A Quick Guide to Computers

Unit 1

An electronic device that inputs,

processes data and outputs
information

COMPUTER
Computers are differentiated
according to the principle of
operation COMPUTER TYPES

Digital computers

Analogue computers

Digital computer operates on

Analog Computer is a
discreet values or digital data
computing device that works on
such as numbers
continuous range of values

Digital computers
Computers are classified

Types of Computers Quick Guide to

according to Physical size,
Computers
Storagefor beginners
capacity and processing| 1
speed
based on Configuration
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Micro Computers
 PDA’s
Supercomputer  Laptops
Pleiades Super computer; Source: [Link]  Cellphones

Mini
 Server

Mini computers are lower to

Super computers are the best in mainframe computers in terms
terms of processing speed,
of speed and storage capacity
storage capacity and also the
most expensive ones. These
computers can process billions
Mainframe computers can also
of instructions per second.
process data at very high speeds i.e., Micro Computers have lower
hundreds of million instructions per processing power and less
second and they are also quite
storage capacity as compared to
expensive. Normally, they are used in
other types.
banking, airlines and railways etc for
their applications. Process billions of
instructions per second.

Elements of a Computer

A computer is made up of two main

components. The Hardware and the
Software

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Software

Hardware is physical or tangible part of a computer system.

Hardware components can be seen and touched. Some basic
hardware components include motherboard, Ram Rom, CPU,
Hard drives, etc.

Software is program that runs the computer system. The

term program refers to a set of instructions written by a
programmer.

Data and
Information
Data: all raw facts and figures that a computer has to
process. Data by itself has no meaning. Data can be in a form
of letters,(A, B , D, a , b, X, G), numbers (1,2 3 5 ) or images.

Information: these are processed facts or when a meaning is

attached to data. For example Red, Amber and Green colors
in a traffic light have been assigned meaning to them.

Traffic light

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Data Information
 Raw facts or figure  Processed data
 Less/no meaning attached  Meaning attached
 Is an input  Is an output

Data Processing

Processing data to get information, it involves having stages, the computers should
input data, process it and output processed data to give information. Processed data is
also stored during or after processing.

Input Process Output

Storage
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Cement + Water + Sand Inputs

Output

Processing by mixing
cement, water and sand Process

INPUT DEVICES

An input device is a physical component of a computer that allows data to be entered

into the computer. There are two ways in which data can be entered into the computer.
The manual or an automated data input.

Input Devices

Manual Input Device

Direct Input Device
Examples

Key board OCR

Mouse MICR
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Touch Screen

Manual Input Devices They require a person to

operate them

KEYBOARD- a device that allows a person to enter

data (symbols like letters and numbers) into
a computer. It is the mostly used and the main input
device for most of computers.

There are different types of keyboards. The most

popular type used is the QWERTY design. QWERTY is the
first 6 letters on the upper row of letters on the
keyboard.

MOUSE: an input device that is most often used with a

personal computer. It controls the movement of the
cursor or pointer on a display screen.

A mouse has two buttons, the

Left click and the Right click.

Most commonly used click is the

Left click.
Right click

TOUCH SCREEN: Left Click

A touch screen is a computer display screen that is also an
input device. The user interacts with the computer by
touching pictures or words on the screen.

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 Touchpad: used in laptops as pointing device, where the user moves the finger
on the touchpad and then gentle tap it.

 Trackball: similar to mouse except that the ball is on top of the device and the
user controls the pointer on screen by rotating the ball with the hand.

 Joystick: mostly used in game playing and flight simulators to mimic the actual
control.

Graphic Tablets: used

stylus with to produce
freehand drawings.

Microphone: used for

voice and speech
recognition. It inputs voice into the
computer.

Direct/Automated Input Device These are automated input

devices; Data is entered
without the aid of a human
being
Optic Character Reader (OCR): An automated
device which reads printed or
hand written text and convert it into a computer format. It lets
you convert images and characters in character codes.

OCR is used for scanning documents that they can be modified

using a word processor or desktop publishing package. (e.g Passport or
photos)

Barcode reader

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A barcode reader is used to read data from a barcode (illustrated on the right). Used in
supermarkets and other shops or used in libraries to scan library cards and barcodes on
books.

Barcode reader Barcode

Optical Mark Reader

An automated device which reads marks written in pen or pencil and convert it into a
computer format. Examples; used to read multiple choice examination papers.

The forms used in OMR have to be carefully designed to make sure

that the shading/ mark are correctly positioned to get accurate
data.

Magnetic Ink Character Reader (MICR)

The MICR only recognises numbers printed in a
standard font written in magnetic ink format.
Used in banks to processes millions of cheques.
These devices will make the processing of cheque
be done quickly.

Exam tips

Fill in the blanks

The most commonly used input devices are _____________________and the ________________. A
___________________is used to control the movement of the cursor on the screen. Another
device similar device used to control the movement is______________________ but mostly used
for playing games. ______________is used in supermarkets and other shops to scan barcodes.
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MICR and OCR are categorized as ______________________ input devices whereby MICR is used
mostly in ______________ to capture only _______________________font written in magnetic ink.

Central Processing Unit

The CPU (Central Processing Unit) is the part of a

computer system that is commonly referred to as the
"brain" of a computer. The CPU is also known as the processor or microprocessor.

The CPU is where all the searching, sorting,

calculating and decision making takes place.

The speed of a computer is measured in Hertz as

the smallest unit. Current CPU’s are running at
the speed of 3.5GHZ.

There are three main components in a CPU,

namely

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 Control Unit
 Arithmetic Logic Unit
 Immediate Access Store(registers)

The Control Unit

It controls and monitors the hardware attached to the system, thus the input and
Output devices and it also controls the flow of data within the CPU.

The Immediate Access Store

It is also called internal storage; this component is

Used to hold both the data being processed and

programs running on the system.

Arithmetic and Logic Unit

The arithmetic-logic unit (ALU) performs all arithmetic
operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and
division) and logic operations.
Arithmetic part - performs the calculations on the data
e.g. 3 + 2 = 5

Logic part - Logic operations test various conditions

encountered during processing and allow for different actions to be taken based on the
results. For example, it works out if one value is
greater, less than or equal to another. ---

(if number < 0 then

negative = negative + 1)

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1. Exercise 2
These are hardware
2. List the main components of the central processing unit.
components
3. For each of the named component in responsible
1, explain for its function.
4. What is the unit used to measure the speed of computer
displaying information
processing.
5. For the components of the CPU state which one can be used to do the
following tasks:
(i) controls the flow of data within the CPU
(ii)Process data
(iii)store the results being processed

Output Devices

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Information is displayed in two ways, as a softcopy or as a hardcopy. Softcopy is the

display of information through the monitor or speaker while Hardcopy is whereby the
output is printed out.

Output

Information printed out through

the printer
Information displayed on the
screen

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Monitors

The most common output device is the monitor or VDU. Monitors will display data or
information as softcopy.

The picture on the screen is made up of

tiny dots called pixels. The quality and
detail of the picture depends on the
number of pixels that the monitor can
display.

The higher the number of pixels, the

better quality the output.

The size of the screen is measured in inches; to measure the screen it has to be
measured diagonally.

There are two types of monitors,

namely, the Cathode Ray Tube (CRT),
Liquid Crystal Display (LCD).

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Cathode Ray Tube

CRT monitors are large and bulky and have a glass screen. A beam of light is projected
on the screen to produce an image. They produce quite a lot of heat so when you have
a lot of when in use.

ADVANTAGES OF CRT (Pros of CRT, Cons of LCD

Factor Pros of LCD Cons of CRT

Response have a very fast response rate Have lower response rate
rate

Viewing Have wide viewing angle Narrow viewing angle

angle

Liquid Crystal Display

LCD monitors are vastly slimmer. Liquid crystal displays are
commonly used in laptops and fast becoming popular as desktop
monitors. This is because of their size which light and slim, they
weigh less than the CRT’s, they emit less heat and
electromagnetic radiation.

ADVANTAGES OF LCD (Pros of LCD, Cons of CRT) LCD monitor

Factor Pros of LCD Cons of CRT

Radiation
LCDs emit a very small amount of radiation CRTs emit electromagnetic radiation

compared to CRTs.

Weight LCDs are very light, hence being portable. CRTs weigh heavier, especially in their front (the display

area)

Power Considerably lower power usage. Higher power usage

Requirements
Refresh Rate
(Screen They provide a flicker free image every time All CRTs require 75hz flicker free image
Flicker)

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Printers
Besides the monitor, the printer is another important device
you must have for producing outputs. Printers will display
data or information as a permanent hardcopy.

There are two types of printers, namely, impact and non-

impact printers.

Impact printer
This refers to a class of printers that work by banging a head or needle against an ink
ribbon to make a mark on the paper. This includes dot-matrix printers, plotters, and
line printers.

Dot matrix printers

These type of printer
useful when carbon
copies or duplicates
need to be made,
such as for wage slips.

Plotters
A plotter can be used to produce high
quality drawings. They are usually used for
Computer Aided Design (CAD) and
Computer Aided Manufacture (CAM)
applications, such as printing out plans for
houses or car parts.

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Non-impact printer
This type of printers does not operate by striking a head against a ribbon. Examples of
non-impact printers include laser and ink-jet printers

Laser printers are quite expensive to buy and run but produce a high quality output and
are quiet and fast.

Ink-jet printers offer black and white or colour

printing with reduced levels of quality and speed.

Colour ink jet printers are cheaper to buy than

colour laser printers.

Laser vs. Inkjet (Differences)

Feature LaserJet Inkjet

Printing Speed Fast Slow

Text quality printout Very Good Less precise

Photo printing Not quite good Very Good

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Supplies Use Toner cartridges Use ink cartridges

Price Relatively High Relatively cheap

Exam tips

1. A hardware store bought a laser printer for the office and a dot matrix printer for the sales checkout point.
Explain why these printers are suited to the areas to which they have been allocated.
2. (i) Name the type of display technology used in a laptop?
(ii) State the reason for using this type of display technology.
3. Differentiate between the following:
i. Impact printers and Non-Impact Printers
ii. Inkjet and Dot Matrix Printers

Storage

Secondary Storage
Primary Storage

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Main Memory Magnetic Storage
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Optical Storage
ROM

RAM

The Mother board- provide s memory and

secondary store slots
Primary Storage

ROM
RAM
Primary storage is commonly known as the main memory. It accepts data from the CPU
during processing. The Main memory is physically located close to the CPU to speed up
access time

There are two main types of

main memory. Random
Access Memory (RAM) and
Read Only Memory (ROM).

Random Access Memory

RAM is used to hold
programs and data while the
computer is switched on.
Instructions or data are

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stored temporarily in RAM. It looses its contents when the computer is switched off. It
is called volatile.

The RAM size is determines the size and

complexity of problems that a computer can
handle. The capacity of RAM determines the
system performance. The larger the
capacity, many operations can be handled at
a high speed.

Market size is, 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB etc.

There are also different versions of RAM such as, SD-RAM, DRAM or DDRAM, EDO.

RAM

SD RAM DRAM EDO

 SD RAM – Synchronous Dynamic RAM

 DRAM – Dynamic RAM, (DDRI,DDRII,DDRIII)
 EDO – Extended Data Out

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Read Only Memory

This is a memory chip onto which instructions are written at the time of its
manufacture. ROM instructions are permanently
stored and ROM chip are instructions are non-
volatile, which means if power is interrupted, the
contents remain unchanged

ROM chip are used to hold startup instructions

which are used for loading operating system
programs.

Today’s technology allows ROM chip memories to be actually erased and

reprogrammed.

Types of ROM

EPROM
ROM
PROM
EPROM – Erasable and Programmable ROM

PROM – Programmable ROM

ROM VS RAM deference’s

ROM RAM
 Does not looses its contents when  Looses its contents when switched
switched off off

 Cannot be erased  Can be erased/altered

 Non Volatile  Volatile

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Secondary Storage

Secondary storage devices are used to hold data/information mostly for backup
purposes. Backing store memory (secondary storage) holds data/Information not
currently in-use. These data or programs stored in backing store have to be transferred
to the main memory before it can be processed by the CPU.

What are the uses of backing storage devices?

 Hold data large data files

 Hold programs not currently used
 Hold data stored for either long time or short time.

What differentiates main memory and Backing Store?

 Storage Capacity- the amount in which data can be held. Storage capacity is
measured in terms of number of bits that can be stored.
o A bit is the smallest unit of data.
o 8 Bits = 1byte, 1024 bits = 1kilobyte,i.e. 1000, 1megabytes
=1048576, i.e. million -1024X1024

Secondary storage devices can be categorized as an optical or magnetic media .

Secondary
Storage

Magnetic Devices
Optical Devices

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Magnetic Storage

Hard disk

The hard disk is attached inside the computer

processing case. These disks spin extremely fast
(typically at either 5400 or 7200 RPM) so that data
can be accessed immediately from anywhere on the
drive. Hard disks provide direct access that’s why it
they can locate data in any location of the disk within
the shortest period of time.
Hard disk slot

Magnetic Tape: large organizations which tend to back up their data use magnetic
tapes to save their data. Tapes have large storage capacity
which can store over 100GB

To Access data on tapes, Serial or Sequential methods are

used. (go to Chapter…. To read more on file organization)

Floppy disks are one of the oldest

types of portable storage devices still in use and a floppy disk
can store up to 1.44 Mb of data. Floppy disks are gradually
becoming obsolete.

Computer manufactures have now started building their PC’s

without a floppy disk drive.

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Optical Storage
Compact Disk-CD’s

CD’s have large storage capacity as compared to a

number of floppy disks; a typical CD can store data
at
Disadvantages of Floppy Disks
up
to  All disks must be formatted before data can be written to the disk
 They have limited storage capacity(1.44mb)

700MB which is equivalent to 450 floppy disks. CD’s come into two main forms, CD –
ROM and CD-RW.

CD –ROM: CD Read Only Memory. Data has

been written once and cannot be re-written

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to it. When you buy a music CD, data has already been stored on the disk, you can read
it but you cannot write on it.

CD-RW - CD Re-Writable. You can save data to your disk over and over again. That
means you can erase data saved on the disk and rewrite your work on it again.

Digital Versatile Disk: A DVD is similar to a CD in that it is an optical device. DVD’s

can hold data about 4.7 GB for a single sided and about 9GB for a double sided (Both
side). Double sided DVD’s are not quite common. As well as CD’s,
DVD’s come into different forms, but the most common forms are
DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R

CD’s vs. DVD’s (Pros and Cons)

CD’s DVD’s

Storage Capacity  Small( about 700MB)  Very Large( about 4.7GB)

Accessibility  Data can be read both in CD  Data cannot be read in CD

and DVD drivers drivers

Flash memory storage (memory stick): flash disk has become one of the
popular backing devices at homes. There are typically small,
lightweight, removable and rewritable devices available in
the form of about to 16GB memory.

Primary vs. Secondary

storage (Differences)  DVDs do not work
in CD drives but
Primary Storage Secondary Storage  CDs do work on
DVD drives

 Small storage capacity  Very Large capacity

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 Very quick to access data  Delay in accessing data

 Internal memory  Backup memory

 Cannot be moved from one  Moved from one computer to another

computer to other

Exam tips

a. Describe three advantages of installing graphical software package to a CD- ROM rather than
from floppy disc.
b. Give two differences between Random Access Memory and Read Only Memory
c. What are the drawbacks of having floppy disk compared to of Compact Disk’s?
d. Estimate the storage capacity of the following devices:
 Digital Versatile Disk
 Compact Disk
 Floppy Disk
 Your Memory stick

e. State the type of file access which is used in tapes.

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Unit 2
Programs that run the
computer

Software

Application
System
General Applications

Utility Programs
Custom Applications
What is software?

 Operating System
Programs that run the computer.
 Programs refer to a set of instruction, therefore software are set of instructions
that run the computer. Specialized
Applications
There are two man types of software, the system software and the application
software. These two types perform different task in the computer.

System Software

System software is a program designed to coordinate,

control and operate the operation of the computer. This
program is installed in the computer as the main
program to run the computer.

A BIOS System program

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This program comes into two parts, the operating program and the utility program.

Operating system

An operating system or OS is a software program that

enables the computer hardware to communicate and operate with the computer
software. Without a computer operating system, a computer and software programs
would be useless. This is the first program after BIOS system which is seen loading on
the screen when the computer is switched on.

Examples are Apple Macintosh, Linux, Window

family such as WindowsComputer Starting Windows
Xp, Windows OS
7, Windows
8, Solaris, Android, Linux, UNIX, Disk Operating
System (DOS) etc.

Mobile operating system

A mobile operating system, also called a mobile OS,

is an operating system that is specifically designed
to run on mobile devices such as mobile phones,
smartphones, PDAs, tablet computers and other
handheld devices.

The Main Functions of Operating System Windows Phone OS

 Provides the user with an interface

o Allows the user to interact with the computer.
There are three different ways in which the user
can interact with the computer,(Graphical User
Interface, Command line Interface, menu driven
Interface).
 Manages the allocation of memory
o The system manages how memory usage can
be used in the computer. E,g deciding where
to store a particular file or how much store
capacity can be used.

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 Maintains security to the computer

o Restricts unauthorized access into the
computer as well as giving rights on how to
access the computer.

 Manages the loading and installation of files

o It manages the flow of data form devices in
the computer and how programs should be
installed.

 Enable error reporting

o The system reports exceptional errors made
during processing. There are different types
of errors that are reported. E.g System error.

Types of Operating system

Computer operating systems are categorized according to

the number of users they can handle as well as the way data processing is done.

Multi-user - A multi-user operating system allows for multiple

users to use the same computer at the same time and at
different times.

Single User- allows for one user to use the same computer Users accessing one computer
(server)

Multitasking - An operating system that is capable of

allowing multiple software processes to run at the same
time.

Single-task- An operating system that is capable of

allowing one program to run a time. Our first to second

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generation of our cellphones only allowed one program at a time. E.g the user cannot
access “messages” and go to “contacts” at the same time.

Multiprocessing Systems- An operating system capable of supporting and utilizing

more than one computer processor. E,g dual core, Quad core processors

Processing Methods
Real Time processing

Real-time systems are one that accepts data, process them and give feedback
immediately. Medical diagnoses systems, missile launch systems; flight simulators use
this type of processing system.

Transaction processing

In a transaction process, the system responds to commands as

soon as you enter them. Like real time systems, transaction
systems responds to inputs immediately but a delay in the
output does not affect the process.

Electronic point of sale (EPOS), online ticket booking, Automatic

teller machines for banks are examples of transaction
processing.

Batch processing

This is whereby jobs are captured and stored up during working

hours and then executed at once during the evening or whenever the computer is
idling. Note that batch processing implies that there is no interaction with the user
while the program is being executed.

Cheques directly deposited at the bank

will be captured first; then later
processed in the evening.

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A cheque deposit through an Automated teller Machine(ATM)

Utility Programs

These are programs that support the functionality of the operating

systems by carrying out routine tasks needed by the user.

These programs are installed as the operating system is installed. Some

programs are installed after an operating system has been installed.

Examples of the of Utility Programs

Note: These programs are not only limited

to the following

 Anti-virus program
 Backup systems
 Disk Defragmentation
 System restore
 Disk recovery

User Interfaces

This is the way the computer

interacts with the user. The interface
controls the way data is entered and
presented on the monitor.

Interface is what you see when you switch

on the computer.

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There are three main types of interfaces:

– Command line Interface (CLI)

– Menu driven interface (MDI)

– Graphical User interface (GUI)

Command Line Interface

In a command line interface, commands

are typed at the command prompt for
them to be executed.

These typed commands are written in

abbreviated form.

e.g Start Command prompt> type dir to list

items in the folder.

Examples of Operating systems

Disk Operating System (DOS) ,Unix, Linux

Advantages of CLI Disadvantages of CLI

 Occupies less computer  User has to always memorize
memory commands
 Issues commands quickly  Commands are different for
operating systems

Menu Driven Interface

In a menu driven interface, the user interacts with the computer by selecting choices
on presented on the screen.

Users make a selection using a mouse or a keyboard.

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Menus are categories into:

Pull down/up: menu which appear below the menu bar when it is
selected

Full screen: menu which covers

up most of the screen.

Examples: widows systems uses menu driven

interface

Advantages of MDI Disadvantages of MDI

 There is no need to remember  Slow to process as users has to
the commands. go through a series of menu
screens
 Issues commands quickly as
they are all displayed

Graphical User Interface

A graphical user interface provides the way
for the user to communicate with the
computer through pictures (icons) and pull
down menus.

The mostly type of GUI is WIMP, which stand

for windows, icons, menus and pointers.

Examples: Windows systems, Apple Macintosh Systems,

Linux (Ubuntu)

Advantages of GUI Disadvantages of GUI

 There is no need to remember  Need a lot of RAM memory to run
any commands. properly(e.g Windows 7 need at least
1GB of RAM)
 Easy to use especially by  It takes up a large amount of
beginners hard disk space

Application Software

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These are programs designed to meet the users specific needs. They carry out a
particular type of task for the user.
E.g not limited to word processing program, spreadsheets program, presentation
programs and payroll system programs

Application software can be classified into three, Customised or tailor-made, General

Purpose and Specialised software.

Custom made or tailor Made Software

These are programs that have been
created specially to suit the needs of the
organization or user.

A specialized programmer is hired to

create this system for the user. E.g a
company will hire a programmer to
create a system to process the
employees’ salaries.

Advantage of Custom Made software A program to monitor school fees

 There are designed to suite the
user’s needs
 Users are trained on how to use the
system

Disadvantage of Custom Made software

 There are quite expensive as
programmers need to be hired
 There are prone to errors and need to be always updated
 There to do not come up with a user’s manual

Specific or specialized Software

This is a type of customized program designed for a specific task. There are commonly
used by doctors. eg. Heart Beat diagnosis system, because there are specific for heart
beat diagnosis, hospitals around the country would use this program.

General Purpose software

These are programs used by wide variety of users and don not have to be adapted to
suit users particular needs. General packages perform different related tasks. E.g word
processor, spreadsheet, databases and presentations.

The most common general purpose software;

Software Uses

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Database Used to store and retrieve information

package(Microsoft
Access File Maker
Pro)
Spreadsheet(Microsoft excel, lotus) Used to perform mathematical
calculations

Word processing(Microsoft word, Used to produce text based documents-

Word Perfect) letters, reports, memos

Desktop Publishing(Microsoft Used to produce professional quality

Publisher, Page Maker, Page Plus) publications such as posters, books or
magazines

Graphic Used for image or photo editing

software(Microsoft paint,
Adobe Photoshop, Corel
draw)
Computer Aided Designs To produce architectural designs such
as house plans

Advantages of general Purpose software

 There are readily available for use
 There are error free programs (tested for errors)
 There are provided with a user manual

Disadvantages of general Purpose software

 They may be not suitable for the user needs
 There may be some components not used hence using up disk space memory

Exam tips
Complete the following sentences using the most appropriate word(s) listed below.
Word processing software database
Spreadsheet painting software
Photo-editing software computer aided design software
(a)……………….is used for calculating profit and loss at the school tuck-shop.
(b) The Deputy School Head use ………………for registering candidates for B.G.C.S.E. examinations.
(c) Albert uses……………..for creating his computer studies project report.
(d)A civil engineer uses………………..to draw the plans of a building.

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Unit 2

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