Computer Applications

Computer: An Introduction- A computer is an electronic device, operating under the control of

instructions stored in its own memory that can accept data (input), process the data according to
specified rules, produce information (output), and store the information for future use. It has the
ability to store, retrieve, and process data. As you know that you can use a computer to type
documents, send email, play games, and browse the Web.

Computers in Business: Computers have become essential business tools. They are used in
every aspect of a company's operations, including product creation, marketing, accounting and
administration. Normally, most of the businesses need to store and maintain huge data and other
records; manually, it is very difficult to maintain, but the use of computer not only increases the
storage capacity, but also facilitates the processing and retrieval of data anytime.
Computers are used in both large and small businesses for purposes such as accounting,
documents and presentations, electronic communications (email), and Internet access.

Elements of Computer System: A computer device is made up of various elements which help
in its effective functioning and processing. There are five basic components of the computer
which help in making this processing of data easier and convenient.
By definition, components of a computer system are the primary elements which make the
functioning of an electronic device smooth and faster. There are five basic components which
include:
1. Input Unit
2. Output Unit
3. Memory Unit
4. Control Unit
5. Arithmetical and Logical Unit

Indian Computing Environment: The computing environment involves the collection of

computer machinery, data storage devices, work stations(Server), software applications, and
networks that support the processing and exchange of electronic information demanded by the
software solution.
Types of computing environment-
1. Personal Computing Environment…….
2. Time Sharing Computing Environment. ...
3. Client Server Computing Environment. ...
4. Distributed Computing Environment. ...
Management of Data Processing System in Business Organization: A data processing system
is a combination of machines, people, and processes that for a set of inputs produces a defined
set of outputs. The inputs and outputs are interpreted as data, facts, information etc. depending
on the interpreter's relation to the system.
Data management protects your organization and its employees from data losses, thefts, and
encryption tools. Strong data security ensures that vital company information is backed up and
retrievable should the primary source become unavailable.

Data processing systems comprise the interaction of people, processes, and equipment to
generate usable information from raw data. Thus, data processing system management involves
the administration of the people and equipment aspects of the system including all the processes
outlined as follows:
Data conversion— changing the data into the required format that can be processed.
Data cleanup— removing irregularities in the data before processing.
Organizing—categorizing the data into sets/groups.
Analysis—discovering and generating valuable information from the data.
Reporting—presenting the information.

Program Development Life Cycle (PDLC): Program Development Life Cycle (PDLC) is a
systematic way of developing quality software. It provides an organized plan for breaking down
the task of program development into manageable chunks, each of which must be successfully
completed before moving on to the next phase. Program development life cycle (PDLC) The
process containing the five phases of program development: analyzing, designing, coding,
debugging and testing, and implementing and maintaining application software.
Flow chart: - A flowchart is a graphical representation of a process. It's a diagram that illustrates
the workflow required to complete a task or a set of tasks with the help of symbols, lines and
shapes. Flowcharts are used to study, improve and communicate processes in various fields.
 Input-output analysis:- Input-output analysis (I-O) is a form of macroeconomic analysis based
on the interdependencies between different economic sectors or industries. This method is
commonly used for estimating the impacts of positive or negative economic shocks and
analyzing the ripple effects throughout an economy.
The foundation of I-O analysis involves input-output tables. Such tables include a series of rows
and columns of data that quantify the supply chain for all sectors of an economy. Industries are
listed in the headers of each row and each column. The data in each column corresponds to the
level of inputs used in that industry's production function.

Programming concept: - In the most basic sense, programming means creating a set of
instructions for completing some specific task. Almost all programs consist of the same basic
'building blocks', assembled in different ways to achieve a particular goal. Variables, data types,
sequence, selection, and iteration are examples of these basic concepts, which all new
programmers need to learn.
The three basic programming constructs
 sequence is the order in which instructions occur and are processed.
 selection determines which path a program takes when it is running.
 iteration is the repeated execution of a section of code when a program is running.
There are five main steps in the programming process:
 Defining the problem.
 Planning the solution.
 Coding the program.
 Testing the program.
 Documenting the program.
Software development process: In software engineering, a software development process is a
process of dividing software development work into smaller, parallel, or sequential steps or sub-
processes to improve design, product management. It is also known as a software development
life cycle (SDLC).
Five phases of software development:
he SDLC process includes planning, designing, developing, testing and deploying with ongoing
maintenance to create and manage applications efficiently.
 Planning and analysis. This phase is the most fundamental in the SDLC process. ...
 Designing the product architecture. ...
 Developing and coding. ...
 Testing. ...
 Maintenance.
Generation of Computer

In computers, we use the term “generation” to show the evolution of technology. Earlier, the
generation term was used to distinguish the computers in terms of varying hardware but now it
all together includes the hardware and software which makes up a computer system.

5 Generations of Computers

Generations Time-Period Technology Used

1st Generation 1942 – 1960 Vacuum Tube Based

2nd Generation 1960 – 1965 Transistor Based

3rd Generation 1965 – 1971 Integrated Circuit Based

4th Generation 1971 – 1990 Microprocessor Based

5th Generation Present – Future Artificial Intelligence Based

1. First Generation Computers

The 1st Generation Computers were introduced using the technology of vacuum tubes which can
control the flow of electronics in a vacuum. These tubes are usually used in switches, amplifiers,
radios, televisions, etc. The First Generation of Computer was very heavy and large and were not
ideal for programming. They used basic programming and didn’t have an operating system,
which made it tough for users to do programming on them. The 1st Generation Computers
required a big room dedicated to them and also consumed a lot of electricity.

Some examples of main first-generation computers are-

ENIAC: Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer, built by J. Presper Eckert and John V.
Mauchly which contained 18,000 vacuum tubes.

Characteristics of 1st Generation Computers

These computers were designed using vacuum tubes.

Programming in these computers was done using machine languages.

The main memory of 1st Generation Computers consisted of magnetic tapes and magnetic
drums.

Paper tapes and Punched cards were used as input/output devices in these computers.

These computers were very huge but worked very slowly.

Examples of 1st Generation Computers are IBM 650, IBM 701, ENIAC, UNIVAC1, etc.

2. Second Generation Computers

The Second Generation of Computers revolutionized as it started using the technology of

transistors instead of bulky vacuum tubes. Transistors are devices made of semiconductor
materials that open or close a circuit. These transistors were invented in the Bell Labs which
made the Second Generation Computer powerful and faster than the previous ones. Transistors
made these computers smaller and generated less heat compared to the vacuum tubes they
replaced. The Second Generation of Computers also introduced the use of CPU, memory and
input/output units. The programming languages used for the second-generation computers were
FORTRAN (1956), ALGOL (1958), and COBOL (1959).

Characteristics of Second-Generation Computers

The Second Generation computers used the technology of Transistors.

Machine language and Assembly Languages were used for these computers.

Magnetic core and magnetic tape/disk were used for memory storage.

The Second Generation Computers were smaller in size, consumed less power and generated less
heat.

Magnetic tape and punched cards were used as input/output devices.

Some of the examples are PDP-8, IBM1400 series, IBM 7090 and 7094, UNIVAC 1107, CDC
3600, etc.

3. Third Generation Computers

The evolution of Third Generation Computers took place with a shift from transistors to
integrated circuits also called IC. The Third Generation of Computers was known for being very
fast and dependable. These computers used Integrated Circuits (ICs) made from silicon, known
as silicon chips. Each chip contains many tiny electronic parts, like transistors, registers, and
capacitors, all on a thin piece of silicon.

This made computers in this generation more powerful and efficient with better memory. During
this time, programming languages like BASIC (Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction
Code) were commonly used. Also, Minicomputers, which are smaller than mainframes but still
powerful, were introduced. Overall, this generation marked significant improvements in speed,
reliability, and capabilities of computers.

Characteristics of Third-Generation Computers

These computers were built using Integrated Circuits (ICs).

High-level programming languages were used for programming on these computers.

Large magnetic core and magnetic tape/disk were used for memory storage.

Magnetic tape, monitor, keyboard, printer, etc were used as input/output devices.

Some of the examples of Third Generation Computers are IBM 360, IBM 370, PDP-11, NCR
395, B6500, UNIVAC 1108, etc.

4. Fourth Generation Computers

The period from 1971 to 1990 is considered the period of the fourth generation of computers.
Microprocessor technology was used to develop the Fourth Generation of Computers. The
foremost advantage of these computers is that the microprocessor can contain all the circuits
required to perform arithmetic, logic, and control functions on one chip. In the Fourth
Generation, computers became very small in size and also became portable.

Technologies like multiprocessing, multiprogramming, time-sharing, operating speed, and virtual

memory were also introduced by then. During the fourth generation, private computers and
computer networks became a reality.

Characteristics of Fourth-Generation Computers

The Fourth Generation Computers have been developed using the technology of Very-large-
scale integration (VLSI) and the microprocessor (VLSI has thousands of transistors on a single
microchip).

Semiconductor memory such as RAM, ROM, etc was used for memory storage.

Input/output devices such as pointing devices, optical scanning, keyboard, monitor, printer, etc
were introduced.

Some examples of Fourth Generation Computers are IBM PC, STAR 1000, APPLE II, Apple
Macintosh, Alter 8800, etc.

5. Fifth Generation Of Computers

The Fifth Generation of Computers has been built using the technology called Artificial
Intelligence (AI). This technology encourages computers to behave like humans. Some of the
applications of AI have been seen in features like voice recognition, entertainment, etc. The
speed of the Fifth Generation of Computers is the highest while the sizes are the smallest. A big
improvement has been noticed so far over the years in the various generations of computers in
the aspect of speed, accuracy dimensions, etc.
Characteristics of Fifth Generation of Computers

The 5th Generation Computers have been built based on artificial intelligence, use the Ultra
Large-Scale Integration (ULSI) technology and parallel processing method (ULSI has millions
of transistors on a single microchip and the Parallel processing method uses two or more
microprocessors to run tasks simultaneously).

These computers understand natural language (human language).

The Fifth-generation computers are portable and smaller in size.

Trackpad (or touchpad), touchscreen, pen, speech input (recognize voice/speech), light scanner,
printer, keyboard, monitor, mouse, etc are used as Input/Output devices.

Examples of 5th Generation Computers are Desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc...

There are five generations of Programming languages. They are:

First Generation Languages:
These are low-level languages like machine language.
Second Generation Languages:
These are low-level assembly languages used in kernels and hardware drives.
Third Generation Languages:
These are high-level languages like C, C++, Java, Visual Basic, and JavaScript.
Fourth Generation Languages:
These are languages that consist of statements that are similar to statements in the human
language. These are used mainly in database programming and scripting. Examples of these
languages include Perl, Python, Ruby, SQL, MatLab(MatrixLaboratory).
Fifth Generation Languages:
These are the programming languages that have visual tools to develop a program. Examples
of fifth-generation languages include Mercury, OPS5, and Prolog.
The first two generations are called low-level languages. The next three generations are called
high-level languages.
Personal Computer in Business:
A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price
make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an
end user, rather than by a computer expert or technician.
Businesses use personal computers for word processing, accounting, desktop publishing, and for
running spreadsheet and database management applications. At home, the most popular use for
personal computers is for playing games and recently for surfing the Internet.
Importance of PC: Computers help in research, production, distribution, marketing, banking,
team management, business automation, data storage, and employee management and are very
helpful to increase productivity at lower cost, and in less time with high quality. That's why the
use of the computer is important in business.
PC Software Packages: In a traditional sense, a software package is simply multiple
applications or code modules that work together to meet various goals and objectives. One
of the most prominent examples is something like the Microsoft Office package, which includes
individual applications such as Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint.
Introduction to DOS: DOS is a set of computer programs, the major functions of which are file
management, allocation of system resources, providing essential features to control hardware
devices. DOS commands can be typed in either upper case or lower case.
Introduction to Windows: Windows is a graphical operating system developed by Microsoft.
It allows users to view and store files, run the software, play games, watch videos, and provides a
way to connect to the internet. It was released for both home computing and professional works.
It performs the following tasks: • Input & Output Management • Resource Management • Data
Management • Process Management • User interface WINDOWS AS GUI