ACHIEVERS UNIVERSITY, OWO

COLLEGE OF NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE
SSC 202 – INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER AND ITS APPLICATION
(3 UNITS)

LECTURER IN CHARGE - MR. ADEPOJU, S. E.

LECTURE 3

THE COMPUTING SYSTEM

The computing system is made up of the computer system, the user and the environment in
which the computer is operated.

***The Computer System

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.
The computer system is made up of hardware and software.

a) Hardware
Computer hardware is the collection of physical elements that constitutes a computer system.
Computer hardware refers to the physical parts or components of a computer such as the
monitor, mouse, keyboard, computer data storage, hard drive disk (HDD), system unit (graphic
cards, sound cards, memory, motherboard and chips), etc. all of which are physical objects that
can be touched.

(i)​ Input Devices

Input device is any peripheral (piece of computer hardware equipment to provide data and
control signals to an information processing system such as a computer or other information
appliance. Input device Translate data from form that humans understand to one that the
computer can work with. Most common are keyboard and mouse.
Example of Input Devices:-
 -​ Keyboard​ ​ ​ - Scanner​ ​ ​
-​ Mouse (pointing device)​ - MIDI keyboard​ ​ ​
-​ Microphone​ ​ ​ - Joystick​ ​ ​ ​
-​ Pen Input​ ​ ​ - Camera

(ii)​ Central Processing Unit (CPU)

A CPU is brain of a computer. It is responsible for all functions and processes. Regarding
computing power, the CPU is the most important element of a computer system.
The CPU is comprised of three main parts :
* Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU): Executes all arithmetic and logical operations.
Arithmetic calculations like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Logical operation
like compare numbers, letters, or special characters
* Control Unit (CU): controls and coordinates computer components.
1. Read the code for the next instruction to be executed.
2. Increment the program counter so it points to the next instruction.
3. Read whatever data the instruction requires from cells in memory.
4. Provide the necessary data to an ALU or register.
5. If the instruction requires an ALU or specialized hardware to complete, instruct the hardware
to perform the requested operation.
* Registers: Stores the data that is to be executed next, "very fast storage area".

(iii)​ Memory
* Main Memory: The main memory is also known as the primary memory. It is made up of the
Read Only Memory (ROM) and the Random Access Memory (RAM). Primary memory stores
data and programs temporarily: it’s not retained after the power is turned off. The types of
primary memory are:
1. RAM: Random Access Memory (RAM) is a memory scheme within the computer system
responsible for storing data on a temporary basis, so that it can be promptly accessed by the
processor as and when needed. It is volatile in nature, which means that data will be erased
once supply to the storage device is turned off. RAM stores data randomly and the processor
accesses these data randomly from the RAM storage. RAM is considered "random access"
 because you can access any memory cell directly if you know the row and column that
intersect at that cell.
2. ROM(Read Only Memory): ROM is a permanent form of storage. ROM stays active
regardless of whether power supply to it is turned on or off. ROM devices do not allow data
stored on them to be modified.

* Secondary Memory: Stores data and programs permanently :its retained after the power is
turned off. The types of secondary memory are:
1. Hard drive (HD): A hard disk is part of a unit, often called a "disk drive," "hard drive," or
"hard disk drive," that store and provides relatively quick access to large amounts of data on
an electromagnetically charged surface or set of surfaces.
2. Optical Disk: An optical disc drive (ODD) is a disk drive that uses laser light as part of
the process of reading or writing data to or from optical discs. Some drives can only read
from discs, but recent drives are commonly both readers and recorders, also called burners or
writers. Compact discs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs are common types of optical media which
can be read and recorded by such drives. Optical drive is the generic name; drives are usually
described as "CD" "DVD", or "Bluray", followed by "drive", "writer", etc. There are three
main types of optical media: CD, DVD, and Blu-ray disc. CDs can store up to 700 megabytes
(MB) of data and
DVDs can store up to 8.4 GB of data. Blu-ray discs, which are the newest type of optical
media, can store up to 50 GB of data. This storage capacity is a clear advantage over the
floppy disk storage media (a magnetic media), which only has a capacity of 1.44 MB.
3. Flash Disk: A storage module made of flash memory chips. A Flash disks have no
mechanical platters or access arms, but the term "disk" is used because the data are accessed
as if they were on a hard drive. The disk storage structure is emulated.

(iv)​ Output Devices

An output device is any piece of computer hardware equipment used to communicate the results
of data processing carried out by an information processing system (such as a computer) which
converts the electronically generated information into human- readable form. Example on Output
Devices:
 -​ Monitor​ ​ - Projector
-​ Speaker ​ ​ - VR Headset
-​ Plotters​ ​ - Printer

Note: Peripheral devices are devices been able to be attached to and used with a computer,
though not an integral part of it. They are not essential to the functioning of a computer but they
enhance its functionality. These devices can be input devices, output devices or both.

b) Software
Software is a set of instructions, data or programs used to operate the hardware and execute
specific tasks. It is often broken into three major categories:
(i)​ System software
This refers to the suits of programs that facilitate the optimal use of the hardware systems and/or
provide a suitable environment for the writing, editing, debugging, testing and running of user
programs. Usually, every computer system comes with a collection of these suits of programs
which are provided by the hardware manufacturer. Examples of system software is operating
system and language translator.
1.​ Operating Systems: An operating system is a program that acts as an interface between
a user of a computer and the computer hardware. The purpose of an operating system is
to provide an environment in which a user may execute programs. The operating system
is the first component of the systems programs that interest us here. Systems programs
are programs written for direct execution on computer hardware in order to make the
power of the computer fully and efficiently accessible to applications programmers and
other computer users. Systems programming is different from application programming
because the former requires an intimate knowledge of the computer hardware as well as
the end users’ needs. Moreover, systems programs are often large and more complex than
application programs, although that is not always the case. Since systems programs
provide the foundation upon which application programs are built, it is most important
that systems programs are reliable, efficient and correct. In a computer system the
hardware provides the basic computing resources. The applications programs define the
 way in which these resources are used to solve the computing problems of the user. The
operating system controls and coordinates the use of the hardware among the various
systems programs and application programs for the various users.
2.​ Language Translators: A programming language is a set of notations in which we
express our instructions to the computer. At the initial stage of computer development,
programs were written in machine language conducting the binary system i.e. 0 and 1.
Such programs were hard to write, read, debug and maintain. In an attempt to solve these
problems, other computer languages were developed. However, computers can run
programs written only in machine language. There is therefore the need to translate
programs written in these other languages to machine language. The suites of languages
that translate other languages to machine language are called language translators. The
initial program written in a language different from machine language is called the source
program and its equivalent in machine language is called object program. Three examples
of classes of language translators are assemblers, interpreters and compilers.

(ii)​ Utility software

Utility software is software that performs general tasks to keep the computer running. Utility
software helps maintain or configure a computer. Many of these utility software are installed at
the same time as the operating system but they can also be added afterwards. Some examples are
optimization programs, security programs and software updates. Utility software is always
running in the background.
Security programs include anti-virus software that scans and removes viruses. Most computers
will include some sort of anti-virus software, but you can add your own.
Optimization programs can include tools for system clean-up, disk defragmentation, and file
compression. These tools are typically installed as part of the operating system. They have access
to the hard drive to keep it tidy.

(iii)​ Application software

Application software is used to accomplish specific tasks other than just running the computer
system. Application software may consist of a single program, such as an image viewer; a small
collection of programs (often called a software package) that work closely together to
accomplish a task, such as a spreadsheet or text processing system; a larger collection (often
called a software suite) of related but independent programs and packages that have a common
user interface or shared data format, such as Microsoft Office, which consists of closely
integrated word processor, spreadsheet, database, etc.; or a software system, such as a database
management system, which is a collection of fundamental programs that may provide some
service to a variety of other independent applications.

*** Human resources

Human resources or users refer to the people who design, operate, and maintain the computer
system. Computer users are the different categories of personnel that operate the computer. This
includes:
End Users: People who use the software for work or personal tasks
IT Professionals
●​ Programmers
●​ System analysts
●​ Network administrators
●​ Database managers
●​ Security experts
Support Personnel: Help desk staff, trainers, tech support.

***The Environment
The computing environment includes the building housing the other elements of the computing
system namely the computer and the users, the furniture, auxiliary devices such as the voltage
stabilizer, the Uninterruptible Power Supply System (UPS), the fans, the air conditioners etc. The
schematic diagram of the computing system is presented in the figure below.
ASSIGNMENT
1.​ Without looking at the lecture note or using any other resource, classify the following
devices: (a) touchpad (b) Graphic tablet (c) projector (d) trackpad (e) screen-touch (f)
fingerprint scanner (g) airpod (h) webcam
2.​ Discuss the relationship between hardware and software.