COMPUTER SYSTEM
Some decades ago, computers were known to a common man as simply a fast calculating
device. But now with Information Technology (IT) revolution, computers have entered into
each and every field of life. People in every walk of life now understand that the knowledge
of computers is very essential if they need to keep pace with the information and technology
in society. Computers have relieved us from the boring and tiring tasks like copying,
comparing, choosing, checking etc. and now human time and labour can be used much more
effectively. Let us quickly revise the definition of a computer.
CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPUTERS
What has made computers so popular and essential that we feel their need in any task we do?
The answer lies in the following:
1. Speed: Computers work at an enormous speed, so much so that while talking about
computer speed, minutes and seconds seem to be a lifetime because time taken by a computer
to execute an instruction ranges from picoseconds to nanoseconds to microseconds.
Unit of Time Part of a Second
Millisecond (ms) One thousandth (1/103)
Microsecond (ms) One millionth (1/106)
Nanosecond (ns) One billionth (1/109)
Picosecond (ps) One trillionth (1/1012)
Usually the speed of computer is measured in MIPS (million instructions per second). So if
we say that the speed of a computer is 60 mips, it means that the computer can execute 60
million instructions in one second.
2. Accuracy: Another very important characteristic of computers is the accuracy of results. It
can give a result of very complicated calculations accurate upto say 10 decimal places
(depending upon the type of computer) within fraction of a second. But yes, a computer
follows the principle of GIGO i.e., Garbage in Garbage out. If the computer is given correct
data and instructions, then only it will return an accurate result.
3. Diligence: Imagine doing the same work a number of times. You will definitely feel tired
or bored. But a computer neither gets tired nor bored doing the same task as many number of
times as you want.
4. Versatility: Computers are capable of doing varied types of jobs. For example, on your
personal computer you can play games, do mathematical calculations, surf the Internet, send
e-mail, draw pictures etc.
5. Enormous Storage Capacity: Computers can store a large amount of information and
data in their memory. The data can be stored on external storage devices like CDs (Compact
Disks) and Pen drives. This way the data can be taken anywhere. Data from the computer’s
memory and from the storage devices can be retrieved accurately anywhere and at anytime.
This has also made the workplaces free of the junk of loads of files with old records.
BASIC OPERATIONS OF COMPUTERS
The most basic operations which a computer can perform at a primary level are:
1. Input/Output Operation: To understand the input/output operations, let us first study the
difference between Data and Information.
Input is the data and the instructions to be applied on the data which we give to the computer.
Input operation can be performed using various input devices such as keyboard, mouse, light
pen, scanner etc. Computer generates the output by applying the instructions on the data. We
can receive this output by using various output devices like printers, VDU (Visual Display
Unit), graphic plotters, COM (Computer Output on Microfilm) etc.
2. Text Manipulation: The input given to the computer can be
(i) Numeric i.e., a combination of digits from 0 to 9.
(ii) Alphabetic i.e., a combination of alphabets from A-Z, ‘a’ to ‘z’ and special characters
such as (, ), *, !, { etc.
(iii) Alphanumeric i.e., a combination of alphabetic and numeric data.
3. Logical Operations: A logical expression is that statement which does not show a
numeric result but gives a result in the form of True/False or Yes/No. The logical operators
are OR, AND, NOT
If (p OR q) Yes print “Admission granted” else print “Admission not granted”
Matter will be printed according to whether p is Yes or q is Yes.
4. Mathematical Calculations: Various mathematical operations like addition (+),
multiplication (*), subtraction (-) and division (/) can be performed by a computer on numeric
data.
5. Summarizing Data: As computers work on enormous amount of data, understanding
the data by just viewing it is sometimes very difficult for us. Computers can represent the
data in the form of pie charts, bar graphs, line graphs, tables and reports. This helps us in
easier and quicker understanding of data.
6. Storage and Access: Any type of data can be stored by computers and any data can be
accessed by it within a fraction of a second. Various storage devices like Magnetic tapes,
disks, films etc. are used for this purpose.
