INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SYSTEM

1.0 Objectives

1.1 Introduction –Computer?

1.2 Evolution of Computers

1.3 Classification of Computers

1.4 Applications of Computers

1.5 Advantages and Disadvantages of Computers

1.6 Similarities Difference between

computer and Human

1.7 A Computer System

1.8 Components of a Computer System

1.9 Summary

1.10 Check your Progress - Answers

1.11 Questions for Self – Study

1.12 Suggested Readings

1.0 OBJECTIVES

After studying this chapter you will be able to:

 Learn the concept of a system in general and the computer system in

specific.

 Learn and understand how the computers have evolved dramatically within a

very short span, from very huge machines of the past, to very compact designs

of the present with tremendous advances in technology.

 Understand the general classifications of computers.

 Study computer applications.

 Understand the typical characteristics of computers which are speed,

 Understand limitations of the computer.

 Discuss the similarities and differences between the human and the computer.

 Understand the Component of the computer. INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SYSTEM

1.0 Objectives

1.1 Introduction –Computer?

1.2 Evolution of Computers

1.3 Classification of Computers

1.4 Applications of Computers

1.5 Advantages and Disadvantages of Computers

1.6 Similarities Difference between

computer and Human

1.7 A Computer System

1.8 Components of a Computer System

1.9 Summary

1.10 Check your Progress - Answers

1.11 Questions for Self – Study

1.12 Suggested Readings

1.0 OBJECTIVES

After studying this chapter you will be able to:

 Learn the concept of a system in general and the computer system in

specific.

 Learn and understand how the computers have evolved dramatically within a

very short span, from very huge machines of the past, to very compact designs

of the present with tremendous advances in technology. Information in another form is presented by
the computer after performing a process on it.
This information is the output information or output data.

The set of instructions given to the computer to perform various operations is

called as the computer program. The process of converting the input data into the

required output form with the help of the computer program is called as data

processing. The computers are therefore also referred to as data processors

Therefore a computer can now be defined as a fast and accurate data

processing system that accepts data, performs various operations on the data, has the

capability to store the data and produce the results on the basis of detailed step by step

instructions given to it..

The terms hardware and software are almost always used in connection with the

computer.

• The Hardware:

The hardware is the machinery itself. It is made up of the physical

parts or devices of the computer system like the electronic Integrated Circuits (ICs),

magnetic storage media and other mechanical devices like input devices, output

devices etc. All these various hardware are linked together to form an effective functional

unit. The various types of hardware used in the computers, has evolved from vacuum

tubes of the first generation to Ultra Large Scale Integrated Circuits of the present

generation.

• The Software:

The computer hardware itself is not capable of doing anything on its

own. It has to be given explicit instructions to perform the specific task. The computer

program is the one which controls the processing activities of the computer. The

computer thus functions according to the instructions written in the program. Software
mainly consists of these computer programs, procedures and other documentation used in

the operation of a computer system. Software is a collection of programs which utilize a

 Understand the general classifications of computers.

 Study computer applications.

 Understand the typical characteristics of computers which are speed,

accuracy, efficiency, storage capacity, versatility.

 Understand limitations of the computer.

 Discuss the similarities and differences between the human and the computer.

 Understand the Component of the computer.

1.1 INTRODUCTION- Computer

Today, almost all of us in the world make use of computers in one way or the

other. It finds applications in various fields of engineering, medicine, commercial,

research and others. Not only in these sophisticated areas, but also in our daily lives,

computers have become indispensable. They are present everywhere, in all the dev

ices that we use daily like cars, games, washing machines, microwaves etc. and in day

to day computations like banking, reservations, electronic mails, internet and many

more.

The word computer is derived from the word compute. Compute

1.1 INTRODUCTION- Computer

Today, almost all of us in the world make use of computers in one way or the

other. It finds applications in various fields of engineering, medicine, commercial,

research and others. Not only in these sophisticated areas, but also in our daily lives,

computers have become indispensable. They are present everywhere, in all the dev

ices that we use daily like cars, games, washing machines, microwaves etc. and in day
 -to day computations like banking, reservations, electronic mails, intevv