INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTERS

What is a Computer?

Computer is the most versatile electronic machine man has ever created. Computers have made a great impact on our day-to-day life. Their presence is felt in almost every walk of life such as homes, schools, colleges, universities, offices, industries, hospitals, banks, railways, airways, researches, retail stores etc. The word computer comes from the word compute, which means to calculate. Hence, a computer is normally considered to be a calculating device, which can perform arithmetic operations at an enormous speed. However, more than 80% of the work done by computers today is of non-mathematical or non-numerical in nature (it can do weather forecasting, reservations, maintain records, monitor anesthesia in hospitals, help students for their study, creating special effects in movies etc.). So, today we cant say it as only a calculating machine.
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So, computer is an electronic device, which can perform arithmetic operations and also take logical decisions. In other words, a computer is an electronic device which accepts the input data, stores the data, does the arithmetic and logical computations in rapid speed and outputs the required information in the desired format.

Why Computers? When we do a work manually, it takes a lot of time and we want to save the time. For doing arithmetic and logical operations, we have to use our brain and we want to avoid this intellectual strain. While doing calculations, we often commit mistakes and we want to avoid mistakes. We cant remember a data for a long time period but we want to store it for a long period. Due to the above reasons and many more, the developers think about different machines, created them and the result is computer.
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Today, computer avoidance and computer ignorance are practically impossible because it is the only machine which very rapidly impact the world and also help human being in every walk of life.

CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPUTERS: The term computer characteristic means capabilities and limitations of a computer system. The characteristics are given below: 1. Speed: A computer can perform its operations/tasks/jobs in fractions of a second. Imagine, what a computer can perform in one minute would take a person his/her entire lifetime. Speed of a computer, in earlier days is measured in terms of milli seconds (10-3) and micro seconds (10-6). Now-a-days it is measured in nano seconds (10-9) and in pico seconds (10-12). 2. Accuracy and Reliability: Todays computers give 100% accurate results. Since it is very accurate, it is reliable. It is estimated that a human being commits at least one error for every 1000 operations. But computers do millions of operations in a second committing no error.
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3. Memory capacity: Computer has its memory to store a huge amount of data. The data can be compactly stored in computers and retrieved as and when required. As compared to a human being who stores data only for a short time period, computers can remember all the data for several years. It looses the data, if the user wants. 4. Capability to be programmed: A program is a set of instructions by using a language to the computer. If a computer is programmed once, then the same program can be executed as many times as we need. 5. Automation: A machine is said to be automatic, if it works by itself without human intervention. Computers are automatic, in the sense once started on a job; they carry on, until the job is finished. However, they are only machines so cannot start themselves. 6. Versatility: Computers can do varieties of applications. It has no limitations for computer applications. If a problem can be broken into a sequence of logical operations, then a computer can be used to solve that problem. Computers are used in banks, in the field of education, medicine i.e. in different fields to work on different applications. 7. Diligence: Unlike human beings, a computer is free from monotony, tiredness and lack of concentration. It can perform a task repeatedly without showing any signs of
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fatigue. If ten million calculations to be performed, a computer will perform all with the same accuracy and speed as of the first one. They do not sick days and take coffee breaks even when work for long hours. If we program it once, it can work as many times as we want with the same accuracy and efficiency. The limitations are given below: 1. No I.Q.: A computer possesses no intelligence of its own. Its I.Q. is zero at least until today. It has to be told what to do and in what sequence. 2. GIGO: A computer has no knowledge about the correct or incorrect data as it is only a machine. So if the user will input incorrect data to the computer, it also gives incorrect information to the user. This phenomenon is known as Garbage In Garbage Out (GIGO). 3. No feelings/experience: As they are machines, they have no feelings, no emotions, and no instincts.

CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTERS: Computers can be classified in several ways. The general methods of classification of computers are based on various characteristics. Some important of them are given below: a.) According to the purpose of use: Computers can be classified into the following two categories according to the purpose for which they are used:
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1.

2.

Special Purpose Computers: A computer which is used for particular/specific work only is called a special purpose computer. They have been designed or programmed at the time of manufacturing for doing this particular task. Some examples of special purpose computers are, computers meant for ATM (Automatic Teller Machine), traffic control, DTP (desktop publishing), Robots etc. General Purpose Computers: A computer which is used for ordinary purposes and the ability to do any type of work is called a general purpose computer. Their software is designed/installed by the user as per their requirement. Most of the computers used in our dayto-day work are of general purpose computers.

b.) According to the data on which it will operate: Computers can be classified into the following three categories according to the data on which it will operate on: 1. Digital Computers: These computers accept process and produce discontinuous or digital data and perform manipulation on numbers such as on binary digits 0 and 1. These are fast and give 100% accurate results. These computers do not operate on analog quantities directly but if the user wants to process analog quantities, these must be converted into digital data
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before processing and for this purpose ADC (Analogto-Digital Converter) is used.
2.

Analog Computers: These computers accept process and produce continuous data or analog data and perform manipulation on physical quantities such as pressure, temperature etc in form of voltages. These are faster than digital computers but give 99% accurate results. These computers do not operate on digital data directly but if the user wants to process digital data, these must be converted into analog quantity before processing and for this purpose DAC (Digital-toAnalog Converter) is used. Hybrid Computers: These computers use good qualities of both digital and analog computers. These are used for space research, process control and in medicals. It is used in ICU (Intensive Care Unit) of hospitals to measure the heart beat of a patient and give the result in digital form to the doctor.

3.

c.) According to the size and capability:

Computers can be classified into the following four categories according to the size and capacity. Before that we have to know about word of computer. A set of bits which has capable of being stored in one storage location is called word of a computer. The word length of computers will measured in bits and varies from system to system. It may be of 8bits, 16 bits, 32 bits, 36 bits, 48 bits, 60bits, 64bits, 72 bits, 96 bits or even 128 bits. Micro Computers: A micro computer is very small in size and it has the lowest capability. Its word length is 8-16 bits and today it is of 32 bits. A micro computer has a microprocessor chip. Their capability is 100 KIPS (i.e. Kilo Instructions Per Second). Two types of micro computers are in common use. They are personal computers (PCs) and home computers (HCs). Some of these are desktops, laptops etc. So today what the computers we are using will fall under this category.
1.

Mini Computers: A mini computer is small in size and relatively has more capability as compared to micro computers. These computers have many peripherals (terminals and key boards) but one CPU. Its word length is 8-16
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bits and today it is of 32 bits. Their capability is 500 KIPS-1 MIPS (i.e. Million Instructions Per Second). These are faster compared to micro computers and used as multi-user systems. Main-frame Computers: A main frame computer is large in size and much capability as compared to micro and mini computers. These are also called as midi computers. Its word length is 32-60 bits and today it is of 64 bits. Their capability is 10 MIPS. These are also used in multiuser systems but as central host computers (or servers). These can have the ability to hold a large volume of data. Some main frame computers are MEDHA, IBM, HP etc.
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4. Super Computers: A super computer is very large in size and much capability as compared to micro mini and midi computers. These are also called as maxi computers. Its word length is 64-96 bits and today it is of 128 bits. Their capability is 100 MIPS-10 BIPS (i.e. Billion Instructions Per Second). These are used for specific purposes (designing supersonic air crafts, launching missiles, designing satellites, weather forecasting etc.). These can have the multiple CPUs or multiple microprocessors. The cost of these computers is in crores of rupees. Some super
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computers are CRAY, CYBER, ANURAG etc. The first indigenous super computer is PARAM.

EVOLUTION OF COMPUTERS:

Necessity is the mother of invention. This

The Mechanical Era:

In this mechanical age, men used wheels means gears, pinions, axles etc. to build the machine for calculation purpose. The first known mechanical calculating machine PASCALINE was developed on the honor of its developer, a French mathematician Blaise Pascal. This machine performs addition, subtraction by rotating wheels. Then it is upgraded
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by German mathematician Baron Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz to perform multiplication, division and to determine square roots. In 1822, Charles Babbage, an English Mathematician designed a Difference Engine to do the calculations. Then in 1842, he came with a new idea and developed another machine Analytical Engine which was intended to be completely automatic and uses technique to store data. It contained all the essential components of a modern digital computer such as I/O devices, storage area, processor etc. So Charles Babbage is considered as the father of modern digital computers. Lady Ada Lovelace was working for Babbages project and developed Binary number system for his machine and writing programs for it. So Lady Ada Lovelace was considered as the first computer programmer in the world. In 1880, Herman Hollerith developed punched card to store data. He developed a machine called tabulating machine which read punched cards. His card has 12 rows and 80 columns. He founded the Tabulating Machine Company to manufacture and sell his new inventions. And Later this company merged with other companies and named as IBM (International Business Machine). In 1944, Dr. Howard Aiken, a professor at Harvard University designed the first fully automatic electroPrepared By: M.Aparna. 11

mechanical digital calculator called Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator and later popularized as Harvard Mark I or simply Mark I. Although, it is extremely reliable, it was very complex in design and huge in size. Physically, the machine was 51 feet long and 8 feet high. It contains more than 7, 50,000 parts strung together, 3000 electrical switches to control with 500 miles of wire. The addition of two numbers took 0.3 seconds and multiplication of two numbers 4.5 seconds. The magnitude of a number was restricted to 23 decimal digits.

The Electronic Era:

In this electronic age, men developed electronic circuits and use them to build different machines for calculation purpose. In 1942, the first electronic computer was developed by Dr. John von Atanasoff and Cifford Berry and it was named after its inventors name as Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC). This was used to solve mathematical equation and simulations. It uses 300 valves for the
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calculation, 45 vacuum tubes for internal logic and capacitors for storage. In 1946, J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly at Moore School of Engineering developed the first electronic calculator named as ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Calculator). It performs the addition of two numbers in 200 s and multiplication in 2800 s, so faster compared to MARK I. But it was of 30 tons weight, 10 ft. wide, 10 ft. high and 100 ft. long and occupies 20 x 40 square ft. room and also uses nearly 18000 vacuum tubes to perform the calculation and its programs were wired on boards. Later in 1947, Dr. John von Neumann, a Hungarian Mathematician was a consultant for the ENIAC project, gives his giant idea i.e. stored program concept. The basic idea behind this concept is that a sequence of instructions as well as data can be stored in the memory of the computer for automatically directing the flow of operations. And this concept influenced the development of modern digital computer. He implemented this idea and developed EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer).

In 1949, Maurice Wilkes of USA developed EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator). It took1500
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s for the addition of two numbers and for multiplication 4000 s. In 1951, J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly along with John von Neumann developed an automatic digital computer named UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer). UNIVAC is the first automatic digital computer used for commercial purpose.

GENERATIONS OF COMPUTERS

After 1940, technologies and so many computers were developed rapidly. The development will give the trends in the past and its projection in the future and termed as generation. The entire important things about the different generations are tabularized below: Generatio Period Main/Princip Language n le
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I st II nd III rd IV th V th

Electronic Component 1942 Vacuum Tube Binary/Machine/ 1954 Low-Level 1955 Transistor Assembly 1964 1965 IC (SSI and High-Level 1974 MSI) (ProcedureOriented) 1975 IC (LSI and High-Level At VLSI) (Objectpresent Oriented) Yet IC (ULSI) Ordinary/Natural not come (Under R&D)

As we go through the history of evolution of computers, we would find that the earliest computers were very big and, because they were very big, they consumed a lot of power and, because they consumed a lot of power, they heated up tremendously and, because they heated up very quickly, they had to be frequently shut down and cooled; because of all this they were very expensive to build and maintain. As the technology improved, computers became smaller and smaller. They also became much more faster and more powerful. But most importantly, from users point of view, they became
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more affordable and user-friendly. And that has been the real success of computer today. **Depending upon the hardware and software used, it is broadly classified into the following five generations: First Generation (1942 1954): In the first generation of computer vacuum tubes are used as the principle component of computer. A vacuum tube is a fragile glass device which uses filaments to control and amplify electronic signals. These machines speed is measured in milli-seconds. Binary/Machine/Low-Level language was used and it is very difficult to learn, so only few people who work with the machine understand the language. These machines perform operations at a faster rate at that time but were very expensive, too bulky or quite large in size, non-portable, as thousands of vacuum tubes and other components were used generate a lot of heat, require air conditioning, consume very high power and chances of hardware failure if filament will burn. EDVAC, UNIVAC, IBM 360 and IBM 700 series (701, 704, 709) machines were of the first generation machines.

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Second Generation (1955 1964): In the second generation of computer transistors are used as the principle component of computer. These machines speed is measured in micro-seconds. Assembly/Symbolic language was used and it is not so difficult to learn, but requires assemblers to do the conversion from assembly language to binary language and vice versa, as the machine understands only the binary language. But compared to first generation machines these machines are better. These machines perform operations at a faster rate but were also expensive, quite large in size, non-portable, as thousands of transistors and other components were used generate a lot of heat, require air conditioning, consume high power. IBM (1401, 1620, 7090, 7094 I, 7094 II), PDP (1, 5, 8) machines were of the second generation machines.

Third Generation (1965 1974): In the third generation of computer ICs (Integrated Circuits) are used as the principle component of computer. ICs
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consisting of several electronic components like transistors, resistors and capacitors placed on a single chip of silicon, eliminating wired inter-connection between components. In this generation depending upon the number of components integrated into a single chip, Small Scale Integration i.e. SSI (1 to 100) and Medium Scale Integration i.e. MSI (100 to 1000) chips were used. These machines speed is measured in nano-seconds. High-level but procedural languages (i.e. FORTRAN, COBOL, PASCAL, BASIC, PL/1) were used, but require translators (compilers and interpreters) to do the conversion from high-level language to binary language and vice versa, as the machine understand only the binary language. But compared to previous two generation machines these machines are better. These machines perform operations at a faster rate and not so expensive, size was compacted, nonportable. Still require air conditioning, consume less power. IBM (360,370), TDC (316, 332), ICL 1900, PDP II, CDC (7600, CYBER 175, STAR 100) machines were of the third generation machines.

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Fourth Generation (1975 Till Today): In the fourth generation of computer ICs (Integrated Circuits) are used as the principle component of computer. In this generation depending upon the number of components integrated into a single chip, Large Scale Integration i.e. LSI (1000 to 100000) and Very Large Scale Integration i.e. VLSI (100000 to 1000000) chips was used. When so much chips are integrated that is a million of components in a single chip, it is called as microprocessors. These machines speed is measured in nano-seconds and even in pico-seconds. High-level but object oriented languages (i.e. C++, JAVA, PROLOG) were used, but require translators (compilers and interpreters) to do the conversion from high-level language to binary language and vice versa, as the machine understand only the binary language. But compared to previous three generation machines these machines are better. These machines perform operations at an imaginable faster rate and cheaper also available for commercial purposes. Size of the machine was compacted to reside in a table, portable. For cooling purpose fans are used with the cabinet, consume very less power.

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IBM 4300, ICL 2900 and what are the HCs (Home Computers) and PCs (Personal Computers), Laptops, we are using today is of the fourth generation machines.

Fifth Generation (Yet Not Come):

Fifth generation computer is only a promise, but yet not the reality. This project is given to the USA, JAPAN and UK. They try to use the Ultra Large Scale Integration i.e. ULSI chips in these machines. ULSI chips are those chips where 1 to 10 million of components integrated. The developers think to use the ordinary/natural language i.e. ENGLISH, JAPANESE etc. in this fifth generation machines and implementing the artificial intelligence (AI). So the programmers will not have to learn programming language but they only tell what to do not how to do. They have to communicate with the machine through speech, images etc.

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Overview of Computer Organization The internal architecture of computers differs from one system to another. However, the basic organization remains the same. All computer systems perform the following five basic operations/processes: Inputting: The process of entering/feeding data and instructions into the computer system is called inputting. Storing: The process of saving/holding of data and instructions in the memory so that they are available for processing as and when required is called storing. Processing: The process of performing operations (arithmetic or logical) on data in order to convert them into useful information is called processing. Outputting: The process of producing/retrieving/showing useful information/result to the user in printed form or on the visual display (screen/monitor) is called outputting.

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Controlling: The process of directing the manner and sequence in which all of the above operations are performed is called controlling.

Central Processing Unit (CPU) Arithmetic & Logic Unit Input Unit

Memory Unit

Output Unit

Control Unit

Fig: Block Diagram of a Computer

Data flow lines Control lines A block diagram of the basic computer organization is shown in the above figure. In this figure, the solid lines are used to indicate the flow of data and instructions and the dotted lines are used to indicate the control exercised by the
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control unit. It depicts the five major building blocks or functional units of a digital computer system.

Basing on the above five basic operations, the computers have five major functional units as mentioned below: Input Unit (IU) Memory Unit (MU) Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU) Output Unit (OU) Control Unit (CU) CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU): It is known as the brain of the computer. Because as compared to the brain of a human being, it also stores the data, process the data and gives instruction to other units. The major units available inside it will do all these. So, it makes all major calculations, manipulations and comparisons. It is also responsible for activating and controlling the operations performed by all other units of the computer system. The major units of it are: Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) Control Unit (CU) Memory Unit (MU)
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Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU): All calculations are performed and all comparisons are made in the ALU. The data and instructions, stored in the primary memory prior to processing, are transferred to the ALU where actual processing takes place. Intermediate results generated in the ALU are temporarily transferred back to the primary memory until needed again. After completion of processing, the final results also send back to the primary memory. Control Unit: It acts as a central nervous system for the other components of the computer. It manages and coordinates the entire computer system, including input and output units. It fetches instructions from the main memory, decodes the instruction and interprets the instruction to know what tasks are to be performed. Then it sends suitable control signals to other components to perform further necessary steps to execute the instruction. It maintains order and directs the operation of the entire system. Memory Unit: The function of the memory is to store information. The data and instructions that are entered into the computer system through input units are stored inside the computer before the actual processing starts. Similarly, the results produced by the computer after processing are stored in the computer before passed to the output units. Moreover, the intermediate results produced by the computer must also be stored for ongoing processing.
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The memory capacity is measured by the following units as mentioned below by the increased order: Bit 1 bit (0 or 1) Nibble 4 bits Byte 8 bits Kilobyte (KB) 210 bytes/1024 bytes Megabyte (MB) 220 bytes Gigabyte (GB) 230 bytes Terabyte (KB) 240 bytes According to the performance of memories, it is of the following three types. The below figure shows the memory hierarchy in a computer.

Arithmetic and Logic Unit (Resistors)

Cache Memory

Primary Memory

Secondary Memory

Fig: Memory hierarchy in a computer system

i.) PRIMARY MEMORY:

It is a faster memory compared to the secondary memory. It is also known as main/volatile/temporary memory or Immediate Access Store (IAS). These are volatile in nature i.e. the contents (the stored data or information) are lost/erased from the memory when the power goes off. It has limited storage capacity as it is costlier compared to secondary memories. Its speed is measured in nano-seconds i.e. its access time (i.e. time taken to retrieve information from the memory) is about 50 ns (nanoseconds). The current applications, programs, operating system, compiler etc. (which we are working with) are loaded into this primary memory. ii.) SECONDARY MEMORY: It is a slower memory compared to the primary memory. It is also known as auxiliary/nonvolatile/permanent/backup memory. These are non-volatile in nature i.e. the contents (the stored data or information) are not lost/erased from the memory when the power goes off. It has a huge storage capacity as it is cheaper compared to primary memories. Its speed is measured in milli-seconds i.e. its access time (i.e. time taken to retrieve information from the memory) is about 5-10 ms (milliseconds). The applications, programs, operating systems, compilers etc. (which are installed) are stored in this secondary memory.
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iii.) CACHE MEMORY: It is the fastest memory compared to primary and secondary memory. It has a limited storage capacity as it is very expensive compared to other two memories. Its speed is measured in nano-seconds i.e. its access time (i.e. time taken to retrieve information from the memory) is about 10 ns (nanoseconds). The cache memory is not accessible to user. It stores instructions and data which are to be immediately executed. To compensate the speed mismatch between ALU and main memory, cache memory is used. Its access time is closer to the processing speed of the ALU. **According to the material used for the construction of memories, it is of the following three types.

A.

SEMI-CONDUCTOR MEMORY:

It is made of semi-conducting materials i.e. flip-flops. These types of memories are faster, lighter, costlier, smaller in size, low storage capacity and consume less power. The semi-conductor memories are RAMs, ROMs, PDs etc.

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 RAM: This is known as Random Access Memory. It possesses random access property i.e. any memory location can be accessed in a random manner, so the access time is same for each location. It is a volatile memory, so used as the primary memory of a computer. It comes in various capacities, for example, 64MB, 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, 2GB etc.

There are two important types of RAMs: static RAM and dynamic RAM. Static RAM (SRAM) 1. SRAM can retain stored information as long as the power supply is on. 2. These are costlier and higher speed than DRAMs. 3. These consume more power. 4. SRAMs dont need refreshing circuitry. 5. Being faster, so generally used as for
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Dynamic RAM (DRAM) 1. DRAM loses the stored information in a very short time (in few milliseconds), even though the power supply is on. 2. These are cheaper and have high packing density and moderate speed. 3. These consume less power. 4. DRAMs have to be refreshed periodically, so

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cache memory.

need additional refreshing circuitry. 5. Generally used as for primary memory.

ROM:

This is known as Read Only Memory and nonvolatile in nature. It also possesses random access property. ROMs are of two types: mask programmed ROM and user programmed ROM. Mask Programmed ROM: It is called as only the ROM. Its contents are decided at the manufacture time by the programmers. The bootstrap program is loaded in ROM. The bootstrap program contains
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the information of hardware functionality. So when machine is booted/ restarted, the bootstrap program of ROM will be loaded in RAM. It looks for the hardware attached to your machine and whether they are functioning or not. Then search for the operating system and if found loaded into RAM. Except these, ROM also holds the function tables such as sine, cosine, square root, exponential, logarithm etc. User Programmed ROM: It is another type of ROM whose contents are not decided at the manufacture time by the programmers. The contents of this type of ROM are decided by the users. And some user programmed ROMs are also modified. So below the various user programmed ROMs are explained: a.) PROM:

It stands for Programmable ROM. The contents of this ROM will be decided by the users. Once written into ROM, they cannot be modified. A special equipment called PROM programmer is available for the programming of PROMs. b.) EPROM:

It stands for Erasable Programmable ROM. The content of this type of ROM can be erased by some
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means and again can be programmed. This is used for research and development purpose as the developers modifying and updating the data several times. According to the means of erasing data, it is of two types: i.) EEPROM (E2PROM): It stands for Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM. It is also known as Electrically Alterable Programmable ROM (EAPROM) and also called as flash memory. This type of EPROM can be erased by passing electricity on to it. ii.) UVEPROM: It stands for Ultra Violet Erasable Programmable ROM. This type of EPROM can be erased by exposing it into ultra violet rays.

PD:

This is known as Pen Drive and non-volatile in nature, so used as a permanent/back up memory. It also possesses random access property. It is a small device, so is portable and now-a-days commonly used. It is also having large capacity and low price. It comes in various sizes like 128 MB, 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, 2GB etc.
B. MAGNETIC

MEMORY:

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It is made of magnetic materials i.e. iron oxide or ferrite core or chromium dioxide. These are generally of non-volatile in nature, so used as secondary/back up memory. These types of memories are slower, weighted, cheaper, larger in size, huge capacity and consume more power. The magnetic memories are magnetic tape, magnetic disk (floppy disk, hard disk) etc. A. Magnetic Tape:

Magnetic tape is one of the most popular storage mediums for large volume of data. It possesses sequential/serial access property i.e. information stored and retrieved from it directly from a location is not possible. To read/write of data from/into the tape is done by placing the tape into the tape drive. Different types of magnetic tapes are available like in form of inch reel, inch cartridge, inch tape, 4 mm or 8 mm digital audio tape (DAT). The storage capacity of a tape is measured by the following way: Storage capacity of a tape = Data recording density x Length of the tape Characteristics:

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a) Is a plastic ribbon usually inch wide that is coated on one side with an iron oxide material. b)Ribbon itself is stored in reels of 50 to 2400 feet. c) It is of high quality and durable. d)Tape is divided into vertical columns called frames and horizontal rows called channels or tracks. e) It can either read data from a tape into the CPU or it can write the information being produced by the computer onto a tape. f) It can store about 40 million characters and can read at a speed of 160000 character per second. Advantages: a) Unlimited storage. b)High data density. c) Low cost. d)Rapid transfer rate. e) Ease of handling. f) Portability. Disadvantages: a) No direct access. b)Indirect interpretation. c) Environmental problems.

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B. Magnetic Disk: Magnetic disk is the most popular storage medium for large volume of data. It possesses random access property. A magnetic disk is having a thin plate/platter, made of metal or plastic which is usually coated on both sides with iron oxide material. Data are recorded on the disk in the form of tiny invisible magnetized and nonmagnetized spots (representing 1s and 0s) on the coated surface of the disk. The new data can be written into a disk, so that the old data will be erased automatically. Both side of the disk is used for writing data into it and Read/Write head is mounted above each surface. To read/write of data from/into the disk is done by placing the disk into the disk drive. For data recording, the surface of a disk is divided into a number of invisible concentric circles, called tracks. In addition to the concentric circles, the disk surface is also divided into invisible pie-shaped segments called sectors. A sector typically contains 512 bytes. Each track and each sector of a disk is assigned a unique number. The storage capacity of a disk is measured by the following way: Storage capacity of a disk = Number surfaces * Number of tracks per surface
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of

recording

* Number of sectors per track* Number of bytes per sector Magnetic disks are of two types i.e. floppy disk and hard disk.

I. Floppy Disk: Floppy disk was introduced by IBM in 1972 for portable and to reduce the cost. Floppy disks are so called because they are made of flexible plastic plates, which can be bend, not hard plates. These are popularly known as floppies/diskettes. It is encased in a square plastic or vinyl or cardboard jacket cover which protects it from dust particles. Characteristics: a) Made of flexible plastic that is coated with magnetic oxide. b)Enclosed with in a square plastic or cardboard jacket, which gives a handling protection to the disk surface.
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c) A hole is present in the center of the disk for index mark sensing. d)Information is recorded with the help of read write heads. e) These are available in two standard sizes 3.5,5.25 inches. f) It is both an input device and output device. Advantages: a) Cheaper. b)Can be used as both input and output medium. c) Very useful for portable computers. d)Faster access medium. Disadvantages: a) Not useful for storing media or audio files. b)Limited amount of space. It is placed inside a device to perform read/write data from/to it, is known as floppy disk drive. Floppy disks come in various sizes and capacities by manufacturers. 3 (3.5) inch Floppy Disk:

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It is so named because the diameter of the disk is 3.5. The jacket cover has a cutout for the read/write head to make contact with the disk surface. This part is covered with a sliding metal shield. When the diskette is inserted into the drive, the metal shield slides aside to expose the disk surface to the read/write head. There is a hole at the center for drive spindle which rotates it. There is a write-protect tab to protect the stored information from viruses. It uses a sliding plastic button, which can slide to either of the two positions. One position allows reading, writing, erasing etc. the other position allows only for reading. The button slides in a track. When light is visible through the track, then only the disk is write-protected. The storing capacity of this floppy (high-density) is 1.44 MB. 5 (5.25) inch Floppy Disk: It is so named because the diameter of the disk is 5.25. The jacket cover has an oval shaped cutout for the read/write head to make contact with the disk surface. There is a hole at the center for drive spindle which rotates it. A plastic hub ring is fitted at the center to protect the internal edge of the disk. A black or silver adhesive tape is supplied with each floppy, which is called write-protect notch to protect the stored information from viruses. The storing capacity of this floppy is 1.20MB. (It having 2
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recording surfaces, 80 tracks/surface, 15 sectors/track, 512 bytes/sector, giving a total storage capacity of 2 x 80 x 15 x 512 = 1228800 bytes = 1200 KB = 1.2 MB. Floppy Disk Drive: A floppy disk drive is a device which is used to read/write data from/to floppy disk. The drive has a spindle (which rotates the disk) and read/write heads (which can move in and out, to position the heads on any track of the disk surface). The drive has a door through which the floppy can be inserted by just slipping the disk into the slot, floppy can be removed by pressing the eject button on the drive. Here the heads come with direct contact to the surfaces of the disk, so constant use worn out the disks. The rotational speed of a floppy disk is with 300-400 rpm. The drives are also different for the two types of disks (i.e. 3.5 and 5.25).

II.

Hard Disk:

Hard disks are on-line storage devices. The term on-line means that the device is permanently connected to the computer system. When computer power is on, it is ready to store information or to give
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information. These are used for mass storage purpose. They store operating system, compilers, assemblers, different software, databases etc. A hard disk is also called as platter. The disk(s) are encased in a sealed, air filtered, contamination free metal enclosure known as hard disk drive, which also holds the read/write heads. Characteristics: a) A hard disk pack consists of magnetic plates fixed to a spindle; one below the other with a set of read write heads. b)Permanently sealed in a casing to protect it from dust. c) Disk pack rotates at a speed of 3600 rpm. d)Information recorded on the surface of a disk because it rotates about its axis. e) A set of all tracks in all surfaces of a disk pack is called a cylinder. f) A cylinder consists of 10 tracks per disk, tracks are divided into sectors 512 bytes of information is stored per sector. g)When the disk controller receives a read write command, the read write heads reaches to the specified cylinder.

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Advantages: a) Can hold large amount of information. b)High reliability. c) Low priced. d)Access time is very low. Disadvantages: a) Heavy and difficult to replace. b)Bit expensive then floppies.

Various types of hard disks are available: Zip/Bernoulli Disk:

a)

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In this type, a single hard disk platter is encased in a plastic cartridge. A commonly used zip disk is of 3 inch size, having capacity of 100 MB. Its disk drive is called zip drive, which may be portable or of fixed type.

b)

Disk Packs:

A disk pack consists of multiple (two or more) hard disks platters mounted on a single central shaft. The disk drive of a disk pack has a separate read/write head for each disk surface, excluding the upper surface of the topmost disk and lower surface of the bottommost disk because those two surfaces are not used for the recording purpose. This disk pack can be removed from the disk drive. c) Winchester Disks: A Winchester disk also consists of multiple (two or more) hard disk platters mounted on a single shaft. This pack is of fixed type i.e. the disk platters and the disk drive are put together in a sealed container. Here both sides of all disks can be recorded. Different capacity of hard disks which supports this
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Winchester technique is available such as 40 GB, 80 GB, 100 GB, 160 GB etc.

Hard Disk Drive: A hard disk drive is a device which is used to read/write data from/to hard disk(s). The drive has a spindle (which rotates itself and holds the disks) and read/write heads for each disk surfaces (which can move in and out, to position the heads on any track of the disk surface). The rotational speed of the spindle is around 2400 rpm. Here the heads does not come with direct contact to the surfaces of the disk, so constant use not worn out the disks.

C. OPTICAL

MEMORY:

It is made of optical materials i.e. fabric or resin, made of polycarbonate. These are generally of non-volatile in nature, so used as secondary/back up memory. These
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types of memories are slower, lighter, cheaper, smaller in size, very huge storage capacity, longer life and consume very less power. These disks are coated with a highly reflective material, usually aluminum. Information is written to or read from an optical disk using laser beam. Due to the use of laser beam technology, optical disks are also known as laser disks. The high intensity laser beam forms a tiny pit along a trace to represent 1 and the surface without a pit (or the unaltered areas between the pits) is known as land to represent 0. The reflected laser is sensed by a photodiode to read data. The intensity of the reflected light of laser changes as it encounters a pit. A pit spread the light so that the photodiode receives less reflected light. But land reflects sufficient light to the photodiode. Thus, this change in reflected light is sensed and converted into electrical signals for data reading purposes. Unlike magnetic disks, which have several concentric circles (or tracks), an optical disk has one long spiral track, which starts at the outer edge and spirals inward to the center. Here the track is also split up into sectors. There are two types of optical disks: Compact Disk (CD) and Digital Versatile Disk (DVD).

I. Compact Disk (CD):

The name Compact Disk is due to that a large amount of data is stored in compact form in the disk. Different versions of CDs are available now-a-days such as CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW. CD-ROM: These disks are pre-recorded i.e. data have been written at the time of manufacture, which cannot be altered. These disks are shiny, silver color metal disks and generally the capacity of the disk is of 650 MB or 700 MB and diameter is 5 inch (or 12 cm.). CD-R: It stands for CD-Recordable disk and popularly called as WORM (Write Once Read Many) disk. These CDs are purchased blank and contents written by the user only once and read the data as many times as desired. Multiple sessions is allowed now-a-days to these disks while writing data. A 12 cm disk can hold 650/700 MB and an 8 cm disk can hold 184/300 MB of data. CD-RW: It stands for CD-Read and Write disk. These types of CDs can be written as many times as required by erasing the previous data and also read as many times as required. Multiple sessions also allowed in these disks while writing data. A 12 cm disk can hold 650/700 MB and an 8 cm disk can hold 184/300 MB of data.

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II.

Digital Versatile Disk (DVD):

This can store a huge amount of data compared to CDs. This is achieved by making the pits smaller and the spiral track tighter. In DVDs, laser beam of shorter length is used and data can be written on one or two layers of a surface. It is so named because it can store verities of programs, application in digital form. The data storage capacities are 4.7 GB, 8.5 GB, 17 GB and 20 GB for two different sizes of DVDs (12 cm and 8 cm). Different versions of DVDs are available now-a-days such as DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW. DVD-ROM: These disks are pre-recorded i.e. data have been written at the time of manufacture, which cannot be altered. These disks are shiny, silver color metal disks and generally the capacity of the disk is of 4.7 GB or 8.5 GB and diameter is 5 inch (or 12 cm.). DVD-R:

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It stands for DVD-Recordable disk and also a WORM disk. These DVDs are purchased blank and contents written by the user only once and read the data as many times as desired. Multiple sessions is allowed now-a-days to these disks while writing data. A 12 cm disk can hold 4.7/8.5 GB of data. DVD-RW: It stands for DVD-Read and Write disk. These types of DVDs can be written as many times as required by erasing the previous data and also read as many times as required. Multiple sessions also allowed in these disks while writing data. A 12 cm disk can hold 4.7/8.5 GB of data.

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MICROPROCESSOR When the Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU) and Control Unit (CU) are merged on a single silicon chip, it is known as a microprocessor. With the advances in LSI and VLSI technology it became possible to build the whole CPU of a digital computer on a single IC chip. A CPU built on a single LSI or VLSI chip is called a microprocessor. The microprocessor operates on binary digits, 0 and 1, also known as bits. These two digits are represented in terms of electrical voltages in the machine. Generally, 0 represents one voltage level and 1 represents another. The digits 0 and 1 are synonymous with low and high respectively. Each microprocessor recognizes and process a group of bits called the word, and microprocessors are classified according to their word length. For example, a processor with an 8-bit word is known as an 8-bit microprocessor, and a processor with a 16bit word is known as a 16-bit microprocessor, and a processor with n-bit word is known as an n-bit microprocessor (where n=4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128 etc.). When a microprocessor is used in side a computer, it is known as micro computer. Todays computers are also of these micro computers.
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Different companies like Intel, Motorola, AMD, Zilog, Hitachi, Silicon Graphics, Cyrix, Sun etc. are manufacturing different types of microprocessors. INTEL Microprocessor Family: The Intel Corporation was founded in the year 1968. Intel believes in innovations. Its innovative principle led it to create very effective, fastest and popular microprocessors which leave other companies behind. Intel Corporation introduced the first 4-bit microprocessor, Intel 4004 in 1971 which was primarily used in calculators. Then it introduced the first 8-bit microprocessor, Intel 8008 in 1972. Then Intel 8080 (8-bit) microprocessor was introduced in 1973, which became the brain of first Personal Computer (PC) - the Altair. Then Intel 8085, 8-bit microprocessor (in 1975) was manufactured with software compatible form. Then the 16-bit microprocessors were developed. Intel 8086 (in 1978) which perform all arithmetic operations in binary, Intel 8087 (in 1979) which perform numeric data, Intel 8088 (in 1980) which is cheaper and used in PC/XT (Personal Computer with Extended Technology) was manufactured. Then Intel 80186 (in 1981) with smaller number of ICs which made the computer compacted, Intel 10188 (in 1981) which
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was designed for low cost embedded control application. Then Intel 10286 (in 1982) which was compact in nature, inbuilt software. So widely used in PC/AT (Personal Computer with Advanced Technology). Then the 32-bit microprocessors were manufactured. Intel 80386 (in 1985) was introduced with having multi-user multitasking feature, software protection and a large memory system. Intel 80486 (in 1989) was introduced having same features of 80386 and with an extra feature i.e. cache memory inbuilt with the chip for faster execution. Then the 32-bit microprocessors with superscalar architecture were manufactured. A microprocessor architecture which having more than one execution unit is known as superscalar microprocessor architecture.
I.

Intel Pentium (in 1993) was introduced with improvement to the architecture, software upward compatible etc. It is also a 32-bit microprocessor. The Pentium microprocessor was organized with three execution units i.e. it is possible to execute three instructions simultaneously. Intel Pentium Pro (in 1995), a 32-bit microprocessor was introduced with advancement over Pentium. It executes five instructions simultaneously.
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III.

Intel Pentium II (in 1997), a 32-bit microprocessor was introduced with MMX (Multi Media eXtension) technology which interacts with the data in form of text, graphics, images and sound also. Intel Celeron (in 1999), a 32-bit microprocessor was introduced with Pentium Pro technology but with specific market segments with a low price and widely used for commercial purposes. Intel Pentium III (in 1999), a 32-bit microprocessor was introduced with the features of Pentium II and with advanced imaging, 3-D simulation, video and audio streaming and speech recognition facility to boost the multimedia performance. Intel Pentium 4 (in 2000), a 32-bit microprocessor came with all previous features and having to create professional quality movies, deliver TV like video via the internet, communicate with real time video and voice, render 3-D graphics in real time, quickly encode music for MP3 players and much more. It is much smaller and faster compared to others because
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IV.

V.

VI.

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physically small transistors are used in a large amount to make this chip. Intel Xeon (in 2001), a 32-bit microprocessor popularly used in workstations and servers with high performance. The Xeon processors commonly used for server side applications. Intel Itanium (in 2001), a 64-bit microprocessor was introduced with ten instruction units to execute simultaneously. The processor delivers world class performance for the most demanding enterprise and high performance applications, including e-Commerce, security transactions, large databases, computer aided designing and sophisticated scientific and engineering computing. Intel Pentium M (Mobile) (in 2003), a 64-bit microprocessor is used in mobile computers with a new technology called Centrino mobile technology. This technology has built-in wireless LAN (Local Area Network) and extended battery life facility.

VII.

VIII.

IX.

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MOTOROLA Microprocessor Family: The Motorola Company was founded in the year 1930. It is the manufacture of several products in the field of automotive, broadband technology, embedded computer products, phones (land and mobile), energy systems, radios, semiconductors etc. Motorola Company introduced the first 8-bit microprocessor, MC 6800 in 1974. It was followed by advanced microprocessors of 8-bit are MC6802, MC6809. In 1979, Motorola introduced an advanced powerful 16bit microprocessor MC68000. Then followed by it Motorola introduced MC68008 (in 1982) and MC68010 (in 1983) which are 16-bit microprocessors. Then in 1984, an advanced 32-bit microprocessor MC68020 was introduced by Motorola. In 1987 MC68030, a 32-bit microprocessor came with MMX technology. In 1989, Motorola introduced MC68040, a 32-bit microprocessor with some coprocessors. In 1995 MC68060, a 32-bit microprocessor launched by Motorola with software compatible facility and with a memory management unit for high performance.

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AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) Microprocessor Family: The AMD was founded in 1969. It is a competitor of Intel Corporation. It produces microprocessors, memory devices and silicon chips for communication and networking applications. AMD manufactured so many microprocessors of 32-bit. Some of them are Nx586, Am486, Am5x86, K5, K6, K6-MMX, K6-2, K6-3 and K7. K5 was an alternative to the Pentium. K6 was an competitor of Pentium-II and used in mobile computers. Then AMD Duron, AMD Athlon of 32-bit was introduced in the market. Then AMD launched the 64-bit microprocessors. AMD Opteron, AMD Athlon 64 are of two categories of this microprocessor.

APPLICATIONS OF COMPUTERS

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Today, computers are used in varieties of applications. It is used in every step/walk of life. So, it is very difficult to list out all the applications of computers. However, some popular applications of computer are given below:

Office automation (maintain records, databases etc.) 2. Electronic mailing (E-Mail) 3. Industries (Payroll, Personal information, Meetings etc.) 4. Libraries (Book records, Renewal, Overdue etc.) 5. Reservations (Transport, Railway, Airway etc.) 6. Educations (School, College, University etc.) 7. Hospitals (X-Ray, ICU, Scanning etc.) 8. Banks (Financial transactions) 9. Traffic controls (Traffic light control) 10. Crimes (Record of crime, criminals, cops etc.) 11. Multimedia (Movies, Animations, Presentations etc.) 12. Defenses (Launching missiles, Encryption, Decryption etc.) 13. Researches (Satellite communication, Testing weapons etc.) 14. Meteorology (Weather Forecasting)
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15. Entertainments (Video Games) 16. Retail Stores (Maintain bills, Stocks, Prices etc.)

POWER SUPPLIES

Since computer is an electronic device, it also requires electric power to run. Each computer has an in-built SMPS (Switch Mode Power Supply) to gain electricity. Normally 230 Volt AC power (Home Current Available) is supplied to the SMPS. It converts this power supply to a suitable form of the computer, so that the computer runs smoothly. For providing correct power supplies to the computer following equipments are used:

a.

CVT:
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It stands for Constant Voltage Transformer. When the input voltage fluctuates, there is a chance of damage of circuits; at that time to supply a constant output voltage to the SMPS of computer it is used.

b.

UPS:

It stands for Uninterrupted Power Supply. When we are working in a computer, the programs are normally loaded in the RAM. Since we know RAM is a volatile/temporary memory, so it can be lost if power failure occurs; unless we save the programs in any nonvolatile/ permanent memory. This problem can be avoided by using an UPS. Even when the power failure occurs, the UPS supplies power to the computer for a short time period. So that we can save the data and safely turn off the computer. UPS with different backup power supply time are available. Its minimum backup time is 15 minutes. The CVT only supply constant power source but not backup power but the UPS serve as a CVT with backup power supply.

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INPUT UNIT AND OUTPUT UNIT A computer system can be useful, only when it is able to communicate with its external environment or with its users. To provide the means of communication between the computer and the real world, the units available are called as input and output units (I/O units). To feed data and instructions from the outer world to the computer, a unit is available called as input unit. The devices used to do this job are called as input devices. To receive data and instructions from the computer and provide them to the outer world, a unit is available called as output unit. The devices used to do this job are called as output devices. The input and output devices (I/O devices), together called as peripherals of a computer system. INPUT DEVICES: Data and instructions are entered into a computer through input devices. An input device converts
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input data and instructions into suitable binary form which can be accepted by the computer and store them in main memory. The input devices are broadly classified into the following categories: Typing devices Pointing devices Scanning devices etc. Some of the commonly used input devices are discussed below: Keyboard: It is one of the most commonly used input devices. Keyboard is very much similar to a standard typewriters keyboard with a few additional keys. The additional keys are used to perform special functions such as loading a program, editing, and deleting. Keyboard allows data entry into a computer system by pressing a set of keys, so it is a typing input device. When a key is pressed from the keyboard, an electronic pulse is generated, which is encoded and give the binary value of the key which is pressed. Today, in a standard keyboard, there are 104-keys available and it is known as QWERTY keyboard. Also different types of keys are available such as: Numeric Keys: 0 to 9 and operator keys (such as +, , *, / etc.) Alphabetic keys: A to Z Function keys: F1 to F12
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Special keys: Ctrl, Alt, Insert, Delete, Home, End, Shift, Tab, Enter, Backspace etc. Cursor movement keys: up, down, left and right arrow keys. Mouse: It is also one of the most commonly used input devices. This device is named as mouse because of its shape. It is a small hand-held device, which can comfortably fit in a users palm. The cursor on the screen can be controlled by the movement of the mouse. The mouse can be used for quick positioning of the cursor on the desired menu item or an icon. The mouse has 2 or 3 or 5 buttons available at the top to do the above jobs. By pressing the buttons, we can select or open or execute an menu. Earlier days, the mouse is rolled on a flat pad called as mouse pad. Now different types of mouse are available such as ball mouse, optical mouse and cordless mouse. SCANNERS: Scanners are basically input devices that are capable of recognizing marks or characters. Thus they are used for direct entry into the computer system. The following are the characteristics of the scanners: human effort. input documents.
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Eliminate duplication of Data accuracy. Demand high quality of

 Form designs and inks specifications become more critical. Not economically feasible. ** Scanners are of 2 types Optical scanners and magnetic ink character recognition devices. . OPTICAL SCANNERS: optical scanners are of two types those are OMR and OCR. OMR: The actual technique used by an OMR device for recognition of marks involves focusing a light on the page being scanned and detecting the reflected light pattern from the marks. Pencil marks with a soft lead pencil will reflect the light. These are used for evaluation purposes. OCR: These devices are capable of detecting alphabetic and numeric characters printed on paper. These characters may be either typewritten or hand written. The actual technique used by an OCR device is examines each character as if it were made up of a collection of minute spots. Once the whole character has been scanned, it is compared with the characters the machine has been programmed to recognize. Whichever pattern it matches, or nearly matches, is considered to be the character read. If the scanned character does not match satisfactorily with any fonts it is rejected.
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MAGNETIC-INK CHARACTER RECOGNITION: These devices are developed to assist the banking industry in processing the tremendous volume of checks being written every day. A special type of cheque is used in banks that employ MICR devices. The banks identification code and the customers account number is pre-printed on all these cheques with a special ink that contains magnetizeable particles of iron oxide. Even roughly handled, folded, smeared and over stamped cheques can still be read with a high degree of accuracy.

OUTPUT DEVICES: Output devices are those, which links the computer with the external environment. The processed results are produced to the external environment by these output
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interfaces. Some of the most commonly used output devices are: 1. 2. 3. Monitor/VDU. Printers. Plotters

MONITOR/VDU: A typewriter like keyboard, is used to enter data into the computer, and a cathode ray tube (CRT) that looks like a television screen is used to display the input data as well as the messages and processed output from the computer. The terminal consists of a small memory known as a buffer. The size of this buffer is normally equal to the total number of characters usually 24 rows X 80 columns that can be displayed at a time on the terminal screen. Each character entered through the keyboard is stored in the buffer and its displayed simultaneously on the CRT.

PRINTERS:
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Printers are the most common o/p devices in a computer system. They are the primary output devices used to prepare permanent documents in human-readable form (hard copy). There are several types of printers that are designed for different types of applications. Depending on their speed and approach of printing. Printers are classified as character printers, line printers, and page printers.

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Character printers: Character printers print only on character at a time. A typewriter is an example of character printers. These are classified as impact and non-impact printers.
A.

1. Impact Printer: Use of Electro-mechanical mechanism that causes hammer or pins to strike against a ribbon on a paper to print the text. Examples of impact printers are a) Dot matrix printer b) Daisy wheel printer 1.1 Dot-matrix Printers: These printers print each character as a pattern of dots. The print head comprises a matrix of tiny needles, typically seven rows with 9 needles in each. These printers prints in the range of 40 to 250 characters per second. These do not have a fixed character font. These can able to print graphics such as charts and graphs.
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1.2 Daisy wheel printers: These are also known as letter quality printers. These printers use a printwheel font known as a daisy wheel. Each petal of the daisy wheel has a character embossed on it. The desired character spins to the correct position, a print hammer strikes it to produce the output. This ranges from 10 to 50 characters per second.

2. Non Impact printers: Use of laser beam or inkjet technology for printing the text. Examples of Non Impact printers: a) Inkjet Printer b) Laser Printer 2.1 Inkjet printers: 1. They print characters by spraying small drops of ink onto paper.
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2. Special type of ink having a high iron content is used. 3. Droplets of ink are electrically charged after leaving a nozzle. 4. Produces high quality output. 5. They can print multiple character styles and a variety of type sizes. 6. They cannot produce multiple copies of a document in a single printing.

2.2 Laser printers: 1. They use laser or light source to produce an image on a photosensitive drum. 2. They produce high quality output. 3. These are quite expensive. 4. They can produce 10 pages per minute. But they produce one page at a time.

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Line printers: A line printer is a printer that prints one line at a time. These produce low quality output, basically used in organizations for large volume of data.
B.

There are 2 types of line printers a) Drum printer and b) chain printer Drum printers: Consists of a cylindrical drum that has raised characters in bands on its surface. a. Striking a hammer against its embossed character prints a character. b. All characters on the line are not printed at exactly the same time. c. Speed of drum printers is in the range of 300 to 2000 lines per minute. Chain printers: a. They use rapidly moving chain called a print chain. Each link of the chain is a character font.
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b. As the print chain rotates the properly timed print hammers strike the paper, along with the inked ribbon, against the proper character on the chain/band as it passes. c. Speeds of printers range from 400 to 2500 characters per minute.

PLOTTERS: A plotter is an output device used to produce hard copies of graphs and designs. Plotters are basically of two types drum and flatbed. Drum plotter: 1. The paper on which the design has to be made is placed over a drum. 2. Drum rotates back and forth to produce vertical motion. 3. One or more penholders mounted horizontally across the drum so that they can move to produce horizontal motion. 4. They can also produce multi colored designs. Flatbed plotter: 1. Consists of a flatbed of a rectangular shape.
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2. The pen-holding mechanism is designed to provide all the motion. 3. These can be used in the design of cars, ships, aircrafts, buildings, Highways, etc.

THE END

By Manoranjan Dash

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