HARAMAYA UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS

BASIC COMPUTER SKILLS OF MICROSOFT APPLICATIONS (CoSc2201)

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER

COMPILED BY: GIZACHEW B.

2 CONTENTS

 What is Computer?

 Computer Vs Human Beings

 Importance of Computer

 Computer Generation

 Classification of Computer
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WHAT IS COMPUTER … (1)

 Computer is an Electronic data processing device which is capable of performing Arithmetic and

Logical operations.

 ARITHMETIC OPERATIONS are: Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, etc.

 LOGICAL OPERATIONS are: And, Or, Not, Compare, etc.

 An electronic symbol manipulating system that’s designed and organized to automatically accept and

store input data, process them and produce the output.

 A computer can simply be defined as a machine which takes instructions and perform computations

and operations accordingly.

 Artificial Intelligence the fast growing computer research division defines the same computer as “Computer is

similar to human being but, without thinking power ".

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WHAT IS COMPUTER … (2)

 An electronic symbol manipulating system that’s

designed and organized to automatically accept and

store input data, process them and produce the output,

that results under the direction of a detailed step-by-

step stored program.

Characteristics
of Computer
 Humans have poor memory, he needs certain support

apart from his abilities and capacities.

 Because of poor memory and mental tiredness humans

lack in accuracy, speed, and reliability, that is why,

human needs computer as their additional support.

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COMPUTER VS HUMAN BEING

 Differences between Human Attitude and computer Attitudes

HUMAN COMPUTER

Can Think Cannot think by itself

Gets Mental Tiredness Never gets Tiredness

May do mistake Can’t do mistake by itself

Has limited speed Very High Speed

Has limited Memory More Amount of memory

Accuracy may be missing Never missing

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IMPORTANCE OF COMPUTER

 Computers are very important in every aspect of our lives.

 Computer usage is growing and bounds in business, industry, government, colleges, schools and

other places.

 The offices where we work, the stores in which we shop, the schools we attend, the banks that

handle our money, even the device we use in our homes are being radically altered by computers.

 Computers are now used in all aspects of education, both administration and teaching.

 Whether it is for school or home, work or play, computer can save your time and money, increase

your productivity, and process information with speed and accuracy.

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APPLICATION OF COMPUTER
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COMPUTER GENERATION … (1)

 The history of computer development is often

 The major characteristics that distinguish
referred to in reference to the different the various generations are:
generations of computing devices.  Dominant type of electronic circuit
element used
 Each of the five generations of computers is
 Major secondary storage media used
characterized by a major technological
 Computer language used
development that fundamentally changed the way
 Type or characteristic of operating
computers operate, resulting in increasingly system used

smaller, cheaper, more powerful and more  Memory access time

efficient and reliable computing devices.

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COMPUTER GENERATION … (2)

 Over generations, computers have shown:

 Increased in speed (Performance)

 Reduced in size

 Reduced in cost

 Increased in storage

 Reduced power consumptions

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COMPUTER GENERATION … (3)

FIRST GENERATION (1940-1956) [VACUUM TUBES]

 Vacuum tubes were used
 Basic arithmetic operations took few milliseconds.
 Bulky (very large).
 Consume more power with limited performance
 High cost.
 Uses assembly language – to prepare programs. These were translated into machine level
 language for execution.
 The UNIVAC (universal automatic computer)and ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And
Calculator) computers are examples of first-generation computing devices. The UNIVAC was the
first commercial computer delivered to a business client.
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COMPUTER GENERATION … (4)
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COMPUTER GENERATION … (5)

SECOND GENERATION (1956-1963) [TRANSISTORS]

 Transistors were used in place of vacuum tubes.
 Small in size
 Lesser power consumption and better performance
 Lower cost
 Magnetic cores and disk packs were introduced as storage devices.
 Second-generation computers moved from cryptic binary machine language to symbolic, or
assembly, languages, which allowed programmers to specify instructions in words.
 High level programming language were also being developed at this time, such as early versions
of COBOL and FORTRAN.
 These were also the first computers that stored their instructions in their memory, which moved
from a magnetic drum to magnetic core technology.
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COMPUTER GENERATION … (6)
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COMPUTER GENERATION … (7)

THIRD GENERATION (1964-1971) [INTEGRATED CIRCUITS]

 ICs (integrated circuits) were used
 Small Scale Integration and Medium Scale Integration technology were implemented in
 CPU, I/O processors etc.
 Smaller & better performance
 Comparatively lesser cost
 Faster processors
 In the beginning magnetic core memories were used. Later they were replaced by
 semiconductor memories (RAM & ROM)
 High level languages were standardized by ANSI eg. ANSI FORTRAN, ANSI COBOL etc
 Cache and virtual memories were introduced
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COMPUTER GENERATION … (8)
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COMPUTER GENERATION … (9)

FOURTH GENERATION (1971-PRESENT) [MICROPROCESSORS]

 Microprocessors were introduced as CPU.[Complete processors and large section of main
 memory could be implemented in a single chip ].
 Tens of thousands of transistors can be placed in a single chip [VLSI(Very Large Scale Integrated)
design implemented].
 Semiconductor memory chips were used as the main memory.
 Secondary memory was composed of hard disks – Floppy disks & magnetic tapes were used
 for backup memory
 LAN and WANS were developed.
 Introduced C language and Unix OS.
 Introduced Graphical User Interface.
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COMPUTER GENERATION … (10)
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COMPUTER GENERATION … (11)

FIFTH GENERATION (PRESENT AND BEYOND) [ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE]

 Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial Intelligence, are still in development,

though there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today.

 The use of parallel processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a

reality. Quantum computing and molecular and nanotechnology will radically change the face of

computers in years to come.

 The goal of fifth-generation computing is to develop devices that respond to natural language

input and are capable of learning and self-organization.

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COMPUTER GENERATION … (12)
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COMPUTER GENERATION … (13)
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COMPUTER GENERATION … (14)
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CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER … (1)

BASED ON PURPOSE BASED ON PROCESSING BASED ON SIZE

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CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER … (2)

CLASSIFICATION BASED ON PROCESSING

ANALOG COMPUTERS

 Analog computers operate by measuring.

 They deal with continues variables, they don’t compete directly with numbers; rather,

they operate by measuring physical magnitude such as pressure, temperature, voltage,

current

Examples: Thermometer, Voltmeter and Speedometer

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CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER … (3)

CLASSIFICATION BASED ON PROCESSING

DIGITAL COMPUTERS

 Digital computers operate by counting rather than measuring.

 They operate directly up on numbers

 Examples: Abacus, Desk & pocket computers and The general purpose computers
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CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER … (4)

CLASSIFICATION BASED ON PROCESSING

HYBRID COMPUTERS

 The best features of analog and digital computers can be combined into a single device to form a

hybrid computer.

 A hybrid computer processes the information by collecting input data with analog method, convert it

into digital quantities, processes the digital values and convert the output from digital to analog form.

 In hospital insensitive-care unit analog devices may measure a patient’s heart function, temperature

and other vital signs.

 These measurements may then be converted into numbers and supplied to a digital component in the

system.
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CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER … (5)
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CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER … (6)

CLASSIFICATION BASED ON PURPOSE

General purpose computers

 A general purpose computer is one that has the ability to store different programs of instructions
 Performs a variety of operations
 It is designed to do a wide variety of jobs rather than perform a specific activity.
 It is also called personal computers (PC’s)
 Special purpose computers
 Designed to perform one specific task
 Instructions is built into, or permanently stored in the machine
 Specialization results in the given task being performed very quickly and efficiently
 It is inflexible and cannot be easily used to perform other operations.
 Now-a-days, for example, new cars have such devices installed to monitor and control fuel,
ignition and other system.
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CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER … (7)

CLASSIFICATION BASED ON PURPOSE

Special Purpose Computer General Purpose Computers

 The public telephone box  Micro computers

 Traffic control system
 Mini computers
 Ticket machines (used in grocery, super market etc.)
 Super computers etc.
 Pocket-calculators

 Counters
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CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER … (8)

CLASSIFICATION BASED ON CAPACITY AND SIZE

 Computers are also classified into different types mainly based on processing and

storage capacity.

 Microcomputers

 Minicomputers

 Mainframe computers

 Super computers
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CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER … (9)

MICROCOMPUTERS

 Microcomputers are the smallest category of computer and also called as Personal Computers (PCs).

 These computers that can either fit next to a desk (called the Desktop) or can be carried around

(called the Laptop and Notebook).

 Microcomputers use microprocessor as its important device.

 Microprocessor is a chip used to perform arithmetic and logical operations. These computers can

be used either as a stand alone machine or connected to a network.

 Microcomputers are used for general purpose business applications such as invoicing, accounting

etc.
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CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER … (10)

 Smart Phone
 Palmtop
 Tablet
 Laptops and
 Desktop computers.
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CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER … (11)

MINICOMPUTERS
 Minicomputers are bigger in size, faster in speed, have more memory capacity and expensive

when compared to the microcomputers.

 Minicomputers can be used for general purpose applications and as a server for small networks.

 These computers are relatively small but expensive computer with somewhat limited input and

output capabilities.

 Minicomputers use large hard-disk units as online secondary storage.

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CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER … (12)
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CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER … (13)

MAINFRAME COMPUTERS

 Mainframe computers are more powerful in processing, faster in speed, have large memory, and

very expensive when compared to the micro and mini computers.

 The word mainframe refers to mean the “Central Processor”.

 Their size varies depending on how many concurrent users they are serving – from a few hundreds

to thousands when used in networks and has the capacity to support many powerful peripheral

devices.

 Mainframe computers are used by multinational companies or by companies have many branches

all over the country like banks, airlines, insurance, etc.

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CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER … (14)
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CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER … (15)

SUPERCOMPUTERS

 Supercomputers are the largest, fastest, most expensive and very powerful computers

available when compared to the types of computers discussed earlier.

 They occupy specially designed air-conditioned rooms and are often used for research

and to process complex scientific applications like weather forecasting, oil exploration,

aircraft design, mathematical research etc.

 Unlike microcomputers, which generally have only one CPU, super computers have

hundreds of processors. CRAY-I is an example of super computer.

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CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER … (16)
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CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER … (17)
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DATA PROCESSING … (1)

Data Processing can be defined as ‘one or more operations performed on data to achieve a desired
objective is called as Data Processing’
 It is the activity of converting raw facts [data] into information.
 Therefore, Information is data that have been processed using the data processing functions.
 Difference between DP and IP is ‘In data processing the various functions apply to raw data, But, in
information processing the same functions apply to information ‘
That is,
 Data to one person, may be information to another person, once the data have been processed even
a little, they become information.
 Therefore, finally we can say, Data Processing is the activity converting raw facts into information.
Information is the result of processing data so that they become useful.
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DATA PROCESSING … (2)

FUNCTIONS OF DATA PROCESSING

 Validation – Ensuring that supplied data is “clean, correct and useful.”

 Sorting – “arranging items in some sequence and/or in different sets.”

 Summarization – reducing detail data to its main points.

 Aggregation – combining multiple pieces of data.

 Analysis – the “collection, organization, analysis, interpretation and presentation of data.”

 Reporting – list detail or summary data or computed information.

 Retrieving

 Calculating

 Classifying
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DATA PROCESSING … (3)

PROCESSING METHODS

Information system uses two Processing Techniques

 Batch Processing

 Real Time Processing

BATCH PROCESSING:

 It is the processing of transactions in a group or batch.

 No user interaction is required once batch processing is underway.

 Gathers transactions and saves them for processing all at once.

 Very efficient but always delay in Processing.

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DATA PROCESSING … (4)

ONLINE PROCESSING [ALSO ONLINE REAL-TIME PROCESSING]

 In a real time processing, there is a continual input, process and output of data.

 Each transaction is processed as soon as it is received.

 There is no waiting to accumulate.

 Such as, a computerized Reservation system where an immediate responsible is useful.

 Real-time processing is done instantly, and can be referenced to JIT (Just-In-Time).

 Example Live TV program transmission.

TEACHING YOU IS A GOOD LUCK