COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing

COMP 111:Fundamentals of Computing

INTRODUCTION
This unit covers a foundational understanding of computer hardware, software, operating
systems, peripherals etc. along with how to get the most value and impact from computer
technology.
Course outline
1. Definition
2. Functionalities of a computer
3. Advantages
4. Disadvantages
5. Application areas
6. Computer Generations
7. Computer - Types
8. Computer - Components
9. Computer - Input Devices
10. Computer - Output Devices
11. Computer - Memory
12. Computer - Random Access Memory
13. Computer - Read Only Memory
14. Computer – Motherboard
15. Computer - Memory Units
16. Computer - Ports
17. Computer - Hardware
18. Computer - Software
19. Computer - Number System
20. Computer - Number Conversion
21. Computer - Data and Information
22. Computer - Networking
23. Computer - Operating System
24. Computer - Internet and Intranet

Definition
Computer is an advanced electronic device that takes raw data as input from the user and
processes it under the control of set of instructions (called program), gives the result
(output), and saves it for the future use.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing

Computer is an electronic data processing device which

 accepts and stores data input,
 processes the data input, and
 Generates the output in a required format.
 Functionalities of a computer
Any digital computer carries out five functions in gross terms:
 Takes data as input.
 Stores the data/instructions in its memory and use them when required.
 Processes the data and converts it into useful information.
 Generates the output
 Controls all the above four steps.
Advantages
High Speed
 Computer is a very fast device.
 It is capable of performing calculation of very large amount of data.
 The computer has units of speed in microsecond, nanosecond, and even the
picoseconds.
 It can perform millions of calculations in a few seconds as compared to man who
will spend many months for doing the same task.
Accuracy
 In addition to being very fast, computers are very accurate.
 The calculations are 100% error free.
 Computers perform all jobs with 100% accuracy provided that correct input has
been given.
Storage Capability
 Memory is a very important characteristic of computers.
 A computer has much more storage capacity than human beings.
 It can store large amount of data.
 It can store any type of data such as images, videos, text, audio and many others.
Diligence
 Unlike human beings, a computer is free from monotony, tiredness and lack of
concentration.
 It can work continuously without any error and boredom.
 It can do repeated work with same speed and accuracy.
Versatility
 A computer is a very versatile machine.
 A computer is very flexible in performing the jobs to be done.
 This machine can be used to solve the problems related to various fields.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
 At one instance, it may be solving a complex scientific problem and the very next
moment it may be playing a card game.
Reliability
 A computer is a reliable machine.
 Modern electronic components have long lives.
 Computers are designed to make maintenance easy.
Automation
 Computer is an automatic machine.
 Automation means ability to perform the given task automatically.
 Once a program is given to computer i.e., stored in computer memory, the program
and instruction can control the program execution without human interaction.
Reduction in Paper Work
 The use of computers for data processing in an organization leads to reduction in
paper work and results in speeding up a process.
 As data in electronic files can be retrieved as and when required, the problem of
maintenance of large number of paper files gets reduced.
Reduction in Cost
 Though the initial investment for installing a computer is high but it substantially
reduces the cost of each of its transaction.
Disadvantages
No I.Q
 A computer is a machine that has no intelligence to perform any task.
 Each instruction has to be given to computer.
 A computer cannot take any decision on its own.
Dependency
 It functions as per a user’s instruction, so it is fully dependent on human being
Environment
 The operating environment of computer should be dust free and suitable.
No Feeling
 Computers have no feelings or emotions.
 It cannot make judgment based on feeling, taste, experience, and knowledge unlike
a human being.
Application areas
Business
A computer has high speed of calculation, diligence, accuracy, reliability, or versatility
which made it an integrated part in all business organisations.
Computer is used in business organisations for:
 Payroll calculations
 Budgeting
 Sales analysis
 Financial forecasting
 Managing employees database
 Maintenance of stocks etc.
Banking
Today banking is almost totally dependent on computer.
Banks provide following facilities:

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
 Banks provide online accounting facility, which includes current balances,
deposits, overdrafts, interest charges, shares, and trustee records.
 ATM machines are making it even easier for customers to deal with banks.
Insurance
Insurance companies are keeping all records up-to-date with the help of computers. The
insurance companies, finance houses and stock broking firms are widely using computers
for their concerns.
Insurance companies are maintaining a database of all clients with information showing
 procedure to continue with policies
 starting date of the policies
 next due installment of a policy
 maturity date
 interests due
 survival benefits
 bonus
Education
The computer has provided a lot of facilities in the education system.
 The computer provides a tool in the education system known as CBE (Computer
Based Education).
 CBE involves control, delivery, and evaluation of learning.
 The computer education is rapidly increasing the graph of number of computer
students.
 There are number of methods in which educational institutions can use computer
to educate the students.
 It is used to prepare a database about performance of a student and analysis is
carried out on this basis.
Marketing
In marketing, uses of computer are following:
 Advertising - With computers, advertising professionals create art and graphics,
write and revise copy, and print and disseminate ads with the goal of selling more
products.
 At Home Shopping - Home shopping has been made possible through use of
computerized catalogues that provide access to product information and permit
direct entry of orders to be filled by the customers.
Health Care
Computers have become important part in hospitals, labs, and dispensaries. The computers
are being used in hospitals to keep the record of patients and medicines. It is also used in
scanning and diagnosing different diseases. ECG, EEG, Ultrasounds and CT Scans etc.,
are also done by computerized machines.
Some major fields of health care in which computers are used are:
 Diagnostic System - Computers are used to collect data and identify cause of
illness.
 Lab-diagnostic System - All tests can be done and reports are prepared by
computer.
 Patient Monitoring System - These are used to check patient's signs for
abnormality such as in Cardiac Arrest, ECG etc.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
 Pharmacy Information System - Computer checks Drug-Labels, Expiry dates,
harmful drug’s side effects etc.
 Surgery: Nowadays, computers are also used in performing surgery.
Engineering Design
Computers are widely used in Engineering purpose.
One of major areas is CAD (Computer aided design). That provides creation and
modification of images. Some fields are:
 Structural Engineering - Requires stress and strain analysis for design of Ships,
Buildings, Budgets, Airplanes etc.
 Industrial Engineering - Computers deal with design, implementation and
improvement of integrated systems of people, materials and equipments.
 Architectural Engineering - Computers help in planning towns, designing
buildings, determining a range of buildings on a site using both 2D and 3D
drawings.
Military
Computers are largely used in defence. Modern tanks, missiles, weapons etc. Military also
employs computerised control systems. Some military areas where a computer has been
used are:
 Missile Control
 Military Communication
 Military Operation and Planning
 Smart Weapons

Communication
Communication means to convey a message, an idea, a picture or speech that is received
and understood clearly and correctly by the person for whom it is meant for. Some main
areas in this category are:
 E-mail
 Chatting
 Usenet
 FTP
 Telnet
 Video-conferencing
Government
Computers play an important role in government. Some major fields in this category are:
 Budgets
 Sales tax department
 Income tax department
 Male/Female ratio
 Computerization of voters lists
 Computerization of driving licensing system
 Computerization of PAN card
 Weather forecasting
Computer Generations
Generation in computer terminology is a change in technology a computer is/was being
used. Initially, the generation term was used to distinguish between varying hardware

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
technologies. But nowadays, generation includes both hardware and software, which
together make up an entire computer system.
There are totally five computer generations known till date. Each generation has been
discussed in detail along with their time period and characteristics. Here approximate dates
against each generations have been mentioned which are normally accepted.
Following are the main five generations of computers
S.N. Generation & Description
First Generation
1
The period of first generation: 1946-1959. Vacuum tube based.
Second Generation
2
The period of second generation: 1959-1965. Transistor based.
Third Generation
3
The period of third generation: 1965-1971. Integrated Circuit based.
Fourth Generation
4
The period of fourth generation: 1971-1980. VLSI microprocessor based.
Fifth Generation
5
The period of fifth generation: 1980-onwards. ULSI microprocessor based
Computer - Types

Computers can be broadly classified by their speed and computing power.

Sr.No. Type Specifications
PC (Personal It is a single user computer system having moderately
1
Computer) powerful microprocessor
It is also a single user computer system which is similar to
2 WorkStation
personal computer but have more powerful microprocessor.
It is a multi-user computer system which is capable of
3 Mini Computer
supporting hundreds of users simultaneously.
It is a multi-user computer system which is capable of
4 Main Frame supporting hundreds of users simultaneously. Software
technology is different from minicomputer.
It is an extremely fast computer which can execute hundreds
5 Supercomputer
of millions of instructions per second.
PC (Personal Computer)
A PC can be defined as a small, relatively inexpensive computer designed for an individual
user. PCs are based on the microprocessor technology that enables manufacturers to put an
entire CPU on one chip. Businesses use personal computers for word processing,
accounting, desktop publishing, and for running spreadsheet and database management
applications. At home, the most popular use for personal computers is playing games and
surfing Internet.
Although personal computers are designed as single-user systems, these systems are
normally linked together to form a network. In terms of power, now-a-days High-end
models of the Macintosh and PC offer the same computing power and graphics capability
as low-end workstations by Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, and Dell.
Workstation

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Workstation is a computer used for engineering applications (CAD/CAM), desktop
publishing, software development, and other such types of applications which require a
moderate amount of computing power and relatively high quality graphics capabilities.
Workstations generally come with a large, high-resolution graphics screen, large amount
of RAM, inbuilt network support, and a graphical user interface. Most workstations also
have a mass storage device such as a disk drive, but a special type of workstation, called a
diskless workstation, comes without a disk drive.
Common operating systems for workstations are UNIX and Windows NT. Like PC,
Workstations are also single-user computers like PC but are typically linked together to
form a local-area network, although they can also be used as stand-alone systems.
Minicomputer
It is a midsize multi-processing system capable of supporting up to 250 users
simultaneously.
Mainframe
Mainframe is very large in size and is an expensive computer capable of supporting
hundreds or even thousands of users simultaneously. Mainframe executes many programs
concurrently and supports many simultaneous execution of programs
Supercomputer
Supercomputers are one of the fastest computers currently available. Supercomputers are
very expensive and are employed for specialized applications that require immense amount
of mathematical calculations (number crunching). For example, weather forecasting,
scientific simulations, (animated) graphics, fluid dynamic calculations, nuclear energy
research, electronic design, and analysis of geological data (e.g. in petrochemical
prospecting).
Computer – Components
All types of computers follow a same basic logical structure and perform the following five
basic operations for converting raw input data into information useful to their users.
Sr.No. Operation Description
The process of entering data and instructions into the computer
1 Take Input
system
Saving data and instructions so that they are available for
2 Store Data
processing as and when required.
Performing arithmetic, and logical operations on data in order
3 Processing Data
to convert them into useful information.
Output The process of producing useful information or results for the
4
Information user, such as a printed report or visual display.
Control the Directs the manner and sequence in which all of the above
5
workflow operations are performed.

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Input Unit
This unit contains devices with the help of which we enter data into computer. This unit
makes link between user and computer. The input devices translate the information into
the form understandable by computer.
CPU (Central Processing Unit)
CPU is considered as the brain of the computer. CPU performs all types of data processing
operations. It stores data, intermediate results and instructions (program). It controls the
operation of all parts of computer.
CPU itself has following three components
 ALU(Arithmetic Logic Unit)
 Memory Unit
 Control Unit
Output Unit
Output unit consists of devices with the help of which we get the information from
computer. This unit is a link between computer and users. Output devices translate the
computer's output into the form understandable by users.
Computer – CPU (Central Processing Unit)
CPU consists of the following features:
 CPU is considered as the brain of the computer.
 CPU performs all types of data processing operations.
 It stores data, intermediate results and instructions (program).
 It controls the operation of all parts of computer.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing

CPU itself has following three components.

 Memory or Storage Unit
 Control Unit
 ALU(Arithmetic Logic Unit)

Memory or Storage Unit

This unit can store instructions, data and intermediate results. This unit supplies
information to the other units of the computer when needed. It is also known as internal
storage unit or main memory or primary storage or Random access memory(RAM).
Its size affects speed, power and capability. Primary memory and secondary memory are
two types of memories in the computer. Functions of memory unit are:
 It stores all the data and the instructions required for processing.
 It stores intermediate results of processing.
 It stores final results of processing before these results are released to an output
device.
 All inputs and outputs are transmitted through main memory.
Control Unit
This unit controls the operations of all parts of computer but does not carry out any actual
data processing operations.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
Functions of this unit are:
 It is responsible for controlling the transfer of data and instructions among other
units of a computer.
 It manages and coordinates all the units of the computer.
 It obtains the instructions from the memory, interprets them, and directs the
operation of the computer.
 It communicates with Input/Output devices for transfer of data or results from
storage.
 It does not process or store data.
ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit)
This unit consists of two subsections namely
 Arithmetic section
 Logic Section
Arithmetic Section
Function of arithmetic section is to perform arithmetic operations like addition, subtraction,
multiplication and division. All complex operations are done by making repetitive use of
above operations.
Logic Section
Function of logic section is to perform logic operations such as comparing, selecting,
matching and merging of data.
Computer - Input Devices
Following are few of the important input devices which are used in a computer:
 Keyboard
 Mouse
 Joy Stick
 Light pen
 Track Ball
 Scanner
 Graphic Tablet
 Microphone
 Magnetic Ink Card Reader(MICR)
 Optical Character Reader(OCR)
 Bar Code Reader
 Optical Mark Reader(OMR)
Keyboard
Keyboard is the most common and very popular input device which helps in inputting data
to the computer. The layout of the keyboard is like that of traditional typewriter, although
there are some additional keys provided for performing additional functions.
Keyboards are of two sizes 84 keys or 101/102 keys, but now keyboards with 104 keys or
108 keys are also available for Windows and Internet.
The keys on the keyboard are as follows:
Sr.No Keys Description
These keys include the letter keys (A-Z) and digit keys (0-
1 Typing Keys
9) which generally give same layout as that of typewriters.
It is used to enter numeric data or cursor movement.
2 Numeric Keypad
Generally, it consists of a set of 17 keys that are laid out in

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing

the same configuration used by most adding machines and

calculators.
The twelve function keys are present on the keyboard which
are arranged in a row at the top of the keyboard. Each
3 Function Keys
function key has unique meaning and is used for some
specific purpose.
These keys provide cursor and screen control. It includes
four directional arrow keys. Control keys also include
4 Control keys
Home, End, Insert, Delete, Page Up, Page Down,
Control(Ctrl), Alternate(Alt), Escape(Esc).
Keyboard also contains some special purpose keys such as
Special Purpose
5 Enter, Shift, Caps Lock, Num Lock, Space bar, Tab, and
Keys
Print Screen.

Mouse
Mouse is most popular pointing device. It is a very famous cursor-control device having a
small palm size box with a round ball at its base which senses the movement of mouse and
sends corresponding signals to CPU when the mouse buttons are pressed.
Generally it has two buttons called left and right button and a wheel is present between the
buttons. Mouse can be used to control the position of cursor on screen, but it cannot be
used to enter text into the computer.
Advantages
 Easy to use
 Not very expensive
 Moves the cursor faster than the arrow keys of keyboard.

Joystick
Joystick is also a pointing device which is used to move cursor position on a monitor
screen. It is a stick having a spherical ball at its both lower and upper ends. The lower
spherical ball moves in a socket. The joystick can be moved in all four directions.
The function of joystick is similar to that of a mouse. It is mainly used in Computer Aided
Designing (CAD) and playing computer games.
Light Pen
Light pen is a pointing device which is similar to a pen. It is used to select a displayed
menu item or draw pictures on the monitor screen. It consists of a photocell and an optical
system placed in a small tube. When the tip of a light pen is moved over the monitor screen
and pen button is pressed, its photocell sensing element detects the screen location and
sends the corresponding signal to the CPU.
Track Ball
Track ball is an input device that is mostly used in notebook or laptop computer, instead of
a mouse. This is a ball which is half inserted and by moving fingers on ball, pointer can be
moved. Since the whole device is not moved, a track ball requires less space than a mouse.
A track ball comes in various shapes like a ball, a button and a square.
Scanner
Scanner is an input device which works more like a photocopy machine. It is used when
some information is available on a paper and it is to be transferred to the hard disc of the
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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
computer for further manipulation. Scanner captures images from the source which are
then converted into the digital form that can be stored on the disc. These images can be
edited before they are printed.
Digitizer
Digitizer is an input device which converts analog information into digital form. Digitizer
can convert a signal from the television or camera into a series of numbers that could be
stored in a computer. They can be used by the computer to create a picture of whatever the
camera had been pointed at. Digitizer is also known as Tablet or Graphics Tablet because
it converts graphics and pictorial data into binary inputs. A graphic tablet as digitizer is
used for doing fine works of drawing and image manipulation applications.
Microphone
Microphone is an input device to input sound that is then stored in digital form. The
microphone is used for various applications like adding sound to a multimedia presentation
or for mixing music.
Magnetic Ink Card Reader (MICR)
MICR input device is generally used in banks because of a large number of cheques to be
processed every day. The bank's code number and cheque number are printed on the
cheques with a special type of ink that contains particles of magnetic material that are
machine readable. This reading process is called Magnetic Ink Character Recognition
(MICR). The main advantages of MICR is that it is fast and less error prone.
Optical Character Reader(OCR)
OCR is an input device used to read a printed text. OCR scans text optically character by
character, converts them into a machine readable code and stores the text on the system
memory.
Bar Code Readers
Bar Code Reader is a device used for reading bar coded data (data in form of light and dark
lines). Bar coded data is generally used in labelling goods, numbering the books etc. It may
be a hand held scanner or may be embedded in a stationary scanner. Bar Code Reader scans
a bar code image, converts it into an alphanumeric value which is then fed to the computer
to which bar code reader is connected.
Optical Mark Reader (OMR)
OMR is a special type of optical scanner used to recognize the type of mark made by pen
or pencil. It is used where one out of a few alternatives is to be selected and marked. It is
specially used for checking the answer sheets of examinations having multiple choice
questions.
Computer - Output Devices
Following are few of the important output devices which are used in a computer.
 Monitors
 Graphic Plotter
 Printer
Monitors
Monitors, commonly called as Visual Display Unit (VDU), are the main output device of
a computer. It forms images from tiny dots, called pixels that are arranged in a rectangular
form. The sharpness of the image depends upon the number of pixels.
There are two kinds of viewing screen used for monitors.
 Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT)

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 Flat- Panel Display
Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT) Monitor
The CRT display is made up of small picture elements called pixels. The smaller the pixels,
the better the image clarity, or resolution. It takes more than one illuminated pixel to form
whole character, such as the letter ‘e’ in the word help.
A finite number of characters can be displayed on a screen at once. The screen can be
divided into a series of character boxes - fixed location on the screen where a standard
character can be placed. Most screens are capable of displaying 80 characters of data
horizontally and 25 lines vertically. There are some disadvantages of CRT:
 Large in Size
 High power consumption
Flat-Panel Display Monitor
The flat-panel display refers to a class of video devices that have reduced volume, weight
and power requirement in comparison to the CRT. You can hang them on walls or wear
them on your wrists. Current uses of flat-panel displays include calculators, video games,
monitors, laptop computer, graphics display.
The flat-panel display is divided into two categories:
 Emissive Displays - The emissive displays are devices that convert electrical
energy into light. Example are plasma panel and LED(Light-Emitting Diodes).
 Non-Emissive Displays - The Non-emissive displays use optical effects to convert
sunlight or light from some other source into graphics patterns. Example is
LCD(Liquid-Crystal Device)
Printers
Printer is an output device, which is used to print information on paper.
There are two types of printers:
 Impact Printers
 Non-Impact Printers
Impact Printers
The impact printers print the characters by striking them on the ribbon which is then
pressed on the paper.
Characteristics of Impact Printers are the following:
 Very low consumable costs
 Very noisy
 Useful for bulk printing due to low cost
 There is physical contact with the paper to produce an image
These printers are of two types
 Character printers
 Line printers
Character Printers
Character printers are the printers which print one character at a time.
These are further divided into two types:
 Dot Matrix Printer(DMP)
 Daisy Wheel
Dot Matrix Printer
In the market one of the most popular printers is Dot Matrix Printer. These printers are
popular because of their ease of printing and economical price. Each character printed is in

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
form of pattern of dots and head consists of a Matrix of Pins of size (5*7, 7*9, 9*7 or 9*9)
which come out to form a character that is why it is called Dot Matrix Printer.
Advantages
 Inexpensive
 Widely Used
 Other language characters can be printed
Disadvantages
 Slow Speed
 Poor Quality
Daisy Wheel
Head is lying on a wheel and pins corresponding to characters are like petals of Daisy
(flower name) that is why it is called Daisy Wheel Printer. These printers are generally
used for word-processing in offices which require a few letters to be sent here and there
with very nice quality.
Advantages
 More reliable than DMP
 Better quality
 The fonts of character can be easily changed
Disadvantages
 Slower than DMP
 Noisy
 More expensive than DMP
Line Printers
Line printers are the printers which print one line at a time.
These are of further two types
 Drum Printer
 Chain Printer
Drum Printer
This printer is like a drum in shape so it is called drum printer. The surface of drum is
divided into number of tracks. Total tracks are equal to size of paper i.e. for a paper width
of 132 characters, drum will have 132 tracks. A character set is embossed on track. The
different character sets available in the market are 48 character set, 64 and 96 characters
set. One rotation of drum prints one line. Drum printers are fast in speed and can print 300
to 2000 lines per minute.
Advantages
 Very high speed
Disadvantages
 Very expensive
 Characters fonts cannot be changed
Chain Printer
In this printer, chain of character sets is used so it is called Chain Printer. A standard
character set may have 48, 64, or 96 characters.
Advantages
 Character fonts can easily be changed.
 Different languages can be used with the same printer.
Disadvantages

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
 Noisy
Non-impact Printers
Non-impact printers print the characters without using ribbon. These printers print a
complete page at a time so they are also called as Page Printers.
These printers are of two types
 Laser Printers
 Inkjet Printers
Characteristics of Non-impact Printers
 Faster than impact printers.
 They are not noisy.
 High quality.
 Support many fonts and different character size.
Laser Printers
These are non-impact page printers. They use laser lights to produce the dots needed to
form the characters to be printed on a page.
Advantages
 Very high speed
 Very high quality output
 Give good graphics quality
 Support many fonts and different character size
Disadvantages
 Expensive.
 Cannot be used to produce multiple copies of a document in a single printing.
Inkjet Printers
Inkjet printers are non-impact character printers based on a relatively new technology.
They print characters by spraying small drops of ink onto paper. Inkjet printers produce
high quality output with presentable features.
They make less noise because no hammering is done and these have many styles of printing
modes available. Colour printing is also possible. Some models of Inkjet printers can
produce multiple copies of printing also.
Advantages
 High quality printing
 More reliable
Disadvantages
 Expensive as cost per page is high
 Slow as compared to laser printer
Computer - Memory
TAKE AWAY CAT
Computer - Motherboard
The motherboard serves as a single platform to connect all of the parts of a computer
together. A motherboard connects CPU, memory, hard drives, optical drives, video card,
sound card, and other ports and expansion cards directly or via cables. It can be considered
as the backbone of a computer.
Features of Motherboard
A motherboard comes with following features:
 Motherboard varies greatly in supporting various types of components.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
 Normally a motherboard supports a single type of CPU and few types of memories.
 Video Cards, Hard disks, Sound Cards have to be compatible with motherboard to
function properly
 Motherboards, cases and power supplies must be compatible to work properly
together.
Popular Manufacturers
 Intel
 ASUS
 AOpen
 ABIT
 Biostar
 Gigabyte
 MSI
Description of Motherboard
The motherboard is mounted inside the case and is securely attached via small screws
through pre-drilled holes. Motherboard contains ports to connect all of the internal
components. It provides a single socket for CPU whereas for memory, normally one or
more slots are available. Motherboards provide ports to attach floppy drive, hard drive, and
optical drives via ribbon cables. Motherboard carries fans and a special port designed for
power supply.
There is a peripheral card slot in front of the motherboard using which video cards, sound
cards and other expansion cards can be connected to motherboard.
On the left side, motherboards carry a number of ports to connect monitor, printer, mouse,
keyboard, speaker, and network cables. Motherboards also provide USB ports which allow
compatible devices to be connected in plug-in/plug-out fashion for example, pen drive,
digital cameras etc.
Computer - Memory Units
Memory unit is:
 the amount of data that can be stored in the storage unit.
 that in which storage capacity is expressed in terms of Bytes.
Following are the main memory storage units:
Sr.No. Unit Description
A binary digit is logical 0 and 1 representing a passive or an
1 Bit (Binary Digit)
active state of a component in an electric circuit.
2 Nibble A group of 4 bits is called nibble.
A group of 8 bits is called byte. A byte is the smallest unit
3 Byte
which can represent a data item or a character.
A computer word, like a byte, is a group of fixed number of
bits processed as a unit which varies from computer to
computer but is fixed for each computer.
4 Word The length of a computer word is called word-size or word
length and it may be as small as 8 bits or may be as long as
96 bits. A computer stores the information in the form of
computer words.
Few higher storage units are following

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Sr.No. Unit Description

1 Kilobyte (KB) 1 KB = 1024 Bytes
2 Megabyte (MB) 1 MB = 1024 KB
3 GigaByte (GB) 1 GB = 1024 MB
4 TeraByte (TB 1 TB = 1024 GB
5 PetaByte (PB) 1 PB = 1024 TB

Computer - Ports
What is a Port?
A port:
 Is a physical docking point using which an external device can be connected to the
computer.
 Can also be programmatic docking point through which information flows from a
program to computer or over the internet.
Characteristics
A port has the following characteristics:
 External devices are connected to a computer using cables and ports.
 Ports are slots on the motherboard into which a cable of external device is plugged
in.
 Examples of external devices attached via ports are mouse, keyboard, monitor,
microphone, speakers etc.
Following are few important types of ports:
Serial Port
 Used for external modems and older computer mouse
 Two versions : 9 pin, 25 pin model
 Data travels at 115 kilobits per second
Parallel Port
 Used for scanners and printers
 Also called printer port
 25 pin model
 Also known as IEEE 1284-compliant Centronics port
PS/2 Port
 Used for old computer keyboard and mouse
 Also called mouse port
 Most of the old computers provide two PS/2 port, each for mouse and keyboard
 Also known as IEEE 1284-compliant Centronics port
Universal Serial Bus (or USB) Port
 It can connect all kinds of external USB devices such as external hard disk, printer,
scanner, mouse, keyboard etc.
 It was introduced in 1997.
 Most of the computers provide two USB ports as minimum.
 Data travels at 12 megabits per seconds
 USB compliant devices can get power from a USB port
VGA Port

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
 Connects monitor to a computer's video card.
 Has 15 holes.
 Similar to serial port connector but serial port connector has pins, it has holes.
Power Connector
 Three-pronged plug
 Connects to the computer's power cable that plugs into a power bar or wall socket
Firewire Port
 Transfers large amount of data at very fast speed.
 Connects camcorders and video equipments to the computer
 Data travels at 400 to 800 megabits per seconds
 Invented by Apple
 Three variants : 4-Pin FireWire 400 connector, 6-Pin FireWire 400 connector and
9-Pin FireWire 800 connector
Modem Port
 Connects a PC's modem to the telephone network
Ethernet Port
 Connects to a network and high speed Internet.
 Connect network cable to a computer.
 This port resides on an Ethernet Card.
 Data travels at 10 megabits to 1000 megabits per seconds depending upon the
network bandwidth.
Game Port
 Connect a joystick to a PC
 Now replaced by USB.
Digital Video Interface, DVI port
 Connects Flat panel LCD monitor to the computer's high end video graphic cards.
 Very popular among video card manufacturers.
Sockets
 Connect microphone, speakers to sound card of the computer
Computer - Hardware
Hardware represents the physical and tangible components of a computer i.e. the
components that can be seen and touched.
Examples of Hardware are following:
 Input devices -- keyboard, mouse etc.
 Output devices -- printer, monitor etc.
 Secondary storage devices -- Hard disk, CD, DVD etc.
 Internal components -- CPU, motherboard, RAM etc.
Relationship between Hardware and Software
 Hardware and software are mutually dependent on each other. Both of them must
work together to make a computer produce a useful output.
 Software cannot be utilized without supporting hardware.
 Hardware without set of programs to operate upon cannot be utilized and is useless.
 To get a particular job done on the computer, relevant software should be loaded
into the hardware
 Hardware is a one-time expense.
 Software development is very expensive and is a continuing expense.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
 Different software applications can be loaded on a hardware to run different jobs.
 A software acts as an interface between the user and the hardware.
 If hardware is the 'heart' of a computer system, then software is its 'soul'. Both are
complimentary to each other.
Computer - Software
Software is a set of programs, which is designed to perform a well-defined function. A
program is a sequence of instructions written to solve a particular problem.
There are two types of software
 System Software
 Application Software
System Software
The system software is collection of programs designed to operate, control, and extend the
processing capabilities of the computer itself. System software are generally prepared by
computer manufactures. These software products comprise of programs written in low-
level languages which interact with the hardware at a very basic level. System software
serves as the interface between hardware and the end users.
Some examples of system software are Operating System, Compilers, Interpreter,
Assemblers etc.
Features of system software are as follows:
 Close to system
 Fast in speed
 Difficult to design
 Difficult to understand
 Less interactive
 Smaller in size
 Difficult to manipulate
 Generally written in low-level language
Computer - Operating System
It is a program with following features:
 An operating system is a program that acts as an interface between the software and
the computer hardware.
 It is an integrated set of specialised programs that are used to manage overall
resources and operations of the computer.
 It is specialised software that controls and monitors the execution of all other
programs that reside in the computer, including application programs and other
system software.
Objectives of Operating System
 To make a computer system convenient to use in an efficient manner
 To hide the details of the hardware resources from the users
 To provide users a convenient interface to use the computer system
 To act as an intermediary between the hardware and its users and making it easier
for the users to access and use other resources
 To manage the resources of a computer system
 To keep track of who is using which resource, granting resource requests, according
for resource using and mediating conflicting requests from different programs and
users

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
 To provide efficient and fair sharing of resources among users and programs

Characteristics of Operating System

 Memory Management -- keeps tracks of primary memory i.e. what part of it is in
use by whom, what part is not in use etc. and allocates the memory when a process
or program requests it.
 Processor Management -- allocates the processor(CPU) to a process and
deallocates processor when it is no longer required.
 Device Management -- keeps track of all devices. This is also called I/O controller
that decides which process gets the device, when, and for how much time.
 File Management -- allocates and de-allocates the resources and decides who gets
the resources.
 Security -- prevents unauthorized access to programs and data by means of
passwords and similar other techniques.
 Job accounting -- keeps track of time and resources used by various jobs and/or
users.
 Control over system performance -- records delays between request for a service
and from the system.
 Interaction with the operators -- The interaction may take place via the console
of the computer in the form of instructions. Operating System acknowledges the
same, does the corresponding action and informs the operation by a display screen.
 Error-detecting aids -- Production of dumps, traces, error messages and other
debugging and error-detecting methods.
 Coordination between other software and users -- Coordination and assignment
of compilers, interpreters, assemblers and other software to the various users of the
computer systems.

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Application Software
Application software products are designed to satisfy a particular need of a particular
environment. All software applications prepared in the computer lab can come under the
category of Application software.
Application software may consist of a single program, such as a Microsoft's notepad for
writing and editing simple text. It may also consist of a collection of programs, often called
a software package, which work together to accomplish a task, such as a spreadsheet
package.
Examples of Application software are following:
 Payroll Software
 Student Record Software
 Inventory Management Software
 Income Tax Software
 Railways Reservation Software
 Microsoft Office Suite Software
 Microsoft Word
 Microsoft Excel
 Microsoft Powerpoint
Features of application software are as follows:
 Close to user
 Easy to design
 More interactive
 Slow in speed
 Generally written in high-level language
 Easy to understand
 Easy to manipulate and use
 Bigger in size and requires large storage space
Computer - Number System
When we type some letters or words, the computer translates them in numbers as computers
can understand only numbers. A computer can understand positional number system where
there are only a few symbols called digits and these symbols represent different values
depending on the position they occupy in the number.
A value of each digit in a number can be determined using
 The digit
 The position of the digit in the number
 The base of the number system (where base is defined as the total number of digits
available in the number system).
Decimal Number System
The number system that we use in our day-to-day life is the decimal number system.
Decimal number system has base 10 as it uses 10 digits from 0 to 9. In decimal number
system, the successive positions to the left of the decimal point represent units, tens,
hundreds, thousands and so on.
Each position represents a specific power of the base (10). For example, the decimal
number 1234 consists of the digit 4 in the units position, 3 in the tens position, 2 in the
hundreds position, and 1 in the thousands position, and its value can be written as
(1x1000)+ (2x100)+ (3x10)+ (4xl)

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
(1x103)+ (2x102)+ (3x101)+ (4xl00)
1000 + 200 + 30 + 4
1234
As a computer programmer or an IT professional, you should understand the following
number systems which are frequently used in computers.
S.N. Number System and Description
Binary Number System
1
Base 2. Digits used : 0, 1
Octal Number System
2
Base 8. Digits used : 0 to 7
Hexa Decimal Number System
3
Base 16. Digits used : 0 to 9, Letters used : A- F
Binary Number System
Characteristics of binary number system are as follows:
 Uses two digits, 0 and 1.
 Also called base 2 number system
 Each position in a binary number represents a 0 power of the base (2). Example 20
 Last position in a binary number represents a x power of the base (2). Example 2 x
where x represents the last position - 1.
Example
Binary Number : 101012
Calculating Decimal Equivalent:
Step Binary Number Decimal Number
Step 1 101012 ((1 x 24) + (0 x 23) + (1 x 22) + (0 x 21) + (1 x 20))10
Step 2 101012 (16 + 0 + 4 + 0 + 1)10
Step 3 101012 2110
Note : 101012 is normally written as 10101.
Octal Number System
Characteristics of octal number system are as follows:
 Uses eight digits, 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7.
 Also called base 8 number system
 Each position in an octal number represents a 0 power of the base (8). Example 80
 Last position in an octal number represents a x power of the base (8). Example 8x
where x represents the last position - 1.
Example
Octal Number : 125708
Calculating Decimal Equivalent:
Step Octal Number Decimal Number
Step 1 125708 ((1 x 84) + (2 x 83) + (5 x 82) + (7 x 81) + (0 x 80))10
Step 2 125708 (4096 + 1024 + 320 + 56 + 0)10
Step 3 125708 549610
Note : 125708 is normally written as 12570.
Hexadecimal Number System
Characteristics of hexadecimal number system are as follows:
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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
 Uses 10 digits and 6 letters, 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E,F.
 Letters represents numbers starting from 10. A = 10. B = 11, C = 12, D = 13, E =
14, F = 15.
 Also called base 16 number system
 Each position in a hexadecimal number represents a 0 power of the base (16).
Example 160
 Last position in a hexadecimal number represents a x power of the base (16).
Example 16x where x represents the last position - 1.
Example
Hexadecimal Number : 19FDE16
Calculating Decimal Equivalent:
Step Binary Number Decimal Number
Step 1 19FDE16 ((1 x 164) + (9 x 163) + (F x 162) + (D x 161) + (E x 160))10
((1 x 164) + (9 x 163) + (15 x 162) + (13 x 161) + (14 x
Step 2 19FDE16
160))10
Step 3 19FDE16 (65536+ 36864 + 3840 + 208 + 14)10
Step 4 19FDE16 10646210
Note : 19FDE16 is normally written as 19FDE.
Computer - Number Conversion
There are many methods or techniques which can be used to convert numbers from one
base to another. We'll demonstrate here the following:
 Decimal to Other Base System
 Other Base System to Decimal
 Other Base System to Non-Decimal
 Shortcut method - Binary to Octal
 Shortcut method - Octal to Binary
 Shortcut method - Binary to Hexadecimal
 Shortcut method - Hexadecimal to Binary
Decimal to Other Base System
steps
 Step 1 - Divide the decimal number to be converted by the value of the new base.
 Step 2 - Get the remainder from Step 1 as the rightmost digit (least significant digit)
of new base number.
 Step 3 - Divide the quotient of the previous divide by the new base.
 Step 4 - Record the remainder from Step 3 as the next digit (to the left) of the new
base number.
Repeat Steps 3 and 4, getting remainders from right to left, until the quotient becomes zero
in Step 3.
The last remainder thus obtained will be the most significant digit (MSD) of the new base
number.
Example
Decimal Number : 2910
Calculating Binary Equivalent:
Step Operation Result Remainder
Step 1 29 / 2 14 1

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing

Step 2 14 / 2 7 0
Step 3 7 / 2 3 1
Step 4 3 / 2 1 1
Step 5 1 / 2 0 1
As mentioned in Steps 2 and 4, the remainders have to be arranged in the reverse order so
that the first remainder becomes the least significant digit (LSD) and the last remainder
becomes the most significant digit (MSD).
Decimal Number : 2910 = Binary Number : 111012.
Other base system to Decimal System
Steps
 Step 1 - Determine the column (positional) value of each digit (this depends on the
position of the digit and the base of the number system).
 Step 2 - Multiply the obtained column values (in Step 1) by the digits in the
corresponding columns.
 Step 3 - Sum the products calculated in Step 2. The total is the equivalent value in
decimal.
Example
Binary Number : 111012
Calculating Decimal Equivalent:
Step Binary Number Decimal Number
Step 1 111012 ((1 x 24) + (1 x 23) + (1 x 22) + (0 x 21) + (1 x 20))10
Step 2 111012 (16 + 8 + 4 + 0 + 1)10
Step 3 111012 2910
Binary Number : 111012 = Decimal Number : 2910
Other Base System to Non-Decimal System
Steps
 Step 1 - Convert the original number to a decimal number (base 10).
 Step 2 - Convert the decimal number so obtained to the new base number.
Example
Octal Number : 258
Calculating Binary Equivalent:
Step 1 : Convert to Decimal
Step Octal Number Decimal Number
Step 1 258 ((2 x 81) + (5 x 80))10
Step 2 258 (16 + 5 )10
Step 3 258 2110
Octal Number : 258 = Decimal Number : 2110
Step 2 : Convert Decimal to Binary
Step Operation Result Remainder
Step 1 21 / 2 10 1
Step 2 10 / 2 5 0
Step 3 5 / 2 2 1

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing

Step 4 2 / 2 1 0
Step 5 1 / 2 0 1
Decimal Number : 2110 = Binary Number : 101012
Octal Number : 258 = Binary Number : 101012
Shortcut method - Binary to Octal
Steps
 Step 1 - Divide the binary digits into groups of three (starting from the right).
 Step 2 - Convert each group of three binary digits to one octal digit.
Example
Binary Number : 101012
Calculating Octal Equivalent:
Step Binary Number Octal Number
Step 1 101012 010 101
Step 2 101012 28 58
Step 3 101012 258
Binary Number : 101012 = Octal Number : 258
Shortcut method - Octal to Binary
Steps
 Step 1 - Convert each octal digit to a 3 digit binary number (the octal digits may be
treated as decimal for this conversion).
 Step 2 - Combine all the resulting binary groups (of 3 digits each) into a single
binary number.
Example
Octal Number : 258
Calculating Binary Equivalent:
Step Octal Number Binary Number
Step 1 258 210 510
Step 2 258 0102 1012
Step 3 258 0101012
Octal Number : 258 = Binary Number : 101012
Shortcut method - Binary to Hexadecimal
Steps
 Step 1 - Divide the binary digits into groups of four (starting from the right).
 Step 2 - Convert each group of four binary digits to one hexadecimal symbol.
Example
Binary Number : 101012
Calculating hexadecimal Equivalent:
Step Binary Number Hexadecimal Number
Step 1 101012 0001 0101
Step 2 101012 110 510
Step 3 101012 1516
Binary Number : 101012 = Hexadecimal Number : 1516
Shortcut method - Hexadecimal to Binary

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
steps
 Step 1 - Convert each hexadecimal digit to a 4 digit binary number (the
hexadecimal digits may be treated as decimal for this conversion).
 Step 2 - Combine all the resulting binary groups (of 4 digits each) into a single
binary number.
Example
Hexadecimal Number : 1516
Calculating Binary Equivalent:
Step Hexadecimal Number Binary Number
Step 1 1516 110 510
Step 2 1516 00012 01012
Step 3 1516 000101012
Hexadecimal Number : 1516 = Binary Number : 101012
Computer - Data and Information
What is data?
Data can be defined as a representation of facts, concepts or instructions in a formalized
manner which should be suitable for communication, interpretation, or processing by
human or electronic machine.
Data is represented with the help of characters like alphabets (A-Z,a-z), digits (0-9) or
special characters(+,-,/,*,<,>,= etc.).
What is Information?
Information is organised or classified data which has some meaningful values for the
receiver.
Information is the processed data on which decisions and actions are based.
For the decision to be meaningful, the processed data must qualify for the following
characteristics:
 Timely - Information should be available when required.
 Accuracy - Information should be accurate.
 Completeness - Information should be complete.
Data Processing Cycle
Data processing is the re-structuring or re-ordering of data by people or machine to increase
their usefulness and add values for particular purpose. Data processing consists of basic
steps input, processing and output. These three steps constitute the data processing cycle.

 Input - In this step the input data is prepared in some convenient form for
processing. The form will depend on the processing machine. For example, when
electronic computers are used, the input data could be recorded on any one of
several types of input medium, such as magnetic disks, tapes and so on.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
 Processing - In this step input data is changed to produce data in a more useful
form. For example, pay-checks may be calculated from the time cards, or a
summary of sales for the month may be calculated from the sales orders.
 Output - Here the result of the proceeding processing step are collected. The
particular form of the output data depends on the use of the data. For example,
output data may be pay-checks for employees.

Computer Network
What is a Computer Network?
A computer network is a system in which multiple computers are connected to each other
to share information and resources.
Types of Network Topology
Network Topology is the schematic description of a network arrangement, connecting
various nodes (sender and receiver) through lines of connection.
BUS Topology
Bus topology is a network type in which every computer and network device is connected
to single cable. When it has exactly two endpoints, then it is called Linear Bus topology.

Features of Bus Topology

1. It transmits data only in one direction.
2. Every device is connected to a single cable
Advantages of Bus Topology
1. It is cost effective.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
2. Cable required is least compared to other network topology.
3. Used in small networks.
4. It is easy to understand.
5. Easy to expand joining two cables together.
Disadvantages of Bus Topology
1. Cables fails then whole network fails.
2. If network traffic is heavy or nodes are more the performance of the network
decreases.
3. Cable has a limited length.
4. It is slower than the ring topology.
RING Topology
It is called ring topology because it forms a ring as each computer is connected to another
computer, with the last one connected to the first. Exactly two neighbours for each device.

Features of Ring Topology

1. A number of repeaters are used for Ring topology with large number of nodes,
because if someone wants to send some data to the last node in the ring topology
with 100 nodes, then the data will have to pass through 99 nodes to reach the 100th
node. Hence to prevent data loss repeaters are used in the network.
2. The transmission is unidirectional, but it can be made bidirectional by having 2
connections between each Network Node, it is called Dual Ring Topology.
3. In Dual Ring Topology, two ring networks are formed, and data flow is in opposite
direction in them. Also, if one ring fails, the second ring can act as a backup, to
keep the network up.
4. Data is transferred in a sequential manner that is bit by bit. Data transmitted, has to
pass through each node of the network, till the destination node.
Advantages of Ring Topology
1. Transmitting network is not affected by high traffic or by adding more nodes, as
only the nodes having tokens can transmit data.
2. Cheap to install and expand
Disadvantages of Ring Topology
1. Troubleshooting is difficult in ring topology.
2. Adding or deleting the computers disturbs the network activity.
3. Failure of one computer disturbs the whole network.
STAR Topology
In this type of topology all the computers are connected to a single hub through a cable.
This hub is the central node and all others nodes are connected to the central node.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing

Features of Star Topology

1. Every node has its own dedicated connection to the hub.
2. Hub acts as a repeater for data flow.
3. Can be used with twisted pair, Optical Fibre or coaxial cable.
Advantages of Star Topology
1. Fast performance with few nodes and low network traffic.
2. Hub can be upgraded easily.
3. Easy to troubleshoot.
4. Easy to setup and modify.
5. Only that node is affected which has failed, rest of the nodes can work smoothly.
Disadvantages of Star Topology
1. Cost of installation is high.
2. Expensive to use.
3. If the hub fails then the whole network is stopped because all the nodes depend on
the hub.
4. Performance is based on the hub that is it depends on its capacity
MESH Topology
It is a point-to-point connection to other nodes or devices. All the network nodes are
connected to each other. Mesh has n(n-1)/2 physical channels to link n devices.
There are two techniques to transmit data over the Mesh topology, they are :
1. Routing
2. Flooding
Routing
In routing, the nodes have a routing logic, as per the network requirements. Like routing
logic to direct the data to reach the destination using the shortest distance. Or, routing logic
which has information about the broken links, and it avoids those node etc. We can even
have routing logic, to re-configure the failed nodes.
Flooding
In flooding, the same data is transmitted to all the network nodes, hence no routing logic
is required. The network is robust, and the its very unlikely to lose the data. But it leads to
unwanted load over the network.

Types of Mesh Topology

1. Partial Mesh Topology : In this topology some of the systems are connected in
the same fashion as mesh topology but some devices are only connected to two or
three devices.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
2. Full Mesh Topology : Each and every nodes or devices are connected to each
other.
Features of Mesh Topology
1. Fully connected.
2. Robust.
3. Not flexible.
Advantages of Mesh Topology
1. Each connection can carry its own data load.
2. It is robust.
3. Fault is diagnosed easily.
4. Provides security and privacy.
Disadvantages of Mesh Topology
1. Installation and configuration is difficult.
2. Cabling cost is more.
3. Bulk wiring is required.
TREE Topology
It has a root node and all other nodes are connected to it forming a hierarchy. It is also
called hierarchical topology. It should at least have three levels to the hierarchy.

Features of Tree Topology

1. Ideal if workstations are located in groups.
2. Used in Wide Area Network.
Advantages of Tree Topology
1. Extension of bus and star topologies.
2. Expansion of nodes is possible and easy.
3. Easily managed and maintained.
4. Error detection is easily done.
Disadvantages of Tree Topology
1. Heavily cabled.
2. Costly.
3. If more nodes are added maintenance is difficult.
4. Central hub fails, network fails.
HYBRID Topology
It is two different types of topologies which is a mixture of two or more topologies. For
example if in an office in one department ring topology is used and in another star topology
is used, connecting these topologies will result in Hybrid Topology (ring topology and star
topology).

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Features of Hybrid Topology

1. It is a combination of two or more topologies
2. Inherits the advantages and disadvantages of the topologies included
Advantages of Hybrid Topology
1. Reliable as Error detecting and trouble shooting is easy.
2. Effective.
3. Scalable as size can be increased easily.
4. Flexible.
Disadvantages of Hybrid Topology
1. Complex in design.
2. Costly.
Hardware for computer network
 Network Cables
 Distributors
 Routers
 Internal Network Cards
 External Network Cards
Network Cables
Network cables are used to connect computers. The most commonly used cable is Category
5 cable RJ-45.

Distributors
A computer can be connected to another one via a serial port but if we need to connect
many computers to produce a network, this serial connection will not work. The solution
is to use a central body to which other computers, printers, scanners etc. can be connected
and then this body will manage or distribute network traffic.

Router
A router is a type of device which acts as the central point among computers and other
devices that are part of a network. A router is equipped with holes called ports and
computers and other devices are connected to a router using network cables. Now-a-days
router comes in wireless modes using which computers can be connected without any
physical cable.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing

Network Card
Network card is a necessary component of a computer without which a computer cannot
be connected over a network. It is also known as network adapter or Network Interface
Card (NIC). Most branded computers have network card pre-installed. Network cards are
of two types : Internal and External Network Cards.
Internal Network Cards
Motherboard has a slot for internal network card where it is to be inserted.

External Network Cards

External network cards come in two flavours : Wireless and USB based. Wireless network
card need to be inserted into the motherboard but no network cable is required to connect
to network

Universal Serial Bus (USB)

USB card are easy to use and connect via USB port. Computers automatically detect USB
card and can install the drivers required to support the USB network card automatically.

The OSI Model:

Open System Interconnection (OSI) reference model has become an International standard
and serves as a guide for networking. This model is the best known and most widely used
guide to describe networking environments. Vendors design network products based on
the specifications of the OSI model. It provides a description of how network hardware and
software work together in a layered fashion to make communications possible. It also helps
with trouble shooting by providing a frame of reference that describes how components are
supposed to function.

There are seven to get familiar with and these are the physical layer, data link layer,
network layer, transport layer, session layer, presentation layer, and the application layer.
 Physical Layer, is just that the physical parts of the network such as wires, cables,
and there media along with the length. Also this layer takes note of the electrical
signals that transmit data throughout system.
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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
 Data Link Layer, this layer is where we actually assign meaning to the electrical
signals in the network. The layer also determines the size and format of data sent
to printers, and other devices. Also I don't want to forget that these are also called
nodes in the network. Another thing to consider in this layer is will also allow and
define the error detection and correction schemes that insure data was sent and
received.
 Network Layer, this layer provides the definition for the connection of two
dissimilar networks.
 Transport Layer, this layer allows data to be broken into smaller packages for data
to be distributed and addressed to other nodes (workstations).
 Session Layer, this layer helps out with the task to carry information from one node
(workstation) to another node (workstation). A session has to be made before we
can transport information to another computer.
 Presentation Layer, this layer is responsible to code and decode data sent to the
node.
 Application Layer, this layer allows you to use an application that will
communicate with say the operation system of a server. A good example would be
using your web browser to interact with the operating system on a server such as
Windows NT, which in turn gets the data you requested.

Computer - Internet and Intranet

Internet
It is a worldwide system which has the following characteristics:
 Internet is a world-wide / global system of interconnected computer networks.
 Internet uses the standard Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
 Every computer in internet is identified by a unique IP address.
 IP Address is a unique set of numbers (such as 110.22.33.114) which identifies a
computer’s location.
 A special computer DNS (Domain Name Server) is used to give name to the IP
Address so that user can locate a computer by a name.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
 For example, a DNS server will resolve a name http://www.tutorialspoint.com to
a particular IP address to uniquely identify the computer on which this website is
hosted.
 Internet is accessible to every user all over the world.

Intranet
 Intranet is system in which multiple PCs are connected to each other.
 PCs in intranet are not available to the world outside the intranet.
 Usually each company or organization has their own Intranet network and
members/employees of that company can access the computers in their intranet.
 Each computer in Intranet is also identified by an IP Address which is unique
among the computers in that Intranet.

Similarities in Internet and Intranet

 Intranet uses the internet protocols such as TCP/IP and FTP.
 Intranet sites are accessible via web browser in similar way as websites in internet.
But only members of Intranet network can access intranet hosted sites.
 In Intranet, own instant messengers can be used as similar to yahoo messenger/
gtalk over the internet.
Differences in Internet and Intranet
 Internet is general to PCs all over the world whereas Intranet is specific to few PCs.
 Internet has wider access and provides a better access to websites to large
population whereas Intranet is restricted.
 Internet is not as safe as Intranet as Intranet can be safely privatized as per the need.
COMPUTER CODING SYSTEMS.
The decimal number system is the accepted international system. However, computers can
understand and work only using the binary language, i.e., in 0’s & 1’s.
Therefore, in order to talk to computers, one has to convert the information (whether
numeric or non-numeric) into binary form. The process of representing numeric or non-
numeric information in terms of binary digits is known as Coding.
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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing

By using different bit patterns, the non-numeric information, such as letters of the English
alphabet A-Z can be represented.
E.g., letter A is represented as: 110001, while the equal (=) sign is represented as 001011.
In addition, the Digital computers that are frequently used in many business environments
use binary digits to operate, i.e., they accept data & instructions in terms of 1’s and 0’s,
work upon them and produce information, which is immediately stored in the form of 0’s
& 1’s before they are communicated to the end users.
This means that coding in computers is done to achieve the following objectives:
1). To convert numeric & alphanumeric information into binary digits of 0 & 1.
2). To transmit correct data to the computer.
3). To detect and correct errors, if any, during the transmission of data.
The following are the various methods of representing data in Binary Number systems in
a computer:
1. BCD (Binary Coded Decimal).
2. EBCDIC (Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code).
3. ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) Code.
What is a Code?
 A set of rules, outlining the way in which data may be represented.
 Rules used to convert data from one representation to another, e.g. from ASCII to
EBCDIC.

BCD Code.
BCD stands for Binary Coded Decimal.
Usually, there are 2 types of BCD coding;
 4-bit BCD Coding.
 Extended BCD Code.
(1). 4-bit BCD Coding.
This method uses 4 binary digits to represent an individual decimal digit.
Example;
3 9 8(10)

0011 1001 1000

A group of 4 bits (binary digits) usually representing a number is known as a NIBBLE.
Decimal BCD Pure Binary
39810 001110011000 1100011102
Note. The BCD notation of the number 39810 is not the same as when represented in
the pure binary notation.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
The BCD notation uses more bits than the pure binary notation, and is arithmetically
slower. However, the BCD operations are simple, they remove rounding (truncation)
errors & are used to store data in packed mode.
(2). Extended BCD Code.
This is a 6-bit coding system. It consists of 4 data/numeric bits, and 2 additional bits
known as the Zone bits. An extra bit known as the Parity bit is added (7 bits, when
the parity bit is included).
The Zone bits indicate the type of characters represented by the code, while the Data
bits represent the particular characters represented by the codes.
Numerals, alphabets and special characters can be represented in their binary form
using the Extended BCD coding system. The characters are classified into zones,
which are then assigned zone bits.
Example 1: Zoning of the characters A – Z.
Zone Characters Zone bits
1 A–I 11
2 J–R 10
3 S–Z 01
st
Counting starts from the 1 character within a zone and ends at the last character within
that zone.
Note. The Zone bits, in computer with numeric bits, form codes to present characters.
Example 2: The Numeric equivalents of the characters within the zone A – I.
Zone A – I characters Numeric value Binary
A 1 0001
B 2 0010
C 3 0011
D 4 0100
. . .
. . .
. . .
I 9 1001
Similarly, the other numeric values of the characters in the other zones can be
determined, i.e., J=1 to R=9 and S=2 to Z=9.
The Extended BCD uses unique combinations of two zero bits and 4 numeric bits to
represent specific data characters.
To represent a given character in Extended Binary code, the zone bits are added to the
data bits (the binary digits representing the numerical equivalent to the character), and
an extra bit (the parity bit) added.
To represent a character like A in Extended BCD code:
The zone bits for A are ‘11’ and data bits of A are ‘0001’.
X 11 0001

Parity bit Zone bits Data bits

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
The Parity bit ‘x’ depends on the machine/computer in use, i.e., whether Even or Odd
parity machine.
For an Even parity machine, the no. of 1’s in a code representing a character adds up
to an even number, while for an Odd parity machine, the no. of 1’s in a code
representing a character adds up to an odd number.
Therefore, the value of ‘x’ is ‘1’ for an even parity machine and ‘0’ for an odd parity
machine.
Note that, if X=1, then the no. of 1’s in the code for A are 4, which is an even number.
If X=0, then the number of 1’s remain 3, which is an odd no.
Parity bit – A check bit appended to a collection/group of binary digits to make the
sum of all the binary digits, including the check bit, always odd or always even.
The Parity bit does not change the value of the character stored, but it is used to
automatically detect transmission errors during data communication, e.g., from an
external storage media like cassette to the internal memory. If some bits fall off, the
computer responds with a parity failure error message.
Parity Check – A check to determine whether the number of bits in a pattern is either
even or odd.
TYPICAL CODING SYSTEM FOR STANDARD BCD CODE.
0 - 000000 A - 010000 L - 100010 W -
110100
1 - 000001 B - 010001 M - 100100 X -
110101
2 - 000010 C - 010010 N - 100101 Y -
110110
3 - 000011 D - 010011 O - 100110 Z -
110111
4 - 000100 E - 010100 P - 100110
5 - 000101 F - 010101 Q - 100111
6 - 000110 G - 010110 R - 101000
7 - 000111 H - 010111 S - 110000
8 - 001000 I - 011000 T - 110001
9 - 001001 J - 100000 U - 110010
K - 100001 V - 110011
ASCII Code.
ASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange.
This is a standard 7-bit coding system, with 3-zone bits added to the 4-data bits, and an
extra parity bit (8 bits when the parity bit is included).
ASCII code is used for data interchange involving computers and communications
equipment.
The ASCII code format for a given character therefore looks like:
x

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing

Parity bit Zone bits Data bits

E.g., letter A can be expressed as; X1011001.
Note. The ASCII coding system can represent up to 128 characters, i.e., 27 characters.

EBCDIC Code.
EBCDIC stands for Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code.
This is an 8-bit coding system, with 4 zone bits, 4 data bits and an extra parity bit (in total
it consists of 9 bits, when the parity bit is included).
The EBCDIC coding system is an extension of the 6-bit BCD coding system. It allows for
the representation of more characters, i.e., 256 (28 ) characters as compared to the 64 (26)
characters that can be represented in the 6-bit BCD coding system.
The EBCDIC uses unique combinations of 4 zone bits & 4 numeric bits to represent
specific data characters.
The EBCDIC code format for a given character would look like:
x

Parity bit Zone bits Data bits

Exercise I.
1. (a). What is computer coding systems? (5
marks).
(b). Name and briefly explain TWO computer coding systems. (4
marks).
(c). State advantages of using Extended BCD code over 4-bit BCD code. (6
marks).
(d). Explain the purpose of zone bits, and parity bit in a computer coding system. (4
marks).

Exercise II.
1. (a). What is meant by the term Character codes? Give examples.
(b). Explain the principal characteristics of the following by the help of suitable
examples:
(i). 4-bit BCD code.
(ii). Parity bit.
(iii). ASCII code.
(iv). EBCDIC code.

Exercise III.
1. State THREE methods of representing data in Binary number system.

STORAGE ORGANISATION.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
The computer memory is designed in such a way that the basic unit of the stored entities,
i.e., data, instructions and information, is a 2-state unit representing a ‘1’ or ‘0’. The 2-
state quantity is described as a Bit, Cell or Binary digit. In other words, storage is only
possible in terms of 0’s & 1’s.
The two units can be described by electric circuit using two voltages. When there is voltage
(when the circuit is on), a ‘1’ is represented, and when there is no voltage in the circuit
(when it is off), a ‘0’ is represented.
To represent characters the bits are combined together. The group of bits representing
characters can also be described as Location. This location forms the basis of computer
storage organization.
Each individual location has got its unique address (identifier). During storage, the address
is used to determine the location onto which the character is stored and from which
subsequently it is retrieved.
Note. Reading/retrieving characters leaves the contents in a location undestroyed, i.e.
reading is just copying the contents of a location, leaving the copied contents in their
location.
On the other hand, Writing to a particular location is destructive in that the previous
contents of that location are replaced with the information being written, i.e. The location
contents are overwritten, hence cannot be recovered.
The no. of bits that defines the location is influenced by the computer design & the
instructions used.
E.g., most microcomputers were originally designed based on the 8-bit organization.
However, due to technological development, modern microcomputers are mostly 16-bit
machines.
There are various forms of storage organization.
(i). Character machines & Impacked Binary Fields:
Character machines can also be described as Character addressable machines.
In Character machines, each location is made from a group of 6 bits, i.e. the
characters are stored in terms of 6 bits. Each character has its own location and
hence a unique address for reading or writing individual character.
Character machines use the 6-bit BCD coding system in representing character in
the memory.
In Character machines, both characters and numerals are stored in locations of 6
bits. This means that, if the characters are mostly numeric, then a lot of space is
wasted because for a numeric character, only 4 bits are necessary to represent the
data bits, while the zone bits are just filled in by zeros. This mode of storage location
is described as Impacked binary field (or Impacked storage mode).

(ii). Word machines.

The Word machines use fixed word length storage. The typical word lengths are 24
bits or 32 bits depending on the computer design.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
The Word machines are designed such that, each word has its own unique location,
with a unique address/identifier, which is used to identify the location during writing
or reading.
One word can store 4 characters.
Word machines have an advantage in the organization of the entities in the computer
memory in that, the exact number of characters can be stored and retrieved
conveniently, unlike Character machines whose organization of the locations is
limited to 6 bits.

(iii). Byte Machines & Packed Binary Fields:

A Byte is made up of 8 bits and can store one character.
The Byte machines are also refereed to as Byte addressable machines.
Byte machines use the EBCDIC coding system (the coding system that uses 8 bits
to represent characters).
The Byte machines have an advantage over the Character machines in that, if the
characters are mostly numeric, they can be stored in packed mode, giving the packed
binary fields. In this mode of storage, two characters are stored in single byte, as
opposed to impacked fields in Character machines, which stores one character per
byte.
For example, 2468 can be packed into 2 bytes (16 bits) as compared to Character
machines, which would use 4 bytes (32 bits).
Fig 1: Byte representation of 2468 (packed).
2 4 6 8
0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
1 byte 1 byte

2 bytes
Fig 2: Character machine representation of 2468 (packed).
2 4 6 8
0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
1 byte 1 byte 1 byte 1 byte

4 bytes
The arrangement of the locations of a Byte machine provides for a unique identifier for
each byte, which can be used for write and retrieval operations on these locations.
The Byte machines can also be described as Variable Word length machines. This is
because, several bytes can be grouped to form words of required length.
The Byte machines are more advantageous for they combine both the capabilities of the
Character and the Word addressable machines.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing

Exercise I.
1. Expand the following abbreviations:
(a). BIT. (1
mark)
(b). BCD. (1
mark)
(c). ASCII. (1
mark)
(d). EBCDIC. (1
mark)
2. Explain the concept of storage organization.
3. Define/Explain the following terms:
(i). Word machine.
(ii). EPROM.
(iii). Byte machine.
(iv). Character machine.
(v). Packed binary field.
(vi). Impacked binary field. (20
marks).
4. Write short notes on:
(i). Character machines and impacked binary fields.
(ii). Word machines.

DATA REPRESENTATION IN A COMPUTER.

Computers handle data by electrical components, e.g. Transistors, Semiconductors,
Integrated Circuits or wires, which exist in two conditions (states), ON & OFF or “1” &
“0”.
Inside the computer, data is represented by storage cells, which are either electronically
charged or discharged.
Examples;
 In RAM, the cells can be charged and discharged at will, and this can be used to store
different data items. The charged state of the cell can be represented by 1 (or ON),
while the uncharged state by 0 (or OFF).
In ROM, the cells are permanently set to one state.
 A Transistor may be conducting or non-conducting.
 A Magnetic material may be magnetized in one direction or the other.
 A wire may or may not be carrying a current.
The Main memory of the computer can be considered as a collection of thousands of
storage cells, each capable of representing a binary digit.

DATA TYPES.
Data is a term used to describe a set of facts. A single fact is known as Datum.
Data can be in 3 types or forms.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
1. Numeric data (numbers)
2. Alphabetic data.
3. Alphanumeric data.
Numbers:
Numbers can be expressed as either;
 Integers - whole numbers, e.g., 124, -26, or
 Real numbers - numbers with decimal points, e.g., 1.23, -2.6.
Note. A whole number is Real if it is written with a decimal point, e.g., 25 is an integer,
but 25.0 is real.

Alphabetic data:
This is data made from combination of alphabetic characters, such as names, title, marital
status, e.g. “John”, “Prof.”, “Married”.

Alphanumeric data (Strings):

A string is any sequence of characters.
This is data made from combination of alphabetic characters, numerals and/or special
characters.
Examples;
Names - NG’ANG’A, ANN NDUVA
Address - P.O BOX 299, UGUNJA
Date - November 14, 1990
Account numbers - AO133
Department - Sales department
Messages - Incorrect. Try again

Exercise.
1. Explain the terms Numeric and Alphanumeric. Illustrate your answers with appropriate
examples.

THE BYTE.
The capacity of a computer memory can be measured in terms of Bits (individual memory
cells), Bytes (groups of cells or bits) or Words (arrangement of the bytes).
 A Bit (Binary digit) is the number 0 or 1 in the representation of a value in binary
notation.
 A Byte is a fixed number of adjacent bits that are operated on as a unit.
Usually, a byte is a group of 8 adjacent bits and can store one character, i.e. 1-byte
stores 1 character.
The Byte is the most commonly used unit of measuring the capacity of a computer
memory.
 A Word is a group of bits that the computer recognizes and executes (processes) at a
time.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
To represent characters, the bits are combined together. The group of bits representing
characters can also be described as Location.
In a Character machine, a location has 6 bits that represents a Byte, while the Byte machines
has 8 bits making up a byte.
Character machines Byte machines.
6 bits = 1 byte 8 bits = 1 byte
12 bits = 2 bytes (½ Word) 16 bits =2 bytes (½ Word)
24 bits = 4 bytes (1 Word) 32 bits = 4 bytes (1 Word)
The memory capacity can be expressed as 32k, 64k, 256k, etc. The ‘K’ is a constant used
to represent the Kilobyte, which is made up of 1,024 bytes.
Another unit that can be used to measure the memory is Megabyte (MB). MB is used to
denote (stand for / represent / indicate) a million bytes, i.e. 1024 K is equivalent to 1MB.
Note. Half of a byte is described as a NIBBLE. A Nibble can be made up of 3 bits, for
Character machines and 4 bits for the Byte machines.

Exercise.
1. Data in a computer is represented in one major form. Define the term “Data
representation” in a computer system.
2. Define the following terms:
(i). Bit.
(ii). Byte.
(iii). Character.
(iv). Word.
3. Explain the term “NIBBLES” as used in data representation in computers.

CODING OF DATA.
A computer can understand only one language consisting of two symbols, 0 & 1(Binary
digits).
Since the computer cannot understand data represented in human languages (i.e. numerals
0 - 9, alphabets A – Z, and special symbols such as +, -, /, *, etc), it became necessary to
change the data to binary form, a process known as Coding of data.
In other words, to make communication possible between computers and human beings,
data must be coded in the form that can be understood by the computer and the information
supplied by a computer (after processing) must be coded in the form that can be understood
by the user.
The coding and decoding of data in a computer is done by the Input/Output devices.
Codes used in Computer systems.
Human readable
Human Computer works -OR-
message Input Code converted to in CPU Code CPU Code converted Machine readable
Computer Code by Input devices to Output Code by
Code
Output devices

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
Data representation – The representation of normal data in some type of coded form, such
as BCD, ASCII or EBCDIC.

NUMBER SYSTEMS.
The design and organization of a computer depends on the number system. The 4 number
systems are:-
1. Binary number system (Base 2).
2. Octal number system (Base 8).
3. Decimal number system (Base 10).
4. Hexadecimal number system (Base 16).
Binary numbers are numbers to base 2, and use only two digits; 0 & 1.
Octal numbers, are numbers to base 8, and consists 8 digits (0 to 7).
The decimal number system consists of 10 digits, 0 to 9.
Hexadecimal numbers are numbers to base 16 and there must be 16 digits. The sixteen
symbols used in the Hexadecimal system are; digits 0 to 9 & alphabets A to F.

Number System Base Digits and/or symbols represented

Binary 2 0, 1
Octal 8 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Decimal 10 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Hexadecimal 16 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, F

DECIMAL NUMBER SYSTEM.

The decimal number system consists of 10 digits, 0 to 9.
In decimal system, each digit has;
• A Digit value (0 to 9).
• A Positional value, which is determined by how many places to the left or the right of
the decimal point the digit is written.
Note. The Digit value & Positional value for each number system depend on the base of
the number system.
Powers of the base increase as we move to the left and decrease as we move to the right.
Summary for decimal number system (Integers only).
7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd 1st Position
10 6 10 5 10 4 10 3 102 101 100 Power base
1000000 100000 10000 1000 100 10 1 Value

Summary for Integers as well as Real numbers.

4th 3rd 2nd 1st 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Positio
. n

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing

103 102 10 10 10-1 10-2 10-3 10-4 10-5 Power

1 0 . base
100 10 10 1 1/1 1/10 1/100 1/1000 1/10000 Value
0 0 . 0 0 0 0 0

Decimal point.
The value of each digit in a number depends on the following:
(i). The digit itself, i.e. the face value of the digit.
(ii). The base of the number system.
(iii). The position of the digit in the number.

Example,
Let us consider the number 8888. All the digits represent the same value of 8. However,
the positional values are the absolute values multiplied by 10 raised to the positional
power.
103 102 101 100
8 8 8 8
= (8x103) + (8x102) + (8x101) + (8x100)
= (8x1000) + (8x100) + (8x10) + (8x1)
= 8000 + 800 + 80 + 8
= 8888
Since the positional increment is a power of 10, the value 10 is known as the Base of the
number system.
Therefore, the Base of a number system is the value whose positional power is used to
represent another value. Therefore, in the decimal system, the base is 10.
Example 1. To represent 5621 in the decimal system, it will be:
103 102 101 100
5 6 2 1
= (5x103) + (6x102) + (2x101) + (1x100)
= (5x1000) + (6x100) + (2x10) + (1x1)
= 5000 + 600 + 20 + 1
= 5621
Note. In the Decimal system, the position value of each digit in a number increases 10
times as we move from right to left starting with the rightmost digit.
Example 2: Fractional numbers.
(i). 0.839
100 10-1 10-2 10-3
0 · 8 3 9

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
= (0x100 ) . (8x10-1) + (3x10-2) + (9x10-3)
= (0) . (8x1/101) + (3x1/102) + (9x1/103)
= (0). (8x1/10) + (3x1/100) + (9x1/1000)
= 0.8 + 0.03 + 0.009
= 0.839
(ii). 342.85
102 101 100 10-1 10-2
3 4 2 · 8 5

= (3x100) + (4x10) + (2x1) . (8x1/10) + (5x1/100)

= (300 + 40 + 2) + (0.8 + 0.05)
= 342.85

BINARY NUMBER SYSTEM.

Binary is the representation of data by only 2 possible conditions (i.e. combinations of 1
& 0).
Binary system is a number system that uses only two digits; 0 & 1. It has a base of 2, and
is therefore called a Base-two system.
In the binary number system, the digits ‘1’ & ‘0’ are referred to as Bits (binary digits).
Exponential value 25 24 23 22 21 20
Integer value 32 16 8 4 2 0

It is clear that, the positional values of the numbers increase 2 times as we move from right
to left. This is because the base is 2.
Points.
Bit (Binary digit) – The digit 0 or 1 in the representation of a value in Binary notation.
Binary numbers are very important in the design, organization, and understanding of
computers.
The Binary system is more convenient because the computer storage systems are based on
a 2- state principle (digits 1 & 0).
For example;
(i). Magnetic storage media use the magnetic principles to imitate the states of 1’s & 0’s.
A magnetized spot represents a 1, while the non-magnetized spot represents a 0.
(ii). The computer’s Internal memory uses magnetic polarity in one direction to represent
a ‘1’ and in the reverse direction to represent a ‘0’.
(iii). The computer logical operations are also affected by pulse trains, where a pulse
represents a ‘1’ and no pulse represent a ‘0’.
In addition, the Binary code is used only for mathematical applications (it is not intended
to handle alphabetic data).

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing

OCTAL NUMBER SYSTEM.

In Octal number system, there are only 8 possible digits (0 to 7).
Each digit (number) in base 8 has its place value determined by 8.
The position value of a digit increases to the left of the octal point in ascending powers of
8.
For example, 21638 can be expressed as:
83 82 81 80 Assign the powers to base 8.
2 1 6 3
Note. Octal number system is more popular with microprocessors, because the number
represented in octal system can be used directly for input and output operations.
Complex binary numbers with several 1’s and 0’s can be conveniently handled in base 8.
The binary digits are combined into groups of 3 (three), and each group is used to represent
an individual octal digit.

HEXADECIMAL NUMBER SYSTEM.

In Hexadecimal number system, the base is 16 and there must be 16 digits.
The sixteen symbols used in the Hexadecimal system are; digits 0 to 9 & alphabets A to F.
The equivalence between hexa-numbers and decimal numbers is as shown below:-
Decimal Hexadecimal.
10 A
11 B
12 C
13 D
14 E
15 F
Each digit in the Hex number system has its place value expressed in terms of 16.
E.g. the value 12A0 can be expressed as:
163 162 161 160 Assign the powers to base 16.
1 2 A 0
Note. Hexadecimal numbers are used because more complex binary notations can be
simplified by grouping the binary digits (bits) into groups of 4’s, each group representing
a hexadecimal digit.
E.g. a Binary number such as 10010101000002 can be handled in base 16 as:
20 21 23 21 Assign the powers to base 2.
0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 10 1 0 0 0 0 0
= (1x20) (1x21) {(1x23)+(1x21)} 0
= 1 2 (8 + 2) 0
= 1 2 10 0
=12A016.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
Note. The Hex system is very well suited for big computers such as IBM and
microprocessors with CPU chips such as INTEL 8085. This is because the Hex number
system represents information in short form.

Exercise I.
1. State the FOUR types of Number systems.
2. Define and explain Decimal notation.
3. (a). What is the Binary system of numbers?
(b). Explain the main features of Binary notation.
(c). State one reason why computers use binary numbers.
4. Write out what A,B,C, and D represent in the table below.
Number System Values
A 0,1
B 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7
C 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
D 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E,F
A __________________________ B ______________________________
C __________________________ D ______________________________
5. (a). Explain the main characteristics of Octal notation.
(b). Explain the advantages of using Octal numbers over binary numbers.
6. Write a short note on Hexadecimal notation.

BASE CONVERSIONS.
Human beings normally work with the base 10 notation, i.e. all the data passed to go as
computer input is usually in decimal notation. Subsequently, the results of the computer
operations are communicated to the users in a form they can understand, i.e. in base 10
(decimal) notations.
The Base Conversion is therefore used to help computer users understand how data and
information is communicated between the computer and the user.

(i). FROM DECIMAL TO BINARY.

To convert a Decimal number (base 10) to a Binary number (base 2), the decimal
number is repeatedly divided by 2, until the number cannot be further divided by two.
On each division, the remainder is noted.
Then, the remainders are copied from the bottom Upwards to give the binary
equivalent of the decimal number.
Example 1: Convert a decimal no. such as 12110 to its binary equivalent.
2 121 REM
2 60 1
2 30 0
2 15 0
2 7 1 Copy

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing

2 3 1
2 1 1
1 1

12110 11110012
Example 2: Convert the following decimal integers into their binary equivalents.
(i). 36
2 36 REM
2 18 0
2 9 0
2 4 1 Copy
2 2 0
2 1 0
1 1

12110 1001002
(ii). 247
2 247 REM
2 123 1
2 61 1
2 30 1
2 15 0 Copy
2 7 1
2 3 1
2 1 1
1 1

24710 111101112

Fractional numbers.
For a fractional number, the no. is divided into 2 parts; the whole number part & the
fraction part.
The whole no. is then converted to binary individually as shown above. The fraction
part is repetitively multiplied by 2, noting the complete units of two. This is done
until the fraction becomes a 0 or starts recurring.
The complete units of the fraction part are then copied downwards.
Example 1: Convert a decimal number such as 26.2510 to its binary equivalent.
2 26 REM Fractional part
2 13 0
2 6 1 0.25 x 2 = 0.50 0 Copy
2 3 0 Copy 0.50 x 2 = 1.00 1
2 1 1 0.00x2 (not necessary, hence stop)

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing

1 1
0.25 0.01
2610 110102
Therefore, 26.2510 11010.012

(ii). FROM BINARY TO DECIMAL.

To convert a binary number to decimal system, the number in binary form is assigned
weighting factors (place values) for each digit.
The partial products (i.e. the product of each digit and its corresponding weight) are
obtained, and then added to give a decimal number equivalent of the binary number.
Example 1: Convert the binary number 10110 to decimal.
24 23 22 21 20 Assign the powers to base 2.
1 0 1 1 0
=(1x24) + (0x23) + (1x22) + (1x21) + (0x20)
=16 + 0 + 4 + 2 + 0
Therefore, 101102 2210
Explanation:
Note that the binary number 10110 has 5 digits. Starting with the rightmost digit, the
Most Significant Digit (MSD) is in the 5th position. So, it is multiplied by 24 & each
digit on its right will be half of it in its positional value. The products obtained are
added together to get the required decimal equivalent.
Example 2: Convert the binary number 11110012 to its decimal equivalent.
26 25 24 23 22 21 20 Assign the powers to base 2.
1 1 1 1 0 0 1
= (1x26) + (1x25) + (1x24) + (1x23) + (0x22) + (0x21) + (1x20)
Sum = 64 + 32 + 16 + 8 + 0+ 0 + 1
= 121
Therefore, 11110012 12110

Example 3: Determine the decimal equivalent of the following binary numbers.

(i). 1011
Solution.
= (1x23) + (0x22) + (1x21) + (1x20)
=8+0+2+1
Therefore, 10112 1110

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
(ii). 11011
= (1x24) + (1x23) + (0x22) + (1x21) + (1x20)
= 16 + 8 + 0 + 2 + 1
Therefore, 110112 2710
(iii). 110101
= (1x25) + (1x24) + (0x23) + (1x22) + (0x21) + (1x20)
= 32 + 16 + 0 + 4 + 0 + 1
Therefore, 110102 5310
(iv). 111000101
= (1x28) + (1x27) + (1x26) + (0x25) + (0x24) + (0x23) + (1x22) + (0x21) +
(1x20)
= 256 + 128 + 64 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 4 + 0 + 1
Therefore, 1110001012 45310

Fractional numbers.
For a fractional number, the whole no. is converted to decimal as above.
The digits in the fraction part are divided by multiples of 2, starting from the decimal
point.
Example 1: Convert a binary no. such as 11010.012 to its decimal equivalent.
24 23 22 21 20 2-1 2-2 Weights.
1 1 0 1 0 . 0 1

= {(1x24) + (1x23) + (0x22) + (1x21) + (0x20)}. {(0x2-1) + (1x2-2)}

Sum = 16 + 8 + 0 + 2 + 0+ 0 + ¼
= 26 ¼
= 26.25
Therefore, 11010.012 26.2510
Points to Note.
(i). 2-11/21½
(ii). 5-21/521/25
(iii). 20 1 (any no. raised to the power of 0 is 1.)
Example 2: Express the following binary fractions to their decimal equivalents:-
(i). (0.111)2
20 2-1 2-2 2-3 Weights.
0 . 1 1 1

= (0x20). {(1x2-1) + (1x2-2) + (1x2-3)}

Sum =½+¼+⅛
= 0.5 + 0.25 + 0.125

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
Therefore, 0.1112 0.87510
(ii). (11011.101)2
24 23 22 21 20 2-1 2-2 2-3 . Weights.
1 1 0 1 1 . 1 0 1

= {(1x24) + (1x23) + (0x22) + (1x21) + (1x20)}. {(1x2-1) + (0x2-2) + (1x2-

3)}

Sum = 16 + 8 + 0 + 2 + 1+ ½ + 0 + ⅛
= 27 + 0.5 + 0.125
Therefore, 11011.1012 27.62510

(iii). FROM DECIMAL TO OCTAL.

To convert a Decimal number to its octal equivalent, divide the decimal number given
repeatedly by 8 until the quotient obtained is zero.
Example 1: Convert 69110 to Octal.
8 691 REM
8 86 3
8 10 6 Copy
8 1 2
1 1

Therefore, 69210 12638

Example 2: Convert the following decimal numbers to their octal equivalent.
(i). 785
8 785 REM
8 98 1
8 12 2 Copy
8 1 4
1 1

Therefore, 78510 14218

Check (1421)8 = 1x83 + 4x82 + 2x81 + 1x80
= 512 + 256 + 16 + 1
= (785)10
(ii). 8159
8 8159 REM
8 1019 7
8 127 3 Copy
8 15 7
8 1 7
1 1

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing

Therefore, 815910 177378

Fractional numbers.
To convert decimal fractions into their equivalent octal fractions, the whole part of
the decimal number is repeatedly divided by 8.
The fractional part is repetitively multiplied by 8, noting the complete units of 8, until
the fractional part becomes zero or up to the required number of digits. The complete
units are then copied downwards.
Example 1: Convert a decimal number such as 98.12510 to its octal equivalent.
8 98 REM Fractional part
8 12 2
8 1 4 Copy 0.125 x 8 = 1.00 1 Copy
1 1 0.00 x 8 (not necessary)

9810 1428 0.12510 0.18

Therefore, 98.12510 142.18
Example 2: Convert the following decimal fractions to their equivalent octal
fractions.
(i). 0.75
0.75 x 8 = 6.00
(Since the fractional part has become zero, there is no need to proceed
further).
Therefore, 0.7510 0.68
Check (0.6)8 = 6x8-1 = 6x (1/8) = 6x0.125 = (0.75)10
(ii). 0.21875
0.21875 x 8 = 1.75000 1 Copy
0.75000 x 8 = 6.00000 6
Therefore, 0.2187510 0.168
Check (0.16)8 = 1x8-1 + 6x8-2
= 1x(1/8) + 6x(1/64)
= (1x0.125) + (6x0.015625)
= 0.125 + 0.093750
= (0.21875)10

(iv). FROM OCTAL TO DECIMAL.

The octal number is assigned the weights in terms of 8’s.
Example 1: Convert 12638 to decimal.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
83 82 81 80 Assign the powers to base 8.
1 2 6 3
= (1x83) + (2x82) + (6x81) + (3x80)
Sum = 512 + 128 + 48 + 3
= 691
Therefore, 12638 69110

Example 2: Convert the following octal numbers to their decimal equivalents.

(i). 41
(41)8 = (4x81) + (1x80)
Sum = 32 + 1
= 33
Therefore, (41)8 (33)10
(ii). 283
(283)8 = (2x82) + (8x81) + (3x80)
Sum = 128 + 64 + 3
= 195
Therefore, (283)8 (195)10
Example 3: Convert 60578 x 428 to decimal.
83 82 81 80 Assign the powers to base 8.
6 0 5 7
= (6x83) + (0x82) + (5x81) + (7x80)
Sum = 3072 + 0 + 40 + 7
= 311910
81 80 Assign the powers to base 8.
4 2
= (4x81) + (2x80)
Sum = 32 + 2
= 3410
311910
x 3410
9357
12476
106046
Therefore, 60578 x 428 10604610

Fractional numbers.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
For a fractional octal number, the whole part is converted to decimal as above. The
digits in the fraction part are divided by multiples of 8.
Example 1: Convert 142.18 to decimal.
82 81 80 8-1 Assign the powers to base 8
1 4 2 . 1

= {(1x82) + (4x81) + (2x80)}. (1x8-1)

Sum = 64 + 32 + 2 + 1/8
= 98 1/8
= 98.125
Therefore, 142.18 98.12510

Example 2: Convert the following octal fractions to their decimal equivalents.

(i). (0.54)8
(0.54)8 = (5x8-1) + (4x8-2)
= 5x(1/8) + 4x(1/64)
Sum = 5x 0.125 + 4x0.015625
= 0.625 + 0.062500
= 0.687500
Therefore, (0.54)8 (0.687500)10
(ii). (0.642)8
(0.642)8 = (6x8-1) + (4x8-2) + (2x8-3)
= 6x(1/8) + 4x(1/64) + 2x(1/512)
Sum = 6x 0.125 + 4x0.015625 + 2x0.001953125
= 0.750 + 0.062500 + 0.003906250
= 0.816406250
Therefore, (0.642)8 (0.816406250)10

(v). FROM DECIMAL TO HEXADECIMAL.

The decimal no. is repeatedly divided by 16.
Example 1: Convert 12210 to its hexadecimal equivalent.
16 122 REM
16 7 A (=10 in decimal)
7 7 Copy

Therefore, 12210 7A16

Example 2: Convert decimal number 745 to equivalent hexadecimal number.
16 745 REM

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing

16 46 9
16 2 E (=14 in decimal) Copy
2 2

Therefore, 74510 2E916

Fractional numbers.
For a fractional decimal number, the fraction part is repetitively multiplied by 16,
noting the complete units of 16’s. The complete units are then copied downwards.
Example 1: Convert 32.12510 to hexadecimal.
16 32 REM Fractional part
16 2 0
2 2 Copy 0.125 x 16 = 2.00 2 Copy
0.00 x 16 (not necessary)
3210 2016
0.12510 0.216
Therefore, 32.12510 20.216

(vi). FROM HEXADECIMAL TO DECIMAL.

Assign the hexadecimal number given to the weights in terms of 16’s.
Example 1: Convert 7A16 to decimal.
161 160 Assign the powers to base 16.
7 A
= (7x161) + (Ax160)
Sum = 112 + 10
= 122
Therefore, 7A16 12210

Fractional numbers.
For a fractional hexadecimal value, the whole part is converted to decimal as above.
The digits in the fraction part are divided by multiples of 16.
Example 1: Convert 20.216 to decimal.
161 160 16-1 Assign the powers to base 16.
2 0 . 2

={(2x161) + (0x160)}. (2x16-1)

Sum =32 + 0 + (2x1/16)
= 32 + 1/8
= 32 1/8
=32.125
Therefore, 20.216 32.12510

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing

Example 2: Convert the following hexadecimal fractions into their decimal

equivalents.
(i). (0.8)H
(0.8)H = 8x16-1
= 8x (1/16)
= 0.5000
Therefore, (0.8)H = (0.5000)10
(ii). (A9.328)H
(A9.328)H = {Ax161 + 9x160} + {3x16-1 + 2x16-2 + 8x16-3}
= 10x16 + 9x1 + 3x(1/16) + 2x(1/256) + 8x(1/4096)
= 160 + 9 + 3x 0.0625 + 2x0.00390625 + 8x0.00024414
= 160 + 9 + 0.1875 + 0.0078125 + 0.001953125
= 169.197265625
Therefore, (A9.328)H = (169.197265625)10

(vii). FROM BINARY TO OCTAL.

Example1: Convert the binary number 100011100112 to Octal.
Solution.
The binary digits are grouped into 3’s and each group is used to represent an individual
octal digit.
21 2 0 22 21 21 20 Assign the powers to base 2.
0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1
= (1x21) (1x20) {(1x22)+(1x21)} {(1x21)+(1x20)}
= 2 1 (4 + 2) (2 + 1)
= 2 1 6 3
= 21638.

(viii). FROM BINARY TO HEXADECIMAL.

Example: Convert the binary number 0110110010001111 to its equivalent
hexadecimal number.
Solution.
The binary digits are put into groups of 4’s, each group representing a hexadecimal
digit.
22 21 23 22 23 23 22 2 1 20 Assign the powers to base 2.
0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1
= {(1x22) + (1x21)} + {(1x23) + (1x22)} + {(1x23)} + {(1x23)+ (1x22) (1x21)+
(1x20)}
= {4 +2} {8+ 4} {8} {8 + 4 + 2 + 1}

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
=6 12 8 15
= 6C8F16.
The equivalent hexadecimal number is (6C8F)16.

NOTE. You can convert an Octal number to Binary, Hexadecimal to Binary or from Octal
to Hexadecimal.
To do this, first convert the given number to base 10 (decimal), then from base 10 to the
required base.

(ix). FROM OCTAL TO BINARY.

Example1: Convert 3478 to Binary.
Solution.
Step 1: First, convert the given number to base 10 (decimal).
82 81 80 Assign the powers to base 8.
3 4 7
= (3x82) + (4x81) + (7x80)
= (3x64) + (4x8) + (7x1)
= 192 + 32 + 7
= 23110.
Step 2: Then convert the resulting decimal number to the binary.
2 231 REM
2 115 1
2 57 1
2 28 1
2 14 0 Copy
2 7 0
2 3 1
2 1 1
1 1

23110 111001112

Therefore, 3478111001112
(x). FROM HEXADECIMAL TO BINARY.
Example 1: Convert 6DC16 to its binary equivalent.
Solution.
Step 1: Convert the hexadecimal (base 16) number given to its decimal (base 10)
equivalent.
6DC
= (6x162)+ (Dx161)+ (Cx160)
= 6x162 + 13x161 + 12x160

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
= 1536 + 208 + 12
= 175610.
Step 2: Convert the decimal (base 10) number obtained to binary (base 2).
2 1756 REM
2 878 0
2 439 0
2 219 1
2 109 1
2 54 1
2 27 0 Copy
2 13 1
2 6
1
2 3 0
2 1 1
1 1
Therefore, (6DC)16  (11011011100)2
Example 2: Convert A7116 to binary.
Solution.
Step 1: Convert the hexadecimal (base 16) number given to its decimal (base 10)
equivalent.
A71
= (Ax162)+ (7x161)+ (1x160)
= 10x162 + 7x161 + 1x160
= 2560 + 112 + 1
= 267310.
Step 2: Convert the decimal (base 10) number obtained to binary (base 2).
2 2673 REM
2 1336 1
2 668 0
2 334 0
2 167 0
2 83 1
2 41 1 Copy
2 20 1
2 10 0
2 5 0
2 2 1
2 1 0
1
1
Therefore, (A71)16  (101001110001)2

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing

(xi). FROM OCTAL TO HEXADECIMAL.

Example1: Convert 60578 to Hexadecimal.
Solution.
Step 1: First, convert the given octal number to decimal (base 10).
83 82 81 80 Assign the powers to base 8.
6 0 5 7
= (6x83) + (0x82) + (5x81) + (7x80)
Sum = 3072 + 0 + 40 + 7
= 3119
Therefore, 60578 311910
Step 2: Then convert the resulting decimal number to the Hexadecimal.
16 3119 REM
16 194 F (=15 in decimal)
12 2 Copy
12 C (=12 in decimal)
311910 C2F16
Therefore, 60578C2F16

Exercise I.
1. (A). What are Base Conversions?
(B). Explain the following conversions:
(i). From decimal to binary.
(ii). From binary to decimal.
(iii). From decimal to Octal.
(iv). From octal to decimal.
(v). From decimal to hexadecimal.
(vi). From hexadecimal to decimal.
2. Perform the following computer arithmetic. In each case, show how you arrive at your
answer.
(A). Convert the following decimal numbers to their binary equivalent.
(i). 11
(ii). 001
(iii). 255
(iv). 2346
(v). 322.6875 (3
marks).
(B). Convert the following binary numbers to decimal.
(i). 110111001 (2
marks)
(ii). 10101.1011 (2
marks)

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
(C). Convert the following binary numbers to hexadecimal number systems.
(i). 1011 (2
marks).
(ii). 11110101 (2
marks).
(iii). 10100000001111111
(iv). 110111.11 (2
marks).
(v). 1.1110101 (2
marks).
(vi). 0.10111010110011101111

(D). Convert the following octal numbers to binary.

(i). 77
(ii). 0000001
(iii). 347
(iv). 1263
(v). 473.4 (2
marks).
(vi). 0.354672341
(E). Convert the following hexadecimal numbers to binary.
(i). 13
(ii). C3
(iii). 347.2
(iv). BCD
(v). A71
(vi). A71.A
(vii). 0.8746532
(viii). 0.7BCEFAD
(F). Convert the following hexadecimal numbers to decimal.
(i). EI.F (2
marks).
(G). Convert the following hexadecimal numbers to octal.
(i). F8
(ii). FBE.E1AB (4
marks).
(H). Convert the following decimal numbers to hexadecimal.
(i). 32.125
(ii). 5.125 (2
marks).
(I). Convert the following binary numbers to octal.
(i). 0.00101110010111
(ii). 0.101110011111010001

Exercise II.
1. Convert the following to Hexadecimal.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
(i). 24010 (2
marks).
(ii). 60578 (4
marks).
2. (A). Convert the following numbers to their Binary equivalents.
(i). 3768. (3
marks).
(ii). A6B16. (4
marks)
(B).Convert the following into binary:
(i). 3478.
(ii). 47310.
(iii). BCD16. (12
marks).
3. A. Convert the following numbers into their decimal equivalent showing all steps.
(i). 110101.01102
(ii). 3478
B. Convert the following numbers into their hexadecimal equivalent showing all steps
(i). 35610
(ii). 67548
4. Convert the following octal numbers to hexadecimal.
(i). 6057
(ii). 56752 (3
marks).

NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
Both positive and negative numbers can be represented in the computer memory during
processing.
The input numbers whether positive or negative are all represented in binary form.
The negative numbers are used to carry out subtraction in the computer’s arithmetic
operations. This is based on the fact that, subtracting a number is the same as adding its
negative to the other.
The following are the various methods used to represent negative numbers in the
computer:-
(i). One’s Complement (1C) method.
(ii). Two’s Complement (2C) method.
(iii). Signed Magnitude method.

One’s Complement (1C) method.

In 1C method, the binary digits representing the negative number are negated, (i.e., the 1’s
in the number are changed to 0’s, and the 0’s are changed to 1’s).
E.g., -1710 can be represented in binary as a negative value as:
Step 1: Convert -1710 to binary (base 2).
2 17 REM
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2 8 1
2 4 0 Copy
2 2 0
2 1 0
1 1
1710 100012
Therefore, -1710 1 0 0 0 12
Complementing each bit
0 1 1 1 02
-1710 011102 (1C method).

Two’s Complement (2C) method.

In 2C method, the negative number is represented into binary form, then complemented as
in 1C method, but a ‘1’ is added to the Least Significant Digit (LSD) of the complement
value.
E.g., -1710 can be represented as:
1710 100012
Therefore, -1710 1 0 0 0 12
Complement each bit, add a ‘1’ to the compliment.
0 1 11 0
1+
0 1 1 1 1
-1710 011112 (2C method).

Signed Magnitude method.

In Signed Magnitude method, the number is divided into two parts; the Sign part and the
Data part.
Usually, a ‘1’ is used to represent a negative sign and a ‘0’ to represent a positive sign.
The Magnitude part is expressed in binary but not complimented. Therefore, one part of
the binary digits will be representing the data value, while the other will represent the sign
bit.
To make it simple, it is assumed that the sign bit is 1, while the data bits are equivalent to
the binary number digits representing 17.
E.g., -1710 can be represented in binary as 100012:
1710 100012 (unsigned)
Therefore, -1710 1 100012

Sign bit Data bits

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
+1710  0 100012

Exercise.
2. (a). What are Negative numbers?
(b). Explain the main methods of using negative numbers.

BINARY ARITHMETICS.
ADDITION:
Adding binary numbers is the same as adding decimal numbers. The difference is that, any
complete units of two’s are carried and added to the next significant digit.
Binary addition rules.
During binary addition (i.e. when adding two digits) the following rules need to be noted.
Sum Carry
0 + 0 = 0 0
0 + 1 = 1 0
1 + 0 = 1 0
1 + 1 = 0 1
Example 1:
1 0 0 1
+ 0 1 0 1
1 1 1 0

Example 2:
1 1 0 1 02
+ 1 0 1 02
1 0 0 1 0 02
Explanation:
Addition of two binary numbers starts from the Least Significant Digits.
 Zero (0) is added to 0 to get a sum of 0.
 The next significant digits, 1 and 1 are added to get a sum of 0 plus a carryout of 1.
The Carryout is given by any complete units of two got after the digits of the same
significance are added.
The carryout from the previous addition becomes the Carry in of the next significant
digits, to which the carry is added.
The procedure continues until the overall sum of the two binary numbers is got.
Note. During arithmetic operations, the data to be worked upon are usually held on
locations (cells) of predefined length or capacity. If the results cannot fit in any of the
spaces that contain the values to be executed, then there is usually an excess bit in the
answer.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
For instance, in the above example, we have added a 5-bit and a 4-bit number, to get a 6-
bit answer, which cannot fit on either 5-bit or 4-bit areas, hence there is an excess bit in the
answer, what is described as the Arithmetic overflow.
The excess/extra bits of the sum that cannot fit the expected space are known as Overflow.

SUBTRACTION:
Binary subtraction rules.
When subtracting two numbers (i.e. when getting the difference between two numbers),
the following rules must be observed.
Difference Borrowed
(from the next significant digit)
0 - 0 = 0 0
1 - 0 = 1 0
0 - 1 = 1 1
1 - 1 = 0 0
Example 1:
1 1 1 0 12
- 1 0 1 02
1 0 0 1 12
NB. The one (1) you have borrowed is equivalent to 2.
Explanation:
The subtraction starts with the least significant digits towards the most significant digits.
 In the first subtraction, a 0 is subtracted from a 1, and the difference is a ‘1’.
 In the 2nd subtraction, 1 cannot be subtracted from a 0, and hence a 1 containing 2 is
borrowed from the next significant digit from which a 1 is subtracted and a difference
of 1 is got.
Note that, borrowing 1 from 1 leaves a 0 in the 3rd digit of the number being subtracted
from.
The procedures proceed until the subtraction is complete.
Example 2:
11110011 – 1100000 (base 2).
11110011
1100000 -
10010011 (base 2)
Note. Subtraction of binary numbers can also be carried out using the Compliments and
Signed magnitude methods.

Subtraction of binary numbers using the One’s Compliment method.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
(11101)2 – (1010)2
Solution.
Step 1: Make the digits of the values the same.
1 1 1 0 1
- 0 1 0 1 0
Step 2: Compliment the digits of the negative number, and then add.
1 1 1 0 1
+1 0 1 0 1
11 0 0 1 0

Overflow
Step 3: Add the overflow digit to the Least Significant Digit of the sum to get the difference.
1 1 1 0 1
+1 0 1 0 1
1 0 0 1 0
1+
1 0 0 1 1 Difference

MULTIPLICATION:
When two numbers are multiplied, the output is the Product.
Binary multiplication rules.
The following rules must be used when carrying out a multiplication procedure.
Product
0 x 0 = 0
0 x 1 = 0
1 x 0 = 0
1 x 1 = 1
Example 1:
1 0 1 0 Multiplicand
x 1 0 1 Multiplier
1 0 1 0
0 0 0 0 partial products
1 0 1 0
1 1 0 0 1 02 Product

Explanation:

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
The multiplicand is multiplied by the multiplier digits starting from the Most Significant
Digit towards the least significant digit, shifting one place to the right each time the next
multiplier digit is used to produce the partial product.
The partial products are then added up to give the product of the multiplication.

Example 2:
(i). 11100 x 10010 (base 2).
11100
10010 x
11100
00000
00000
11100
00000
111111000 (base 2)

DIVISION:
Computers carry out binary division by repetitive subtraction.
Example 1:
11102 REM 1002
101 1001010
-101
1000
-101
0111
-101
0100
Explanation:
Since the divisor is made up of 3 digits, we start by grouping the dividend bits into groups
of 3’s from the Most Significant Digit.
 In the first grouping, 100 is got, which cannot be divided by 101, and hence extend to
4 digits and 101 goes into 1001 once. The 1 is copied on top.
The remainder 100 cannot divide into 101, and hence the next digit 0 is added to it
forming 1000, that divides into 101 once, and 1 is copied on top.
The procedure repeats until all the digits of the dividend are exhausted and a remainder
of 11102 is got.
Example 2:
110
101 11110
101

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
101
101
00
110
Question.
Perform the following computations:
(i). 11100 x 10010 (base 2).
(ii). 2567 + 3476 (base 8).
2567
3476 +
6265 (base 8)
(iii). 11110011 – 1100000 (base 2).
Exercise I.
1. Explain the following processes of binary arithmetic:
(i). Addition.
(ii). Subtraction.
(iii). Multiplication.
(iv). Division.
2. Use One’s compliment to solve the following sums:
(i). 9-6 (ii). 17-15
3. Use Two’s compliment to solve the following sums (the numbers are in decimal
notation).
(a). 13-10.
(b). 23-20
(c). 17-14
4. Carry out the following arithmetic:
(i). 1101112 Multiply by 11012
(ii). 60578 multiply by 428 (3
marks).
(iii). 2.48 multiply by 7.68 (3
marks).
(iv). 1101102 divide by 1112 (3
marks).
5. Use binary addition to solve the following decimal summations.
(i). 4+3
(ii). 13+2
6. Perform the following binary additions. Your answers should be in the binary format:
(i). 1010 + 0010
(ii). 1111 + 0001

Exercise II.
1. Perform the following binary arithmetic:
(A). (i). 10111 multiply by 1001

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
(ii). 1011.1 multiply by 1.01 (3
marks)
(B). (i). 1110011 divide by 101
(ii). 11100.11 divide by 1.01 (3
marks)
(C). (i). 1110.0111 add 1101001.0110
(ii). 11101101 add 0101110 (2
marks)
(D). 1001011.011 subtract 111.111 (2
marks).
2. Perform the following hexadecimal arithmetic:
(a). 31 – 9.7 FD (3
marks).
(b). ABCD + 145 (3
marks).
(c). DFAC – 101B (2
marks).
(d). 14.79 + BC.78 + DE.78 (2
marks).
3. Perform the following octal arithmetic:
(i). 2.456 + 17.456 + 31.76 (2
marks).
(ii). 57724.33 add 422.76 (2
marks).
(iii). 20 multiply by 13 (2
marks).
(iv). 243.4 multiply by 123 (3
marks).
(v). 421 x 4.7 (3
marks).
(vi). 124 divide by 10 (2
marks).
(vii). 260032 divided by 246 (3
marks).
(viii). 21.256 – 6.347 (2
marks).
(ix). 6625.24 subtract 751.76 (2
marks).

COMPUTATIONAL ERRORS.
The main computation errors are:
1). Overflow:
Overflow occurs whenever the results of an arithmetic operation are bigger than the
assigned work area.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
E.g. If the result is to be stored in an 8-bit work area (register) and the results generate
more than 8 bits, an error message is generated by the computer. This may terminate
the normal execution cycle.
2). Truncation:
To truncate a number is to drop out some digits of the number after the decimal point
when for example a division or fraction gives a recurring quotient.
E.g. Division of 1/9 produces 0.1111…
The quotient, therefore, may be rounded down to 3 decimal places, thereby dropping
out the rest of the values.
I.e. 1/9 = 0.111
3). Rounding Up.
If a division produces a recurring quotient or in fractions that recur, the result
(quotient) can be rounded to the nearest value.
E.g., 23/48 = 0.4791666………
In this case, the quotient can be rounded up to 4 decimal places as 0.4792, because the
next value after the 4th decimal place is >=5. However, if it was less that 5, then it
would have been rounded down to 0.4791.
The rounding of numbers (answers/quotients) reduces truncation errors.

4). Floating Point Numbers.

The floating point notation is the expression of a number or values into their standard
form equivalent.
E.g., 1234 can be expressed in standard (floating point) notations as:
1.234 x 103
Where; 1.234 is the Argument.
10 is the Base.
3 is the Exponent.
Calculations done in floating point notations or any numbers represented in their
floating notation are prone to truncation errors. For example, to represent a number
such as 0.1234 x 104 into a 3-digit accuracy, then the result is truncated.
However, computers with larger storage areas for floating point numbers are less prone
to such truncation errors.

Exercise.
1. Name and explain the four types of computation errors. (20 marks).

DATA SECURITY AND CONTROL

Introduction
Data & Information must be protected against unauthorized access, disclosure,
modification or damage. This is because; it is a scarce & valuable resource for any

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
business organization or government. It is mostly used in transactions, it can be shared,
and has high value attached to it.
Data & Information security:
Data security is the protection of data & information from accidental or intentional
disclosure to unauthorized persons.
Data & Information privacy:
Private data or information is that which belongs to an individual & must not be
accessed by or disclosed to any other person, without direct permission from the owner.
Confidential data or information – this is data or information held by a government or
organization about people. This data/information may be seen by authorized persons
without the knowledge of the owner. However, it should not be used for commercial
gain or any other unofficial purpose without the owner being informed.

Review Questions
1. Differentiate between private and confidential data.
2. Why is information called a resource?
3. (a) Explain the term ‘Information security’.
(b) Recently, data and information security has become very important. Explain.

SECURITY THREATS TO DATA & INFORMATION

1). COMPUTER VIRUSES
 A computer virus is a destructive program that attaches itself to other files when
the files are opened for use, and installs itself on the computer, without the
knowledge of the user.
 A computer virus is a program designed specifically to damage other programs or
interfere with the proper functioning of the computer system.
A virus is a computer code usually designed to carry out 2 tasks:
(a) To copy itself from one computer system to another.
(b) To locate itself within a computer system enabling it to amend/destroy program
& data files, by interfering with the normal processes of the operating system.
Types of computer viruses.
1. Boot sector viruses – they destroy the booting information on storage devices.
2. File viruses – they attach themselves to files either erasing or modifying them.
3. Hoax viruses – they come as e-mails with an attractive subject & activate
themselves when the e-mail is opened.
4. Trojans – they appear to perform necessary functions, but perform other
undesirable activities in the background without the knowledge of the user.
5. Worms – viruses that stick in the computer memory.
6. Backdoors – may be a Trojan or Worm that allows hidden access to a computer
system.
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Types of destructions/damages caused by a virus attack

 Delete or modify data, information & files on storage devices (disks) or memory
during normal program execution, e.g., may attack the format of a disk making any
program or data on it impossible to recover.
 Systematically destroy all the data in the computer memory.
 Might lock the keyboard.
 Can change keystroke values or data from other I/O devices, e.g., change the effect
of SHIFT key.
 Delete characters displayed on a visual display.
 Uses up computer memory/space, hence slowing down its performance or causing
the system to crash.
 Changes colour of the display.
 Cause boot failure.
Sources of viruses.
a) Contact with contaminated systems:
If a diskette is used on a virus infected computer, it could become contaminated.
If the same diskette is used on another computer, then the virus will spread.
b) Use of pirated software:
Pirated software may be contaminated by a virus code or it may have been
amended to perform some destructive functions which may affect your
computer.
c) Infected proprietary software:
A virus could be introduced when the software is being developed in
laboratories, and then copied onto diskettes containing the finished software
product.
d) Fake games:
Some virus programs behave like games software. Since many people like
playing games on computers, the virus can spread very fast.
e) Freeware and Shareware:
Both freeware & shareware programs are commonly available in Bulletin board
systems.
Such programs should first be used in controlled environment until it is clear that
the program does not contain either a virus or a destructive code.
f) Updates of software distributed via networks:
Viruses programs can be spread through software distributed via networks.

Symptoms of viruses in a computer system.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing

The following symptoms indicate the presence of a virus in your computer:

 Boot failure.
 Files & programs disappearing mysteriously.
 Unfamiliar graphics or messages appearing on the screen, e.g., the virus might flash
a harmless message such as “Merry Christmas” on the computer terminal.
 Slow booting.
 Gradual filing of the free space on the hard disk.
 Corruption of files and programs.
 Programs taking longer than usual to load.
 Disk access time seeming too long for simple tasks.
 Unusual error messages occurring more frequently.
 Frequent read/write errors.
 Disk access lights turning on for non-referenced devices.
 Computer hags anytime when running a program.
 Less memory available than usual, e.g., Base memory may read less than 640KB.
 Size of executable files changing for no obvious reason.

Control measures against viruses.

i). Install up-to-date (or the latest) antivirus software on the computers.
ii). Restrict the movement of foreign storage media, e.g., diskettes in the computer
room.
If they have to be used, they must be scanned for viruses.
iii). Avoid opening mail attachments before scanning them for viruses.
iv). Write-protect disks after using them.
v). Disable floppy disk drives, if there is no need to use disks in the course of normal
operation.
vi). Backup all software & data files at regular intervals.
vii). Do not boot your computer from disks which you are not sure are free from
viruses.
viii). Avoid pirated software. If possible, use the software from the major software
houses.
ix). Programs downloaded from Bulletin Boards & those obtained from computer
clubs should be carefully evaluated & examined for any destructive code.

2). UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS

Data & information is always under constant threat from people who may want to
access it without permission. Such persons will usually have a bad intention, either to
commit fraud, steal the information & destroy or corrupt the data.
Unauthorized access may take the following forms:
a). Eavesdropping:

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
This is tapping into communication channels to get information, e.g., Hackers
mainly use eavesdropping to obtain credit card numbers.
b). Surveillance (monitoring):
This is where a person may monitor all computer activities done by another
person or people.
The information gathered may be used for different purposes, e.g., for spreading
propaganda or sabotage.
c). Industrial espionage:
Industrial espionage involves spying on a competitor so as to get or steal
information that can be used to finish the competitor or for commercial gain.
The main aim of espionage is to get ideas on how to counter by developing
similar approach or sabotage.
d). An employee who is not supposed to see some sensitive data gets it, either by
mistake or design.
e). Strangers who may stray into the computer room when nobody is using the
computers.
f). Forced entry into the computer room through weak access points.
g). Network access in case the computers are networked & connected to the external
world.

Control measures against unauthorized access.

i). Enforce data & information access control policies on all employees to control
access to data.
ii). Keep the computer room closed when nobody is using it.
iii). Reinforce weak access points, e.g., doors & windows with metallic grills &
burglar alarms.
iv). Use file passwords to prevent any person from getting access to the electronic
files.
v). Enforce network security measures, e.g., use of firewalls.
vi). Encrypt the data & information during transmission.
vii). Perform frequent Audit trails to identify threats to data & information.

3). COMPUTER ERRORS & ACCIDENTAL ACCESS

Errors and accidental access to data & information may be as a result of:
 Mistakes made by people, e.g., one may print sensitive reports & unsuspectingly
give them to unauthorized persons.
 People experimenting with features they are not familiar with. E.g., a person may
innocently download a file without knowing that it is self-installing or it may be
dangerous to the system.

Control measures against computer errors & accidents.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
i). Restrict file access to the end-users and technical staff in the organization, i.e.,
deny access of certain files & computers to certain groups of end-users.
This is because; accidental access mistakes occur if the end-users have too much
privilege that allows them to access or change sensitive files on the computer.
ii). Set up a comprehensive error-recovery strategy in the organization.

4). THEFT
The threat of theft of data & information, hardware & software is real. Some
information is so valuable such that business competitors or some governments can
decide to pay somebody a fortune so as to steal the information for them to use.

Control measures against theft of information, hardware, & software.

i). Create backups & store them in locations away from the main computing centre.
ii). Reinforce weak access points, e.g., the windows, doors, & roofing with metallic
grills and strong padlocks.
iii). Put burglar proofs in the computer room.
iv). Employ guards to keep watch over data & information centres and backups.

Review Questions
1. Explain any three threats to data and information.
2. Give two control measures one would take to avoid unauthorized access to data and
information.
3. Explain the meaning of ‘industrial espionage’.
4. (a) Define a computer virus.
(b) Give and explain two types of computer viruses.
(c) List three types of risks that computer viruses pose.
(d) List and explain five sources of computer viruses.
(e) Outline four symptoms of computer viruses.
(f) Explain the measures one would take to protect computers from virus attacks
5. How can one control the threat of user’s errors to data and information?
COMPUTER CRIMES
 A computer crime is a deliberate theft or criminal destruction of computerized data.
 The use of computer hardware, software, or data for illegal activities, e.g., stealing,
forgery, defrauding, etc.
 Committing of illegal acts using a computer or against a computer system.
Types of computer crimes.
The following are the major types of computer crimes:
1. Trespass.
2. Hacking.
3. Tapping.
4. Cracking.
5. Piracy.
6. Fraud (Theft of money)

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7. Sabotage.
8. Alteration of data.
9. Theft of computer time / Theft of service.
10. Theft of data, information or programs.
11. Damage of software.
Trespass.
 Trespass refers to the illegal physical entry to restricted places where computer
hardware, software & backed up data is kept.
 It can also refer to the act of accessing information illegally on a local or remote
computer over a network.
Trespass is not allowed and should be discouraged.
Hacking.
Hacking is an attempt to invade the privacy of a system, either by tapping messages
being transmitted along a public telephone line, or through breaking security codes &
passwords to gain unauthorized entry to the system data and information files in a
computer.
Reasons for hacking.
 To copy or corrupt the information.
 As a hobby to test their expertise. Some people like the challenge & they feel great
after successful hacking.
 Some do it for computer & software producing companies that want to secure their
systems by reducing weaknesses discovered after professional hacking.
Hacking is done by skilled programmers referred to as Hackers. Hacker is a person who
gains unauthorised access to a computer network for profit, criminal mischief, or personal
gain.
Such people are able to break through passwords or find weak access points in software.
They are involved in propagating computer viruses.
Tapping.
Tapping involves listening to a transmission line to gain a copy of the message being
transmitted.
Tapping may take place through the following ways:
a) A person may send an intelligent program to a host computer that sends him/her
information from the computer.
b) Spying on a networked computer using special programs that are able to intercept
messages being sent & received by the unsuspecting computer.
Cracking.
Cracking is the use of guesswork by a person trying to look for a weakness in the
security codes of a software in order to get access to data & information.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
These weak access points can only be sealed using sealed using special corrective
programs called Patches, which are prepared by the manufacturing company.
A program patch is a software update that when incorporated in the current software
makes it better.
NB: Cracking is usually done by people who have some idea of passwords or user names
of the authorized staff.
Piracy.
Software, information & data are protected by copyright laws. Piracy means making
illegal copies of copyrighted software, data, or information either for personal use or for
re-sale.
Ways of reducing piracy:
i) Enact & enforce copyright laws that protect the owners of data & information
against piracy.
ii) Make software cheap enough to increase affordability.
iii) Use licenses and certificates of authenticity to identify originals.
iv) Set installation passwords that prevent illegal installation of software.
Fraud.
Fraud is the use of computers to conceal information or cheat other people with the
intention of gaining money or information.
Fraud may take the following forms:
a). Input manipulation:
Data input clerks can manipulate input transactions, e.g., they can create dummy
(ghost) employees on the Salary file or a ghost supplier on the Purchases file.
b). Production & use of fake documents:
E.g., a person created an intelligent program in the Tax department that could credit
his account with cents from all the tax payers. He ended up becoming very rich
before he was discovered.
Fraudsters can either be employees in the company or outsiders who are smart enough to
defraud unsuspecting people.
Reasons that may lead to computer fraud.
 For economic gain (i.e., to gain money or information).
 To gain respect (self-worth)
Security measures to prevent fraud:
i) Careful recruitment of staff.
ii) Set up a clear & firm management policy on crimes & frauds.
iii) Restrict access to computer room or terminal.
iv) Use transaction & fill logs to monitor access to sensitive areas of the system.
v) Monitor & investigate error logs and reports on regular basis.
vi) Carry out risk analysis to examine the exposure of the organization to possible fraud

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Sabotage.
Sabotage is the illegal or malicious destruction of the system, data or information by
employees or other people with grudges with the aim of crippling service delivery or
causing great loss to an organization.
Sabotage is usually carried out by discontented employees or those sent by competitors to
cause harm to the organization.
The following are some acts of saboteurs which can result in great damage to the
computer centres:
 Using Magnets to mix up (mess up) codes on tapes.
 Planting of bombs.
 Cutting of communication lines.
Alteration.
Alteration is the illegal changing of stored data & information without permission with
the aim of gaining or misinforming the authorized users.
Alteration is usually done by those people who wish to hide the truth. It makes the data
irrelevant and unreliable.
Alteration may take place through the following ways:
a). Program alteration:
This is done by people with excellent programming skills. They do this out of
malice or they may liaise with others for selfish gains.
b). Alteration of data in a database:
This is normally done by authorized database users, e.g., one can adjust prices on
Invoices, increase prices on selling products, etc, and then pocket the surplus
amounts.
Security measures to prevent alteration:
i) Do not give data editing capabilities to anybody without vetting.
ii) The person altering the data may be forced to sign in order for the system to accept
altering the information.
Theft of computer time.
Employees may use the computers of an organization to do their own work, e.g., they
may produce publications for selling using the computers of the company.
Theft of data (i.e., commercial espionage).
Employees steal sensitive information or copy packages and sell them to outsiders or
competitors for profit.
This may lead to a leakage of important information, e.g., information on marketing
strategies used by the organization, research information, or medical reports.

Review Questions
1. (a) Define the term ‘Computer crime’.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
(b) State and explain various types of computer crimes.
2. Differentiate between Hacking and Cracking with reference to computer crimes.
3. What is a program patch? Why are patches important?
4. Give two reasons that may lead to computer fraud.
5. How can piracy be prevented in regard to data and information.
6. What is data alteration? Explain its effects on data.
7. Explain the meaning of Tapping while dealing with computer crimes.

DETECTION & PROTECTION AGAINST COMPUTER CRIMES

The following measures can be taken to detect & prevent computer crimes, and also seal
security loopholes.
Audit trails
This is a careful study of an information system by experts in order to establish (or, find
out) all the weaknesses in the system that could lead to security threats or act as weak
access points for criminals.
An audit of the information system may seek to answer the following questions: -
1. Is the information system meeting all the design objectives as originally intended?
2. Have all the security measures been put in place to reduce the risk of computer
crimes?
3. Are the computers secured in physically restricted areas?
4. Is there backup for data & information of the system that can ensure continuity of
services even when something serious happens to the current system?
5. What real risks face the system at present or in future?

Data encryption
Data being transmitted over a network faces the dangers of being tapped, listened to, or
copied to unauthorized destinations.
To protect such data, it is mixed up into a form that only the sender & the receiver can be
able to understand by reconstructing the original message from the mix. This is called
Data encryption.
The flow diagram below shows how a message can be encrypted and decrypted to
enhance security.

Black Cyphertext Black

panther kcalB panther
rehtn Black
ap panth
Plain text er Plain text
Encryption key Decryption key
The message to be encrypted is called the Plain text document. After encryption using a
particular order (or, algorithm) called encryption key, it is sent as Cyphertext on the
network.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
After the recipient receives the message, he/she decrypts it using a reverse algorithm to
the one used during encryption called decryption key to get the original plain text
document.
This means that, without the decryption key, it is not possible to reconstruct the original
message.

Log files
These are special system files that keep a record (log) of events on the use of the
computers and resources of the information system.
Each user is usually assigned a username & password or account. The information
system administrator can therefore easily track who accessed the system, when and what
they did on the system. This information can help monitor & track people who are likely
to violate system security policies.

Firewalls
A Firewall is a device or software system that filters the data & information exchanged
between different networks by enforcing the access control policy of the host network.
A firewall monitors & controls access to or from protected networks. People (remote
users) who do not have permission cannot access the network, and those within cannot
access sites outside the network restricted by firewalls.
LAWS GOVERNING PROTECTION OF INFORMATION
Laws have been developed that govern the handling of data & information in order to
ensure that there is ‘right of privacy’ for all people.
The following rules must be observed in order to keep within the law when working with
data and information.
1. Data & information should be kept secure against loss or exposure.
2. Data & information should not be kept longer than necessary.
3. Data & information should be accurate and up-to-date.
4. Data & information should be collected, used & kept for specified lawful purposes
(i.e., it should not be used for unlawful gain).
5. The owner of the data has a right to know what data is held by the person or
organization having it.
6. Data should not be transferred to other countries without the owner’s permission.
7. Do not collect irrelevant and overly too much information for a purpose.

Review Questions
1. What do the following control measures against computer crimes involve?
(i) Audit trail.
(ii) Data encryption.
(iii) Log files.
(iv) Firewalls.
2. Give four rules that must be observed to keep within the law when working with data
and information.
COMPUTER SECURITY

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
What is Computer security?
 Safeguarding the computer & the related equipments from the risk of damage or
fraud.
 Protection of data & information against accidental or deliberate threats which might
cause unauthorised modification, disclosure, or destruction.
A computer system can only be claimed to be secure if precautions are taken to safeguard
it against damage or threats such as accidents, errors & omissions.
The security measures to be undertaken by the organization should be able to protect:
i) Computer hardware against damage.
ii) Data, information & programs against accidental alteration or deletion.
iii) Data & information against hazards.
iv) The computer against unauthorised use.
v) Data, information & programs against piracy or unauthorised copying.
vi) Data & programs used by the computer system against illegal or unauthorised
modification.
vii) Storage media, e.g., diskettes, tapes, etc against accidental destruction.
viii) Policies of the organization.
ix) Buildings.
x) Accidental interruption of power supply or communication lines.
xi) Disclosure of confidential data or information.
xii) Ensure that both hardware & software have longer life span.

Environmental threats to computers & Information systems.

1). Fire.
Fire destroys data, information, software & hardware.
Security measures against fire:
 Use fire-proof cabinets & lockable metal boxes for floppy disks.
 Use of backups.
 Install fire fighting equipments, e.g., fire extinguishers.
 Have some detectors.
 Training of fire-fighting officers.
 Observe safety procedures, e.g., avoid smoking in the computer rooms.
 Have well placed exit signs.
 Contingency plans.
2). Water, floods & moisture.
This causes rusting of the metallic components of the computer.
Security measures against water, floods & moisture:
 Set up computer rooms on higher grounds to avoid floods & humidity.
 Avoid installing computer components in the basement.
 There should be adequate drainage system.

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 Use water-proof ceilings & floors.

3). Lightening, electricity & electrical storms.
This causes power failure that can cause damage to data, which has not been
transferred to permanent storage devices.

Security measures:
 Install facilities to control power fluctuations, e.g., use of Uninterrupted power
source (UPS)
 Use power stabilizers.
 Have standby power generators/sources.
 Have lightening arresters in the building.
4). Excessive Heat or Temperature.
Excessive heat or temperature from the computer itself or from the surrounding
environment can destroy computer storage media or devices.
Security measures:
 There should be efficient ventilation system.
 Use a cooling system in the computer rooms, e.g., cooling fans & air conditioners.
5). Computer virus attack.
A virus is a rogue software program that spreads rampantly through computer
systems, destroying data or causing the system to break down.
Security measures against computer virus:
 Make backup copies of software, and store the copies off-site.
 Restrict access to programs & data on a ‘need-to-use’ basis.
 Check all programs regularly for change of size, as this could be a sign of virus
infiltration.
 Be careful with ‘Shareware’ and ‘Freeware’ programs, as they are the major entry
points for viruses.
 Make sure all purchased software is in its original sealed-disk containers.
6). Smoke and Dust.
Dust and Smoke particles settle on storage devices and may scratch them during
Read/write operation.
Security measures:
 Have dust mats or carpets to prevent entry of dust.
 Fit the computer room with special Curtains to reduce entry of dust particles.
 Cover the devices with Dust covers when cleaning the room.
 Remove shoes before entering the room to prevent dust.
7). Terrorist attack.
This includes activities such as:

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
 Political terrorists,
 Criminal type of activities,
 Individuals with grudges, or
 People intending to cause general destruction.
Security measures:
 Hiring of security guards to control physical access to the building housing the
computer room.
 Activities that can cause terrorism should be avoided, e.g., exploitation of workers.
 Have double door & monitoring devices.
 Use of policies.
 System auditing / use of log files.
 Use of passwords.
 Punitive measures.
 Encryption of data.
 Use of firewalls.
 Consult & co-operate with the Police and Fire authorities on potential risks.
8). People.
People threats include:
 Carelessness.
 Clumsiness.
 Accidental deletion of data, information or programs.
 Vandalism, i.e., theft or destruction of data, information or programs & hardware.
 Piracy of copyrighted data & software.
Security measures against Carelessness & Clumsiness:
 Better selection of personnel.
 Have a good office layout.
 Improve employee training and education.
 Limit access to data and computers.
 Regular backups.
 Use of Undelete & Unformat utilities.
Security measures against Vandalism:
 Should have a sensitive attitude to office behaviour.
 Tighten security measures, e.g., install alarm systems, burglar-proof
doors/windows, & roofs).
 Limit access to sensitive company information.
 Use Keyboard lock on terminals used by authorised users.
 Use of disk locks.
 Punitive measures.
9). Earthquakes.

Review Questions

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
1. (a) What is Computer security?
(b) Mention various threats to computer security.
2. Discuss the environmental problems affecting the operation of computers.

CAUSES OF DATA LOSS IN COMPUTERS

1. Power failure:
Momentary interruptions or fluctuations of electrical power may cause:
 Crashing of computers.
 Loss of data or information that had not been saved before the power disruption.
 Damage to computer’s secondary storage media. This may result to loss of data &
Application software stored on the media.
The main cause of power disruptions are:
 Amplitude fluctuations,
 Power line noise,
 Low voltage sages,
 High voltage surges,
 Voltage outages,
 Voltage spikes,
 Waveform distortions,
 Power frequency variations.
Precautions against data loss due to Power failure:
a) Regular saving of documents.
Frequent saving of documents ensures that minimum data is lost in case of any
power failure.
Some application packages have an AutoSave feature, which should be activated
to automatically save work after a specified time interval.
b) Use of Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS).
To eliminate any power quality defects or fluctuation, use power correction
equipment such as a Stabilizer or Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). These
equipments ensure a steady flow of input power to the computer system.

2. Computer viruses:
A computer virus destroys all the data files & programs in the computer memory by
interfering with the normal processes of the operating system.
Precautions against computer viruses:
a) Anti-virus software.
Use Antivirus software to detect & remove known viruses from infected files.
Some of the commonly used Antivirus software are: Dr. Solomon’s Toolkit,
Norton Antivirus, AVG Antivirus, PC-Cillin, etc

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
NB: The best way to prevent virus is to have a memory-resident antivirus
software, which will detect the virus before it can affect the system. This can be
achieved by installing a GUARD program in the RAM every time the computer
boots up. Once in the RAM, the antivirus software will automatically check
diskettes inserted in the drives & warn the user immediately if a disk is found to
have a virus.
 For an antivirus to be able to detect a virus, it must know its signature. Since
virus writers keep writing new viruses with new signatures all the time, it is
recommended that you update your antivirus product regularly so as to
include the latest virus signatures in the industry.
 The Antivirus software installed in your computer should be enabled/activated
at all times.
 You should also perform virus scans of your disks on a regular basis.
 Evaluate the security procedures to ensure that the risk of future virus attack is
minimized.

Review Questions
1. Describe two ways of preventing data loss due to power outage.
2. (a) What is a Computer virus?
(b) What are Anti-viruses? Explain how they detect and remove viruses.

3. Accidental erasure:
Commands such as DELETE & FORMAT can be dangerous to the computer if used
wrongly.
Both commands wipe out the information stored on the specified secondary storage
media, e.g., formatting the Hard disk (drive C:) will destroy all the software on that
system.
Precautions against Accidental erasure:
a) Use of Undelete utilities.
Use the Undelete facilities in case you accidentally delete your files.
There are two Undelete facilities depending on the operating system you are
using.
 MS-DOS 6.0 Undelete facility:
To undelete at the DOS prompt, change to the drive & directory whose files
were deleted, then type, e.g.,
C:\>UNDELETE <directory that contain the deleted file>
A list of all deleted files will be displayed with the first letter missing. Type
in the first letter and the file will be recovered.
 Norton utilities & PC Tools:
Norton utilities & PC Tools also have an undelete facility, which is similar to
the DOS Undelete facility.
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 Windows Recycle Bin:

The Recycle Bin temporarily stores all deleted files & can be used to recover
your files.
1. Double-click the Recycle Bin on the desktop.
2. Click on the files you want to undelete.
3. Click on File, choose Restore.
The Recycle Bin will restore all selected files to their original folders and
disks.
NB: If you delete a file accidentally, don’t copy any files or install any
applications to the disk that contains the deleted file. If you write anything to the
disk, you might destroy parts of the deleted file, making it unrecoverable.
b) Use of Unformat utilities.
MS-DOS 6.0 has an Unformat facility which can be used to recover information
stored on disks that have been accidentally formatted.
c) Use of Backups.
All data must be backed up periodically either on diskettes, tapes or CDs so that
in case of any accidental loss, the backed up copy can be used to recover the
data.
For small files, use the Copy command to make a copy of the data on a diskette.
For larger amounts of data, use the Backup command to copy the data to several
diskettes or to a tape drive.

Review Questions
1. Name two commands that can erase the information from a disk.
2. Define ‘Data backup’ and state its importance.

4. Crashing of hard disks:

When a hard disk crashes, the data or information on the disk cannot be accessed.
The effect is the same as formatting the hard disk.
Crashing of a hard disk can occur due to the following reasons:
i) Mishandling of the computer system, e.g.,
 Moving the system unit while the computer is on.
 Accumulation of dust.
ii) Computer virus attack.
iii) Physical damage to the System unit caused by dropping or banging when being
moved.
Precautions against crashing of Hard disks:
a) Use of Backups.
All data must be backed up regularly. In addition, all application programs &
operating system software should also be kept safely so that in case of a complete
system crash, everything can be re-installed/restored.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
b) Use of Recovery tools.
System tools such as Norton Utilities, PC Tools, QAPlus, etc can be used to
revive a disk that has crashed.
Review Questions
1. List two possible causes of a hard disk crash.

5. Unauthorised access:
Unauthorised access refers to access to data & information without permission.
Computer criminals can do the following harms:
 Steal large amounts of funds belonging to various companies by transferring them
out of their computer accounts illegally.
 Steal or destroy data & information from companies, bringing their operations to a
standstill.
 Spread destruction from one computer to another using virus programs. This can
cripple the entire system of computer networks.
 Spread computer worm programs. Worm programs are less harmful in the
beginning, but render the computer almost useless in the long-run.
Precautions against Unauthorised access:
a) Restrict physical access.
Physical access to computer systems should be restricted to ensure that no
unauthorised person gets access to the system.
Some of the ways of restricting physical access include:
 Locking of doors.
 Use of personal identification cards.
 Use of fingerprint identification.
 Use of special voice-recorders. They analyse the voice of a trespasser &
checks against the database containing the voice patterns of valid users.
b) Password protection.
Install a password to restrict access to the computer system.
A Password is a secret code that can be used to prevent unauthorised access of
data in a computer.
Passwords can be put in at various levels:
 At the point of switching on the computer – to restrict access to the computer.
 On folders/directories – to restrict access to entire folders/directories.
 On files – to restrict access to individual files within a directory.
 On database systems – to restrict access to individual data elements.
When a valid password is entered, the user gets access to the computer system.
Usually, the user is allowed three (3) attempts to get the password correct. If an
invalid password is entered, access is denied after the 3 attempts.

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 COMP 111 Fundamentals of Computing
Some computer security systems may generate an alarm if someone tries to use a
fake password.
NB: You should never use passwords that can easily be linked to you, e.g., your
name, birth date, or names of people close to you.

Review Questions
1. State and discuss four causes of data loss in a computer system.
2. (a) Discuss two methods used to restrict unauthorised access to computer systems.
(b) What is a Password? Give its main importance.

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