Hafiz Muhammad Ijaz

Department of Computer Science

Introduction To ICT
Semester 1st
Lecture 01
Topic: Basic definitions & concepts
Textbook  Introduction To Computers 6th edition By Peter Norton or 7 th addition
 Understanding Computers: Today and Tomorrow, Comprehensive, 15 th Edition, Cengage
Learning. Nell Dale, John Lewis, (2012)
 Computer Science Illuminated, 5th Edition, Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Reference Material Shelly, G.B., Freund, S. M. And Vermaat, M. E. (2010) Introduction to Computers (Shelly Cashman
Series), 8th edition, Cengage Learning

Course Objectives The course is designed to cover topics, which illustrate how computers are being used in
business, scientific, engineering, medical, economic, and social areas of human activity. Students
will be provided with knowledge and skills for use of computing and communication
technologies to solve real life problems. At the end of this course students will be able to apply
sets of productivity tools.
Course Objectives
 Basic IT skills
 Practical exercise on several areas of IT
 Basic Networking
 Establishing basic network connectivity
 safely set up a basic workstation
 Installing basic hardware and software
 Identify and prevent basic security risks
Basic definitions and concepts
Computer:
 A computer is an electronic machine used to solve different problems
according to a set of instructions given to it. A computer can accepted data,
process data into useful information and store it for later use.
 The word computer derived from compute that means to calculate.
 Computer can used as a calculating machine to produce results at a very
high speed.
 A computer consist hardware and software.
Data and its types
 Collection of raw facts and figures is known as data.
History of computer
 Abacus
 Abacus was the first computing device.
 It was perform in simple addition and subtraction.
 Abacus was a wooden rack.
 Blasé Pascal
 Blasé Pascal was a French mathematician .
 He invented a mechanical adding machine in 1642 known as Pascale
Calculator.
 The ENIAC
 ENIAC stands for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator.
 It was invented by Eckert and John Mauchly in 1946.
Audio data
 Audio data includes music, speech or any type of sound.
Video data
 video is a set of full-motion images played at a high speed.

 Video is used to display actions and movements.

 The movies, plays and video lectures are examples of video data.
Image data
 Image data includes chart, graphic, pictures and drawings. The photograph
of a student on the admission form is an example image data.
Alphabetic data
 Alphabetic data consists of capital letters from A to Z, small letters from a
to z punctuation marks and blank spaces.

 It is represented as a sequence of characters.

 Some examples of alphabetic data are Pakistan, Computer, Islam etc.

Alphanumeric data
 Alphanumeric data consists of numbers (0 to 9), Letters (A to Z) and all
special characters such as +,%, and @, $, ^, & ,* etc.
Information
 The processed form of data is called information. Information is an
organized and processed form of data.
 It is more meaningful than data is used for making decisions.
 Data is used as input for the processing and information is the output of
this processing.
 For example, the marks of student in different subjects is data. This data is
used to calculate the total marks which is the information.
Data Processing Information

Data Processing
 A process of converting data into meaningful information is called data
processing.
 Data is the input and information is the output of data processing system.
Input devices
 Any thing given to the computer is known as input such as data or
information's.

 An input device is hardware component that is used to enter data and

instructions into a computer.
Keyboard
 Keyboard is the most commonly input device. Data is mostly entered using a
keyboard
 The buttons on the keyboard are called keys.
 The arrangement of keys on a keyboard is called keyboard layout.
 The most popular keyboard layout is QWERTY.
 Functions of keys
 Function keys F1 to F12 are locked at the top of the keyboard.
 The function keys are used to perform special functions.
 For example, F1 key is used to get help in window.
 Alphanumeric keys
 The alphanumeric keys are the collection of letters, numbers and punitions keys.
 Numeric Keypad
 The numeric keypad is located on the right side of most keyboards.
 It has arithmetic operators keys +, _, *,/ etc.
Mouse
 Mouse is the most widely used pointing device.
 It is a small and lightweight input device.
 It is used to input instructions with a pointer on the screen.
 Types of Mouse
Mechanical Mouse
 Mechanical mouse contains a rubber or metal ball inside it.
 The movement of the cursor depends on the movement of the ball.
 This mouse is normally used on mouse pad.
Optical Mouse
 Optical mouse contains no ball inside it.
 It uses a device that emits light to detect the mouse movement.
Wireless Mouse
 wireless mouse is a type of mouse that does require a wire to work.
 it transmit data using wireless technology like radio waves or infrared light waves
output devices
 The hardware components that are used to received information from the computer are
called output devices.
 Examples
Some examples of output devices are as follows:
 Printer
 A printer is an output device that prints characters, symbols and graphics on
paper.
 Printers are used in business to print the documents on paper.
 The printed copy are called hard copy.
 Lase printer
 LASER stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.
 The laser printer is non-impact printer. Its working is similar to photographing machine
 Speaker
 speaker is the most common type of audio output device.
 It connects to a sound card in system unit and provides audio output for computer games.
Generations of Computer
 First generation (vacuum tube) 1942-1955
 Send generation (Transistors) 1955-1964
 Third generation (Integrated Circuit) 1964-1975
 Fourth generation (Microprocessor) 1975- Present
 Fifth generation (Artificial intelligence) Present and Beyond
First generation:
 The beginning of the commercial computer age is from UNIVAC(Universal
Automatic Computer) It was developed in two scientists MAUCHLY and ECHERT
at the census department of united states
 Advantages
 Vacuum tube was the only electronic component available those days.
 These computes could calculate data in milliseconds.
 Disadvantages
 These computers were very large in size.
 They consumed a large amount of energy.
 Air conditioning was required.
 Non-portable
 Very slow in speed.
Second Generation:
 The second generation computers used transistors. The scientists of Bell
Laboratories developed transistor in 1947.
 These scientists include John Bardeen, William Brattain and William
Shockly.
 Advantages
 More reliable
 Used less energy and were not heated
 Better portability
 Disadvantages
 Air conditioning was required
 only used for specific purposes
 Very costly
Third generation:
 The third generation computers used integrated circuits (IC).
 Jack Kilby developed the concept of integrated circuit.
Advantages
 Smaller in size as compared to previous generation
 More reliable and use less energy.
 Better speed and could calculate data in nanoseconds.
 Totally general purpose
Disadvantages
 Air conditioning was required
 Use for IC chip
Fourth Generation
The fourth generation computers started with the invention of microprocessor.
The microprocessor contains thousands of ICs. Ted Hoff produced the first
microprocessor in 1971.

 Advantages
 Very small in size.
 Cheapest among all generations.
 No air conditioning is required.
 More powerful and reliable than previous generation.

 Disadvantages
 The latest technology is required for required for manufacturing microprocessors.
Fifth Generation
 Scientists are now working on the 5 th generation computes using recent engineering advances.

 It is based on the technique of artificial intelligence (AI).

 Computer can understand spoken words instructions and imitate human reasoning.
Types of Computer
 Analog computer
 Digital computer
 Hybrid computer
Analog computer
 An analog computer recognizes data as continuous measurement of physical property.

 Voltage, Pressure, speed and temperature are some physical properties that can be measured
in this way.

 Data can be transferred in the forms of waves.

Digital computer
 A digital computer processes data in numeric form using digital circuits. It
performs arithmetic and logic operations with discrete values.

 These values are 0 and 1. everything is described in two states of ON and OFF, YES, or
NO.

 The digit 1 represents ON and 0 represent OFF state. The digital computer is very fast.
These computers are manufactured in a variety of sizes speeds and capacities.

 Digital computers are commonly used at homes and offices etc.

Hybrid Computer:
 A hybrid computer is a combination of both analog and digital computer.

 A hybrid computer combines the best characteristics of both the analog and digital computer.

 It can accept data in analog and digital computer.

Classification of Computer/Types/ categories.
 Computer are classified on the basis of size, speed , processing power and price.
 Computer can be divided into the following categories.

 Personal computer

 Mobile computer

 Minicomputer

 Mainframe computer

 Super computer

 Embedded computer
Personal computer:
 Personal computer (PC) is also called microcomputer. It is designed to be used by one person
at a time.

 It consists of a processor , memory and one or more input, output and storage devices.

 It also often contains a communication device. Most commonly used personal computers PC
and Apple.
Mobile computer:
 Mobile computer is a portable personal computer that can be carried from one place to other
easily.
 Different types of mobile computer include laptop and tablet.

Laptop computer:
 A laptop computer is a mobile computer that has keyboard, screen and other devices
integrated into a single compact case.

Tablet:
 Tablet is a thin and lightweight mobile computer with touch screen. It is usually smaller than a
laptop.
Minicomputer:
 Minicomputer is typically larger, more powerful and expensive than personal computer.
 Microcomputer can serve up to several hundreds connected computers at the same time.
 It can be used in networked environment as server computer.
Mainframe computer:
 A mainframe computer is a large computer in terms of price, power and speed.

 It is more powerful than microcomputer. It consists of multiple processor.

 It is specially designed to perform multiple tasks for multiple users simultaneously.

Examples
IBM S-390
Super computer:
 Super computer is the fastest and the most powerful computer.

 It is the biggest in size and more expensive in price than any other computer.

 It is used to perform complex tasks.

 It has a very large storage capacity.

 It can process trillions of instructions in one second.

Embedded computer:

 An embedded computer is designed for special purposes.

 It works as a component in a larger product.

 These computers are very small and have limited hardware.

 They perform various functions according to the requirements of the product in which they
are embedded.
• Basic Applications of Computer
• Home. Computers are used at homes for several purposes like online bill
payment, watching movies or shows at home, home tutoring, social media
access, playing games, internet access, etc.
• Medical Field.
• Entertainment.
• Industry.
• Education.
• Government.
• Banking.
• Business.

 Output Unit
 Output Unit receives information from the CPU and then delivers it the
external storage or device in the soft or hard processed form.
 Components of Computer System:
 Input Unit
 Memory or Storage Unit
 Output Unit
 Central Processing Unit

 Input Unit:
 Input unit is used for transfers’ raw Data and control signals into
the information processing system by the user before processing and
computation. All the input unit devices provide the instructions and data
are transformed into binary codes that is the primary memory acceptable
format.
 Example of Input unit devices: keyboard, mouse, scanner, joystick

 Memory:
 This unit retains temporarily results till further processing, For example,
Random Access Memory (RAM).This memory is volatile, which means
data is disappears when the power is lost.
 Central Processing Unit:

 The main chip in a computer is the microprocessor chip, which is also

known as the CPU (central processing unit).

 The CPU is mounted on a printed circuit board called the main board or
mother board.

 This chip is considered to be the controlling chip of a computer system

since it controls the activities of other chips as well as outside devices
connected to the computer, such as monitor and printer.