INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTERS

What is a computer? It is an electronic device

that accepts data as input, processes it and
produces information as output and saved for
future use. B
Data: Refers to raw facts and figures that are
meaningless to the user and cannot be used to
make decisions.
Processing: It is the act of changing data into
information. E.g. arithmetic processing (adding,
subtraction,)
Information: This is the result of data
processing that is accurate and can be used for
decision making, planning and control.
Uses of a computer:
It is used for communication
It stores information
Used for Advertisements
Used for entertainment
Used for training and conducting Research
Used for E-Learning and E-Commerce
Used for creating and Editing movies
Used for mathematical calculations
Used for industrial robots control.
Advantages of computers
Speedy processing of data
It is consistent
It is accurate
Reduces human workload
Disadvantages of a Computer
It encourages laziness
It’s a health hazard
It is expensive to buy and maintain
Reduces employment opportunities
Requires skills to operate
They are fragile
Requires Electricity to operate.
Encourages immoral behavior
AREAS WHERE COMPUTERS ARE USED
1. Education
2. In police force and military
3. Scientific research
4. Health care
5. Government departments
6. Banks
7. In business
8. In space exploration
9. In weather forecast

 Brief History of Computers

When the human race started
doing some trade, it felt a need
for a calculating device. The first
calculating device, which was
used 2000 years ago was called
Abacus and the improvements in
the calculating device in that age
were slow. The next change came
after about 1600 years. Following
this, the changes were frequent
and the mechanical desk
calculator was developed around
1800 A.D.
In 1833, Prof. Charles Babbage,
the father of the computer,
developed a machine called
analytical engine which was the
vase(container) for the modern
digital computer.

HISTORY OF COMPUTERS
The computer as we see it today is a result of
extensive research and development through
the decades (periods).
The word 'computer' comes from the word
compute which means 'to calculate'.
Computers were developed from calculators as
the need arose for more complex and scientific
calculations. Charles Babbage is known as
the father of computers because of his
immense contribution to the world
of programming. His idea was soon developed
into a programmable computer that could
calculate and print logarithmic tables with
huge precision. But there were many practical
problems and the progress was slow.
During the World War, the U.S military had a
demand for fast computers that could perform
extremely complex calculations and weather
predictions in minutes. This was when
the ENIAC (Electrical Numerical
Integrator and Calculator) was built as
partnership between University of
Pennsylvania and the U.S government.

Computers developed after ENIAC have been

categorized into the following generations.
1st Generation 1949-1956
Computers in this generation used vacuum
tubes which made the computers to be large in
size consumed a lot of power, produced
enormous heat hence needed large air
conditioners, had less storage capacity and
slow processing speed.

2nd Generation 1956-1965

In this generation vacuum tubes were replaced
with germanium and silicon transistors.
There was a challenge of soldering the
Transistors and they generated a lot of heat.
 Never the less the computers were smaller in
size, less expensive, more reliable, and
powerful and consumed less power.

3rd Generation 1966-1975

In the third generation many transistors
Were combined together to come up with
IC’s (Integrated Circuits) .This
Revolutionized computing since all
The electronic components were
On a single semiconductor chip made
Of silicon, drastically reducing the size
Of the computer. Also, new operating
Systems were developed, which
Allowed the running of many
Applications simultaneously.

4th Generation 1976-1985

There was introduction of a microprocessor
(CPU). Thousands of integrated circuits were fit
into a single miniscule chip using VLSI (Very
Large Scale Integration) technology. This made
the computers smaller, more portable and
much faster than before. These small
computers were very powerful and permitted
linking of several machines that eventually led
to networking and the internet.

5th Generation 1985 onwards

In this generation there was development
Of AI (Artificial Intelligence) introduced by
The Japanese. The computers had
Intelligent Processors that would interact
With human beings in a natural language
Such as English. Examples are Robotics.
Another example of applications is in
'Voice recognition' which is a software
that is used to recognize the user's
voice and respond to it.
CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTERS
The classification of computers is based on a
combination of the following factors:
Processing speed, memory capacity, Cost,
physical size, storage capacity and the purpose
of the computer.
A) Physical size:
1. Super computers
These computers are big General/special
purpose,
Capable of executing more than billions of
instructions per second.
They include machines used in large scientific
and engineering disciplines(corrections).
2. Mainframe computers
They are relatively big but smaller than
super computers.
They support a large number of terminals for
use by a variety of users at the same time
e.g. internet servers
3. Mini computers
They are smaller computers with large
storage capacity and processing speed.
They provide services to other computers
such as printing services.
4. Micro computers
They are the smallest general purpose
processing systems.
They have a lower Storage capacity,
cheap and easy to use.
They are also known as PC’s
(personal computers)
5. Portable Computers
These are computers that can be carried
from one place to
another and have limited peripherals
connected to them. E.g. laptops, palmtops,
ipads, tablets etc
B FUNCTIONALITY
1. Analogue
Performs arithmetic operations and logical
comparisons by measuring changes in
physical magnitudes e.g. temperatures and
pressure changes. Examples thermometers
and speedometers.
2. Digital computers
These are commonly used computers in the
world today. Their operations is based on
0’s and 1’s . They process both numerical
and alphabetical data. They are mainly used
 in the industries, offices and scientific
applications.
3. Hybrid computers
These are computers build with
characteristics of both analogue and digital
computers. These computers accept data in
analogue form and processes and displays
the output digitally.

C: PURPOSES
1. General purpose
They are designed for day to day work in
the offices. The applications they can
handle depends on volume of data to be
processed and the processing power.
2. Special purpose computers
 They are meant to carry out special
processing tasks in one or more application
areas for example in networking situations.
3. Dedicated computers
They are general purpose computers that
are committed to some processing tasks for
example dedicated towards processing
tasks only.
ELEMENTS OF A COMPUTER
There are three major elements of a computer
Hardware
Software
Live ware
Hardware
This refers to the physical/tangible
Components
of a computer which include Mechanical and
electronic parts of the system Some of these
components include:
1. Mouse /Keyboard – Types USB, PS/2 and
wireless
2. UPS- Uninterrupted power supply. Protects
the computer from power surge.
3. Monitor/VDU(visual display unit) – It
displays a softcopy of your information. There
are two types
of monitors LCD (liquid crystal display) and
CRT (Cathode Ray tubes).
4. Motherboard – It is an important part of the
Computer since all other components are
connected to it.
5.Hard disk – This is the internal storage where
Data or information is stored in the computer.
Its capacity is measured in terms of kilobytes
(KB),
megabytes (MB), Gigabytes (GB) and
Terabyte(TB)
6.IDE (Integrated Data Electronics)/SATA (Serial
Advanced Technology Attachment) cables
– They carry data and are used to connect the
Hard disk and the DVD writer to the
motherboard.
7. Memory – This has two major functions: It
temporally holds information and speeds up
processing. It is divided into two:
RAM (Random Access Memory) is temporary
and anything stored in it is lost once the
computer is switched off.
ROM (Read Only Memory) – this is a
permanent Memory normally used by the
computer programs.
CPU – (Central Processing Unit). This is the
Brain of the computer. It is used to carry out
Instructions and supervise the execution
of programs. CPU is divided into two:
-CU (Control Unit) – which controls and
coordinates all the hardware parts of the
computer.
-ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit) – which performs
all the arithmetic calculations and data
manipulation.
9. Power supply : Supplies the other
components with power. There are two types
ATX(20pins) and AT(24pins).
10. Scanner: Transfers documents, images and
Pictures into the computer.
11. Speakers and earphones
12. CMOS battery: Keeps the system clock
running.
13. USB Ports: (Universal serial Bus) its where
all
USB devices are connected on the
motherboard.
14.Parallel/serial Ports-used to connect
printers,
Scanners and joy sticks.
15. VGA card: (Video Graphics Array) it’s where
the screen is connected on the motherboard
16. Expansion slots: PCI (Peripheral component
interconnector) and AGP (Accelerated Graphic
Port)
used to connect additional cards like TV card
to
the motherboard.
17. Printers – A printer is an output device.
Anything that is printed on paper is referred to
as a hardcopy. Whatever is saved in the
computer is
a softcopy.
There are 3 types.
of printers:
1. Dot Matrix – These printers use a
ribbon/decoration and pins that are pressed
against paper to print.
Dot Matrix are less expensive and are usually
used for printing copies in bulk e.g pay slips.
They print one letter at a time.
They make a lot of noise while they print and
are slow.
2. Ink Jet – These printers basically spray ink
onto paper they are quieter. They use
cartridges
 (4 of them-cyan, magenta, yellow and black)
the cartridges have tiny nozzles that release
the ink. They print one line at a time.
3. Laser Jet Printers – These printers are the
fastest
and most popular in the market.
They use ink toners with a magnetic drum.
They print one page at a time.
CLASSIFICATION OF HARDWARE
Input devices
i. Keyboard
ii. Mouse
iii. Joystick
iv. Light pen
v. Track ball
vi. Scanners
vii. microphone
Processing Devices
i. Processor (cpu)

Storage Devices
i. Hard disk
ii. Flush disk
iii. External hard disk
iv. Floppy disks
v. Memory
vi. Optical disks (cd, dvd)
Output Devices
i. screen/ monitor /visual display unit
ii. speakers
iii. earphones
DATA FLOW DIAGRAM

B.SOFTWARE
These are set of detailed step-by step
instructions called programs that enable a
computer to carry out various tasks.
There are two types of software
1. Operating system software/system
software
2. Application software
1. OPERATING SYSTEM SOFTWARE
It is also known as system software. It is a
program that controls and coordinates the
flow of information or the overall functioning
of a computer. It is classified into two:-
Disk operating system (MS DOS)
Ms Dos is a command line operating system
that required the user to cram a lot of
commands. It is not user friendly, does not
allow multitasking and it only uses keyboard
Windows operating system.
These are programs that have a graphical user
interface. They are user friendly, allow
multitasking and uses both keyboard and
mouse. Examples include: Windows 95, 98, NT,
Millennium, XP, Vista, Windows 7, 8 and 10.
APPLICATION SOFTWARE
These are programs written for a specific use
and function depending on the user’s needs.
They are:-
Word processing. These are programs used for
creating, editing and saving documents.
Examples include Notepad, WordPad and MS
Word.
Spreadsheet. These are programs used for
calculations e.g. MS Lotus and MS Excel.
Presentation. These are programs used to
design and create presentations inform of
slides e.g. MS PowerPoint.
Publication. Used for creating publications e.g.
MS Publisher.
Database Management. Used for creating and
managing databases e.g. MS Access.
Computer Aided Design. Used by architectures
and engineers e.g. Archicad and AutoCAD.
Accounting. Used to carry out financial and
accounting tasks e.g. Quick books and sage.
Communication. Used for sending and
receiving messages e.g. MS Outlook.
LIVE WARE:
These are the users of the computer system
e.g. Programmers, typists, database
administrators, computer engineers, system
Administrators, computer analysts etc.

COMPUTER VIRUS
These are harmful programs that can damage
or affect the normal functioning of a computer.
Classification of computer viruses
1. File virus. These are viruses that damage the
files and documents saved in the computer.
2. Boot sector virus. These are viruses that
affect or damage the operating system
software of the computer.
Booting process: This is a process or set of
operations that loads and hence starts the
operating system, starting from the point when
the user switches on the power button.
Booting sequence:
Turn on the power button
CPU pins are reset and registers are set to
specific value.
CPU jumps to address of BIOS(Basic Input
Output System)
BIOS runs the POST (power on self test) and
other necessary checks. POST is the foremost
routine which checks and tests the basic
hardware. If it fails it displays an error.
BIOS jumps to MBR( Master Boot Record)
Primary boot loader runs from MBR and jumps
to secondary boot loader which now loads the
operating system.
Types of Booting
Cold Boot: The process of switching on a
computer that has been off completely by
pressing the power button
Warm Boot: This happens when the computer
is forced to restart by pressing the
restart/power button on the system unit.
Causes of computer virus
1. Sharing of removable disks
2. Downloading programs from the internet
with a computer that is not protected.
3. Switching on your computer with removable
disks attached to it.
Symptoms of computer virus
1. The computer becomes slow all of a sudden
2. The storage media becomes full due to
duplication of files and programs.
3. Some programs and files disappear
mysteriously
4. Unwanted programs keep popping up.
5. Your mouse and keyboard refuses to
function.
Prevention of Viruses
1.Avoid sharing removable disk
2.Avoid downloading programs from untrusted
sites on the internet.
3.Install an Antivirus program in your computer
and ensure that it is always up to date.
4.Remove all removable disks from your
computer before switching it on.
Examples of viruses
Trojan Horse
Computer worms
Tazeban
Mabizat
win32 etc
Types of Anti-viruses
1.Avira
2.Kerspersky
3.Norton
4.Eset Nod 32
5.Microsoft security Essentials
6.Macfee
7.AVG
8.Avast etc

QUESTIONS
Who is known as the father of computers and
why
ENIAC stands for
Mention what was invented in each of the
Computer generations
Mention five factors that can be used to
classify computers.
Mention five devices that can be connected on
a USB port
Mention four cables used in the computer field
Differentiate between hardware and software
With examples mention the four classifications
of hardware
Differentiate between windows O/S and Disk
O/S
Give four factors to consider before buying a
printer
Define an application software and give two
examples
Differentiate between a boot sector virus and a
file virus
Mention how you would prevent a boot sector
virus
Mention two major causes of computer virus
17.Explain the following terms as used in disk
management
Formatting disk
Scanning disk
Partitioning disk
Backup