COMPUTER SYSTEM

Introduction to Computer System

Computer – A Computer is an
electronic device that can perform a verity
of operations in accordance with a set of
instruction called program.
A computer along with additional
hardware and software together called
computer system.
A computer system comprises of
central processing unit(CPU), memory,
input/output devices and storage devices.
 A computer system comes in various
forms and sizes like desktop, laptop,
tablet, Smartphone etc.
Secondary Storage
Devices

Primary Memory

Control Unit (CU)

Arithmetic Logic
Unit(ALU)
 Central Processing Unit(CPU) – It is
the brain of the computer. It is also called
processor. In a CPU one or more
microchips to be placed called integrated
circuits(IC). The ICs comprise
semiconductor materials.
The CPU is given instruction and
data through programs. The CPU then
fetches the program and data from
memory and perform arithmetic and
logical operations as per given
instruction and store the result back to
the memory.
 While processing, the CPU stores data as
well as instruction in its local memory called
Registers. Registers are the part of the CPU chip
and it is limited in size and number. Different
Registers are used for storing data, instructions
or intermediate results.

The CPU has two main components –

Arithmetic Logic Unit(ALU) and Control
unit(CU). ALU perform all arithmetic and logic
operations as per the instruction. CU control
sequential instruction execution, interprets
instruction and guides data flows through the
computer’s memory
 Input Devices – The devices through
which control signals are sent to a computer
are called as input devices. These devices
convert the input data into a digital form
that is acceptable by the computer system.
Some input devices are Keyboard, mouse,
scanner, touch screen, microphone etc.
Data entered through input devices is
temporarily stored in main memory (also
called RAM) of the computer system.
Instructions and data stored permanently
in additional storage location called
secondary memory.
 Output Devices – The device that
receive data from a computer system for
display, physical production etc. is called
output device. Output devices examples –
monitor, projector, headphone, speaker,
printer etc. A printer is such a output
device in which we get physical(hardcopy)
form. There are three types of printer
inkjet, LaserJet and dot matrix. Now a days
there is a 3D printer , which is used to
physical replica of a digital 3D design.
 Evolution of Computer – From the
simple calculator to a modern day powerful
data processor, computing devices have
evolved in a relatively short span of time.
The Von Neumann architecture for
computer shows central processing unit(CPU)
for processing arithmetic and logical
instructions , a memory to store data and
programs, input an output devices and
communication channels to send/receive the
output data. Electronic Numerical Integer and
Computer (ENIAC) is the first binary
programmable computer based on this
architecture.
 During 1970 large scale
integration(LSI) of electronic circuits
allowed , integration of complete CPU on a
single chip called microprocessor. In 1980
the processing power of computers
increased exponentially by integrating
around 3 million components on a small
sized chip termed as Very Large Scale
Integration(VLSI). In further advancement
in technology it is feasible to fabricate high
density of transistors and other
components on a single IC called Super
Large Scale Integration (SLSI).
 IBM introduced its first personal
computer(PC) for the home user in 1981,
apple introduced Macintosh machines in
1984. The introduction of Graphical User
Interface(GUI) based operating system by
Microsoft and other interface like UNIX or
DOS increased the popularity of computer.

In 1990 the growth of Word Wide

Web(WWW) further accelerated mass usage
of computers and it become indispensable
part of everyday life.
 The next wave of computing devices
includes wearable gadgets such as smart
watch, lenses, headbands, headphones etc.
Smart appliances are becoming a part of the
Internet of Thing(IoT) by leveraging the
power of artificial intelligence.

Computer Memory – A computer

system needs memory to store the data and
instructions for processing. When we usually
discuss about the main or primary memory.
The secondary memory is used to store data,
instructions and result permanently for
future use.
 Units of Memory – A computer
system uses binary numbers to store and
process data. The binary digits 0 and 1
which are the basic units of memory are
called bits. Bits grouped together to form
words. A 4-bit word is called Nibble.
Examples of nibbles are 1001, 1010, 0010 etc.
A two nibble word i.e. 8-bit word is called a
byte, for example, 01000110, 01111100,
10000001 etc.
 Measurements units for digital data
Unit Description Unit Description
KB (Kilobyte) 1 KB=1024 Bytes PB (Petabyte) 1 PB=1024 TB
MB (Megabyte) 1 M B=1024 KB EB (Exabyte) 1 EB=1024 PB
GB (Gigabyte) 1 GB=1024 MB ZB (Zettabyte) 1 ZB=1024 EB
TB (Terabyte) 1 TB=1024 GB YB (yottabyte) 1 YB=1024 ZB

Types of Memory – We makes notes

and store important data and information
using other mediums such as notebook,
manual, journal, document etc. for a long
term storage. Similarly computer have two
types of memories namely – Primary
Memory and Secondary Memory.
 (a) Primary Memory – It is essential
components of a computer system. Program
and data are loaded into Primary memory
before processing. The CPU interacts
directly with the primary memory to
perform read/write operation. It is two
types – (i) Random Access memory(RAM)
(ii) Read Only Memory(ROM). RAM is
volatile as long as the power supply to
computer it remains data in it. But as soon
as the power supply is turned off, all the
contents are wiped out from RAM
 ROM is non volatile, means its
contents are not lost even when power is
turned off. It is used as small but faster
permanent storage for contents which are
rarely changed. For example – start
program(boot loader) that loads the
operating system into RAM is stored in a
ROM.
 (b) Cache Memory – RAM is faster than
secondary storage, but not as fast as a
computer processor. So, because of RAM, a
CPU may have slow down. To speed up the
operation of the CPU, a very high speed
memory is placed between the CPU and the
Primary memory called cache memory. It
stores the copies of data from frequently
assessed primary memory locations, so reduce
the average time required to access data from
primary memory. When the CPU need to access
memory first examine the cache. If the
requirement not met then access primary
memory.
(c) Secondary Memory – Primary
memory has limited storage capacity so the
computer system needs auxiliary or secondary
memory to permanently store the data or
instruction for future use. The secondary
memory is non volatile and has larger storage
capacity. It is slower and cheaper but it cannot
be accessed directly by the CPU. The contents of
secondary storage needs to be first brought
into the main memory for the CPU access.
Example of secondary memory – Hard Disk
Drive(HDD), CD/DVD, Memory card and Solid
State Drive(SDD). SDD support very fast data
 Data Capturing, Storage and
Retrieval
(a) Data Capturing – The process of
gathering data from different sources in
digital form. Data may be captured by using
keyboard, barcode reader, remote sensors on
earth orbiting satellites etc. Comments over
multiple social media .
(b) Data Storage - The process of storing
the captured data for processing later. The
huge data is produced at a very high rate and
storing is challenging task. But storage
 Data keep on increasing and the
storage device also required to be
upgraded periodically. In large origination
computers with larger and faster storage
called data servers which store vast
amount of data. Such dedicated computers
help in processing data efficiently .
However the cost of setting up a data serer
as well as maintenance is high, especially
for small origination and start-ups.
(c) Data Retrieval – To fetch data from
storage device for processing as per the
user requirement. As database grow, the
challenges involved in search and retrieval
of the data in acceptable time, also
increase. Minimising data access time is
crucial for faster data processing.
 Data deletion and Recovery –
The biggest threats with digital data is its
deletion. The storage device can malfunction or
crash down resulting in the deletion of the
stored data. Users can accidently erase data
from storage devices or a hacker/malware can
delete the data intentionally.
In case data gets deleted accidently or
corrupted, there arises a need to recover the
data. Recovery of data is possible only if the
contents/memory space marked as deleted
have not been overwritten by some other data.
Data recovery is a process of retrieving deleted,
corrupted and lost data from secondary storage
 There are two security concern associated
with data. One is its deletion by some
unauthorised person or software. It can be
avoided by limiting access to the computer
system by using password.
The other is related to unwanted recovery
of data by unauthorised user/software. We
assume that the contents of deleted files are
permanently removed. If these device fall into
the hands of mischief – mongers. They can
easily recover the data from such device. This
concern to be mitigated by using proper tools
to delete or shred data before disposing off any
old or faulty storage device.
 SOFTWARE
we have studied about the physical
components or the hardware of computer
system. But it has no use of its own . hardware
need to be operated by a set of instruction.
These instructions are known as software. The
software can not be touched or view
physically. The software and hardware
complete any task together.
The software comprise of set of
instructions which on execution deliver the
desired outcome. Examples of software
include operating system - ubuntu or windows
 Needs of Software – The purpose of
software is to make computer hardware
useful and operational. A software knows
how to make different hardware
components of a computer work and
communicate with each other as well as with
end user. We cannot talk or instruct the
hardware of a computer directly. Software
acts as an interface between human users
and hardware.
Software can be classified into three
categories – (i) System software (ii)
Programming tools (iii) Application software
 SYSTEM SOFTWARE
The software that provides the basic
functionality to operate a computer by
interacting directly with its hardware is
known as system software. System software
know how to use different hardware of a
computer. Some system software examples
are – operating system, system utilities and
device drivers.
(a) Operating System – operating
system is a software that operates the
computer. An operating system is the basic
system software without which other
software cannot work. The operating system
manage other application programs and
provide access and security to the users of
the system. Some popular operating
systems are windows, Linux, Ubuntu,
Android, Macintosh, Fedora, iOS etc.
(b) System Utilities – Software used for
maintenance and configuration of the
computer system is called system utility.
Some system utilities are comes with
operating system. For example – disk
defragmentation tool, formatting utility,
system restore utility etc. Some other
system utility which are not come with the
operating system but are required to
improve performance of the system. For
example – anti-virus software, disk cleaner
tool, disk compression software etc.
(c) Device Drivers – A device driver is to ensure
proper functioning of a particular device.
Overall working of a computer system is
organised by the operating system. Everyday
new devices and components are being added to
a computer system. Now it is not possible for
operating system alone to mange all the existing
and new device, where each device has diverse
characteristics. The responsibility for overall
control, operation and management of a device
at the hardware level is assign to device driver. It
is an interface between the device and the
operating system. Like printer, a device driver
acts as mediator between OS and attached
 Application Software – The
system software provide the main
functionality of the computer system. But
the different user needs the computer
system for different purpose depending
his requirements. A new software needed
to met requirements, this specific
software that works on top of the system
software is known as application software.
These are two types – general purpose and
customised application software.
 (a) General Purpose Software –
The application software developed for
generic application to cater a bigger
audience in general called general purpose
software. These application software can be
used by end user as per their requirements.
For example – spreadsheet tool libreoffice
calculator can be used by any computer
user to do calculation. Adobe Photoshop,
Mozilla web browser etc. Are in general
purpose software.
(b) Customised Software – These are
custom or tailor made application software
that are developed to meet the
requirements of a specific organisation or
an individual. Some examples of user
defined software include websites, school
management software, accounting software,
etc.
 Proprietary or Free and Open
Source Software – Some software
developers allow to public to freely use
their software along with source code with
an aim to improve further with each other’s
help. Such software known as Free and
Open Source Software(FOSS). For examples
the source code of operating system
Ubuntu is freely accessible for anyone with
required knowledge to improve/add new
functionality. Examples of FOSS python,
mozilla, firefox etc.
 Sometimes software freely available
for use but source code may not be
available. Such software called freeware.
Examples – skype, adobe reader.
when software to be used has to
purchased from the vendor who has the
copyright of software, then it is proprietary
software. Examples – Microsoft Window,
Tally, Quickheal etc.
THE END