Introduction to
Computing
Introduction to Computing
CHAPTER # 1
What is Computing
Computing is any goal-oriented activity which benefits
from computers
Computing is the study of how computers and computer
systems work and how they are constructed and
programmed
Computing includes
designing and building hardware and software systems
processing, structuring and managing various kinds of information
doing scientific research on and with computers
making computer systems behave intelligently
creating and using communications and entertainment media etc
Chapter # 1 Introduction to Computing 2
What is Computing
Its primary aspects of theory, systems and applications are
drawn from the disciplines of
Technology
Design
Engineering
Mathematics
Tech Engi
Physical Sciences and
Mat Physic
nolo
Des
Social Sciences
neer hem
al
Social
Scien
Scienc
gy ign ing atics es ces
Chapter # 1 Introduction to Computing 3
Subfields of Computing
Com Soft Com Infor Infor
pute ware puter mati matio
r Engi Engin on n
Scie neeri eerin Syst Techn
nce ng g ems ology
Chapter # 1 Introduction to Computing 4
Subfields of Computing
Computer science (CS) or computing science
It is the scientific and practical approach to computation and its applications
Software engineering (SE)
It is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the design,
development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these
approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software
Computer engineering (CE)
It is a discipline that integrates several fields of electrical engineering and computer
science required to develop computer systems
Information technology (IT)
It is the application of computers and telecommunications equipment to store, retrieve,
transmit and manipulate data, often in the context of a business or other enterprise
Information systems (IS)
It is the study of complementary networks of hardware and software that people and
organizations use to collect, filter, process, create, and distribute data
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History of Computing
The history of computing is longer than the history of
computing hardware and modern computing technology
It includes the history of methods intended for pen and
paper or for chalk and slate, with or without the aid of
tables
The earliest known tool for use in computation was the
abacus (invented in Babylon circa 2400 BC)
Calculators were also a popular computation tool used in
recent centuries
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Modern Day Computing
Modern day computing is usually performed with the help
of computers
A computer is a machine that manipulates data according
to a set of instructions called a computer program
A computer program provides instructions to the computer
hardware
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What is a Computer
Computer is a Latin word which means to compute
It is a calculation machine to perform computations and to make
logical decisions millions / billions times faster than human beings
Computer is an electronic device used for information processing
A computer is, at its most basic, a machine which can take
instructions, and perform computations based on those
instructions and give results
Computer is an electronic machine made with many subunits that
enables the user to access data easily
A computation on a computer is performed on the basis of two
main entities
i.e. hardware and software
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Computer Software
Software is a collection of computer programs and
related data that provides the instructions for telling a
computer what to do and how to do it
e.g. Microsoft Word, Internet Explorer, Windows
Software is a set of programs, procedures, algorithms
and its documentation concerned with the operation
of a data processing system
Software cannot be touched
Chapter # 1 Introduction to Computing 9
Computer Hardware
Computer hardware is the collection of physical elements
that comprise a computer system
It encompasses the physical interconnections and devices
required to store and execute (or run) the software
It refers to the physical parts or components of a computer
such as
monitor, keyboard, storage, hard drive disk, mouse, printers, CPU,
memory, motherboard, graphic card, sound card, and other chips
It contains physical objects that can be actually touched
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