College of Information Technology / Department of Information Networks

LEC. 1 ………………………….………………………………..
Computer Science Fundamentals/ First Class / First Semester

Introduction to Computer Fundamentals

I. Introduction
Computing machines have been around for a long time, hundreds of years. The
Chinese abacus, the calculators with gears and wheels and the first analog computers
are all examples of computing machinery; in some cases quite complex, that predates
the introduction of digital computing systems. The computing machines that we’re
interested in came about in the 1940s because World War II artillery needed a more
accurate way to calculate the trajectories of the shells fired from battleships. Today,
the primary reason that computers have become so pervasive is the advances made in
integrated circuit manufacturing technology. The modern computer has become faster
and more powerful but the basic architecture of a computing machine has essentially
stayed the same for many years.
Most of us use computers for a variety of tasks, from serious scientific computations
to entertainment.

The computer system can be divided into:

 Computer hardware.
 Computer software.

Computer hardware represents the physical and tangible components of a computer,

i.e. the components that can be seen and touched.
Examples of Hardware are the following −
 Input devices − keyboard, mouse, etc.
 Output devices − printer, monitor, etc.
 Secondary storage devices − Hard disk, CD, DVD, etc.
 Internal components − CPU, motherboard, RAM, etc.

Lecturer: Ali Kadhim AL-Bermani

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Computer Software is a set of programs, which is designed to perform a well-defined

function. A program is a sequence of instructions written to solve a particular problem.
There are two types of software −

 System Software.
 Application Software.

System Software
The system software is a collection of programs designed to operate, control, and
extend the processing capabilities of the computer itself. System software is generally
prepared by the computer manufacturers. These software products comprise of
programs written in low-level languages, which interact with the hardware at a very
basic level. System software serves as the interface between the hardware and the end
users.
Some examples of system software are Operating System, Compilers, Interpreter,
Assemblers, etc.

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Application Software
Application software products are designed to satisfy a particular need of a particular
environment. All software applications prepared in the computer lab can come under
the category of Application software.
Application software may consist of a single program, such as Microsoft's notepad for
writing and editing a simple text. It may also consist of a collection of programs, often
called a software package, which work together to accomplish a task, such as a
spreadsheet package.
Examples of Application software are the following:

 Payroll Software
 Student Record Software
 Inventory Management Software
 Income Tax Software
 Railways Reservation Software
 Microsoft Office Suite Software
 Microsoft Word
 Microsoft Excel
 Microsoft PowerPoint

Relationship between Hardware and Software

 Hardware and software are mutually dependent on each other. Both of them must
work together to make a computer produce a useful output.
 Software cannot be utilized without supporting hardware.
 Hardware without a set of programs to operate upon cannot be utilized and is
useless.
 To get a particular job done on the computer, relevant software should be loaded
into the hardware.
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 Hardware is a one-time expense.

 Software development is very expensive and is a continuing expense.
 Different software applications can be loaded on a hardware to run different jobs.
 Software acts as an interface between the user and the hardware.
 If the hardware is the 'heart' of a computer system, then the software is its 'soul'.
Both are complementary to each other.

Computer architecture deals with the functional behavior of a computer system as

viewed by a programmer. This view includes aspects such as the sizes of data types
(e.g. using 16 binary digits to represent an integer), and the types of operations that are
supported (like addition and subtraction). Also deals with the selection of the basic
functional units such as the processor and memory, and how they should be
interconnected into a computer system.

Computer organization is concerned with how the various hardware components

operate and how they are interconnected to implement the architectural specifications.

Computer organization deals with structural relationships that are not visible to the
programmer, such as interfaces to peripheral devices and the technology used for the
memory.

Computers are complex systems. How do we manage complexity of these systems? We

can get clues from looking at how we manage complex systems in life. Think of how a
large corporation is managed. We use a hierarchical structure to simplify the
management: president at the top and employees at the bottom. Each level of
management filters out unnecessary details into the lower levels and presents only an
abstracted version to the higher-level management. This is what we refer to as
abstraction.
Different people view computer systems differently depending on the type of their
interaction. We use the concept of abstraction to look at only the details that are
necessary from a particular viewpoint. For example, if you are a computer architect, you
are interested in the internal details that do not interest a normal user of the system. One
can look at computer systems from several different perspectives.
We have already talked about the user’s view.

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We concentrate on the following views: (i) a programmer’s view, (ii) an architect’s

view, and (iii) an implementer’s view.

i. A programmer’s view of a computer system depends on the type and level of

language she intends to use. From the programmer’s viewpoint, there exists a
hierarchy from low-level languages to high-level languages.

ii. A computer architect looks at the design aspect from a high level. Uses higher-
level building blocks to optimize the overall system performance. A computer
architect is much like an architect who designs buildings. For example, when
designing a building, the building architect is not concerned with designing the
elevator; as far as the architect is concerned, the elevator is a building block
someone else designs. Similarly, a computer architect does not focus on low-level
issues. From the architect’s viewpoint, a computer system consists of three main
components: a processor or central processing unit (CPU), a memory unit, and
input/output (I/O) devices.

iii. Implementers are responsible for implementing the designs produced by computer
architects. This group works at the digital logic level. At this level, logic gates and
other hardware circuits are used to implement the various functional units.

II. The generations of computers.

This section traces the history of computers from their mechanical era. Our treatment
is very brief.

1- The first generation.

The period of first generation was from 1946-1959. The computers of first
generation used vacuum tubes as the basic components for memory and circuitry for
CPU (Central Processing Unit). These tubes, like electric bulbs, produced a lot of
heat and the installations used to fuse frequently. Therefore, they were very
expensive and only large organizations were able to afford it.
In this generation, mainly batch processing operating system was used. Punch
cards, paper tape, and magnetic tape was used as input and output devices. The
computers in this generation used machine code as the programming language.

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2- The second generation.

The period of second generation was from 1959-1965. In this generation, transistors
were used that were cheaper, consumed less power, more compact in size, more
reliable and faster than the first generation machines made of vacuum tubes. In this
generation, magnetic cores were used as the primary memory and magnetic tape
and magnetic disks as secondary storage devices.
In this generation, assembly language and high-level programming languages like
FORTRAN, COBOL was used. The computers used batch processing and
multiprogramming operating system.
3- The third generation.
The period of third generation was from 1965-1971. The computers of third
generation used Integrated Circuits (ICs) in place of transistors. A single IC has
many transistors, resistors, and capacitors along with the associated circuitry.
The IC was invented by Jack Kilby. This development made computers smaller in
size, reliable, and efficient. In this generation remote processing, time-sharing,
multiprogramming operating system were used. High-level languages (FORTRAN-
II TO IV, COBOL, PASCAL PL/1, BASIC, ALGOL-68 etc.) were used during this
generation.

4- The fourth generation.

The period of fourth generation was from 1971-1980. Computers of fourth
generation used Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuits. VLSI circuits having
about 5000 transistors and other circuit elements with their associated circuits on a
single chip made it possible to have microcomputers of fourth generation.
Fourth generation computers became more powerful, compact, reliable, and
affordable. As a result, it gave rise to Personal Computer (PC) revolution. In this
generation, time sharing, real time networks, distributed operating system were
used. All the high-level languages like C, C++, DBASE etc., were used in this
generation.

5- The fifth generation.

The period of fifth generation is 1980-till date. In the fifth generation, VLSI
technology became ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration) technology, resulting in
the production of microprocessor chips having ten million electronic components.
This generation is based on parallel processing hardware and AI (Artificial
Intelligence) software. AI is an emerging branch in computer science, which
interprets the means and method of making computers think like human beings. All
the high-level languages like C and C++, Java, .Net etc., are used in this generation.
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III. Operating System:

An operating system is a program that acts as an intermediary between a user of a
computer and the computer hardware. The purpose of an operating system is to
provide an environment in which a user can execute programs. The primary goal of
an operating system is thus to make the computer system convenient to use. A
secondary goal is to use the computer hardware in an efficient manner. An operating
system is an important part of almost every computer system.
A computer system can be divided roughly into four components: the hardware, the
operating system, the applications programs, and the users.

IV. Computer Classification:

1. Analog Computers
Analog Computer is a computing device that works on continuous range of values.
The results given by the analog computers will only be approximate since they deal
with quantities that vary continuously. It generally deals with physical variables
such as voltage, pressure, temperature, speed, etc.
2. Digital Computers
Digital computer operates on digital data such as numbers. It uses binary number
system in which there are only two digits 0 and 1. Each one is called a bit. The
digital computer is designed using digital circuits in which there are two levels for
an input or output signal. These two levels are known as logic 0 and logic 1.
Digital Computers can give more accurate and faster results. Digital computer is
well suited for solving complex problems in engineering and technology. Hence
digital computers have an increasing use in the field of design, research and data
processing.
V. Computer Classification by size:

There are many computers which are different from each other in various aspects.
Classification of computers is given below. Classes by size:
i. Microcomputers: These computers use a microprocessor chip and this chip is
used instead of CPU means that this microprocessor chip works as a CPU. These
computers are also called personal computers. Two major types of these
computers are laptop or Desktop computers. Only one user uses these computers
at time that's why they are also known as personal computers.
ii. Mini Computers: These are powerful computer. These computers come into
existence in 1960s at that time mainframe computer was very costly. Mini
computers were available in cheap prices, so users start using it.

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iii. Mainframe Computer: It as a very powerful and large computer. You can get
idea of its power as it can handle processing of many users at a time. Terminals
are used to connect a user to this computer and users submit their task through
mainframe. Terminal is a device which has keyboard and a screen. By using
terminal users put inputs into the computer and get the output through screen.
iv. Super Computers: As the name "super computer" specifies that these are most
powerful computers even than mainframe. Actually, when we optimize a
mainframe computer then we get super computer.

VI. Computer Classification by function:

1. Servers
Server usually refers to a computer that is dedicated to provide a service. For
example, a computer dedicated to a database may be called a "database server".
"File servers" manage a large collection of computer files. "Web servers" process
web pages and web applications. Many smaller servers are actually personal
computers that have been dedicated to provide services for other computers.
2. Workstations
Workstations are computers that are intended to serve one user and may contain
special hardware enhancements not found on a personal computer.
3. Information appliances
Information appliances are computers specially designed to perform a specific
user-friendly function —such as playing music, photography, or editing text. The
term is most commonly applied to mobile devices, though there are also portable
and desktop devices of this class.
4. Embedded computers
Embedded computers are computers that are a part of a machine or device.
Embedded computers generally execute a program that is stored in non-volatile
memory and is only intended to operate a specific machine or device. Embedded
computers are very common. Embedded computers are typically required to
operate continuously without being reset or rebooted, and once employed in their
task the software usually cannot be modified. An automobile may contain a
number of embedded computers; however, a washing machine and a DVD player
would contain only one. The central processing units (CPUs) used in embedded
computers are often sufficient only for the computational requirements of the
specific application and may be slower and cheaper than CPUs found in a personal
computer.