Transcript Introductory Concepts

Introductory Concepts
CIS 100: Introduction to Computers
Mr. A. Craig Dixon
Spring 2006
What is a computer?
A general definition
• A person or device that calculates
Includes pre-electricity devices like the abacus and
Babbage’s difference engine
A modern definition
• An electronic device that takes data as
input and creates information as output
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Data vs. Information
• Data – raw facts and figures,
unprocessed actions
• Information – data that is organized,
meaningful and / or useful
• Metadata – data whose sole purpose is
to describe or clarify other data.
Metadata helps turn data into information.
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Data vs. Information
An example:
783159246
783-15-9246
SSN: 783-15-9246
John Doe’s social security number is
783-15-9246.
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Functions of a Computer
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Accept input
Process data
Produce output
Store and retrieve data
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Components of a Computer
• Hardware – devices that can be
physically manipulated by the user
Examples: keyboard, mouse, monitor, printer
• Software – instructions (programs) to be
executed by the computer
Examples: Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Word,
Norton Anti-virus
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Types of hardware
• Internals
• Peripherals
• Media
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Internal hardware
• Typically not manipulated by the user
• Handles data processing
• Tasks are usually subdivided
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Processor – does the bulk of the processing
Math co-processor – handles math operations
Video card – performs display-related calculations
Sound card – passes data to sound devices
• Most hardware, both internal and external, is
connected to the motherboard, which is itself
internal hardware.
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Peripheral hardware
• Connected to the system unit via wires
or infrared signals
• May be manipulated by the user
• Divided into two categories
• Input devices
• Output devices
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Input devices
• Convert analog data from the user
(keystrokes, mouse movements, voice,
etc.) into a form the computer can
understand
• Includes keyboard, mouse, scanner,
camera, and microphone
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Output devices
• Convert data from the computer to a
form that can be understood by the
user.
• Includes monitor, printer, and speakers
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Hardware Summarized
Hardware
External
Internal
Hardware
Input
Output
Motherboard,
video card,
sound card, etc.
Keyboard,
mouse, camera,
microphone, etc.
Printer, speakers,
monitor, etc.
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Types of Software
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Application software
Utilities
System software
Malware
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Application software
• Allows the user to manipulate data and
create information
• Most software is application software
Examples: Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint,
Adobe Photoshop, games, etc.
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Utilities
• Manipulate data based on parameters
specified by the user
• Often perform maintenance tasks or file
format conversions
• May be included as part of a larger
application
Examples: Norton Anti-virus, WinZip, Nero, Disk Defragmenter,
Ad-Aware
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System software
• Consists of BIOS, operating system, and drivers
• BIOS – Basic Input / Output System; executed first
on boot-up
• Operating system – Allows the computer to
respond to user commands
Examples: Microsoft Windows, MacOS, Linux, OS/2, Solaris
• Drivers – Tells the computer how to utilize certain
pieces of hardware
Some devices that require drivers: Mice, sound cards, video cards, printers
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Plug-and-Play Drivers
• Beginning with Windows 95, the Windows operating
system shipped with a set of standard hardware
drivers called plug-and-play drivers.
• Hardware manufacturers created their products to
use these standard drivers rather than shipping
proprietary drivers with their products.
• Windows can detect plug-and-play hardware as soon
as it is connected to the computer, even on the fly.
• Since the plug-and-play drivers are already present,
the user can begin using the hardware immediately.
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Malware
• Software intended to cause annoyance
or damage
• Often installed covertly along with an
application
Examples: Viruses, worms, Trojan horses, adware, and spyware
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Media
• Hardware on which data is stored
• May be inside the system unit, connect directly to
the system unit, or require a disk drive to be read
• Includes floppy disks, Zip disks, CD-ROMs,
DVDs, flash memory, RAM, ROM, hard disks,
and tape backups
• Floppy disks, Zip disks, and tape backups are
magnetic media (data is stored on a thin layer of rust.)
• Hard disks, CD-ROMs and DVDs are optical media
(read by a laser)
• RAM and ROM connect directly to the motherboard
inside the system unit
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Measuring storage capacity
All forms of media have a maximum capacity,
measured in bytes. Metric prefixes are used to
denote large numbers of bytes.
• Kilobyte (KB) = 1024 bytes
• Megabyte (MB) = ~1,000,000 bytes
• Gigabyte (GB) = ~1,000,000,000 bytes
• Terabyte (TB) = ~1,000,000,000,000 bytes
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Breakdown of Media
Media
Capacity
Speed
32MB – 2 GB
Very fast
Self-contained
Hard disk
40 GB – 200 GB
Fast
Self-contained
CDs
650 MB – 1 GB
Moderate
Requires drive
DVDs
4.7 GB – 17 GB
Moderate
Requires drive
Flash
16 MB – 2 GB
Moderate
Either
Zip disk
100 MB – 250 MB
Slow
Requires drive
Floppy
1.44 MB
Slow
Requires drive
RAM
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