INDIAN INSTITUTE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

IT Tools and Networking Basics

Content
Introduction to Computer [Module 1]
GUI Based Operating Systems [Module 2]
Elements of Word Processing [Module 3]
Spreadsheet [Module 4]
Presentation [Module 5]
Introduction to Internet & WWW [Module 6]
E-mail, Social Networking & E Governance [Module 7]
Digital Financial Tools & Applications [Module 8]
Overview of Future skills & Cyber Security [Module 9]
Introduction to Computer(Module 1)

• What is Computer
• History of Computers
• Characteristics of Computer System
• Basic Application of Computer
• IT Gadgets & Their Application
• Components of Computer System
A) Hardware
B) Software
What is Computer

Today’s world is an information-rich

world and it has become a necessity
for everyone to know about
computers.
A computer is an electronic data
processing device, which accepts
and stores data input, processes the
data input, and generates the output
in a required format.
 Functionalities of computer

Input Processing Output

 History of Computers

Generation in computer terminology is a change in technology a

computer is/was being used.

Initially, the generation term was used to distinguish between varying

hardware technologies. Nowadays, generation includes both
hardware and software, which together make up an entire computer
system.

There are five computer generations known till date. Each generation
has been discussed in detail along with their time period and
characteristics. In the following table, approximate dates against
each generation has been mentioned, which are normally accepted.
Generations Of Computers
First Generation
The period of first generation: 1940-1956.

Hardware technology : Vacuum tube

Software technology : machine language.

Example: ENIAC(Electronic Numerical Integrator And

Computer)
Second Generation
The period of second generation: 1956-
1963.

Hardware technology : Transistors

Software technology : FORTRAN and

COBOL language.

Example: IBM 7094,

Third Generation
The period of third generation: 1964-1971.

Hardware technology : Integrated Circuit

Software technology : Operating System, Pascal.

COBOL, BASIC.

Example: IBM System 360/370, CDC6600

Fourth Generation
The period of fourth generation: 1972-2010.

Hardware technology : VLSI (very large scale

integration) microprocessor based.

Software technology : Operating System, C, C++,

DBASE

Example: VAX 9000, CRAY-X-MP, CRAY-1,2(Super

computer).
Fifth Generation
The period of fifth generation: 2010-onwards.
ULSI(ultra large scale integration) microprocessor
based.

Hardware technology : ULSI (Ultra large scale

integration) microprocessor based.

Software technology : Operating System, C, C++,

DBASE, JAVA, Python and C#.

Example: IBM Notebook, Pentium PCs, SUN

Workstation.
Characteristics of Computer System

Advantages Disadvantages
? High Speed ? No I.Q.
? Accuracy ? Dependency
? Storage Capability ? No Feeling
? Diligence
? Versatility
? Reliability
Basic Application of Computer

• Business • Marketing
• Banking • Healthcare
• Insurance • Military
• Education • Government
• Engineering Design • Communication
IT Gadgets & Their Application

A Gadget is a device or an application for

Information Technology. It is a term that cover all
available devices, such as television, cell phones,
personal computer and tablets.
The following are some of It Tools:
? Laptops
? Personal Digital Assistants
? Tablet personal computer
Laptops is a portable, personal computer
often design to fit on you lap and hence
the name is given to. It can operate on
both batteries & power
Personal Digital Assistants is a handheld
computer and popularly known as
Palmtop.
Tablet personal computer are commonly
shortened as tablet PCs & are defined as
flat, thin mobile computers that can
come fitted with a touchscreen display
Components of Computer System

There are mainly three types of components

? Input Unit
? Output Unit
? CPU (Central Processing Unit)
Input Unit
This unit contains devices with the help of which we enter
data into the computer. This unit creates a link between the
user and the computer. The input devices translate the
information into a form understandable by the computer.

Output Unit
The output unit consists of devices with the help of which we
get the information from the computer. This unit is a link
between the computer and the users. Output devices
translate the computer's output into a form understandable
by the users.

CPU (Central Processing Unit)

CPU is considered as the brain of the computer. CPU performs
all types of data processing operations. It stores data,
intermediate results, and instructions (program). It controls the
operation of all parts of the computer.
Input Devices
Following are some of the important Input devices used in a computer.
• Keyboard
Keyboard is the most common and very popular input device
which helps to input data to the computer. The layout of the
keyboard is like that of traditional typewriter, although there are
some additional keys provided for performing additional
functions. It have 104 keys or 108 keys

• Mouse
Mouse is the most popular pointing device. Generally, it has two
buttons called the left and the right button and a wheel is present
between the buttons. A mouse can
be used to control the position of the cursor on the screen.

• Joystick
Joystick is also a pointing device, which is used to move the cursor
position on a monitor screen. It is a stick having a spherical ball at
its both lower and upper ends. The lower spherical ball moves in a
socket. The joystick can be moved in all
four directions.
• Scanner
Scanner is an input device, which works more like a
photocopy machine. It is used when some information
is available on paper and it is to be transferred to the
hard disk of the computer for further manipulation.

• Digitizer
Digitizer is an input device which converts information into digital
form. They can be used by the computer to create a picture of
whatever the camera had been pointed at. Digitizer is also known
as Tablet or Graphics Tablet

• Magnetic Ink Card Reader (MICR)

MICR input device is generally used in banks as there are large
number of cheques to be processed every day. The bank's code
number and cheque number are printed on the cheques with a
special type of ink that contains particles of magnetic material that
are machine readable.
• Optical Mark Reader (OMR)
OMR is a special type of optical scanner used to
recognize the type of mark made by pen or pencil. It
is used where one out of a few alternatives is to be
selected and marked.

• Bar Code Readers

Bar Code Reader is a device used for reading bar
coded data (data in the form of light and dark lines).
Bar coded data is generally used in labelling goods,
numbering the books, etc.

• Optical Character Reader (OCR)

OCR is an input device used to read a printed text.
OCR scans the text optically, character by
character, converts them into a machine readable
code, and stores the text on the system memory.
Output Unit
Following are some of the important output devices used in a computer.

1. Monitors
Monitors, commonly called as Visual Display Unit (VDU), are the
main output device of a computer. It forms images from tiny dots,
called pixels that are arranged in a rectangular form.

There are two kinds of viewing screen used for monitors.

• Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT)
• Flat-Panel Display
Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT) Monitor
The CRT display is made up of small picture elements called pixels. The
smaller the pixels, the better the image clarity or resolution.Most screens
are capable of displaying 80 characters of data horizontally and 25 lines
vertically.
There are some disadvantages of CRT −
Large in Size
High power consumption
Flat-Panel Display Monitor
The flat-panel display refers to a class of video devices that have reduced
volume, weight and power requirement in
comparison to the CRT. You can hang them on wallsThe flat-panel display is
divided into two categories −
Emissive Displays − Emissive displays are devices that convert electrical
energy into light. For example, plasma
panel and LED (Light-Emitting Diodes).
Non-Emissive Displays − Non-emissive displays use optical effects to convert
sunlight or light from some other
source into graphics patterns. For example, LCD ( Liquid-Crystal Display).
2. Printers

Printer

Non-
Impact
Impact

Character Line Laser Inkjet

Impact Printers
Impact printers print the characters by striking them on the ribbon, which is
then pressed on the paper.

These printers are of two types −

Character printers
Line printers

Characteristics of Impact Printers are the following −

Very low consumable costs
Very noisy
Useful for bulk printing due to low cost
There is physical contact with the paper to produce an image
These printers are of two types −

• Character printers
Character printers are the printers which print one character at a time.

Advantages
Inexpensive
Other language characters can be printed

Disadvantages
Slow Speed
Poor Quality
Types of Character Printer

1. Dot Matrix Printer (DMP)

In the market, one of the most popular printers is Dot Matrix Printer. These printers
are popular because of their ease of printing and economical price.
Advantages
Inexpensive
Other language characters can be printed
Disadvantages
Slow Speed
Poor Quality
2. Daisy Wheel
Head is lying on a wheel and pins corresponding to characters are like petals of Daisy
(flower ) which is why it is called Daisy Wheel Printer. These printers are generally used
for word-processing in offices that require a few letters to be sent here and there with
very nice quality.
Advantages
More reliable than DMP
Better quality
Disadvantages
Slower than DMP
Noisy
• Line Printers
Line printers are the printers which print one line at a time.

Advantages
Very high speed
Character fonts can easily be changed.
Different languages can be used with the same printer.

Disadvantages
Very expensive
Noisy
Types of Line Printer

1. Drum Printer
This printer is like a drum in shape hence it is called drum printer. The surface of the
drum is divided into a number of tracks.
Advantages
Very high speed
Disadvantages
Very expensive
2. Chain Printer
In this printer, a chain of character sets is used, hence it is called Chain Printer.
A standard character set may have 48, 64, or 96 characters.
Advantages
Character fonts can easily be changed.
Different languages can be used with the same printer.
Disadvantages
Noisy
Non-impact Printers
Non-impact printers print the characters without using the ribbon. These
printers print a complete page at a time, thus they
are also called as Page Printers.

These printers are of two types −

Laser Printers
Inkjet Printers

Characteristics of Non-impact Printers

Faster than impact printers
They are not noisy
High quality
Supports many fonts and different character size
• Laser Printers
These are non-impact page printers. They use laser lights to produce
the dots needed to form the characters to be printed on a page.

Advantages
Very high speed
Very high quality output
Good graphics quality
Supports many fonts and different character size.

Disadvantages
Expensive
Cannot be used to produce multiple copies of a
document in a single printing
• Inkjet Printers
Inkjet printers are non-impact character printers based on a relatively new
technology. Inkjet printers produce high quality output with presentable
features. They make less noise because no hammering is done and these
have many styles of printing modes available. Color printing is also possible.

Advantages
High quality printing
More reliable

Disadvantages
Expensive as the cost per page is high
Slow as compared to laser printer
 Plotter
A plotter is larger printer that used to print vector graphics and
continuous lines. It is most used for Computer aided design
(CAD) and Computer aided engineering (CAE).

Multimedia projector
Projector is used to project information from a computer on to a
large screen so that it can be viewed by a large group of
people.
Speaker
The speaker converts the changes or waves in the
electrical signal to matching sound waves, which you
hear.
Central Processing Unit(CPU)

Central Processing Unit (CPU) consists of the following

features −

⮚It is considered as the brain of the computer.

⮚It performs all types of data processing operations.

⮚It stores data, intermediate results, and instructions

(program).

⮚It controls the operation of all parts of the computer.

Components of CPU

CPU itself has following three components.

? Memory or Storage Unit
? Control Unit
? ALU(Arithmetic Logic Unit)
Memory or Storage Unit
This unit can store instructions, data, and intermediate results. This unit
supplies information to other units of the computer when needed. It is also
known as internal storage unit or the main memory or the primary storage or
Random Access Memory (RAM).
Functions of the memory unit are −
It stores intermediate results of processing.
It stores the final results of processing before these results are released to
an output device.
All inputs and outputs are transmitted through the main memory.

Control Unit
This unit controls the operations of all parts of the computer but does not carry
out any actual data processing operations.
Functions of this unit are −
It is responsible for controlling the transfer of data and instructions among
other units of a computer.
It manages and coordinates all the units of the computer.
ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit)

Arithmetic Section
Function of arithmetic section is to perform
arithmetic operations like addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and division. All complex operations
are done by making repetitive use of the above
operations.

Logic Section
Function of logic section is to perform logic
operations such as comparing, selecting, matching,
and merging of data.