[...

Software Application Skills Course Team Dr. Sunday A. Reju – NOUN

Course Reviewer

Prof. David. O. Adewunmi

ISBN: 978-058-852-3

All Rights Reserved.

[...]

This unit simply takes you through a brief history of computers, various types of computers and
some basic components of the computer system, some of which are hidden away from your
physical view.

A Short History of Computers

Though Sir Charles Babbage, a British Mathematician has been credited as the first initiator in
the evolution of today's computer system, however, the whole idea of the development of the
computing machinery has been dated back by many to the time of abacus. Do you remember
the history of abacus? It is as old as 3000 BC and was primarily used as a calculating device to
aid memory.
The first computing machinery built in 1812 by Babbage was a model called the Difference
Engine to compute logarithm tables and print the results. He later conceived in 1833 of building
a better device capable of performing any calculation such as addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division according to instructions coded on cards. This device was called the
Analytical Engine which consisted of most features we have in our today's computers. For
example, Babbage's Analytical engine could store intermediate results in a memory unit.
Though Babbage died before the engine was finally constructed in 1871 by his son, he still has
the honour of being called the father of computers till today.

Mainframe Computers

This category of computers specially housed in big buildings are very large and majorly owned
by large organizations in the past decades.

Minicomputers

These are computers next down from mainframes. From the perspective of mainframe
computers, they can be properly called medium-sized computers but can perform many of the
tasks that mainframes can on a reduced scale.

Desktop Computers

These are the PC's designed to stay in one place, usually on desks or tables.

Notebook or Laptop Computers

These are portable computers about the size of a notebook and can be placed on your lap while
travelling in a bus.

Palmtop Computers

These are the latest and smallest computers available in the market now.
As their name implies, you can place them on your palm.

The System Unit The Monitor The Keyboard

With these three parts, you have a complete computer system already to work with.

[...]

Source: Courtesy of Academy of Learning.

The motherboard as the name implies, provides the ability to interconnect directly or indirectly
all the other computer devices, and every computer has a motherboard. The most common
items on a motherboard are sockets while the remaining circuitry provides interconnections for
the essential electronic items, such as the chips or the IC's.
The brain of the whole computer system, otherwise known as the CPU, is mounted on the
motherboard as seen in the figure above. You will see this more clearly ahead.
Common storage devices used by the computer are called DRIVES. A drive is simply a device
that communicates with the computer and interprets the data on the storage media associated
with the drive.
Floppy or Diskette Drives Fixed or Hard Disk Drives CD and DVD Drives The first two drives
stated above should normally come with a computer while you need the third one in case you
want to access your CD ROM's or play a video CD with your computer.
OUTPUT

The Arithmetic Logic and the Control Units In the above figure, ALU = Arithmetic Logic Unit CU
= Control Unit MM = Main Memory and these three components add up to constitute the CPU
As you can see in the above stated functions of the CPU, the ALU is the component of the CPU
that carries out all the calculations. It is therefore called the workhorse of the CPU.
The CU part of the CPU operates in what is called «fetch-execute» cycle.
This means that instructions are fetched from memory and executed one after the other.

The smallest unit measurement in the computer memory is the BYTE

1 BYTE = 8 BITS where a bit is either 0 or 1. The word BIT is obtained from the two words
Binary digiT, which is either 0 or I. You should remember that binary system simply means base
two counting system.

From the above memory equations, you can see that the prefix «Kilo» as used in computer
memory is an approximation and greater than 1000 as used in other units of measurement such
as length where 1000 metres =

1 Kilometer. You can also see that «Mega» in computer memory measurement is greater than a
Million as used in other measurements.
How many bytes make up 4.
What is the memory size of your 3.
The HD label you see on your diskette simply stands for High Density.

4MB
Now according to how data are accessed in memory, the memory units are classified as RAM
and ROM as you will learn in the next section now.
RAM stands for Random Access Memory. RAM simply means that the cells are organised so
that the access time for any cell is the same for any other cell and this is accomplished by
arranging the cells in a 2dimensional array like a spreadsheet. The RAM is volatile, meaning
that when the computer is switched off, the contents are lost. The RAM is the workpad of the
Computer and the computer Main Memory is actually your RAM.
ROM stands for Read Only Memory and unlike RAM, ROM is nonvolatile, meaning that its
contents cannot be changed. When the computer is switched of the contents of ROM still
remain intact. For example, the first information you see on your computer screen anytime you
switch on the machine is stored in ROM.
There are some variations of RAM and ROM which you may not bother to know about now
since they are not common in today's computers.
Secondary or Auxiliary Memory The secondary memory is simply the memory used for
permanent storage as opposed to the Main Memory. Examples of secondary memory devices
are your hard disks, floppy disks and the CD ROM's.

[...]
Mandell, S. L, Computers and data Processing , Third Edition, West Publishing Company, The
CPU is the Central Processing Unit which is mounted on the motherboard while the system unit
is the computer case that houses the motherboard and other devices.

UNITS

You have gone through the first unit which introduces you to some basic features of the
Computer system. This unit will take you through the general knowledge of various devices
called the Peripherals, used with the computer system. Later in subsequent units we will learn
specifically about typical examples of these I/O units.
Input Devices

Storage Devices Output Devices Communication Devices A terminology used for the
combination of the Input and Output devices is called the Transport Devices by some authors.
But the common terminology you will frequently see in literature is the I/O devices.
From the above list you can see that the computer is more than a processing tool, but it can be
used as a communication tool also, using appropriate devices connected to it with some
associated software. Now you will be introduced to some of the input devices.
Generally, the input units or devices are used to get commands and data into the computer.
These commands or data are sent to the CPU for onward execution or processing respectively.

Ke yb o ard The Mouse

What a funny name for the device!.

Now, look at the picture below to identify some important features of the mouse though you will
learn more on how to use the mouse later in Secondary
At the bottom of the Mouse is a ball which should be kept clean always, hence you need to use
a Mouse Pad to prevent it from gathering dust.
The mouse is a member of the group called Pointing Devices. They are called Pointing devices
because they are used to move pointers on the computer screen to desired positions. They are
therefore Positioning devices. The pointers can have various shapes depending on your
environment. As you are going to see later, the pointer can be a vertical I symbol on your Word
Processing window.
The Primary Key shown above is similar to the ENTER key on the keyboard. The key can be
configured for left-handed users so that the primary and Secondary keys are reversed. The
Secondary key gives you access to some menus that are related to what you may want to do
with what you currently have on your screen or the item you have currently selected on the
screen. You will learn more of this in the next unit.
Another member of the Pointing Devices group is the Touch Pad, used by some laptops. You
move your finger around the pad to move the pointer instead of moving the whole mouse in the
case of a mouse.
Joysticks are also input devices specifically used for some computer games. They are of
different designs and colours.
The pictures you see in this course material were imported into this document with the aid of a
scanner. While do you think we have to classify a scanner as an input device?. This is simply
because the scanner has to transfer the scanned image to your computer screen for you to see
before saving the image or printing it out. For example, below is a scanned image screen being
captured while scanning an image with an HP Office Jet 710 machine ? However, most
scanners are Flatbed scanners, having a photocopier design.
As you can see in the picture below, every scanner has an accompanied software to convert
and transfer the image to your screen.

LCD Display Panels

These are the commonly used display devices you see with laptop computers. Remember, LCD
stands for Liquid Crystal Display and this type of display emit no radiation unlike monitors. This
makes it very advantageous. Moreover, LCD panels are flat in shape and thereby reducing desk
space when used with desktop computers.
Printers are used for getting hard copies of output of computer processing.
Dot Matrix Printers Inkjet Printers Laser Jet Printers Dot Matrix printers are fast disappearing
from the market because of the advancement of technology that has given rise to Inkjet and
Laser Jet printers. Dot Matrix printers belong to the group of Impact Printers because the Print
head has to hit the paper and make some impact on the ribbon before the printing process is
complete can appear on the paper.
Hence they are useful when you have to print on cyclostyling stencils to produce large quantities
of your printouts.

Sound Devices

These are simply the Speakers that come with your multimedia pack so as to get sound or voice
output out of your computer system. You need speakers to play an audio file for example. Many
electronic tutorials today include sound components and speakers are essential to fully go
through such tutorials with full understanding. You can receive
Radio and Television channel signals on your computer by having an appropriate
communication device installed. But you need speakers connected to output the sound effects.
The Multimedia speakers are usually similar to some types of desk speakers used by some
stereo sets.

OUTPUT

Remember that you have not learnt about Communication Devices r e g a r d i n g PC

peripherals. We shall in a subsequent unit ahead .
Let us now round up this unit.
In this unit, you have learnt about the Computer peripherals and that they are classified as
Input, Output, Storage and Communication devices. These are the common devices that make
the computer a complete useful tool. You will be using most of these devices in your frequent
use of the computer machine to perform one task or the other.

Why is the Secondary Memory Unit having bi-directional arrows from the CPU as in a figure in
this unit?
iii.

What are the differences between Printers and Multifunction devices?

Mandell, S. L., Computers and data Processing , Third Edition, West Publishing Company,
1985.
The Standard Input Unit is the Keyboard and the Standard Output Unit is the Monitor. They are
called 'Standard because every computer system comes with them.

THE KEYBOARD AND THE MOUSE

The keyboard and its Features In Unit 2, you learnt about the peripherals and you were
specially introduced to the standard Input Unit, that is, the keyboard. This unit is expected to
build on the previous unit by introducing to you the basic features of the keyboard.

KEYBOARD FIGURE HERE

The most common keyboard you will see today has 104 keys. As one exercise, please count
the keys as seen in the above figure of 104 key keyboard.

Alphanumeric Keys Function Keys

Navigation or Cursor Control Keys Numeric Keypad Control Keys Windows Keys.

EDITING KEYS

Due to the influence of the typewriter, the layout of most electronic keyboards closely follow that
of the QWERTY keyboard. Remember that the word Qwerty is simply the order of characters on
the back row of keys on a manual typewriter.

SHIFT KEYS

Can you locate these keys? They have an Up-Arrow symbol on them, one on your left and the
other on your right.

List two symbols on the second row and two elsewhere that you need

Shift Key to obtain on your text screen.

ENTER KEY

This is an essential key you might use more frequently than any other key. On some keyboards,
you can identify it with symbol. The Enter Key is also called the Return Key in the older design
of electronic keyboards because it plays the role of the carriage Return of the manual typewriter.
SPACEBAR KEY

This key creates a space character. However, watch out, it deletes a character to the right if the
insert key is off.

BACKSPACE

The backspace Key is identified on the keyboard by the Left-Arrow Key on some Keyboards.

FUNCTION KEYS
These are the keys labeled F1, F2, and F12 on the first row of your keyboard. The use of any of
these keys depends on the software you are using.

NAVIGATION KEYS

These are the cursor-control keys that help you to move around on the screen. They are four in
number, identified by the Left, Right, up and Down arrows.

NUMERIC KEYPAD

As you can see, the Numeric Keypad appears like a simple calculator. It is mainly useful when
you have to enter repeatedly numbers.

CONTROL KEYS

There are two keys labeled Ctrl and another two labeled Alt on the keyboard. These two types
of keys are normally used in combination with other keys to perform a task. You can therefore
see them as»Modifiers«» i.e. they modify the default or the original function of another key.

ESCAPE KEY

This key is often used to go back one step or cancel the current command.

WINDOWS KEYS

The windows key was introduced few years ago because of the influence of the windows
operating system. You will learn more about windows Operating System in this course.

IMPORTANT REMARKS

If you look above the Cursor-Control keys, you have the Insert, Home, Page Up, Page Down,
end and Delete Keys. These keys are also used mainly in editing environments.
In an editing environment, the Home and End keys are used to move the cursor to the
beginning and the end of the current line respectively. The insert key allows you to insert
characters between texts without overwriting. The Delete key or its equivalent Del key on the
Numeric Keypad allows you to delete the character to the right.
Selecting

Selecting an item is also called Highlighting in some cases. This is done by moving the Mouse
so that the Pointer is positioned on a specific icon on the screen or an item of menus.
This is the pressing gently of either the Primary or the Secondary button.
Except you configure your desktop to be like a Web page, a single click of the primary button is
done to select an item. However, if you configure your desktop as a web page, a single click will
perform a task as if you are double-clicking.
This is the fast tapping of the primary button TWICE. It is usually done to run a program
associated with a selected icon or to open a window.
Remember that if your desktop is customized as a web page, a single click will do the job.
You need to know that Double-clicking a word in Microsoft Word will select the word while triple-
clicking will select the whole paragraph.
Dragging is the use of the Mouse to move around a window object or a group of objects.

You can summarize the functions of an OS into just two as follows

To allow computer users to run application programs or software.

To control the use of all the devices of the computer system.

[...]

Interface between you as a user and the computer machine. No user can therefore interact with
the computer system without an OS.
To start your computer system, which is usually called Booting, you need an OS to do this. You
can see how important an OS is.

Before you are introduced to the most common OS around you, it is good to know that
Operating Systems are broadly categorized as

This is an OS that allows you to run only one program in the Main Memory and processed at a
time.

You know that you will be introduced to an important type of OS

Windows Operating System is a typical example of OS that runs programs and arranges them
in window-forms. Windows OS allows you to open more than one program on your screen,
hence, it supports the concept of Multiprogramming where you don't have to close one program
to open another one.

WINDOWS DESKTOP

Looking at the above figure once again, you will see that the two windows are on a background.

ICONS
Looking at the above figure once more, you will discover that the icons are not the same. Many
icons have been beautifully designed to represent different types of programs and file situation.

WINDOWS OPERATING SYSTEM EDITIONS

Having introduced you to the windows Operating System, you will now specifically be taken
through the basic features common to the windows OS editions.

Please take note that there was an earlier series of Windows such as
Windows 3.1 or Windows 3.11. these editions or versions were not Operating Systems.

SERVERS

Now, looking at the desktop done, you may not see any difference between Windows 98 and
Windows Me editions.

WINDOWS 98/ME DESKTOP

Here most of the times is your starting point as you click the Start button on the Task bar of your
Desktop of windows 98 or Windows Me OS. You can see in the figure below that the start
button is depressed.
Looking at the above figure, towards the right hand side of the task bar, is called the System
Tray. The System Tray is where the icons of programs running in “Hidden Windows” window
represented by the Time Indicator.

Minimize

Maximize The buttons meant for these are on the top right of every window. For example, the
»close« button has the X symbol on it. Can you see that in the above figure. The first and
second button to the left of the close button is for »Minimizing« and »Maximizing«» the window.

By following the steps below using the mouse

Click the start button Select programs Select Microsoft Word The second and third bar on your
screen in the above figure is a single bar broken into two.
It is called the Programs Bar.
This is where all your applications are installed by Windows OS for easy access.

SHUTTING DOWN WINDOWS

To shut down your computer using windows OS, you need to do that properly.
Select »Shut Down« again and then click the »OK« button or press the»Enter« Key on your
keyboard. Wait until you see on the screen a message: » it is now safe to turn off your
computer«». At this stage, you can now switch off your computer using the power switch on the
system Unit. In case your computer has one of the latest technology CPU's it will switch off on
its own after this message.
You cannot exhaust all the features of Windows OS in this unit.
However, We have learnt the basic few things you need to know as a user using windows OS
for the first time.

Identify two main features of the windows OS common to all its editions?

Define the system Tray in windows OS.

List the steps to follow to open the MS Word program on your Windows OS machine.
Brightman, R. W. and Dimsdale, J. M. Using Computers in an Information Age, Delmar
Publishers Inc, 1986. Microsoft Corporation, Windows Millennium Edition, 2000.
Website: http:// www.microsoft.com The functions are: a.

COMPUTER FILE MANAGEMENT

File Logical Structure Windows Explorer Features In this unit, you are going to study how your
data or information are stored in the computer secondary memory in a logical fashion. Hence,
the unit will introduce you to how to locate your documents on the computer without
unnecessary waste of computer time.

As you are going to discover later in this course when you will be going through units on
applications, you are going to have much to do with

FILES.
What is a file? You may ask.

Generally, the instructions meant to run an application are stored in

Program Files while the information created by using an application is stored in Data Files.

By convention, the primary Hard disk on your computer is usually given

“C” label. However, a drive is normally named with a colon in front of the letter for the drive.

[...]

The above diagram is usually called a TREE structure with the Root i.e.

FILE NAMES

It is very essential for you to understand some simple rules guarding file naming. Windows OS
has made life so easy for naming of files unlike some very rigid rules in file naming under the old
OS, called DOS.

Why is colon character not allowed in File Names?

Because it has a reserved meaning of identity drives.

Primary Name Separator Extension Name .
An example, using above components is: eudora.
Exe Name Separator As you have already learnt, an extension name is optional and once a
filename has no extension, the separator is not necessary.

Application

Extensions.doc.xls.mdb

Notepad

Bitmap or Graphic Image without.txt.bmp In Windows 98 or Windows Me, your address for a file
may contain up to 255 characters. That means that you have almost unlimited number of
characters for your file name. However, it is good to give names that can just identify your file
contents, and that, as brief as possible.
In Windows OS, every file or folder has what is called the Long Name and the Short Name.

USE OF WILDCARDS

When searching for files for example, you might be faced with the problem of remembering the
file name.

Look at the figure below

By typing “*doc” in the dialog box for «search for files or folders named:», the files under Search
Result on the right hand side are listed, with their locations.
Hence, *doc simply stands for ALL files with extension .doc. All files with ANY extension will be
named as *.*.
The use of the second wildcard character ? is illustrated below: da?st.doc — meaning all files
with extension. Doc whose first, second, fourth and fifth characters are respectively d, a,s and t.
Thus examples of such files could be: datst.doc, dakt.doc, etc.
Windows Explore Features The figure below shows how the Windows Explorer of Windows Me
OS,. In Windows 98, and how it can locate it from the programs bar while in Windows Me, it is
kept within the «Accessories» group of the program bar.

Rename

Create shortcut Move However, looking at the Tool Bar, you can also see button to carry out
some of the above operations.

THE RECYCLE BIN

Windows OS provides you with a Recycle Bin where the deleted files or folders are kept until
you finally decide to permanently remove it from your hard disk.

Check your Recycle Bin whether you have some file you may wish to

«Restore» before «Emptying» the Bin.

This unit has specifically taken you through the task of managing your files on the secondary
memory. The unit introduces you to the subject of naming your files and how to locate them
wherever they are stored on your disk.
Windows Explorer is an important component part of the Windows OS which this unit has
introduced you to.

How do you represent files with the following characteristics

All files whose first character is b with any extension.

All files with extension .bmp whose Primary Name is six characters long with last three being
»aca«».
List at least 5 operations you can perform on files or folders using Windows Explorer.

COMPUTER SOFTWARE: AN OVERVIEW

Tutor-Marker assignments In this unit, you will be introduced to the whole idea of Computer
Programming or what is today broadly known as Software Development. In the field of
Computer Science, this has been grouped under a wider area of discipline called Software
Engineering, just as you have Hardware Engineering.
The unit will take you through the idea of problem solving and the application of Computer to
solving problems.
See the following chart to illustrate the idea of computer programming as it relates to problem
solving

From the above chart, you can see that you have the choice of revising your program until the
computer gives acceptable outputs or results.

FOURTH PHASE

The fourth phase consists of debugging or removing the program errors and the program
testing.

FIFTH PHASE

Documentation of the whole program is very essential in program development after the
successful testing.

SIXTH PHASE

Evaluation phase is always an on-going programming process which assures that the program
continues to meet your need for example, as a user.
Now, it is interesting for you to know that all the computer applications you will go through in this
course have the above phases behind their development, they were developed to solve some
commonly defined problems.

Implementation Evaluation

Can you see the way the above phases are related to the six phases of computer programming
in section 3.1 of this unit? Yes, they are related.

Assembly Language

For example, the machine language needs no translation because its instructions are made up
of zeros and ones which are the expression the computer understands. Low-level languages
are machinedependent.
STRUCTURE

Generally, a language is said to be structured if it is relatively easy to implement some structure

mechanisms, which you may not bother about in this course.

Interpreter

Assembler A compiler translates the original program, called the Source Program into what is
called the Object Program .
An interpreter simply translates the source program to machine language as the program is
being executed. an interpreter doesn't create an Object Program, but translate program Code
line by line.

Do you remember the first computer programme?

Yes Ada Augusta Byron.

HTML

Below, for example, you have some programming tools environments which features will not be
covered in this unit.

Visual FoxPro

You will learn more about Microsoft Access in this course.

You will now round up this unit.
The next one is a Java Builder screen.
In this unit, we have learnt the fundamental concept of problem-solving and computer
programming. The unit has taken you through the six phases of program development.
The unit took you through the various ways of categorizing computer programming languages
with some typical examples of languages available for software development.

[...]

Brightman, R. W. and Dimsdale, J. M., Computer in an Informage Age, Delmar Publisher Inc;
1986.
Microsoft Corporation, Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0, 1998.
Website: http://www.microsoft.com A source program is the original program written in a High-
Level language while an Object program is the translated version of the source program into a
machine code.

Visual Basic and Visual C++

Problem-oriented language simply helps the programmer to specify what to do without
emphasis on the procedures.

INTRODUCTION TO APPLICATION

Some Special Application In this unit, we shall study the general classifications of Application
Software developed by software developers to solve your specific problem as a computer user.
Already in the last unit, you have been introduced to how computer programming has its
foundation in problem solving. This unit will build on the last unit by introducing us to the most
common groups of applications and also some special ones that will help you to carry out both
common tasks and special projects.
Our study objectives for this unit is stated in section identify the broad classifications of
computer applications explain the difference between common Application Software and some
specialized tools.
There are several ways of classifying application software today. This is because, recently, the
use of pre-written application software packages has dramatically increased. People are
constantly discovering new areas where the computer can be used to solve real life problems
more accurately , with ease and speedily too.
Before now, you might only have been told of three types of applications, namely, Word
Processor, Spreadsheet and Database Management System.

Below is an example of a spreadsheet DATABASE APPLICATIONS

Database Management packages are the applications that p r o g r a m s the routine tasks of
recording and filing of information.

DESKTOP PUBLISHING

Desktop Publishing packages are used for creating published materials such as Newsletters,
Brochures and Flyers normal day-to-day office word processing. They are enhanced categories
of Word Processing tools with special layout and clip art items that make professional
publications beautifully done.

ACCOUNTING

Apart from Electronic Spreadsheet that you have learned above that helps accountants to
prepare their financial documents, there are special application packages with special layout
already developed for accounting processes.

COMMUNICATION

Communication applications are vital for sharing information between one user and other at a
distant location between the users.

Supervoice Bitware
FIGURE 7.3 AND 7.4
As you can see from the above screens, you can send both fax and files using the
communication software.
Below also is the Bitware screen showing the »Waiting for Call«» status.

Web publishing tools are the applications developed to create Web

Pages on the Internet. They are different from Word Processors because they consist of special
features that help you to maintain and organise a number of small documentation.

How do you locate the Paint program in Windows?

It is one of the programs in accessories group.

Using the Graphic application software, pictures can be scanned and stored in appropriate
formats w h i c h c a n be reproduced by your computer which you can print or make a part of
existing document.

PRESENTATION APPLICATIONS

Presentation tools are applications used majorly to prepare multimedia presentations as slides
some of which you can animated to add some sound effects.

STATISTICAL APPLICATION

Statistical applications are developed to handle various analysis of statistical data.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOLS

The Project Management tools are specialized application software meant to help Managers or
Decision-Makers to control their projects.

PERSONAL INFORMATION TOOLS

Personal Information Tools are also called Personal Information Managers or Electronic Diary
applications.

[...]

Traditional manual drawing has been taken over by many Electronic design tools today. These
are specialized applications used for technical drawings such as Architectural designs and other
Engineering drawings.
An example is the AutoCAD Software.
You have learned in this unit the general groupings of application software and their common
functions.
What is a Project Management Software?

Cheyenne Software, Bitware, 1997.

Microsoft Corporation, Microsoft Office 2000, 1999.
Pacifi Image Communication, Supevoice, 1998.

COMMON APPLICATION SOFTWARE

This is primarily meant to consolidate your knowledge of various application groups studied in
the last unit and to bring you closer to some commonly used application which you can find
around you.
The unit will also introduce you to what is called an Application Suite or Integrated Software.
This is simply a combination of common business packages integrated into one group.
Your study objectives for this unit are section 2.

Below is the editing screen of Microsoft Word 2000

Specific features of this very common application will yet be treated in details in units 9 and 10.
In Nigeria for example, most organizations and individuals appear to be more comfortable
Microsoft Word application than any other Word Processor. You are likely going to interact with
this package than any other one as well.
The above figure shows the Corel Word Perfect editing environment. It is Word Processing
Software developed by another company different from Microsoft Corporation.

The screens of the above examples of spreadsheet packages are as

As in the Word Pro of Lotus, the first Startup screen of Lotus 123 also gives you the choice of
what is called a “template”. This is simply a specified format that you can as a basis for solving
your problem .

DATABASE APPLICATION

As you already know, Database application software is the next type of common applications.

You are going to see in details the features of Microsoft Access in Unit

14 of this course.
Below is a sample screen for Lotus Approach which is the Lotus database component.
Reports.

Database Tool

Apart from the above most common components in Application Suites, different manufacturers
have different additional components added to their suites.

Freelance Graphics
Among all the Application Suites, Microsoft Office is the most common and the leading Suite in
the market.

INTEGRATION

In Application Suite, two or more applications are designed to work together.

CONSISTENCY

In Application Suites, it is also common to see the same operation cutting across the component
applications. For example, to save a document in Microsoft Office, the same combination of
Keyboard keys can be used across the suite.

What is a Template and its advantage when using an application?

Discuss the merits of integration in application Suites.

Corel Corporation, Corel Word Perfect, 1998.

FEATURES OF WORD PROCESSING

Objective In this unit you w i l l b e introduced to the general features of Word Processing
Software. These features will show you the essential function of any Word Processing package,
be it Microsoft Word or Corel Word Perfect.

[...]

Editing is the term for changing of a document.

Cursor control In Word Processing environment, the cursor is very similar to the tip or point of a
pen and it indicates where text will appear next when it is entered from the keyboard.

Can you remember the Cursor control keys?

The keys are: Home, End, Arrow keys.

What is the other possibility of effecting a deletion operation on the screen?

By using the spacebar in an overwrite mode, i.e. when the Insert key is in Off mode.
You should know that deletion is only possible at the »Insertion Point«The Insertion Point is the
blinking vertical bar shown in the screen In the figure above, the Insertion Point is directly
behind word »of'.

[...]
You will see that the »OVR«» status on the Status bar was disabled in the first figure. Insert
mode was on in the first figure while the Overtype mode is on in the second. In the Insert mode,
any new character appears at the insertion point while all the remaining text is pushed to the
right.

Word Wrap

Type-Ahead buffer simply permits you to type as quickly as possible without being impeded by
the machine. The machine, specifically the Monitor doesn't have to show you what you have
just typed before you type the next characters.

While most of the formatting features will be introduced to you in unit

As seen in the above figure, you can customize your formatting toolbar by adding to or removing
items from it.
Before we leave the subject of formatting, it is good to introduce you to this important features in
Word Processing that can help your editing operation.

[...]

Every Word Processor provides you with the possibility of printing your document. In fact, there
is no point in using a Word Processing software if your completed document cannot be printed.
However, most Word Processor today provides what is called a preview screen. the preview
screen allows you to see how your document will appear on paper before printing it.

WORDART OR TEXT ART

Microsoft Word calls it WordArt while Corel Word Perfect calls it Text Art.

DRAWING TOOLS

Gone are the days when you had to draw your flowcharts, for example, either by hand or by
using another software.

EQUATION EDITOR

An Equation Editor is a special editing environment that you can more through your Word
Processor to edit your Mathematical equations and beautifully printed when completed. On
closing the Equation Editor, your equation simply appears at the insert point exactly as it would
appear on paper when printed.
In this unit, you have studied some common features that are available in most Word
Processing softwares today. As you have already learned, Word Processing software functions
can be broadly divided into three, namely, editing, formatting and printing.
USING MICROSOFT WORD 2000

In this unit, Microsoft Word 2000 is taken as a case study of Word Processing software's for you
to explore. Definitely, you have seen some features of Microsoft Word 2000 in the illustrations of
some of the concepts in the previous units.
This unit will take you through the common options from the Microsoft Word Menu and what you
can do with some buttons on the Toolbars.
Now, look at your study objectives for this unit.
explain the functions of most of the common menu options of Ms-Word 2000 use the tools the
Toolbar of Ms-Word 2000.

What is the Folder Word opens to search for your files when you select »Open« from the File
Menu?

The Folder is »My Documents«»My Documents« Folder is the default folder where Microsoft
Office keeps or saves your documents. The »close« option closes your document but will
prompt you as seen below in case you have not saved your document:»Save« option saves
your document, using the current filename or the one given to it by Microsoft Word. Selecting
»Save As« allows you to change the filename, the file type and the folder to keep the file.

The »Tools« menu selection gives the following

Going back to the »Insert« menu, if you select »AutoText« and then»Closing«», you have
various alternatives of text to close your letter.

NewsPaper publications?

You are to select »Format« from the menu bar and the »Columns« from the Pull-Down bar.
You will now see few things about the tools available on the Toolbars.
From the screens we have so far seen in section 3.
As you can see, the Toolbar immediately after the Menu bar is the»Standard« Toolbars. As you
will see below from the »View-Toolbars«selection, the others are the toolbars with checks
behind them.
You can easily remove them from your screen by not checking them.

What are the Tools?

The »Font size« and »Bold« tool buttons. For example, the font size has been increased to 18
as you can see from the toolbar. More to discover about Microsoft Word 2000 as you interact
with the software.

Just respond to the Assistant Online interactive screen suggestions and you will receive help!
In this unit, you have learned some common menu options which we have in Microsoft Word
2000. Most of these menu options simply define various operations you can perform during your
editing session.

REFERENCE/FURTHER READING

ANSWERS TO TMA.

File type and the folder where to save the document

“properties” from the “file” menu.

Insert Menu

Just as you were taken through the general features of Word Processing software in Unit 9, this
unit is also expected to introduce you to the features common to every Electronic Spreadsheet
software.

You will now see the study objectives for this unit

By the end of this Unit, you would be able to: explain the basic concepts of Electronic
spreadsheet application identify the various types of the data you can work with in a
spreadsheet application describe various function categories in Electronic spreadsheet.

You will now be introduced to the basic concepts associated with CELL

Every Electronic spreadsheet software uses a rectangular grid of cells called a worksheet.

CELL ADDRESS

A cell address is also called a cell Identifier which consists of a column letter and a row number
as seen in cell E6 above.

CELL POINTER

Unlike what you have in a word Processing environment, the Insertion Point is called a Cell
Pointer, and it is a rectangular highlight which you can move around the worksheet.
Looking at Cell E6 above, you will see that, the cell pointer has a small square at its bottom right
edge.

WORKBOOK

In Electronic Spreadsheet environment, you can organise a number of worksheet into what is
called a Workbook.
ACTIVE CELL AND WORKSHEET

As you have already learned above, you can have more than one worksheet in a workbook and
a worksheet is made up of a number of cells.

How do you move from one cell to the other using the keyboard?

By using the Cursor Control Keys, i.e. the arrow keys.

NUMERIC DATA

The numeric data are the values or numbers used in calculations.

CHARACTER DATA

These are usually called «Labels» or Alphabetic data.

FORMULAS

A formula is simply a mathematical expression that returns a result. In Electronic Spreadsheet,

some values displayed are results of formulas.

Calendar Mathematical

Lookup In unit 12, you will be introduced to the use of some of these functions when you
specifically go through the use of Microsoft Excel.

[...]

You will be introduced to more operators when you interact with Microsoft Excel in unit 12.
This unit has taken you through the basic concepts in electronic spreadsheet such as cell, cell
pointer, Cell Address and Workbook. You have also learned various types of data processing
tasks you can perform using an Electronic Spreadsheet.
In this unit, you have leaned that there are mainly three types of data you work with within a
spreadsheet, namely, values or Number, Labels and Formulas.

Inventory

Budgeting.

USING MICROSOFT EXCEL

Just as Microsoft word is the most common word processing software, Microsoft Excel is also
the most common Electronic Spreadsheet software around today. This unit will take you through
the common menu options of Microsoft Excel and also teach you how to use some of the
functions already introduced in the last unit.

Save Workspace Print Area

Hence, most of the operations you can perform under File menu in Microsoft Word, you can
also do in Microsoft Excel. As in Word, Excel also saves your worksheet or workbook in «My
Documents» Folder, but with extension .

Typing the entries as seen in columns A and C

Selecting cells A3 to C10 and then clicking copy in Edit menu.

Select the cell and extend the cell pointer downwards to cell F14

Select Fill, then Series from the Edit menu.

Check Columns and Linear and then enter 1 in «step value» space Click Ok Excel will
automatically fill the cells with serial numbers for theoperation as seen above.
The «Chart» and «Function options in the Insert menu will be treated ahead in this unit.
For example, if you wish to format the cells, the window to the bottom right of the above screen
shows you what you can do to the cells. When the »Number« tab is selected, you can format
your currency values format as shown in the window. As you can see symbol »N« for Naira is
shown as the current currency symbol which has been previously set in the »Control Panel«
under »Regional Settings«Now, once you select a cell or a group of cells and you modify the
cells appropriately using the format menu, the new format will automatically be reflected in the
cells data.

The «Average» formula is automatically used by Excel for column

Excel automatically selects the range for you because your mouse pointer is directly below the
column of value. If you select a cell away from this immediate cell, you have to enter the range
yourself.
For example, using function «Max» under «Statistical» category, you have the following screen
As you will observe, two additional empty cells have been added in the formula since your
mouse pointer is below them. Excel will take the empty cells value as zero.
As you must have seen in the previous examples, Excel formula starts with an equality sign .

[...]

Click OK button.

EXCEL

In the last unit, you learned about some operations you can perform using Microsoft excel with
the Exception of plotting of charts. This unit will introduce you to various types of graphs you
can plot with Microsoft Excel. Generally, graphing is a beautiful way of illustrating your data and
you need to know how to select an appropriate graph type in Excel.

Select the range A4: DIG

Click the Chart button on the Toolbar As you can see, the Chart types are displayed with
various sub-types.

There are two groups of types as follows from the window that is opened

If you change the formula in D4 to C4+ *C4 and copy it into other cells , the data and graph are
updated automatically as in the next screen.
The Line-Column type of graph produces what you have below

Now, to plot your Trend line, select the line graph and then press your secondary Mouse button
or use the Menu bar .

What type of trend produces the above graph?

Polynomial type of degree 2.

Generally, the closer the trend line is to the original graph, the better and this you can achieve
by modifying the degree of the polynomial or choosing another trend type.
Finally, you can add Title and other labels to your graph as you follow the Wizard screen the
first time you select your chart type.

[...]

In this unit, you are to be introduced to the third in the series of the most common computer
applications, named Database Management Systems. These are software applications that
process your data as records.

We shall consider the study objectives for this unit

 use Microsoft Access to design simple Database Management tables and forms.
As you already see in the Introduction, Database applications usually process data as records
and from this point onwards we shall begin to consider the fundamental concepts of Database
software.

Properties of Fields

There are three basic properties of a field as follows: o Field Name Field Data Type and Field
Maximum Size Name In the above example, Surname or Study Centre is a field name.

However, you will find below the common data types used in field types Numeric Character
Date Memo
Some applications may combine character and Memo into one type as Text. Size The maximum
size of a field depends on your DBMS application.
However, character fields are usually limited to 255 characters. If a field type is Numeric, it may
either be a whole number or one with decimal places.

Forms can be used for a variety of purposes

As a Data — Entry interface to enter data into a table As a custom dialog box to accept user
input and then carry out an operation based on the input.

[...]

Below for example are examples of screens showing you a Form and a Table from the Lotus
Approach Database application.

You can open MS-Access by following the steps below

For example if you are a new user, it is advisable to use the Table wizard to assist you.
There is a sample table on «students».

If you click «Forms» and then double-click NOU Students, you will
the Form in screen below will be displayed.
As you can see, the database already has 3 records and you can move through the records by
clicking the arrows below the window.
To add a new record, click the «D*» to open blank dialog boxes for your data entries.
The user can select the fields to be used in the form by clicking the Right

Arrow.

[...]

It is very easy to create tables and forms with Microsoft Access 2000.

In the figure below

The field «Surname» has been sorted in Ascending order. The user can access your sort option
under «Records» menu or by pressing the button on the Toolbar.
Make sure your cursor is in the field before applying sort operation.
The above screen is the result of filtering your data under «Programme» field by selecting «B.Sc
Nursing» as the filter variable. Filtering helps you to narrow your search operation to specific
types of data.
We have learnt many items in this unit.

What is the advantage of using a filter in a database?

A Table is a group of records in a database A Database is the collection of tables one can use
at the same time.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS APPLICATIONS

Statistical analysis plays a very vital role in business planning and management. For example,
organisations can use samples of data of their operations to determine if their processing
activities are working correctly. In actual fact, any process that requires sampling is a statistical
procedure and is responsive to software application to statistical analysis.

DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

The above two Windows are obtained from Microsoft Excel 2000. The user can open the
Windows from «Tools» menu by selecting «Data Analysis».
INFERENTIAL STATISTICS

Inferential Statistics unlike Descriptive. Statistics describes being used data and allows the user
to make inferences or draw conclusions from the results.

Minimum Maximum

We shall now be taken through the steps of using Microsoft Excel to perform some simple
statistical analysis.

[...]

Select Tools from the menu Select regression Enter Input Ranges as shown below Enter your
output Range.
The same data analysis when you use Lotus 123 can be applied and one would the result in the
screen below, gives you the following results' screen.

You can see the «Histogram» option

Taking you through the Inferential statistical analysis tools will be outside the scope of this
course. Hence, we have been introduced to simple analysis of data as done above.
In this unit, you have been introduced to the basic types of statistical analysis you can perform
using statistical analysis applications.
Inferential Statistics.

Mention two ways of plotting your Histogram by using Microsoft

Mention 3 statistical elements of descriptive statistics.

Brightman, R. W. and Dimsdale, 3.

Inferential Stat sties

By using Tools menu and selecting Data Analysis. Finally, Histogram is selected.

USING SPSS SOFTWARE

Examples of Statistical Analyses In the last unit, we were introduced to the types of statistical
analysis you can use computer applications to perform. Specifically, you went through the use
of Microsoft Excel in performing some simple analysis.
Over the years, SPSS has gained much popularity and acceptability it among many computer
users.
6 for Windows as a case study.
Next to it is the «Edit» menu as screen below

As seen in the «Edit» menu, the user can perform a number of operations on your active
Worksheet contents.
In the preferences option of the «Edit» menu, the user can modify a number of settings on the
worksheet.

It is within this menu the options for «Insert» and «Sort» operations

We shall be introduced to the «Transform» menu in the next section of this unit. Please an
important menu in SPSS package.

Look at the «Graphs» menu below

As you can observe from the pull-down menu under «Graphs», a number of graphs can be
plotted using Excel cam be plotted by SPSS also.
The «Utilities» menu as shown below gives the user access to a number of operations within
SPSS.

Do you remember the data shown below?

Yes. For example, if you choose «frequencies» command as shown above and then click the
«Open» button, SPSS automatically gives the following screen.

Examples of Statistical Analysis

Having introduced us to the various menu options available in SPSS, we will now be taken
through some steps to perform a few examples of statistical analyses.

Look at this next screen

Selecting «Type» button in the «Define Variable» window gives us the above screen, we will
observe that the cell pointer is in «male» column before this was done.

Then you will have the following screen will appear

Select the variables one after the other and click the arrow button to more then to the right.

Select Summarize from Statistics menu Select Frequencies

Check the options as shown below after clicking the «Statistics» button.
Also, click the «Charts» button to select «Histograms» with «normal curve» option we will have
the following output screen for «male» variable.
As you will see in the output screen; there is also a Histogram chart result.
You can see how much you can do with SPSS.
The above screen is what we have when the select «Transform» from the menu bar and you
then select «Compute».
As one can see above, we can use this option to compute some numerical expressions
associated with the variables. SPSS language function or commands are also available in the
window for the user to select from easily.

Move your cell pointer to the appropriate variable column Select 'Data' from the Menu Select
«Define Variable»

Assign your variable name in the dialog box.

APPLICATIONS

This unit will introduce us to another special category of software application called Desktop
Publishing Software. These are software packages that build on the general features of Word
Processing Software to handle highly standardized publications.
Desktop Publishing Software combined a lot of graphic designs and text formats will result in
beautiful publications.

[...]

Business Forms.
Name it, if your publication job is not in the extended list of the above, yet a good Desktop
Publishing package will offer you an appropriate design.

Below again is a figure showing any various shapes which can give your text
For example, the curved shape of «National Open University» text on the right is obtained by
selecting a format on the left.

File Edit View Insert

Format The following Help Window from Microsoft Publisher '98 to tell you how you can use any
Desktop Publishing Software side by side with other software packages, especially the Microsoft
Office components.

If Microsoft Publisher is properly installed on the user’s computer system, one can access it by
clicking «Start» button and then going to

«Programs» group.
As you can see above, you have a list of publications styles to choose from with their sample
designs on the right to select from.

The next screen gives you opportunity to choose your colour scheme as seen below

Following this,we will be told to select the numbers of many columns you expect the page to
contain and whether you want to have your publication printed as single-sided or double-sided.

Follow the wizard steps to create your Web Site according to the following design

Generally, the Web Site Page is always viewed with a special software called a Browser. An
example is the Internet Explore by Microsoft.
The above screen is obtained immediately one selects Web Site Preview as Publisher will
automatically load internet Explorer or the Default browser to open the publication as a Web
Page.
If we select the «Depts» hyperlink on the left side of the page, the second page of your web site
will open automatically.
Remember, one can change the pictures or graphics on the pages depending on your need.

Mention five types of publications you can design with Desktop

publishing software.

[...]

This is a very interesting unit for a computer user or students in a medical/ medical related
discipline, especially Nursing. The unit will take us through the various areas of application of
computer in Healthcare profession.
Just as there are various types of computer application which performs different operations
related to some specialized areas, a number of applications are also in the market today to
assist those in the HealthCare profession.

Start by looking at the following figure

The above is a screen display of an Electronic Tutorial page of a very good software called
«Body Works 6.0».

Please find below an example of a screen which is useful to the topic under reference
As we can see in the figure above, the software shows the pictures of the body parts being
explained including audio effects to properly teach us how to pronounce some technical terms
rightly.
For example, in the above figure, the name of the Red blood cells are shown and if we click the
name on the top left panel, the phonetic name will be heard through your speaker.

EXPERT SYSTEMS

Apart from the example you have seen above about ways the computer can assist in the
training of medical professionals, there are Computer programs called Expert Systems specially
developed to act as human experts in a particular area of knowledge.
For example, expert systems have been built for medical diagnosis.
Knowledge Engineering is the sub-discipline of Artificial Intelligence which is concerned with
building of expert systems.
Even though expert systems are designed to provide information normally available from highly
skilled specialists, they cannot replace expert humans.

[...]

«Chukwu» Record Number bar shown below. We can move to the next filtered record by
clicking the right arrow button.
The above figure is an example of how we can use Microsoft Excel worksheet to monitor the
temperature of a patient.
As you already know from our knowledge of Electronic Spreadsheet application in this course,
the moment we enter a new value into the table on the right hand side, the graph on the left will
be updated automatically.
As you will see above, mere looking at the graph shows the behaviour of the patient's
temperature records.
Such a worksheet can be prepared for the whole period of the patient's stay in the hospital.

State two roles computer applications can play in the Medical

Profession.
Define an expert System as a computer application in the Medical profession.

AGRICULTURE

Data Analysis of agricultural Products In this unit, you are going to be taken through similar
steps in creating a 'database for records of items associated with Agriculture.
As learnt in unit 14, Microsoft Access is a good Database application for creating a database of
records. In Agricultural productions, there is always the need to have a good monitoring system
to study for example, the growths of some products such as plants and animals.
Select «Create table by using wizard»

Select your sample table and fields as seen below.

In the next screen, don't select the option of setting a primary key.
We shall follow the next steps until we start entering data into the table.

FIGURE 193

Please observe that the «Photograph» field is taken to the bottom of the form when you use
wizard to create your form. Now, in this design view, select the photograph field and drag the
two boxes to the top right as seen above.
In fact, in the design view, we can modify the form layout according to your taste.
We may ask, «how do I get the picture into the picture box?» That is very simple, simply right-
click the bot to insert and the computer will guide you through where to locate your picture,
assuming you have previously saved the picture and kept the file in a folder.

Depending on our choice of illustration you may wish to have something below for from the data
above

To change the choice of the chart type, simply right-click the mouse to get the following screen.

How do we rename the worksheet to appropriately identify the records in it?

Double-click the sheet tab name below the worksheet and type the new name. Remember, any
calculation we need to carry out in respect of the data values can be done by using the
appropriate Microsoft Excel builtin functions.
In this unit, we been been taken through various types of areas you can use any of the
computer applications to manage any data in Agriculture.
Just as we did in the last unit under computer applications in Nursing, our Agricultural data can
be kept in a database. This is essential for a very large and organised industrial farm.

Assuming you want to find out how two sets of data of agricultural products relate, what type of
analysis will be appropriate and what tool will you use for the purpose

Discuss the appropriate way of keeping a database for different types of agricultural products in
an industrialized farm.
Microsoft Corporation, Microsoft access 2000, 1999.
SPSS Inc., SPSS for Windows, 1993.

THE CONTROL PANEL

Having just gone through the previous units that introduced us to various applications, it is
essential for us to know how Windows OS will assist us to also manage your Computer
devices.

We can open Control Panel window by performing any of the following operation

By using the Start Bar.

To do this, we will click the start button, then select «Settings» and then click Control Panel.
By using the Windows Explorer bar.

Sounds and Multimedia Desktop Themes

By double-clicking this component, you have the following screen and you can follow the screen
instructions to guide you through installation process of any new hardware device.
However, it is good to let you know that every hardware device you need to install must have
alongside its DRIVER.

These settings are shown in the figure below, and

Two of these options that may interest you are the »Number« and»Currency« settings. From
here, we can set the currency symbol to »N«for Nigerian »Naira« for example. This enables us
to show that »N«» is automatically typed behind the currency values, especially when using
MS-Excel, for example.
Mouse and Keyboard As we observe on one of the tab options of the Mouse Properties screen,
we can configure the Mouse buttons and speed of clicking. Moreover, we can select our own
choice of pointers.
Activate the screen for this Control Panel component. There are many operators we can
perform on the Desktop and Folders.
For example, you can configure you desktop and Folders or Files in such a way that a single
click of the Primary button instead of doubleclicking can open the selected item.
This is an important components, though to used carefully.
This component keeps the list of all the devices installed on your computer machine.
This Control Panel component is used to configure the Desktop wallpaper and Mouse pointers
with the associated sound effects.

Configuring your Monitor

Configuring your desktop so as to use a single click of the mouse button to open the items.
Notes

Dear Student, While studying the units of this course, you may have found certain portions of
the text difficult to comprehend.

[...]

Lagos.
FBQ1: The most common items found on a motherboard are ___.

Answer: Sockets

FBQ2: A ____ is described as a device that communicates with the computer and interprets the data on
the storage media associated with the drive devices.

Answer: Drive

FBQ3: The Central Processing Unit is commonly referred to as a ___

Answer: Processor

FBQ4: Joysticks are input devices specially designed for some computer ___.

Answer: Games

FBQ5: Most scanners have the ability to convert __ images into actual texts.

Answer: Text

FBQ6: Within the context of Software Application Skills, the acronym OCR stands for the __ Character
Recognition.

Answer: Optical

FBQ7: Generally, the ___ is an input device that records voice data to the computer.

Answer: Microphone

FBQ8: The process of using the computer to participate in discussion with a group of people in a distant
place is referred to as ____ conferencing.
Answer: Video

FBQ9: ____ devices are used to convey the results of computer processing.

Answer: Output

FBQ10: The monitor is one of the most common ____ devices.

Answer: Display

FBQ11: The printer is a common __ device.

Answer: Output

FBQ12: The keyboard is a standard ___ unit.

Answer: Input

FBQ13: Just like the television set, the monitor uses the same ___ Ray Tube .

Answer: Cathode

FBQ14: The acronym LCD stands for the __ Crystal Display.

Answer: Liquid

FBQ15: One of the earliest forms of the printer is the ____ Matrix Printers.

Answer: Dot

FBQ16: Printers are employed for obtaining ___ copies of output of computer processing.

Answer: Hard

FBQ17: ___ Matrix printers belong to the group of printers classified as Impact Printers

Answer: Dot
FBQ18: The term ___ refers to the number of dots per inch.

Answer: Resolution

FBQ19: An __ jet printer output produces blots when hands are rubbed on the paper after printing.

Answer: Ink

FBQ20: ___ jet and inkjet printers are classified as non-impact printers

Answer: Laser

FBQ21: ___ that come with your multimedia pack are classified as sound devices

Answer: Speakers

FBQ22: Laser ____ colour printers are usually very expensive

Answer: Jet

FBQ23: Normally, ___ are required to play audio files.

Answer: Speakers

FBQ24: Television channel signals can be received on ones computer by installing a suitable ____ device.

Answer: Communication

FBQ25: Storage devices are also referred to as auxiliary __ devices.

Answer: Memory

FBQ26: The most common keyboard has _____ number of keys.

Answer: 104

FBQ27: Ordinarily, LCD panels are flat in shape and thereby decrease the desk space when used with
___ computers.
Answer: Desktop

FBQ28: When the Caps Lock key is pressed, an indicator light at the top right corner of the ___ appears.

Answer: Keyboard

FBQ29: Within the context of software application skills, Alphanumeric keys are also referred to as the
____ keys.

Answer: Editing

FBQ30: Today, the layouts of most electronic keyboards closely follow that of the ___ keyboard.

Answer: QWERTY

FBQ31: Ordinarily, the Tab key is used to indent ___ and is frequently used in paragraphing.

Answer: Texts

FBQ32: The __ key is also known as the Return key.

Answer: Enter

FBQ33: Editing keys consist of the character keys, ___ keys on the second row and some keys associated
with text inputs.

Answer: Numeric

FBQ34: The term for the order of characters on the back row of keys, from left to right, on a manual
typewriter is the __.

Answer: Qwerty

FBQ35: The process of using the mouse to select items is described as ____ .

Answer: Highlighting
MCQ1: Within the context of software applications, the ___ key is used to indent texts and is often
employed in paragraphing.

Answer: Tab

MCQ2: Arithmetic and ___ operations are the basic CPU operations

Answer: Logical

MCQ3: The input device that records voice data to the computer is the ___

Answer: Microphone

MCQ4: Once the following combination of keys: Ctrl + Alt + Del are pressed, the computer system ____ .

Answer: Reboots

MCQ5: Within the context of software application skills, the acronym ENIAC represents the ____.

Answer: Electronic Numerical Integrator And Calculator

MCQ6: The world’s first electrical computers were referred to as ____.

Answer: MARK I

MCQ7: Ada Byron is acknowledged as the first Computer ______.

Answer: Programmer

MCQ8: Babbage's ____ engine could store intermediate results in a memory unit

Answer: Analytical

MCQ9: ____ is the input device specially designed for computer games.

Answer: Joystick

MCQ10: Babbage devised an engine for computing logarithm ___ and printing the results.
Answer: Tables

MCQ11: The ____ Automatic Computer was the first commercial electronic computer.

Answer: Universal

MCQ12: The ___ generation computers made use of Large Scale Integrated circuits and Very Large Scale
Integrated circuits.

Answer: Fourth

MCQ13: ____ computers are very large and so are specially housed in big buildings.

Answer: Mainframe

MCQ14: The ____ generation computers are those developed to mimic human intelligence.

Answer: Fifth

MCQ15: Ordinarily, the CPU is located on the ______.

Answer: Motherboard

MCQ16: Babbage's engine could store ______ results in a memory unit.

Answer: Intermediate

MCQ17: The ______ is the first computer to perform arithmetic and logical operations using a stored-
program.

Answer: EDSAC

MCQ18: The historical development of the computer can be divided into ______ phases.

Answer: Four

MCQ19: The Hard Disk Drive is equally referred to as the __ Disk Drive.
Answer: Fixed

MCQ20: The ____ is commonly regarded as the brain of the computer system.

Answer: Central Processing Unit

MCQ21: Originally, Babbage machines were___ in designs

Answer: Mechanical

MCQ22: The acronym EDSAC represents the ______

Answer: Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Computer

MCQ23: The first computer program was developed for Babbage's ___ Engine

Answer: Analytical

MCQ24: The ____ generation computers used Integrated Circuits

Answer: 3rd

MCQ25: Within the context of mainframes, they __ are referred to as the medium-sized computers.

Answer: Minicomputers

MCQ26: The ____ interconnects directly or indirectly all the other computer devices.

Answer: Motherboard

MCQ27: The major component of Windows that has tools for managing computer devices is the control
___..

Answer: Panel

MCQ28: The __ unit mainly oversees the data movement between the Arithmetic Logic Unit and the
Main Memory.
Answer: Control

MCQ29: Ordinarily, 1 Gigabyte is equivalent to __ bytes.

Answer: I, 073, 741,824

MCQ30: The memory size of a ___ density diskette is twice that of a 720KB memory.

Answer: High

MCQ31: The Date/Time component allows one to update the date and time ___ on a computer.

Answer: Settings

MCQ32: The ___ panel component is used to configure the desktop wallpaper

Answer: Control

MCQ33: Usually, ___ units are used to transfer commands and data into the computer system.

Answer: Input

MCQ34: The term BIT is derived from two words namely: ___ and digital.

Answer: Binary

MCQ35: The control unit of the CPU operates in the Fetch- ____ cycle.

Answer: Execute