0% found this document useful (0 votes)
23 views55 pages

Part 2 ITandBUSSINES III BCOM - Unit II To Unit V

Uploaded by

Anitha Sakthivel
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
23 views55 pages

Part 2 ITandBUSSINES III BCOM - Unit II To Unit V

Uploaded by

Anitha Sakthivel
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 55

SONA COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE –SALEM -5

CLASS : III B.COM STAFF NAME:Mr.S.RAVISHANKAR


SUBJECT: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN BUSINESS
UNIT-II
COMPUTER MAIN MEMORY
INTRODUCTION
 Memory units are the internal storage areas in a computer.
 The term “memory “identifies data storage that comes in the form of chips,
and the word “storage” is used for memory that exists on tabs of disks.
 Some computers also use virtual memory, which expands physical memory
onto a hard disk.
 Every computer comes with a certain amount of physical memory, usually
referred to as the main memory or the RAM.
 A computer that has 1 megabyte of memory, therefore, can hold about 1
million bytes of information.
 There are several different types of memory.
 RAM (random-access memory)
 This is same as the main memory.
 It refers as read and writes memory; that is, you can both write data into RAM and
read data from RAM.
 This is in contrast to ROM, which permits you only to read data.
 Most RAM is volatile, which means that it requires a steady flow of electricity to
maintain its contents.
 As soon as the power is turned off, whatever data was in RAM is lost.
 ROM (read-only memory)
 Computers almost always contain a small amount of read-only memory that
holds instructions for starting up to computer. Unlike RAM, ROM cannot be
written to.
 PROM (programmable read-only memory)
 A PROM is a memory chip on which you can store a program. But once the
PROM has been used, you cannot wipe it clean and use it to store something
else. Like ROMs, PROMs are non-volatile.
 EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory)
 An EPROM is a special type of PROM that can be erased by exposing it to
ultraviolet light.
 EEPROM ((electrically erasable programmable read-only memory)
 An EEPROM is a special type of PROM that can be erased by exposing it to an
electrical charge
RAM:
 It pronounced ram.
 A type of computer memory that can be accessed randomly; that is, any byte of
memory can be accessed without the preceding bytes.

1
 RAM is the most common type of memory found in computers and other
devices, such as printer.
 There are two basic types of RAM:
1) Dynamic RAM (DRAM)
 It being the more common type. Dynamic RAM needs to be
thousands of times per second
2) Static RAM (SRAM)
 It needs to be refreshed less often, which makes it faster; but it is
also more expensive the dynamic RAM. Both type of RAM are
volatile.
ROM:
 It pronounced rom, for read-only memory.
 Once data has been written onto a ROM chip, it cannot be removed and can only be
read.
 ROM retains its contents even when the computer is turned off,
 It is referred to as being nonvolatile, whereas RAM is volatile.
 ROM is stored a critical program such as the program that boots the computer.
 ROMs are used extensively in calculators and peripherals devices such as laser printer
PROM:
 A PROM is a memory chip on which data can be written only once.
 Once program has been written onto a PROM, it remains there forever.
 PROM retains their contents when the computer is turned off.
 The difference between a PROM and ROM is that a PROM is manufactured as blank
memory, whereas a ROM is programmed during the manufacturing process.
 PROM chip, you need a special device called a PROM programmer or a PROM
burner.
EPROM:
 EPROM is a special type of memory that retains its contents until it is exposed to
ultraviolet light.
 The ultraviolet light clears its contents, making it possible to reprogram the memory.
 An EPROM differs from PROM in that a PROM can be written to only and cannot be
erased.
 They enable the manufacturer to change the contents of the PROM before the
computer is actually shipped.
 This means that bugs can be removed and new versions installed shortly before
delivery.
EEPROM:
 It pronounced double ee-prom
 An EEPROM is a special type of PROM that can be erased by exposing it on an
electrical charge.
 EEPROM retains its contents even when the power is turned off. Also like all other
types of ROM, EEPROM is not as fast as RAM.

2
 It is similar to flash memory. The principal difference is that EEPROM requires data
to be written of erased one byte at a time whereas flash memory allows data to be
written or erased in blocks. This makes flash memory faster.
FLASH MEMORY:
Type Capacity Description
Half-inch 60MB -400MB Half-inch tapes come both as 9tracks reels and as
cartridges. These tapes are relatively cheap, but require
expensive tape drives
Quarter-inch 40MB-5GB Quarter-inch cartridges (QIC tapes) are relatively
inexpensive and support fast data transfer rates. QIC
mini cartridges are even less expensive, but their data
capacities are smaller and their transfer rates are slower.
8-mm 1 GB- 24GB 8-mm helical-scan cartridges use the dame technology
Helical-scan as VCR tapes and have the greatest capacity. But they
require expensive tape drives and have relatively slow
data transfer rates.
4 –mm DAT 2 GB- 24 GB DAT (Digital Audio Tape) cartridges have the greatest
capacity but they require expensive tape drives and
have relatively slow data transfer rates.
 Flash memory is a special type of EEPROM that can be erased and reprogrammed in
blocks instead of one byte at a time.
 Many modern PCs have their BIOS (Basic Input Output System) stored on a flash
memory chip so that it can easily be updated if necessary.
 Such as BIOS is sometimes called as flash BIOS.
 Flash memory is also popular in modems because it enables the modem manufacturer
to support new protocols as they become standardized.
AUXILARY STORAGE DEVICES (EXTERNAL STORAGE DEVICES)
 Auxiliary storage also known as auxiliary memory or secondary storage.
 This is a long-term, non-volatile memory.
 The most common types of auxiliary storage devices are magnetic tapes, magnetic
disks, floppy disks, hard disks etc.
 Magnetic Tape:
 It is a magnetically coated strip of plastic on which data can be encoded.
 Tapes for computers are similar to the tapes used to store music.
 Storing data on tapes is considerably cheaper than storing data on disks.
 Tapes also have large storage capacities, ranging from a few hundred kilobytes to
several gigabytes.
 Accessing data on the tapes is much slower than accessing data on disks.
 Tapes are sequential-access media, which means to get to particular point on the tape,
the tape must go through all the preceding points.
 Tapes come in variety of sizes and formats. Tapes are sometimes called streamers or
streaming tapes.
 Helical-scan Cartridge

3
 A type of magnetic tape that uses the same technology as VCR tapes.
 It refers to 8-mm tapes, although a 4-mm tape uses the same technology.
 The 8-mm helical –scan tapes have data capacities from 2.5GB to 5 GB.
 DAT Cartridge
 It is a type of magnetic tape that uses an ingenious scheme called helical scan to
record data.
 A DAT cartridge is slightly larger than a credit card and contains a magnetic tape
that can hold from 2 to 24 gigabytes of data.
 The most common format for DAT cartridges is DDS (digital data storage).
 The latest format, DDS-3, specifies tapes that can hold 24GB( the equivalent of
over 40 CD ROMs) and support data transfer rates of 2 Mbps.
 WINCHESTER DISK
 It comes from an early type of disk drive developed by IBM that stored 30MB
and had a 30-millisecond access time.
 Its inventors named it a Winchester in honor of the 30-caliber rifle of the same
name.
 Although modern disk drives are faster and hold more date, the basic technology
is the same, so Winchester has become synonymous with hard disk.
 HARD Disk
 It is a magnetic disk on which you can store computer data.
 It holds more data and is faster than floppy disks.
 A hard disk, for example, can store anywhere from 10megabytes to several
gigabytes, whereas most floppies have a maximum storage capacity of 1.4
megabytes.
 Its are less portable than floppies, although it is possible to buy removable hard
disks.
 There are two types of removable hard disks: disk packs and removable
cartridges.
 Floppy Disks
 Disk drives for floppy disks are called floppy drives.
 Floppy disks are slower to access than hard disks and have less storage capacity, but
they are less expensive and are portable.
 Floppies come in two basic size:
51\4 –inches - The common size for PCs made before 1987. This type of
floppy is generally capable of storing between 100 K and 1.2MB of data. The most
common sizes are 360K and 1.2MB
3 1\2 inches – Floppy is something of a misnomer for these disks, as they are
encased in a rigid envelope. The most common sizes for PCs are 720K and 1.44 MB.
Macintoshes support disks of 400K, 800K and 1.2 MB.
 ZIP DISK
 These are high-capacity floppy disk drives developed by the Iomega Corporation.
 Zip disks are slightly larger than the conventional floppy disks, and are about twice as
thick.

4
 They can hold 100MB of data.
 They have become a popular media for backing up hard disks and for transporting
large files.
 JAZ DISK
 These are removable disk drives developed by the Iomega cooperation.
 The jaz drive has a 12-ms average seek time and a transfer rate of 5.5 Mbps.
 Its hold 1GB of data
 The fast data rates and large storage capacity make it a viable alternative for backup
storage as well as everyday use.
 SUPER DISK
 This pattern is then read by the Super disk drive to precisely align the read/write head.
 The result is that a super disk diskette can have 2,490 tracks, as opposed to the 135
tracks that conventional 3.5 inch 1.44 MB diskettes use.
 This higher density translates into 120MB capacity per diskette.
OPTICAL DISK
 Optical disks are a storage medium from which data is read and which it is written by
lasers.
 It can store much more data- up to 6 GB- than magnetic media, such as floppies and
hard disks.
 There are three basic types of optical types:
CD-ROM - Like audio CDs, CD-ROMs come with data already encoded onto
them. The data is permanent and can be read any number of times, but
CD-ROMs cannot be modified.
WORM – This term stands for write-once, read-many. With a WORM disk drive,
you can write data onto a WORM disk, but only once. It behaves like as
CD-ROM.
Erasable – optical disks that can be erased and loaded with new data, just like
magnetic disks. These are often referred to as EO (erasable optical)
disks.
 CD-ROM
 A single CD-ROM has the storage capacity of 700 floppy disks, enough memory to
store about 300,000 text pages.
 It are recorded by the vendor, and once recorded, they cannot be erased and filled
with new data.
 There are number of features that distinguish CD-ROM players, the most important of
which is probably their speed.
 It is generally classified as single speed or some multiple of single speed player.
 Two more precise measurements are the drives seek time and data transfer rate.
 The Seek Time, also called the access time, measure how long, on average, it takes
the drive to access a particular piece of information.
 The Data Transfer Rate measures how much data can be read and sent to the
computer in a second.

5
 Another important feature of a CD-ROM player is its compatibility with existing
standards.
 It requires large storage capacity. This includes color graphics, sound and especially
video.
 CD-R Drive
 Which is short for Compact Disk –Recordable drive, is a type of disk drive that can
create CD-ROMS and audio CDs.
 A feature of many CD-R drives, called multisession recording, enables you to keep
adding data to a CD-ROM over time.
 This is extremely important if you want to use the CD-R drive to create backup CD-
ROMs.
 To create CD-ROMs and audio CDs, you will need not only a CD_R drive, but also a
CD-R software package.
 CD-RW Disks
 Its short form of CD-Rewritable disk and this is a new type of CD disk that enables
you to write onto it in multiple sessions.
 One of the problems with CS-R disks is that you can only write to them once.
 With CD-RW drives and disks, you can treat the optical disk just like a floppy or hard
disk, writing data onto it multiple times.
 MEGNETO-OPTICAL (MO) DRIVES
 It combines magnetic disk technologies with CD-ROM technologies.
 MO disks can be read and written to.
 And like floppy disks, they are also removable.
 It can storage capacity can be more than 200 megabytes, much greater than magnetic
floppies.
 Data access speed, they are faster than floppies and CD-ROMs, but not as fast as hard
disk drives.
COMPUTER SOFTWARE
Introduction:
 A computer needs both hardware and software for its proper functioning.
 Software and hardware there is something called firmware.
 Firmware is software that has been permanently written onto read-only memory
(ROM).
 It is a combination of software and hardware.
 Software is often divided into two categories:
 System Software – Includes the operating system and all the utilities that enable the
computer to function. It consists of low-level programs and interacts with the
computer and very basic level.
 Application software – includes programs that to real work for users. It includes
database programs, word processors and spreadsheets.

CLASSIFICATION OF SOFTWARE

6
 The figure gives overview of the software classification and the different software
types.
SOFTWARE

Application Software System Software

Word Image
Processors Processors Operating File Mgmt.
System Tools

Spreadsheets Database Assemblers Compilers

Communication Games Debuggers Utilities


Software

OPERATING SYSTEMS
 It is the most important programs that run on a computer.
 It perform basic tasks, such as recognizing input from the keyboard, sending output to
the display screen, keeping track of files and directories on the disk, and controlling
the peripheral devices.
 Example : DOS, Ms-windows, UNIX
1. Utilities:
 It is a program that performs a very specific task, usually to managing system
resources.
 Operating systems contain a number of utilities for managing disk drives, printers and
other devices.
 Utilities differ from applications mostly in terms of size and complexity.
 Example: word processor, spreadsheet programs.
2. Compilers and Interpreters:
 Compiler is a program that translates source code into object code.
 The compiler derives its name from the way it works, looking at the entire piece of
source code and collecting and reorganizing the instructions.
 The interpreter is that they can execute a program immediately.
 A compiler differs from an interpreter, which analyzes and executes each line of
source code in succession, without looking at the entire program.
 Compiler run much faster that the same programs executed by an interpreter.
3. Word Processor:
 It is a program that enables you to perform word processing functions.
 It uses a computer to create, edit, and print documents.
 If you make a typing mistake, we can easily change the characters.
 If you want the print copy, you send the file to a printer to get a hardcopy.
 Example: Ms-word, WordStar, WordPerfect and AmiPro, etc.

4. Spread Sheets:

7
 Spreadsheet is a table values arranged in rows and columns.
 Each value can have a predefined relationship to the other values.
 Spreadsheet applications are computer programs that let you create and manipulate
spreadsheets electronically.
 The relationships between cells are called formulas, and the names of the cells are
called labels.The cell and formulas are linking them together.
 There are a number of spreadsheet applications in the market, Lotus 1-2-3 and Excel
being among the most famous.
 It supports graphic features that enable you to produce charts and graphs from the
data.Some spreadsheets are multidimensional, meaning that you can link one
spreadsheet to another.
5. Presentation Graphics:
 It enables users to create highly stylized images for slide shows and reports.
 The software includes functions for creating various types of charts and graphs and
for inserting text in the variety of fonts.
 It is often called business graphics.
 The popular presentation graphics software is Microsoft PowerPoint, Lotus Freelance
Graphics, Harvard presentation Graphics etc.
6. Database Management System (DBMS)
 It is a collection of programs that enable you to store, modify, and extract information
from a database.
 There are many different types of DBMS, ranging from small systems that run on
personal computers to huge systems that run on mainframes.
 The terms relational, network, flat and hierarchical all refer to the way a DBMS
organizes information internally.
 The internal organization can affect how quickly and flexibly you can extract
information.
 DBMS supports different query languages, although there is a semi-standardized
query language called SQL (Structure Query Language).
 This is called as fourth generation language.
 It includes a report writer program that enables you to output data in the form of a
report.
 Example: IDMS, IMS, DB2, Oracle, MS-SQL server, MS-Access etc.
7. Image Processors:
 It enables you to create, edit, manipulate, and special effects, view, print and save
images.
 Paint Programs:
 It is a graphics program that enables you to draw pictures on the display screens,
which are represented as bit maps.
 It provides the tools in the form of icons.
 It provides easy ways to draw common shapes such as straight lines, rectangles,
circles, and ovals.
 It also called image-editing program.

8
 Draw Programs:
 It is another graphics program that enables you to draw pictures, then store the images
in files, merge them into documents, and print them.
 It produced with a draw program have no inherent resolution.
 It makes them ideal for high-resolution output.
 Image Picture:
 It is a graphics program that provides a variety of special features for altering bit-
mapped images.
 The difference between image editors and paint programs is not always clear-cut, but
in general image editors are specialized for modifying bit-mapped images, such as
scanned photographs, whereas paint programs are specialized for creating images.
 It used for image transformation algorithms, image editors also enable you to create
and superimpose layers
Operating System
 Introduction
 An operating system manages and coordinates the functions preformed by the
computer hardware, including the CPU, input/output devices, secondary storage
devices and communication network equipment.
 It is the most important program that runs on a computer.
 Every general-purpose computer must have an operating system to run other
programs.
 It performs basic tasks, such as recognizing input form the keyboard, sending output
to the display screen, controlling peripheral devices such as disk drives and printers.
 The purpose of an operating system is to maximize the productivity of a computer
system by operating it in the most efficient manner
 It also simplifies the job of computer programmers.
 It includes program that perform common input/output and storage operations and
other standard processing functions.
 Many operating systems are designed as a collection of program modules
 It can be tailored to fit the processing power and memory capability of a computer
system and the type of processing jobs that need to be done on it.
FUNCTIONS AND CLASSIFICATIONS
Functions of an Operating System
 Even the simplest operating system in a minicomputer or mainframe performs a
number of resource management tasks or functions.
 These functions include job management, batch processing, on-line processing, data
management, virtual storage, and input/output management.
 Job Management
 It software manages the jobs waiting to be processed.
 It recognizes the jobs, identifies their priorities, determines whether the appropriate
main memory and secondary storage capability they require is available, and
schedules and finally runs each job at the appropriate moment.
 Batch Processing

9
 It is available to support the different methods of processing a job.
 It is the most basic method; data are accumulated and processed in groups.
 For example Pay Roll application
 On-line Processing:
 Data are processed instantaneously, For example, a sales person may need to find out
whether a particular item request by a customer is in stock for immediate shipment.
 Most on-line operating systems have multi-user and multi-tasking capabilities.
 Data Management
 In the process of managing the resources of the computer system, operating system
software also manages the storage and retrieval of data.
 It handles many of the details associated with this process.
 It details are not a primary concern for users or programmers writing applications
programs.
 Virtual Storage
 It also manages the allocation of main memory to specific jobs.
 Some operating systems have a feature called virtual storage.
 It is possible to increase the capacity of main memory without actually increasing its
size.
 This is accomplished by breaking a job into sequences of instructions, called page or
segments and keeping only a few of these in main memory at a time; the reminder are
kept on secondary storage devices,
 As a result, relatively large jobs can be processed by a CPU that in fact contains a
relatively small memory.
 Input/ Output Management
 It also manages the input to and output from a computer system.
 This applies to the flow of data among computers, terminals, and other devices such
as printers.
 Application programs use the operating system extensively to handle input and output
devices as needed.
 OS is responsible for security, ensuring that unauthorized users do not access the
system.
Classification of Operating System
 Multi-user
 It allows two or more users to run programs at the same time.
 Some operating systems permit hundreds or even thousands of concurrent users.
 The operating systems of mainframe and minicomputer are multi-user system
 Example – MVS, UNIX, etc.

 Multiprocessing
 It refers to a computer system’s ability to support more than one process at the same
time.
 It enables several programs to run concurrently.

10
 It’s much more complicated those single-process systems, because the operating
system must allocate resources to competing process in a reasonable manner.
 It also refers to the utilization of multiple CPUs in a single computer system.
 Multitasking
 It allows more than one program to run concurrently.
 It is ability to execute more than one task at the same time, a task being a program.
 There are two basic types of multitasking
 Preemptive
 Cooperative
 In preemptive multitasking, the operating system parcels out CPU time slices to each
program.
 In Cooperative multitasking, each program can control the CPU for as long as it needs
it.
 Multithreading
 It allows different part of a single program to run concurrently.
 Multithreading is the ability of an operating system to execute different parts of a
program, called treads, simultaneously.
 The programmer must carefully design the program in such a way that all the threads
can run at the same time without interfering with each other.
 Real-time
 It is a system that responds to input immediately.
 They are used to such tasks as navigation, in which the computer must react to a
steady flow of new information without interruption.Dos and UNIX are not real-time
because they can take a few seconds, or even minutes, to react.
 Some example or real-time operating systems are:
1. Basic Real-time Monitor.
2. BLMX( Board-level multitasking executive)
3. C Executive
4. CCP ( Communications Control Program)
5. CTOS
6. DMERT( the Duplex Multiple Environment Real Time Operating System)
 It provides a system platform on top of which other programs, called application
programs can run.It determines to a great extent the applications you can run.
 As a user normally interact with the OS through a set of commands.
Microsoft Windows is an Operating System, which uses a graphical user interface.

PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
Introduction
 It is a set or rules that provide a way of instructing the computers to perform certain
operations.

11
 There are more than 150 programming languages in existence – and these are just the
ones that are still being used; we are not counting the ones that for one reason or
other, are considered obsolete.
 It said to be lower or higher, depending on whether they are closer to the language the
computer itself uses.
 We consider the five levels of language.
1) Machine Languages ( 1st Generation Languages)
2) Assembly Languages ( 2nd Generation Languages)
3) High level languages
i)Procedural Languages ( 3rd Generation Languages)
ii)Problem-oriented Languages ( 4th Generation Languages)
iii)Natural Languages ( 5th Generation Languages)
 Machine Language:
 We think of computers as being quite complicated, but actually their basis is very
simple.
 The concept of electricity being turned “on” and “off”- two- state concept.
 The binary system is based on two digits - 0 and 1.
 In early days of computers, with machines as the ENIAC, which uses vacuum tubes,
one could actually see the tubes lit up or unlit, corresponding to the I/O binary state –
the switch was either on or off.
 Since those days, machine switches have been replaced by machine programming –
programs with electrical on/off switches.
 Whenever a program was to be run, all the switches had to be set – sometimes as
many as 6000 switches for a single program.
 Then for the next program the switches had to be reset, a process that might take
week.
 Some those days, machine switches are replaced by machine programming –
programs with statements consisting of 0s and 1s that electrically set the switches,
with 0 representing off and l representing on.
 The languages are machine-dependent, and the programs written in machine language
for one computer model will not, in all likelihood, run on different model computer.
 Assembly Languages:
 In the 1950s, to reduce programming complexity and provide some standardization,
assembly languages were developed.
 It also known as symbolic language.
 Actually, assembly languages do not replace machine languages.
 It must be converted to machine code.
 It us very similar in form to machine language code.
 The first assembly language had a one-to-one correspondence.

 Assembly languages offer several advantages:


o They are more standardized and easier to use than machine languages.

12
o They operate very efficiently, although not as efficient as the machine
languages.
o They are easier to debug because programs locate and identify syntax errors.
 However, there are still some disadvantages:
 Assembly language programs are usually very long.
 Though less abstract than machine languages, assembly language programs
are still complex.
 Though more standardized than machine languages, assembly languages are
still machine dependent.
 High Level Languages:
 It assisted programmers by reducing further the number of computer operation.
 They could concentrate more on the logic needed to solve the problem.
 Same instruction displayed in three languages. – Gross pay
 Machine Language:
11110010 01110011 1101 001000010000 0111 000000101011
11110010 01110011 1100 001000011000 0111 000000101111
 Assembly Language:
PACK 210 (8, 3 ), 02B ( 4,7)
PACK 218 (8, 13), 02F (4, 7)
 COBOL ( High Level Language):
MULTIPLY HOURS-WORKED BY PAY-RATE
Types of High Level Language:
 Procedural-oriented or third Generation
 Problem-oriented or fourth Generation
 Natural or fifth Generation.
 Procedural-oriented Language
These languages have many advantages over machine and assembly languages.
 The program statements resemble English and hence are easier to work with.
 Because of their English-like nature, less time is required to program a problem.
 Once coded, programs are easier to understand and to modify.
 The programming languages are machine-independent.
Disadvantages
 Programs execute more slowly.
 The languages use computer resources less efficiently.
 Problem –Oriented Language
 It is designed to solve specific problems or develop specific applications
 It describes step-by-step procedures.
 It may be categorized into several kinds of application development tools:
 Personal computer applications software.
Learning to use of Lotus 1-2-3, dBase, Power Point.
 Query languages and report generations.
To search a database using certain selection commands.
Ex : Air line reservation and railway reservation counters.

13
Ex: QBE, SQL, QMF,etc.
 Decision support systems and financial planning languages.
It support systems are interactive software designed to help managers make
decisions.
ex) Financial planning languages
 Application generators.
It consists of a software system with members of program modules.
ex) SAS, CESP, etc.
 Natural Language
 It still in the developmental stages
 Natural languages have two characteristics:
o They are designed to make the connections that humans have with
computers more natural – more humanlike.
o They are designed to allow the computer to become “smarter” – to
actually simulate the learning process by remembering and improving
upon earlier information.
 Two popular natural languages are LISP and PROLOG.
 Compliers and Interpreters:
 In a complied language, a translation program is run to convert the
programmer’s entire high-level language program, which is called source
code, into a machine language code. This translation process is called
compilation.
 In an Interpreted language, a translation program converts each program
statement into machine code just before the program statement is to be
executed.
 Translation and execution occur immediately, one after another, one statement
at a time.
 The major different between Third-Generation Languages and Fourth-
Generation Languages.
Third-Generation Languages Fourth- Generation Languages
Intended for use by professional May be used by a non-programming end
programmers user as well as professional programmer.
Requires specification of how to perform Requires specification of what task is to be
tasks. preformed
All alternatives must be specified. Default alternatives are built-in; an end user
need not specify these alternatives.
Require large number of procedural Requires far fewer instructions.
instructions.
Code may be difficult to read, Code is easy to understand and maintain
understand and maintain. because of English-like commands.
Language developed for batch operation. Language developed primarily for on-line
use.
Can be difficult to learn. Easy to learn.

14
Difficult to debug. Easy to debug.
Typically file-oriented. Typically database-oriented.

**************** UNIT –II COMPLETED **************

SONA COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE –SALEM -5


CLASS : III B.COM STAFFNAME:Dr. A. SURESH
SUBJECT: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN BUSINESS

15
UNIT-III
DATA PROCESSING
Introduction
 A series of instruction that perform a particular task is called a program.
 The two major categories are system software and application software.
 System software is made up of control programs, including the operating system,
communications software and database manager.
 Application software is any program that processes data for the user (inventory,
payroll, spreadsheet, word processor, etc.)
 Software tells how to process the data.
 Software projects are becoming more and more complex- in size, sophistication, and
technologies used.
 The information technology is revolutionizing the way we live and work. It is
changing all aspects of our life and life style.
 The digital revolution has given mankind the ability to treat information with
mathematical precision, to transmit it at very high accuracy and to manipulate it at
will.
 The software products and systems are becoming larger, more complex and more
sophisticated.
 In this chapter we will discuss some of the trends that will play a vital role in the
development of software products of today and tomorrow.
Ease of Use
 The software systems and applications are becoming more and more easy to use.
 If one analyzes the newer versions of the existing products, one can see that with each
new version, software applications become more and more user-friendly.
 The user interfaces are more intuitive, the error messages are more descriptive, there
is context sensitive help, there are tutorials and CBTs to teach how to use the
software, and there are wizards and templates to help the user when he/she encounters
a problem.
Graphical User Interface
 Gone are the days of the crude character based interfaces of UNIX and DOS
applications.
 Today’s software applications and products provide the users with intuitive, graphical
and easy-to-use interfaces.
 For example, in a DOS environment, to copy a file one needs to know the command
for copying files, its exact syntax and so on.
 In a Windows environment, you just have to drag the files you want to copy from the
source to destination. Similarly, almost all the tasks could be performed by mouse
clicks.
 The user is presented with dialog boxes and step-by-step instructions to perform the
tasks without any problem.

16
 The software guides the users using icons, dialog boxes and other graphical elements
so that even a novice can perform the task without any external assistance.
More Features
 The number of new software companies and the number of new software products are
increasing day by day.
 Software marketplace is witnessing a fierce battle for survival.
 Each organization is fighting for its survival and in order to survive they have to be
constantly innovative and be always ahead of the competition.
 The end-user will get better products; products, which are loaded with features at
affordable prices.
 The software products are becoming ‘feature-rich’ with each version.
 For example, Microsoft Word.
 With each new version, Microsoft has introduced new features and the product has
become easier to use and has evolved from a word processor into a full featured
desktop publishing program.
Requirement of more powerful hardware
 These new software programs need more powerful machines to run.
 They need more main memory, more secondary storage, and faster and powerful
processors.
 Example, a few years back, a 486 machine was considered enough to run most of the
programs that a person needs like word processors, a spreadsheet, presentation
software and a web browser and an e-mail client.
 But if one tries to run the latest applications or the latest versions of the same machine
will crash or the programs will run agonizingly slow.
 Today’s software programs need faster and powerful processors, more RAM, more
disk space and so on.
Multiple Platform Capability:
 Today’s software applications are not developed for just one platform.
 Most of the software applications support multiple platforms – both hardware
platforms ranging from mainframes to PCs and different software platforms like
MVS, Solaris, AIX, UNIX, windows and so on.
 For example, IBM’s DB2 Universal database is available for a variety of hardware
and software platforms.
 Another important feature of today’s software application is that they support multiple
languages and multiple currencies.
 Many vendors are providing their applications in many languages like English,
Arabic, Japanese, and Chinese and so on.

Network Capability:
 Network computers are computers with minimal memory, disk storage and processor
power designed to connect to a network, especially the Internet.

17
 The popularity of network computers increase, the demand for software that can run
on these computers is increasing and the software applications of today and tomorrow
will have that capability.
Compatibility with other software:
 Now the competition for each market segment in the software marketplace is rather
fierce,
 We have many software vendors battling for the market share in the same segment.
 What does the intense competition mean? It means that the users will get better
products.
 This also creates many problems to the software vendors.
 Newer versions of the software are released; most vendors maintain backward
compatibility-compatibility with easier version.
 For example, Microsoft Word 2000 supports all previous versions of Word like Word
97, Word6, and Word 5 and so on.
 These features – backward compatibility and compatibility with other products make
it easier for the users, as they can choose the application they want and still use the
old files they have created using order applications or using order versions of the
same applications.
Object linking and Embedding
 For software system to interact with other software systems such as tools or
components there needs to be some mechanism.
 For example, an application that you have created could call an external display tool
to display the on-line help, or it could embed a spreadsheet from a spreadsheet
program or an image from a graphic program.
 One of the methods to integrate external tools into an application is using the Object
Linking and Embedding (OLE) architecture to link or embed a component from
another application running on your computer.
 It enables you to create objects with one application and then link or embed them in a
second application.
Group work capabilities
 In today’s complex business environment, working as a team is absolutely essential.
 The automation workflow using computers reduces paperwork and leads to paperless
offices where paper documents and forms are replaced by electronic documents.
DBMS
Introduction to Database Management System
 A Database management system (DBMS) is a collection of interrelated data and a set of
programs to access those data.
 The collection of data, usually referred to as the database, contains information relevant
to an enterprise.

DATABASE SYSTEM APPLICATION

18
Banking: For customer information, accounts, loans and transactions.
Airlines: For reservations and schedule information.
Universities: For student information, course registration and grades.
Credit card transactions: For purchases on credit cards and generation of monthly
statements.
Telecommunication: for keeping records of calls made, generating monthly bills.
Finance: For storing information about holdings, sales and purchases of financial
instruments.
Sales: For customer, product and purchase information.
Manufacturing: For management of supply chain and for tracking production of items,
Inventories of items and orders for items.
Human resources: For information about employees, salaries, payroll taxes and benefits,
and for generation of Paychecks.

COMPONENTS OF DBMS

DBMS have several components, each performing very significant tasks in the
database management system environment. Below is a list of components within the database
and its environment.

Software
This is the set of programs used to control and manage the overall database. This includes the
DBMS software itself, the Operating System, the network software being used to share the
data among users, and the application programs used to access data in the DBMS.

Hardware
Consists of a set of physical electronic devices such as computers, I/O devices, storage
devices, etc., this provides the interface between computers and the real world systems.

Data
DBMS exists to collect, store, process and access data, the most important component. The
database contains both the actual or operational data and the metadata.

Procedures
These are the instructions and rules that assist on how to use the DBMS, and in designing and
running the database, using documented procedures, to guide the users that operate and
manage it.

19
Database Access Language
This is used to access the data to and from the database, to enter new data, update existing
data, or retrieve required data from databases.

The user writes a set of appropriate commands in a database access language, submits
these to the DBMS, which then processes the data and generates and displays a set of results
into a user readable form.

Query Processor
This transforms the user queries into a series of low level instructions. This reads the online
user’s query and translates it into an efficient series of operations in a form capable of being
sent to the run time data manager for execution.

Run Time Database Manager


Sometimes referred to as the database control system, this is the central software component
of the DBMS that interfaces with user-submitted application programs and queries, and
handles database access at run time. Its function is to convert operations in user’s queries. It
provides control to maintain the consistency, integrity and security of the data.

Data Manager
Also called the cache manger, this is responsible for handling of data in the database,
providing a recovery to the system that allows it to recover the data after a failure.

Database Engine
The core service for storing, processing, and securing data, this provides controlled access
and rapid transaction processing to address the requirements of the most demanding data
consuming applications. It is often used to create relational databases for online transaction
processing or online analytical processing data.

Data Dictionary
This is a reserved space within a database used to store information about the database itself.
A data dictionary is a set of read-only table and views, containing the different information
about the data used in the enterprise to ensure that database representation of the data follow
one standard as defined in the dictionary.

20
TYPES OF DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

There are several types of database management systems. Here is a list of seven common
database management systems:

1. Hierarchical databases
2. Network databases
3. Relational databases
4. Object-oriented databases
5. Graph databases
6. ER model databases
7. Document databases

Hierarchical Databases

In a hierarchical database management systems (hierarchical DBMSs) model, data is


stored in a parent-children relationship nodes. In a hierarchical database, besides actual data,
records also contain information about their groups of parent/child relationships.

In a hierarchical database model, data is organized into a tree like structure. The data
is stored in form of collection of fields where each field contains only one value. The records
are linked to each other via links into a parent-children relationship. In a hierarchical database
model, each child record has only one parent. A parent can have multiple children.

To retrieve a field’s data, we need to traversed through each tree until the record is
found.

The hierarchical database system structure was developed by IBM in early 1960s.
While hierarchical structure is simple, it is inflexible due to the parent-child one-to-many
relationship. Hierarchical databases are widely used to build high performance and
availability applications usually in banking and telecommunications industries.

The IBM Information Management System (IMS) and Windows Registry are two
popular examples of hierarchical databases.

Network Databases

Network database management systems (Network DBMSs) use a network structure to


create relationship between entities. Network databases are mainly used on a large digital
computers. Network databases are hierarchical databases but unlike hierarchical databases
where one node can have one parent only, a network node can have relationship with multiple
entities. A network database looks more like a cobweb or interconnected network of records.

In network databases, children are called members and parents are called occupier.
The difference between each child or member can have more than one parent.

The approval of the network data model is similar to a hierarchical data model. Data
in a network database is organized in many-to-many relationships.

The network database structure was invented by Charles Bachman. Some of the
popular network databases are Integrated Data Store (IDS), IDMS (Integrated Database
Management System), Raima Database Manager, TurboIMAGE, and Univac DMS-1100.

21
Relational Databases

In relational database management systems (RDBMS), the relationship between data


is relational and data is stored in tabular form of columns and rows.

Each column if a table represents an attribute and each row in a table represents a
record. Each field in a table represents a data value.

Structured Query Language (SQL) is a the language used to query a RDBMS


including inserting, updating, deleting, and searching records.

Relational databases work on each table has a key field that uniquely indicates each
row, and that these key fields can be used to connect one table of data to another.

Relational databases are the most popular and widely used databases. Some of the
popular DDBMS are Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, SQLite, and IBM DB2.

The relational database has two major reasons

1. Relational databases can be used with little or no training.


2. Database entries can be modified without specify the entire body.

Properties of Relational Tables

In the relational database we have to follow some properties which are given below.

It's Values are Atomic

In Each Row is alone.

Column Values are of the Same thing.

Columns is undistinguished.

Sequence of Rows is Insignificant.

Each Column has a common Name.

FUNCTIONS OF DBMS

1. Data Dictionary Management

Data Dictionary is where the DBMS stores definitions of the data elements and
their relationships (metadata). The DBMS uses this function to look up the required
data component structures and relationships.

When programs access data in a database they are basically going through the
DBMS. This function removes structural and data dependency and provides the user
with data abstraction. In turn, this makes things a lot easier on the end user. The Data

22
2. Data Storage Management

This particular function is used for the storage of data and any related data
entry forms or screen definitions, report definitions, data validation rules, procedural
code, and structures that can handle video and picture formats. Users do not need to
know how data is stored or manipulated. Also involved with this structure is a term
called performance tuning that relates to a database’s efficiency in relation to storage
and access speed.

3. Data Transformation and Presentation

This function exists to transform any data entered into required data structures. By
using the data transformation and presentation function the DBMS can determine the
difference between logical and physical data formats.

4. Security Management

This is one of the most important functions in the DBMS. Security


management sets rules that determine specific users that are allowed to access the
database. Users are given a username and password or sometimes through biometric
authentication (such as a fingerprint or retina scan) but these types of authentication
tend to be more costly. This function also sets restraints on what specific data any user
can see or manage.

5. Multiuser Access Control

Data integrity and data consistency are the basis of this function. Multiuser
access control is a very useful tool in a DBMS, it enables multiple users to access the
database simultaneously without affecting the integrity of the database.

6. Backup and Recovery Management

Backup and recovery is brought to mind whenever there is potential outside


threats to a database. For example if there is a power outage, recovery management is
how long it takes to recover the database after the outage. Backup management refers
to the data safety and integrity; for example backing up all your mp3 files on a disk.

COMPUTER NETWORK

OVERVIEW OF A NETWORK
A communications network is any arrangement where a sender transmits a message to a
receiver over a channel consisting of some type of medium.
23
 Terminals
 It includes video display terminals and other end user workstations.
 Any input/output device that uses a network to transmit or receive data is a terminal.
 It includes microcomputers, telephones, fax machines, etc.
 Telecommunications Processors
 It is a device, which support data transmission and reception between terminals and
computers.
 These devices, such as modems, multiplexers and front-end processors, perform a
variety of control and support functions in a network.
 Telecommunications Channels and Media
 The media over which data are transmitted and received are called telecommunication
channels.
 It use combinations of media, such as copper wires, coaxial cables, fiber optic cables,
microwave systems and communication satellite systems to interconnect the other
components of a network.
 Computer
 Networks interconnect computer of all sizes and types so that they can carry out their
information processing assignment.
 Example, a mainframe computer may serve as a host computer for a large
organizations network.
 Telecommunication Software:
 It consists of programs that reside in host computer systems, communication control
computers and end user computers.
 This controls the telecommunications activities of the computer systems and manages
the function of networks.
 Communication Processors
 It resemble computer CPUs in that they have similar circuitry, have memories, and
can be programmed, but their purpose is limited- to enhance data communications
between two points.
 It includes the following: modems, message switchers, multiplexers, concentrators
and controllers, and front-end processors.
1) Modems
 They convert the digital signals from a computer or transmission terminal at
one end of a communication link into analog signals, which can be transmitted
over ordinary telephone lines.
 The process is known as modulation and demodulation, and the word modem
is a combined abbreviation of those two words.
 It comes in several forms including small stand-alone units, plug-in circuit
boards, and microelectronic modem chips.
2) Message Switchers
 It is a processor that receives data messages from terminals, determines
destination and routes them one at a time to the CPU.
 It distributes the messages coming from the CPU to the appropriate terminal.

24
 The advantage of message switchers is that it reduces long distance
transmission costs, since only a single line is needed.
 It is very efficient, with low speed terminals that are intermittently used at
remote sites.
3) Multiplexers, Concentrators and Controllers
 Multiplexer allows several terminals to use one line to communicate with a
CPU.
 It allows the terminals to send their messages simultaneously.
 It collects messages from various senders, put them in order, and transmits
them along a broadband channel at very high speeds to the receiver.
 A concentrator is essentially a smart multiplexer – it can be programmed, has
more processing capability, and is more flexible than a multiplexer.
 Controllers or cluster controllers, link groups of terminals or other devices to a
communications channel.
4) Front-end Processors
 It is located at the site of the CPU or the host computer and its purpose is to
relieve the central computer of some of the communications tasks, leaving the
larger computer free for processing applications programs.
 They have some identical circuitry and perform many of the operations that a
data processing equipment performs.
Communication Media
1) Twisted-pair wire
o This is oldest and still most common transmission line.
o It consists of copper wires twisted into pairs.
o These lines are used in established communications networks throughout the
world for both voice and data transmission.
2) Coaxial Cable
 It consists of a sturdy copper or aluminum wire wrapped with spacers to
insulate and protect it.
 Groups of coaxial cables may be bundled together in a big cable for ease of
installation.
 These high quality lines can be placed underground and laid on the floors of
lakes and oceans.
 They allow high-speed data transmission.
3) Fiber Optic Cables
 It consisting of one or more hair-thin filaments of glass fiber wrapped in a
protective jacket.
 They can conduct light pulses generated by lasers at transmissions rates as
high as 2 billion bits per second.
 This is about ten times greater than coaxial cables and 200 times better than
twisted-pair wires.
 It provides substantial size and weight reduction as well as increased speed
and greater carrying capacity.

25
 Cables are not affected by and do not generate electromagnetic radiation
 It also has a mush lower data error rate than other media.
4) Microwave Systems
 It transmits high-speed radio signals in a line-of-sight path between relay
stations spaced approximately 25 to 35 miles apart.
 Because the waves cannot bend with the curvature of the earth, they are
relayed via antennas usually placed on top of buildings, towers, hills and
mountain peaks.
 It consists of high frequency radio waves that travel in straight lines through
the air rather than through wires.
5) Communications Satellites
 The dozens of satellites now orbiting the earth and handling voice, video and
data communications are those launched by INTELSAT, short for
International Telecommunications Satellite Consortium.
 Now forms a world wide communications system for over 100 countries.
 It accounts for most long-distance international communications
Telecommunication Software:
 Telecommunications software packages for large computer networks are
frequently called telecommunication monitors or teleprocessing monitors.
 Many communications software packages are also available for
microcomputers.
Functions of Telecommunication software
 Access Control
 It establishes the connections between terminals and computers in a
network.
 This function may also involve automatic telephone dialing and redialing,
logging on and off with appropriate account numbers and security code,
and automatic answering of telephone calls from another computer.
 Transmission Control
 It allows computers and terminals to send and receive commands,
messages, data and programs.
 Some error checking and correction of data transmissions may also be
provided.
 Data and programs are usually transmitted in the form of files. So this
activity is frequently called file transfer.
 Network Control
 It determines transmission priorities, route messages, polls terminals in the
network, and forms waiting lines of transmission requests.
 Error Control
 It involves detection and correction of transmission errors.
 It usually caused by distortions in the communications channel, such as line noise
and power surges.This method involves retransmissions.

26
 A single is sent back to the computer or terminal to retransmit the previous
message.
 Security Control
 It protects a communications network for unauthorized access.
 It restricts access to data and the computing resources in the network.
 Data transmissions can also be protected by coding techniques called encryption.
 Data is scrambled into a coded from before transmission and decoded upon
arrival.
TYPES OF NETWORKS
There are many different types of networks. The end user’s point of view there is two basic
types.
 Local-area Networks ( LANs ) - The computers are geographically close together
( Same building)
 Wide-area Networks (WANs) – The computers are farther apart and are connected
by telephone lines or radio waves.
The following characteristics are also used to categorize different types of networks.
 Topology – The geometric arrangement of a computer system. Common topologies
include a bus, star, and ring.
 Protocol – The protocol defined a common set of rules and signals that computers on
the network use to communicate. One of the most popular protocols for LANs is
called Ethernet. Another one for PCs is the IBM token-ring network.
 Architecture – Networks can be broadly classified as using either peer-to-peer or
client/server architecture.
Local area Network (LAN)
 It is relatively small area.
 One LAN can be connected to other LANs over any distance via telephone lines and
radio waves.
 Most LANs connect workstations and personal computers.
 It is also able to access data and devices anywhere on the LAN.
 There are many different types of LANs – token –ring networks, Ethernets, and
ARCnets being the most common for PCs.
 It’s capable of transmitting data at very fast rates, much faster than data can be
transmitted over a telephone line; but the distances are limited.
Wide Area Networks (WAN)
 It is relatively large geographical area.
 Computers connected to a wide-area network are often connected through public
networks, such as the telephone system.
 They can also be connected through leased lines or satellites.
 The largest WAN in existence is the Internet.

NETWORK TOPOLOGY

27
Star Network
 It is frequently used to connect one or more small computers or peripheral devices to
a large host computer or CPU.
 Several users are able to share a central processor.
 In a time-sharing setup, each terminal receives a fixed amount of the central CPU’s
time, called a time slice.
 If the user of one microcomputer wants to send a document or message to a user at
another computer, the message is routed through the central communications
controller.
 Access and control of star networks typically is maintained by a polling system.
 Polling means that the central computer or communications controller “polls” or asks
each device in the network if it has a message to send and them allows each in turn to
transmit data.
 Ring Network
 It can be as simple as a circle or point-to-point connections of computers at
dispersed locations, with no central host computer or communications controller.
 All nodes are connected to the close loop.
 Messages travel around the ring, with each node reading those messages addressed to
it.
 The advantage of the ring network is that they can span larger distances than other
types of networks, such as bus, because each node regenerates messages as they pass
through it.
 Access and control of ring networks are typically maintained by a “token-passing”
system.
Bus Network
 It is similar to ring networks except that the ends are not connected.
 All communications are carried on a common cable or bus and are available to each
device on the network.
 Access and control of bus networks are typically maintained by a method called
contention, whereby if a line is unused, a terminal or device can transmit its message
at will, but if two or more terminals initiate messages simultaneously, they must stop
and transmit again at different intervals.
Network Protocols
A protocol is an agreed-upon format for transmitting data between two devices. The protocol
determines the following:
 The type of error checking to be used.
 Data compressing method, if any.
 How sending device will indicate that it has finished sending a message.
 How the receiving device will indicate that it has received a message.

1. Network Architecture

28
o It can refer to either hardware or software, or a combination of hardware and
software.
o It always defines its broad outlines, and may define precise mechanisms as well.
o Open architecture allows the system to be connected easily to devices and programs
made by other manufactures.
2. Peer-to-peer Architecture
o This is a type of network in which each workstation has equivalent capabilities and
responsibilities.
o This differs from client/server architectures, in which some workstations are
dedicated to serving the others.
o It is generally simpler and less expensive, but they usually do not offer the same
performance under heavy loads.
3. Client/Server Architecture
o In which each computer or process on the network is either a client or a server.
o Severs are powerful computers or processors dedicated to managing disk drives (file
server), printers (print servers) or network traffic (network servers).
o Clients rely on servers for resources, such as files, devices and even processing
power.
Internet
1) A network of networks , is a group of two or more networks that are:
2) Interconnected physically
3) Capable of communicating and sharing data with each other
4) Able to act together as a single network.
 Machines on one network can communicate with machines on other networks, and send
data, files, and other information back and forth.
 The Internet covers the globe and includes large, international networks as well as many
smaller, local-area networks.
 The Internet offers access to data, graphics, sound, software, text, and people through a
variety of services and tools for communication and data exchange.
I. Remote login (telnet)
II. File Transfer(ftp)
III. Electronic mail (e-mail)
IV. News (USENET or network news)
V. Hypertext (WWW)
Internet is the cheapest and fastest means to
(a) Get information
(b) Provide information
(c) Compile information
Getting information on the Internet
 The amount of information available through the Internet is staggering.
 You could get information about people, products, organizations, research data,
electronic versions of the printed media, etc. from the Internet.

29
Providing Information on the Internet
 To provide could be considered advertising.
 The critical functions that relate to provision of information are
1) Publishing, including full text articles, reports, illustrated articles, abstracts,
computer programs, and demonstrations.
2) Extension, in which some of the delays associated with the printed media,
may be reduced.
3) Teaching, The possibilities here include both distance learning and
assistance for students.
Compiling Information from the Internet
 It is a special case of “getting “information.
 Using forms, e-mail, etc., you can conduct surveys; get opinion of people across the
world.
Internet Access
 You can connect to the Internet in one of two basic ways, dialing into an Internet
Service Provider’s (ISP) computer, or with a direct connection to an ISP.
 The difference is mainly in the speed and cost.
 In most cases you connect to your ISP using a telephone line and modem.
 This type of connection is called the Dial-up connection.
Dial-up Connection
 You use your modem to convert computer bits and bytes into modulated (tonal)
signals that the phone lines can transmit.
 These signals are received by a modem at your ISP and demodulated into bits and
bytes for their computer.
 “modem” is short for “ modulator – demodulator “
 To establish a conventional dial-up connections to the Internet, you will need the
following:
o An account with an Internet Access Provided
o A telephone connection.
o A computer with serial port or expansion slot
o A modem
o Communication software.
Direct Connection
 You can also get a direct connection to your ISP, where you have a fixed cable or a
dedicated phone line to the ISP.
 Often the dedicated line is an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) line which
is a higher-speed version of the standard phone line, but actually requires two phone
lines.
 ISDN can handle more than 56,600 bps.

******************* UNIT –III COMPLETED ********************

30
SONA COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE –SALEM -5
CLASS : III B.COM STAFFNAME:Dr. A. SURESH
SUBJECT: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN BUSINESS

UNIT-IV
INTERNET ACCESS

Internet access is the process of connecting to the internet using personal computers,
laptops or mobile devices by users or enterprises. Internet access is subject to data signalling
rates and users could be connected at different internet speeds. Internet access enables
individuals or organizations to avail internet services/web-based services.

 Home
 Dictionary
 Tags
 Internet
 Web Services

There are many different ways to obtain internet access,

 Wireless connection
 Mobile connection
 Hotspots
 Dial-up
 Broadband
 DSL
 Satellite

Access to computers or smart devices is one of the important factors for understanding
the level of internet access for a region. However, internet access is not uniformly distributed
within or between countries. A digital divide exists between many countries and regions.
Good internet access is associated with regions with high-income populations, a high
development index and high technological development.

INTERNET PROTOCOLS
We will examine the various Internet Protocol used. The most commonly used protocols are :
 Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
 File Transfer Protocol(FTP)
 Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
 Telnet
 Gopher
 Wide Area Information Service (WAIS)

1. Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)

31
It is actually a collection of protocols, or rules, that govern the way data travels from
one machine to another across networks.
The Internet is based an TCP/IP.
TCP/IP has two major components: TCP and IP
IP (Internet Protocol)
The IP component does the following:
 Envelopes and addresses the data.
 Enables the network to read the envelope and forward the data to its destination.
 Defines how much data can fit in a single”envelope “.
The addressed and packaged data is sent over the network to its destination.
TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)
The TCP component does the following:
 Breaks data up into packets that the network can handle efficiently.
 Verifies whether all the packets have arrived at their destination.
 “Reassembles” the data.
2. FTP (File Transfer Protocol
 It is part of the TCP/IP protocol suite.
 It is the protocol, or set of rule.
 FTP is a powerful tool which allows files to be transferred from “Computer A “ to “
Computer B” or vice versa.
 The basic steps to use FTP are:
1. Connect to the FTP server.
2. Navigate the file structure to find the file you want.
3. Transfer the file.
 It allows a user to access a wealth of publicly available information.
 There are a wide variety of files that are publicly available through anonymous FTP:
 Shareware – software that you can use free for a trial period but then pay a fee
for.
 Freeware – completely free software, for example fonts, clipart and games.
 Upgrades & Patches – upgrades to current software and “fixes” for software
problems.
 Documents – examples include research papers, articles and Internet
documentations.
3. HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
 It is the set of rules, or protocol that governs the transfer of hypertext between two or
more computers.
 The World Wide Web encompasses the universe of information that is available via
HTTP.
 Hypertext is text that is specially coded using a standard system called Hypertext
Markup Language (HTML).
 The HTML codes are used to create links.
 An HTTP request identifies the resource that the client is interested in tells the server
what “action” to take on the resource.

32
 HTTP also provides access to other Internet Protocols like File Transfer Protocol
(FTP), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), Networks News Transfer Protocol
(NNTP), WAIS, Gopher, Telnet, etc.
4. Telnet:
 That enables one computer to connect to another computer. This process is also
referred to as remote login.
 The user’s computer, which initiates the connection, is referred to as the local
computer, and the machine being connected to, which accepts the connection, is
referred to as the remote, or host, computer.
5. Gopher:
 It is a protocol designed to search, retrieve, and display documents from remote sites
on the Internet.
 Information accessible via Gopher is stored on many computers all over the Internet.
These computers are called Gopher Server.
 Gopher can work with the following Internet tools, or systems:
 Search local WAIS indices; query remote WAIS servers and funnel the results to
Gopher clients
 Query remote FTP sites and funnel the results to Gopher clients.
 Be queried by WWW client either using built in Gopher querying or using native
HTTP querying.
6. WAIS:
 It stands for Wide Area Information Service.
 A WAIS client program enables the user’s computer to contact a WAIS server, submit
a search query, and receive a response to that query.
 It has the capability of simultaneously searching in more than one database.
INTERNET ADDRESSING
Internet Addressing is a systematic way to identify people, computers and Internet
resources.
1. IP Address
 It is identifier for a particular machine on a particular network.
 It is also referred to as IP numbers and Internet addressees.
 The IP address have the following characteristic in common:
 IP addresses are unique.
 No two machines can have the same IP number.
 IP addresses are also global and standardized.
 All machines connected to the Internet agree to use the same scheme for
establishing an address.
2. Domain name:
 A domain name is a way to identify and locate computers connected to the Internet.
 No two organizations can have the same domain name.
 It contains tow or more components separated by periods, called “dots”.
 The major categories for top-level domain names are:
 Com – commercial entities.

33
 Edu – educational institutions.
 Net – organizations directly involved in Internet operations.
 Org- miscellaneous organizations that don’t fit any other category,
such as non-profit groups.
 Mil- United States military.
 Country codes – a two-letter abbreviation for a particular country.
3. Electronic Mail Addresses:
 It allows information to be sent between computers and people on the Internet.
 It is most widely used Internet resource.
 An electronic mail message can be sent to one or more e-mail addresses.
 The basic structure of an e-mail address is:
Username@ host, subdomain.second-level-domain.first-level-domain.
Two examples:
1. aleon@giasmd01.vsnl.net.in.
2. alexis@inl.net.
Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
 It identifiers a particular Internet resource; for example a web page, a Gopher server, a
library catalog, an image, or a text file.
 It represents a standardized addressing scheme for Internet resources, and helps the
users to locate these resources by indicating exactly where they are.
 Every resource available via the World Wide Web has a unique URL.
 It consists of letters, numbers ;and punctuation,
 The basic structure of a URL is hierarchical, and the hierarchy moves from left to
right.
Protocol://server-name.domain-name.top-level-domain:port/directory/
filename.
THE WORLD WIDE WEB (WWW)
 It is the graphical Internet service that provides a network of interactive documents
and the software to access them.
 It is based on documents called pages that combine text, pictures, forms, sound,
animation and hypertext links called hyperlinks.
 The World Wide Web and HTTP:
 Allow you to create “links” from one piece of information to another
 Can incorporate references to sounds, graphics, movies, etc.
 Communicate with other Internet protocols, such as FTP, Gopher, and Telnet.
 The web presents information as a series of “documents”, often referred to as web
pages using the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).
WEB BROWSERS:
 A browser is a piece of software that acts as an interface between the user and the
inner-workings of the Internet.
 The browser acts on behalf of the user. The browser:
 Contacts a web server and sends a request for information.
 Receives the information and then displays it on the user’s computer.

34
 A graphical browser allows the user to view images on their computer, “point-and-
click” with a mouse to select hypertext links, and uses drop-down menus and toolbar
buttons to navigate and access resources on the Internet.
 It incorporates hypertext, photographs, sound, video, etc. that can be fully experienced
through a graphical browser.
 There are many different types of browsers and all of them perform the same basic
functions but many have specific features that are unique.
Web Browsing:
 It is the process of visiting different web sites on the Internet hosted by various
companies, organization, educational institutions, magazines, individuals, etc.
Search Engines
 It is an interactive tool to help people locate information available via the World Wide
Web.
 It is actually databases that contain references to thousands of resources.
 It interacts with the database, submitting questions that “ask” the database if it
contains resource that match specific criteria.
 It provides an interface between the user and the underlying database.
 It runs the search string against the database, returns a list of resources that match the
criteria, and displays the results for the user.
INTERNET RELAY CHAT: (IRC)
- It is a multi-user chat system that allows many people to communicate across the
Internet.
- Developed by Jarkko Oikarinen in 1988
- Chats take place on channels, which are the virtual locations on IRC networks
where users meet to talk to one another.
- Channels have different modes, most channels are public, but talk on a private or
secret channel.
- To take part the needs are
1. Run a client program on pc while connected to the Internet &IRC is organized in
networks.
2. Each network consists of a series of servers that constantly relay chat back and
forth among themselves.
Chatting on web:
There are lots of sites to chat. Some sites provide links to hundreds of chat servers.
Web based chats are more colorful than the IRC. Some sites include images, sounds with the
given messages.
Example:
Funcity chat site
The globe
Talkcity
Also try http://www.wbs.net, which has over 100 links to other chat sites on the web,
including chat related groups.
ELECTRONIC MAIL
 It is an electronic message sent from one computer to another.
 You can send or receive personal and business-related messages with attachments like
pictures or other documents.
E-Mail- Names & Addresses
 It allows information to be sent between computers and people on the Internet.

35
 It is the most widely used Internet Resource.
 E-mail address identifies a person and the computer for purpose of exchanging
electronic mail messages.
 The basic structure of an e-mail address is:
Username@host.subdomain.second-level-domain.first-level-domain.
 Many names on the Internet are case sensitive, so take time to type the name exactly.
MAILING BASICS
 To compose an e-mail message, click on the ‘Compose new message’ button on the
toolbar. You will get an empty mail form.
 To- enter the e-mail address of the person(s) to whom the message is sent.
 CC- enters the e-mail address of the person(s) to whom the copy of the message is
sent.
 Subject- Enter a brief description as to what the message is about.
 Body – Enter the actual message here.
 Almost all e-mail programs have the following features: address book, signature
feature, and attachment facility.
E-mail Advantages & Disadvantage:
 It is difficult sometimes to comprehend all the benefits and values of electronic-
communications technology.
 There is now access 24 hours a day from anywhere in the world to endless amounts of
data and information.
 Global communication is easier.
 It works can now be done anywhere a computer can be plugged in.
 The disadvantages are reducing the long distance communications timelines, but it is
the individual using the technology that makes the communications better or worse.
 The e-mail is that it can become a distraction and can prevent people from doing any
productive work.
TIPS for effective E-mail use:
 To work more productively and to prevent e-mail interruption, you can do the
following:
 If the mail is automatically delivered to your mailbox, shut off the compute beep
the alerts you when you have an incoming message.
 Compose your message off-line. This will save on-line time and you will get a
chance to review the mail.
 Tell your friends and colleagues what type of documents you want to receive and
what you don’t.
 And remember; don’t let technology wipe out oral communication.
E-MAIL ETHICS
i E-mail messages are a lot like letters. Simplicity, directness, and brevity will make
people read your message
 Let you messages have a personal touch. Write it the way you would say it.
Use everyday language. Vary your sentence lengths

36
 Be friendly, and use humor to break up the tension of what you have to say.
 Be succinct and considerate of the recipient’s time and on-line charges
especially with services that charge by the hour or by the size of messages. E-
mail messages work best if they’re short and to the point.
 Know you recipient. Different people have different ideas of what is
acceptable. Find out and respect each person’s wishes.
 Avoid sarcasm, unless you’re sure it will work, and thick very carefully before
using e-mail to express anger. With e-mail, once it’s sent, it’s gone.
 Be careful about your use of irony or even some forms of humor, which can be
misinterpreted. Unlike face-to-face meetings or phone conversations, there are
no visual or clues to provide a sense of what are going on.
 Be brief. This not only saves bandwidth but also cuts down on eyestrain.
 Make the subject line precise.
 Don’t copy the full text of a long message into your response. Copy only the
parts you need to refer to.
 Don’t assume that everybody likes emoticons (emotional icons). Some people
find them annoying
 Look sharp. Good writing is 90% clarity, and half of clarity is appearance. No
one likes facing a long unbroken block of text characters. Put a blank line
between paragraphs to help you organize your thinking. If you have six points
to make, number them as such and indent each one.
 Use your technology. A memory-resident spellchecker or thesaurus will help
you avoid the embarrassment of a misspelled work or a used incorrectly.
 Compose your messages off-line. A regular word processor is much more
powerful than the next editors used on most e-mail systems.
 Read the message before sending it, you will be amazed by the numbers of
mistakes that have crept in.
 Most e-mail programs these days let you insert what’s called a signature at the
bottom of the message. This can be anything from a clever quote to some
additional information about you, like your title and company name or other e-
mail addresses you have.
 Configure your e-mail client to check all your accounts in one shot.
 If security is not a concern, configure your e-mail client to remember
passwords.
 Get a free-mail account for personal e-mail or mailing lists.

37
 If you are sending large files as attachments, use some compression utility like
pkzip, before sending them.
 Don’t send copies of e-mail to people unless they need to be copied. In
addition to cluttering up their mailboxes, it can place them in an awkward
position, making them feel as if they have to do something with the
information. It can also be intimating to the main recipient.
 Stay on the topic if you’re posting to a public bulletin board, forum or news
group. Most are focused on a specific topic, and messages that stray too far
from the topic can be annoying.
Internet Code on Conduct :
The internet relies on the cooperation of its constituents – users with users, service
providers with other service providers, and users and service providers with one another.
Mailing Lists, Newsgroups and Bulletin Boards.
 Post within the form’s scope / topic
 Avoid redundant, empty, or stupid postings.
 Respect the opinions of other participants.
 Be careful about the lack of social cues and possible ambiguities in the text
communications.
 Use Common courtesy when posting critical, negative comments (avoid
flaming)
 Be sensitive to the forums standards in respect to obscenity.
 Do not use expressions that are considered sexually harassing, racial, or in
some way discriminatory.
Advertising :
 Do not post of lists or boards or newsgroups whose purpose states no
advertising
 Use browsing services such as WAIS, Gopher, and WWW to list products and
services.
 Use e-mail enabled information services like mailing lists to which users can
subscribe or send email to obtain information.
Privacy :
 Do not invade the personal privacy of other users.
 Do not forward e-mail without permission
 Do not deliberately break into computer systems

Security :

38
 System break- ins or aiding others to break into systems is illegal.
 Getting passwords or other access information fraudulently is unacceptable
Intellectual Property :
 Copying or making available copies or protected woks with out the auothor’s
permission is illegal.
Spamming :
 People will fill your mailbox with advertisement, forwarded messages,
product details, business offers, and all sorts of unwanted junk.
 Separating the messages you really want from the hundreds of unwanted mail
is a daunting tasks. This process called spamming.
 It makes many people really hate a e-mail
 (http:// www.contactplus.com), which compares incoming messages to its
database of known spammers to head of junk mail before it reaches your in-
box.
E-mail – Advantages & disadvantages :
 It is difficult sometimes to comprehend all the benefits and values of
electronic communications technology.
Tips for Effective E-mail use
i If the mail is automatically delivered to your mailbox, shut off the computer beep that
alerts you when you have an incoming message.
ii It your mail does not come to your in-box and you have to check for your mail by
connecting to the mail server, then do it during non-peak hours, when you will get
connected immediately.
iii Compose your message off-line. This will save on-line time and you will get a chance
to review the mail.
iv Organize the mails in different folders, so that it can be tracked easily and efficiently.
v Keep the e-mail IDs of all the people with whom you correspond in the address book,
so that each time you don’t have to key it in. This will reduce the chances or error and
will save time.
i Tell you friends and colleagues what type of documents you want to receive and what
you don’t
ii And remember, don’t let technology wipe out oral communication!!!!
Smileys (Emoticons)
 When we talk to people face-to-face, our body language, the tone of our voice and our
facial expressions.
 You create smileys by typing characters from your keuboard.

39
:-) Happy :-)) Very Happy :-( Sad
:-(( Very sad ;-) Wink :-* Kiss
:-o Surprised :-@ Screaming :-I Indifferent
:-e Disappointed :-|| Angry >:-< Mad
%-) Confused :-D Laughing :’-( Crying
Finding an E-mail Address
 LookUP! Directory Services (http:// www.lookup.com)
 InterNIC Directory Services (http://www.internic.net)
 Netfind (http://www.nova.edu)
 Netpages (www.aldea.com)
 OKRA : net. Citizen Directory Service (http://okra.edu)
 Four11 Directory Services (http: // www.four11.com)
 Internet Address Finder (http://www.iaf.net)
Frees E-mail Accounts
Advantage :
 Free mail lets you access your e-mail from any system with a browser and an
internet connection.
Disadvantage:
 Too many of these services leave your e-mail in the browser cache, so that
anyone can locate your downloaded e-mail easily.
Microsoft Hotmail (http://www.hotmail.com)
Lifetime Email (http://www.lema.com)
Rocketmail (http ://www.rocketmail.com)
Yahoo! Mail (http: // mail.yahoo.com)
Mailing Lists:
 Electronic mail is far more flexible and powerful than you might at first
imagine.
 A mailing list if a way to share information via electronic mail with many
people, usually on a specific topic or for a specific purpose.
 Mailing Lists provide a way of keeping up with the developments and
happenings in a particulars field of interest with minimum effort and cost.
How Mailing Lists Work?
 A Message is sent to a single e-mail address, which is referred to as the
mailing list address.
 This same message is then re-distributed, or "reflected” to all of the people
subscribed to the list.

40
News groups :
News groups on the internet have very little to do with ‘news’ but everything to
do with discussion and debate.
1. Mailing Lists Vs Newsgroups:
2. The Usenet Network
3. Reading Newsgroups
Newsgroup Classification :
news : Groups concerned with the News Network. Some examples are news.
announce. Newusers, news.newusers.questions, etc.
comp - Computer oriented groups dealing with topic like technical advice, game
hints, software information, etc. An example is comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.adventure.
alt – Alternative group dealing with a wide range of subjects. Examples are
alt.astrology, alt.music. beatles.
misc – Newsgroups that are difficult to classify . Examples include
misc.invest.stocks.misc.education.multimedia.
biz - Business newsgroups dealing with business subjects like marketing and
advertising. An example is biz. Jobs.offered.
rec - Groups that are devoted to recreational activities. Examples include
rec.trave.africa, rec.music.makers. guitar.
talk - Debate oriented forums on any topic. An example it talk.euthanasia.
soc – Groups dealing with social issues and dealing with subjects like human rights,
environment, etc. An example is soc.rights.human.
sci – Groups devoted to scientific debate and research and development examples, are
sci.virtual-worlds, sci.med.diseases cancer.
INTRODUCTION OF MULTIMEDIA
Introduction :
i. Multimedia is one of the fastest growing and most exciting areas in the information
technology field.
ii. Hundreds and thousands of people are putting together text, pictures, animations,
movies and sound to creating multimedia presentations, courses, interactive web
pages.
iii. Multimedia is widely used in the entertainment and education field.

Pre-Multimedia era.

41
Multimedia can be used for entertainment, corporate presentations, sales
presentations, education, training, simulations, digital publications, electronic reference
materials.
Multimedia in Entertainment:
The earliest applications of multimedia were for computer games. Multimedia is
being used in movie-making very extensively.
Multimedia in software training
As computer applications and programs becomes more complex, software developers
are bundling multimedia presentations to introduce their features and to walk the user through
the program.
Multimedia in Education and Training
Multimedia is extensively used for education and training in schools, business and at
home. It brings presentations alive with sounds, movies and interactivity.
Multimedia on the Web:
 When the WWW was introduced, it was all text.
 Photographs and drawings could be used to illustrate and explain products and
accessories, to demonstrate the working of technology and nature of just to
make pages more attractive.
 Multimedia was introduced using languages like Java and utilities like
RealAudio or Shockwave.
Multimedia in Office Work:
 Multimedia is not jus for expensive commercial production.
 It can be used to enhance ordinary communication.
 Using technologies such as OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) and
ActiveX, or OpenDoc, one can insert sound and movie objects into other
applications such as word processing or spreadsheet documents.
 Windows Media Player controls multimedia – hardware devices and play
media sequences such as video clips; animations, and sound.
Multimedia servers and Databases
 Database called universal servers are now able to store the elements that are
displayed on the screen.
 Field are used to store images, text, sounds files and videos.
 The multimedia program draws on these stored elements to create to show.

MULTIMEDIA TOOLS

42
Introduction
Multimedia presentations range from simple slide shows to very sophisticated and
professional programs.
Paint and Draw Applications:
In Multimedia program (and many that see in print) have been created or manipulated
on a computer in a digital format. There are two basic forms of computer graphics – bitmaps
and vector graphics.
Bitmap Images :
Bitmap images are formed from a matrix of pixel with different colours. Bitmaps
images defined by their dimensions in pixels as well as by the number of colours they
represent.
For example: a 640 X 480 image contains 640 pixels horizontally and 480 pixels
vertically.
 All photographs and paintings are bitmapped and any kind of image can be saved or
exported into a bitmap format.
 Bitmap images have large file sizes that are determined by the image’s dimensions in
pixels and colours used.
 To reduce this problem, some graphic formats such as GIF and JPEG store the images
in compressed formats.
Vector Graphics
 Vector graphics are really just a set of graphical object such as lines, rectangles
ellipses, arcs, or curves, called primitives.
 The program stores as numerical coordinates and mathematical formulas specifying
their shape and position in the image.
Draw programs have a number of advantage over paint programs such as:
 Precise control over lines and colours.
 Ability to skew and rotate objects to see them from different angles or add
perspective.
 Ability to scale objects to any size in order to fit the available space. Vector
graphics always print at the best resolution of the printer no matter what size
you make them
 Colour blends and shadings can be easily changed.
When working with a draw program, you can display the image in two views –
wire frame view or shaded.

Graphic Effects and Techniques

43
3D Graphics Programs
 Vector graphics comes in two basic forms, 2D and 3D.
 2D graphics show only length and width and 3d Graphics have depth.
 3D graphics programs are an extension of draw programs
Animation
 The effect to action and motion in animated movies or cartoons is created by
projecting still pictures, called cells, one after another at a rate of 30 per second.
 Computer animation is also done by projecting a series of still images, called
frames. Using animation software, one creates the beginning and ending frames
for an action and after specifying these as key frames, the computer uses process
called ‘inbetweening’ or ‘tweening’ to create intermediate frames.
Shading
 After 2D or 3D vector graphics are created in a wire frames view the next step is
to add a surface to the wire frame to give the image body and solidity. The
programs used to do this are called shaders.
 A Process called texture mapping can apply a bitmapped image over a surface.
Anti – aliasing
The edge pixels may give an image displayed on the screen raggged edges. Anto-
aliasing smoothes the edges of the image by altering the contrast and colour of its edge
pixels.
Morphing
Morphing blends two images two create a third. To make morphing realistic, certain
areas of the image such as the eye must be overlapped on the first and last images and locked
in place.
Sound and Music
To like sound and music to make a multimedia presentation more interesting and
effective. There are two basic kinds of sounds, which you can include in a multimedia
presentation – sound data and live synthesized sound.
Digital Sound Data
The analog waves are sampled at evenly spaced points and the sound at those points is
measures and stored as digital values, called sound data. When this digital data is played
back, your sound card and speakers use the digital values to recreate the original analog
waves.

Midi

44
To standardize communication among computers and electronic musical instruments
such as synthesizers, MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) devices are used. When
MIDI instruments are connected to a computer loaded with the right software, you can store,
compose, arrange, record, edit, play back and even print your music.
3D Sound
Called 3D sound, these cards, require speakers that support SRS (Sound Retrieval
System). SRS is a sound recording and play back technology that gives sounds acoustical
effects as if they are reflecting of walls in a real concert hall.
Video
 Video is ever more widely used in multimedia in spite of computer images
tending to be small, grainy, and even jerky because of large file sizes and the time
it takes to transmit or playback these files.
 To display movies or videos on a computer, they must first be digitized.
 A digitized feature length film can take up 100 GB of disk space.
 To make it possible to store video and to play it back at a usable rate, files are
heavily compressed using a video compressor – decompressor.
 There are two basic types of compression – lossless and lossy.
 Lossless compression uncompress the video when it is played back so its quality
matches the original.
 Lossy compression does not uncompress the video to the same quality as the
original and some data is always lost.
Multimedia Authoring Tools
Your text, graphics, sound, animations and movies for a multimedia presentation.
There is an amazing variety of software available for this task, ranging from very simple
slide-show programs to very complex professional packages.
Type of presentations
There are two basic types of multimedia presentations – non – interactive and
interactive. Non interactive or linear presentations are like movies. Interactive presentations
require that you click hyperlink buttons or graphics to continue.
Presentation Graphics Programs
 Easy – to – use presentation graphics programs allow typical end-users to put together
multimedia shows for presentations on their own.
 To create overhead transparencies they originally allowed you to add text, create
outlines and bulled lists, and illustrate key points using charts and graphs.
 The latest versions of these programs allow you to create animations by sequencing
together frames of still graphics.

45
 When played back, these frames create the appearance of motion like a movie or a
cartoon. Examples of such programs are Microsoft PowerPoint, Lotus Freelance
Graphics, etc.
Professional Development Tools
Professional multimedia development programs called ‘authoring software’ give you
total control over an interactive presentation.

********************* UNIT-IV COMPLETED *******************

46
SONA COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE –SALEM -5
CLASS : III B.COM STAFF NAME : Dr. A. SURESH
SUBJECT : INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN BUSINESS

UNIT-V
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Introduction
Electronic commerce helps to the business to market and sell the products and / or
services.
There are three kind of commerce:
1. Business – to – business
2. Business to customer
3. Using digital middlemen.
Business – To – Business E-commerce:
The business – to – business kind of e-commerce refers to a company selling of
buying from other companies. The company communicates with the other companies by
electronic means.
EDI – The Original Method
i Since the ‘80s, organizations have been using EDI to conduct business transactions
electronically.
ii These transactions include sending / receiving of orders. Invoices and shipping
notices. The high cost and maintenance of the networks made this method out – of –
reach for small and medium sized businesses.
iii The system is somewhat inflexible, as connecting a new vendor to the network would
involve huge costs and restructuring.
The Internet – The New wave
With the introduction of the internet, companies, regardless of size, can communicate
with each other electronically and cheaply.
Manufacturer
 E-commerce can be used to source for the best deal that matches the time and cost
requirements from the suppliers.
 The manufacturer then proceeds to post these order requests generated by the system
to the various suppliers through the internet.
 The supplier then replies with their quotes and delivery estimates.
 The manufacturer is able to determine which supplier can provide the best deal and
delivery time or source from an alternative supplier within a few days instead of
weeks when communicating by post of fax.

47
 The suppliers to better prepare themselves to meet the production demands of the
manufacturer.
The benefits of this approach are;
i. Lower purchasing cost – purchases are consolidated.
ii. Reduction in order processing time – replies is usually received within a day
faster if the supplier is also using e-commerce.
iii. Reduction in inventories – no need to stockpile supplies.
iv. Increased problem awareness – production schedule can be adjusted if the
supplier cannot meet the request.
The Virtual shop
Using e-commerce to market and sell can complement the traditional shop front
method.
Building and Maintaining the Virtual Shop
 With the business – to customer type e-commerce first establishes a website on the
Internet.
 The company can put up information about products and services, allow customers to
order these from the web site and also provide customer support services.
 The company must inform the public about its existence using traditional means of
advertising like (commercials, adverts, brochures, etc) and / or online advertising.
Companies utilizing e-commerce in this way can realize the following benefits.
 Lower marketing Costs.
 Lower sales costs
 Lower order processing cost
 New sales opportunities
 Better Customer service
 Lower Customer support cost
The digital middleman
A lot of companies using e-commerce have done away with the need for traditional
middleman, this has also seen he rise of the new digital middleman.
Role of the Digital Middleman
 The digital middleman in e-commerce could be a company that creates a virtual
community or portal on the Internet and then gathers several companies together into
this community.
 These communities are service or product specific, meaning that all the companies in
the community provide only specific type of service (e.g. travel) or product (e.g. cars)
to the visitors.

48
 The virtual community provides information of the products and services of each
company to the visitors, allowing them to do comparisons and select the best deal.
What kind of E-commerce to use.
i These are three types of e-commerce (business – to – business, business – to – customer
and using digital middleman) and there are countless variations. It is not necessary that
a business uses one type only. Companies utilizing e-commerce will use a combination
of two or even all the types of e-commerce mentioned here.
CLASSIFICATION OF E-COMMERCE
 E-Commerce can be classified according to the transaction partners such as Business-
to-Consumer (B2C), Business-to-Business (B2B), Business-to-Government (B2G),
and Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C).

Model Description Example


B2C Sells products or services amazon.com
directly to consumers.
B2B Sells products or services to metasite.com
other businesses or brings
multiple buyers and sellers
together in a central
marketplace.
B2G Business selling to local, igov.com
state, and federal agencies.
C2C Consumers sell directly to ebay.com
other consumers.
C2B Consumers fix price on their priceline.com
own, which business accept
or decline.

Business Business

Government

Business Business

E-BUSINESS TRANSACTION MODEL:


Business-to-Consumer (B2C):
 B2C e-business includes retail sales, often called e-retail (or e-tail), and other online
purchases such as airline tickets, entertainment venue tickets, hotel rooms, and shares
of stocks.

49
 B2C e-business models include virtual malls, which are websites that host many
online merchants.
 Virtual malls typically charge setup, listing, or transaction fees to online merchants,
and may include transaction handling services and marketing option.

Some of the reasons are:


1. Inexpensive costs, big opportunities:
Once on the Internet, opportunities are immense as companies can market their
products to the whole world without much additional cost.
2. Globalization:
Even being in a small company, the web can make appear be a big player which
simply means that the playing field has been leveled by e-business.
3. Reduced operational costs:
Selling through the web means cutting down on paper costs, customer support costs,
advertising costs, and order processing costs.
4. Customer convenience:
Searchable content, shopping carts, promotions, and interactive and user-friendly
interfaces facilitate customer convenience, thus generating more business.
5. Knowledge management:
Through database systems and information management to find out who visited the
site, and how to create, better value for customers.
How does B2C work?
1. Visiting the virtual mall.
2. Customer register.
3. Customer buys products.
4. Merchant processes the order.
5. Credit card is processed.
6. Operations management.
7. Shipment and delivery.
8. Customer receives.
9. After sales service.

Customer identifies a
need.

Searches for
50 the
product or service to
satisfy the need.
Business-to-Business (B2B):
 B2B is that model of e-commerce where a company conducts its trading and other
commercial activity through the Internet and the customer is another business itself.
This is essentially mean and commercial activity between the companies through the
Internet as a medium.
 This is supposed to be a huge opportunity area on the web. Companies have by and
larger computerized all the operations worldwide and now they need to go in to the
next stage by linking their customers and vendors.
 This is done by supply chain software, which is an integral part of your ERP
applications.

Major advantages of B2B:


 Direct interaction with the customer.
 This is the greatest advantage of e-business. The unknown and faceless
customers including other business, buying the products of large MNC like
say HLL proctor and gamble through distributors, channels, and shops.
 Focused sales promotion:
This information gives authentic data about the likes, dislikes and preference of the
client and thus help the company bring out the focused sales promotions.
 Building Customer Loyalty:
It has been observed that online customers can be more loyal and other customers if
they are made to feel special and they are distinct, identify is recognized and their
concerns about privacy are respected.
 Scalability:

51
This means that the web is open and offer round-the-clock access. This provides an
access never known before to the customers.
This access is across locations and time zones.
 Saving and distribution costs:
A company makes huge savings in distribution logistical, and after sales cost by using
e-business models.
Business-to-Business Transactions and Models:
The B2B transactions include the following steps:
1. Review catalogs.
2. Identify specifications.
3. Define requirements.
4. Post request for proposals (REP).
5. Review vendor reputation.
6. Select vendor.
7. Fill out purchase order (PO).
8. Send PO to vendor.
9. Prepare invoice.
10. Make payment.
11. Arrange shipment.
12. Organize product inspection and reception.

Aggregators Hubs

Buyers Sellers
Auctions

Community Contents

The models can be described as follows:


1. Aggregators.
2. Hubs or process integration.
3. Community or alliance.
4. Content.
5. Auctions or dynamic pricing markets.

Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C):
 The C2C e-business model consumer sell directly to another consumer via online
classified as and auctions, or buy selling personal service are expertise online. Some
of the exchanges are askme.com, inforocket.com.

Consumer-to-Business (C2B):
 The C2B model is the reverse auctions or demand collection model.
 Enables buyers to name their own price, often binding for a specific good or service
generating demand. Example reverseauction.com, priceline.com.

SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN

Systems development is systematic process which includes phases such as planning,


analysis, design, deployment, and maintenance. Here, in this tutorial, we will primarily focus
on −

52
 Systems analysis
 Systems design

Systems Analysis

It is a process of collecting and interpreting facts, identifying the problems, and


decomposition of a system into its components.

System analysis is conducted for the purpose of studying a system or its parts in order
to identify its objectives. It is a problem solving technique that improves the system and
ensures that all the components of the system work efficiently to accomplish their purpose.

Analysis specifies what the system should do.

Systems Design

It is a process of planning a new business system or replacing an existing system by


defining its components or modules to satisfy the specific requirements. Before planning, you
need to understand the old system thoroughly and determine how computers can best be used
in order to operate efficiently.

System Design focuses on how to accomplish the objective of the system.

System Analysis and Design (SAD) mainly focuses on −

 Systems
 Processes
 Technology

What is a System?

The word System is derived from Greek word Systema, which means an organized
relationship between any set of components to achieve some common cause or objective.

A system is “an orderly grouping of interdependent components linked together


according to a plan to achieve a specific goal.”

Constraints of a System

A system must have three basic constraints −

 A system must have some structure and behavior which is designed to achieve a
predefined objective.
 Interconnectivity and interdependence must exist among the system components.
 The objectives of the organization have a higher priority than the objectives of its
subsystems.

LIFE CYCLE
The systems analysis and design (SAD) is the process of developing information
systems (IS) that effectively use hardware, software, data, processes, and people to support
the company's businesses objectives. ... SDLC and SAD are cornerstones of full life cycle
product and system planning.

53
MOBILE COMMERCE

INTRODUCTION
Mobile Commerce, or m-Commerce, is about the explosion of applications and services
that are becoming accessible from Internet-enabled mobile devices.
It involves new technologies, services and business models. It is quite different from
traditional e-Commerce.
Mobile phones or PDAs impose very different constraints than desktop computers.

Ideal m-Commerce Market characteristics


Financial Institutions such as Banks see mobile commerce as offering new channels of
service to customers as well as offering them new and innovative products.
These financial institutions are working to design and implement new applications that
will offer mobile payment (i.e being able to pay for groceries) and mobile brokering.

BUSINESS ON THE INTERNET

Online business continues to grow at double-digit rates. According to eMarketer,


there was a 24.8% increase in 2017 over the previous year. The global worldwide sales
reached $2.304 trillion, with mobile accounting for 58.9% of those sales.

As online business continues to take a bigger chunk of the traditional retail market
around the world, this is a good time to get your online business ideas up and running.

This is because 47.3% of the world population is expected to buy online in 2018. And
as more people use eCommerce, customers will be looking for new and innovative online
business ideas to make the experience even better.

While the technology and price point will achieve parity in which there will be little
differentiation, customer experience will play an important role in an online business.

54
Online businesses where customer experience becomes the priority will see more
people clicking on their eCommerce stores.

This includes providing customer reviews, social media engagement, a site optimized
for mobile, mobile apps, chatbots and more.

The goal is to implement the latest online business ideas so your online business
continues to grow.

Online Business Ideas


Blogger

Blogging is a viable business opportunity that allows you to choose a niche that really
suits you. And you can make money through advertising, affiliate links, infoproducts or any
number of other avenues.

Virtual Assistant

Businesses and professionals can often use the help of an assistant to manage tasks
like email and social media. And you can offer your services to those clients online as a
virtual assistant.

Social Media Manager

If you’re social media savvy, you can offer your services to brands that want help
managing their social media accounts on a daily basis.

Social Media Consultant

Alternatively, you can simply offer your social media expertise to clients online
instead of actually managing the accounts for them.

Social Media Influencer

Or you can instead focus on growing your own social media accounts. And if you
garner enough influence within your network, you can build a business as an influencer that
works with brands to promote products and services on your account.

*************** UNIT –V COMPLETED *******************

55

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy