Garbage out" 1e. ifyYou
if supply the wrong information
with correct information then you will get back correct output or you
purer
then you will get back the meaningless answer.
CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER
Computers can be classified on the basis of purpose, components and size.
Analog Computers length, pressure, weather
diOg COmputers are computers that measure physical quantities such as temperature,
scientific and engineering purpose
Eports etc. and convert them to numeric values. It is used mainly for
Digital Computers in binary code
addition, subtraction, letters, symbols
Digital computers are used for mathematical operations such
as
made up of binary digits or bits. Characters are represented by a string of 0's and 1s.
Measurements of Binary Code:
One 'Bit' is a short form of Binary Digit.(A Byte is the smallest unit of measurement to determine the capacity of
storage device. One keystroke on the keyboard occupies 1 byte of storage space in RAM. A collection of 8 Bitss
known as 1 BYTE.
Units of Computer Memory
1 Bit = Binary Digit 1024TB 1 PB(Peta Byte)
8 Bits 1 Byte 1024PB= 1 EB(Exa Byte)
1024 Bytes 1 KB (Kilo Byte) 1024EB 1ZB{Zetta Byte)
1024 KB 1 MB (Mega Byte) 1024ZB = 1YB (Yotta Byte)
1024MB = 1GB(Giga Byte)
1024YB 1(Bronto Byte)
1024 GB = 1 TB(Terra Byte)
1024 Bronto byte 1 (Geop Byte)
Note: Every characteryou type occupies 1 byte, every space occupies 2 bytes and every enter key you hit occupies 2 bytes.
Hybrid Computers
The features of analog and digital computers are combined to create a hybrid computing system. It is mostly used
doctors in the field of cardiology
TYPES OF cOMPUTERS
Presently the fifth generation computers are being used. They can be divided into different categories dependne
upon the size, efficiency, memory and number of users. The sub divisions are as follow:
10 ComputerApplications
Microcomputer
Personal Computer (PC) is also known as Microcomputer or a desktop
eamputer It is called micro because of its size and it uses
co
microprocessor a very small electronic device consisting of thousands
of circuits on a silicon chip.
The first microcomputer wasbuilt of 8-bit microprocessor chip
and with passage of time was modified to 16 bit, 32 bit, 64 bit
chips
The main feature of a microcomputer is that Arithmetic Logic Unit
(ALU), Control Unit (CU) and the Memory Unit (MU) are all ona single
chip called Microprocessor.
Microcomputer
Portable Computer
ONmin
Portable Computers are also known as laptops, notebooks and tablet PC's
These are complete, full-blown systems using same hardware and software
as used by the other microcomputer systems.
Palmtops and Handhelds
The Palm Pilot, mobile, iPaq and Handspring
devices fall in the category of palmtop
995995ERRRTF or
handheld devices, These devices contain
considerable computing power and have strong
Portable Computer
battery backup. They are small enough to be held
in the palm of one hand. They often come with a mini operating system, synchronization
software for transferring data between the palmtop and a microcomputer (desktop). Handheld Computer
Mini Computer
The processing speed and storage capacity of Mini computer is higher
than microcomputer. It can support more than one user at a time. Mini
computer is used in multi-user system in which various users can work at
the same time. This type of computer is generally used for processing
large volume of data in an organisation. They are also used as servers in
Local Area Networks (LAN). It supports all high level languages
Mini Computer
Mainframe Computer
Mainframe computer is large in size and is designed to process a large
amount of data,They operate at very high speed and have very large storage
capacity.On a mainframe, many users can work at a time. It supports more
terminals at a time as compared to mini computers and are also used as
controlling nodes in Wide Area Networks (WAN). Examples of mainframes
are DEC, ICL and 1BM 3000 series, 1BM-Z. Mainframe computers process
billions of transactions on a single server. These also offer robust cloud data
center platform. Mainframe Computer
Computer Applications IX
SuperComputer
Super computers are used for special purposes, They are
veryexpensive and process large amount of data very fastly.
have high processing speed compared to other
They as
computers. They support multiprocessing technique and
can interconnect hundreds of microprocessors together.)
Supercomputers are mainly used for weather
forecasting,biomedicalresearch, remote sensing, aircraft
design and otherareas ofscience and technology, Examples
of Super computers are CRAY YMP,CRAY2, NECSX-3, CRAY
XMP and PARAM from India. Super Computer
CHARACTERISTICS OF cOMPUTER
Let usidentifythe major characteristics of a computer. They can be categorised as:
Speed
Computers work very fast and perform millions of calculations in a fraction of
a second.
You will be surprised know that computer can perform more
to
than
millions (1,000,000) of instructions per second. Therefore, the
speed of
computer is given in terms of microsecond (10 part of a second) or nano-
second (10 par of a second). From this you can
imagine
how fast your
computer works.
Accuracy
Computers are very accurate and do not make any kind of error while doing
calculations.
If you make amistake while entering the data, then
computer will display
error in the form of syntax error or
logical error.
The degree of accuracy of computer is very high and every calculation is
performed with the same accuracy. The errors in computer are due to human
and inaccurate data.
Diligence
Computers workefficiently, Complicated and repetitive tasks are made simpler. It can work for hours withoutcreat
any erronlf millions of calculations are to be performed, a computer will perform every calculation with the sani
accuracy. Due to this capability, it overpowers human beings in calculation.
Versatility
Computer can perform unlimited jobs that depend on the hardware characteristics and instructions fed onto
t means you may use your entory
computer to prepare payroll slips. Next moment you may use it ror
inve
management or to prepare electric bills. Your computer will follow instructions and give the result accurately
without
w
getting confused.
12A Computer Applications
POWer of Remembering
stored and recalled as
Computer has the powerof storing any amount of information or dataAny information can be in 3
data you want to store
long as you requlre it, tor any numbers of years. It depends entirely upon you how much
computer and when to delete or retrieve this data.
Logical Decisions CA pu lu
Ou Cannotconfuseacomputer, Theydisplay thedecisionquickly onthe screen forexample, acomputer tellsyou
the status of seat availability for your Railway/Airlines reservation within no time.
NoIQ KNOWMORE
Computer is a dumb machine and it cannot do any work without instruction Applications of a Computer
fromthe userJt performs the instructions at tremendous speed and w i t
accuracy. A computer cannot take its own decision as you can.
No Feeling
t does not have feelings or emotion, taste, knowledge and experienceThus it
does not get tired even after long hours of work. It does not distinguish between
the users.
2
(ecop
BACK TO THE START
Computers are broadly classified on the basis of Generation, Size and Purpose.
Personal computers are commonly known as Desktop Computers.
Minicomputers are bigger than PC's and they work faster.
Mainframe computers are powerful and they process and store large quantity of data.
Super computers consist of more than one processor and process data at a fast rate.
Laptop Computers/Notebooks can be carried easily.
Palmtop computers are compact in size and fits easily in hand.
Analog, Digital and Hybrid Computers are based on "purpose'.
Analog computers are used in engineering and scientific areas.
Digital computers are used for various applications.
Hybrid computers are used in hospitals
EXERCISE
1. MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
Put a tick ( ) on the right option.
1. A computer is a machine that takes in information and. .. it in some way.
(a) stores 6) processes (c) calculates (d) erases
2. Which statement is valid?
I K B = 1024 bytes (b) I MB = 2048 bytes (c) 1 MB = 1000 kilobytes (d) II KB= 1000 bytes
Computer Applications IX 13
