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Introduction to Computers
Valia Mitsou
Computer and Information Science
Brooklyn College
Source: Introductory Concepts and Techniques,
A preliminary edition was prepared by Rave Harpaz
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What Is A Computer?
A computer is an electronic device that can:
- accept data (input)
- manipulate data (process)
- produce information (output) and
- store the results for future use (storage).
Generally, the term is used to describe a
collection of devices that function together
as a system.
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Devices that comprise a computer system
Printer
(output)
Monitor
(output)
Speaker
(output)
Scanner
(input)
Mouse
(input)
Keyboard
(input)
System unit
(processor, memory…)
Storage devices
(CD-RW, Floppy,
Hard disk, zip,…)
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Data and Information
All computer processing requires data, which is a collection
of raw facts, figures and symbols, such as numbers, words,
images, video and sound, given to the computer during the
input phase.
Computers manipulate data to create information.
Information is data that is organized, meaningful, and
useful.
During the output Phase, the information that has been
created is put into some form, such as a printed report.
The information can also be put in computer storage for
future use.
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Why Is A Computer So
Powerful?
Speed;
Reliability (low failure rate);
Accuracy;
Ability to store huge amounts of data and
information;
Ability to communicate with other
computers.
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How Does a Computer Know
what to do?
It must be given a detailed list of instructions,
called a compute program or software, that
tells it exactly what to do.
Before processing a specific job, the
computer program corresponding to that job
must be stored in memory.
Once the program is stored in memory the
compute can start the operation by executing
the program instructions one after the other.
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What Are The Primary
Components Of A Computer ?
Input devices.
Central Processing
Unit (containing the
control unit and the
arithmetic/logic unit).
Memory.
Output devices.
Storage devices.
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The Keyboard
The most commonly used input device is
the keyboard on which data is entered by
manually keying in or typing certain keys. A
keyboard typically has 101 or 105 keys.
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The Mouse
Is a pointing device which is used to control
the movement of a mouse pointer on the
screen to make selections from the screen.
A mouse has one to five buttons. The
bottom of the mouse is flat and contains a
mechanism that detects movement of the
mouse.
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The Central processing Unit
The central processing unit (CPU) contains
electronic circuits that cause processing to
occur. The CPU interprets instructions to the
computer and performs the logical and
arithmetic operations. It is considered the
“brain” of the computer.
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Memory
Memory also called Random Access
Memory or RAM (temporary memory) is
the main memory of the computer. It
consists of electronic components that
store data including numbers, letters of
the alphabet, graphics and sound. Any
information stored in RAM is lost when the
computer is turned off.
Read Only Memory or ROM is memory that
is etched on a chip that has start-up
directions for your computer. It is
permanent memory.
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How is information stored
Computers store information by using
switches (on-off switches, like the ones
used for turning on/off lights, except a
lot smaller, and implemented with
electronics - i.e. no moving parts).
Information is encoded in binary.
Binary digits 0 and 1 are called bits.
With 1 bit we can encode 2 different
options (true, false).
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How is information stored
By using more than one bit we can encode
more information.
For example, with 2 bits we
0 1 1 can encode 22
=4 different
options (00,01,10,11).
With 3 bits 23
=8 different options, with 4
bits 24
=16 etc...
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How is information stored
5 bits (32 options) are enough to encode all
26 different English letters.
8 bits together constitute a byte, which is
usually one character (one memory
location).
The standard encoding of characters to
binary numbers is called ASCII code.
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Amount Of RAM In
Computers
The amount of memory in computers is
typically measured in kilobytes or
megabytes. One kilobyte (K or KB) equals
1,024 (210
) bytes and one megabyte (M
or MB) equals approximately one million
bytes (220
).
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Output Devices
Output devices make the information
resulting from the processing available for
use. The two output devices more
commonly used are the printer and the
computer screen.
The printer produces a hard copy of your
output, and the computer screen produces
a soft copy of your output.
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Storage Devices
Auxiliary storage devices are used to store
data when they are not being used in
memory. The most common types of
auxiliary storage used on personal
computers are hard disks, CD/DVD-ROM
drives and miniature mobile storage
media.
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Hard Disks
A hard disk is the main device for auxiliary
storage.
Storage capacities of hard disks for personal
computers range from 40 GB to 1 TB (around 1
trillion bytes!)
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Compact Discs
A compact disk (CD), also called an optical disc, is a
flat round, portable storage medium that is
usually 4.75 inch in diameter. The capacity of a CD
is 650-750 MB of data.
DVDs have the same shape and size as CDs, but a
much larger capacity.
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Computer Software
Computer software is the key to
productive use of computers.
Software can be categorized
into two types:
Operating system software
Application software.
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Operating System Software
Operating system software tells the
computer how to perform the functions of
loading, storing and executing an
application and how to transfer data.
Today's operating systems have a
graphical user interface (GUI) that
provide visual clues such as icon symbols
to help the user.
- Windows
- MAC
- Linux
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Application Software
Application Software consists of programs
that tell a computer how to produce
information. Some of the more commonly
used packages are:
Word processing
Electronic spreadsheet
Database
Presentation graphics
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Word Processing
Word Processing software is used to create and
print documents. A key advantage of word
processing software is that users easily can make
changes in documents.
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Electronic Spreadsheets
Electronic spreadsheet software allows the user to
add, subtract, and perform user-defined
calculations on rows and columns of numbers.
These numbers can be changed and the
spreadsheet quickly recalculates the new results.
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Database Software
Allows the user to enter, retrieve, and update data
in an organized and efficient manner, with flexible
inquiry and reporting capabilities.
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Presentation Graphics
Presentation graphic software allows the user to
create documents called slides to be used in
making the presentations. Using special
projection devices, the slides display as they
appear on the computer screen.