Fundamentals of Computing

What is Computer?
The computer is a super-intelligent electronic device that can perform tasks, process
information, and store data. It takes the data as an input and processes that data to
perform tasks under the control of a program and produces the output. A computer is
like a personal assistant that follows instructions to get things done quickly and
accurately. It has memory to store information temporarily so that the computer can
quickly access it when needed.

Computer is a device that transforms data into meaningful information. It processes

the input according to the set of instructions provided to it by the user and gives the
desired output quickly. A Computer can perform the following set of functions:

 Accept data
 Store data
 Process data as desired
 Retrieve the stored data as and when required
 Print the result in desired format.

Classification of Computers: Computers can be classified based on the technology

being used and the way they are designed to perform the various tasks. Computers
can be categorized into Digital, Analog and Hybrid based on their design and
working:
1. Digital Computers : These are the modern computers which are capable of
processing information in discrete form. In digital technology data which can be
in the form of letters, symbols or numbers is represented in binary form i.e. 0s
and 1s. The digital computers are used in industrial, business and scientific
applications. They are quite suitable for large volume data processing.
2. Analog Computers : These computers are used to process data generated by
ongoing physical processes. A thermometer is an example of an analog computer

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 since it measures the change in mercury level continuously. Analog computers
are well suited to simulating systems. A simulator helps to conduct experiments
repeatedly in real time environment. Some of the common examples are
simulations in aircrafts, nuclear power plants, hydraulic and electronic networks.
3. Hybrid Computers : These use both analog and digital technology. It has the
speed of analog computer and the accuracy of a digital computer. It may accept
digital or analog signals but an extensive conversion of data from digital to
analog and analog to digital has to be done. Hybrid Computers are used as a cost
effective means for complex simulations.
4. Supercomputers: These are the most powerful and expensive computers that are
used for complex scientific calculations, simulations, and research. They are used
in fields such as weather forecasting, cryptography, and nuclear research.
5. Mainframe Computers: These are large and powerful computers that are used
by large organizations such as banks, airlines, and government agencies to
process massive amounts of data and handle multiple users simultaneously.
6. Mini Computers: These are smaller and less powerful than mainframe
computers, but they are still capable of handling multiple users and processing
large amounts of data. They are commonly used by small to medium-sized
businesses for accounting, inventory management, and other data-intensive tasks.
7. Personal Computers: These are small and affordable computers that are
designed for individual users. They are commonly used for personal productivity,
entertainment, and communication.
8. Workstations: These are high-performance computers that are used by
professionals such as architects, engineers, and designers to run complex
software applications for tasks such as 3D modeling, animation, and scientific
visualization.

9. Embedded Systems: These are specialized computers that are built into other
devices such as cars, appliances, and medical equipment to control their
operations and perform specific functions.

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10. Mobile Devices: These are small and portable computers that are designed for
on-the-go use, such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops

Generations of Computers
From the 19th century to the present day, the role of the computer in its users' lives is crucial.
However, in today's generation, this computer may work a little differently and more advanced than in
the 19th century. But it served the purpose it is to its users and remained the same.

The journey of five generations of computers begins with vacuum tube circuitry from the
1940s and goes beyond the methods and approaches of artificial intelligence (AI) to the
present day. These are as follows:

First Generation Computers

By 1940, vacuum tubes, electronic devices that regulate the flow of electrons in a vacuum,
were used. These were the first computer systems that the users utilized for circuitry and
magnetic drums and were usually massive, capturing up an entire room. These computers
were very costly to operate in the spare of employing a great deal of electricity. At that time,
the most common computer language that the first generation computers depended on was
the machine language, the lowest-level programming language that the computers understood
for executing operations. The UNIVAC and ENIAC computers are specimens of first-
generation computing devices.

Characteristics of First-Generation Computers

 The main electronic component of first-generation computers is the vacuum tubes.

 It operated in machine language.
 Its primary memories were the Magnetic tapes and magnetic drums.
 It employed input/output devices like paper tape and punched cards.

Second Generation Computers

In 1956, the technology of transistors replaced the bulkier generation of vacuum tubes. After
the invention of these transistors, the dimensions of the computer were also reduced. Second-
generation computers evolved smaller in size compared to first-generation computers.

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Second-generation computers developed from enigmatic binary machine language to
representational symbolic systems, or assembly languages, that authorized the programmers
to appoint instructions in words or phrases. IBM1400 series, PDP-8, IBM 7090 and 7094,
UNIVAC 1107, CDC 3600, etc., are a few examples of the second generation.

Characteristics of Second-Generation Computers

 The main electronic component of second-generation computers is electronic transistors.

 It operated in Machine language and assembly language.
 Its primary memories were the Magnetic core and magnetic tape or magnetic disk.
 Its Input/output devices were the Magnetic tape and punched cards.

Third Generation Computers

This generation started developing integrated circuits in 1964. Instead of using punch cards
and printouts, users could interact with third-generation computers via keyboards and
monitors and interfaced with an operating system. For the first time, computers reached a
mass audience, as they were smaller and cheaper than the past prototypes. Jack Kilby of
Texas Instruments and Robert Noyce of Fairchild Semiconductor developed integrated
circuits by 1950.

Characteristics of Third-Generation Computers

 The main electronic component of third-generation computers is integrated circuits.

 It operated in High-level language.
 Its primary memories were the large magnetic core and magnetic tape/disk.
 Its Input/output devices were the Magnetic tape, monitor, keyboard, printer, etc.

Fourth Generation Computers

By 1971, users operated the first microprocessors, the Large-Scale Integration (LSI) circuits
created on one chip called microprocessors. The microprocessor was conducted in the fourth
generation of computers, as developers built thousands of integrated circuits onto a single
silicon chip. What if the first generation served an entire room that could accommodate
within a palm? The Intel 4004 chip, developed in 1971, located all the computer components
from the Central Processing Unit and memory to input or output authorities on a single chip.

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Characteristics of Fourth-Generation Computers

 The main electronic components of fourth-generation computers are very large-scale

integration (VLSI) and the microprocessor (VLSI contains thousands of transistors inside a
single microchip).
 It operated in High-level language.
 Its primary memory was the semiconductor memory (mainly RAM, ROM, etc.)
 Its Input/output devices were the pointing devices, optical scanning, keyboard, monitor,
printer, etc.

Fifth Generation Computers

The technology on which the fifth generation of computers relies is AI. It authorizes
computers to conduct like humans. Today's computers are so developed that users utilize
them in every distinct field, primarily accounting, constructing buildings, space research,
engineering technologies, and other types of analysis. The principal purpose of fifth-
generation computing is to create devices that react to natural language input and are
competent in learning and self-organizing.

Characteristics of Fifth-Generation Computers

 The main electronic components of fourth-generation computers are ultra-large-scale

integration (ULSI) and the parallel processing technique.
 It operated in natural human language.
 Its Input/output devices were the Trackpad, touch screen, pen, speech input, light scanner, etc.

COMPONENTS OF A COMPUTER SYSTEM

HARDWARE
SOFTWARE

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Hardware:
CPU (ALU + CONTROL)
MEMORY (RAM + ROM)
◦ PRIMARY & SECONDARY
◦ RAM
◦ ROM
◦ HDD, PEN DRIVE & OTHERS
INPUT
OUTPUT

Software

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1. System Software : These are those software, without which our PC,laptop won’t
run, i.e it is must for a device to be operating. For Example: Linux,
Unix,Windows,etc.
2. Application Software : These are those software,without which our PC,laptop
can run, i.e these software are not necessary for a device to be operating. For
Example: Facebook,What’s App,Games.

Peripheral Devices
These devices are used for performing the specific functions and are connected to
the computer externally. These peripheral devices enable the computer to operate
according to the user requirements by feeding data in and out of the computer.
Peripheral devices are as follows:

 Keyboard
 Mouse
 Light Pen
 Optical/magnetic Scanner
 Touch Screen
 Microphone for voice as input
 Track Ball
 Monitor (Visual Display Unit)
 Printers
 Plotter
 Speaker

Computer - Input Devices

Following are some of the important input devices which are used in a computer −

 Keyboard
 Mouse
 Joy Stick

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  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 to input
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 −

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S.N
Keys & Description
o

Typing Keys
1 These keys include the letter keys (A-Z) and digit keys (09) which generally
give the same layout as that of typewriters.

Numeric Keypad

2 It is used to enter the 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.

Function Keys

3 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 a unique meaning and is
used for some specific purpose.

Control keys

4 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).

Special Purpose Keys

5 Keyboard also contains some special purpose keys such as Enter, Shift, Caps
Lock, Num Lock, Space bar, Tab, and Print Screen.

Mouse

Mouse is the 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 the mouse and sends corresponding signals to the CPU when the
mouse buttons are pressed.

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Generally, it has two buttons called the left and the right button and a wheel is
present between the buttons. A mouse can be used to control the position of the
cursor on the 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 the keyboard.

Joystick

Joystick is also a pointing device, which is used to move the 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 the joystick is similar to that of a mouse. It is mainly used in

Computer Aided Designing (CAD) and playing computer games.

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Light Pen

Light pen is a pointing device 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 the 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
the ball, the pointer can be moved.

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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, or a square.

Scanner

Scanner is an input device, which works more like a photocopy machine. It is used
when some information is available on paper and it is to be transferred to the hard
disk of the computer for further manipulation.

Scanner captures images from the source which are then converted into a digital
form that can be stored on the disk. 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.

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Digitizer is also known as Tablet or Graphics Tablet as it converts graphics and
pictorial data into binary inputs. A graphic tablet as digitizer is used for fine works
of drawing and image manipulation applications.

Microphone

Microphone is an input device to input sound that is then stored in a digital form.

The microphone is used for various applications such as adding sound to a

multimedia presentation or for mixing music.

Magnetic Ink Card Reader (MICR)

MICR input device is generally used in banks as there are large number of cheques
to be processed every day. The bank's code number and cheque number are printed

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on the cheques 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 the 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 the form of
light and dark lines). Bar coded data is generally used in labelling goods,
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numbering the books, etc. It may be a handheld 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 that the bar code reader is connected to.

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.

Computer - Output Devices

Following are some of the important output devices used in a computer.

 Monitors

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  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 a 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

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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, and graphics display.

The flat-panel display is divided into two categories −

 Emissive Displays − Emissive displays are devices that convert electrical

energy into light. For example, plasma panel and LED (Light-Emitting
Diodes).
 Non-Emissive Displays − Non-emissive displays use optical effects to
convert sunlight or light from some other source into graphics patterns. For
example, LCD (Liquid-Crystal Device).

Printers

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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

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
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character printed is in the 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 which 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) which is why it is called Daisy Wheel Printer. These printers are
generally used for word-processing in offices that require a few letters to be sent
here and there with very nice quality.

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Advantages
 More reliable than DMP
 Better quality
 Fonts of character can be easily changed
Disadvantages
 Slower than DMP
 Noisy
 More expensive than DMP
Line Printers

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

These are of two types −

 Drum Printer
 Chain Printer
Drum Printer
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This printer is like a drum in shape hence it is called drum printer. The surface of
the drum is divided into a number of tracks. Total tracks are equal to the size of the
paper, i.e. for a paper width of 132 characters, drum will have 132 tracks. A
character set is embossed on the track. 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, a chain of character sets is used, hence 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 the ribbon. These printers
print a complete page at a time, thus they are also called as Page Printers.

These printers are of two types −

 Laser Printers
 Inkjet Printers
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Characteristics of Non-impact Printers
 Faster than impact printers
 They are not noisy
 High quality
 Supports 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
 Good graphics quality
 Supports many fonts and different character size
Disadvantages
 Expensive
 Cannot be used to produce multiple copies of a document in a single
printing
Inkjet Printers

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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 the cost per page is high
 Slow as compared to laser printer

CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT

A Central Processing Unit is the most important component of a computer system. A CPU
is a hardware that performs data input/output, processing and storage functions for a
computer system. A CPU can be installed into a CPU socket. These sockets are generally
located on the motherboard. CPU can perform various data processing operations. CPU can
store data, instructions, programs, and intermediate results.
Different Parts of CPU
Now, the CPU consists of 3 major units, which are:

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1. Memory or Storage Unit
2. Control Unit
3. ALU(Arithmetic Logic Unit)
Block diagram of the computer:

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CPU

Motherboard of a computer

Memory or Storage Unit

As the name suggests this unit can store instructions, data, and intermediate results. The
memory unit is responsible for transferring information to other units of the computer when
needed. It is also known as an internal storage unit or the main memory or the primary
storage or Random Access Memory (RAM) as all these are storage devices.
Its size affects speed, power, and performance. There are two types of memory in the
computer, which are primary memory and secondary memory. Some main functions of
memory units are listed below:
 Data and instructions are stored in memory units which are required for processing.
 It also stores the intermediate results of any calculation or task when they are in
process.
 The final results of processing are stored in the memory units before these results are
released to an output device for giving the output to the user.
 All sorts of inputs and outputs are transmitted through the memory unit.

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Control Unit
As the name suggests, a control unit controls the operations of all parts of the computer but
it does not carry out any data processing operations. For executing already stored
instructions, It instructs the computer by using the electrical signals to instruct the computer
system. It takes instructions from the memory unit and then decodes the instructions after
that it executes those instructions. So, it controls the functioning of the computer. It’s main
task is to maintain the flow of information across the processor. Some main functions
of the control unit are listed below:
 Controlling of data and transfer of data and instructions is done by the control unit
among other parts of the computer.
 The control unit is responsible for managing all the units of the computer.
 The main task of the control unit is to obtain the instructions or data which is input from
the memory unit, interprets them, and then directs the operation of the computer
according to that.
 The control unit is responsible for communication with Input and output devices for the
transfer of data or results from memory.
 The control unit is not responsible for the processing of data or storing data.
ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit)
ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit) is responsible for performing arithmetic and logical functions
or operations. It consists of two subsections, which are:
 Arithmetic Section
 Logic Section
Now, let us know about these subsections:
Arithmetic Section: By arithmetic operations, we mean operations like addition,
subtraction, multiplication, and division, and all these operation and functions are
performed by ALU. Also, all the complex operations are done by making repetitive use of
the mentioned operations by ALU.
Logic Section: By Logical operations, we mean operations or functions like selecting,
comparing, matching, and merging the data, and all these are performed by ALU.
Note: CPU may contain more than one ALU and it can be used for maintaining timers that
help run the computer system.
What Does a CPU Do?
The main function of a computer processor is to execute instruction and produce an output.
CPU works are Fetch, Decode and Execute are the fundamental functions of the computer.
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 Fetch: the first CPU gets the instruction. That means binary numbers that are passed
from RAM to CPU.
 Decode: When the instruction is entered into the CPU, it needs to decode the
instructions with the help of ALU(Arithmetic Logic Unit) the process of decode begins.
 Execute: After decode step the instructions are ready to execute
 Strore: After execute step the instructions are ready to store in the memory.
Types of CPU
We have three different types of CPU:
 Single Core CPU: The oldest type of computer CPUs is single core CPU. These CPUs
were used in the 1970s. these CPUs only have a single core that preform different
operations. This means that the single core CPU can only process one operation at a
single time. single core CPU CPU is not suitable for multitasking.
 Dual-Core CPU: Dual-Core CPUs contain a single Integrated Circuit with two cores.
Each core has its cache and controller. These controllers and cache are work as a single
unit. dual core CPUs can work faster than the single-core processors.
 Quad-Core CPU: Quad-Core CPUs contain two dual-core processors present within a
single integrated circuit (IC) or chip. A quad-core processor contains a chip with four
independent cores. These cores read and execute various instructions provided by the
CPU. Quad Core CPU increases the overall speed for programs. Without even boosting
the overall clock speed it results in higher performance.

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 the 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 the 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

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  Primary Memory/Main Memory
 Secondary Memory

Cache Memory

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

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  Cache memory has limited capacity.
 It is very expensive.

Primary Memory (Main Memory)

Primary memory holds only those data and instructions on which the computer is
currently working. It has a 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 resides in the
main memory. It is divided into two subcategories RAM and ROM.

Characteristics of Main Memory

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

Secondary Memory

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This type of memory is also known as external memory or non-volatile. It is slower
than the 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. The contents of secondary memories are first transferred to the
main memory, and then the CPU can access it. For example, disk, CD-ROM,
DVD, etc.

Characteristics of Secondary Memory

 These are magnetic and optical memories.
 It is known as the backup memory.
 It is a 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 the secondary memory.
 Slower than primary memories.

Computer – Random Access Memory

RAM (Random Access Memory) is the internal memory of the CPU for storing
data, program, and program result. It is a read/write memory which stores data
until the machine is working. As soon as the machine is switched off, data is
erased.

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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.

Computer - 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.

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Difference between RAM and Hard-disk

RAM Hard Disk

RAM is an electronic device Hard-disk is an electromechanical device

Electro-mechanical device has speed

Electronic device are faster in speed
slower than Electronic device.

CPU is an electronic device,so it’s speed Hard disk is an electro-mechanical

can match with RAM.Therefore,CPU and device.Therefore,it’s speed cannot be
RAM have connections and that match by CPU and hence there is no
connections is known as buses connection between hard-disk and CPU.

RAM is much faster than a hard-disk. Hard-disk is a type of non-volatile storage

RAM is a type of volatile memory that that is much slower than RAM. It is used
can be accessed quickly by the CPU. This for long-term storage of data that needs to
allows for fast data processing and be preserved even when the computer is
multitasking. turned off.

RAM is volatile, meaning that its contents Hard-disk is non-volatile, meaning that its

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RAM Hard Disk

contents are preserved even when the

computer is turned off. This makes hard-
are lost when the computer is turned off.
disk an ideal choice for long-term storage
of data.

CPU process the data, and to process that data we need fast speed memory which is
known as RAM.

Difference between Hacker and Cracker

1. Hacker : They will just warn you something about malicious activity going
around in your computer. It will not steal your information.
2. Cracker : They will try to steal your Information without informing you.

Basic computer operation:

1. Booting up: This is the process of starting up the computer by loading the
operating system (OS) into memory. The computer runs a series of checks to
ensure all hardware is working correctly before loading the OS.
2. Logging in: After booting up, you will need to log in to access your user
account. This requires entering your username and password.
3. Running programs: Once you have logged in, you can run programs on your
computer. Programs can include web browsers, office applications, media
players, and more.
4. Accessing data: You can access data stored on your computer or other connected
devices, such as external hard drives or cloud storage services. This can include
files, documents, photos, and other media.

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5. Connecting to the internet: You can connect to the internet to access websites,
download files, and communicate with others online. This typically involves
using a web browser to access websites and other online services.
6. Communicating with other devices: You can communicate with other devices
connected to your computer, such as printers, scanners, or other peripherals. This
allows you to print documents, scan images, and perform other tasks.
7. Saving and backing up data: It’s important to save and back up your data
regularly to avoid data loss. You can save data to your local hard drive, external
hard drives, or cloud storage services.
8. Shutting down: When you’re finished using your computer, you should shut it
down properly. This involves closing all programs and files, saving any changes,
and shutting down the OS.
9. Troubleshooting: If you experience issues with your computer, you may need to
troubleshoot the problem. This can involve diagnosing hardware or software
issues, performing updates, or reinstalling drivers.
10. Security: It’s important to keep your computer secure by using antivirus
software, firewalls, and other security measures. This helps protect your data and
prevent unauthorized access to your system.

Identification of Computational Problems

A computational problem is a problem that can be solved step-by-step with a computer.

These problems usually have a well-defined input, constraints, and conditions that the output
must satisfied. Here are some types of computational problems:

 A decision problem is one where the answer is yes or no. For instance, "given a
number n, is n even?" is a decision problem. Some decision problems take more steps to
solve than others. For instance, "given a number n, is n prime?" takes more steps than
just checking the parity of a number.
 A search problem is one where the solution consists of one or more values that satisfies
a given condition. For instance, we may want to compute a path from one geographical
location to another on a map.
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  A counting problem is one where the answer is the number of solutions to a search
problem.
 An optimization problem is one where the solution is the "best" possible solution, where
the "best" can be defined in a different way. For instance, we may want to compute the
fastest route from one location to another.

Types of Computational Problems

1. Decision Problems

2. Search Problems

3. Counting Problems

4. Optimization Problems

Requirements to solve computational problems

In order to solve a problem computationally, two things are needed,

A representation that captures all the relevant aspects of the problem

An algorithm that solves the problem by use of the representation

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