Full form of

Computer

C Commo
n
O Operati
ng
M Machine

P Particular
ly
U Used for

T Technolog
y
E Education

R Research

Definition of Computer

Computer is an electronic device that is designed to work with Information. The term
computer is derived from the Latin term ‘compute’, this means to calculate or
programmable machine. So, in one word we can say the computer is a counting device.

Approximately in 1939 to 1940 a British Mathematician, named Charles Babbage

was invented the computer. Charles Babbage is called the "Grand Father" of the computer.
The First mechanical computer designed by Charles Babbage was called Analytical
Engine. It uses read-only memory in the form of punch cards.

In briefly, we can say, the computer is an electromechanical device which can accept
data from external environment through input device, & process them through memory &
gives the result of the processed data through output device.
 Basic Characteristics of
Computer
1. Speed: -
As you know computer can work very fast. It takes only few seconds for calculations that we take
hours to complete. You will be surprised to know that computer can perform millions (1,000,000) of
instructions and even more per second.
Therefore, we determine the speed of computer in terms of microsecond (10-6 part of a second) or
nanosecond (10 to the power -9 part of a second). From this you can imagine how fast your computer
performs work.

2. Accuracy: -
The degree of accuracy of computer is very high and every calculation is performed with the same
accuracy. The accuracy level is 7
Determined on the basis of design of computer. The errors in computer are due to human and
inaccurate data.

3. Diligence: -
A computer is free from tiredness, lack of concentration, fatigue, etc. It can work for hours without
creating any error. If millions of calculations are to be performed, a computer will perform every
calculation with the same accuracy. Due to this capability it overpowers human being in routine type
of work.

4. Versatility: -
It means the capacity to perform completely different type of work. You may use your computer to
prepare payroll slips. Next moment you may use it for inventory management or to prepare electric
bills.

5. Power of Remembering: -
Computer has the power of storing any amount of information or data. Any information can be stored
and recalled as long as you require it, for any numbers of years. It depends entirely upon you how
much data you want to store in a computer and when to lose or retrieve these data.

6. No IQ: -
Computer is a dumb machine and it cannot do any work without instruction from the user. It performs
the instructions at tremendous speed and with accuracy. It is you to decide what you want to do and in
what sequence. So a computer cannot take its own decision as you can.

7. No Feeling: -
It does not have feelings or emotion, taste, knowledge and experience. Thus it does not get tired even
after long hours of work. It does not distinguish between users.

8. Storage: -
The Computer has an in-built memory where it can store a large amount of data. You can also store
data in secondary storage devices such as floppies, which can be kept outside your computer and can
be carried to other computers.
 Application of
1. Business Computer
A computer has high speed of calculation, diligence, accuracy, reliability, or versatility which made it an
integrated part in all business organizations.
Computer is used in business organizations for:
 Payroll calculations
 Budgeting
 Sales analysis
 Financial forecasting
 Managing employees database
 Maintenance of stocks etc.

2. Banking
Today banking is almost totally dependent on computer.
Banks provide following facilities:
 Banks provide online accounting facility, which includes current balances, deposits, overdrafts,
interest charges, shares, and trustee records.
 ATM machines are making it even easier for customers to deal with banks.

3. Insurance
Insurance companies are keeping all records up-to-date with the help of computers. The insurance
companies, finance houses and stock broking firms are widely using computers for their concerns.
Insurance companies are maintaining a database of all clients with information showing
 procedure to continue with policies
 starting date of the policies
 next due installment of a policy
 maturity date
 interests due
 survival benefits
 bonus

4. Education
The computer has provided a lot of facilities in the education system.
 The computer provides a tool in the education system known as CBE (Computer Based Education).
 CBE involves control, delivery, and evaluation of learning.
 The computer education is rapidly increasing the graph of number of computer students.
 There are number of methods in which educational institutions can use computer to educate the
students.
 It is used to prepare a database about performance of a student and analysis is carried out on this
basis.

5. Marketing
In marketing, uses of computer are following:
 Advertising - With computers, advertising professionals create art and graphics, write and revise
copy, and print and disseminate ads with the goal of selling more products.
  At Home Shopping - Home shopping has been made possible through use of computerized
catalogues that provide access to product information and permit direct entry of orders to be filled
by the customers.

6. Health Care
Computers have become important part in hospitals, labs, and dispensaries. The computers are being used
in hospitals to keep the record of patients and medicines. It is also used in scanning and diagnosing
different diseases. ECG, EEG, Ultrasounds and CT Scans etc., are also done by computerized machines.
Some major fields of health care in which computers are used are:
 Diagnostic System - Computers are used to collect data and identify cause of illness.
 Lab-diagnostic System - All tests can be done and reports are prepared by computer.
 Patient Monitoring System - These are used to check patient's signs for abnormality such as in
Cardiac Arrest, ECG etc.
 Pharma Information System - Computer checks Drug-Labels, Expiry dates, harmful drug’s side
effects etc.
 Surgery: Nowadays, computers are also used in performing surgery.

7. Engineering Design
Computers are widely used in engineering purpose.
One of major areas is CAD (Computer aided design). That provides creation and modification of images.
Some fields are:
 Structural Engineering - Requires stress and strain analysis for design of Ships, Buildings,
Budgets, and Airplanes etc.
 Industrial Engineering - Computers deal with design, implementation and improvement of
integrated systems of people, materials and equipment’s.
 Architectural Engineering - Computers help in planning towns, designing buildings, determining
a range of buildings on a site using both 2D and 3D drawings.

8. Military
Computers are largely used in defense. Modern tanks, missiles, weapons etc. Military also employs
computerized control systems. Some military areas where a computer has been used are:
 Missile Control
 Military Communication
 Military Operation and Planning
 Smart Weapons

9. Communication
Communication means to convey a message, an idea, a picture or speech that is received and understood
clearly and correctly by the person for whom it is meant for. Some main areas in this category are:
 E-mail
 Chatting
 Usenet
 FTP
 Telnet
 Video-conferencing

10. Government
Computers play an important role in government. Some major fields in this category are:
 Budgets
 Sales tax department
 Income tax department
  Male/Female ratio
 Computerization of voters lists
 Computerization of driving licensing system

Generation of
Computer
Each generation of computer is characterized by a major technological development that fundamentally
changed the way computers operate, resulting in increasingly smaller, cheaper, and more powerful and
more efficient and reliable devices.
The various generations of computers a listed below:

(i) First Generation (1946-1954):

In 1946 there was no 'best' way of storing instructions and data in a computer memory. There were
four competing technologies for providing computer memory: electrostatic storage tubes, acoustic delay
lines (mercury or nickel), magnetic drums (and disks), and magnetic core storage.
The digital computes using electronic valves (Vacuum tubes) are known as first generation
computers. The first 'computer' to use electronic valves (i.e. vacuum tubes). The high cost of vacuum tubes
prevented their use for main memory. They stored information in the form of propagating sound waves.
The vacuum tube consumes a lot of power. The Vacuum tube was developed by Lee Deforest in
1908. These computers were large in size and writing programs on them was difficult. Some of the
computers of this generation were:
Limitations of First Generation Computer
Followings are the major drawbacks of First generation computers.
1. They used valves or vacuum tubes as their main electronic component.
2. They were large in size, slow in processing and had less storage capacity.
3. They consumed lots of electricity and produced lots of heat.
4. Their computing capabilities were limited.
Example: ENIAC, UNIVAC, IBM 650 etc.

(ii) Second Generation (1955-1964) :

The second-generation computer used transistors for CPU components & ferrite cores for main
memory & magnetic disks for secondary memory. They used high-level languages such as FORTRAN
(1956), ALGOL (1960) & COBOL (1960 - 1961). I/O processor was included to control I/O operations.
Around 1955 a device called Transistor replaced the bulky Vacuum tubes in the first generation
computer. Transistors are smaller than Vacuum tubes and have higher operating speed. They have no
filament and require no heating. Manufacturing cost was also very low. Thus the size of the computer got
reduced considerably.
It is in the second generation that the concept of Central Processing Unit (CPU), memory,
programming language and input and output units were developed. The programming languages such as
COBOL, FORTRAN were developed during this period. Some of the computers of the Second Generation
were
1. IBM 1620: Its size was smaller as compared to First Generation computers and mostly used for
scientific purpose.
2. IBM 1401: Its size was small to medium and used for business applications.
3. CDC 3600: Its size was large and is used for scientific purposes.

Features:
1. Transistors were used instead of Vacuum Tube.
2. Processing speed is faster than First Generation Computers (Micro Second)
3. Smaller in Size (51 square feet)
4. The input and output devices were faster.
Example: IBM 1400 and 7000 Series, Control Data 3600 etc.

(iii) Third Generation (1964-1977) :

By the development of a small chip consisting of the capacity of the 300 transistors. These ICs are
popularly known as Chips. A single IC has many transistors, registers and capacitors built on a single thin
slice of silicon. So it is quite obvious that the size of the computer got further reduced. Some of the
computers developed during this period were IBM-360, ICL-1900, IBM-370, and VAX-750. Higher level
language such as BASIC (Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) was developed during this
period. Computers of this generation were small in size, low cost, large memory and processing speed is
very high. Very soon ICs were replaced by LSI (Large Scale Integration), which consisted about 100
components. An IC containing about 100 components is called LSI.

Features:
1. They used Integrated Circuit (IC) chips in place of the transistors.
2. Semi-conductor memory devices were used.
3. The size was greatly reduced, the speed of processing was high, and they were more accurate and
reliable.
4. Large Scale Integration (LSI) and Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) were also developed.
5. The mini computers were introduced in this generation.
6. They used high level language for programming.
Example: IBM 360, IBM 370 etc.

(iv) Fourth Generation:

An IC containing about 100 components is called LSI (Large Scale Integration) and the one, which
has more than 1000 such components, is called as VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration). It uses large scale
Integrated Circuits (LSIC) built on a single silicon chip called microprocessors. Due to the development of
microprocessor it is possible to place computer’s central processing unit (CPU) on single chip. These
computers are called microcomputers. Later very large scale Integrated Circuits (VLSIC) replaced LSICs.
Thus the computer which was occupying a very large room in earlier days can now be placed on a table.
The personal computer (PC) that you see in your school is a Fourth Generation Computer Main memory
used fast semiconductors chips up to 4 M bits size. Hard disks were used as secondary memory.
Keyboards, dot matrix printers etc. were developed. OS-such as MS-DOS, UNIX, and Apple’s Macintosh
were available. Object oriented language, C++ etc. were developed.

Features:
1. They used Microprocessor (VLSI) as their main switching element.
2. They are also called as micro computers or personal computers.
3. Their size varies from desktop to laptop or palmtop.
4. They have very high speed of processing; they are 100% accurate, reliable, diligent and versatile.
5. They have very large storage capacity.
Example: IBM PC, Apple-Macintosh etc.

(v) Fifth Generation (1991- continued) :

5th generation computers use ULSI (Ultra-Large Scale Integration) chips. Millions of transistors are
placed in a single IC in ULSI chips. 64 bit microprocessors have been developed during this period. Data
flow & EPIC architecture of these processors have been developed. RISC & CISC, both types of designs
are used in modern processors. Memory chips and flash memory up to 1 GB, hard disks up to 600 GB &
optical disks up to 50 GB have been developed. Fifth generation digital computer will be Artificial
intelligence.

Generation of Computer Table

Wise Some
Generation Key Hardware Key Software
Key Characteristic representative
(Period) Technologies Technologies
System
First
Generation Machine and Bulky in size, highly
Vacuum Tubes, ENIAC,
(1942-1955) assembly unreliable, limited
Electromagnetic EDVAC,
language, stored commercial use,
relay memory, EDSAC,
program concept, commercial production
Punched cards UNIVAC I, IBM
mostly scientific difficult and costly, difficult
secondary storage. 701
application. to use.

Batch operating
Second Faster, smaller, more
Transistor, system, High
Generation reliable and easier to Honeywell
Magnetic core level
(1955-1964) program than previous 400,IBM
memory, Magnetic programming
7030,CDC
language generation systems,
tapes and disks 1604,UNIVAC
Scientific & commercial production was
secondary storage. LARC
Commercial still difficult and costly.
application.
Third
Faster, smaller, more
Generation
Timesharing reliable and easier and
(1964-1975) ICs with SSI and operating system, cheaper to produce IBM 360/370,
MSI technologies, standardization of commercially, easier to use PDP-8, PDP-11,
larger magnetic high level
& easier to upgrade than CDC 6600
core memory. programming
languages. previous generation
systems.

ICs with VLSI

Fourth technology,
Operating system
Microprocessors,
Generation for PCs GUI, IBM PC and its
semiconductor Small affordable, reliable
(1975-1989) multiple windows clones, Apple
memory larger and easy to use PCs ,more
on a single II,TRS-80,VAX
capacity hard disk powerful and reliable
terminal screen, 9000,CRAY1,
as in-built mainframe systems, general
UNIX Operating CRAY-
secondary storage, purpose machines, easier to
system, C 2 ,CRAY
magnetic tapes and produce commercially
programming –X/MP
floppy disks as
language.
portable storage
media,
Fifth ICs with ULSI Worldwide web, Portable computers, more IBM Notebooks,
Generation technology, larger multimedia powerful, cheaper, reliable Pentium PCs,
(1989- capacity main applications, and easier to use desktop SUN
memory larger Internet-based machines, very powerful Workstations,
Present)
capacity hard disk, application. mainframes, very high IBM SP/2,SGI
and optical disk as uptime due to hot pluggable Origin
 portable read only
storage media,
component, general purpose 2000,PARAM
notebook
machines,. 10000
computers
powerful desktop.

Classification of
ComputerComputer

Analogue Computer Digital Computer Hybrid Computer

Micro Computer Mini Computer Mainframe Computer Super Computer

Desktop Laptop Notebook

Computers differ based on their data processing abilities. They are classified according to purpose,
data handling and functionality.
According to purpose, computers are either general purpose or specific purpose. General purpose
computers are designed to perform a range of tasks. They have the ability to store numerous programs, but
lack in speed and efficiency. Specific purpose computers are designed to handle a specific problem or to
perform a specific task. A set of instructions is built into the machine.
According to data handling, computers are analog, digital or hybrid. Analog computers work on the
principle of measuring, in which the measurements obtained are translated into data. Modern analog
computers usually employ electrical parameters, such as voltages, resistances or currents, to represent the
quantities being manipulated. Such computers do not deal directly with the numbers. They measure
continuous physical magnitudes. Digital computers are those that operate with information, numerical or
otherwise, represented in a digital form. Such computers process data into a digital value (in 0s and 1s).
They give the results with more accuracy and at a faster rate. Hybrid computers incorporate the measuring
feature of an analog computer and counting feature of a digital computer. For computational purposes,
these computers use analog components and for storage, digital memories are used.
According to functionality, computers are classified as:

Analog Computer
An analog computer (spelt analogue in British English) is a form of computer that uses continuous
physical phenomena such as electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic quantities to model the problem being
solved

Digital Computer
A computer that performs calculations and logical operations with quantities represented as digits,
usually in the binary number system
Hybrid Computer (Analog + Digital)
A combination of computers those are capable of inputting and outputting in both digital and analog
signals. A hybrid computer system setup offers a cost effective method of performing complex simulations.

Micro Computer
A PC can be defined as a small, relatively inexpensive computer designed for an individual user.
PCs are based on the microprocessor technology that enables manufacturers to put an entire CPU on one
chip. Businesses use personal computers for word processing, accounting, desktop publishing, and for
running spreadsheet and database management applications. At home, the most popular use for personal
computers is playing games and surfing Internet.

Mini Computer
A midsized computer. In size and power, minicomputers lie between workstations and mainframes.
In the past decade, the distinction between large minicomputers and small mainframes has blurred,
however, as has the distinction between small minicomputers and workstations. But in general, a
minicomputer is a multiprocessing system capable of supporting from 4 to about 200 users simultaneously.

Mainframe Computer
A very large and expensive computer capable of supporting hundreds, or even thousands, of users
simultaneously. In the hierarchy that starts with a simple microprocessor (in watches, for example) at the
bottom and moves to supercomputers at the top, mainframes are just below supercomputers. In some ways,
mainframes are more powerful than supercomputers because they support more simultaneous programs.
But supercomputers can execute a single program faster than a mainframe.

Super Computer
The fastest and most powerful type of computer Supercomputers are very expensive and are employed for
specialized applications that require immense amounts of mathematical calculations. For example, weather
forecasting requires a supercomputer. Other uses of supercomputers include animated graphics, fluid
dynamic calculations, nuclear energy research, and petroleum exploration.

Desktop Computer:
A personal or micro-mini computer sufficient to fit on a desk.

Laptop Computer:
a portable computer complete with an integrated screen and keyboard. It is generally smaller in size than a
desktop computer and larger than a notebook computer.

Palmtop Computer/Digital Diary /Notebook /PDAs:

A hand-sized computer. Palmtops have no keyboard but the screen serves both as an input and output
device.
 Components of
There are 3 components are Computer
available in computer, these are
1. Hardware
2. Software
3. Operating System

Hardware
Hardware represents the physical and tangible components of a computer i.e. the components that can be
seen and touched.
Examples of Hardware are 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.

Software
Software is a collection of some programs that perform specific tasks. Program means collection of
some data & instruction. Based on the type of operation performed by the software it can be categorized
into three types
There are two types of software
 System Software
 Application Software

System Software
The system software is collection of programs designed to operate, control, and extend the processing
capabilities of the computer itself. System software are generally prepared by computer manufactures.
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 hardware and the end users.
Some examples of system software are Operating System, Compilers, Interpreter, and Assemblers etc.

Features of system software are as follows:

 Close to system
 Fast in speed
 Difficult to design
 Difficult to understand
 Less interactive
 Smaller in size
 Difficult to manipulate
System Software can be classified into three types,
a. Operating System: -
 It acts as an interface between the user and the computer. Some example of Operating system is
DOS, Windows Linux etc.
b. Language Processors: -
This software is used to convert high level language programme instruction into low level
language or machine language instruction .Some examples are compiler, Interpreter.
c. System Utilities: -
This software is designed to operate the hardware devices present on the computer. Example is
Firmware such as BIOS, Device drivers etc.

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 a Microsoft's notepad for writing and
editing 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 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 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
 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.
 A software acts as an interface between the user and the hardware.
 If hardware is the 'heart' of a computer system, then software is its 'soul'. Both are complimentary to
each other.

Operating System
The system which interfaces between Hardware, Software & the user & operate all the system is
called Operating System. It also manages the resources of the computer such as memory, processors, input-
output devices and files.
Ex: - Dos, windows, Linux, UNIX etc.
 Basic Operation of
Computer
In computer, there are 5 basic operation of computer. These are
1. Inputting
2. Storing
3. Processing
4. Outputting
5. Controlling.

Inputting: -
To input the data from external environment through input device.
Storing: -
To store the input data into the memory
Processing: -
To process the storage data through Arithmetic Logic Unit [A.L.U]
Outputting: -
Display the result of the processing data through output device such as visual display or printed report.
Controlling: -
To control all the operation & system via control unit.

Block Diagram of Computer Operation

Secondary
Storage

Data &
Instruction
Primary
Input Device Storage Output
Device

Output

Arithmetic Logic
Unit
 Details of
Hardware
There are 3 types of hardware in computer system. These are
 Input Device
 Output Device
 Storage Device

Input Device:
The device which can helps us to input some data from external environment into the computer is
called Input Device.
Ex:-Mouse, Keyboard, Scanner, Light pen etc.

Following are few of the important input devices which are used in a computer:
 Keyboard
 Mouse
 Joy Stick
 Light pen
 Track Ball
 Scanner
 Graphic Tablet
 Microphone
 Magnetic Ink Card Reader(MICR)
 Optical Character Reader(OCR)
 Bar Code Reader
 Optical Mark Reader(OMR)

Keyboard
Keyboard is the most common and very popular input device which helps in
inputting data to the computer. The layout of the keyboard is like that of
traditional typewriter, although there are some additional keys provided for
performing additional functions.
Keyboards are of two sizes 84 keys or 101/102 keys, but now keyboards
with 104 keys or 108 keys are also available for Windows and Internet.
The keys on the keyboard are as follows:
Sl.No Keys Description
1 Typing Keys These keys include the letter keys (A-Z) and digit keys (0-9) which
generally give same layout as that of typewriters.
2 Numeric Keypad It is used to enter numeric data or cursor movement. Generally, it
consists of a set of 17 keys that are laid out in the same configuration
 used by most adding machines and calculators.
3 Function Keys The twelve function keys are present on the keyboard which are arranged
in a row at the top of the keyboard. Each function key has unique
meaning and is used for some specific purpose.
4 Control keys These keys provide cursor and screen control. It includes four directional
arrow keys. Control keys also include Home, End, Insert, Delete, Page
Up, Page Down, Control(Ctrl), Alternate(Alt), Escape(Esc).
5 Special Purpose Keyboard also contains some special purpose keys such as Enter, Shift,
Keys Caps Lock, Num Lock, Space bar, Tab, and Print Screen.

Mouse
Mouse is most popular pointing device. It is a very famous cursor-
control device having a small palm size box with a round ball at its base
which senses the movement of mouse and sends corresponding signals
to CPU when the mouse buttons are pressed.
Generally it has two buttons called left and right button and a wheel is
present between the buttons. Mouse can be used to control the position
of cursor on screen, but it cannot be used to enter text into the
computer.
Advantages
 Easy to use
 Not very expensive
 Moves the cursor faster than the arrow keys of keyboard.

Joystick
Joystick is also a pointing device which is used to move cursor position on a
monitor screen. It is a stick having a spherical ball at its both lower and upper
ends. The lower spherical ball moves in a socket. The joystick can be moved
in all four directions.
The function of joystick is similar to that of a mouse. It is mainly used in
Computer Aided Designing (CAD) and playing computer games.

Light Pen
Light pen is a pointing device which is similar to a pen. It is used to select a
displayed menu item or draw pictures on the monitor screen. It consists of a
photocell and an optical system placed in a small tube. When the tip of a
light pen is moved over the monitor screen and pen button is pressed, its
photocell sensing element detects the screen location and sends the
corresponding signal to the CPU.

Track Ball
Track ball is an input device that is mostly used in notebook or laptop
computer, instead of a mouse. This is a ball which is half inserted and by
moving fingers on ball, pointer can be moved. Since the whole device is
not moved, a track ball requires less space than a mouse. A track ball
comes in various shapes like a ball, a button and a square.

Scanner
Scanner is an input device which works more like a photocopy machine. It is used when some information
is available on a paper and it is to be transferred to the hard disc of the computer for further manipulation.
Scanner captures images from the source which are then converted into the digital form that can be stored
on the disc. These images can be edited before they are printed.

Digitizer
Digitizer is an input device which converts analog information into digital
form. Digitizer can convert a signal from the television or camera into a series
of numbers that could be stored in a computer. They can be used by the
computer to create a picture of whatever the camera had been pointed at.
Digitizer is also known as Tablet or Graphics Tablet because it converts
graphics and pictorial data into binary inputs. A graphic tablet as digitizer is
used for doing fine works of drawing and image manipulation applications.

Microphone
Microphone is an input device to input sound that is then stored in digital
form. The microphone is used for various applications like adding sound to a
multimedia presentation or for mixing music.

Magnetic Ink Card Reader (MICR)

MICR input device is generally used in banks because of a large number of
cheque to be processed every day. The bank's code number and cheque number
are printed on the cheque with a special type of ink that contains particles of
magnetic material that are machine readable. This reading process is called
Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR). The main advantages of MICR
is that it is fast and less error prone.

Optical Character Reader (OCR)

OCR is an input device used to read a printed text. OCR scans text optically
character by character, converts them into a machine readable code and stores
the text on the system memory.

Bar Code Readers

Bar Code Reader is a device used for reading bar coded data (data in form of
light and dark lines). Bar coded data is generally used in labelling goods,
numbering the books etc. It may be a hand held scanner or may be embedded
in a stationary scanner. Bar Code Reader scans a bar code image, converts it
into an alphanumeric value which is then fed to the computer to which bar
code reader is connected.
Optical Mark Reader (OMR)
OMR is a special type of optical scanner used to recognize the type of mark
made by pen or pencil. It is used where one out of a few alternatives is to be
selected and marked. It is specially used for checking the answer sheets of
examinations having multiple choice questions.

Output Device:-
The device which can deliver us some output of the processing data is called output device.

Following are few of the important output devices which are used in a computer.
 Monitors
 Graphic Plotter
 Printer

Monitors
Monitors, commonly called as Visual Display Unit (VDU), are the main output device of a computer. It
forms images from tiny dots, called pixels that are arranged in a rectangular form. The sharpness of the
image depends upon the number of pixels.
There are two kinds of viewing screen used for monitors.
 Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT)
 Flat- Panel Display

Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT) Monitor

The CRT display is made up of small picture elements called pixels. The
smaller the pixels, the better the image clarity, or resolution. It takes more
than one illuminated pixel to form whole character, such as the letter ‘e’ in
the word help.
A finite number of characters can be displayed on a screen at once. The
screen can be divided into a series of character boxes - fixed location on the
screen where a standard character can be placed. Most screens are capable of
displaying 80 characters of data horizontally and 25 lines vertically. There are
some disadvantages of CRT:
 Large in Size
 High power consumption

Flat-Panel Display Monitor

The flat-panel display refers to a class of video devices that have reduced
volume, weight and power requirement in comparison to the CRT. You can
hang them on walls or wear them on your wrists. Current uses of flat-panel
displays include calculators, video games, monitors, laptop computer,
graphics display.
The flat-panel display is divided into two categories:
  Emissive Displays - The emissive displays are devices that convert electrical energy into light.
Example are plasma panel and LED (Light-Emitting Diodes).
 Non-Emissive Displays - The Non-emissive displays use optical effects to convert sunlight or light
from some other source into graphics patterns. Example is LCD(Liquid-Crystal Device)

Printers
Printer is an output device, which is used to print information on paper.
There are two types of printers:
 Impact Printers
 Non-Impact Printers

Impact Printers
The impact printers print the characters by striking them on the ribbon which is then pressed on the paper.
Characteristics of Impact Printers are the following:
 Very low consumable costs
 Very noisy
 Useful for bulk printing due to low cost
 There is physical contact with the paper to produce an image
These printers are of two types
 Character printers
 Line printers

Character Printers
Character printers are the printers which print one character at a time.
These are further divided into two types:
 Dot Matrix Printer(DMP)
 Daisy Wheel

Dot Matrix Printer

In the market one of the most popular printers is Dot Matrix Printer.
These printers are popular because of their ease of printing and
economical price. Each character printed is in form of pattern of dots
and head consists of a Matrix of Pins of size (5*7, 7*9, 9*7 or 9*9)
which come out to form a character that is why it is called Dot Matrix
Printer.
Advantages
 Inexpensive
 Widely Used
 Other language characters can be printed
Disadvantages
 Slow Speed
 Poor Quality

Daisy Wheel
Head is lying on a wheel and pins corresponding to characters are like petals of Daisy (flower name) that is
why it is called Daisy Wheel Printer. These printers are generally used for word-processing in offices
which require a few letters to be sent here and there with very nice quality.
Advantages
 More reliable than DMP
 Better quality
 The fonts of character can be easily changed
Disadvantages
 Slower than DMP
 Noisy

Line Printers
Line printers are the printers which print one line at a time.

These are of further two types

 Drum Printer
 Chain Printer

Drum Printer
This printer is like a drum in shape so it is called drum printer. The surface
of drum is divided into number of tracks. Total tracks are equal to size of
paper i.e. for a paper width of 132 characters, drum will have 132 tracks. A
character set is embossed on track. The different character sets available in
the market are 48 character set, 64 and 96 characters set. One rotation of
drum prints one line. Drum printers are fast in speed and can print 300 to
2000 lines per minute.
Advantages
 Very high speed
Disadvantages
 Very expensive
 Characters fonts cannot be changed

Chain Printer
In this printer, chain of character sets are used so it is called Chain Printer. A standard character set may
have 48, 64, or 96 characters.
Advantages
 Character fonts can easily be changed.
 Different languages can be used with the same printer.
Disadvantages
 Noisy

Non-impact Printers
Non-impact printers print the characters without using ribbon. These printers print a complete page at a
time so they are also called as Page Printers.
These printers are of two types
 Laser Printers
 Inkjet Printers
Characteristics of Non-impact Printers
  Faster than impact printers.
 They are not noisy.
 High quality.
 Support many fonts and different character size.

Laser Printers
These are non-impact page printers. They use laser lights to produce the
dots needed to form the characters to be printed on a page.
Advantages
 Very high speed
 Very high quality output
 Give good graphics quality
 Support many fonts and different character size
Disadvantages
 Expensive.
 Cannot be used to produce multiple copies of a document in a single printing.

Inkjet Printers
Inkjet printers are non-impact character printers based on a relatively new
technology. They print characters by spraying small drops of ink onto
paper. Inkjet printers produce high quality output with presentable
features.
They make less noise because no hammering is done and these have many
styles of printing modes available. Color printing is also possible. Some
models of Inkjet printers can produce multiple copies of printing also.
Advantages
 High quality printing
 More reliable
Disadvantages
 Expensive as cost per page is high
 Slow as compared to laser printer
Storage Device:
The device which can helps us to store some data into the computer is called Storage Device.
Storage device mainly 2 types.
 Processing Device
 Memory Device

Processing Device
When a computer receives data from an input device, the data must go through an intermediate stage before
it can be sent to an output device, like a monitor, printer, or speakers. A processing device is any device in
a computer that handles this intermediate stage, being responsible for controlling the storage and retrieval
of data.

Microprocessor:-
The microprocessor is a semiconductor device consisting of electronic logic circuits
manufactured by using Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) technique. It is capable of performing
calculations and making decision to change the sequence of program execution. Microprocessor includes
all the logic circuitry on a single chip.

Types of processor: -
There are mainly 4 types of processor
1. CISC processor
2. RISC processor
3. EPIC processor
4. Multicore Processor
a. Dual Core
b. Core2 Due
c. I3
d. I5
e. I7
f. I9

Units of Microprocessor
There are three separate units in Microprocessor-
Control Unit,
Register Unit &
Arithmetic Logic Unit.
Control Unit: -
This unit controls the operations of all parts of computer but does not carry out any actual data
processing operations.
Functions of this unit are:
 It is responsible for controlling the transfer of data and instructions among other units of a
computer.
 It manages and coordinates all the units of the computer.
 It obtains the instructions from the memory, interprets them, and directs the operation of the
computer.
 It communicates with Input/output devices for transfer of data or results from storage.
 It does not process or store data.

Register Unit:-
This area of the microprocessor consists of various temporary storage areas known as registers.
Each one of the registers is assigned to hold specify type of vales. Some of registers are assigned to hold
intermediate result of a large calculation, one for holding the sign status of the result (+ or -), another for
holding carry status used for further calculation etc.
Register are 6 types
1. Memory Address Register(MAR)
2. Memory Buffer Register(MBR)
3. Program Control Register
4. Accumulated Register
5. Instruction Register
6. Input /Output Register.

Arithmetic Logic Unit:-

An arithmetic logic unit (ALU) is a digital circuit used to perform arithmetic and logic operations. It
represents the fundamental building block of the central processing unit (CPU) of a computer. Modern
CPUs contain very powerful and complex ALUs. In addition to ALUs, modern CPUs contain a control unit
(CU).
Most of the operations of a CPU are performed by one or more ALUs, which load data from input
registers. A register is a small amount of storage available as part of a CPU. The control unit tells the ALU
what operation to perform on that data and the ALU stores the result in an output register. The control unit
moves the data between these registers, the ALU, and memory.
This unit consists of two subsections namely
 Arithmetic section
 Logic Section
Arithmetic Section
Function of arithmetic section is to perform arithmetic operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication
and division. All complex operations are done by making repetitive use of above operations.
Logic Section
Function of logic section is to perform logic operations such as comparing, selecting, matching and
merging of data.

Motherboard
The motherboard serves as a single platform to connect all of the parts
of a computer together. A motherboard connects CPU, memory, hard
drives, optical drives, video card, sound card, and other ports and expansion cards directly or via cables. It
can be considered as the backbone of a computer.

Features of Motherboard
A motherboard comes with following features:
 Motherboard varies greatly in supporting various types of components.
 Normally a motherboard supports a single type of CPU and few types of memories.
 Video Cards, Hard disks, Sound Cards have to be compatible with motherboard to function
properly
 Motherboards, cases and power supplies must be compatible to work properly together.

Popular Manufacturers
 Intel
 ASUS
 AOpen
 ABIT
 Biostar
 Gigabyte
 MSI
Description of Motherboard
The motherboard is mounted inside the case and is securely attached via small screws through pre-drilled
holes. Motherboard contains ports to connect all of the internal components. It provides a single socket for
CPU whereas for memory, normally one or more slots are available. Motherboards provide ports to attach
floppy drive, hard drive, and optical drives via ribbon cables. Motherboard carries fans and a special port
designed for power supply.
There is a peripheral card slot in front of the motherboard using which video cards, sound cards and other
expansion cards can be connected to motherboard.
On the left side, motherboards carry a number of ports to connect monitor, printer, mouse, keyboard,
speaker, and network cables. Motherboards also provide USB ports which allow compatible devices to be
connected in plug-in/plug-out fashion for example, pen drive, digital cameras etc.

What is a Port?
A port is a physical docking point using which an external device can be connected to the computer and
can also be programmatic docking point through which information flows from a program to computer or
over the internet.

Characteristics
A port has the following characteristics:
 External devices are connected to a computer using cables and ports.
 Ports are slots on the motherboard into which a cable of external
device is plugged in.
 Examples of external devices attached via ports are mouse, keyboard,
monitor, microphone, speakers etc.

Following are few important types of ports:

Serial Port
 Used for external modems and older computer mouse
  Two versions : 9 pin, 25 pin model
 Data travels at 115 kilobits per second

Parallel Port
 Used for scanners and printers
 Also called printer port
 25 pin model
 Also known as IEEE 1284-compliant Centronics port

PS/2 Port
 Used for old computer keyboard and mouse
 Also called mouse port
 Most of the old computers provide two PS/2 port, each for mouse and keyboard
 Also known as IEEE 1284-compliant Centronics port

Universal Serial Bus (or USB) Port

 It can connect all kinds of external USB devices such as external hard disk, printer, scanner, mouse,
keyboard etc.
 It was introduced in 1997.
 Most of the computers provide two USB ports as minimum.
 Data travels at 12 megabits per seconds
 USB compliant devices can get power from a USB port

VGA Port
 Connects monitor to a computer's video card.
 Has 15 holes.
 Similar to serial port connector but serial port connector has pins, it has holes.

Power Connector
 Three-pronged plug
 Connects to the computer's power cable that plugs into a power bar or wall socket

Firewire Port
 Transfers large amount of data at very fast speed.
 Connects camcorders and video equipment’s to the computer
 Data travels at 400 to 800 megabits per seconds
 Invented by Apple
 Three variants : 4-Pin FireWire 400 connector, 6-Pin FireWire 400 connector and 9-Pin FireWire
800 connector

Modem Port
 Connects a PC's modem to the telephone network

Ethernet Port
  Connects to a network and high speed Internet.
 Connect network cable to a computer.
 This port resides on an Ethernet Card.
 Data travels at 10 megabits to 1000 megabits per seconds depending upon the network bandwidth.
Game Port
 Connect a joystick to a PC
 Now replaced by USB.
Digital Video Interface, DVI port
 Connects Flat panel LCD monitor to the computer's high end video graphic cards.
 Very popular among video card manufacturers.
Sockets
 Connect microphone, speakers to sound card of the computer

Memory
A memory is just like a human brain. It is used to store data and instructions. Computer memory is
the storage space in computer where data is to be processed and instructions required for processing are
stored. The memory is divided into large number of small parts called cells. Each location or cell has a
unique address which varies from zero to memory size minus one. For example if computer has 64k words,
then this memory unit has 64 * 1024=65536 memory locations. The address of these locations varies from
0 to 65535.
Memory is primarily of three types
 Cache Memory
 Primary Memory/Main Memory
 Secondary Memory

Cache Memory
Cache memory is a very high speed semiconductor memory which can speed up CPU. It acts as a
buffer between the CPU and main memory. It is used to hold those parts of data and program which are
most frequently used by CPU. The parts of data and programs are transferred from disk to cache memory
by operating system, from where CPU can access them.

Advantages
The advantages of cache memory are as follows:
 Cache memory is faster than main memory.
 It consumes less access time as compared to main memory.
 It stores the program that can be executed within a short period of time.
 It stores data for temporary use.

Disadvantages
The disadvantages of cache memory are as follows:
 Cache memory has limited capacity.
 It is very expensive.

Primary Memory (Main Memory)

Primary memory holds only those data and instructions on which computer is currently working. It
has limited capacity and data is lost when power is switched off. It is generally made up of semiconductor
device. These memories are not as fast as registers. The data and instruction required to be processed reside
in main memory. It is divided into two subcategories RAM and ROM.

Characteristics of Main Memory

 These are semiconductor memories
 It is known as main memory.
 Usually volatile memory.
 Data is lost in case power is switched off.
 It is working memory of the computer.
 Faster than secondary memories.
 A computer cannot run without primary memory.

Random Access Memory

RAM (Random Access Memory) is the internal memory of the CPU for storing data, program and
program result. It is read/write memory which stores data until the machine is working. As soon as the
machine is switched off, data is erased.
Access time in RAM is independent of the address that is, each storage location inside the memory is as
easy to reach as other locations and takes the same amount of time. Data in the RAM can be accessed
randomly but it is very expensive.
RAM is volatile, i.e. data stored in it is lost when we switch off the computer or if there is a power failure.
Hence a backup uninterruptible power system (UPS) is often used with computers. RAM is small, both in
terms of its physical size and in the amount of data it can hold.
RAM is of two types
 Static RAM (SRAM)
 Dynamic RAM (DRAM)

Static RAM (SRAM)

The word static indicates that the memory retains its contents as long as power is being supplied.
However, data is lost when the power gets down due to volatile nature. SRAM chips use a matrix of 6-
transistors and no capacitors. Transistors do not require power to prevent leakage, so SRAM need not have
to be refreshed on a regular basis.
Because of the extra space in the matrix, SRAM uses more chips than DRAM for the same amount of
storage space, thus making the manufacturing costs higher. So SRAM is used as cache memory and has
very fast access.

Characteristic of the Static RAM

 It has long life
 There is no need to refresh
 Faster
 Used as cache memory
 Large size
 Expensive
 High power consumption
Dynamic RAM (DRAM)
DRAM, unlike SRAM, must be continually refreshed in order to maintain the data. This is done by
placing the memory on a refresh circuit that rewrites the data several hundred times per second. DRAM is
used for most system memory because it is cheap and small. All DRAMs are made up of memory cells
which are composed of one capacitor and one transistor.

Characteristics of the Dynamic RAM

 It has short data lifetime
 Need to be refreshed continuously
 Slower as compared to SRAM
 Used as RAM
 Lesser in size
 Less expensive
 Less power consumption

Read Only Memory

ROM stands for Read Only Memory. The memory from which we can only read but cannot write
on it. This type of memory is non-volatile. The information is stored permanently in such memories during
manufacture. A ROM, stores such instructions that are required to start a computer. This operation is
referred to as bootstrap. ROM chips are not only used in the computer but also in other electronic items like
washing machine and microwave oven.

Following are the various types of ROM

MROM (Masked ROM)

The very first ROMs were hard-wired devices that contained a pre-programmed set of data or
instructions. These kind of ROMs are known as masked ROMs which are inexpensive.

PROM (Programmable Read only Memory)

PROM is read-only memory that can be modified only once by a user. The user buys a blank
PROM and enters the desired contents using a PROM program. Inside the PROM chip there are small fuses
which are burnt open during programming. It can be programmed only once and is not erasable.

EPROM (Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory)

The EPROM can be erased by exposing it to ultra-violet light for a duration of up to 40 minutes.
Usually, an EPROM eraser achieves this function. During programming, an electrical charge is trapped in
an insulated gate region. The charge is retained for more than ten years because the charge has no leakage
path. For erasing this charge, ultra-violet light is passed through a quartz crystal window (lid). This
exposure to ultra-violet light dissipates the charge. During normal use the quartz lid is sealed with a sticker.

EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only

Memory)
The EEPROM is programmed and erased electrically. It can be erased and reprogrammed about ten
thousand times. Both erasing and programming take about 4 to 10 ms (milli second). In EEPROM, any
location can be selectively erased and programmed. EEPROMs can be erased one byte at a time, rather
than erasing the entire chip. Hence, the process of re-programming is flexible but slow.
Advantages of ROM
The advantages of ROM are as follows:
 Non-volatile in nature
 These cannot be accidentally changed
 Cheaper than RAMs
 Easy to test
 More reliable than RAMs
 These are static and do not require refreshing
 Its contents are always known and can be verified

Secondary Memory
This type of memory is also known as external memory or non-volatile. It is slower than main
memory. These are used for storing data/Information permanently. CPU directly does not access these
memories instead they are accessed via input-output routines. Contents of secondary memories are first
transferred to main memory, and then CPU can access it. For example: disk, CD-ROM, DVD etc.

Characteristic of Secondary Memory

 These are magnetic and optical memories
 It is known as backup memory.
 It is non-volatile memory.
 Data is permanently stored even if power is switched off.
 It is used for storage of data in a computer.
 Computer may run without secondary memory.
 Slower than primary memories.

Example: Hard disk, CD, DVD, Pen drive, etc.

Types of Secondary memory are:

 Magnetic memory
 Optical memory

Magnetic Memory
Magnetic memory uses the property of magnet for storing data. It is in use since first generations of
computer. It contains data storing surface coated by magnetic oxide. Magnetic memory is further divided
as:

Magnetic Drum
Magnetic drum contains a metallic drum coated by magnetic oxide on the outer surface of the drum,
data is stored in this surface. It was in use in first and second generations of computer.

Magnetic tape
Magnetic tape contains thin plastic ribbon, only one side of the ribbon is used for storing data. The
data storing side is coated by magnetic oxide. It is a sequential access memory. So, the data read/write
speed is slower. It is mainly used for storing audio, video and back-up data. It is highly reliable. It requires
magnetic tape drive for reading and writing data. It has the storage capacity of 100MB-200GB. The width
of the ribbon also varies from 4mm-1inch.

Magnetic disk
Magnetic disk contains a circular disc made of metal or plastic. Both side of the disc is usually used
for storing data. The disc is coated by magnetic oxide. The disc is divided into multiple concentric circles
known as track. Tracks are further divided into small area known as sectors. Data are stored in sectors.
Example: Hard disk, floppy disk, zip disk, super disk, Winchester disk, jaz disk.

Hard disk
It is used as main storage device of the computer. It uses 2-4 metallic disk (platter). The disk is
usually made of aluminum. Both sides of the disk is used for storing data except the upper side of the
uppermost disk and lower side of the lowermost disk. The data storing surface is coated by magnetic oxide.
Each data storing surface contains separate read/write head. During data read/write process platter rotates at
the rate of 3600-15000rpm. Hard disk is also known as hard drive because both data storing disk and data
read/write components are combined together. It has the storage capacity of few megabytes to tera byte.

Floppy disk
It contains single plastic disk. Initially it was used as a main storage device but nowadays it is used
for carrying data from one computer to another. It requires floppy drive for its operation. It is not reliable
as hard disk because the data storing surface is exposed. So, it may be affected by dust particles and
magnetic field.

Optical Memory
Optical memory uses light beam for its operation. It is developed in fourth generation of computer.
It is mainly used for storing audio/video, backup as well as for carrying data. It requires optical drive for its
operation. Its read/write speed is slower compared to hard disk and flash memories.
Example: CD, DVD, BD

CD
It stands for Compact Disk. It has storage capacity of 700 MB or approximately 90 minutes of standard
audio. CD contains hard circular plastic, single side of this plastic is coated by aluminum alloy. This alloy
stores data. It is protected by additional thin plastic covering. CD required CD drive for its operation.
Types of CD are:
 CD-R is a blank CD in which data can be stored once. After storing data it is converted into CD-
ROM.
 CD-ROM: It cannot be erased or updated
 CD-RW: it can be erased and used for multiple times.

DVD
It stands for Digital Versatile Disk. It has the storage capacity of 4.7GB to 17GB. Its shape and size
is similar to CD but the difference in storage capacity is due to different chemical component and data is
compressed before storing. It requires DVD drive for its operation. Read/write speed of DVD is slower
than that of CD. Types of DVD are:
 DVD-R
 DVD-ROM
 DVD-RW
DVD can also be classified as:
 Single sided single layered DVD (4.7GB)
 Single sided dual layered DVD (7-8GB)
 Dual sided single layered DVD (9GB)
 Dual sided dual layered DVD (17GB)

BD
It stands for Blu-ray disk. It has the storage capacity of 25GB-50GB. It requires BD drive for its operation.
Its shape and size is similar to CD and DVD. Types of BD are:
 BD-R
 BD-ROM
 BD-RW

External memory devices:

Zip disk
It is a magnetic memory. It is thee modification of floppy disk. It has the storage capacity of 100MB and
250MB. It requires Zip disk drive for its operation.

Jaz disk
It is also a magnetic memory. It has the storage capacity of 2GB. It also requires separate Jaz disk drive for
its operation.

Super disk
It is also a magnetic memory. It has the storage capacity of 120MB. It requires Super disk drive for its
operation. Both floppy and super disk can be used in super disk drive.

Pen drive
It is a flash memory. It is a semi-conductor memory. It is mainly used for transferring data. It has faster
read/write speed compared to magnetic memory. Pen drive has storage capacity of few MB-GB. A pen
drive is a plug and play device. A pen drive can be connected with the computer through USB port.

Portable hard disk

it is a magnetic hard disk. It can be connected with the computer through the USB port. It is also a plug and
play device. It is mainly used for storing backup. It has the storage capacity from few GB-TB.
Memory Units
Memory unit is the amount of data that can be stored in the storage unit that in which storage capacity is
expressed in terms of Bytes.
Following are the main memory storage units:

Sl.No. Unit Description

A binary digit is logical 0 and 1 representing a passive or an active
1 Bit (Binary Digit)
state of a component in an electric circuit.
2 Nibble A group of 4 bits is called nibble.
A group of 8 bits is called byte. A byte is the smallest unit which can
3 Byte
represent a data item or a character.
A computer word, like a byte, is a group of fixed number of bits
processed as a unit which varies from computer to computer but is
fixed for each computer.
4 Word
The length of a computer word is called word-size or word length
and it may be as small as 8 bits or may be as long as 96 bits. A
computer stores the information in the form of computer words.

Few higher storage units are following

1 Bit = Binary Digit

8 Bits = 1 Byte
1024 Bytes = 1 KB (Kilo Byte)
1024 KB = 1 MB (Mega Byte)
1024 MB = 1 GB (Giga Byte)
1024 GB = 1 TB (Terra Byte)
1024 TB = 1 PB (Peta Byte)
1024 PB = 1 EB (Exa Byte)
1024 EB = 1 ZB (Zetta Byte)
1024 ZB = 1 YB (Yotta Byte)
1024 YB = 1 (Bronto Byte)
1024 Brontobyte = 1 (Geop Byte)

Geop Byte is The Highest Memory Measurement Unit!!!

Operating System
A computer system has many resources (hardware and software), which may be require to complete a task.
The commonly required resources are input/output devices, memory, file storage space, CPU etc. The
operating system acts as a manager of the above resources and allocates them to specific programs and
users as necessary for their task. Therefore operating system is the resource manager i.e. it can manage the
resource of a computer system internally. The resources are processor, memory, files, and I/O devices.
It is a program with following features:
 An operating system is a program that acts as an interface between the software and the computer
hardware.
 It is an integrated set of specialized programs that are used to manage overall resources and
operations of the computer.
 It is specialized software that controls and monitors the execution of all other programs that reside
in the computer, including application programs and other system software.

Objectives of Operating System

 To make a computer system convenient to use in an efficient manner
 To hide the details of the hardware resources from the users
 To provide users a convenient interface to use the computer system
 To act as an intermediary between the hardware and its users and making it
easier for the users to access and use other resources
 To manage the resources of a computer system
 To keep track of who is using which resource, granting resource requests,
according for resource using and mediating conflicting requests from
different programs and users
 To provide efficient and fair sharing of resources among users and
programs
Characteristics of Operating System
 Memory Management -- keeps tracks of primary memory i.e. what part of it is in use by whom, what
part is not in use etc. and allocates the memory when a process or program requests it.
 Processor Management -- allocates the processor (CPU) to a process and deallocates processor when
it is no longer required.
 Device Management -- keeps track of all devices. This is also called I/O controller that decides which
process gets the device, when, and for how much time.
 File Management -- allocates and de-allocates the resources and decides who gets the resources.
 Security -- prevents unauthorized access to programs and data by means of passwords and similar
other techniques.
 Job accounting -- keeps track of time and resources used by various jobs and/or users.
 Control over system performance -- records delays between request for a service and from the
system.
 Interaction with the operators -- The interaction may take place via the console of the computer in
the form of instructions. Operating System acknowledges the same, does the corresponding action and
informs the operation by a display screen.
 Error-detecting aids -- Production of dumps, traces, error messages and other debugging and error-
detecting methods.
 Coordination between other software and users -- Coordination and assignment of compilers,
interpreters, assemblers and other software to the various users of the computer systems.

Functions of Operating System

1. It boots the computer
2. It performs basic computer tasks e.g. managing the various peripheral devices e.g. mouse, keyboard
3. It provides a user interface, e.g. command line, graphical user interface (GUI)
4. It handles system resources such as computer's memory and sharing of the central processing unit
(CPU) time by various applications or peripheral devices.
5. It provides file management which refers to the way that the operating system manipulates, stores,
retrieves and saves data.
 6. Error Handling is done by the operating system. It takes preventive measures whenever required to
avoid errors.

Types of Operating System

1. Serial Processing:
The Serial Processing Operating Systems are those which Performs all the instructions into a Sequence
Manner or the Instructions those are given by the user will be executed by using the FIFO Manner means
First in First Out. All the Instructions those are Entered First in the System will be Executed First and the
Instructions those are Entered Later Will be Executed Later. For Running the Instructions the Program
Counter is used which is used for Executing all the Instructions.
In this the Program Counter will determines which instruction is going to Execute and the which
instruction will be Execute after this. Mainly the Punch Cards are used for this. In this all the Jobs are
firstly Prepared and Stored on the Card and after that card will be entered in the System and after that all
the Instructions will be executed one by One. But the Main Problem is that a user doesn’t interact with the
System while he is working on the System, means the user can’t be able to enter the data for Execution.

2. Batch Processing:
The Batch Processing is same as the Serial Processing Technique. But in the Batch Processing
Similar Types of jobs are Firstly Prepared and they are Stored on the Card. and that card will be Submit to
the System for the Processing. The System then Perform all the Operations on the Instructions one by one.
And a user can’t be Able to specify any input. And Operating System wills increments his Program
Counter for Executing the Next Instruction.
The Main Problem is that the Jobs those are prepared for Execution must be the Same Type and if a
job requires for any type of Input then this will not be Possible for the user. And Many Time will be wasted
for Preparing the Batch. The Batch Contains the Jobs and all those jobs will be executed without the user
Intervention. And Operating System will use the LOAD and RUN Operation. This will first LOAD the Job
from the Card and after that he will execute the instructions. By using the RUN Command.
The Speed of the Processing the Job will be Depend on the Jobs and the Results those are produced
by the System in difference of Time which is used for giving or submit the Job and the Time which is used
for Displaying the Results on the Screen.

3. Multi-Programming:
As we know that in the Batch Processing System there are multiple jobs Execute by the System.
The System first prepare a batch and after that he will Execute all the jobs those are Stored into the Batch.
But the Main Problem is that if a process or job requires an Input and Output Operation, then it is not
possible and second there will be the wastage of the Time when we are preparing the batch and the CPU
will remain idle at that Time.
But With the help of Multi programming we can Execute Multiple Programs on the System at a
Time and in the Multi-programming the CPU will never get idle, because with the help of Multi-
Programming we can Execute Many Programs on the System and When we are Working with the Program
then we can also Submit the Second or Another Program for Running and the CPU will then Execute the
Second Program after the completion of the First Program. And in this we can also specify our Input means
a user can also interact with the System.
 The Multi-programming Operating Systems never use any cards because the Process is entered on
the Spot by the user. But the Operating System also uses the Process of Allocation and De-allocation of the
Memory Means he will provide the Memory Space to all the Running and all the Waiting Processes. There
must be the Proper Management of all the Running Jobs.

4. Real Time System:

There is also an Operating System which is known as Real Time Processing System. In this Response
Time is already fixed. Means time to Display the Results after Possessing has fixed by the Processor or
CPU. Real Time System is used at those Places in which we Requires higher and Timely Response. These
Types of Systems are used in Reservation. So when we specify the Request, the CPU will perform at that
Time. There are two Types of Real Time System

1) Hard Real Time System:

In the Hard Real Time System, Time is fixed and we can’t Change any Moments of the Time of
Processing. Means CPU will Process the data as we Enters the Data.

2) Soft Real Time System:

In the Soft Real Time System, some Moments can be Change. Means after giving the Command to the
CPU, CPU Performs the Operation after a Microsecond.

5. Distributed Operating System. –

Distributed Means Data is Stored and Processed on Multiple Locations. When a Data is stored on to
the Multiple Computers, those are placed in Different Locations. Distributed means In the Network,
Network Collections of Computers are connected with Each other.
Then if we want to Take Some Data from other Computer, Then we uses the Distributed Processing
System. And we can also Insert and Remove the Data from out Location to another Location. In this Data
is shared between many users. And we can also Access all the Input and Output Devices are also accessed
by Multiple Users.

6. Multiprocessing:
Generally a Computer has a Single Processor means a Computer have a just one CPU for
Processing the instructions. But if we are Running multiple jobs, then this will decrease the Speed of CPU.
For Increasing the Speed of Processing then we uses the Multiprocessing, in the Multi Processing there are
two or More CPU in a Single Operating System if one CPU will fail, then other CPU is used for providing
backup to the first CPU. With the help of Multi-processing, we can Execute Many Jobs at a Time. All the
Operations are divided into the Number of CPU’s. if first CPU Completed his Work before the Second
CPU, then the Work of Second CPU will be divided into the First and Second.

7. Parallel operating
Parallel operating systems are used to interface multiple networked computers to complete tasks in
parallel. The architecture of the software is often a UNIX-based platform, which allows it to coordinate
distributed loads between multiple computers in a network. Parallel operating systems are able to use
software to manage all of the different resources of the computers running in parallel, such as memory,
caches, storage space, and processing power. Parallel operating systems also allow a user to directly
interface with all of the computers in the network.
 A parallel operating system works by dividing sets of calculations into smaller parts and
distributing them between the machines on a network. To facilitate communication between the processor
cores and memory arrays, routing software has to either share its memory by assigning the same address
space to all of the networked computers, or distribute its memory by assigning a different address space to
each processing core.
Sharing memory allows the operating system to run very quickly, but it is usually not as powerful.
When using distributed shared memory, processors have access to both their own local memory and the
memory of other processors; this distribution may slow the operating system, but it is often more flexible
and efficient.

Examples of Operating Systems

There are many different operating systems. Each do the same thing: they control all input,
processing and output. Click on the links to see examples of the desktop for the operating systems listed.
These examples open in their own window. Click the X in the upper-right corner of the window to return to
this page.

 DOS - Disk Operating System - one of the first operating systems for the personal computer. When
you turned the computer on all you saw was the command prompt which looked like c:\ >. You had to
type all commands at the command prompt which might look like c:\>wp\wp.exe. This is called a
command-line interface.
It was not very "user friendly"

 Windows - The Windows operating system, a product of Microsoft, is a GUI (graphical user
interface) operating system. This type of "user friendly" operating system is said to have WIMP
features:
o Windows
o Icons
o Menus
o Pointing device (mouse)
o
 MacOS - Macintosh, a product of Apple, has its own operating system with a GUI and WIMP
features.

 UNIX - Linux (the PC version of UNIX) - UNIX and Linux were originally created with a
command-line interface, but recently have added GUI enhancements.
*user-friendly is a relative term. The current GUI interfaces provided by Windows and Mac operating
systems are friendlier than the previous DOS systems, but still require us to conform to their specifications
(use of a keyboard or mouse instead of voice and/or hand-writing recognition).