Computer Fundamentals

The complete full form of each word of the Computer is given in the table below.

C Commonly

O Operated

M Machine

P Particular

U Used

T Trade

E Education

R Research

What is the Meaning of Computer?

In this post, I will explain meaning of every word of computer in detail.
C for Commonly ( What is Commonly in computer? )
This usually means that any common person can use it. For example, children, men, women can use any computer.
O for Operated ( What is Operated in computer? )
This means that any normal person can operate this device very easily. For example, children can also operate computers very
easily.
M for Machine ( What is Machine in computer? )
This means that a computer is an electronic machine.
A computer cannot function without electricity.
A computer is a machine that makes the work of humans very easily and quickly.
P for Particular ( What is Particular in computer?)
Particular has no meaning. Particular is an adjective word.
This word is used to denote a special thing.

U for Used ( What is Used? )

You all will know that 'used' means 'use'.
This means that you can use a computer. Used is an adjective word.
T for Trade ( What is Trade in computer? )
The term trade is used in trade. This means that moving a service from one place to another and selling and buying that service
is called trade.
Trade in computers means exchanging data from one place to another.
E for Education ( What is Education in computer? )
Education means in computers that computers are widely used in the field of education.
R for Research ( What is Research in computer? )
Research is a creative thing. Increase collections of knowledge are called research.
Today scientists are doing a lot of research with the help of computers.
Definition :- A computer is an electronic machine or device that performs processes, calculations and operations based on
instructions provided by a user. It has the ability to accept data (input), process it, and then produce outputs as desired.
Uses/Applications of Computer
• Banking
• Education
• Industries
• Entertainments
• Hospitals
• Business
• Defence
• Reservation
• Science and Research
• Data processing

Capabilities of Computer
• Speed
• Storage capacity
• Accuracy
• Deligency
• Versatility

Limitations of Computer
•No IQ
•No Brain

History of Computer
• Abacus (5000 Year before)
• Napier Bones (John Napier 1614)
• Pascaline Machine (Blaise Pascal 1642)
• Difference Engine (Charles Babbage 1822) automatic mechanical computing machine
• Analytical Engine (1833) digital, programmiable and automatic computer
• MARK I (Howard Aiken 1937-44) First fully automatic calculating machine
• ENIAC (J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly 1943-46)
• EDVAC (1946-52) Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer used stored program
• EDSAC (1947-49) Electronic Delay StoragebAutomatic Calculator
• UNIVAC(1951) First digital Computer

Generation of Computer
On the basis of technology used computer is divided in to generations.
• First Generation (1946-1954) Vaccum Tubes
• Second Generation (1955-1964) Transistors
• Third Generation (1965-1974) Integrated Circuits
• Forth Generation (1975-1990) VLSI (Microprocessor), PC, semiconductor replaced magnetic core memories, Networking,DOS,
Unix, Windows, Apple Os
• Fifth Generation (1991-now) ULSI, Portable PC,CD-ROM, Internet

Difference between Computer and Calculator

The main difference between Computer and Calculator is that the Computer is a simple general-purpose device for
performing arithmetic or logical operations and Calculator is a electronic device used to perform arithmetic operations only.
Block Diagram of Computer

1. Input: this is the process of entering data and programs into the computer system.
2. Control Unit (CU): The process of input, output, processing and storage is performed under the supervision of a unit
called 'Control Unit'. It decides when to start receiving data, when to stop it, where to store data, etc. It takes care of step
-by-step processing of all operations inside the computer.
3. Memory Unit: Computer is used to store data and instructions.
4. Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU): The major operations performed by the ALU are addition, subtraction, multiplication, division,
logic and comparison.
5. Output: This is the process of producing results from the data for getting useful information. The ALU and the CU of a
computer system are jointly known as the central processing unit (CPU). You may call CPU as the brain of any computer system.

Type of computer
• On the basis of operating principles
✓Digital computer
✓Anolog Computer
✓Hybrid Computer
• On the basis of applications
✓General purpose computer
✓Special purpose computer
• On the basis of size and capability
✓Micro computer
✓Mini computer
✓Mainframe computer
✓Super computer

Personal Computer (PC)

• A PC can be defined as a small, relatively inexpensive micro computer designed for an individual user.
• PCs are based on the microprocessor technology that enables manufacturers to put an entire CPU on one chip.
• PC is made by IBM.
• Home and office use

Types of PC
• PC
• PC-XT (8087-88, 256 kb RAM,10-40 MB HDD, 1-2 FDD, Monochrome monitor,135 walts power supply, 1 serial & 1 parallel
port)
• PC-AT (80286-486, 4-128 mb RAM,80-640 MB HDD, 1-2 FDD, CD,14/20 inch CGA/SVGA monitor, 2 serial & 1 parallel port)
• Pentium (petium, 256-512mb RAM,584 MB-13 GB HDD, 1 FDD, CD,color monitor, multimedia support)
SOFTWARE
As you are aware, computer cannot do anything on its own. It is the user who instructs computer; what to do, how to do and
when to do. In order to perform any task, you have to give a set of instructions in a particular sequence to the computer. These
sets of instructions are called Programs. Software refers to a set of programs that makes the hardware perform a particular set
of tasks in particular order.

Classification of Software

1. System Software :- When you switch on the computer the programs stored in ROM are executed which activates different
units of your computer and makes it ready for you to work on it. This set of programs can be called system software.
System softwares are sets of programs, responsible for running the computer, controlling various operations of computer
systems and management of computer resources. Operating System (OS) falls under this category.
2 Application Software :- Application software is a set of programs, which are written to perform specific tasks, for example: An
application package for managing library known as library information system is used to manage information of library such as:
keeping book details, account holder details, book issue details, book return details etc.
Another application package for managing student details is called student’s information system, manages student’s roll no,
name, parents name, address, class, section, processing of examination results etc

COMPUTER LANGUAGES :-
Languages are a means of communication. Normally people interact with each other through a language. On the same pattern,
communication with computers is carried out through a language. This language is understood both by user and the machine.
Just as every language like English, Hindi has its grammatical rules; every computer language is bound by rules known as
SYNTAX of that language. The user is bound by that syntax while communicating with the computer system.

Computer languages are broadly classified as:

1. Low Level Language:- The term low level means closeness to the way in which machine understand. The low level languages
are:
a. Machine Language:- This is the language (in the form of 0’s and 1’s, called binary numbers) understood directly by the
computer. It is machine dependent. It is difficult to learn and even more difficult to write programs.
b. Assembly Language:- This is the language where the machine codes comprising of 0’s and 1’s are substituted by symbolic
codes (called mnemonics) to improve their understanding. It is the first step to improve programming structure.
Assembly language programming is simpler and less time consuming than machine level programming, it is easier to locate
and correct errors in assembly language than in machine language programs. It is also machine dependent. Programmers
must have knowledge of the machine on which the program will run.
2. High Level Language:- You know that low level language requires extensive knowledge of the hardware since it is machine
dependent. To overcome the limitation, high level language has been evolved which uses normal English like, easy to
understand statements to solve any problem. Higher level languages are computer independent and programming becomes
quite easy and simple.
Various high level languages are given below:
BASIC (Beginners All Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code):- It is widely used, easy to learn general purpose language. Mainly
used in microcomputers in earlier days.
COBOL (Common Business Oriented language):- A standardized language used for commercial applications.
FORTRAN (Formula Translation):- Developed for solving mathematical and scientific problems. One of the most popular
languages among scientific community.
C:- Structured Programming Language used for all purpose such as scientific application, commercial application, developing
games etc.
C++: Popular object oriented programming language, used for general purpose.
COMPILER AND ASSEMBLER:- As you know that High Level language is machine independent and assembly language though it
is machine dependent yet mnemonics that are being used to represent instructions are not directly understandable by
machine. Hence to make the machine understand the instructions provided by both the languages, Compiler and Assembler
are required to convert these instructions into machine language.

Compiler :- The software (set of programs) that reads a program written in high level language and translates it into an
equivalent program in machine language is called as Compiler.

The program written by the programmer in high level language is called source program and the program generated by the
compiler after translation is called as object program.

Assembler :- The software (set of programs) that reads a program written in assembly language and translates it into an
equivalent program in machine language is called as Assembler.
Here are some commonly used computer shortcut keys that can be helpful for competitive exams:

Shortcut Keys Uses of Shortcut Keys

Ctrl + C Copy
Ctrl + X Cut
Ctrl + V Paste
Ctrl + Z Undo
Ctrl + S Save
Ctrl + P Print
Ctrl + A Select All
Ctrl + F Find
Ctrl + H Replace
Ctrl + B Bold
Ctrl + I Italic
Ctrl + U Underline
Ctrl + + (Plus sign) Zoom In
Ctrl + – (Minus sign) Zoom Out
Ctrl + W Close the current window/Tab
Ctrl + N New File/Document
Ctrl + O Open File/Document
F5 or Ctrl + R Refresh
Ctrl + D (Del) Delete selected item to the Recycle Bin.
Delete the selected item permanently, skipping
Shift + Delete
Recycle Bin.
F2 Rename selected item.
Esc Close current task.
Computer Full Forms (Computer-related Terminology or Acronyms)

1. CPU – Central Processing Unit 25. POP3 – Post Office Protocol version 3
2. RAM – Random Access Memory 26. SATA – Serial Advanced Technology
3. GPU – Graphics Processing Unit Attachment
4. HDD – Hard Disk Drive 27. GUI – Graphical User Interface
5. SSD – Solid-State Drive 28. PHP – Hypertext Preprocessor
6. BIOS – Basic Input/Output System 29. SQL – Structured Query Language
7. USB – Universal Serial Bus 30. DHCP – Dynamic Host Configuration
8. ISP – Internet Service Provider Protocol
9. URL – Uniform Resource Locator 31. API – Application Programming
10. HTML – Hypertext Markup Language Interface
11. CSS – Cascading Style Sheets 32. NAT – Network Address Translation
12. VPN – Virtual Private Network 33. VLAN – Virtual Local Area Network
13. PDF – Portable Document Format 34. WLAN – Wireless Local Area Network
14. JPEG – Joint Photographic Experts 35.ALU – Arithmetic Logic Unit
Group 36.ATX – Advanced Technology Extended
15. GIF – Graphics Interchange Format
16. DNS – Domain Name System 37.BIOS – Basic Input/Output System
17. LAN – Local Area Network 38.CAD – Computer-Aided Design
18. WAN – Wide Area Network
19. TCP – Transmission Control Protocol 39.CD – Compact Disk
20. IP – Internet Protocol 40.CD-ROM – Compact Disk Read-Only
21. HTTP – Hypertext Transfer Protocol Memory
22. FTP – File Transfer Protocol
41.CD-RW – Compact Disc-ReWritable
23. HTTPS – Hypertext Transfer Protocol
Secure 42.DMA – Direct Memory Access
24. SMTP – Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

Other full forms

• AI – Artificial Intelligence
• IoT – Internet of Things
• SaaS – Software as a Service
• URL – Uniform Resource Locator
• WWW – World Wide Web
Basic computer operation :
1. Booting up: This is the process of starting up the computer by loading the operating system (OS) into memory.
The computer runs a series of checks to ensure all hardware is working correctly before loading the OS.
2. Logging in: After booting up, you will need to log in to access your user account. This requires entering your
username and password.
3. Running programs: Once you have logged in, you can run programs on your computer. Programs can include
web browsers, office applications, media players, and more.
4. Accessing data: You can access data stored on your computer or other connected devices, such as external hard
drives or cloud storage services. This can include files, documents, photos, and other media.
5. Connecting to the internet: You can connect to the internet to access websites, download files, and
communicate with others online. This typically involves using a web browser to access websites and other online
services.
6. Communicating with other devices: You can communicate with other devices connected to your computer,
such as printers, scanners, or other peripherals. This allows you to print documents, scan images, and perform
other tasks.
7. Saving and backing up data: It’s important to save and back up your data regularly to avoid data loss. You can
save data to your local hard drive, external hard drives, or cloud storage services.
8. Shutting down: When you’re finished using your computer, you should shut it down properly. This involves
closing all programs and files, saving any changes, and shutting down the OS.
9. Troubleshooting: If you experience issues with your computer, you may need to troubleshoot the problem. This
can involve diagnosing hardware or software issues, performing updates, or reinstalling drivers.
10. Security: It’s important to keep your computer secure by using antivirus software, firewalls, and other security
measures. This helps protect your data and prevent unauthorized access to your system.

Issues of basic computers and computer operations :

some common issues that can arise with basic computers and computer operations:
1. Slow performance: Computers can become slow and unresponsive due to a variety of factors, such as lack of
storage space, outdated hardware, or malware.
2. Malware and viruses: Malware and viruses can infect computers and cause a range of problems, including data
loss, system crashes, and identity theft.
3. Hardware failures: Computer hardware components can fail over time, leading to issues like system crashes,
data loss, and display problems.
4. Software glitches: Software applications can sometimes malfunction or crash, leading to issues like data loss or
unresponsive programs.
5. Driver problems: Drivers are software components that enable hardware devices to communicate with the
operating system. If drivers become outdated or corrupted, it can lead to issues like hardware failures or system
crashes.
6. Compatibility issues: Sometimes software applications or hardware components may not be compatible with
each other, leading to issues like system crashes or display problems.
7. Internet connectivity issues: Problems with internet connectivity can lead to issues like slow loading web pages,
interrupted downloads, and difficulty accessing online services.
8. User error: Users can sometimes make mistakes or accidentally delete files or programs, leading to issues like
data loss or unresponsive programs.