1

INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTERS
Meaning :
Computer is an electronic computing
device, to which user gives instructions, and output is
received in requested form. As many components are
working together, it is modular in nature.

Introduction :

Computer components are divided into two

major categories hardware and software. Hardware
devices are connected to computer externally. Monitor,
mouse, keyboard, etc are examples of hardware. While
software are the programs that make use of hardware
for performing various functions. System software,
application software, etc are the examples of software.

Uses of computer :

Medical It helps in finding new medicines.

Space It is used to receive news from space.
Engineering It is used in drawing house plans.
Business It stores all the details of employees,
accounts, etc.
Robotics Robots which are made using
computers help men with his muscular work.
Traffic It is used in signals, which direct
vehicles.
School It helps to make different types of data
like students marksheeet, admission forms, etc.
Weather It is used in weather forecasting,
knowing temperature, rainfall, etc of a particular
place in the world.
Apart from this, computers are also used for
logical decisions.

Working :
Computers work through an interconnection of
hardware and software.
Hardware part is something that we can see and touch,
including the cabinets and everything inside it. The most
important piece of hardware is a tiny rectangular chip
inside your computer called the central processing
unit (CPU), or microprocessor.
Software refers to the instructions, or programs, that tell
the hardware what to do. The operating system (OS) is
software that manages your computer and the devices
connected to it. Two well-known operating systems are

3
Windows (Microsoft) and Macintosh (Apple) operating
system.

Different parts of computer :

Keyboard :
The keyboard is used to type the information or
input the information to the computer. It is used
to punch the data or commands to the
computer.
The keyboard is linked to the CPU, which is also
linked to video display terminal (VDT), or
computer screen, that can display the keyboard
input.

Keyboard

Mouse :
Every computer today is using a mouse
controlled
pointer.
Macintosh
computers
popularized the mouse, a hand-held point-andclick device that can be moved over a smooth
surface to control the position of the cursor on
the screen. A driver device senses the signals
coming from the port to which mouse is
attached. On sensing the signals, the driver

4
translates these signals into action on the
screen.

Mouse

Monitor :
The monitor shows information on the screen
when you type. There are two types of display in
monitors.
(1) Cathode ray tube. (CRT)
(2) Liquid crystal display. (LCD)
Smallest element that can be displayed on
screen is called pixel. In CRT monitors the screen
is divided in to a matrix of rows and columns
with each cell in matrix being used for one
character. The screen is to be refreshed to avoid
flicker. This refreshing of screen is called raster
scan. In LCD screens there are transistors to
glow the pixels.

CRT And LCD Monitors

Storage devices :
o Primary storage devices :
RAM is the primary storage device as it
stores small data temporarily and CPU can
access it immediately.

o Secondary storage devices :

Devices which can store data permanently
are called secondary storage devices. For
e.g.
Floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic disks, etc.

Comparison of primary and secondary

storage devices

STORAGE
DEVICES

8
Need for storage :
Any information in the world is
useless, if it is not stored. And stored information is
useful only if it is retrievable and reaccessable.
Storage systems are inevitable for modern day
computing. Computers are popular because of its
fast processing and best storage. All known
computing platforms ranging from handheld devices
to super large computers use storage systems for
storing data temporarily or permanently. Computer
has information stored in terms of files and different
folders to store different files. Thus information
stored is in organized formed so that there is no
difficulty in retrieval of the data/information.
Computer and data processing techniques have
made possible the high-speed, selective retrieval of
large amounts of information for government,
commercial and academic purposes. So it is very
important to store information in an organized
manner.
There are mainly two types of storage devices,

(1) Primary storage devices :

It is the storage device that is directly connected
to CPU and store data temporarily during execution
i.e. CPU can directly access primary storage and
stores
instruction
and
data
for
execution/processing. The most popular example
of this kind of memory is RAM (Random Access
Memory). Small amount of data is stored so that
CPU can use it immediately. It is volatile because it
loses data when machine is powered down.

(2) Secondary storage devices :

It is the storage device which stores the data
permanently. It is not directly accessible by the
CPU. It is non-volatile because it do not loses data,
when machine is powered down. Modern
computers mostly have more secondary storage
than primary storage. Hard disk is the example of
secondary storage devices.

Hard disk

10

TYPES
OF
SECONDAR
Y
STORAGE

11

DEVICES

PUNCH
CARDS

12
INTRODUCTION
Punched cards were the first
secondary storage device. It is small rectangular
piece of cardboard or stiff material. There was a
structure of rows and columns in which the
information was stored by punching he cards at the
intersection of rows and columns. Digital information
was represented by the presence and absence of
holes in predefined positions.

STRUCTURE AND WORKING

PUNCH CARD
Two devices are needed to store
and retrieve the data back.
(1) Card puncher
(2) Card reader

13
Whenever information is to be saved, command
save is being given. Card puncher will start
punching the card in sequence. After punching all the
cards, computer will give command File has been
saved.

PUNCH CARD PRINTING PLATE

Whenever information was to be retrieved, each
punched card was to be inserted in Card reader in
the same sequence in which they were stored. Card
reader will identify the punched holes and thus
information can be retrieved.

14
Card reader

LIMITATIONS
Lots of cards
information.

were

needed

to

store

small

Cartons Of Punch Cards

As it is sequential storage device, in order to
retrieve the information back, one has to insert
the punch cards in sequence so that the stored
information is not misinterpreted.

15
Cards stored in sequence

MAGNETIC
TAPES

16
INTRODUCTION
The next secondary storage device after punch
cards was magnetic tapes. Digital information is stored on
these magnetic tapes, which is a thin plastic film coated
with Ferro-Magnetic material. This material is like
Ferric Oxide (Fe2O3).
Characteristics of Ferro-Magnetic Material

:
Anything written on it (Magnetized) can be erased
(Demagnetized).
It retains its magnetization for life time.
So, along with audio-video recording on magnetic
tapes, digital data recording of computer also started.

STRUCTURE AND WORKING

Structure of magnetic tape

17
STRUCTURE :
There are two sides of tape and each of the sides
can record in two different channels.
Thus a tape consists of two sides and four
channels.
If two different types of sound/music is heard
from left and right speaker, then this effect is
known as stereo effect.
Thus whenever recording is done, it is done on
both channels of each side.

WORKING :

18
Working of tape recorder
There are two spools :
(1) Unwind spool
(2) Read/Write spool
Tape moves from unwind spool to rewind spool. This
movement is at constant speed which is obtained by
pinch roller and capstain roller.
Pinch roller is a rubberized roller which presses
against capstain roller, a steel roller.
Speed of the capstain roller is 1.875 inches per
second.
On the way tape passes through two heads :
(1) Erase Head
(2) Read/Write Head

19
Enlargement of read/write head
Erase head :
Before writing anything, magnetization is to be
removed which is done by erase head.
Further read/write head writes new pattern.

Read/Write head :
Whenever current passes through the coil, it
generates fringe pattern at the cut and magnetizes
Fe2O3 and thus writing is done.
The fringe pattern produced to write the data is
due to the movement of electric current, according
to the principle of electric motor.
When magnetic field/tape is moving, current is
produced in the coil and the movement of 0 and 1
is identified by the read/write head and is passed
to the amplifier by the coil and the sound is thus
produced.
This movement of 0 Thus the fringe pattern
produced to read the data is due to the movement
of magnetic field, according to the principle of
electric generator.

ADVANTAGES
It is a cheaper way to store data.
It is used to take backups when servers are not
loaded.
Typical 90 minutes cassette is 443 feet (135m )
long tape.

20

A CASETTE

LIMITATIONS
It is a sequential storage device.
For e.g. If anyone wants last data to be
accessed, then one has to fast forward the
previous data. So lots of time of user was
wasted.
Consequently, it is slower device.

User operating earlier tape recorder

21

MAGNETIC
DISKS

INTRODUCTION
As punch cards and magnetic tapes were
sequential storage devices, lots of time was wasted.
Thus there was need for random accessible storage
devices. And then invention of RANDOM ACCESS
MEMORY took place. In this technology, instead of

22
using continuous tapes data is stored in a circular
disk. It is coated with magnetic media (fe2o3) on both
the
sides.
In
this
technology,
structure,
mechanization etc was different. A read-write head
uses the datas address to quickly find and read the
data. Unlike magnetic tape, the system does not
have to read through all the data to find what it
wants. Instead any desired data can be directly
accessed.

Types of magnetic disks are :

Floppy disk (FD)
Hard disk (HD)

23

FLOPPY
DISK
INTRODUCTION
Floppy disk is a disk storage made up of a
thin, flexible and plastic magnetic storage medium.
Magnetic medium of floppy disk is thicker than that
of magnetic tapes. Disk is enclosed in a rectangular
plastic cover. Cover is coated with a white colored
substance on its inner side, which provides soft
lubrication to the floppy disk. Its name is floppy disk
because it is flexible disk.
Structure and working
External structure

24

External structure of floppy disk

External Structure Of Floppy Disk Is As Follows :

On the top of the disk, there is label area, where

name of manufacturing company is written.
On the right side there is write protect notch. This
notch is used to protect the data written in the floppy
disk. Whenever this notch is closed, one cannot
rewrite in the disk.

25
But purposely one can open the notch and can
rewrite.
In the centre there is spindle hole, which is held by
the clamp of spindle motor.
Below the spindle hole there is read/write area, where
the read/write process is done by read-write head.
There is a punched hole besides the read/write area.
Also there is same punched hole in the disk. When
both the holes are kept above and beyond, it
indicates the start of data storage.
External structure of a floppy disk is physical, while
its internal structure is logical.

26
Internal structure

Internal structure of floppy disk

Internal Structure Of Floppy Disk Is As Follows :