COMPUTER BASICS

  Central Processing Unit (CPU) A Central Processing Unit is also called a processor, central processor, or microprocessor. It carries out all the important functions of a computer. It receives instructions from both the hardware and active software and produces output accordingly. It stores all important programs like operating systems and application software. CPU also helps Input and output devices to communicate with each other. Owing to these features of CPU, it is often referred to as the brain of the computer. Central Processing Unit CPU is installed or inserted into a CPU socket located on the motherboard. Furthermore, it is provided with a heat sink to absorb and dissipate heat to keep the CPU cool and functioning smoothly. Generally, a CPU has three components: 1. Control Unit 2. Arithmetic Logic Unit 3. Memory or Storage Unit 1. Control Unit : It is the circuitry in the control unit, which makes use of electrical signals to instruct the computer system for executing alre...

  Computer Architecture  A computer system is basically a machine that simplifies complicated tasks. It should maximize performance and reduce costs as well as power consumption.The different components in the Computer System Architecture are Input Unit, Output Unit, Storage Unit, Arithmetic Logic Unit, Control Unit etc. A diagram that shows the flow of data between these units is as follows − The input data travels from input unit to ALU. Similarly, the computed data travels from ALU to output unit. The data constantly moves from storage unit to ALU and back again. This is because stored data is computed on before being stored again. The control unit controls all the other units as well as their data. Details about all the computer units are − Input Unit The input unit provides data to the computer system from the outside. So, basically it links the external environment with the computer. It takes data from the input devices, converts it into machine language and then loads ...

"Generation" in computer talk provides a framework for the growth of computer industry based on key technologies developed. Originally it was used to distinguish between hardware technologies but was later expended to include both hardware and software technologies. First Generation: (1940-1956) The first computer systems used vacuum tubes for circuitry and magnetic drums for memory, and were often enormous, taking up entire rooms. These computers were very expensive to operate and in addition to using a great deal of electricity, the first computers generated a lot of heat, which was often the cause of malfunctions. First generation computers relied on machine language, the lowest-level programming language understood by computers, to perform operations, and they could only solve one problem at a time. It would take operators days or even weeks to set-up a new problem. Input was based on punched cards and paper tape, and output was displayed on printouts. The UNIVAC and ENIA...

  Blaise Pascal invented the first mechanical adding machine in 1642. First mechanical adding machine Later, in the year 1671, Baron Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz of Germany invented the first calculator for multiplication. First calculator for multiplication Keyboard machines originated in the United states around 1880 and we use them even today. Around the same period, Herman Hollerith came up with the concept of punched cards that computers used extensively a input medium even in late 1970s. Business machines and calculators made their appearance in Europe and America towards the end of the nineteenth century. Charles Babbage , a nineteenth century professor at Cambridge University, is considered the Father of modern digital programmable computers. He had employed a group of clerks for preparing mathematical statistical tables. Babbage had to spend several hours checking these tables because even utmost care and precautions could not eliminate human errors. Soon he became di...

 Increasing popularity of computers has proved that it is a very powerful and useful tool. The power and usefulness of this popular tool are mainly due to its following characteristics :- 1. Automatic - An automatic machine works by itself without human intervention. Computers are automatic machines because ones started on a job, they carry out the job (normally without any human assistance) until it is finished.  However, computers being machines can not start themselves and can not go out and find their own problems and solutions. We need to instruct a computer using coded introductions that specify exactly how it will to a particular job. Some of the other characteristics of computer are because they are automatic and work on a problem with out any human intervention. 2. Speed - A computer is a very fast device. It can perform in few seconds, the amount of work that human being can do in an entire year - if he/she worked day and night and did nothing else. In other words,...

  The word "computer" comes from the word "compute", which means "to calculate". Hence, people usually consider a computer to be a calculating device that can perform arithmetic operations at high speed.  The straightforward meaning of a computer is a machine that can calculate. However, modern computers are not just a calculating device anymore. They can perform a variety of tasks. In simple terms, a computer is a programmable electronic machine used to store, retrieve, and process data. According to the definition, " A computer is a programmable electronic device that takes data, perform instructed arithmetic and logical operations, and gives the output." Whatever is given to the computer as input is called 'data', while the output received after processing is called 'information'. Although the original objective of inventing a computer was to create a fast calculating device, we name define a computer as a device that operates...