Course on computer concepts

Introduction to Computer

1. Computer is an electronic data progressing device.

2. According to CCC Book The computer word derived from Latin word computare which min to
calculate.
3. But Actually The computer word derived from Greek word compute which min to calculate.
4. Charless Babbege is known as the father of modern computer.
5. It has the ability to store, retrieve and process data.
6. The basic functions of a computer system are to accept the input, process the input, output and to
store data.
7. Generally, computer is the combination of hardware and software, which converts data into
information.
Some terms used in computer terminology are described below :
1. Data Unprocessed raw facts and figures, like numbers, text on pieces of paper, are known as data.
2. Processing It is the sequence of actions taken on data to convert it into information.
3. Information When data is processed, organised, structured or presented in a given context so as to be
useful, then it is called information.
4. Instruction It is a command given to a computer in the computer language by the user.
5. Program It is a set of instructions given to a computer in order to perform some task.

3. Central Processing Unit (CPU)

1. The CPU is also known as the brain of the computer.

2. It is the part of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform
the basic arithmetical, logical and input/output operations of the system.
3. The speed of CPU depends upon the type of microprocessor used and it is measured in MegaHertz
(MHz).
4. Two typical components of a CPU are Arithmetic Logic Unit and Control Unit.
I. Arithmetic Logic Unit
Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) is a digital circuit that performs arithmetic and logical operations.
ALU uses registers to hold the data that is being processed.
1. Logical Operations (AND, NOT, OR, XOR)
2. Arithmetic Operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division)
3. Bit-shifting Operations (shifting or rotating a word by a specified number of bits to the left or right,
with or without sign extension)
4. Comparison Operations (=, <, <=, >, >=)

Register
It is the internal part of CPU which gives special purpose location to arithmetic logic unit and
control unit. These are used to store intermediate results obtained during the execution of instructions.
Microprocessor
It is fabricated on a single IC (Integrated Circuit). IC is a piece of silicon, composed by
thousands of transistors. The first chip, Intel 4004, made by Intel in 1971 by scientist Ted Hoff and engineer

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Federico Faggin. Some of the popular microprocessors are i5, i3, Core 2 Dual Intel, Dual Core, Pentium IV,
etc
II. Control Unit
● In general, CU is a central part of the computer that controls its operations and entire processing.
● It coordinates the input and output devices of a computer system.
● Control unit acts like human nerves system, which does not process data but behaves as a central unit
for other data manipulating components.
● It directs the operation of other units by providing timing and control signals.
4. Computer Memory
The computer memory is one of the most important elements in a computer system.
It is the internal or external storage area,
which holds the data and instructions during processing in the form of binary numbers.
It also relates to many devices and components that are responsible for storing data and applications on a
temporary or a permanent basis.
Computer memory can be classified into two types— Primary memory and Secondary memory/Storage
device.
I. Primary Memory
It is also known as main memory.
It is the internal memory used by computer to hold data and instructions.
The primary memory has limited storage capacity.
Primary memory is volatile in nature it requires constant power supply to motion the current information.
There are two types of primary memory i.e. RAM and ROM.
(i) RAM
RAM stands for Random Access Memory.
This memory is often associated with volatile types of memory.
It can hold data only on temporary basis because it requires a continuous flow of electrical current.
If current is interrupted, data is lost.
The two main forms of RAM are Static RAM and Dynamic RAM
(a) Static RAM
It is also written as SRAM. It is a computer memory that requires a constant power flow in order to hold
information.
SRAM is more expensive and requires more power therefore, it is commonly used in cache and video card
memory.
It is faster than DRAM.
SRAM can be further classified as
• Non-volatile SRAM
• Special SRAM
• Asynchronous SRAM
• Synchronous SRAM
(b) Dynamic RAM
It is also written as DRAM.
It stores information in a cell containing a capacitor and transistor.
These cells must be refreshed with electric impulses in few milliseconds.

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It can be further classified as
• Synchronous DRAM
• Rambus DRAM
• Double Data Rate
• Synchronous DRAM
(ii)ROM
information once stored remain fixed, it can not be changed.
The contents of ROM remain stored even if power is turned OFF.
This memory is often associated with non-volatile types of memory.
ROM is further sub-divided into three types :PROM, EPROM ,EEPROM
(a) PROM (Programmable Read Only Memory) It is a computer memory chip capable of being
programmed after it has been created. But once the PROM has been programmed, the information written is
permanent and cannot be erased or deleted.
(b) EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) It is a computer memory chip on which the
written information can be changed by exposing to ultra voilet light. It is just like a small glass circle that
expose the chip that can be re-programmed.
(c) EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) It is a PROM that can be erased
and reprogrammed using an electrical charge.
Cache Memory It is a storage buffer that stores the data that is used more often, temporarily and makes them
available to CPU at a fast rate.
The data and instructions that are required during the processing of data are brought from the secondary
storage devices and stored in the RAM.
Cache memory is a very high speed memory placed in between RAM and CPU. Cache memory increases the
speed of processing.
Cache memory is very expensive, so it is smaller in size. Generally, computers have cache memory of sized
256KB to 2MB.
II. Secondary Memory/Storage Device
Secondary memory, also known as Secondary Storage or Auxiliary Memory, is the slower and cheaper form
of memory.
It is a permanent storage device.
CPU does not access the secondary memory directly.
The content in it must first be copied into the RAM to be processed.
Secondary memory is non-volatile in nature.
the information does not get erased even when the power is switched OFF and data will not be destructed until
and unless the user erases it.
Secondary Memory Devices include
Magnetic Disks
Floppy Disk
Hard Disk Drive
Magnetic Tape
Optical Discs
CD
DVD
Blu-ray Dis
Solid State
Pen/Flash Drive

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Floppy Disk (Diskette)
. This portable storage device is a re writable media and can be reused a number of times.
It is made of plastic with magnetic coating on it. It is round in shape and is covered by square plastic jacket.
Floppy disks are commonly used to move files between different computers.
🟠8-inch Floppy Disk
• Introduced: 1971 by IBM
• Storage capacity: 80 KB to about 1.2 MB (depending on format)
• Media: Flexible magnetic disk inside a large, square plastic envelope
• Use: Early mainframe and minicomputer systems
• 🟠5.25-inch Floppy Disk
• Introduced: Late 1970s
• Size: 5.25 inches (diameter)
• Early versions: 110–360 KB (single-sided)
• Later versions: Up to 1.2 MB (high density)
• Media: Thinner than 8", still in a flexible casing
• Use: Widely used with early personal computers (Apple II, IBM PC)
• 🟠3.5-inch Floppy Disk
• Introduced: Early 1980s
• Size: 3.5 inches (diameter)
• Extended/Extra High Density: Up to 2.88 MB (rare)
• Media: Rigid plastic shell with metal shutter
• Use: Became the standard for PCs and Macs from the late 1980s through the early 2000s
What Replaced Floppy Disks?
CD-R (Compact Disc - Recordable) • Stores up to 700 MB (much more than a floppy). • Used for music,
videos, and data files. • You can write data once, but not erase it.

DVDs and Rewritable Discs (CD-RW, DVD-RW) • Can store even more than CDs. • CD-RW and DVD-RW
let you erase and reuse the disc

Flash Drives (USB drives) • Tiny and portable. • Store gigabytes of data (1000x more than floppy disks). •
Easy to use, fast, and reusable many times.

(ii) Hard Disk Drive

A Hard Disk Drive (HDD) is a non-volatile and random access digital data storage device.
It is a data storage device used for storing and retrieving digital information using rotating disks (platters)
coated with magnetic material.
All programs of a computer are installed in hard disk within a particular drive.
A Hard Disk Drive is a part of the computer that stores your data — like photos, videos, apps, and files.
Inside the hard drive, there are round, flat metal disks. These are called platters. • They spin around very fast. •
A small tool (called a head) moves over them to read and write data.
A hard drive has spinning disks inside that hold your data. The computer reads and writes information while
the disks are spinning.
(iii) Magnetic Tape
It is a medium of data storage, made up of a magnetic material. It is a storage medium on a large open reel or
in a smaller cartridge or cassette (like a music cassette).
it is a sequential data access medium.

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Due to this (sequential data access) nature, these tapes are not suitable for data files that need to be revised or
updated often.
(iv) Compact Disc (CD)
It is an optical media that is used to store digital data.
It is relatively cheap, small, portable and round in shape storage medium which is made up of molded
polymer.
It consists of a circular disc, which is coated with a thin metal that is highly reflective.
Laser beam technology is used for recording/reading of data on the disc.
It is also known as laser disc or optical laser disc, due to the use of laser beam technology.
CD provides random access medium for high capacity secondary storage.
The diameter of the CD ranges from 10cms to 30cms. One CD can store 600 MB to 750 MB.
Compact discs are categorized into three parts as follows :
(a) Compact Disc-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM)
(b) Compact Disc-Recordable (CD-R)
(c) Compact Disc-Rewritable (CD-RW)
(v) Digital Video Disc (DVD)
It is also known as Super Density (SD) disc.
A DVD is an optical disc storage media manufactured for the first time by Philips, Sony, Toshiba and
Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than compact discs while having the same dimensions.
Depending the disk type, DVD can store several Gigabytes of data (4.7 GB-17.08 GB).
DVDs are primarily used to store music or movies and can be played back on your television or on the
computer too. They are not re-writable media.
DVDs come in three varieties :
(a) DVDROM(DVD-ReadOnlyMemory) (b) DVD-R (DVD-Recordable) (c) DVD-RW (DVD-Rewritable)
(vi) Blu-ray Disc (BD)
It is an optical disc storage medium designed to recapture the data normally in DVD format.
Blu-ray discs contain 25 GB (23.31 GB) per layer space.
The name blu-ray disc refers to the blue laser used to read the disc, which allows information to be stored at a
greater density.
Blu-ray can hold almost 5 times more data than a single layer DVD.
The variations in the formats are as follows : (a) BD-ROM (Read only) for pre-recorded content (b) BD-R
(Recordable) for PC data storage (c) BD-RW (Rewritable) for PC data storage (d) BD-RE (Rewritable) for
HDTV recording
(vii) Pen/Flash/Thumb Drive
A flash drive is a data storage device that consists of flash memory (USB memory/key memory) with an
integrated, Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface. USB flash drives are typically removable, rewritable and
physically much smaller than a floppy disk. A USB flash drive, thumb drive and a pen drive is a portable drive
that is same as the size of your thumb that connects to the computer USB port. Today, flash drives are
available in various storage capacities as 256 MB, 512 MB, 1 GB, 4 GB, 16 GB, 64 GB, etc. Flash drives are
widely used as an easy and small medium to transfer and store the information from the computers.
(viii) Memory Stick
It is USB-based flash memory drive. A family of flash memory cards from Sony designed for digital storage
in cameras, camcorders and other handheld devices. Capacity of memory stick varies from 4 MB to 256 MB.

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Basic Units of Measurement
When user uses a RAM, ROM, Floppy disk or Hard disk, the data is measured using some units. In computer
terminology, they are called Nibble, Bit, Byte, Kilobyte, Gigabyte etc.
Units of Computer Memory Measurements
Bit (Binary digit) The smallest unit of data. It is either 0 or 1.
Nibble A group of 4 bits or half a byte.
Byte A group of 8 bits. Each keyboard character is represented through atleast 1 byte
Kilobyte (KB) 1 KB =1024 bytes.
Megabyte (MB) 1 MB =1024 KB.
Gigabyte (GB) 1 GB =1024 MB.
Terabyte (TB) 1 TB =1024 GB.
Petabyte (PB) 1 PB =1024 TB.
Exabyte (EB) 1 EB =1024 PB.
Zettabyte (ZB) 1 ZB =1024 EB.
Yottabyte (YB) 1 YB =1024 ZB.
Brontobyte(BB)1 BB =1024 YB
1 Geopbyte =1024 Brontobyte. Geopbyte is the highest and bit is the smallest memory measurement unit.

Advantages of computer
1. Speed
computer is very fast and speed .
2. Accuracy
Human some times wrong but computer always gets correct and accurate information.
3. Memory
Human remember some limited amount of data but computer can store a huge amount of data.
4.Responsible
It never forgets instruction.
5.Diligence
It never gets tide and bored by repeating the same task.

Weakness
1.No IQ
computer cannot think it self.
2.No Feeling
It cannot feel anything

Generation and evolution if computer

A generation refers to the state of improvement in the development of system. Computers are made up of
electromechanical, before generation. Each generation of computer is characterized by a major technological
development that fundamentally changed the way.
Look The following table

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History of Computer
 Abacus
 Napier’s Bones
 Blaise Pascal's calculator
 Difference Engine
 Analytical Engine
 Tabulating Machine
 Mark-1
 ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator)
 EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator)

Classification of Computer

Computers are mainly classified based on their different size and shapes :
Based on Size
1. Micro Computers
These are the least powerful, yet the most widely used and fastest growing type of computers and are also
called portable computers. Some types of micro computers are given below :
I. Desktop Computer or Personal Computer (PC) These computers are small and relatively inexpensive
computers. These computers are based on the microprocessor technology (Integrated Circuit).
II. Notebook These computers (also known as ultra book or laptop) are portable and lightweight. First
laptop was developed by Alan Kay. Laptops consume less power than desktops and include a rechargeable
battery.
III. Handheld Computers or Palmtops These computers are the smallest and are designed to fit into the
palm. So, these computers are also known as Palmtop/PDA. They use the pen for input instead of keyboard.

2. Mini Computers
These computers are smaller in size, faster and cost lower than mainframe computers. Initially, the mini
computers were designed to carry out some specific tasks, like engineering and Computer Aided Design
(CAD) calculations. They are used as central computer, which is called server. e.g. IBM-17, DEC PDP-11,
HP-9000, etc.

3. Mainframe Computers
These are the computers having large internal memory storage and comprehensive range of software’s. These
computers are bigger in size comparatively to mini computers but smaller than supercomputers. Mainframe
computer serves as a backbone for the entire business world. e.g. IBM-370, IBM-S/390, UNIVAC-1110, etc.

4. Super Computers
These are the fastest and the most expensive computers. The speed of supercomputers is measured in FLOPS
(Floating Point Operations Per Second). These are used for highly calculation intensive tasks, such as weather
forecasting, nuclear research, business application, military agencies and scientific research laboratories.
‘‘PARAM was the first super computer of India introduced by C-DAC in Pune.’’ As of January 2018, Pratyush
is the fastest super computer in India.

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Based on Work
1. Analog Computers
These computers are the job oriented computers and work on the supply of continuous electrical pulses. These
computers carry out arithmetic and logical operations by manipulating and processing of data. e.g.
speedometers, seismograph, etc.

2. Digital Computers
These computers work by calculating the binary digits. A digital computer not only performs mathematical
problems, but also combines the bytes to produce desired graphics, sounds. e.g. desktop (PC).

3. Hybrid Computers
These computers are the combination of analog and digital computers. Machines used in hospitals like ECG
(Electrocardiography) and DIALYSIS are the commonly used hybrid computers.

Based on Purpose
1. General Purpose Computers These computers are used to solve variety of problems by changing the
program or instructions, e.g. to make small database calculations, accounting, etc.
2. Special Purpose Computers These computers are used to solve a single and dedicated type of problems, e.g.
automatic aircraft landing, multimedia computer, etc.

Applications of Computer
Now-a-days, computers have been employed in almost all the aspects of professional and personal life. Some
of the areas where computers being used are given below
• Education Computers have proved to be excellent teachers. Educational institutes are using computers
in many ways like tele-education, virtual classroom, online classes, etc.
• Business Application Computers play a vital role in business to keep records of employees, sold
product information and available resources are now easy.
• Recreation and Entertainment Computers can be found throughout the entertainment industry.
Computers are used to create the special effects in television advertisements, the colorful displays on
the score board at sport arenas etc.
• Government Various departments of the government use computer for their planning, controlling and
law enforcement activities.
• Health Computer plays a very crucial role in this area. Activities like scanning, X-ray, tale-medicine,
patient monitoring, patient records, diagnosis, etc., are performed with the help of computers.
• Multimedia It is the field concerned with the computer controlled integration of texts, graphics,
drawings, animation, audio and any other media, where each type of information can be represented,
stored, transmitted and processed digitally.
• Banking Computers can be used in the banks to keep the records of customer’s accounts. Computers
enhance customer services like checking account status, transferring money, etc.
Basics of Hardware and Software
A computer is a combination of hardware and software. These two work combined and make computer do for
what it is instructed.

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Hardware
It refers to the physical components of a computer that can be touched and seen. Monitor, Keyboard, Hard
Disk Drive, Mouse, Printers, Memory, Motherboard, Graphic Cards, Sound Cards etc., are some hardware
devices. By the use of these hardware devices, it made very easy for the computer for processing its data, store
and retrieve.
Some hardware devices are as follows :
1. Input Devices (Unit)
2. Output Devices (Unit)
3. Central Processing Unit (CPU)
4. Computer Memory/Memory Unit
1. Input Devices
An input device is a hardware device that sends data into the computer system. These devices are used to input
(or enter) data and instructions into the computer system. All instructions are accepted by the CPU through
electrical pulses from various kind of input devices. Some of the input devices are Keyboard, Pointing
Devices, Scanner, MICR, OCR, OMR, Barcode Reader, Microphone (Mic), Web Camera, Digital Camera,
Biometric Sensor, Smart Card Reader which explained as follows
I. Keyboard
It is the most commonly used input device which uses an arrangement of buttons and keys. Both data and
program can be entered into the computer through the keyboard. It is an essential device for interactive
processing because the user can easily issue commands to receive the data response immediately on the
computer screen.
Types of keys on Keyboard
(i) Alphanumeric Keys All of the letters and numbers on the keyboard are A-Z and 0-9.
(ii) Punctuation Keys Such as comma, period, semicolon, brackets, parenthesis and so on.
(iii) Special Keys Such as Control keys, Arrow keys, Caps lock key, Delete key, Alt key, Shift key etc.
(iv) Function Keys Keys labeled F1 to F12. These keys have different meanings depends on running program.

➥Note Shift, Ctrl and Alt keys are also known as modifier keys.
II. Pointing Devices A pointing device is used to communicate with the computer by pointing to the locations
on the monitor.
● It can also be used for sending command signals to the computer.
● selecting items on the screen.
● selecting commands from command menu.
● drawing graphics, sketches, etc.
Some commonly used pointing devices are mouse, joystick, light pen, graphics tablet, touch screen and
trackball.
(i) Mouse
It is a pointing device that allows to control the movement of pointer (also known as mouse pointer) on screen.
a mouse has two buttons-right button and left button.
Mouse also includes a scroll wheel between these two buttons to scroll down the application window and their
contents also. These are three types of mouse as– Wireless mouse, Mechanical mouse, Optical mouse.

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There are four actions of mouse as follows
(a) Click or Left click selects an item on the screen.
(b) Double click is used to open a document or program.
(c) Right click displays a list of commands on the screen. Right clicking is used to access the properties of
selected object.
(d) Drag and Drop is used to move an item on the screen.

(ii) Joystick It is a pointing device that moves in all directions and controls the movement of the cursor. A
joystick is similar to a mouse excepts that the movement of cursor on screen stops working as soon as user
stop moving the mouse. But with a joystick, the pointer continuous moving in the previously pointing
direction. Commonly, joysticks are used for playing computer games like flight simulators
(iii) Light Pen It is a handheld electric-optical pointing device, which is used for making drawings,
graphics and for menu selection.
Light pen is used especially in Personal Digital Assistants (PDA). It is very useful in identifying a specific
location on the screen.
(iv) Graphics Tablet A graphics tablet (or digitisers, digitising tablet, or simply tablet) is an input device
that consists of an electronic writing area and a special pen that works with it. Graphics Tablet It allows artists
to create hand-made images and graphical images with motion and action, similar to the way a person draws
images with pencil and paper. When user draws anything on the tablet with the special pen, the drawing
appears on the screen. Graphics tablet may also be used to capture data or handwritten signatures.
(v) Touch Screen It is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch
within the display area. The term touch screen generally refers to touching the display of the device with a
finger or hand.
The touch screen sends a signal to the computer. This signal gives the location on the screen, which has been
touched. Touch screen is quick and simple to use. Generally, smartphones have a high-resolution capacitive
touch screen.
There are different types of touch screens available with electronic devices like capacitive touch screen,
resistivity touch screen and gorilla glass touch screen, etc.
(vi) Trackball It is designed for computers, generally serves as mouse replacement. It is primarily used to
move the cursor on the screen. The trackball has a ball on its top. Trackball can be rolled with fingers and the
internal rollers sense the motion, which is transmitted to the computer. Trackballs are common on CAD
workstations and sometimes seen on computerised special purpose work stations, such as the radar consoles in
an air-traffic control room or sonar equipment on a ship or submarine.
(VII). Scanner Scanner It is an input device that makes copies and reproduces text and images and
convert it into a digital file, allowing the computer to read or display the scanned object. Scanners can be used
for storing the documents in their original form that can be modified and manipulated later on. It is mainly
used to convert a scanned document in a digital format. Scanners come in a variety of sizes from hand held
models to desktop models as Handheld scanners, Flatbed scanners and Drum scanners.
(VIII).MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) MICR It is a character recognition
technology which is primarily used by the banking industry to facilitate the processing of cheques. This
technology allows the computer to read information (such as account numbers) on printed documents.
MICR can read upto 2400 documents/min. The MICR coding system contains 14 characters (4 special
symbols and 10 decimal digits). So, it can recognise these 14 characters only. The type font E-13 B, a standard
typographical style, is used to print the characters or identification marks.

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V. OCR (Optical Character Recognition) It is used to translate scanned images of handwritten,

type-written, printed text or special type font printed on conventional paper with conventional ink into
machine-encoded text. OCR is widely used to convert books and documents into electronic files, to
computerise a record-keeping system in an office or to publish the text on a website. An optical reader uses
photoelectric devices to scan the characters being read and convert the reflected light patterns of the data into
binary data suitable for computer input. The normal speed of an OCR is 1500 to 3000 characters per second.
The technology is being developed for greater accurate recognition and is also known as Intelligent Character
Recognition (ICR).
VI. OMR (Optical Mark Reader)
OMR is mainly used to detect marks on a paper. It uses a beam of light that is reflected on the paper with
marks, to capture presence and absence of data (Marks).
VII. Barcode Reader It is an input device used for reading printed bar codes (Universal Product Code)
available on product to be sold. A barcode reader emits a beam of light, which reflects off the barcode image.
A light sensitive detector in the barcode reader identifies the barcode image by recognising special bars at both
the ends of the image. Once code is identified, it is converted into a numeric code.
A perfect example of a barcode reader is its use in a super market where barcode scanner reads the price of a
product.
A barcode is a machine readable representation of information in the form of stripes of dark and light ink.
VIII. Microphone (Mic) We can send sound to the computer through a special manual input device
called microphone or mic. A mic converts the received sound into computer’s format, which is called Digitised
Sound or Digital Audio. To convert a voice into digital form, an additional hardware is always needed which is
known as Sound Card.
A microphone can be attached to a computer to record sound. Now-a-days, microphones are also being used
with speech recognition software. This means that you do not have to type the document, rather just have to
speak and the spoken words appear in your document.
IX. Web Camera (Webcam) Webcam is a digital camera attached to computers and can be used for
video conferencing or online chatting, etc. It is a video capturing device. Webcams are able to capture full
motion videos as well. A webcam connected to a computer allows the user to view either a still picture or
motion video of a user or other object.
Now-a-days, webcams are either embedded into the display with laptops or connected via USB or Wi-Fi to the
computer system. After connecting webcam to a computer, you need to install a required software or drivers.
X. Digital Camera (Digicam) It is an input device that stores the pictures or videos in an electronic
format instead of film. There are several features that make digital camera a popular choice, when compared
to film cameras. Most enjoyable feature is the LCD display on the digital camera. This display allows users to
view and save photos or videos after the picture or video has been taken, that means, if you take a picture and
don’t like the results, you can delete it, or if you like the picture, you can save it and easily show it to other
people.
XI. Biometric Sensor It is a device which recognises physical or behavioural traits of an individual.
Biometric sensors are mainly used marking attendance of employees/students in organisations/institutions.
Biometric sensors are working with accuracy, so these can be widely used in security purpose.

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XII. Smart Card Reader It is a device which is used to access the microprocessor of a smart card.
There are two kinds of smart cards. Memory cards the cards which contain only non-volatile memory storage
components and some specific security logic. Microprocessor cards contain volatile memory and
microprocessor components. The card is made-up of plastic generally PVC. Smart cards are used in large
companies and organisation for stronge security authentication.
2. Output Devices
An output device is a part of computer hardware equipment, used to communicate the results of data
processing which are carried out by the information processing system (such as a computer), to the outside
world. Output devices carry the results of various operations performed by the user. Output device makes it
possible to view or print data.
Some of the devices, which are used to display the processed result or output are Monitor, Printer,
Plotter, Speaker, Headphone, Projector, Speech synthesizer which explained as below
I. Monitor/VDU A monitor (called a Visual Display Unit, VDU) is an electronic visual device used to
display the output. The rectangular area of the monitor, its refresh rate and dot pitch, all directly affect the
resolution of the display.
A monitor is of two kinds : Monochrome display monitor and Color display monitor.
A monochrome display monitor uses only one color to display text and color display monitor can display 256
colors at a time. An image on the monitor is created by a configuration of dots, also known as pixels. The
clarity of image depends on three factors:
Resolution of Screen Resolution refers to the number of pixels in horizontal and vertical directions. The
resolution of monitor is higher when the pixels are closer together.
Dot Pitch
It refers to the diagonal distance between two colored pixels. The smaller the dot pitch, the better the
resolution.
Refresh Rate The refresh rate of a monitor is the maximum number of times the image on screen can be
drawn or refreshed per second.
(i) CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) The CRT works in the same way as a television. It contains an electron
gun at the back of the glass tube.
This gun fires electrons in a group of phosphor dots, which is coated inside the screen. When the electrons
strike the phosphor dots they glow to give the colours.
(ii) LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) These screens are used in laptops and notebook sized PCs. A
special type of liquid is sandwiched between two plates. It is a thin, flat and light weight screen made up of
any number of colours or mono-chrome pixels arranged in front of a light source. Long life, light weight,
better screen privacy, less eyestrain, reduced radiation are some of the major features of LCD.
(iii) LED (Liquid/Light Emitting Diode) LED is an electronic device that emits light when
electrical current is passed through it
LEDs usually produce red light, but today’s LEDs can produce RGB (Red, Green and Blue) light and white
light as well.
(iv) 3-D Monitor When 3-D images are made interactive, user feels involved with the scene and this
experience is called virtual reality.

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(v) TFT (Thin Film Transistor) TFT and Active-Matrix LCD (AMLCD) is a Liquid Crystal Display
(LCD). With active-matrix display, each pixel is controlled by one to four transistors that can make the screen
faster, brighter, more colourful than passive-matrix and capable of being viewed at different angles. Because
of this improved technology, active-matrix screens are often more expensive but have better quality than a
passive-matrix display.
II. Printer
It is an output device which produces a hard copy of documents that are stored in an electronic form on
physical print media such as paper or transparencies. So, printers are the primary output devices used to
prepare permanent documents. The speed of a printer is normally rated either by Pages Per Minute (PPM) or
by Characters Per Second (CPS). Printer resolution is a numerical measure of print quality that is measured in
Dots Per Inch (DPI).
Printers can be classified into two broad categories as follows
(i)Impact Printers These printers rely on a forcible impact to transfer ink to the print media, similar to
the action of a typewriter. There is a mechanical contact between the paper and the print head.
There are various types of impact printers as follows :
(a) Line Printer It is a high speed printer capable of printing an entire line of text at once instead of one
or more characters at a time. Print quality of line printer is not high.
(b) Drum Printer It is an old line printer technology that is used to form character images around a
cylindrical drum as its printing mechanism. When the desired character for the selected position rotated
around the hammer line, the hammer hits the paper from behind and pushed it into the ribbon and onto the
character.
(c) Daisy Wheel Printer

(d) Dot Matrix Printer The term dot matrix refers to the process of placing dots to form an image. It
uses print heads to shoot ink or strike an ink ribbon to place hundreds to thousands of little dots to form text or
images. It prints one character at a time. The speed of dot matrix printer lies between 200 to 600 CPS.

(ii)Non-impact Printers These printers are much quieter than impact printers as their printing heads do
not strike on the paper. These printers are comparatively faster and produce high quality output. They can be
used for printing text and graphics both in black & white and colored. The various types of non-impact
printers are as follows :
(a) Electromagnetic Printer Electrographic or electro-photographic printers are very fast printers .
They can produce documents at a speed of over 20000 lines per minute i.e. more than 250 pages per minute.
(b) Thermal Printer

(c) Electrostatic Printer These printers are generally used for large format printing. They are favoured
by large printing shops because of their ability to print fast and making low cost.

(d) Laser Printer In this printer, the method of printing is based on principle of Laser Printer
electrophotography and use a beam of laser light as a photocopy machine. Resolution of laser printer is
specified in term of DPI (Dots Per Inch).

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The powdered ink (toner) is transferred to paper to form a text/an image pattern and then fixed by heat or
pressure.
the laser printer produces the cheapest cost per printout.
(e) Inkjet Printer This printer fires extremely small droplets of ink onto the paper to create impression of
text or image. The printhead of inkjet printers, known as print cartridge, contains tiny nozzles (50 or more)
through which different coloured inks can be sprayed onto the paper to form the characters or graphic images.
Colour inkjet printers provide an inexpensive way to print fully coloured documents.
III. Plotter It is an output device similar to a printer that uses a pen, pencil, marker or other writing tools to
make a design. Plotters are generally used to generate the map of building and shopping malls. A plotter is a
computer printing device for printing vector graphics. In the past, plotters were widely used in applications
such as Computer Aided Design (CAD) and other printing jobs. Though, they have generally been replaced
with wide-format conventional printers.
There are two basic types of plotters those that use pens and those that do not. There are two basic types of
plotters as follows :
(i) Drum Plotter It contains a long cylinder and a pen carriage. The output paper is placed over the drum.
The pen is mounted horizontally on the carriage. Both the pen and drum move under the computer’s control to
produce the desired drawing.
(ii) Flatbed Plotter It consists of a stationary horizontal flat surface on which paper or any other
medium is fixed. The pen is mounted on a carriage that can move along the horizontal and vertical axis.
IV. Speaker It is an output device that receives the sound in the form of electric current from the sound
card and convert it into sound format. Speakers are used for listening music.Computer speakers (multimedia
speakers) are the speakers, which are attached internally or externally to a computer system.
V. Headphones These are a pair of small loudspeakers or less commonly a single speaker, held close to a
user’s ears and connected to a signal source such as an audio amplifier, radio, CD player or portable media
player. They are also known as stereo phones, headsets or cans.
VI. Projector It is an output device which is used to project information from a computer onto a large
screen, so it can be viewed by a large group of people simultaneously. Projectors are widely used for
classroom training or conference holes with a large audience. It provides a temporary output display.
VII. Speech Synthesizer It is used to produce sound from a text and can be implemented in software
and hardware. A text-to-speech system converts normal language text into speech.

Software
It is a collection of computer programs, procedures and related data that provide the instructions for telling a
computer what to do and how to do it.
It is responsible for controlling, integrating and managing the hardware components of a computer system
and for accomplishing specific tasks.
Software can be divided into following major categories
1. System Software
2. Application Software
3. System Utilities
1. System Software
It consists of several programs, which are directly responsible for controlling, integrating and managing the
individual hardware components of a computer system. System software also provides the interface between
the user and components of the computer. Some common examples of system software are as follows

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I. Operating System It consists of programs, which control, coordinate and supervise the activities of the
various components of a computer system. Its function is to provide link between the computer hardware and
the user.
Operating System (OS) performs all internal management functions (disk access, memory management, task
scheduling and user interfacing) and ensures systematic functioning of a computer system.
It provides an environment to run the programs. e.g. MS-DOS, Windows XP/2000/98, Unix, Linux, etc.
II. Device Drivers A software, which is written with the objective of making a device functional when it
is connected to the computer is called device driver.
It is a system software that acts like an interface between the device and the user.
Every device, whether it is a printer, monitor, mouse or keyboard has a driver program associated with it for
its proper functioning.
Device drivers are not independent programs, they assist and are assisted by operating system for the proper
functioning.
Linker

Loader

III. Language Translator

It helps in converting programming languages to machine language. The translated program is called object
code.
There are three different kinds of language translators as follows
(i) Assembler
It is used to convert the assembly language into machine language (i.e. in the form of 0 or 1). This language
consists of mnemonic codes, which are difficult to learn and is machine dependent.
(ii) Compiler
It is used to convert the source code (written in high level language) into machine language. Compiler reads
whole source code in a single run and traps the errors and inform to the programmer. For each high level
language, the machine requires a separate compiler.
(iii) Interpreter
This program converts a high level language program into machine language by converting it line-by-line and
inform to the user as an error occurs.
2. Application Software
It is a computer software designed to help the user to perform singular or multiple tasks. It is a set of
instructions or programs designed for specific uses or applications, that enable the user to interact with a
computer. Application softwares are also called the end-user programs.

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There are two types of application software as follows
I. General Purpose Software These softwares are used for any general purpose (or function).
These softwares allow users to do simple (general) computer tasks.
Some of the general purpose application softwares are as follows :
● Word Processing Software
● Presentation Software
● Electronic Spreadsheet
● Database Management System
● Desktop Publishing
● Software Graphics Software
II. Specific Purpose Software
These are created to execute one specific task.
This type of application software generally has one purpose to execute.
Some of the specific purpose application softwares are described below
● Inventory Management System and Purchasing System
● Payroll Management System
● Hotel Management System
● Reservation System Report Card Generator Software
● Accounting Software
● HR Management System
● Attendance System
● Billing System

3. System Utilities
These programs perform tasks related to the maintenance of the computer system. These are the packages
which are loaded into computer during time of installation of operating system.
They are used to support, enhance, expand and secure existing programs and data in the computer system.
System utility mainly consists of the following functions
I. Disk Compression

II. Disk Fragmenter

III. Backup Utilities

IV. Disk Cleaners

It is used to find files that have not been used for a long time. This utility also serves to increase the speed of a
slow computer.

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V. Antivirus or Virus Scanning

It is the utility, which is used to scan computer for viruses and prevent the computer system files from being
corrupt. e.g. Norton, Quick heal, etc.
Open Source Software
Open source refers to something that can be modified are shared as its designed publicly accessible.
Open Source Software (OSS) is any computer software that is distributed with its source code available for
modification.
Examples of Open Source Software are Linux, Unix, MySQL etc.
To be considered as open source software by the software development industry, certain criteria must be met
as follows
● Software must be available free or at a low cost.
● Source code must be included.
● Anyone must be allowed to modify the source code.
● Modified versions can be redistributed.

Criteria for the Distribution of OSS

Open source software is normally distributed with the source code under an open source license.
The distribution terms of open source software must comply with the following criteria
1. Free Redistribution
The license shall not restrict any party from selling or giving away the software distribution containing
programs from several different sources. The license shall not require a royalty or other fee for such sale.
2. Source Code
The program must include source code and allows distribution with source code as well as a compiled form.
The source code must be in the preferred form in which a programmer would modify the program.
3. Integrity of The Author’s Source Code
The license may restrict source code from being distributed in modified form only if the license allows the
distribution of “patch files” with the source code for the purpose of modifying the program at build time.

Proprietary Software

Main Barriers for Using Proprietary Software

IT Gadgets and their Applications

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