Cyryx College

Diploma in Information Technology Introduction to Information Technology

Semester - 1

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DEFINITION OF A COMPUTER: A computer is a fast and accurate electronic symbol or data manipulating system that is designed to automatically accept and store input data, process them and produce output result under the direction of stored programs or instructions. The word computer is derived from the latin word Computare which means reckon or calculate. USES OF COMPUTERS: Computers are now affecting every sphere of human activity and bringing about many changes in industry. Its uses are in the fields like government, education, medicine, scientific research, law and even in arts like music, and painting. Its applications are: - Design building, bridges and machines - Controls space vehicles - Aid in preparing a countrys prospective plan - Grade examination and process results - Aid in teaching - Play games TYPES OF COMPUTERS: According to the data used, computers are generally classified into - Analog Computers: Analog is a Greek word which establishes similarities between two quantities. In analog computers data is given in the form of current or voltage signals and it measures physical values such as pressure and temp. eg.; in mechanical watch the variable time is represented by rotating the wheel in the watch Digital Computers: In digital computers all the variables of the problem is expressed in terms of discrete numbers or digits and the results are expressed as numeric or numerically coded characters. e.g.; in digital watch time is shown by actual counting of minutes and seconds o Special Purpose designed to solve a restricted class of problems. E.g.; military applications o General Purpose designed to solve a variety of problems like banking, payroll, sales analysis, engineering design etc Hybrid Computers: Data is both analog and digital. E.g.; in a hospital, in the intensive care unit an analog device may measure a patients heart functioning, temperature and other units. These measurements can be converted to numbers and supplied to a digital device

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CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTERS BASED ON SIZE: Micro computers Microcomputers or PC's as they are often called, are abundant on our desks, tables, offices, suitcases, everywhere. This is the most visible form of computers in the present world and comes in all forms and breeds. These are the smallest computers. It consists of a microprocessor chip as the Central Processing Unit. It has limited operating capability, less Software and less storage capacity. Desktop computers, video game consoles, laptop computers, tablet PCs, and many types of handheld devices may all be considered examples of Microcomputers. Most of the equipment used by a microcomputer is tightly integrated within a single case, although some equipment may be connected at short distances outside the case, such as monitors, keyboards, mice, etc. In general, a microcomputer will not get much bigger than can be put onto most tables or desks. The world's first commercial microprocessor was the Intel 4004, released on November 15, 1971. Mini Computers Its a class of multi-user computers which make up the middle range of the computing spectrum, in between the largest multiuser systems (traditionally, mainframe computers) and the smallest single-user systems (microcomputers or personal computers). These computers are faster than microcomputers. The term "minicomputer" evolved in the 1960s to describe the "small" third generation computers that became possible with the use of transistor and core memory technologies. Almost all popular programming languages are available in these machines. It has good multi-user interactive Operating Systems. The first successful minicomputer was Digital Equipment PDP-8s Corporation's (DEC) 12-bit PDP-8 launched in 1964. Some Digital Equipment Corporation other examples are Honey Well, Hewlett Packard HP 3000 United States 1966 series etc Mainframe computers (Midi computers) Mainframes (often colloquially referred to as big iron) are large and expensive computers used mainly by government institutions and large companies for mission critical applications, typically bulk data processing such as censuses, industry/consumer statistics, ERP, and financial transaction processing. Mainframes often support thousands of simultaneous users who gain access through "dumb" terminals. Major characteristics of mainframe are: 1. They are sensitive to variation in temperature; humidity etc and hence should be air conditioned room. 3

Cyryx College 2. Special and qualified operators are required for their operation. 3. Large data storage capacity. 4. They can make use of a wide variety of S/Ws Super Computers (maxi computers) These are the fastest computers ever made and they solve a range of large scale computations such as weather prediction, crystal graphic calculation and design of supersonic aircraft etc. e.g.; CRAY XMP/416. very expensive The chief difference between a supercomputer and a mainframe is that a supercomputer channels all its power into executing a few programs as fast as possible, while a mainframe uses its power to execute many programs concurrently.

An IBM Z890 Mainframe

Some of the characteristics of super computers are: A supercomputer generates large amounts of heat and must be cooled. Information cannot move faster than the speed of light between two parts of a supercomputer. For this reason, Seymour Cray's supercomputer designs attempted to keep cable runs as short as possible for this reason: hence the cylindrical shape of his famous Cray range of computers. Supercomputers consume and produce massive amounts of data in a very short period of time.

The Cray-2 was the world's fastest computer from 1985 to 1989

CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPUTERS: 1. Storage capacity: Computers can store a vast amount of information, which can be recalled at any time in fraction of seconds. The information is stored in the form of files, but on disks and tapes. This helps in easy and speedy retrieval of information. This storage is known as electronic storage system. This system removes the duplication of information being stored. For example, in a company or an organization the details of employees are given such as name, address, basic salary, unique code number etc. that may be required by accounts department as well as personnel department. In case, an employee resigns or is promoted, then the updating of the information is required only once and at one place. Now a days standard storage capacity of a computer is in the range of 20 GB-100 GB. 2. Speed: Computers are very fast. They can process millions of instructions per second. Computers can perform in minutes, tasks that would take a person year to complete. Today, computers can perform 1000 million computations in 1 second. The speed of computer is closely related to the amount of data it processes. The terms used to describe the amount of data handled by a computer system are volume and frequency. Volume represents the overall quantity of data and frequency describes how often a specific data item is used in processing. Units Symbol 4 Fraction of a sec

Cyryx College Millisecond Microsecond Nanosecond Picosecond ms us ns ps 1/1000 1/1000000 1/1000000000 1/1000000000000

3. Accuracy: Computers are accurate. They do not make mistakes in calculations. The probability of computer error is quite small and often traceable to faulty data. Computer can perform all kinds of complex calculations accurately. The degree of accuracy of computers depends upon their design. But, for a particular computer, each and every calculation is performed with the same accuracy. Errors in computers are not of technological nature but are mostly due imprecise thinking of the programmer. 4. Versatility: This is one of the most wonderful things about the computer. Computers can do a variety of jobs depending upon the instructions fed to them and their hardware characteristics. Modern computers can be used in railways, air reservations systems, process controls, nuclear reactors, manufacturing plants, scientific laboratories, hospitals and hotels etc. They can also act as controlling devices in children toys. Briefly, a computer is capable of performing any task provided that the task can be reduced to a series of logical steps. Their versatility can further be demonstrated by their use in cleaning the streets of a city, improving the existing sewage system to landing man on mars.

HISTORY OF COMPUTERS: The first physical calculating device invented in China was Abacus. It was invented around 3000 BC and it is a wooden frame with balls string on parallel wires. In 1642 a French mathematician called Pascal invented the first mechanical calculating m/ch called Pascaline. It performed only one addition and subtraction. In 1822 Charles Babbage invented a machine called Difference engine. It performed single computation and also trigonometric and logarithmic calculation. In 19th century Herman Hollerith developed a device called Census Machine which could handle 50 to 80 punched cards.

Early Computers: ENIAC Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator The First electronic calculator developed by John Mauchly and professor Eckert. It contained 18000 vaccum tubes, 70,000 resistors, 10000 capacitors and it weighed 30 tonnes. It could perform 5000 additions per sec, consume 150 KW of power and needed to be water cooled.

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EDVAC In the 19th century John Von Neuman introduced the Stored Program Concept in computer. The EDVAC(Electroniuc Discreet Variable Automatic Computer) and EDSAC(Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Computer) where developed on this idea.

GENERATION OF COMPUTERS First-generation (1940 to 1956) computers: Vacuum Tubes The First generation of computer uses the vacuum tube technology. These vacuum tubes are delicate devices to control the electronic signals. In 1946 two engineers at the University of Pennsylvania,John Presper Eckertand John W. Mauchly,built the first digital computer using patrs called vaccum tubes.They named their new invention ENIAC.Consisting of 18,000 vaccum tubes,70,000 resistors and 5 million soldered joints,this machine filled a thirty by fifty foot room and weighted thirty tons,it consumes 160 kilowats of electrical power.First Generation computers were chatacterized by the fact that operating instructions were made-to-order for the specific task for which the compuer was to be used.Each computer had a diiferent binay-coded program called a machine language that told it how to operate. This made the computer difficult to program and limited its versatility and speed.Other distinctive feastures of first generation computers were the use of vaccum tubes and magnetic drums for data and storage. Disadvantages: (1) Size of the computer is very large (2) The Storage capacity is very low (3) It produce very heat

Second-generation systems (1956 to 1963): Transistors In the second generation of computer use the transistors technology. Second generation computers replaced machine language with assembly language, allowing abbreviated programming codes to replace long, difficult binary codes. Throughout the early 1960s there were a number of commercially successful second-generation computers used in businesses, universities, and government from companies such as Burroughs, control data, Honeywell, IBM contained transistors in place of vacuum tubes. Advantages: 6

Cyryx College (1) (2) Size some reduced Storage capacity some increased

Disadvantages: (1) Maintenance problem (2) A/C needed Third-generation computers, (1964 1971): Integrated Circuits Integrated Circuits (ICs) were used which consist of transistors, resistors and capacitors fabricated on a single silicon chip. Transistors small electronic device used in radio, television etc for controlling an electronic signal as it passes along a circuit. Resistor Device providing resistance to electric current in a circuit Capacitors device that allows to store electric charge in a system. Though transistors were clearly an improvement over the vaccum tube,they still generated a great deal of heat,which damaged the computers sensitive internal parts.The quartz rock eliminated this problem.Jack kilby,an engineer with Texas Instruments,developed the integrated circuit(IC) .The IC combined three electronic components onto a small silicon disc,which was made from quartz.Scientists later managed to fit even more components on a single chip called semiconductor.As a result computer became ever smaller as more components were squeezed onto the chip. Advantages: (1) Size is too reduced (2) Storage capacity more increased (3) It produce very less heat Disadvantages: (1) Maintenance problem (2) A.C needed Fourth Generation: (1971 present) Microprocessors The fourth generation brought us computers that used LSI chips in which hundred transistors where fabricated on a single chip. It spawned the microprocessor and personal computer. It introduced distributed processing and office automation. Query languages, report writers and spreadsheets put large numbers of people in touch with the computer for the first time. 7

Cyryx College Microprocessor A single chip that contains all the circuits needed to perform arithmetic, logic and control functions In VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) thousands of transistors are put on a single silicon chip e.g.; IBM 303 , Apple II Advantages: (1) It is portable computer (2) Storage capacity more increased (3) It produce very less heat (4) It is fastest computer The fifth generation Computer Present and beyond: Artificial Intelligence Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in development, though there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today. This generation implies faster hardware and more sophisticated software that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) routinely. Natural language recognition is a major component of the fifth generation. LISP (List Processing) and PROLOG (Programming with logic) are languages used in AI.

BLOCK DIAGRAM OF COMPUTERS:

CPU

MEMORY UNTI

INPUT UNIT

CONTROL UNIT

OUTPUT UNIT

ALU

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Input unit: The input unit performs the following operations (1) (2) (3) Accept the data and programs from external environment Convert these data and programs into computer acceptable form Supplies the converted instructions and data to the computer for further processing The input devices are keyboard, mouse, joystick, OCR, OMR

CPU: The CPU fetches the instructions from the memory and performs specified tasks. The CPU controls and communicates with memory and input/output devices. The major sections of the CPU (1) Memory unit:

The memory unit holds all data, instructions and results temporarily. The memory consists hundreds and thousands of cells called storage location each capable of storing one word information. The memory unit is called by different names such as storage, internal storage, primary storage, main memory, or simply memory. (2) Control unit:

This unit controls the entire operations of a computer; it acts as brain of computer system (3) ALU:

The function of ALU is to perform arithmetic operations such as addition, multiplication, subtraction, division and logical operations such as AND, OR and Exclusive OR. Output unit: The job of the output unit is the reverse of the input unit. The following operations are performed by the output unit.

Cyryx College (1) (2) (3) Accept the results produced by the CPU which in coded form Converts these coded results to human readable form Supplies the converted results to the human users.

The output devices are printers, monitors, speakers, plotter, VDU.

VON NEUMANN ARCHITECTURE:

Von Neumann architecture is a computer design model that uses a single storage structure to hold both instructions and data. The separation of storage from the processing unit is implicit in the von Neumann architecture. The term "stored-program computer" is generally used to mean a computer of this design. The earliest computing machines had fixed programs. Some very simple computers still use this design, either for simplicity or training purposes. For example, a desk calculator (in principle) is a fixed program computer. It can do basic mathematics, but it cannot be used as a word processor or to run video games. To change the program of such a machine, you have to re-wire, re-structure, or even re-design the machine. Indeed, the earliest computers were not so much "programmed" as they were "designed". The idea of the stored-program computer changed all that. By creating an instruction set architecture and detailing the computation as a series of instructions (the program), the machine becomes much more flexible. By treating those instructions in the same way as data, a stored-program machine can easily change the program, and can do so under program control.

HARDWARE: Computer hardware is the physical part of a computer, including the digital circuitry. A typical personal computer consists of a case or chassis and the following parts:

Motherboard or system board with slots for expansion cards and holding parts including: 10

Cyryx College Central processing unit (CPU) Random Access Memory (RAM) Basic Input-Output System (BIOS) Buses Power supply - a case that holds a transformer, voltage control and fan Storage controllers that control hard disk, floppy disk, CD-ROM and other drives; the controllers sit directly on the motherboard (on-board) or on expansion cards Video display controller that produces the output for the computer display Computer bus controllers to connect the computer to external peripheral devices such as printers or scanners Some type of a removable media writer: o CD - the most common type of removable media, cheap but fragile. CD-ROM Drive CD Writer o DVD DVD-ROM Drive DVD Writer DVD-RAM Drive o Floppy disk o USB Flash Drive Internal storage - keeps data inside the computer for later use. o Hard disk - for medium-term storage of data. Sound card - translates signals from the system board into analog voltage levels, and has terminals to plug in speakers. Networking - to connect the computer to the Internet and/or other computers o Modem - for dial-up connections o Network card - for DSL/Cable internet, and/or connecting to other computers. Other peripherals
o o o o

In addition, hardware can include external components of a computer system. Input or Input devices - : These are devices meant for preparing the information to the computer in the Machine readable form. A computer system can have one or more input devices. Punched card The punch card (or "Hollerith" card, or "IBM card") is an obsolescent recording medium for digital information for use by automated data processing machines, including early mainframe-based computers which used them as the primary medium for input of both computer programs and data. Made of thin cardboard, the punch card represents information by the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions. In the first generation of computing, from the 1900s into the 1950s, punch cards were the primary medium for data entry, storage, and processing in institutional computing. These cards are read by a card reader attached to a computer. Made of thin cardboard, the punch card represents information by the presence or absence of holes in predefined positions. In the first generation of computing, 11

Cyryx College from the 1900s into the 1950s, punch cards were the primary medium for data entry, storage, and processing in institutional computing. Optical Mark Reader (OMR) The Optical Mark Reader is a device the "reads" pencil marks on NCS compatible scan forms such as surveys or test answer forms. Example A machine that checks multiple choice computer forms. The computer test forms designed for the OMR are known as NCS compatible scan forms. Tests and surveys completed on these forms are read in by the scanner, checked, and the results are saved to a file. This data file can be converted into an output file of several different formats, depending on which type of output you desire. Bar Coding Bar codes consists of small bars of varying thickness and spacing which are printed on packages, books, bags etc. A barcode reader (or barcode scanner) is a computer peripheral for reading barcodes printed on various surfaces. Like a flatbed scanner, it generally consists of a light source, a lens and a photo conductor translating optical impulses into electrical ones. Additionally, nearly all barcode readers currently produced contain decoder circuitry analyzing the barcode's image data provided by the photo conductor and sending the barcode's content to the scanner's output port. MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Reader) Magnetic Ink Character Recognition is a character recognition system that uses special ink and characters. When a document that contains this ink needs to be read, it passes through a machine, which magnetizes the ink and then translates the magnetic information into characters. MICR technology is used by banks. Numbers and characters found on the bottom of checks (usually containing the check number, sort number, and account number) are printed using Magnetic Ink. To print Magnetic Ink need, you need a laser printer that accepts MICR toner. Keyboard - Keyboards are designed for the input of text and characters, and also to control the operation of a computer. Physically, computer keyboards are an arrangement of rectangular or near-rectangular buttons, or "keys". Keyboards typically have characters engraved or printed on the keys; in most cases, each press of a key corresponds to a single written symbol. However, to produce some symbols requires pressing and holding several keys simultaneously, or in sequence; other keys do not produce any symbol, but instead affect the operation of the computer, or the keyboard itself. Roughly 50% of all keyboard keys produce letters, numbers or signs (characters). Other keys can produce actions when pressed, and other actions are available by simultaneously pressing more than one action key. Optical Character Recognition - Optical character recognition, usually abbreviated to OCR, involves computer software designed to translate images of typewritten text (usually captured by a scanner) into machine-editable text, or to translate pictures of characters into a standard encoding scheme representing them 12

Cyryx College in (ASCII or Unicode). Optical character recognition (using optical techniques such as mirrors and lenses) and digital character recognition (using scanners and computer algorithms) were originally considered separate fields. Because very few applications survive that use true optical techniques, the optical character recognition term has now been broadened to cover digital character recognition as well. Light Pen - A light pen is a computer input device in the form of a light-sensitive wand used in conjunction with the computer's CRT monitor. It allows the user to point to displayed objects, or draw on the screen, in a similar way to a touch screen but with greater positional accuracy. A light pen can work with any CRTbased monitor, but not with LCD screens, projectors or other display devices. A light pen is fairly simple to implement. The light pen works by sensing the sudden small change in brightness of a point on the screen when the electron gun refreshes that spot. By noting exactly where the scanning has reached at that moment, the X,Y position of the pen can be resolved. This is usually achieved by the light pen causing an interrupt, at which point the scan position can be read from a special register, or computed from a counter or timer. The pen position is updated on every refresh of the screen.

Output or Output Devices: These devices display information that has been held or generated within a computer in the human readable form. e.g.; Printers, VDU etc. Visual Display Units (VDU): Visual Display Units (VDU) or monitors are used to visually interface with the computer and are similar in appearance to a television. Visual Display Units display images and text which are made up of small blocks of coloured light called pixels. The resolution of the screen improves as the number of pixels is increased. Most monitors have a 4:3 width to height ratio. Printers: You can print out information that is in the computer onto paper. By printing you create what is known as a 'hard copy'. There are different kinds of printers which vary in their speed and print quality. The two main types of printer are impact and non-impact. Impact Printers use a print head containing a number of metal pins which strike an inked ribbon placed between the print head and the paper.

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An impact printer showing detail of print head Some print heads have only 9 pins to make the dots to build up a character; some have 24 pins which produce a better resolution. Non-impact printers are much quieter than impact printers as their printing heads do not strike the paper. Most non-impact printers produce dot-matrix patterns. Several different technologies have been used to provide a variety of printers. The main types of non-impact printer are: Dot Matrix Printers: Characters are formed from a matrix of dots. The speed is usually 30 - 550 characters per second (cps). This is the cheapest and noisiest of the printer family. The standard of print obtained is poor.

A dot matrix printer These printers are cheap to run and relatively fast. They are useful for low quality carbon copy printing. Molded metal characters like those in a typewriter are mounted on extensions attached to a rotating wheel and are printed onto the paper by means of a hammer and print ribbon. Daisy Wheel Printer: This results in a great deal of movement and noise during the printing of documents, so printing is slow (less than 90 cps). The standard of print is similar to that produced by an electric typewriter. As the characters on the wheel are fixed, the size and font can only be changed by using a different wheel. However, this is very rarely done.

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A daisy wheel showing detail of the characters Thermal Printers: Characters are formed by heated elements being placed in contact with special heat sensitive paper forming darkened dots when the elements reach a critical temperature.

A fax machine uses a thermal printer Thermal printer paper tends to darken over time due to exposure to sunlight and heat. The standard of print produced is poor. Thermal printers are widely used in battery powered equipment such as portable calculators. Laser Printers use a laser beam and dry powdered ink to produce a fine dot matrix pattern. This method of printing can generate about 4 pages of A4 paper per minute.

A laser printer The standard of print is very good and laser printers can also produce very good quality printed graphic images too. Characters are formed as a result of electrically charged or heated ink being sprayed in fine jets onto the paper. Individual nozzles in the printing head produce high resolution (up to 400 dots per inch or 400 dpi) dot matrix characters. 15

Cyryx College Inkjet printers use colour cartridges which combine magenta, yellow and cyan inks to create colour tones. A black cartridge is also used for crisp monochrome output. This method of printing can generate up to 200 cps and allows for good quality, cheap colour printing.

An inkjet printer

Plotters: A plotter is a printer that interprets commands from a computer to make line drawings on paper with one or more automated pens. Unlike a regular printer, the plotter can draw continuous point-to-point lines directly from vector graphics files or commands. There are a number of different types of plotters: a drum plotter draws on paper wrapped around a drum which turns to produce one direction of the plot, while the pens move to provide the other direction; a flatbed plotter draws on paper placed on a flat surface; and an electrostatic plotter draws on negatively charged paper with positively charged toner. Plotters were the first type of printer that could print with color and render graphics and full-size engineering drawings. As a rule, plotters are much more expensive than printers. They are most frequently used for CAE (computer-aided engineering) applications, such as CAD (computer-aided design) and CAM (computer-aided manufacturing). Hewlett-Packard is the leading vendor of plotters worldwide.

BINARY NUMBER SYSTEM: The digital computer represents values using two voltage levels (usually 0V for logic 0 and either +3.3 V or +5V for logic 1). With two levels we can represent exactly two different values. These could be any two different values, but by convention we use the values zero and one. These two values, coincidentally, correspond to the two digits used by the binary number system.

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Cyryx College Since there is a correspondence between the logic levels used by the computer and the two digits used in the binary numbering system, it should come as no surprise that computers employ the binary system. The Binary Number System: uses base 2 includes only the digits 0 and 1 (any other digit would make the number an invalid binary number) In the United States among other countries, every three decimal digits is separated with a comma to make larger numbers easier to read. For example, 123,456,789 is much easier to read and comprehend than 123456789. We will adopt a similar convention for binary numbers. To make binary numbers more readable, we will add a space every four digits starting from the least significant digit on the left of the decimal point. For example, the binary value 1010111110110010 will be written 1010 1111 1011 0010.

NUMBER BASE CONVERSION Binary to Decimal It is very easy to convert from a binary number to a decimal number. We multiply each digit by its weighted position, and add each of the weighted values together. For example, the binary value 1100 1010 represents: 1*2^7 + 1*2^6 + 0*2^5 + 0*2^4 + 1*2^3 + 0*2^2 + 1*2^1 + 0*2^0 = 1 * 128 + 1 * 64 + 0 * 32 + 0 * 16 + 1 * 8 + 0 * 4 + 1 * 2 + 0 * 1 = 128 + 64 + 0 + 0 + 8 + 0 + 2 + 0 = 202 Decimal to Binary To convert decimal to binary we will be using repeated division by 2 method. For this method, divide the decimal number by 2, if the remainder is 0, on the side write down a 0. If the remainder is 1, write down a 1. This process is continued by dividing the quotient by 2 and dropping the previous remainder until the quotient is 0. When performing the division, the remainders which will represent the binary equivalent of the decimal number are written beginning at the least significant digit (right) and each new digit is written to more significant digit (the left) of the previous digit. Consider the number 2671.

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Division Quotient Remainder Binary Number 2671 / 2 1335 / 2 667 / 2 333 / 2 166 / 2 83 / 2 41 / 2 20 / 2 10 / 2 5/2 2/2 1/2 1335 667 333 166 83 41 20 10 5 2 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 11 111 1111 0 1111 10 1111 110 1111 0110 1111 0 0110 1111 10 0110 1111 010 0110 1111 1010 0110 1111

Binary Number Formats We typically write binary numbers as a sequence of bits (bits is short for binary digits). We have defined boundaries for these bits. These boundaries are:

Name Bit Nibble Byte Word Double Word

Size (bits) 1 4 8 16 32

Example 1 0101 0000 0101 0000 0000 0000 0101 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0101

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Cyryx College In any number base, we may add as many leading zeroes as we wish without changing its value. However, we normally add leading zeroes to adjust the binary number to a desired size boundary. For example, we can represent the number five as: Bit Nibble Byte Word We'll number each bit as follows: 1. The rightmost bit in a binary number is bit position zero. 2. Each bit to the left is given the next successive bit number. Bit zero is usually referred to as the LSB (least significant bit). The left-most bit is typically called the MSB (most significant bit). We will refer to the intermediate bits by their respective bit numbers. The Bit The smallest "unit" of data on a binary computer is a single bit. Since a single bit is capable of representing only two different values (typically zero or one) you may get the impression that there are a very small number of items you can represent with a single bit. Not true! There are an infinite number of items you can represent with a single bit. With a single bit, you can represent any two distinct items. Examples include zero or one, true or false, on or off, male or female, and right or wrong. The Nibble A nibble is a collection of bits on a 4-bit boundary. With a nibble, we can represent up to 2^4 = 16 distinct values. The Byte Without question, the most important data structure used by the 80x86 microprocessor is the byte. A byte consists of eight bits and is the smallest addressable datum (data item) in the microprocessor. Main memory and I/O addresses in the PC are all byte addresses. This means that the smallest item that can be individually accessed by an 80x86 program is an 8-bit value. The bits in a byte are numbered from bit zero (b0) through seven (b7) as follows: 101 0101 0000 0101 0000 0000 0000 0101

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b7 B6 b5 b4 b3 b2 B1 b0 Bit 0 is the low order bit or least significant bit, bit 7 is the high order bit or most significant bit of the byte. We'll refer to all other bits by their number. A byte also contains exactly two nibbles. Bits b0 through b3 comprise the low order nibble, and bits b4 through b7 form the high order nibble. Since a byte contains eight bits, it can represent 2^8, or 256, different values. The Word The boundary for a Word is defined as either 16-bits or the size of the data bus for the processor, and a Double Word is Two Words. ASCII -- (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) This is the world-wide standard for the code numbers used by computers to represent all the upper and lower-case Latin letters, numbers, punctuation, etc. There are 128 standard ASCII codes each of which can be represented by a 7 digit binary number: 0000000 through 1111111.

LOGIC GATES: Logic States True False 1 0 High LOW +Vs 0V On Off

A logic gate is an elementary building block of a digital circuit. Most logic gates have two inputs and one output. At any given moment, every terminal is in one of the two binary conditions low (0) or high (1), represented by different voltage levels. The logic state of a terminal can, and generally does, change often, as the circuit processes data. In most logic gates, the low state is approximately zero volts (0 V), while the high state is approximately five volts positive (+5 V).

There are seven basic logic gates: AND, OR, XOR, NOT, NAND, NOR, and XNOR. The AND gate is so named because, if 0 is called "false" and 1 is called "true," the gate acts in the same way as the logical "and" operator. The following illustration and table show the circuit symbol and logic combinations for an AND gate. (In the symbol, the input terminals are at left and the output terminal is at right.) The output is "true" when both inputs are "true." Otherwise, the output is "false."

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Cyryx College AND gate Input 1 Input 2 Output 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1

The OR gate gets its name from the fact that it behaves after the fashion of the logical inclusive "or." The output is "true" if either or both of the inputs are "true." If both inputs are "false," then the output is "false."

OR gate Input 1 Input 2 Output 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1

The XOR (exclusive-OR) gate acts in the same way as the logical "either/or." The output is "true" if either, but not both, of the inputs are "true." The output is "false" if both inputs are "false" or if both inputs are "true." Another way of looking at this circuit is to observe that the output is 1 if the inputs are different, but 0 if the inputs are the same.

XOR gate Input 1 Input 2 Output 0 0 1 0 1 0 21 0 1 1

Cyryx College 1 1 0

A logical inverter, sometimes called a NOT gate to differentiate it from other types of electronic inverter devices, has only one input. It reverses the logic state.

Inverter or NOT gate Input Output 1 0 0 1

The NAND gate operates as an AND gate followed by a NOT gate. It acts in the manner of the logical operation "and" followed by negation. The output is "false" if both inputs are "true." Otherwise, the output is "true."

NAND gate Input 1 Input 2 Output 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 0

The NOR gate is a combination OR gate followed by an inverter. Its output is "true" if both inputs are "false." Otherwise, the output is "false."

NOR gate Input 1 Input 2 Output

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Cyryx College 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0

The XNOR (exclusive-NOR) gate is a combination XOR gate followed by an inverter. Its output is "true" if the inputs are the same, and "false" if the inputs are different.

XNOR gate Input 1 Input 2 Output 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1

Using combinations of logic gates, complex operations can be performed. In theory, there is no limit to the number of gates that can be arrayed together in a single device. But in practice, there is a limit to the number of gates that can be packed into a given physical space. Arrays of logic gates are found in digital integrated circuits (ICs). As IC technology advances, the required physical volume for each individual logic gate decreases and digital devices of the same or smaller size become capable of performing ever-more-complicated operations at ever-increasing speeds. Combinations of logic gates Logic gates can be combined to produce more complex functions. They can also be combined to substitute one type of gate for another. For example to produce an output Q which is true only when Input A Input B Output Q input A is true and input B is false, as shown in the truth table 0 0 0 on the right, we can combine a NOT gate and an AND gate 0 1 0 like this: 1 1 0 1 1 0

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Cyryx College Q = A AND NOT B

Working out the function of a combination of gates Truth tables can be used to work out the function of a combination of gates. For example the truth table on the right show the intermediate outputs D and E as well as the final output Q for the system shown below.

Inputs 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1

Outputs 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1

A B C D E Q

D = NOT (A OR B) E = B AND C Q = D OR E = (NOT (A OR B)) OR (B AND C)

Substituting one type of gate for another Logic gates are available on ICs which usually contain several gates of the same type, for example four 2-input NAND gates or three 3-input NAND gates. This can be wasteful if only a few gates are required unless they are all the same type. To avoid using too many ICs you can reduce the number of gate inputs or substitute one type of gate for another. Reducing the number of inputs The number of inputs to a gate can be reduced by connecting two (or more) inputs together. The diagram shows a 3-input AND gate operating as a 2-input AND gate.

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Cyryx College Making a NOT gate from a NAND or NOR gate Reducing a NAND or NOR gate to just one input creates a NOT gate. The diagram shows this for a 2-input NAND gate.

Any gate can be built from NAND or NOR gates As well as making a NOT gate, NAND or NOR gates can be combined to create any type of gate! This enables a circuit to be built from just one type of gate, either NAND or NOR. For example an AND gate is a NAND gate then a NOT gate (to undo the inverting function). Note that AND and OR gates cannot be used to create other gates because they lack the inverting (NOT) function. To change the type of gate, such as changing OR to AND, you must do three things:

Invert (NOT) each input. Change the gate type (OR to AND, or AND to OR) Invert (NOT) the output.

For example an OR gate can be built from NOTed inputs fed into a NAND (AND + NOT) gate. NAND gate equivalents The table below shows the NAND gate equivalents of NOT, AND, OR and NOR gates: Gate NOT Equivalent in NAND gates

AND

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OR

NOR

Substituting gates in an example logic system The original system has 3 different gates: NOR, AND and OR. This requires three ICs (one for each type of gate). To re-design this system using NAND gates only begin by replacing each gate with its NAND gate equivalent, as shown in the diagram below.

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Then simplify the system by deleting adjacent pairs of NOT gates (marked X above). This can be done because the second NOT gate cancels the action of the first. The final system is shown on the right. It has five NAND gates and requires two ICs (with four gates on each IC). This is better than the original system which required three ICs (one for each type of gate). Substituting NAND (or NOR) gates does not always increase the number of gates, but when it does (as in this example) the increase is usually only one or two gates. The real benefit is reducing the number of ICs required by using just one type of gate.

SR Flip Flop An SR Flip Flop is an arrangement of logic gates that maintains a stable output even after the inputs are turned off. This simple flip flop circuit has a set input (S) and reset input (R). The set input causes the output of 0 (top output) and 1 (bottom output). The reset input causes the opposite to happen (top=1, bottom=0). Once the outputs are established, the wirings of the circuit is maintained until S or R go high, or power is turned of to the circuit.

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This is a simple model of how a bit RAM can be perpetuated. There are many issues not shown here such as timing inputs and synchronization, but the simplicity of the circuit gives you an idea of how RAM operates. Once you have a nice simple working NOR or NAND gate then building FlipFlops (FF) becomes a simple matter. In computing FFs are pretty important since they form the basis of memory. A FF is a device made with either two NOR or two NAND gates. Most FFs are made using NAND gates and there are several different types. The basic operation takes the output of one gate as the input of the other gate and vice versa. This means a FF has two inputs and two outputs.

Clocked Logic If you look at any digital electronic book, youll soon see that anything useful tends to make use of a clock pulse to synchronize everything. The clock input is separate from the logic inputs, but they are related. A simple way to implement a clock is by using two NAND gates. Doing this changes the set and clear operation from working on a 0 to 1 transition to working on a 0 to 1 transition. The clocked Flip-Flop examples should show whats happening: The initial setup of the FF, set, clock (clk) and clear are at a logic level of 0. Pulse clear to 1, then pulse to clock (clk) to 1. This makes Q=0 and Qbar=1. Just as before the right hand NAND output is 1, so the clear will have no effect on either Q or Qbar. The clock goes to 0 and then clear goes to 0. It has to be done in this order to prevent the outputs becoming indeterminate. Now pulse set 1 and the clk to 1. This turns Q=1 and Qbar=0.The left hand NAND gate output is 1 and so changing the value of set will not do anything.

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Cyryx College The clock goes to 0 and then set goes to 0. Just as before it has to be done in this order to present the output becoming indeterminate. It is possible to build an edge detector for the clock signal. It requires a few more NAND gates. The advantage of doing this is that it no longer matter when the clock signal goes back to 0 and the indeterminate state is avoided.

Adding binary Numbers: A key requirement of digital computers is the ability to use logical functions to perform arithmetic operations. The basis of this is addition; if we can add two binary numbers, we can just as easily subtract them, or get a little fancier and perform multiplication and division. How, then, do we add two binary numbers? Let's start by adding two binary bits. Since each bit has only two possible values, 0 or 1, there are only four possible combinations of inputs. These four possibilities, and the resulting sums, are:
0 0 1 1 + + + + 0 1 0 1 = 0 = 1 = 1 = 10

The fourth line indicates that we have to account for two output bits when we add two input bits: the sum and a possible carry. Let's set this up as a truth table with two inputs and two outputs, and see where we can go from there. INPUTS A 0 0 1 1 B 0 1 0 1 OUTPUTS CARRY SUM 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 The Carry output is a simple AND function, and the Sum is an Exclusive-OR. Thus, we can use two gates to add these two bits together. The resulting circuit is shown below.

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OK, we've got a good start on this circuit. However, we're not done yet. In a computer, we'll have to add multi-bit numbers together. If each pair of bits can produce an output carry, it must also be able to recognize and include a carry from the next lower order of magnitude. This is the same requirement as adding decimal numbers -- if you have a carry from one column to the next, the next column has to include that carry. We have to do the same thing with binary numbers, for the same reason. As a result, the circuit to the left is known as a "half adder," because it only does half of the job. We need a circuit that will do the entire job. INPUTS A B CIN 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 OUTPUTS COUT 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 S 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1

To construct a full adder circuit, we'll need three inputs and two outputs. Since we'll have both an input carry and an output carry, we'll designate them as CIN and COUT. At the same time, we'll use S to designate the final Sum output. The resulting truth table is shown to the right. This is looking a bit messy. It looks as if COUT may be either an AND or an OR function, depending on the value of A, and S is either an XOR or an XNOR, again depending on the value of A. Looking a little more closely, however, we can note that the S output is actually an XOR between the A input and the half-adder SUM output with B and CIN inputs. Also, the output carry will be true if any two or all three inputs are logic 1. What this suggests is also intuitively logical: we can use two half-adder circuits. The first will add A and B to produce a partial Sum, while the second will add CIN to that Sum to produce the final S output. If either half-adder produces a carry, there will be an output carry. Thus, COUT will be an OR function of the half-adder Carry outputs. The resulting full adder circuit is shown below.

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The circuit above is really too complicated to be used in larger logic diagrams, so a separate symbol, shown to the right, is used to represent a one-bit full adder. In fact, it is common practice in logic diagrams to represent any complex function as a "black box" with input and output signals designated. It is, after all, the logical function that is important, not the exact method of performing that function.

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Now we can add two binary bits together, accounting for a possible carry from the next lower order of magnitude, and sending a carry to the next higher order of magnitude. To perform multibit addition the way a computer would, a full adder must be allocated for each bit to be added simultaneously. Thus, to add two 4-bit numbers to produce a 4-bit sum (with a possible carry), you would need four full adders with carry lines cascaded, as shown to the right. For two 8-bit numbers, you would need eight full adders, which can be formed by cascading two of these 4-bit blocks. By extension, two binary numbers of any size may be added in this manner. It is also quite possible to use this circuit for binary subtraction. If a negative number is applied to the B inputs, the resulting sum will actually be the difference between the two numbers. In a modern computer, the adder circuitry will include the means of negating one of the input numbers directly, so the circuit can perform either addition or subtraction on demand. Other functions are commonly included in modern implementations of the adder circuit, especially in modern microprocessors.

COMPUTER MEMORY:

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Cyryx College Computer storage, computer memory, and often casually memory refer to computer components, devices and recording media that retain data for some interval of time. It is one of the fundamental components of all modern computers, and coupled with a central processing unit (CPU), implements the basic Von Neumann computer model used since the 1940s. Various forms of storage, based on various natural phenomenons, have been invented. So far, no practical universal storage medium exists, and all forms of storage have some drawbacks. Therefore a computer system usually contains several kinds of storage, each with an individual purpose.

Primary storage:
Primary storage is directly connected to the central processing unit of the computer. It must be present for the CPU to function correctly. Primary storage typically consists of three kinds of storage:

Processor registers are internal to the central processing unit. Registers contain information that the arithmetic and logic unit needs to carry out the current instruction. They are technically the fastest of all forms of computer storage. Main memory contains the programs that are currently being run and the data the programs are operating on. The arithmetic and logic unit can very quickly transfer information between a processor register and locations in main storage, also known as a "memory addresses". In modern computers, electronic solid-state random access memory is used for main storage, and is directly connected to the CPU via a "memory bus" and a "data bus". Cache memory is a special type of internal memory used by many central processing units to increase their performance. Some of the information in the main memory is duplicated in the cache memory, which is slightly slower but of much greater capacity than the processor registers, and faster but much smaller than main memory.

Secondary storage
Secondary storage requires the computer to use its input/output channels to access the information, and is used for long-term storage of persistent information. Secondary storage is also known as "mass storage". Secondary or mass storage is typically of much greater capacity than primary storage (main memory), but it is also very much slower. In modern computers, hard disks are usually used for mass storage. The time taken to access a given byte of information stored on a hard disk is typically a few thousandths of a second, or milliseconds. By contrast, the time taken to access a given byte of information stored in random access memory is measured in thousand-millionths of a second, or nanoseconds. This illustrates that hard disks are typically about a million times slower than main memory. Rotating optical storage devices (such as CD and DVD drives) are typically even slower than hard disks.

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Types of Memories based on technology used: Magnetic core memory: Magnetic core memory, or ferrite-core memory, is an early form of computer memory. It uses small magnetic ceramic rings, the cores, to store information via the polarity of the magnetic field they contain. The most common form of core memory, used for the main memory of a computer, consists of a large number of small ferrite (ferromagnetic ceramic) rings, cores, held together in a grid structure (each grid called a plane), with wires woven through the holes in the cores' middle. Each ring stores one bit (a 0 or 1).

A 1616 cm area core memory plane of 128128 bits, i.e. 2048 bytes (2 KB).

Semi conductor memory the basic unit of any semi conductor memory is the memory cell capable of storing one binary digit. It is a volatile memory. Examples of semiconductor memory include static random access memory, which relies on transistors, and dynamic random access memory, which uses capacitors to store the bits Bubble Memory Bubble memory is a type of computer memory that uses a thin film of a magnetic material to hold small magnetized areas, known as bubbles, which each store one bit of data. Bubble memory started out as a promising technology in the 1970s, but failed commercially as hard disk prices fell rapidly in the 1980s. Optical disc storage - Optical disc storage uses tiny pits etched on the surface of a circular disc to store information, and reads this information by illuminating the surface with a laser diode and observing the reflection. Optical disc storage is non-volatile and sequential access. Examples are CD-ROM, DVD, CD-RW etc.

Memory is mainly divided into two: ROM (Read Only Memory): 34

Cyryx College It is permanently programmed and can be only read. No information can be written on to it. E.g.; Monitor program, OS etc. Its a non volatile memory i.e.; information is not lost when power supply is off. A version of ROM that can be changed using programs or special conditions is known as PROM (Programmable Read Only memory). One variety of PROM which can be programmed more than once is called EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory). Another variety of ROM which is electrically alterable is called EAROM (Electrically Alterable Read Only Memory) Advantages of ROM: 1. They are non volatile 2. ROMs are cheaper than RAMs 3. ROMs are available in large sizes 4. The contents are always known and can be verified 5. More reliable

RAM (Random Access Memory): This form of memory is used to store data and application programs. The memory is read-write, and volatile. This means the contents disappear when the power to the system is turned off. There are TWO main types of RAM used in computer systems today, Dynamic RAM: This memory is based on capacitor technology, and requires the contents of each storage cell within the chip to be periodically refreshed (about every 4ms). It consumes very little power, but suffers from slow access times. Another advantage is the large capacity offered by this technology per chip (16Mbit). Static RAM: This memory is based on transistor technology, and does not require refreshing. It consumes more power (thus generates more heat) than the dynamic type, and is significantly faster. It is often used in high speed computers or as cache memory. Another disadvantage is that the technology uses more silicon space per storage cell than dynamic memory, thus chip capacities are a lot less than dynamic chips. Advantages of RAM 1. Can be updated and corrected 2. Serve as temporary data storage 3. No special programming equipments is needed like ROMs

The CMOS (Complimentary metal Oxide) memory is a special type of RAM which uses much less power than normal RAM. It is kept separate from the RAM and is used to 35

Cyryx College hold programs and data. It is backed up by a small, long-life battery, such as lithium cells, so its contents are not lost when the computer is switched off. The purpose of the CMOS memory is to hold the configuration of the computers system, which includes such things as: How much memory the PC has The Parameters of the Hard disk Drives(s) installed The type of floppy disk drives(s) installed CPU clock timings Cache settings. CMOS is used for this application instead of ROM because system information needs to be changed occasionally. For Example, if an extra hard disk was installed, the new parameters would need to be added to the CMOS.

Disk Drives
In the early days of computing, information storage was done on magnetic tape, similar to VCR or cassette tape. Magnetic tape is a non-volatile storage medium consisting of a magnetic coating on a thin plastic strip.The disadvantage of using tape as a storage device was that it could not be accessed randomly. In other words, if information was stored midway on the tape, the tape would have to be forwarded or rewound to that position before the information could be retrieved. The first Radio Shack TRS-80's could have a cassette tape player hooked to them and could then store information. It was necessary for the user to write down the tape recorder's counter position whenever a new set of data was stored. This primitive means of storing and retrieving data was soon replaced by the 5.25-inch Floppy Disk. The wonderful thing about this disk was that the computer itself kept track of where the information was stored and could access information from anywhere on the disk very rapidly. The large floppy disk (named because of its flexibility) was replaced by the 3.5-inch plastic shielded diskette which proved to be more durable and small enough to fit in a shirt pocket. The large floppy disk could hold about 360 KB of information while the diskette could hold up to 1.44 MB. New diskette drive designs (called Super drives) allow as much as 120 MB of storage on a single disk! The workhorse of the modern PC is the Hard Disk Drive (HDD). A hard disk drive consists of a set of stacked metal platters coated on both sides with a magnetic recording material. The platters are read by magnetic reading heads, each resembling the tone-arm of a record player. The more platters and reading heads built into the drive, the larger the storage capacity. The HDD stores the operating instructions needed by the computer to start up and run properly. It is vital to keep the HDD working properly in order for the computer to remain healthy. The dreaded "Computer Crash" normally occurs whenever the hard disk drive fails to work. Maintaining the integrity of data on a HDD has become an industry in itself. 36

Cyryx College Computers can have more than one HDD and more than one diskette drive. The HDD is normally referred to as the "C: Drive" while the diskette drive is commonly referred to as the "A: Drive". A second diskette drive is usually designated as the "B: Drive". Additional hard disk drives will be given different drive labels, such as "F: Drive", "G: Drive", etc. On a network, other storage devices can be "mapped" and used as storage devices by the local computer. These drives will also be assigned letters. Other drives attached to the computer (such as CD-ROM Drives, Zip Drives, Jaz Drives and SCSI Drives) are assigned additional drive letters so that the computer operator and the computer can keep track of where the data will be coming from or going to.

SOFTWARE CONCEPTS: Data: Data means raw fact. E.g. 10, Rachel Information: Information means a group of related data. E.g.; Rachel is 10 years old. Instruction: It is a command given to the computer to carry out some task. Program: A set of instructions that perform a particular job is called a "program" or "software program." Languages: Language consists of verbal or written symbols that are used to exchange ideas or information.

Low level language: This is the language that is compatible with hardware of computer and consists of binary or mnemonic (symbol) codes. Machine language: Lowest form of computer lang. This is the only language that is understood by the computer. Machine language instructions are represented by binary numbers i.e.; sequence of 1s and 0s. Assembly language (symbolic language): Mnemonics are used to write the program. It is machine dependant. To execute an assembly language on computer, it should first be translated into its equivalent machine language for which we require software called as assembler. E.g.; MOV A,D ADA D

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High level language: This is the language which allows the user to communicate with the computer using words and phrases which are closer to natural language. Advantages are 1. Easier to learn than symbolic language 2. Require less time to write. 3. Provide better documentation 4. Program written in such a language can be executed in any computer. Software: Software can be a single program or a collection of programs to perform a specific task or application. Application Software: A set of programs which is designed for particular application is known as application software. E.g.; Payroll, Inventory, Library etc. System Software: A set of programs which is designed for a system which provide the environment to facilitate writing of application s/w is known as system software. e.g.; Operating System, compilers, interpreters, translation software etc Editor: interactive programs that are stored in memory and allow the user to write programs or generate text or make a wide variety of changes. Line editors Screen editors Loader: before a program can be executed, it must be placed in main memory. Such a device which helps to load programs to main memory is called loaders. In modern computers, loaders are permanently stored in the ROM. Monitor program: helps to enter or load instructions and data. It also helps to display the contents of memory location and it executes the program. Compilers and interpreters: (Program Translators which translate high level language into machine language) 38

Cyryx College
Compiler:

A compiler is a special program that processes statements written in a particular programming language and turns them into machine language or "code" that a computer's processor uses. Typically, a programmer writes language statements in a programming language such as BASIC or C one line at a time using an editor. The file that is created c contains what are called the source statements. The compiler first checks for the syntax of the program and then generates or builds the output code. Interpreter: The interpreter translates instructions one at a time, and then executes those instructions immediately. Difference between a compiler and an interpreter: They are both similar as they achieve similar purposes, but inherently different as to how they achieve that purpose. Compiled code takes programs (source) written in some kind of programming language, and then ultimately translates it into object code or machine language. Compiled code does the work much more efficiently, because it produces a complete machine language program, which can then be executed. The interpreter translates instructions one at a time, and then executes those instructions immediately. The compiler is itself a computer program written usually in some implementation language. A Typical Machine Language Instruction A typical machine language represents a certain instruction by way of a special code. These special codes used for representing instructions comprise of different sections (called fields), which describe different aspects of the instruction: 1. The first part of an instruction code is called the operation code (op-code for short). This indicates which operation is to be performed (E.g. addition, retrieval of a data item from memory etc.) 2. The second part is called the operand field. This part of the code fills in the details which are needed before the operation specified in (1) can be performed. For example, if the op-code field specifies addition, the operand fields will tell the machine which memory addresses hold the pieces of data which are to be summed. So what do these op-code and operand fields look like? Well, they are simply bit patterns - strings of 0's and 1's. (Remember - the computer only understands binary). So a computer may well store an instruction as: Operation Address Address Address Code Field 1 Field 2 Field 3 A Typical Machine Language Coding For An Instruction The operations which we represent in the op-code fall into three categories. 39

Cyryx College 1. Data transfer 2. Arithmetic/Logic 3. Control (sometimes divided into two separate categories of compare and branch.

High Level Languages Name Full From Use

BASIC (1964)Beginners All Purpose Symbolic Instructions Code Education, Pocket (Developed by Bill Gates and Paul Allan) Calculators FORTRAN Formula Translation (1956 Developed by John Backus) COBOL Common Business Oriented Language 1950s By Grace Hopper PASCAL (1970s) ADA SNOBOL LISP ALGOL PL/1 String Oriented Symbolic Language List Processing Algorithmic language Programming language 1 Scientific application

Business

Non-numeric Programming Military application Text Processing AI, pattern recog scientific computation Business develop OS

C-Language (1972 Dennis Ritchie) PROLOG C++ Programming with Logic

AI

Object-Oriented Programming (1st edition 1985, 2nd edition 1991, 3rd edition (special edition) 2000) PROLOG Programming with Logic Artificial Intelligence

- By Dr Bjarne Stroustrup

Data Processing 40

Cyryx College Data: facts Field: elementary data item Record: collection of related fields File: collection of related records.

e.g. Employee file RNO 1001 1002 1003 Name Vinu Raji Sumi Age 26 23 27 Salary field 18,000 1st record 5000 2nd record 6000 3rd record

File organization are of 2 types: Sequential organization: records are arranged sequentially and such files anables the user to access the records only on sequential manner i.e.; each record after record. RANDOM/Direct Organization: record can be accessed directly by using a key field or a record number. File operations: The various file operations that can be performed with files are Adding, deleting, and updating records, Sorting, Merging

Master File and Transaction File: The Master file is the main file containing all the records about a particular subject. For e.g.; a Sales Master file will contain all the information about the accounts. Because there will be many transactions, the master file needs to be regularly updated. All the transactions which take place in a day or sometimes a week are placed on a file which is called the transaction file. The transaction file is combined with the Master file to produce a new updated file. The new updated file becomes a Master file.

DATABASE: A database is an organized collection of data. One possible definition is that a database is a collection of records stored in a computer in a systematic way, so that a computer program can consult it to answer questions. For better retrieval and sorting, each record is usually organized as a set of data elements (facts). The items retrieved in answer to queries become information that can be used to make decisions. The computer program used to manage and query a database is known as a database management system (DBMS).

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Cyryx College Schema - The central concept of a database is that of a collection of records, or pieces of knowledge. Typically, for a given database, there is a structural description of the type of facts held in that database: this description is known as a schema. The schema describes the objects that are represented in the database, and the relationships among them. Database Models - There are a number of different ways of organizing a schema, that is, of modeling the database structure: these are known as database models (or data models). The model in most common use today is the relational model, which in layman's terms represents all information in the form of multiple related tables each consisting of rows and columns (the true definition uses mathematical terminology). This model represents relationships by the use of values common to more than one table. Other models such as the hierarchical model and the network model use a more explicit representation of relationships. Query Language - Query languages are computer languages used to make queries into databases and information systems. Examples SQL , Datalog, XQuery

Uses: Databases are used in many applications, spanning virtually the entire range of computer software. Databases are the preferred method of storage for large multiuse applications, where coordination between many users is needed. Even individual users find them convenient, though, and many electronic mail programs and personal organizers are based on standard database technology. Software database drivers are available for most database platforms so that application software can use a common application programming interface (API) to retrieve the information stored in a database. Different file operations in Database: 1. Creating files 2. modifying or editing files 3. adding records 4. deleting records 5. selecting records 6. sorting records 7. Printing records

OPERATING SYSTEMS:

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Cyryx College Operating System: Operating system is defined as an interface between the user and the computer. It is an organized collection of programs which control the operation of a computer and allow a number of programs to run on a computer without the interaction of an operator. It can be the bridge between the software and hardware. Operating system is a integrated program that manages the operations of CPU. Operating Systems are sometimes referred to as executive or supervisor programs.

Monitor

Application

Keyboard

Operating System

Disk Drives

Mouse Printer

Functions of an OS: 1. Scheduling and loading of programs 2. Controlling the Hardware resources like input, output, secondary devices etc. 3. Handling errors 4. Protecting hardware, software and data from improper use. e.g.; DOS, Windows, UNIX, LINUX Macintosh etc.

TYPES OF OPERATING SYSTEMS:

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Cyryx College There are many types of Operating Systems used by computers. Lets look at a few of them. Single Program Systems: This is the type of operating system used by microcomputers. Only one program can be processed at a time. E.g.; DOS Batch Processing: Batch processing is the system of collecting all the different inputs or programs together and putting them into a computer in one set or batch. The computer operator has to do only one loading and running operation, no matter how many programs are in a batch. The programs are processed as a single unit. This avoids wasting a lot of time loading programs. Batch processing is used when a particular job needs to be done in one go rather than by doing parts of the job now and again. All the relevant data is collected and put through the computer in one go. Preparing a companies payroll would be a good example of batch processing. All the information such as hours of work, pay per hour, tax and national insurance contributions would be collected for each employee and put into the computer. Batch processing can be used for payrolls because they are performed in one go (once a week or once a month). Electricity, gas and telephone bills are all prepared in one go so batch processing is used. Cheque clearing also uses batch processing. This makes th job cheap and very quick. Jobs in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Processing Jobs Out 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

The jobs are processed in order. At the end of each job a new job is started until all the jobs are completed.

Multiprogramming: The central processing unit is a very fast device. It is much faster than the peripherals used to input or output information. So the CPU spends a lot of time doing nothing. Rather than wasting this valuable time of the CPU, we can use the CPU to process other programs. So many programs can be processed apparently at the same time by a single CPU. A system like this has a multiprogramming operating system. The operating system decides what order the programs are carried out. Some of the programs are given priority and it is possible for the computer operator to change the order.

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Cyryx College Sometimes multiprogramming systems are called multitasking systems because they can perform many different tasks at the same time. They dont have to complete one task before starting another. Although computers can only perform one task at a time, a computer works so fast that it seems as if several tasks are being performed simultaneously. Processing Program A Input Program B Program C Output

In Multiprogramming several different programs are processed at the same time. Remote Job Entry: Remote job entry is where jobs are entered at a terminal away from the computer and cards or paper tapes are punched at a distant site. The terminal would be connected via telephone lines to the CPU. Cards and paper tape would be probably be sent by post for processing. The terminal would operate under a multiprogramming system and the cards or paper tape would use the batch processing. Multi-access: Multi-access allows many terminals to gain access to the CPU at the same time. A device called multiplexer controls the amount of time that each terminal has allocated to it. The multiplexer is connected between the CPU and the terminals. The amount of time is controlled by the operating system. So are the memory requirements of each terminal. Multi-access can be used for airline reservation systems. Many terminals situated in travel agents and booking offices use just one CPU to book airline tickets. Most multi-access systems give the user the impression that he/she is the only one using the computer. The computer serves other people during the time she takes to press the keys. This principle is called Time Sharing.

Central Processing Unit

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User

User The user is connected to the central processing unit.

User

User

User

User

Connections are made very quickly so that it seems that each user has sole use of the CPU

Real time operating systems Real time operating systems perform real time processing. This means the computer is constantly kept up to date with information supplied by the operator. The computer actually communicates with the operator. The information in the computer is constantly being changed and updated. Airline companies and travel agents were the first people to use real time processing. Now, hospitals, shops, robots, in factories and banks all use real time processing. Remote Access Large companies tend to have branches of offices all over the country or ever\n the world. Quite often, the CPU will be in the Head Office and terminals and others peripherals such as line printers will be dispersed over large distances. Data and information is passed between the devices using telephone cables. Either an acoustic coupler or a modem is used to convert the data into a form that can be passed along telephone cables.

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Operators console

Magnetic Tape

Magnetic Disk

Processing Unit

Modem

Modem

Modem

The modem converts electrical signals from the computer into a form that can be transmitted along telephone lines. Communication Lines (e.g. telephone cables)

Modem

Modem

Modem

Modem

Modem

These modems convert the signals back again

Terminal

Terminal

Terminal

Terminal

Terminal

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Cyryx College DOS: (Disk Operating System) Microsoft DOS (Disk Operating System) is a command line user interface. MS-DOS 1.0 was released in 1981 for IBM computers. DOS provide program essential to the control of hardware devices like keyboard, monitor, printers etc. It is the OS which controls the computer H/W. It is a special S/W that tells the computer what to do when we type in different commands. DOS disk contains some special programs without which it is not possible to use the computers. Directory: File is a collection of related records. A file holds data which are required for providing information. In DOS a disk drive is like a filing cabinet. Directories are areas kept aside for keeping files. Directory is a group of files. Filename: file name is used to identify a file. File name is unique for a given file. File name consists of alphabets (A to Z), digits (0 to 9), and certain special characters like $,@,_,& etc. A filename consists of 2 parts A basic name and an extension. The maximum length of a file name is 12 characters. Base name has a length up to 8 characters and an extension (which helps to find the file type) have a maximum of 3 characters. To separate a base name and an extension a dot is used. e.g.; sal.txt (txt is a text file) pay1.exe (exe is executable file) pay_2.dbf (dbf is a database file) Disk Drive: As a directory is a group of files a drive is a group of directories. A drive is always represented by a drive letter. E.g.; C:, D:, A: . Drives are always denoted by capital letters and also a colon is used after each letter. Hard disk drive is referred to as C drive. Floppy disk drives are referred to as A drive or B drive. Booting: process of loading OS software into computers primary memory (main memory) Root directory: Main directory. All the other directories are branches of this main directory much like the roots of the tree. Directories can contain files, programs or other directories. The root directory is designated by back slash (\). Sub directory: A directory can contain another directory. A directory within another directory is called the sub directory.

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C:\

PP.text

WS

DBase

Lotus

DOS

Emp

My Folder

Expense

Tax

EXA Ta.exe Directories others files to get pa.exe, the path will be C:\WS\Emp\pa.exe

Rm.jpg

Path: To get a particular file, we must trace the path from the root directory that contains that file. The path is the list of directories starting with the root directory. e.g; path of pp.txt C:\pp.txt To get pa.exe, the path is C:\WS\Emp\pa.exe Formatting: It is the process of dividing the disk into tracks and sectors according to the OS used. We must always format new disk before they can be used. Formatting erases any data previously recorded on the disk and it is prepared for new use. DOS Commands: 2 types Internal: These commands do not require any special file for being executed.. these commands are located in the memory when the system is booted. E.g.; Copy, del, dir etc. In DOS internal commands are accessed from COMMAND.com and external commands from CONFIG.sys External: These commands require special DOS files for being executed. External commands are program files. These files can be deleted, copied, renamed e.g.; FORMAT, DISK COPY, PRINT etc.

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Cyryx College DOS prompt: When the loading of MSDOS is complete, DOS takes over and displays a command prompt indication that it is ready for action. It is where we type commands. It lets us know that DOS is ready to receive any command. DOS prompt contains a default drive letter followed by a greater than sign and a sursor (-); that shows where the next character we type will appear. E.g.; C:\>DOS Commands: 1. CD: CD (Change Directory) is a command used to switch directories in MSDOS. For example, if you needed to run Windows 3.11 from DOS, you would type: cd windows - Changing the directory to Windows; cd\ - Goes to the highest level, the root of the drive. cd.. - Goes back one directory. For example, if you are within the C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND> directory, this would take you to C:\WINDOWS> cd\windows -If present, would first move back to the root of the drive and then go into the Windows directory.

2. Changing from one drive to another: C:\>D: (enter) D:\>3. Date: The date command can be used to look at the current date of the computer as well as change the date to an alternate date. 4. Time: Allows the user to view and edit the computer's time. 5. DIR: The dir command allows you to see the available files in the current and/or parent directories.

Dir - Lists all files and directories in the directory that you are currently in. dir /ad - List only the directories in the current directory. If you need to move into one of the directories listed use the CD command. dir /s - Lists the files in the directory that you are in and all sub directories after that directory, if you are at root "C:\>" and type this command this will list to you every file and directory on the C: drive of the computer.

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Cyryx College dir /p - If the directory has a lot of files and you cannot read all the files as they scroll by, you can use this command and it will display all files one page at a time. dir /w - If you don't need the info on the date / time and other information on the files, you can use this command to list just the files and directories going horizontally, taking as little as space needed. dir /s /w /p - This would list all the files and directories in the current directory and the sub directories after that, in wide format and one page at a time. dir /on - List the files in alphabetical order by the names of the files. dir /o-n - List the files in reverse alphabetical order by the names of the files. Dir > prn - Lists the filenames to a printer 6. Switch: it is the character which changes the use of a single command. e.g.; dir/p, dir/s etc. 7. Attrib: Attrib allows a user to change the properties of a specified file. Using attrib, the user has the capability of changing the file to have any of the below attributes. Read-only - allowing the file to be only viewed and not written to. Archived - allowing Microsoft backup and other backup programs to know which files to backup. Hidden - making the file invisible to standard users. System - making the file an important system file. Syntax: ATTRIB [+R | -R] [+A | -A] [+S | -S] [+H | -H] [[drive:][path]filename] [/S] + R A S H Sets an attribute. Clears an attribute. Read-only file attribute. Archive file attribute. System file attribute. Hidden file attribute. Processes files in all directories in the specified /S path. 51

Cyryx College Example attrib +r autoexec.bat - This would make the autoexec.bat read only so it cannot be modified until the read only attribute is taken off. attrib +h config.sys - This would make the config.sys hidden so, to the average user, this file would not be existent; however, if the attrib command it typed alone, "attrib" this will show any hidden files. attrib -h config.sys - This command will do the apposite of the above command. Instead of hiding the file it will unhide the file if hidden.

8. CLS Cls is a command that allows a user to clear the complete contents of the screen and leave only a prompt. 9. COPY Allows the user to copy one or more files to an alternate location. The below example would copy all files in the current directory to the floppy disk in drive a: copy *.* a: Copy the autoexec.bat, usually found at root, and copy it into the windows directory; the autoexec.bat can be substituted for any file(s). copy autoexec.bat c:\windows Copy the win.ini file, which is already in your windows directory, to the windows directory, without prompting if you wanted to overwrite the file or not. copy win.ini c:\windows /y

Finally, a user can create a file using the copy command. In the below example we create the file called "test.txt". copy con test.txt Once the above command has been typed in, a user could type in whatever he or she wishes. When you have completed creating the file, you can save and exit the file by pressing CTRL+Z, which would create ^Z, and then press enter. An easier way to view and edit files in MS-DOS would be to use the edit command.

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Cyryx College 10. DEL/DELETE - Del is a command used to delete files from the computer. Notice: Users who are running Microsoft Windows 95 and are used to deleted items going to the recycle bin need to keep in mind that deleting files from MSDOS does not send files to the recycle bin. For example: del test.tmp = Deletes the test.tmp in the directory that you currently are in, if the file exists. del c:\windows\test.tmp = Delete the c:\windows\test.tmp in the windows directory if it exists. del c:\windows\temp\*.* = (* is for wild character(s)) *.* indicates that you would like to delete all files in the c:\windows\temp directory. del c:\windows\temp\?est.tmp = (? is a single wild character for one letter) This command would delete any file ending with est.tmp such as pest.tmp or zest.tmp... 11. EDIT Edit allows a user to view, create and or modify their computer files. EXAMPLES edit c:\autoexec.bat = This would look at the autoexec.bat; However, if the file is not found, you will have a blank blue screen. When editing this or any file, ensure that you know what you are placing in the files. Using edit you can also create files; for example, if you wanted to create a file called myfile.txt, you would type: edit myfile.txt <press enter> This would bring up a blank edit screen, as long as the file is saved upon exit this will create the file myfile.txt. 12. FORMAT - Format is used to erase all of the information off of a computer diskette or fixed drive. EXAMPLES When using the format command, remember all information on the drive you wish to format will be completely erased. format a: - Would erase all the contents off a disk. Commonly used on a diskette that has not been formatted or on a diskette you wish to erase.

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Cyryx College format a: /q - Quickly erases all the contents of a floppy diskette. Commonly used to quickly erase all information on the diskette. format c: - This would erase all the contents of your C: hard disk drive. In other words, unless you wish to erase all your computer's information, this command should not be done unless you're planning to start over. 13. HELP Help is used to access the information and help file from a MS-DOS prompt. 14. MD/MKDIR - Allows you to create your own directories in MS-DOS. md test The above example creates the "test" directory in the directory you are currently in. md c:\test Create the "test" directory in the c:\ directory. 15. PATH Path is used to specify the location where MS-DOS looks when using a command. For example, when using the command "format", if the path is not specified to where the command is you will receive bad command or file name. path=c:\windows\command - This is where a lot of DOS commands are stored in Window 95; if you are not able to do a dos command, type this command in, allowing all commands you type in, such as "deltree", to be loaded from this directory. However, if you have another file in another directory such as C:\DOS it will no longer look there. 16. PROMPT - Allows you to change the MS-DOS prompt to display more or less information. PROMPT [text] text Specifies a new command prompt. The prompt can be made up of normal characters and the below special codes: $Q = (equal sign) $$ $ (dollar sign) $T Current time $D Current date $P Current drive and path 54

Cyryx College $V Windows version number $N Current drive $G > (greater-than sign) $L & (less-than sign) $B | (pipe) $H Backspace (erases previous character) $E Escape code (ASCII code 27) $_ Carriage return and linefeed Type PROMPT without parameters to reset the prompt to the default setting. EXAMPLES prompt $t $d$_$p$g - This would display the time and the date above your prompt when in DOS. 17. RD/RMDIR - Removes empty directories in MS-DOS. rmdir c:\test - This would remove the test directory, if empty. rmdir c:\test /s - Windows 2000 and Windows XP users can use this option with a prompt to permanently delete the test directory and all subdirectories and files. 18. REN/RENAME Used to rename files and directories from the original name to a new name. Rename the directory chope to hope. - rename c:\chope hope Rename all text files to files with .bak extension. rename *.txt *.bak Rename all files to begin with 1_. The asterisk (*) in this example is an example of a wild character; because nothing was placed before or after the first asterisk, this means all files. rename * 1_*

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WINDOWS: Windows is a Software program that makes a PC lot easier to use by simplifying the interface between PC and its users. User interface refers to the way you give commands or the way you interact with the computer. Windows creates a GUI between user and computer. When working under windows you dont need to remember any type of commands. The commands are presented before user in the form of menus. We can place the cursor on the desired command and press enter key or click the left mouse button. Windows owes its name to the fact that it runs each program inside a separate window. Window is a box or a frame on the screen. We can have numerous windows on the screen at a time each containing its own programs without having closing it down and open the next. Advantages of Windows over DOS: 1. Ability to run more than one application at a time. In DOS only one program can be on the screen at one point of time. 2. In DOS we have to remember commands. But in windows we have GUI to interact with the computer. 3. it is possible to transfer information between different applications in windows. And also helps to switch from one application to another. Windows has great capability in the behind-the-scenes running of your computer. Overall security has been improved, making it even safer for you to shop and browse on the Internet. You can also communicate with other people on other networks without worrying about compromising your privacy or your personal data files. Performance is at an all-time high, allowing you to use more programs and have them run faster than ever. Windows is dependable and stable, so you can always rely on the performance and effectiveness of your computer. Best of all, compatibility with other programs is better than ever. Windows has many features and tools that will make using your computer easy, effective, and entertaining. For example, you can use Remote Desktop to access your work computer and its resources from home, and to view files and documents on your computer's desktop from a co-worker's computer. With NetMeeting you can have virtual meetings with anyone, anywhere, and you can participate in discussions using audio, video, or chat. Getting help has never been easier: with Remote Assistance, you just send e-mail to your favorite computer expert or Help desk personnel and they can help you fix a problem from their location. Windows provides extensive online Help for all operating system features, as well as a digital tour to help you discover the possibilities awaiting you.

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Cyryx College Different versions of the windows operating systems: Windows95 Windows98 Windows2000 Windows NT Windows XP Windows Millennium

Types of windows - Application window: windows on which applications or programs are running. Sometimes called as parent windows. - Document window: mostly opened under application windows and are hence called as child windows. E.g. message boxes - Folder window: are opened while opening a folder. Some terms to be familiar with: Desktop: The first screen that appears when we first open the Windows OS. An user can start working from here. Initially it contains a set of icons arranged on the left and the task bar with the start button. Icons: small pictures or objects representing a file, a folder, a program or an application on the desktop. It acts as the short cut to the file. We can double click the picture and the application runs. The system icons are My Computer, network Neighborhood etc. My computer: one of the management tools available with windows. Can be used to locate folders, files etc on your computer drives. My documents: provides a convenient place to store documents, graphics, music, or any other files we might want to access quickly. Default save folder for paint, or word. Network neighborhood: a user can get system information and data from a neighbour system if it is connected in network. (Network interconnection of computers) Recycle bin: stores deleted files. To delete an item right click it and select delete. deleting item from recycle bin, restoring it. Task bar: primary tool on the desktop. It has a start button on the left side and a clock on the right side. It is also called as program launcher or program switcher. Start button is responsible for launching applications and opening documents. When we open a program or document, a button for it appears on the task bar. We can switch between these applications by just clicking on the task bar and hence it is called a program switcher. Shut down:(Alt+f4) Used to close all the opened windows and turn off the computer. If the shut down procedure is not followed, there is a risk of loosing data. 57

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Components of a window - Title bar, Minimize, Maximize, Close, Menu bar, Scroll bar, Scroll buttons Shortcut: provides an easy way to access documents and programs we use. Notepad: A small word processing program which is used to create or edit text files that do not require formatting and are smaller than 64KB (64*1024 bytes) WordPad: Small word processing program that can directly read the files created by Microsoft word. It existed before word. It is also used to create, edit or format text. MsPaint: Microsofts graphics program used to draw pictures

MULTIMEDIA: Multimedia is the use of several media (e.g. text, audio, graphics, animation, video) to convey information. Multimedia also refers to the use of computer technology to create, store, and experience multimedia content Technological Multimedia can be broadly divided into linear and non-linear. Linear, like a film, plays without any navigation control for the viewer. Non-linear offers interactivity. The various formats of technological or digital multimedia may be intended to enhance the viewer's experience, for example to make it easier and faster to convey information. Or in entertainment or art, to transcend everday experience.

VIRTUAL REALITY: Virtual reality (VR) is a technology which allows a user to interact with a computersimulated environment. Most virtual reality environments are primarily visual experiences, displayed either on a computer screen or through special stereoscopic displays, but some simulations include additional sensory information, such as sound through speakers or headphones. Some advanced and experimental systems have included limited tactile information, known as force feedback. The simulated environment can be similar to the real world, for example, simulations for pilot or combat training, or it can differ significantly from reality, as in VR games. In practice, it is currently very difficult to create a high-fidelity virtual reality experience, due largely to technical limitations on processing power, image resolution and communication bandwidth. However, those limitations are expected to eventually be overcome as processor, imaging and data communication technologies become more powerful and cost-effective over time. 58

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Useful applications of VR include training in a variety of areas (military, medical, equipment operation, etc.), education, design evaluation (virtual prototyping), architectural walk-through, human factors and ergonomic studies, simulation of assembly sequences and maintenance tasks, assistance for the handicapped, study and treatment of phobias (e.g., fear of height), entertainment, and much more.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: Artificial intelligence (abbreviated AI, also some times called Synthetic Intelligence) is defined as intelligence exhibited by an artificial entity. Such a system is generally assumed to be a computer. AI forms a vital branch of computer science, dealing with intelligent behavior, learning and adaptation in machines. Research in AI is concerned with producing machines to automate tasks requiring intelligent behavior. Examples include control, planning and scheduling, the ability to answer diagnostic and consumer questions, handwriting, speech, and facial recognition. As such, it has become an engineering discipline, focused on providing solutions to real life problems. AI systems are now in routine use in economics, medicine, engineering and the military, as well as being built into many common home computer software applications, traditional strategy games like computer chess and other video games. Applications of AI 1. Game playing You can buy machines that can play master level chess for a few hundred dollars. There is some AI in them, but they play well against people mainly through brute force computation--looking at hundreds of thousands of positions. 2. Speech recognition In the 1990s, computer speech recognition reached a practical level for limited purposes. Thus United Airlines has replaced its keyboard tree for flight information by a system using speech recognition of flight numbers and city names. It is quite convenient. On the other hand, while it is possible to instruct some computers using speech, most users have gone back to the keyboard and the mouse as still more convenient. 3. Understanding natural language Just getting a sequence of words into a computer is not enough. Parsing sentences is not enough either. The computer has to be provided with an understanding of the domain the text is about, and this is presently possible only for very limited domains. 4. Computer vision The world is composed of three-dimensional objects, but the inputs to the human eye and computers' TV cameras are two dimensional. Some useful programs can work solely in two dimensions, but full computer vision requires partial three59

Cyryx College dimensional information that is not just a set of two-dimensional views. At present there are only limited ways of representing three-dimensional information directly, and they are not as good as what humans evidently use. 5. Expert systems A ``knowledge engineer'' interviews experts in a certain domain and tries to embody their knowledge in a computer program for carrying out some task. How well this works depends on whether the intellectual mechanisms required for the task are within the present state of AI. When this turned out not to be so, there were many disappointing results. One of the first expert systems was MYCIN in 1974, which diagnosed bacterial infections of the blood and suggested treatments. It did better than medical students or practicing doctors, provided its limitations were observed. Namely, its ontology included bacteria, symptoms, and treatments and did not include patients, doctors, hospitals, death, recovery, and events occurring in time. Its interactions depended on a single patient being considered. Since the experts consulted by the knowledge engineers knew about patients, doctors, death, recovery, etc., it is clear that the knowledge engineers forced what the experts told them into a predetermined framework. In the present state of AI, this has to be true. The usefulness of current expert systems depends on their users having common sense. 6. Heuristic classification One of the most feasible kinds of expert system given the present knowledge of AI is to put some information in one of a fixed set of categories using several sources of information. An example is advising whether to accept a proposed credit card purchase. Information is available about the owner of the credit card, his record of payment and also about the item he is buying and about the establishment from which he is buying it (e.g., about whether there have been previous credit card frauds at this establishment).

COMPUTER VIRUS In computer security, a computer virus is a self-replicating computer program that spreads by inserting copies of itself into other executable code or documents. A computer virus behaves in a way similar to a biological virus, which spreads by inserting itself into living cells. Extending the analogy, the insertion of a virus into the program is termed as an "infection", and the infected file, or executable code that is not part of a file, is called a "host". Viruses are one of the several types of malicious software or malware. In common parlance, the term virus is often extended to refer to worms, Trojan horses and other sorts of malware; viruses in the narrow sense of the word are less common than they used to be, compared to other forms of malware. Anti-virus software, originally designed to protect computers from viruses, has in turn expanded to cover worms and other threats such as spy ware, identity theft and ad ware. Included in the many types of viruses are: 60

Cyryx College Trojan horses A Trojan horse is just a computer program. The program pretends to do one thing (like claim to be a picture) but actually does damage when one starts it (it can completely erase one's files). Trojan horses cannot replicate automatically. Worms A worm is a piece of software that uses computer networks and security flaws to create copies of itself. A copy of the worm will scan the network for any other machine that has a specific security flaw. It replicates itself to the new machine using the security flaw, and then starts replicating. E-mail viruses An e-mail virus will use an e-mail message as a mode of transport, and usually will copy itself by automatically mailing itself to hundreds of people in the victim's address book.

Anti-virus software and other countermeasures Many users install anti-virus software that can detect and eliminate known viruses after the computer downloads or runs the executable. They work by examining the contents of the computer's memory (its RAM, and boot sectors) and the files stored on fixed or removable drives (hard drives, floppy drives), and comparing those files against a database of known virus "signatures". Some anti-virus programs are able to scan opened files in addition to sent and received emails 'on the fly' in a similar manner. This practice is known as "on-access scanning." Anti-virus software does not change the underlying capability of host software to transmit viruses. There have been attempts to do this but adoption of such anti-virus solutions can void the warranty for the host software. Users must therefore update their software regularly to patch security holes. Anti-virus software also needs to be regularly updated in order to gain knowledge about the latest threats and hoaxes.

Malware: Malware is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system, without the owner's informed consent. Malware is commonly taken to include computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware and adware. Some general tips on avoiding virus infections: 1. Install anti-virus software from a well-known, reputable company, UPDATE it regularly, and USE it regularly. New viruses come out every single day; an a-v program that hasn't been updated for several months will not provide much protection against current viruses. 2. In addition to scanning for viruses on a regular basis, install an 'on access' scanner (included in most good a-v software packages) and configure it to start automatically 61

Cyryx College each time you boot your system. This will protect your system by checking for viruses each time your computer accesses an executable file. 3. Virus scans any new programs or other files that may contain executable code before you run or open them, no matter where they come from. There have been cases of commercially distributed floppy disks and CD-ROMs spreading virus infections. 4. Anti-virus programs aren't very good at detecting Trojan horse programs, so be extremely careful about opening binary files and Word/Excel documents from unknown or 'dubious' sources. This includes posts in binary newsgroups, downloads from web/ftp sites that aren't well-known or don't have a good reputation, and executable files unexpectedly received as attachments to E-mail or during an on-line chat session. 5. If your E-mail or news software has the ability to automatically execute JavaScript, Word macros, or other executable code contained in or attached to a message, I strongly recommend that you disable this feature. 6. Be _extremely_ careful about accepting programs or other files during on-line chat sessions: this seems to be one of the more common means that people wind up with virus or Trojan horse problems. And if any other family members (especially younger ones) use the computer, make sure they know not to accept any files while using chat. 7. Do regular backups. Some viruses and Trojan horse programs will erase or corrupt files on your hard drive and a recent backup may be the only way to recover your data. Ideally, you should back up your entire system on a regular basis. If this isn't practical, at least backup files that you can't afford to lose or that would be difficult to replace: documents, bookmark files, address books, important E-mail, etc.

COMPUTER NETWORK: Network: A network is a connection of computers. In a network there are computers called Servers to which the other computers are connected. The servers oversee the flow of data across the network. The computers which access the data from the server is called Client Machine. So a network is also called Client-Server Model. Types of Network: 1. PAN (Personal Area Network): A personal area network (PAN) is a computer network used for communication among computer devices (including telephones and personal digital assistants) close to one person. The devices may or may not belong to the person in question. The reach of a PAN is typically a few meters. PANs can be used for communication among the personal devices themselves (intrapersonal communication), or for connecting to a higher level network and the Internet. 62

Cyryx College 2. LAN (Local Area Network): A Local Area Network (LAN) is a computer network covering a small local area, like a home, office, or small group of buildings such as a home, office, or college. 3. MAN (Metropolitan Area Network): Metropolitan Area Networks or MANs are large computer networks usually spanning a campus or a city. They typically use wireless infrastructure or optical fiber connections to link their sites. For instance a university or college may have a MAN that joins together many of their local area networks (LANs) situated around site of a fraction of a square kilometer. Then from their MAN they could have several wide area network (WAN) links to other universities or the Internet. Specifically, this type of MAN is known as a campus area network. 4. WAN (Wide Area Network) A wide area network or WAN is a computer network covering a wide geographical area, involving a vast array of computers. This is different from personal area networks (PANs), metropolitan area networks (MANs) or local area networks (LANs, first invented by the US military during the cold war, the network was known as arpanet) that are usually limited to a room, building or campus. The most well-known example of a WAN is the Internet. WANs are used to connect local area networks (LANs) together, so that users and computers in one location can communicate with users and computers in other locations. 5. Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) - Wireless LANs, or WLANs, use radio frequency (RF) technology to transmit and receive data over the air. This minimizes the need for wired connections. WLANs give users mobility as they allow connection to a local area network without having to be physically connected by a cable. This freedom means users can access shared resources without looking for a place to plug in cables, provided that their terminals are mobile and within the designated network coverage area. With mobility, WLANs give flexibility and increased productivity, appealing to both entrepreneurs and to home users. WLANs may also enable network administrators to connect devices that may be physically difficult to reach with a cable. Client/Server Model

Client/server describes the relationship between two computer programs in which one program, the client, makes a service request from another program, the server, which 63

Cyryx College fulfills the request. Although the client/server idea can be used by programs within a single computer, it is a more important idea in a network. In a network, the client/server model provides a convenient way to interconnect programs that are distributed efficiently across different locations. Computer transactions using the client/server model are very common. For example, to check your bank account from your computer, a client program in your computer forwards your request to a server program at the bank. That program may in turn forward the request to its own client program that sends a request to a database server at another bank computer to retrieve your account balance. The balance is returned back to the bank data client, which in turn serves it back to the client in your personal computer, which displays the information for you. PROTOCOL: A protocol is a set of rules that governs the communications between computers on a network. These rules include guidelines that regulate the following characteristics of a network: access method, allowed physical topologies, types of cabling, and speed of data transfer. E.g., TCP, IP, Ethernet etc.

INTERNET: The Internet (also known simply as the Net) can be briefly understood as "a network of networks". The Internet is a computer network made up of thousands of networks worldwide. No one knows exactly how many computers are connected to the Internet. It is certain, however, that these number in the millions and are growing. No one is in charge of the Internet. There are organizations which develop technical aspects of this network and set standards for creating applications on it, but no governing body is in control. The Internet backbone, through which Internet traffic flows, is owned by private companies. All computers on the Internet communicate with one another using the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol suite, abbreviated to TCP/IP. Computers on the Internet use a client/server architecture. This means that the remote server machine provides files and services to the user's local client machine. Software can be installed on a client computer to take advantage of the latest access technology. Computers on the Internet may use one or all of the following Internet services:

Electronic mail (e-mail). Permits you to send and receive mail. Telnet or remote login. Permits your computer to log onto another computer and use it as if you were there. FTP or File Transfer Protocol. Allows your computer to rapidly retrieve complex files intact from a remote computer and view or save them on your computer. 64

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Gopher. An early, text-only method for accessing internet documents. Gopher has been almost entirely subsumed in the World Wide Web, but you may still find gopher documents linked to in web pages. The World Wide Web (WWW or "the Web"). The largest, fastest growing activity on the Internet.

World Wide Web: The WWW incorporates all of the Internet services above and much more. You can retrieve documents, view images, animation, and video, listen to sound files, speak and hear voice, and view programs that run on practically any software in the world, providing your computer has the hardware and software to do these things. When you log onto the Internet using Netscape or Microsoft's Internet Explorer or some other browser, you are viewing documents on the World Wide Web. The current foundation on which the WWW functions is the programming language called HTML. It is HTML and other programming imbedded within HTML that make possible Hypertext. Hypertext is the ability to have web pages containing links, which are areas in a page or buttons or graphics on which you can click your mouse button to retrieve another document into your computer. This "clickability" using Hypertext links is the feature which is unique and revolutionary about the Web. How do hypertext links work? Every document or file or site or movie or sound file or anything you find on the Web has a unique URL (uniform resource locator) that identifies what computer the thing is on, where it is within that computer, and its specific file name. Every Hypertext link on every web page in the world contains one of the URLs. When you click on a link of any kind on a Web page, you send a request to retrieve the unique document on some computer in the world that is uniquely identified by that URL. URLs are like addresses of web pages. A whole cluster of internationally accepted standards (such as TCP/IP and HTML) make possible this global information retrieval phenomenon that transcends all political and language boundaries. Contrary to some common usage, the Internet and the World Wide Web are not synonymous: the Internet is a collection of interconnected computer networks, linked by copper wires, fiber-optic cables, wireless connections etc.; the Web is a collection of interconnected documents, linked by hyperlinks and URLs. The World Wide Web is accessible via the Internet, along with many other services including e-mail, file sharing and others described below. Browsers: A Web browser is a software application that enables a user to display and interact with text, images, and other information typically located on a web page at a website on the World Wide Web or a local area network. Text and images on a web page can contain hyperlinks to other web pages at the same or different websites. Web browsers allow a user to quickly and easily access information provided on many web pages at many 65

Cyryx College websites by traversing these links. Popular browsers available for personal computers include Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Opera, Netscape, and Apple Safari. Web Page: A single Web document. Everything you can see in your browser window at one time (including what you can see by scrolling) makes up one Web page. Web Site: A collection of Web pages on the World Wide Web having to do with

a particular topic or organization. Yahoo, for example, is a Web site

Internet Service Providers: An internet service provider (abbr. ISP, also called Internet access provider or IAP) is a business or organization that offers users access to the Internet and related services. In the past, most ISP's were run by the phone company. Now ISP's can be started by just about anyone. They provide services such as Internet transit, domain name registration and hosting, dial-up or DSL access, leased line access and collocation. Generally, an ISP charges a monthly access fee to the consumer. The consumer then has access to the Internet, although the speed at which this data is transferred varies widely. Internet connection speed can generally be divided into two categories: dialup and broadband. Dialup connections require the use of a phone line, and usually have connections of 56 kbit/s or less. Broadband connections can be either ISDN, Broadband wireless access, Cable modem, DSL, Fiber Optics, Satellite or Ethernet. Broadband is always on (except ISDN that is a circuit switching technology), and varies in speed between 64 Kb and 20 Mb per second or more. TCP/IP Protocol:
The computers of the Internet exchange packets of information using addresses that have much in common with ordinary mail addresses. These addresses are called Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. How is such efficient communication possible? Well, there are two big advantages that the computers on the Internet have over our hypothetical natives of different cultures and countries. The first is that the computers of the Internet are in reasonably constant contact with each other over a set of telephone lines, transoceanic cables, satellite links, and so on that allow rapid transfer of electronic information. The second is that the computers of the Internet have agreed to a common set of understandings that allows them to exchange vast amounts of information even though internally they may speak very different computer languages. These communications are possible because of a set of protocols, which is a fancy word for mutually agreed-upon rules about exactly how information will be transferred between the computers of the Internet. The two most important protocols that allow networks to cooperate with one another and exchange information are called TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and IP (Internet Protocol). Collectively, these two protocols are often referred to as TCP/IP.

Domain Name - The term domain name has multiple meanings, all related to the: 66

Cyryx College a name that is entered into a computer (e.g. as part of a Web site or other URL, or an e-mail address) and then looked up in the global Domain Name System which informs the computer of the IP address(es) with that name. the product that registrars provide to their customers. a name looked up in the DNS for other purposes.

The following example illustrates the difference between a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) and a domain name: URL: http://www.example.com/ Domain name: example.com

What was ARPANET? ARPANET stands for Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) Network. The network was developed in 1969 by ARPA and funded by the Department of Defense. The network was chiefly experimental, and was used to research, develop and test networking technologies. The original network connected four host computers at four separate universities throughout the United States, enabling users to share resources and information. By 1972, there were 37 host computers connected to ARPANET. Also in this year, ARPA's name was changed to DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). In 1973, ARPANET went beyond the boundaries of the United States by making its first international connections to England and Norway. One goal of ARPANET was to devise a network that would still be operational if part of the network failed. The research in this area resulted in a set of networking rules, or protocols, called TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). ARPANET functioned as a "backbone" network - allowing smaller local networks to connect to the backbone. Once these smaller networks were connected to the backbone,

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Cyryx College they were in effect connected to each other.

In 1983, DARPA decided that TCP/IP would be the standard set of protocols used by computers connecting to ARPANET. This meant that any smaller networks (for example, a university network) that wanted to connect to ARPANET also had to be using TCP/IP. TCP/IP was available for free and was increasingly used by networks. The spread of TCP/IP helped create the Internet as we know it today - the network of networks that either use the TCP/IP protocols, or can interact with TCP/IP networks.

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