1) What is computer ?

A computer is an electronic device, operating under the control of instructions stored in its own memory that can
accept data (input), process the data according to specified rules, produce information (output), and store the
information for future use1. Any kind of computers consists of HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE.
2) What are objectives of learning computer ?

Aims and Objectives

Courses in Computer studies are offered to enhance the interest of student in computer.
The Information Technology prepares a student for basic knowledge using computer to solve data processing problems in
daily life. After completion of the course, students should be able to :
1. show an awareness of what the major computer components are and how they act as system;
2. appreciate that computers need instructions to operate and acquire simple programming skills;
3. demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of using computers to solve problems related to practical applications;
4. show a sense of control over computers;
5. show an awareness of the effects and impacts of computers on the individual and the society;
6. show an awareness of the capability and limitations of computers;
7. show positive attitudes for adapting to and coping with a changing society with widespread utilization of computers.
The Computer Studies is designed for students to understand and operate the computer and have special emphasis on sound
design principles and programming development. The objectives of the course are :
1. To provide opportunity for the study of modern methods of information processing and its applications;
2. To acquaint students with knowledge of the computer systems with emphasis on their uses and limitation;
3. To develop among students the programming techniques and the problem solving skills through programming;
4. To foster among students an interest and confidence in using computers;
5. To encourage an understanding of the implications of computers in the modern world;
6. To prepare students who wish to go on to further studies in computer science and related subjects.
The aims of Computer Application is provides students with an opportunity to develop understanding of the basic operations
of a computer system and computer applications software. Meanwhile, they also develop the skill of using computer
applications software for solving problems. Finally, they appreciate the social implications of developments in information
technology. The objectives of this course are :
1. demonstrate understanding of the basic operations of a computer system;
2. explain the principles of operations for computer systems used in a particular application, specifically in terms of the systems'
hardware and software components;
3. use computer terminology correctly in the context of a particular application;
4. use computer applications software to solve problems;
5. discuss and comment on the social impact of the widespread use of computer technology;
6. automate simple tasks in specific applications.

3)what are the basic components of computer system ?

Five basic components of computer system

 Input Unit.
 Output Unit.
 Storage Unit.
 Central Processing Unit (CPU)
 Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU)
 Control Unit.

4) What are the uses or application of computer ?

 Computer is a device through which you can perform a variety of jobs. You can use your computer system for
different applications by changing the software packages. Here are the list of uses or applications of computer:
 Scientific research
 Business application
 Education
 Entertainment
 Banks
 Communication
 Engineering
 Medicine
 Book Publishing
 Games
 Personal
 Accounting
 Let's briefly describe about all the above 12 basic Applications of Computer one by one.
 For Scientific Research
 Scientific research was the first application of computer as computer was first used to perform this job that is
scientific research. At that time to now, the speed and accuracy of computer enabled scientific analysis carried
out too fast.
 Computer controlled robots must be used in all those areas where there is danger to human being such as in
nuclear research and deep sea investigation etc.
 For Business Application
 Computer can also be used for the purpose of business.
 Through computer, companies can grow their business as fast as possible through quick analysis of their
previous project on the computer screen (according to the data feeded inside) and deciding what to do next
without any delay.
 As from individual to multinational companies, all are using computer for business purpose like keeping account
information, stocks, prices, items etc.
 For Education
 You can also use your computer system to educate yourself through audio, videos or images etc.
 Now-a-days, there are thousands of websites available over Internet that are ready to deliver education for free
in almost every subjects.
 You can choose whether you want to learn online or offline. In online learning, you can open any website to read
your desired topic while in offline learning you can learn through videos, PDFs photos etc., all these documents
can be downloaded through internet.
 For Entertainment
 Most of the persons are using computer for entertainment purposes such as:
 watching movies
 watching videos
 listening songs
 photos
 animations etc.
 Computer can be used to create these things in an attractive manner so that user loves to enjoy the things.
 In Banks
 Banks are the place where there is continuous uses of computer or we can says that banks are the major users
of computers. For example, ATM (Automated teller machine) is used where we are free to either deposit or
withdraw our cash in/from our Bank.
 In banks, all information such as account holders detail, deposits, withdrawal, interest, etc. are managed by
computers.
 Banks are also using computer network to interconnect all of its branches so that their users feel always free to
deposit his or her money in any branch of the same bank.
 For Communication
 Using your computer system for the purpose of communication gives you a lot of benefits. For example, if you
will use email to send message or anything to your friends or any of your contacts, then you don't have to use
pen and paper to write and take that paper to post office and then postman will deliver that later after some or
few days that will not good if you want to send any urgent information to the same person.
 Therefore, using email, you can also saves your time and cost to deliver any information very fast. You only need
a computer and internet connectivity.
 Now-a-days, peoples are using chat message, email, voice-mail etc. for communication purpose.
 You can also use computer to communicate through direct video conference with your contacts/friends present
at any place without any cost except internet connectivity.
 Now you have got enough idea about communication through computer. It's time to move on another
application of computer which is engineering.
 For Engineering Purposes
 Computer are also using for the purpose of Engineering, that is, to design any machine without actually making
it through CAD (Computer aided design) softwares and once the design is accepted, and then using CAM
(Computer aided manufacturing) process company can produce a large number of such products at very fast
speed.
 Architects are also using computers to draw and design individual houses to big buildings like Apartments. There
are a lot more uses of computer for engineering purposes.
 For Medicines Related
 Computer plays an important role in medical field also. For example in ICU (Intensive Care Unit) chamber in
hospital, computer keeps track of each and everything going inside the patient's body such as blood pressure
and Heartbeat etc.
 Keeping record of patients and medicines are also becomes easy through the use of Computer. Computer also
plays an important role to perform CT (Computed tomography) scan and X-Ray of patients to give the scanned
object of specified area of patient's body in the form of graphics like images.
 For Book Publishing
 Book publishing becomes an easy task with the use of computer.
 Book publishers are now using DTP (Desktop publishing) software like MS-Word to publish their books.
 For Games
 Now-a-days, peoples are using computers most of the time to play games.
 For online games to play, you must have the internet connectivity whereas for offline games, you can start
without any internet connectivity.

5) what is input device and output devices

Input Devices
 Input device is any peripheral piece of computer hardware equipment to provide data and control signals to an
information processing system such as a computer or other information appliance.
 Input device Translate data from form that humans understand to one that the computer can work with. 
Example of Input Devices:-
 Keyboard 
 Mouse (pointing device)
 Microphone
 Touch screen
 Scanner
 Webcam
 Touchpads
 MIDI keyboard
 Graphics Tablets
 Cameras
 Pen Input
 Video Capture Hardware
 Microphone
 Trackballs
 Barcode reader
 Digital camera
 Joystick
 Gamepad
 Electronic Whiteboard
Output devices
 An output device is any piece of computer hardware equipment used to communicate the results of data
processing carried out by an information processing system (such as a computer) which converts the
electronically generated information into human readable form.
Example on Output Devices:-
 Monitor
 LCD Projection Panels
 Printers (all types)
 Computer Output Microfilm (COM)
 Plotters
 Speaker(s)
6) what is CPU ?
CPU stands for Central processing unit.It is also known as microprocessor or processor.A CPU is brain of a
computer.It is responsible for all functions and processes.Regarding computing power,the CPU is the most
important element of a computer system.The CPU is consisted of thin layers of thousands of transistors.Each
transistor receives a set of inputs and produces output.Transistors hold a key role in functioning of CPU as they
make computer able to count and perform logical operations which is called processing.It processes the
instructions that it collects by decoding the code in programs.Computers use two types of storage: Primary
storage and secondary storage. The CPU mainly interacts with primary storage or main memory,referring to it
for both instructions and data.
There are four important functions of CPU,

1)Fetch
2)Decode
3)Execute
4)Write back

Main Components of CPU:

The main components of CPU help it in performing various functions.The components of a CPU work together,
and their making/manufacturing determine the complexity of operations as well as how fast they can be carried
out.

The three components of the CPU are following,

1. Arithmetic Logic Unit
2. Control Unit
3. Registers

Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)

There is electronic circuitry in arithmetic logic unit which executes all airthmetic and logical operations.Its
function is obvious from its name.It performs arithmetic calculations like as addition, subtraction, multiplication
and division as well as comparisons.The unit can compare numbers, letters, or special characters.There can be
more than one Arithmetic logic unit in a CPU, and these ALUs can also be used for the purpose of maintaining
timers that help run the computer.

Control Unit(CU)

There is circuitry in the control unit which uses electrical signals to instruct the whole computer system for
carrying out or executing,already stored program instructions.Its name clearly shows that it controls and co-
ordinates computer components.It extracts instructions from memory and decodes and executes them.In fact it
regulates the flow of information through the processor.In short,it can be said ,this component receives,
decodes, stores results and manages execution of data that flows through the CPU. Its communication with both
arithmetic unit and memory is inevitable.

Registers/The Memory Unit

Registers are temporary storage areas which are responsible for holding the data that is to be processed.They
store the instructions and data in a processor.This data is further used by Control Unit.There are some registers
that are set aside for specific tasks, these generally include a program counter, stack, and flags
 HOW many types of Computer Memory are there ?
Types of Computer Memory: Primary and Secondary
Although many types of memory in a computer exist, the most basic distinction is between primary memory,
often called system memory, and secondary memory, which is more commonly called storage.
The key difference between primary and secondary memory is speed of access.
 Primary memory includes ROM and RAM, and is located close to the CPU on the computer motherboard,
enabling the CPU to read data from primary memory very quickly indeed. It is used to store data that the CPU
needs imminently so that it does not have to wait for it to be delivered.
 Secondary memory by contrast, is usually physically located within a separate storage device, such as a hard
disk drive or solid state drive (SSD), which is connected to the computer system either directly or over a
network. The cost per gigabyte of secondary memory is much lower, but the read and write speeds are
significantly slower.
 
Over several periods of computer evolution, a wide of array of computer memory types has been deployed, each
with its own strengths and weaknesses.
Primary Memory Types: RAM and ROM 
There are two key types of primary memory:
1. RAM, or random access memory
2. ROM, or read-only memory.
1) RAM Computer Memory
The acronym RAM stems from the fact that data stored in random access memory can be accessed – as the
name suggests – in any random order. Or, put another way, any random bit of data can be accessed just as
quickly as any other bit.
The most important things to understand about RAM are that RAM memory is very fast, it can be written to as
well as read, it is volatile (so all data stored in RAM memory is lost when it loses power) and, finally, it is very
expensive compared to all types of secondary memory in terms of cost per gigabyte. It is because of the relative
high cost of RAM compared to secondary memory types that most computer systems use both primary and
secondary memory.
Data that is required for imminent processing is moved to RAM where it can be accessed and modified very
quickly, so that the CPU is not kept waiting. When the data is no longer required it is shunted out to slower but
cheaper secondary memory, and the RAM space that has been freed up is filled with the next chunk of data that
is about to be used.
Types of RAM
 DRAM: DRAM stands for Dynamic RAM, and it is the most common type of RAM used in computers. The oldest
type is known as single data rate (SDR) DRAM, but newer computers use faster dual data rate (DDR) DRAM. DDR
comes in several versions including DDR2 , DDR3, and DDR4, which offer better performance and are more
energy efficient than DDR. However different versions are incompatible, so it is not possible to mix DDR2 with
DDR3 DRAM in a computer system. DRAM consists of a transistor and a capacitor in each cell.
 SRAM: SRAM stands for Static RAM, and it is a particular type of RAM which is faster than DRAM, but more
expensive and bulker, having six transistors in each cell. For those reasons SRAM is generally only used as a data
cache within a CPU itself or as RAM in very high-end server systems. A small SRAM cache of the most
imminently-needed data can result in significant speed improvements in a system
The key differences between DRAM and SRAM is that SRAM is faster than DRAM - perhaps two to three times
faster - but more expensive and bulkier. SRAM is usually available in megabytes, while DRAM is purchased in
gigabytes.
 DRAM uses more energy than SRAM because it constantly needs to be refreshed to maintain data integrity,
while SRAM  - though volatile – does not need constant refreshing when it is powered up.
2) ROM Computer Memory
ROM stands for read-only memory, and the name stems from the fact that while data can be read from this type
of computer memory, data cannot normally be written to it. It is a very fast type of computer memory which is
usually installed close to the CPU on the motherboard.
ROM is a type of non-volatile memory, which means that the data stored in ROM persists in the memory even
when it receives no power – for example when the computer is turned off. In that sense it is similar to secondary
memory, which is used for long term storage.
When a computer is turned on, the CPU can begin reading information stored in ROM without the need for
drivers or other complex software to help it communicate. The ROM usually contains "bootstrap code" which is
the basic set of instructions a computer needs to carry out to become aware of the operating system stored in
secondary memory, and to load parts of the operating system into primary memory so that it can start up and
become ready to use.
ROM is also used in simpler electronic devices to store firmware which runs as soon as the device is switched on.
Types of ROM
ROM is available in several different types, including PROM, EPROM, and EEPROM.
 PROM PROM stands for Programmable Read-Only Memory, and it is different from true ROM in that while a
ROM is programmed (i.e. has data written to it) during the manufacturing process, a PROM is manufactured in
an empty state and then programmed later using a PROM programmer or burner.
 EPROM EPROM stands for Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory, and as the name suggests, data stored in
an EPROM can be erased and the EPROM reprogrammed. Erasing an EPROM involves removing it from the
computer and exposing it to ultraviolet light before re-burning it.
 EEPROM EEPROM stands for Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory, and the distinction
between EPROM and EEPROM is that the latter can be erased and written to by the computer system it is
installed in. In that sense EEPROM is not strictly read-only. However in many cases the write process is slow, so
it is normally only done to update program code such as firmware or BIOS code on an occasional basis
Confusingly, NAND flash memory (such as that found in USB memory sticks and solid state disk drives) is a type
of EEPROM, but NAND flash is considered to be secondary memory.
Secondary Memory Types
Secondary memory comprises many different storage media which can be directly attached to a computer
system. These include:
 hard disk drives
 solid state drives (SSDs)
 Optical (CD or DVD) drives
 Tape drives
Secondary memory also includes:
 Storage arrays including 3D NAND flash arrays connected over a storage area network (SAN)
 Storage devices which may be connected over a conventional network (known as network attached storage,
or NAS)
Arguably cloud storage can also be called secondary memory.
Differences between RAM and ROM
ROM:
 Non-volatile
 Fast to read
 Usually used in small quantities
 Cannot be written to quickly
 Used to store boot instructions or firmware
 Relatively expensive per megabyte stored compared to RAM
RAM:
 Volatile
 Fast to read and write
 Used as system memory to store data (including program code)  that the CPU needs to process imminently
 Relatively cheap per megabyte stored compared to ROM, but relatively expensive compared to secondary
memory

The concept of hardware and software is explained in detail below −

Hardware
The term hardware refers to mechanical device that makes up computer. Computer hardware consists of
interconnected electronic devices that we can use to control computer’s operation, input and output. Examples
of hardware are CPU, keyboard, mouse, hard disk, etc.

Hardware Components
Computer hardware is a collection of several components working together. Some parts are essential and others
are added advantages. Computer hardware is made up of CPU and peripherals as shown in image below.
 Software
A set of instructions that drives computer to do stipulated tasks is called a program. Software instructions are
programmed in a computer language, translated into machine language, and executed by computer. Software
can be categorized into two types −
 System software
 Application software
System Software
System software operates directly on hardware devices of computer. It provides a platform to run an
application. It provides and supports user functionality. Examples of system software include operating systems
such as Windows, Linux, Unix, etc.

Application Software
An application software is designed for benefit of users to perform one or more tasks. Examples of application
software include Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Oracle, etc.
 Sr.No. Software Hardware

1 It is a collection of programs to It includes physical components of computer

bring computer hardware system system.
into operation.

2 It includes numbers, alphabets, It consists of electronic components like ICs,

alphanumeric symbols, identifiers, diodes, registers, crystals, boards, insulators,
keywords, etc. etc.

3 Software products evolve by adding Hardware design is based on architectural

new features to existing programs decisions to make it work over a range of
to support hardware. environmental conditions and time.

4 It will vary as per computer and its It is mostly constructed for all types of
built-in functions and programming computer systems.
language.

5 It is designed and developed by The hardware can understand only low-level

experienced programmers in high- language or machine language.
level language.

6 The hardware works only on binary codes 1’s

and 0’s.

It is represented in any high-level

language such as BASIC, COBOL, C,
C++, JAVA, etc.

7 The software is categorized as The hardware consists of input devices, output

operating system, utilities, devices, memory, etc.
language processor, application
software, etc.

Definition - What does Computing mean?

Computing is the process of using computer technology to complete a given goal-oriented task. Computing may
encompass the design and development of software and hardware systems for a broad range of purposes - often
structuring, processing and managing any kind of information - to aid in the pursuit of scientific studies, making intelligent
systems, and creating and using different media for entertainment and communication.

 Computing

Computing has also been defined as a branch of engineering science that deals with the systematic study of algorithmic
processes, which are used to describe and transform information.

It also has specific meanings depending on the context and field in which it is used. For example, cloud computing, social
computing, ubiquitous computing, parallel computing and grid computing all fall under the umbrella of the general
meaning of computing while still having a specific purpose and definition separate from each other. Essentially, these are
different applications of computing.

Computer - Data and Information

Data can be defined as a representation of facts, concepts, or instructions in a formalized manner,

which should be suitable for communication, interpretation, or processing by human or electronic
machine.
Data is represented with the help of characters such as alphabets (A-Z, a-z), digits (0-9) or special
characters (+,-,/,*,<,>,= etc.)

What is Information?
Information is organized or classified data, which has some meaningful values for the receiver.
Information is the processed data on which decisions and actions are based.
For the decision to be meaningful, the processed data must qualify for the following characteristics −
 Timely − Information should be available when required.
 Accuracy − Information should be accurate.
 Completeness − Information should be complete.
Data Processing Cycle
Data processing is the re-structuring or re-ordering of data by people or machine to increase their
usefulness and add values for a particular purpose. Data processing consists of the following basic
steps - input, processing, and output. These three steps constitute the data processing cycle.

 Input − In this step, the input data is prepared in some convenient form for processing. The form will depend on the
processing machine. For example, when electronic computers are used, the input data can be recorded on any one of the
several types of input medium, such as magnetic disks, tapes, and so on.
 Processing − In this step, the input data is changed to produce data in a more useful form. For example, pay-checks can be
calculated from the time cards, or a summary of sales for the month can be calculated from the sales orders.
 Output − At this stage, the result of the proceeding processing step is collected. The particular form of the output data
depends on the use of the data. For example, output data may be pay-checks for employees.

Computer Concepts - Applications of IECT

IECT stands for Information Electronics and Communication Technology. The applications of IECT are as
follows −

 E-governance
 Multimedia and Entertainment

E-governance
Electronic governance is application of Information Electronics and Communication Technology in running an
effective governance system for people. Communication refers to sharing of information between parties like
common people, government, business, etc. Almost every governmen
 t
sector has changed to IECT like rail reservation system, gas subsidy disbursal, etc.

Multimedia and Entertainment

Multimedia refers to combination of text, audio, video, graphics, animation, etc. It is one of
applications of IECT. Multimedia is used to improve quality of presentation by incorporating
information sharing, usage of graphics and animation, motion capture, etc.