Computer Basics

By Dr. Jimmy Barnes (Edited by Brent Griffin)

What is A Computer

A computer is an electronic machine that accepts information, stores it until the information
is needed, processes the information according to the instructions provided by the user, and
finally returns the results to the user (Input Data, Manipulate Data, Store Data, Recall Data,
and Output Data). The computer can store and manipulate large quantities of data at very
high speed, but a computer cannot think. A computer makes decisions based on simple
comparisons such as one number being larger than another. Although the computer can
help solve a tremendous variety of problems, it is simply a machine. It cannot solve
problems on its own.

History of Computers

Since civilizations began, many of the advances made by science and technology have
depended upon the ability to process large amounts of data and perform complex
mathematical calculations. For thousands of years, mathematicians, scientists and
businessmen have searched for computing machines that could perform calculations and
analyze data quickly and efficiently. One such device was the abacus.

The abacus was an important counting machine in ancient Babylon, China, and throughout
Europe where it was used until the late middle ages. It was followed by a series of
improvements in mechanical counting machines that led up to the development of accurate
mechanical adding machines in the 1930’s. These machines used a complicated assortment
of gears and levers to perform the calculations but they were far to slow to be of much use
to scientists. Also, a machine capable of making simple decisions such as which number is
larger was needed. A machine capable of making decisions is called a computer.

The first computer like machine was the Mark I developed by a team from IBM and Harvard
University. It used mechanical telephone relays to store information and it processed data
entered on punch cards. This machine was not a true computer since it could not make
decisions.

In June 1943, work began on the world's first electronic computer. It was built at the
University of Pennsylvania as a secret military project during World War II and was to be
used to calculate the trajectory of artillery shells. It covered 1500 square feet and weighed
30 tons. The project was not completed until 1946 but the effort was not wasted. In one of
its first demonstrations, the computer solved a problem in 20 seconds that took a team of
mathematicians three days. This machine was a vast improvement over the mechanical
calculating machines of the past because it used vacuum tubes instead of relay switches. It
contained over 17,000 of these tubes, which were the same type tubes used in radios at
that time.

The invention of the transistor made smaller and less expensive computers possible.
Although computers shrank in size, they were still huge by today’s standards. Another
innovation to computers in the 60’s was storing data on tape instead of punch cards. This
gave computers the ability to store and retrieve data quickly and reliably.
Computer Tasks

• Input
• Storage
• Processing
• Output

When a computer is asked to do a job, it handles the task in a very special way:

1. It accepts the information from the user. This is called input.

2. It stored the information until it is ready for use. The computer has memory chips,
which are designed to hold information until it is needed.
3. It processes the information. The computer has an electronic brain called the
Central Processing Unit, which is responsible for processing all data and instructions
given to the computer.
4. It then returns the processed information to the user. This is called output.

Every computer has special parts to do each of the jobs listed above. Whether it is a
multimillion dollar mainframe or a thousand dollar personal computer, it has the following
four components, Input, Memory, Central Processing, and Output.

The central processing unit (CPU) is the electronic brain of the computer. The CPU in a
personal computer is usually a single chip. It organizes and carries out instructions that
come from either the user or from the software. The processor is made up of many
components, but two of them are worth mentioning at this point. These are the arithmetic
and logic unit and the control unit. The control unit controls the electronic flow of
information around the computer. The arithmetic and logic unit, ALU, is responsible for
mathematical calculations and logical comparisons.

The processor is plugged into the computer’s motherboard. The motherboard is a rigid
rectangular card containing the circuitry that connects the processor and all the other
components that make up your personal computer. In most personal computers, some of
the components are attached directly to the motherboard and some are housed on their
own small circuit boards that plug into the expansion slots built into the motherboard.

Input Devices

A computer would be useless without some way for you to interact with it because the
machine must be able to receive your instructions and deliver the results of these
instructions to you. Input devices accept instructions and data from you the user. Some
popular input devices are listed below.

Keyboard
Mouse
Scanner
Microphone
CD/DVD-ROM
Joystick
Memory

A personal computer must have a means of storing information (data) and instructions so
that it can perform processing tasks on the data. Personal computers have two types of
memory. These are discussed below.

Read Only Memory (ROM)

ROM is a small area of permanent memory that provides startup instructions
when the computer is turned on. You cannot store any data in ROM. The
instructions in ROM are set by the manufacturer and cannot be changed by
the user. The last instruction in ROM directs the computer to load the
operating system.

Every computer needs an operating system. This is a special computer

program that must be loaded into memory as soon as the computer is turned
on. Its purpose is to translate your instructions in English into Binary so that
the computer can understand your instructions. The operating system also
translates the results generated by your computer into English when it is
finished so that we can understand and use the results. The operating
system serves a bridge between the application software and the computer
hardware.

Random Access Memory (RAM)

This is the area of memory where data and program instructions are stored
while the computer is in operation. This is temporary memory. NOTE: The
data stored in RAM is lost forever when the power is turned off. For
this reason it is very important that you save your work before turning off
your computer. This is why we have peripheral storage devices like your
computer’s hard disk and floppy diskettes.

Permanent Memory (Auxiliary Storage)

Your files are stored in permanent memory only when saved to your hard
drive, written to a CD/DVD, or saved to a flash drive or network drive. While
this memory can be erased or overwritten, information stored in this fashion
is not lost when the power to the computer is switched off.

To better understand how a computer handles information and to also understand why
information is lost if the power goes off, let’s take a closer look at how a computer handles
information. Your computer contains millions of tiny electric circuits (known as integrated
circuits). For every circuit in a computer chip, there are two possibilities:

1) Electric current flows through the circuit or 2) Electric circuit does not flow through
the circuit

When an electric current flows through a circuit, the circuit is on. When no electricity flows,
the circuit is off. An “on” circuit is represented by the number one (1) and an off circuit is
represented by the number zero (0). The two numbers 1 and 0 are called bits. The word
bit is short for “binary digit”. Each time a computer reads an instruction, it translates that
instruction into a series of bits, 1’s and 0’s. On most computers every character from the
keyboard is translated into eight bits, a combination of eight 1’s and 0’s. Each group of
eight bits is called a byte.
Byte – The amount of space in memory or on a disk needed to store one character.

8 bits = 1 Byte

1 Kilobyte (KB) = 1000 bytes

1 Megabyte (MB) = 1000 KB

1 Gigabyte (GB) = 1000 MB

1 Terabyte (TB) = 1000 GB (Lots of zeros and ones!)

Since computers can handle such large numbers of characters at one time, metric prefixes
are combined with the word byte to give some common multiples you will encounter in
computer literature.

Kilo means 1000 Kilobyte (KB) = 1000 Bytes

Mega means 1,000,000 Megabyte (MB) = 1,000,000 Bytes
Giga Means 1,000,000,000 Gigabyte (GB) = 1,000,000,000 Bytes

Or, alternately:

1 Kilobyte (KB) = 1000 bytes

1 Megabyte (MB) = 1000 KB

1 Gigabyte (GB) = 1000 MB

1 Terabyte (TB) = 1000 GB (Lots of zeros and ones!)

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The central processing unit is one of the two most important components of your
microcomputer. It is the electronic brain of your computer. In addition to processing data,
it controls the function of all the other components. The most popular microprocessors for
PC’s are manufactured by Intel or AMD. Typically Apple processors are manufactured by
Motorola.

Older generations of microprocessors are listed below.

1981 8088
1984 80286
1987 80386
1990 80486
1993 Pentium
2000 Pentium IV
The table lists Intel processors, along with memory and hard drive limitations.

Output Devices

Monitor
Speakers
Printer
Impact
Dot Matrix
Non-Impact
Ink Jet
Laser
Storage Devices
Hard disk
Floppy disk
Tape drive
CD-ROM
DVD-ROM
Flash Drives
Portable hard drives
On-line storage

Computer Software

System Software (Operating System)

This software acts as an interpreter between the computer and user. It translates your
instructions into binary code and likewise translates binary code into language the user can
understand.

In the past you may have used MS-DOS or Microsoft Disk Operating System which was a
command line interface. This form of system software required specific commands to be
typed.

Beginning with Windows 3.0 and continuing through Windows95, WindowsME, WindowsXP,
Vista, and Windows 7 the operating system became a GUI--a graphical user interface. This
means that it uses graphics or "icons" to represent various operations. You no longer have
to memorize commands; you simply point to an icon and click.

Application Software

Application software is any software used for specified applications such as:
Word Processing
Spreadsheet
Database
Presentation Graphics
Communication
Tutorials
Entertainment, Games

Programming Languages

A third type of software is programming language software. It allows a user to develop new
application software without having to communicate with the computer in binary code.
BASIC, FORTRAN, PASCAL, C, C++, C#, and Java are all examples of programming
languages.