Computer Fundamental Noble Computer Services Authorized Tally Academy

Computer Fundamental

What is Computer ?
Computer pronounced as “Computare” came from Latin which means to calculate that means
logically any calculating device can be a computer.
We can say –
Definition: Computer is an electronic device that accepts digital information and process it in
pre-defined fashion, according to a set or sequence of instructions provided to it and produces
the desired binary output. It is made up of input devices, storage, arithmetic and logic circuits and
a control unit.

Capabilities of the computer ?

1. Speed. A computer can process data faster than any other machine designed to perform a
similar task.
2. Repetitiveness. A computer can tirelessly perform the same operations millions of times in
exactly the same way without getting bored the way a human clerk would.
3. Accuracy. A computers high-speed processing is accompanied by high-accuracy results. No
other system can produce as much accuracy as the computer system.
4. Logical operations. The computer can make decisions based on alternative course of action.
5. Store and recall information. The computer is like the human brain because it can store
facts, instructions and information.
6. Self-checking. The computer verifies the accuracy of its own work by means of a parity
check.
7. Self-operating. Once the data and the program are fed into the computers memory, the
computer is capable of executing the instructions on its own, without human intervention.
8. Versatility. The modern computer represents a fundamental advance in computation since the
present and the future are best understood in terms of the past. It will be valuable for briefly
review the History of Computer.

Limitations of the computer

1. A computer cannot generate information on its own.
2. A computer cannot correct wrong instructions.
3. A computer cannot come out with an original decision.
4. A computer application must be quantified.

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Classification according to purpose

General propose Computer: This type of computer is manufactured to fulfill the

1.
various types of our needs. For example to create
the payroll, accounts, inventory control.

Special propose Computer: This type of computer is manufactured for some

2.
special propose to fulfill the special tasks. For
examples airlines reservation, railways reservation
etc.
Main Parts Of Computer
The term computer hardware refers to the various electronic components that are required for
you to use a computer along with the hardware components inside the computer case. As you
know your computer equipment is made of several common components. These include:
 The main computer box.
 A monitor - Looks like a television screen.
 A keyboard.
 A mouse.
 Speakers.
An optional printer

General Working of Computer/Basic Part of Computer

Computer’s general working process completes in 3 steps

Input Process Output

1- Input 2. Processing 3.Output

Basic organization of a Computer System

Central Unit System (CPU)

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Input
First of all we ought to give some instructions, commands to the computer. These
instructions are given to CPU.

Types of Input

Data is the raw facts given to the computer.

Programs are the sets of instructions that direct the computer.

Commands are special codes or key words that the user inputs to perform a task, like RUN
"ACCOUNTS". These can be selected from a menu of commands like "Open" on the File menu.
They may also be chosen by clicking on a command button.

User response is the user's answer to the computer's question, such as choosing OK, YES, or
NO or by typing in text, for example the name of a file.

Input devices

These read the data and store it in the internal memory for processing, write the data onto
secondary storage devices, or write the data onto the output devices.In today’s computing world,
the most commonly used input devices are Keyboard, Mouse, Scanners, and others.

Keyboard
The Keyboard resembles a typewriter keyboard, but has additional keys for handling control
functions. On your keyboard the most widely used keys are alphanumeric keys and other
characters on the main pad. Special keys perform specific tasks other than input of characters.
Some of the special keys are Delete key, Caps Lock etc.
The function keys are used to perform a set of operations by a single keystroke. The cursor pad
is used for moving the cursor.
The detailed summery of the keyboard keys are:
Alphabetical keys - All ‘A’ to ‘Z’ keys are called alphabetical keys
1.
Numeric keys- Includes 0-9 keys
2.
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Function keys - Includes F1-F12 keys

3.
Logical Sign Keys - All keys having logical sign are included such as <,>,?,&,^,|,
4.
$,#,@
Special keys - Enter Key, ctrl Key, Esc Key, Shift Key, Alt Key, Del Key,
5.
Page Up & Down Key, Home & End Key, Num Lock Key, Scroll Key,
Pause, Print Screen.
Control Keys
Control keys are those, which controls your work such as Arrow Keys, page up Key, page down
Key end etc.
Arrow Key -These keys are marked with arrows of four directions. These keys are also called
curser keys. With these keys we can put our cursor into anywhere in our
documents.
Page up -This key is used to see the previous page on the monitor.
Page down - this key is used to see the next page on the monitor.
Home - this key is used to get back on the top of your document if you are at the
bottom of the documents.
End - this key is used to go to the bottom of the document.
Numeric pad
It situated on the right side of the keyboard. It is just like a calculator. In these some keys have
two functions. To switch the double function key there is another key called number lock key.
When the number lock is on these keys work as numbers only and when it is of the keys behaves
like cursor key.

POINTING DEVICES

A variety of pointing devices are used to move the cursor on the screen.
Mouse

A ball underneath rolls as the mouse moves across the mouse pad. The cursor on the screen
follows the motion of the mouse. Buttons on the mouse can be clicked or double-clicked to
perform tasks, like to select an icon on the screen or to open the selected document. Two kinds of
mouse are available on the market today, the ball mouse and the optical mouse. The ball mouse
uses a ball inside a socket on the bottom of the mouse, when the mouse moves, the ball rotates
and the coordinates are transferred to the computer. The optical mouse uses a completely
different technology; it employs a LED (light-emitting diode) pointed towards the surface on the
bottom of the mouse, when the mouse moves the light is bounced from the surface onto a LED
sensor, the sensor is connected to a DSP(Digital Signal Processor) that analyses the image more
than 1500 times/second. Any change is detected and this pattern change is translated to

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coordinates and is transferred to the computer. With no moving parts, the optical mouse has less
wear and therefore less chance to fail; it's drop in price also makes it fast becoming a
replacement for the ball mouse.
Mouse also comes with two or more buttons, one design has a wheel placed between the two
buttons, it also doubles as a third button when you press instead of roll it. This design becomes
popular because the added function provided by the wheel makes scrolling up and down a
document easier. The buttons are also programmable to take different actions when pressed and
to accommodate right and left-handed users.

Glide pad

Uses a touch sensitive pad for controlling cursor. The user slides finger across the pad and the
cursor follows the finger movement. For clicking there are buttons, or you can tap on the pad with
a finger. The glide pad is a popular alternate pointing device for laptops. Does not need as much
desk space as a mouse

Touchscreen

Make selection by just touching the screen.

Scanner
Two types of Scanner.

Page scanner The scanner works like a copy machine. It captures a whole page and converts
it to digital image. It cannot be edited at this point.

Hand scanner- You move the device across the document or picture.

OUTPUT
Output is data that has been processed into useful form, now called Information.

Types of Output
Hard copy:
Printed on paper or other permanent media
Soft copy:
Displayed on screen or by other non-permanent means

Categories of Output
Text documents including reports, letters, etc.

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Graphics charts, graphs, pictures

Multimedia combination of text, graphics, video, audio

The most used means of Output are the printer and the computer screen.

MONITOR
The Visual Display Unit (VDU) is a device used for interactive processing i.e., - data that is being
keyed in, is displayed on the screen or monitor. Most VDU monitors use a cathode ray tube
(CRT) that looks like a television picture tube. The number of dots (pixels) on the screen is the
measure of resolution of monitor.

The major two types of monitor are:

Colour Monitor
Monochrome Monitor
The main difference is based on the screen resolution. High screen resolution monitors are very
costly than monochrome and used for special works like graphics etc.
Monochrome (mono means single and chrome means colour) displays whole picture in single
colour.

Different kind of colour monitor:

CGA, EGA, VGA, super VGA
Type Stands for Resolution(s)
CGA Color Graphics Adapter 320 x 200
EGA Extended Graphics Adapter 640 x 350
VGA Video Graphics Adapter 640 x 480
SVGA Super VGA 800 x 600, 1024 x 768, or 1280 x 1024

PRINTER
It is an output device, which is used to see the results on a paper. When the printer receives the
electrical signal it converts each string in the code into the corresponding letter or number and
types the character.
Impact Printers

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With this type of printer something strikes paper & ribbon together to form a character, like a
typewriter. Impact printer are very Noisy, Print quality lower in some types & poor graphics or
none at all.

Types of Impact Printers

Dot Matrix
Forms characters using row(s) of pins, 9, 18, or 24, which impact the ribbon on top of the paper.
Also called pin printers. The more pins, the smoother looking the characters. Can be slow, loud &
Graphics of low quality.

Non-Impact Printers
This type of printer does not involve actually striking the paper. Instead, it uses ink spray or toner
powder.
Advantages : Quiet, Can handle graphics and often a wider variety of fonts than impact printers
Disadvantages: More expensive Slower

Types of Non-Impact Printers

Ink Jet :
Sprays ink onto paper to form characters
Advantages : Quiet, High quality text and graphics. Some can do color
Disadvantages : Cannot use multiple-copy paper

Laser Printer
Works like a photocopy machine, using toner and a heat bar. Laser printers are in this category.

Advantages : Quiet, Faster than other non-impact printers, from 4 to 16 ppm (pages per
minute), High quality print and graphics. Some can do color.
Disadvantages: More expensive than impact printers.
HARDWARE & SOFTWARE

Hardware is the various physical components (device) of a computer system. For eg. the printer,
the keyboard, hard disk drive, floppy disk drive, monitor etc.

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Software - The programs and instructions used to control a computer. A set of programs

associated with the operation of a computer.

There are two types of software.
1.System software 2. Application Software

SYSTEM SOFTWARE
SYSTEM SOFTWARE controls the operations of the hardware and helps in running the computer
system efficiently and conveniently.
Two types of system software.
1. Single User System S/W
2. Multi User System S/W

APPLICATION SOFTWARE
An application program is designed to handle a particular task required by end-user.
Two types of system software.
1. Language
2. Package
Language
A language is a system of communication. A programming consist of all symbols, characters and
usage rules that permit people to communicated with computers. Programming language may be
created for a special purpose.
two types of Programming language.
High Level Language
Some commonly used high level language.

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Basic – Beginners all purpose symbolic instruction code.

Cobol – Common business oriented language
Pascal
Fortran – formula translation
C language
C++ language
Java , Oracle
Visual basic

Machine Level Language

Computers can understand 1s and 0s.Because it would be time consuming and frustrating for
people to communicate with the computers using 1s and 0s, a hierarchy of languages has been
developed that make communicating with the computer more like speaking English. 1s and 0s
constitute the Machine language.

Package
Package may be routine packages or may be designed for specific purpose.
Ex. of application package.
1. Stock control and Inventory management
a. Automatic stock replenishment
b. Forecasting requirement
c. Costing
2. Payroll
1. Piece work calculations
2. Bonus calculation
3. Credit control

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