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Unit 1,2,3
Mechanizing of Arithmetic
Mechanical Computer
BASICS OF COMPUTER
DEFINITION OF COMPUTER
• A device that computes,
especially a programmable
electronic machine that performs
high-speed mathematical or
logical operations or that
assembles, stores, correlates, or
otherwise processes information.
GENERAL OPERATIONS
COMPUTER CHARACTERISTICS
• High speed.
• Accuracy.
• Reliability.
• Mass storage of information.
• Communication with other computers
through network like internet.
1. Computer Hardware
2. Computer Software
PRIMARY COMPONENTS
• Input devices.
• Output devices.
• Storage devices.
• Central Processing Unit.
• Memory.
Input devices
Input device is a peripheral (piece of computer
hardware equipment) used to provide data and
control signals to an computer.
CPU’s Components
Memory
Two different categories
Primary memory
• also known as main storage or memory, is the area in a computer in which
data is stored for quick access by the computer's processor. Eg RAM or
ROM
• stores the data and keep it even when the electricity to the PC (Personal
Computer) is cut off whereas
Secondary memory
• is the memory used externally to the computer.
• losses its contents immediately after we turn off the pc Eg. Hard disk,
pendrive..
Memory:
• RAM:
Random Access Memory.
Temporary memory.
Electronic components that store data including
numbers, letters, graphics and sound.
Information stored is lost when the computer is
turned off.
Measured in Mbytes, i.e 512 Mbytes
Memory
• ROM:
Read Only Memory.
Permanent memory.
Chip that has start-up directions for your
computer.
Eg. Let think why the computer know what devices
to boot up first?
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COLLGE
Subject Name Code Credit Hours
CACHE MEMORY
When the processor needs to read from or write to a
location in main memory, it first checks whether a copy
of that data is in the cache. If so, the processor
immediately reads from or writes to the cache, which is
much faster than reading from or writing to main
memory.
CACHE MEMORY
Register Memory
Unit of Information
• Bytes
One character takes up about one Byte.
One byte is equal to eight bits.
Bits means binary digit.
Eg. 10101010101…
Cont.
1 Bit = 0 or 1
8 Bits = 1 Bytes
1024 Bytes = 1 KB
1024 KB = 1 MB
1024 MB = 1 GB
1024 GB = 1 TB
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COLLGE
Subject Name Code Credit Hours
Output Devices
An output device is any device used to send
data from a computer to another device or user.
Storage Devices
Storage device is a device for storing
information (data).
• Hardware:
The term hardware refers to the physical
components of you computer such as the
computer screen, mouse, keyboard etc…
• Software:
Computer software is the key to productive
use of computers.
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Subject Name Code Credit Hours
SOFTWARE
• The computer hardware on its own has no
intelligence and therefore must be supplied with
instructions to perform any task.
• Software or programs, consist of step-by-step
instructions that tell the computer how to perform a
task.
• Software is divided into two main categories:
– System software and
– Application software.
TYPES OF SOFTWARE
APPLICATION SOFTWARE
Consists of programs that tell a computer
how to produce information.
Some of the more commonly used
packages are:
Word processing.
Electronic spreadsheet.
Presentation.
APPLICATION SOFTWARE
APPLICATION SOFTWARE
• MS Word ( Word Processing ):
Word Processing software is used to create and print
documents
• Spreadsheet ( MS Excel )
Electronic spreadsheet software allows the user to
add, subtract, and perform user-defined calculations
on rows and columns of numbers.
• Presentation ( MS Powerpoint )
MS Powerpoint allows the user to create documents
called slides to be used in making the presentation. 47
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