Introduction to

Computers
Instructor: Nisar Ahmed
What is Input?
 Any data or instruction entered into
computer
 Two types of input
 Data
 Instructions
Data
 Collection of raw, unprocessed facts,
figures
 Also includes sound, images & video
 Once data is input, the computer
processes it and converts into information.
 Information is the organized, meaningful &
useful data
Instructions:
 Instructions are the commands we input in
order to make computer know our
requirements
 Can be in the form of programs,
commands and user responses
Program
 Series of instructions that tell a computer how to
perform data processing

Command
 A single instruction given to computer program
 Can be issued by typing, clicking, speaking etc

Response
 Instruction issued by replying a question
 Input

Data Instruction

Text Sound Program Command

Images Response
What are input devices?
 Hardware component that allows to enter
data, programs, commands and user
responses into computer
 Type of input device depends on the type
of input being applied
The Keyboard - Standard Keyboard Layout

• A standard computer keyboard has about 100 keys.

• Most keyboards use the QWERTY layout, named for

the first six keys in the top row of letters.
The Keyboard - Standard Keyboard Layout

Most keyboards have keys arranged in five groups:

1. Alphanumeric keys

2. Numeric keypad

3. Function keys

4. Modifier keys

5. Cursor-movement keys
 ACADEMIC RECORDS
Password * * * * *
ENTER Invalid Password

Status Lights
The Keyboard - Ergonomic Keyboards

• Long periods of keyboard use can cause injuries,

called RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury)

• An ergonomically correct keyboard can help avoid

injuries.

• You also can avoid injuries by adopting correct

keyboarding practices.
The Keyboard - How a Keyboard Works

When you press a key:

• The keyboard controller detects the keystroke.

• The controller places a scan code in the keyboard

buffer, indicating which key was pressed.

• The keyboard sends the computer an interrupt

request, telling the CPU to accept the keystroke.
The Mouse
• What is a Mouse?

• Mouse Techniques
The Mouse - What is a Mouse?

• The mouse is a pointing device. You use it to

move a graphical pointer on the screen.

• The mouse can be used to issue commands, draw,

and perform other types of input tasks.
The Mouse - Mouse Techniques
Using the mouse involves five techniques:
1. Pointing; Move the mouse to move the on-screen
pointer.

2. Clicking; Press and release the left mouse button

once.

3. Double-clicking; Press and release the left mouse

button twice.

4. Dragging; Hold down the left mouse button as you

move the pointer.

5. Right-clicking; Press and release the right mouse

button.
Variants of the Mouse

• Trackballs

• Trackpads

• Integrated Pointed Devices

Variants of the Mouse - Trackballs

• A trackball is like a mouse turned upside-down.

• Use your thumb to move the exposed ball and your

fingers to press the buttons.

Many styles of
trackball are
available.
Variants of the Mouse - Trackpads
• A trackpad is a touch-sensitive pad that provides the
same functionality as a mouse.

• To use a trackpad, you glide your finger across its

surface.

• Trackpads provide a set of buttons that function like

mouse buttons.
Multiple Button Mouse
Track Ball
Wheel Mouse
Touch pad
 Pointing Devices
 Pointing Stick
 Pressure sensitive pointing device,
shaped like a pencil eraser
 It is positioned between keys on
the keyboard
 Movement is controlled by pushing
the stick in desired direction
Advantages
 Doesn’t need additional desk space
 Doesn’t require cleaning like mouse &
track ball

Disadvantages
 Doesn’t provide good control than mouse
& trackball.
Joysticks and Wheels
 Primarily used for game
playing
 Joystick is a vertical lever
mounted on a base
 Movement is controlled by
moving the lever in desired
directions
 Buttons are also provided
called Triggers
 Pressing buttons activates
some certain commands
Wheels
 A steering wheel type
input device used to play
car racing games
 Most wheels also include
foot pedals for
acceleration and braking
actions
 Both joysticks and wheels
are attached via a cable
to the game port on a
sound card, or to a USB
port
Light Pen
 Handheld device containing a light source or a
light sensor
 To select an object on the screen, press the light
pen against the surface of the screen or press a
button on the pen
 Primarily used in areas where employee’s hands
might contain food, dirt, grease or other
chemicals that could damage the computer
 Also ideal for areas where limited desk space is
available
Touch screen
 A touch sensitive input device
 Input is given by touching
screen areas with finger
 Commands are only given by
pressing a specific button on
the screen
 Primarily used where large
amount of data are not
required, e.g. ATM Machines
 There is touch screen device
in University, Can you guess
it?
Stylus
 Pen like input device,
commonly used by
architects, map-
makers, artists &
designers
 Unlike light pen,
stylus can be used to
enter data, i.e. words
 Stylus uses pressure to input text &
graphics into a graphics tablet
 Graphics table also called Digitizer) is
a flat, rectangular electronic plastic
board which senses the movement of
stylus & converts it into signals
 Handwriting recognition software are
used to recognize the input data
 Can also be used to sign emails &
other documents, called e-signature
 e-signature is as legal as ink sign
Voice Input
 Process of entering data by speaking into
a mic
 In order to enter voice data, computer
must have a voice recognition software
 Voice recognition uses vocabulary of
words to match the input words
Audio Input
 It includes speech, music and sound effects
 Audio input can be given by tape, mic, CD-
player, all plugged into sound card
 A mic is a transducer, which converts one form
of energy into other. A mic converts sound
signals into electronic signals
 It contains piezo crystal, which outputs voltage
for a disturbing pressure.
 Popular formats of audio files are .wav, .midi,
.mp3 etc
digital Camera
 Allows to take pictures and store the
photos digitally
 Uses floppy, compact flash cards, mini
CD, memory sticks & other devices to
store photos
 More expensive cameras use higher
capacity devices
operation of Digital Camera
 Focus camera to image

 Light passes into the lens of the camera and

image is focused on a chip called CCD
 CCD generates analog signal, representing the image
 Analog signal is converted into digital by ADC
 DSP processor adjusts the quality of image & stores it on
storage media
 Images are transferred via cable to PC
 Using software images can be viewed, edited, printed etc

CCD ADC DSP

Before you buy a camera
 Resolution:
 Describes the sharpness and clearness of image.
 Higher resolution, higher will be the quality and higher the cost
 It is specified in Pixels
Picture Element
a single point in the image
 Greater the number of pixels, higher the quality
 1 Mega Pixels = good for screen display like web, emails
 2 Mega Pixels = good for printing, about 5X7” size
 3 Mega Pixels = as good as film roll cameras
DPI ( dots per inch)
 Some manufactures use dpi to determine
resolution
 It is number of pixels per inch of screen display
 Greater the dpi higher the resolution
For example 1600X1200dpi means:

1600 pixels

1200 pixels
 If only one number specifies resolution, then
both vertical and horizontal axis have same
number of pixels, e.g. 1200dpi means: 600X600
 By adjusting dpi, we can save memory
 Lower dpi means greater the number of pics and
vice versa
 Finally: greater the number of bits to store one
dot, higher the resolution, e.g. B&W camera
usually have 1 bit for one dot
 Color camera have at least 24 bits for one dot
VideoInput

 Process of entering full motion recording

 As video signals are in analog form, they
must be converted into digital form
 A video capture card is an expansion card
which converts analog signals into digital
DVCamera
 Digital Video camera records video as digital
signals instead of analog signals, therefore no
need of video capture card
 Just plug DV camera into parallel/USB port
 Can also take still images
 Video files take huge amount of storage space,
e.g. 3 minute clip of high quality video takes 1GB
which is equal to 50Million text pages
 Therefore video files are compressed by
eliminating images that are similar
PC Video Camera
 A DV camera that allows home users to record, edit and
capture video and still images
WEB Cam
 PC Video camera, the output is shown on a web page
 Generally used to show work in progress, special events
 Web sites having live web cams show still images, which
are updated after a regular time interval, e.g. 30 seconds
 Streaming cams show moving images by sending a
continual stream of pics
Video Conferencing
 A meeting between two or more
geographically separated people using a
network/internet to transmit audio/video
data
 A video cam, mic and speaker and a
network connection are required
Scanners and Reading Device
 Used to eliminate manual entry of data
i.e. there is no need of typing or speaking into
computer
 These devices capture data from a source
document, e.g. invoices, photos or any other
document containing data to be processed
Types of scanners/reading device

 Optical scanners
 OCR
 OMR
 Bar Code Readers
 MICR
Optical Scanners
 Also called scanner
 It is a light sensing input device that reads printed texts,
and graphics, and then translates them into a form the
computer can understand
 Type of Scanners
 Flatbed
Works like a copier machine, difference is that it creates a
soft copy rather than hard copy
Once a document is scanned it can be manipulated by
displaying it on screen, storing in memory, printing it,
fax, email etc
Pen or handheld
 Move pen over text to be scanned
 Ideal for mobile users, students,
researchers
Sheet Feed
 Item is pulled into a stationary
scanning mechanism( just like
fax machine)
 Smaller and less expensive
than flatbed
Drum
 Item rotates around a stationary rotating
mechanism
 Very large and expensive
 Used in publishing industry
 Many scanners also include OCR software
Which can read and convert many types of text
documents into softcopy
Currently OCR has 99% success rate, but it only
recognizes printed/typed documents
Optical Readers
 Device which uses a light source to read
characters, marks and codes
 It then converts them into digital data
 3 types of optical readers:
 OCR
 OMR
 MICR
Optical Character Recognition
 Reads typed/computer printed characters
 Most OCR include a small optical scanner
for reading characters
 There are large machines that can read
thousand of pages per minute
 These read characters using an OCR font.
Most famous is OCR-A font
OCR-A Font
 OCR device determines the shapes of
characters by detecting pattern of light and
dark
 OCR software then compares these
shapes with pre-determined shapes stored
in memory, and converts into characters
computer can understand.
 Particularly used in turn around
documents, e.g. bills
OMR (Optical Mark Recognition)
 Reads hand written marks,such as small circles
or rectangles
 Commonly used in MCQ type test, surveying,
questionnaire answer sheet etc.
 It first reads answer key sheet to record correct
answers based on the patterns of light,then it
reads remaining documents and matches their
patterns of light against the answer key sheet.
BAR Code Scanner
 Uses laser beam to read bar codes
 A bar code is an identification code that
consists of vertical lines and spaces of
different widths
 It is used to identify manufacturer, item
type and type of the product
Type of product
Item number
Manufacturer ID
MICR (Magnetic Ink Character
Recognition Reader)
 Reads text printed with magnetic ink
 Mostly used in bank check books
 The code on check represents bank
number, check number and account
number
 MICR are standardized by international
banks for standard fonts