LESSSON 1: INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER

Part B

How Does a Computer Process Information?

When data is input into a computer, the numbers or words we understand are translated into a binary
numbers system. Binary is the language of computers. Everything you type, input, output, send, retrieve,
draw and so on is, in the end, converted to the computer’s native language: binary.

Binary number system: A numerical system wherein each digit

stands for a power of two. The binary system uses only two symbols,
0 and 1, to represent values.

In the decimal system, commonly used in most countries, each digit represents a value of 10. For example,
the number 103 would break down as follows:

1 x 100 = 100

0 x 10 = 0

3x1 = 3

103 = 103

In the binary system, each digit position represents a value of 2. Because computers use the binary system,
powers of 2 play an important role. This is why everything in computers seems to come in 8s (2 to the 3rd
power), 64s (2 to the 6th power), 128s (2 to the 7th power), and 256s (2 to the 8th power). Therefore, in
the binary system, the number 103 would break down as follows:

1 x 64 = 64

1 x 32 = 32

0 x 16 = 0

0x8 = 0

1x4 = 4

1x2 = 2

1x1 = 1

1100111 = 103

The values in a binary system -- the 0s and 1s -- are called ‘binary digits’ or bits.

Binary digit (bit): A digit within the binary number system. A bit
is the smallest unit of information held in a computer.

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The computer’s electronic circuits have only two states, on or off, and therefore can only understand 0s
and 1s, which may represent such opposites as on or off, yes or no, or up or down. This is why all
computers use the binary system. In order to make the bits useful, they are combined into ‘bytes’ of
information.

Byte: A combination of bits that represent one character. A byte is

usually composed of 8 bits.

Computer programmers have developed codes for various bytes of information, so that they may be read
by different computer programs. For example, one code might define the letter A as ‘11000001’ and the
letter B as 11000010’. The number 6 might be defined as ‘11110110’ and the number 8 as ‘11111000’.
When the person entering data strikes the A key on the keyboard, the computer registers it as ‘11000001’.
When he or she enters the B, the computer reads it as ‘11000010’. Similarly, the number 6 is understood
by the computer as ‘11110110’ and the number 8 as ‘1111100’. In this way, the computer can store words
and numbers as binary digits and then retrieve them and convert them back into words or numbers as
required.
As discussed earlier, this work of manipulating, storing and processing the data takes place in the Central
Processing Unit, the computer’s main memory. The CPU consists of an arithmetic and logic unit, or ALU, a
control unit, and a set of registers.
 The arithmetic and logic unit is the portion of the CPU where arithmetic and logical operations take
place.
 The control unit is the part of the CPU that supervises the general operations of the computer.
 The registers are devices that hold data inside the computer’s memory long enough to execute a
particular function, such as indexing, calculating, sorting or otherwise manipulating data. They are the
CPU’s own internal memory.
Data travels from one part of the computer to another through a kind of path known as a bus.

Bus: The channel or path that lets the parts of a computer

communicate with each other.

Similar to a school bus for school children, a computer data bus picks up a load of data from one of the
components on the main computer board and then transfers the data to another component on the main
computer board. The main circuit board of a microcomputer is also known as the motherboard. The
motherboard is the principal board that has connectors for attaching devices to the bus. Typically, it
contains the CPU, memory and basic controllers for the system. The data bus is really a series of electrical
circuits that connect the various electrical elements on the main board.
The data are input into the computer and processed in the CPU. They travel along the bus to be stored in
the computer’s memory. The amount of memory available is described in bytes of information, referring
to the combination of bits representing characters. The higher the number of bytes the more memory the
computer has. Today’s computers hold ‘megabytes’ or even ‘gigabytes’ of data. A megabyte is a unit of
one million bytes; a gigabyte is one billion bytes, and a terabyte is one trillion bytes. If a computer has a
memory of 64 megabytes, then it can hold 64 million bytes of information.
Data can be stored so that it is readable again only using the software with which it was created, or it can
be stored in other formats, so that it may be transferred or used by other software programs. There is a
standard character code used to store data so that it may be used by other software programs; this code
is called ASCII or American Standard Code for Information Interchange. The ASCII code assigns a specific
pattern of bits to each character, as described above. Another code that may be found, especially in IBM-
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brand mainframe computers, is EBCDIC, or Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code. The
important point to remember about these codes is that their main value is to store information so that it is
readable by other computers. By using ASCII or EBCDIC, it is possible for people to retrieve and use
someone else’s data using a different type of hardware or software. The main disadvantage of using ASCII
or EBCDIC is that the formatting or other special qualities of computerised information may be lost.

What is Computer Memory?

As defined earlier, memory refers to the temporary internal storage areas within a computer. The term
memory is usually used as shorthand for ‘physical memory’, which refers to the actual chips capable of
holding data. Some computers also use ‘virtual memory’, which expands physical memory onto a hard
drive.
The main type of memory and the most familiar to users is random access memory (RAM). RAM is the
same as main memory. A computer can both write data into RAM and read data from RAM.
Every time a user turns on his or her computer, a set of operating instructions is copied from the hard disk
into RAM. These instructions, which help control basic computer functions, remain in RAM until the
computer is turned off. 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 disappears. The
contents of RAM are necessary for the computer to process data. The results of the processing are kept
temporarily in RAM until they are needed again or until they are saved onto the hard disk or other storage
device.
Today the storage capacity of RAM is measured in megabytes (MB). PCs (microcomputers) typically have
between 16 and 64 MB of RAM, which means they can hold between 16 and 64 million bytes of data (a
standard A4 page of text typically holds about 2,000 bytes or characters of text).
Other types of memory include
 ROM (read only memory): unlike RAM, ROM is non-volatile and only permits the user to read data.
Computers almost always contain a small amount of read-only memory that holds instructions for
starting up the computer.
 PROM (programmable read-only memory): a PROM is a memory chip on which you can store a
program. 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.

How Are Data Stored?

It is very important to distinguish between memory, which refers to the circuitry that has a direct link to
the computer processor, and the storage, which refers to media such as disks that are not directly linked
to the processor. Remember, a storage device is anything that is used to store computer data. Floppy
disks, hard disks, optical disks, CDs and magnetic tapes are all types of storage device.
Physical storage refers to how data are actually kept on the storage disk. The most commonly used medium
for storage is magnetic storage. With magnetic storage the computer stores data on disks and tape by
magnetising selected particles of an oxide-based surface coating. The particles retain their magnetic
orientation until that orientation is changed. Thus magnetic disks and tapes are modifiable storage media.

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The two most popular types of magnetic storage media are hard disks and diskettes. Magnetic tape
provides a third type of magnetic storage, and optical disk is a new storage medium. Following is a
discussion of each; the definitions included earlier are repeated.
Hard drive or hard disk storage provides faster access to files than a diskette.

Hard drive: The storage area within the computer itself, where
megabytes of space are available to store bits of information. Also
known as a hard disk.

A hard disk platter is a flat, rigid disk made of aluminium or glass and coated with a magnetic oxide. A
hard disk consists of one or more platters and their read-write heads. A read-write head is the device that
reads the data from the disk platter into the computer. It also records (or ‘writes’) data onto the platters.
Hard disk platters in microcomputers are typically 3½ inches (about 10 centimetres) in diameter: the same
size as the circular mylar disk in a diskette. However, the storage capacity of a hard disk far exceeds that
of a floppy disk. Also, the access time of a hard disk is significantly faster than a diskette. Unlike diskettes,
which begin to rotate when one requests data, hard disks are continually in motion, so there is no delay as
the disk spins up to speed. Like diskettes, hard disks provide random access to files by positioning the
read-write head over the sector that contains the requested data.

Diskette. A small, removable, flexible mylar plastic disk covered

with a thin layer of a magnetisable substance, onto which digital data
can be recorded and stored. Also known as a floppy disk.

Diskettes get another name – floppy disk – from the thin mylar disk. If one cuts open the disk casing (not
recommended because the disk will be ruined) one would see that the mylar disk inside is thin and “floppy”.
Diskettes are also called floppies. Although today’s microcomputers typically use 3½ inch (about 10
centimetre) disks, you may still find 5¼ inch (about 15 centimetre) disks that were popular many years
ago. Finding a disk drive to read 5¼ inch disks may be very difficult.
Diskettes are generally used for transporting or shipping data files or for making duplicate copies of data
files for back-up purposes. The storage capacity of a diskette varies but is considerably smaller than that
of a hard drive.
Since the 1960s, magnetic tape has been a popular form of mainframe computer storage.

Magnetic tape: A continuous plastic strip covered with magnetic

oxide; the tape is divided into parallel tracks onto which data may
be recorded by selectively magnetising parts of the surface, or spots,
in each of the tracks. The data can then be stored and reused.

When IBM introduced its first microcomputer in 1981, the legacy of tape storage continued in the form of
a cassette tape drive, similar to those used for audio recording and playback. Using tape as a primary
storage device, however, instead of a hard disk is slow and inconvenient because tape requires sequential
access rather than random access.
Sequential access means that data is stored and read as a sequence of bytes along the length of the tape.
To find a file stored on a microcomputer tape storage device, one has to advance the tape to the appropriate
location of the file, then wait for the computer to slowly read each byte until it finds the beginning of the
file. Like an audio cassette, for example, a user must go through the tape in sequence to find the part he
or she wants.
Microcomputer users quickly abandoned tape storage for the convenience and speed of random access
disk drives. Recently, however, tape storage for microcomputers has experienced a revival, not as a
principal storage device but for making backup copies of the data stored on hard disks. The data on
magnetic storage can be easily destroyed, erased, or otherwise lost. Protecting the data on the hard disk

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is of particular concern to users because it contains so much data, which could be difficult and time
consuming to reconstruct. This is why backups are so important.

Back up: To copy a computer file or collection of files to a second

medium, usually on a diskette or magnetic tape, so that the data are
safe in case the original file is damaged or lost. Backups are usually
copied to storage devices that can be removed from the computer
and kept separately from the original.

A tape backup is a copy of the data from a hard disk, stored on magnetic tape and used to recover lost
data. A tape backup is relatively inexpensive and can rescue an organisation from the overwhelming task
of trying to reconstruct lost data.

Backing up electronic data is critical to protecting it from loss or damage.

For more information on backing up data and protecting

information, see Automating Records Services and Emergency
Planning for Records and Archives Services.
The most popular types of tape drives for microcomputers also use tape cartridges, but there are several
tape specifications and cartridge sizes. A tape cartridge is a removable magnetic tape module similar to a
sound or video cassette tape. Quarter inch tape, called QIC, is a tape cartridge that contains ¼ inch
(approximately ½ centimetre) wide tape. Depending on tape length, QIC tape capacities range from 340
MB to 2 gigabytes. Digital audio tape, called DAT, was originally an audio recording format, but is now
also used for data storage. The 4mm wide DAT tape format storage capacity ranges from 2 gigabytes to
12 gigabytes.
In addition to magnetic storage, there is also optical storage.

Optical disk: A storage device that uses reflecting surfaces and

laser technology to read and write data on a disk. Also known as a
laser disk.
With optical storage, data is burned into the storage medium using beams of laser light. The burns form
patterns of small pits in the disk surface to represent data. The pits on optical media are permanent, so
the data cannot be changed. Optical media are very durable, but they do not provide the flexibility of
magnetic media for changing the data once they are stored.
There are three types of optical disks.
 CD-ROM’s are the most popular type of optical storage. CD-ROM stands for Compact Disc Read Only
Memory. A computer CD-ROM disk, like its audio counterpart, contains data that has been stamped
on the disk surface as a series of pits. To read the data on a CD-ROM an optical read head distinguishes
the patterns of pits that represent bytes. CD-ROM disks provide tremendous storage capacity. CD-
ROMs usually come with data already written onto them. These days most applications software is
provided on CD-ROM.
 It is now possible for computer users to write data to an optical disk. These are known as WORM
disks, which stands for ‘Write Once Read Many’. A single CD holds up to 680 megabytes, equivalent
to over 300,000 pages of text in character format, and these disks are quite durable. These CDs are
know as CD re-recordable (CD-R). There are other types of WORM disks, although there is no standard
for these.

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 There is a third type of optical disk which can be erased and use to rewrite new information. These
are sometimes known as EO (erasable optical) disks and CD-RW (CD rewritable).
Magneto-optical disks combine magnetic disk and CD-ROM technologies. Like magnetic media
they can read and written to and like floppy disks they are removable. They can store over 200
MB of data, and speed of access to this data is faster than a floppy but slower than a hard
drive. There is no universal standard for these yet. CD-ROMs and magnet-optical disks are
very useful for storing images. These take up much more storage space than data in character
format, such as in word-processed files.

The Importance of Documentation

The computer hardware, software and peripherals will be accompanied by documentation, which explains
how the various systems or programs operate.

Documentation: Information needed to develop, use or maintain

computer hardware and software and to permit access and retrieval
of the data.

Although documentation usually comes in the form of printed manuals, guide books, it may also come in
electronic form, such as in ‘help screens’ contained within the computer software or documentation in data
dictionaries and so on. Often, documentation is created when a specific computer application is used. For
example, if a government office creates a data base of employees in order to administer payroll,
documentation may be created describing how the database was established, what it is to be used for and
what data fields have been created. This documentation can be critical to understanding the database
system, particularly if it is being managed in an archival environment long after the creators of the system
have left.

Documentation should always be retained.

Disposing of documentation can cause problems in the future, particularly if you have to reload software
from the beginning. Documentation can also contain licences for the legitimate use of the software.
Therefore it is critical to protect documentation and ensure it is readily available.

Protecting against Viruses

Virus: A computer program that is planted in one computer and then

transferred, hidden in useful information, to one or more other
computers with the intention of corrupting or wiping out information
in the recipient computer.

Viruses are extremely common. Many different types of viruses exist, ranging from ones that prevent you
from opening up word-processed documents through to ones that destroy the entire contents of a hard
drive. Viruses can be caught in several ways, for example by exchanging floppy disks, via electronic mail

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messages and through downloading documents from the Web. Networks make it much easier for viruses
to move around. Once a virus gets into an organisation’s computer system it can spread very quickly. New
viruses appear each week, so it is essential that users have up-to-date anti-virus software to combat this
problem.
If users have software that is unlicenced it could mean that it is ‘pirate’ or ‘bootleg’ software. This is
software that has been illegally copied. Software of this nature sometimes contains viruses that can be
extremely damaging to computers.

Reminder: A short quiz will be given on February 19, 2021 at 5:30 P.M.