Information Technology D12

Syllabus content area

Theory 60 marks
1. 2. 3. 4.

Computer hardware and related matters (25%) Information systems (35%) Computer Programming and Software Application (20%) System development life cycle (20%)

CCPT 40 marks
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Window and internet (5 marks) Ms Excel (10 marks) Ms Word (7 marks) Ms Power Point (5 marks) Ms Access (5 marks) Ms Project (4 marks) Ms Outlook (4 marks)

The Basics Understanding Computers

Computer:
Computer is an electronic device that
stores, retrieves and processes data, and can be programmed with instructions.

Operations of Computer
Input Processing Storage Output

Functional Elements of Computer

The functional elements of computer are
Central processing unit (CPU)
Random access storage (memory) Input/output to external devices (I/O)

The subunits of CPU are

Instruction decode and CPU control Control of addressing for memory and I/O ports Data transfer control Data and address register Arithmetic logic unit

Information Tecnolohgy
IT deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit, and retrieve information Advantages of IT
More accurate information

Voluminous transactions processing

Speedy availability of information Judgmental work for workforce Greater access to information

Brings cost effectiveness

Information system/Computer Based Information System(CBIS)

A system that uses the resources of hardware, software and people to perform input, processing, output, storage and control activities that transform data resources into information products Elements of CBIS
Hardware Software Databases Telecommunications

People
Procedures

Types of Computer
Mainframe Minicomputer Supercomputer Microcomputers:
Desktop

Personal computer
Laptop Palmtop / Personnel Digital Assistant Wearable

Network terminology
Server Workstation

Main frame Computer

In the early days of computing, mainframes were huge computers that could fill an entire room or even a whole floor! As the size of computers has diminished while the power has increased, the term mainframe has fallen out of use in favour of enterprise server. You'll still hear the term used, particularly in large companies to describe the huge machines processing millions of transactions every day.

Mini Computers
Another term rarely used anymore, minicomputers fall in between microcomputers (PCs) and mainframes (enterprise servers). Minicomputers are normally referred to as mid-range servers now.

Super Computers
This type of computer usually costs hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. Although some supercomputers are single computer systems, most are comprised of multiple high performance computers working in parallel as a single system. The best-known supercomputers are built by Cray Supercomputers

Desktop
A desktop computer is a personal computer in a form intended for regular use at a single location, as opposed to a mobile laptop or portable computer. Early desktop computers are designed to lie flat on the desk, while modern towers stand upright

Personal Computer
A personal computer (PC) is a general-purpose computer, whose size, capabilities, and original sale price makes it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator.

Laptop
A laptop computer is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop has most of the same components as a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device such as a touchpad (also known as a track pad) and/or a pointing stick , and speakers into a single unit. A laptop is powered by mains electricity via an AC adapter, and can be used away from an outlet using a rechargeable battery. Laptops are also sometimes called notebooks, netbooks or ultrabooks.

Palmtop
A small computer that literally fits in your palm. Palmtops are severely limited, but they are practical for certain functions such as phone books and calendars. Palmtops use a pen rather than a keyboard for input are often called hand-held computers or PDAs. A personal digital assistant (PDA) is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. PDAs are largely considered obsolete with the widespread adoption of smart phones. Nearly all current PDAs have the ability to connect to the Internet. A PDA has an electronic visual display, enabling it to include a web browser, all current models also have audio capabilities enabling use as a portable media player, and also enabling most of them to be used as mobile phones. Most PDAs employ touch screen technology.

Wearable
The latest trend in computing is wearable computers. Essentially, common computer applications (e-mail, database, multimedia, and calendar/scheduler) are integrated into watches, cell phones, visors and even clothing!

Workstation
A workstation is a high-end personal computer designed for technical, mathematical, or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by one person at a time, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems. Workstations are used for tasks such as computer-aided design, drafting and modeling, computation-intensive scientific and engineering calculations, image processing, architectural modeling, and computer graphics for animation and motion picture visual effects.

Server
A Server is a computer that has been optimized to provide services to other computers over a network. Servers usually have powerful processors, lots of memory and large hard drives.

Computers according to principle of working

Analogue computer: An analogue computer is a form of computer that

uses electrical or mechanical phenomena to model the problem being solved, or more generally by using one kind of physical quantity to represent another. Modelling a real physical system in a computer is called simulation. The term analogue signal is used to describe varying signals, which analogue computers deal with. Digital computer :A digital computer is a device or machine for making calculations or controlling operations that are expressible in numerical or logical terms. Digital computer representations can be broken down to simple binary expressions. All modern computers are digital as opposed to analogue computers which would express values as individual points on a continuum.

Evolution of Computer
Abacus The mark I computer (1937-44) The Atanasoff- Berry Computer (1939-42) The ENIAC (1943-46)

The Electronic Numerical Integrator Calculator The EDVAC (1946-1952) Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer The EDSAC (1947-1949) Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator Manchester Mark I (1948) The UNIVAC I (1951) Universal Automatic Computer

Generations Of Computer
First Generation (1942-1955)

Second Generation (1955-1964)

Third Generation (1964-1975) Fourth Generation (1975 onwards)

Fifth generation (Yet to come)

First Generation: were made possible by the invention of vacuum tube, which was a fragile glass device that could control and amplify electronic signals. These vacuum tube computers are referred to as first generation computers.

Advantages
Vacuum tubes were the only

Disadvantages
Too bulky in size. Unreliable.

electronic components available during those days. Vacuum tube technology made possible the advent of electronic digital computers. These computers were the fastest calculating device of their time. They could perform computations in milliseconds.

Large amount of heat

Air conditioning required. Prone to frequent hardware

failures. Constant maintenance Non-portable. Manual assembly of components Limited commercial use

Second generation :The transistor, a smaller and more reliable successor to the vacuum tube. However, computers that used transistors were not produced in quantity until over a decade later. The second generation emerged with transistors being the brain of the computer.

Advantages
Smaller in size More reliable.

Disadvantages
Air-conditioning required. Frequent maintenance

Less heat generated.

Efficient Computing

(milliseconds to microseconds) Less prone to hardware failures. Better portability. Wider commercial use.

required. Manual assembly of individual components Commercial production was difficult and costly.

Third generation: Advances in electronics technology continued and the advent of microelectronics technology made it possible to integrate large number of circuit elements into very small (less than 5 mm square) surface of silicon known as chips(Integrated Chips IC)

Advantages

Disadvantages
Air-conditioning required in many

Smaller in size Even more reliable. Even lower heat generated. Reduced computational time (microseconds to nanoseconds) Maintenance cost is low because hardware failures are rare. Easily portable. Totally general purpose Less power requirements Manual assembly of individual components not required. Commercial production was easier and cheaper.

cases. Highly sophisticated technology required for the manufacture of IC chips

Fourth generation
Initially, the integrated circuits contained only about ten to twenty components. This technology was named Small Scale Integration (SSI). Later, with the advancement in technology for manufacturing ICs, It became possible to integrate up to a hundred components on a single chip. This technology came to be known as Medium Scale Integration (MSI). Then came the era of large scale integration (LSI) when it was possible to integrate over 30,000 components onto a single chip. Effort is still on for further miniaturisation and it is expected that more than one million components will be integrated on a single chip known as Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI).

Fourth generation
Advantages

Disadvantages
Highly sophisticated

Smallest in size Very reliable. Heat generated is negligible. No air conditioning required Much faster in computation Hardware failure is negligible and hence minimal maintenance Easily portable because of their size. Totally general purpose. Minimal labour and cost involved at assembly stage. Cheapest among all generations.

technology required for the manufacture of LSI chips.

Fifth generation
Scientists are now at work on the fifth generation computers - a promise, but not yet a reality. They aim to bring us machines with genuine I.Q., the ability to reason logically, and with real knowledge of the world. Thus, unlike the last four generations which naturally followed its predecessor, the fifth generation will be totally different, totally novel, totally new. In structure it will be parallel (the present ones are serial) and will be able to do multiple tasks simultaneously. In functions, it will not be algorithmic (step by step, with one step at a time). In nature, it will not do just data processing (number crunching) but knowledge processing. In inference, it will not be merely deductive, but also inductive. In application, it will behave like an expert