Fundamentals

Of

Computer

Brief History Of Computers

Abacus

Earlier people used figures, Stones and bones for calculations.

Abacus was the first calculating device, It was mainly used by

merchants and traders.

It is used to perform basic calculations like Additions, Subtraction,

Multiplication and division.

Napier’s Bones

Invented by John Nepier.

It was made of rectangular rods made up of bone, Ivory, Wood or

metal. These reds had numbers on them.

It was mainly used for Multiplication.

Pascaline Calculator

It was developed by Blasé Pascal in 1642.

It looked like rectangular box. Numbers were shown on rotating Wheels.

It allowed calculation till 8-digits.

Difference Engine

It was designed by charless babbage in 1822.

It was designed to do mathematical calculations automatically.

Analytical Engine:

It was developed by Charles Babbage in 1837.

The basic parts of analytical Engine resembled the components of

Computer, It had 5 units- input, output, store, mill and control.

Charles Babbage is considered as ‘Father Of Computers’.

Ada Lovelace was considered as first programmer.

Generations Of Computers

The computer has evolved from large sized simple calculating machine to smaller

but much more powerful machine. computer are classified into five generations.

1. First generation computers (1940-58)

2. Second generation computers (1959-63)

3. Third generation computers (1964-70)

4. Fourth generation computers (1971-Present)

5. Fifth generation computers (Present- Future)

1. First generation computers (1940-58)

In these Computers vacuum tubes were used.

Vacuum tubes are like electric bulbs, produced a lot of heat and were prone

to frequent fusing of the installations.

They were very expensive and could be afforded

They used Punched cards, paper tape, and magnetic tape were used as input

and output devices.

The computers in this generation used machine code as programming

language.

Examples Of I- Generation Computers

ENIAC ( Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer)

UNIVAC (UNIVersal Automatic Computer)

EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer),

IBM-701 (International Business Machines), IBM-650

Second generation computers (1959-63)

They were smaller in size than First Generation Computers

They used transistors instead of vacuum tubes

They used to punch cards and magnetic tapes for input and output

They were faster cheaper and more efficient than first generation

computers

They could calculate data in microseconds

Examples: IBM 1401, RCA 501, Honey Well 200.

Third generation computers (1964-70)

The used Integrated Circuits (IC’s) in place of transistors.

An IC is also called a chip and may contain thousands of transistors.

They used keyboard for input and monitor for output.

They were smaller faster cheaper and more efficient than early computers

Examples: IBM 360, APPLE 1, ICL 1900

Fourth generation computers (1971-Present)

They are more powerful and reliable than previous generations.

They use Microprocessors.

Microprocessor are Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuits which contain many ICS

on a single chip.

They use keyboard mouse scanner and so on for input and monitors printers speakers and

so on for output.

They have higher storage capacity

They are much smaller faster and cheaper among all generations

Fifth generation computers (Present- Future)

The Fifth generation computers are still under development there are expected to

have the following capabilities.

use of Super Large Scale Integrated chips.

Artificial Intelligence: A technology that makes a computer able to think like

human beings and perform human like Tasks such as voice recognition decision

making and translation between languages.

Ability to recognise image and voice.

Ability to solve Complex problems including decision making and logical reasoning.

Basic Parts Of A Computer

Input Unit − Devices like keyboard and mouse that are used to input data and

instructions to the computer are called input unit.

Output Unit − Devices like printer and visual display unit that are used to

provide information to the user in desired format are called output unit.

Control Unit − As the name suggests, this unit controls all the functions of the

computer. All devices or parts of computer interact through the control unit.

Arithmetic Logic Unit − This is the brain of the computer where all arithmetic

operations and logical operations take place.

Memory − All input data, instructions and data interim to the processes are stored

in the memory.

Memory is of two types – primary memory and secondary memory. Primary

memory resides within the CPU whereas secondary memory is external to it.

Control unit, arithmetic logic unit and memory are together called the central

processing unit or CPU.

Hardware: Computer devices like keyboard, mouse, printer, etc. that we can see

and touch are the hardware components of a computer.

Software: The set of instructions or programs that make the computer function

using these hardware parts are called software. We cannot see or touch software.

Both hardware and software are necessary for working of a computer.

Characteristics of Computer

Speed − Typically, a computer can carry out 3-4 million instructions per second.

Accuracy − Computers exhibit a very high degree of accuracy. Errors that may occur are

usually due to inaccurate data, wrong instructions or bug in chips – all human errors.

Reliability − Computers can carry out same type of work repeatedly without throwing up

errors due to tiredness or boredom, which are very common among humans.

Versatility − Computers can carry out a wide range of work from data entry and ticket

booking to complex mathematical calculations and continuous astronomical observations.

If you can input the necessary data with correct instructions, computer will do the

processing.

Storage Capacity − Computers can store a very large amount of data at a fraction of cost

of traditional storage of files. Also, data is safe from normal wear and tear associated with

paper.

Advantages of Using Computer

Computers can do the same task repetitively with same accuracy.

Computers do not get tired or bored.

Computers can take up routine tasks while releasing human resource

for more intelligent functions.

Disadvantages of Using Computer

Computers have no intelligence; they follow the instructions blindly

without considering the outcome.

Regular electric supply is necessary to make computers work, which

could prove difficult everywhere especially in developing nations.

Classification Of Computers

Computers are now classified on the basis of their use or size −

Desktop

Laptop

Tablet

Server

Mainframe

Supercomputer

Desktop

Desktop computers are personal computers (PCs) designed for use by an

individual at a fixed location.

A desktop unit typically has a CPU (Central Processing Unit), monitor,

keyboard and mouse.

Laptop

Laptops are also called notebook computers or simply notebooks.

Laptops run using batteries and connect to networks using Wi-Fi (Wireless

Fidelity) chips.

Modern laptops have enough processing power and storage capacity to be

used for all office work, website designing, software development and even

audio/video editing.

Tablet

After laptops computers were further miniaturized to develop machines that

have processing power of a desktop but are small enough to be held in one’s

palm.

Tablets have touch sensitive screen of typically 5 to 10 inches where one finger

is used to touch icons and invoke applications.

Keyboard is also displayed virtually whenever required and used with touch

strokes.

Applications that run on tablets are called apps. They use operating systems by

Microsoft (Windows 8 and later versions) or Google (Android). Apple computers

have developed their own tablet called iPad which uses a proprietary OS

called iOS.

Server

Servers are computers with high processing speeds that provide one or more services to

other systems on the network.

They may or may not have screens attached to them.

A group of computers or digital devices connected together to share resources is called

a network.

can handle multiple requests simultaneously.

Most commonly found servers on networks include −

File or storage server

Game server

Application server

Database server

Mail server

Print server

Mainframe

Mainframes are computers used by organizations like banks, airlines

and railways to handle millions and trillions of online transactions per

second.

Important features of mainframes are −

Big in size

Hundreds times Faster than servers, typically hundred megabytes per second

Very expensive

Use proprietary OS provided by the manufacturers

In-built hardware, software and firmware security features

Supercomputer

Supercomputers are the fastest computers on Earth. They are used for carrying

out complex, fast and time intensive calculations for scientific and engineering

applications. Supercomputer speed or performance is measured in teraflops, i.e.

1012 floating point operations per second.

Chinese supercomputer Sunway TaihuLight is the world’s fastest supercomputer

with a rating of 93 petaflops per second, i.e. 93 quadrillion floating point

operations per second.

Most common uses of supercomputers include −

Molecular mapping and research

Weather forecasting

Environmental research

Oil and gas exploration

The hardware devices need user instructions to function.

A set of instructions that achieve a single outcome are called program or

procedure.

Many programs functioning together to do a task make a software.

There are Three categories of software −

System Software

Application Software

Utility Software

Computer Software and its Types

System Software

Software required to run the hardware parts of the computer and other application

software are called system software.

System software acts as interface between hardware and user applications.

Based on its function, system software is of four types −

Operating System

Language Processor

Device Drivers

Operating System

System software that is responsible for functioning of all hardware parts and their

interoperability to carry out tasks successfully is called operating system (OS).

OS is the first software to be loaded into computer memory when the computer is switched

on and this is called booting.

OS manages a computer’s basic functions like storing data in memory, retrieving files from

storage devices, scheduling tasks based on priority, etc.

Language Processor

The important function of system software is to convert all user instructions into

machine understandable language.

languages are of three types −

Machine-level language − This language is nothing but a string of 0s and 1s that the

machines can understand. It is completely machine dependent.

Assembly-level language − This language introduces a layer of abstraction by

defining mnemonics. Mnemonics are English like words or symbols used to denote a

long string of 0s and 1s. For example, the word “READ” can be defined to mean that

computer has to retrieve data from the memory. The complete instruction will also

tell the memory address. Assembly level language is machine dependent.

High level language − This language uses English like statements and is completely

independent of machines. Programs written using high level languages are easy to

create, read and understand.

source code: Program written in high level programming languages like Java, C++,

etc. is called source code.

object code or machine code: Set of instructions in machine readable form is

called object code or machine code.

System software that converts source code to object code is called language

processor.

There are three types of language interpreters−

Assembler − Converts assembly level program into machine level program.

Interpreter − Converts high level programs into machine level program line by

line.

Compiler − Converts high level programs into machine level programs at one go

rather than line by line.

Device Drivers

System software that controls and monitors functioning of a specific device

on computer is called device driver.

Each device like printer, scanner, microphone, speaker, etc. that needs to

be attached externally to the system has a specific driver associated with

it.

When you attach a new device, you need to install its driver so that the OS

knows how it needs to be managed.

Application Software

A software that performs a single task and nothing else is

called application software.

Application software are very specialized in their function and approach to

solving a problem.

Word processing

Spreadsheet

Presentation

Database management

Multimedia tools

Utility Software

Application software that assist system software in doing their work is

called utility software.

Thus utility software is actually a cross between system software and

application software.

Examples of utility software include −

Antivirus software

Disk management tools

File management tools

Compression tools

Backup tools

MS-Word

Microsoft Office Word 2010 allows you to create and edit personal and

business documents, such as letters, reports, invoices, emails and books.

By default, documents saved in Word 2010 are saved with the .docx

extension.

Getting Started Word 2010

Click Start button.

Click All Programs option from the menu.

Search for Microsoft Office from the sub menu and click it.

Search for Microsoft Word 2010 from the submenu and click it.

Explore Window in Word 2010

Saving New Document

Step 1 − Click the File tab and select the Save As option.

Step 2 − Select a folder where you will like to save the document, Enter the file

name which you want to give to your document and Select the Save As option, by

default it is the .docx format.

Step 3 − Finally, click on the Save button and your document will be saved with the

entered name in the selected folder.

Saving New Changes

There may be an instance when you open an existing document and edit it partially or completely, If you want to save this document with the same name, then you can use either of the following simple options −

Just press the Ctrl + S keys to save the changes.

Optionally you can click on the floppy icon available at the top left corner and just above the File tab.

ou can also use the third method to save the changes, which is the Save option available just above the Save As option as shown in the above screenshot.

Opening New Document

A new, blank document always opens when you start Microsoft Word.

Suppose you want to start another new document while you are working on another

document, or you closed an already opened document and want to start a new document.

Step 1 − Click the File tab and select the New option.

Step 2 − It will display a list of templates in the second column. Double-click on

the Blank document;

Opening Existing Document

Step 1 − Click the File tab and select the Open option, or press Ctrl+O

Step 2 − This will display the following file Open dialog box.

Step 3 − Finally, locate and select a file which you want to open

Copy & Paste Operation

Step 1 − Select a portion of the text using any of the text selection methods.

Step 2 − You have various options available to copy the selected text in

clipboard. You can make use of any one of the options −

Using Right-Click − and click copy option

Using Ribbon Copy Button under Home Tab

sing Ctrl + c Keys

Step 3 − Finally click at the place where you want to copy the selected text

and use either of these two simple options −

Using Ribbon Paste Button

Using Ctrl + v Keys

Find & Replace in Word

Find Command

The Find command enables you to locate specific text in your document.

Step 1 − Let us work out on a sample text available in our Word document.

Step 2 − Click the Find option in the Editing group on the Home tab or press Ctrl + F to launch the Navigation pane −

Step 3 − Enter a word which you want to search in the Search box, as soon as you finish typing, Word searches for the text you entered and displays the results in the navigation

pane and highlights the word in the document.

Find & Replace Operation Step 1 − Click the Replace option in the Editing group on the Home tab or press Ctrl

+ H to launch the Find and Replace dialog box

Step 2 − Type a word which you want to search. You can also replace the word using

the Find and Replace dialog box as in the following

Step 3 − Type Replace with word and click on replace.

Step 4 − Finally, if you are done with the Find and Replace operation, you can click

the Close (X) or Cancel button of the dialog box to close the box.

Spell Check in Word 2010

Microsoft Word provides a decent Spelling and Grammar Checker which enables

you to search for and correct all spelling and grammar mistakes in your document.

Word is intelligent enough to identify misspelled or misused, as well as grammar

errors and underlines them as follows.

A red underline beneath spelling errors.

A green underline beneath grammar errors.

A blue line under correctly spelled but misused words.

Check Spelling and Grammar using Review tab

Step 1 − Click the Review tab and then click the Spelling & Grammar button.

Step 2 − A Spelling and Grammar dialog box will appear and will display the wrong spellings or errors in

grammar. You will also get suggestions to correct as shown below −

Ignore − If you are willing to ignore a word, then click this button and Word ignores the word throughout the document.

Ignore All − Like Ignore, but this ignores all occurrences of the same misspelling, not just once but throughout the document.

Add to Dictionary − Choose Add to Dictionary to add the word to the Word spelling dictionary.

Change − This will change the wrong word using the suggested correct word.

Change All − Like Change, but this changes all occurrences of the same misspelling, not just once but throughout the document.

AutoCorrect − If you select a suggestion, Word creates an AutoCorrect entry that automatically corrects this spelling error from now on.

Create a Table in Word

A table is a structure of vertical columns and horizontal rows with a cell at every

intersection.

Each cell can contain text or graphics, and you can format the table in any way

you want.

Usually the top row in the table is kept as a table header and can be used to

put some informative instruction.

Create a Table

Step 1 − Click the Insert tab followed by the Table button. This will display a

simple grid as shown.

Step 2- Select no of rows and columns you want to create using mouse. This

will insert the table.

Delete a Table

Step 1 − Click anywhere in the table you want to delete.

Step 2 − Click the Layout tab, and click the Delete Table option under

the Delete Table Button to delete the complete table from the document along

with its content.

Adding a Row

Step 1 − Click a row where you want to add an additional row and then click

the Layout tab.

Step 2 − Now use the Row & Column group of buttons to add any row below

or above to the selected row. If you click the Insert Below button, it will add

a row just below the selected row

Delete a Row

Step 1 − Click a row which you want to delete from the table and then click

the Layout tab;

Step 2 − Then click the Delete Rows option under the Delete Table Button to delete the selected row.

Adding a Column

Step 1 − Click a column where you want to add an additional column and then click

the Layout tab;

Step 2 − Now Click Insert Left or Insert Right to insert column to the left or right of

the selected column.

Deleting a Column

Step 1 − Click a column which you want to delete from the table and then click

the Layout tab; it will show the following screen.

Click the Delete Column option under the Delete Table Button to delete the selected

column.

Merging Cells

Merge cells used to combine two or more cells into a single cell.

You can merge cells either row-wise or column-wise, rather you cannot merge

cells diagonally.

Merging Cells

Select the cells across row or column which you want to merge.

Under Layout tab

Click on Merge cell button under Merge Group.

Split a Cells

Split cells will divide a cell into multiple cells.

Select the cell you want to split.

Under Layout tab

Click on Split cell button under Merge Group.

Header and Footer in Word

Headers and footers are used to insert text that

repeats on every page.

Change at one place will apply to all pages.

Headers and footers are parts of a document that

contain special information such as page numbers and

the total number of pages, the document title,

company logo, any photo etc.

The header appears at the top of every page, and the

footer appears at the bottom of every page.

Add Header and Footer

Click the Insert tab, and click either Header button or Footer button .

Once you select any of the headers, it will be applied to the document in

editable mode and the text in your document will appear dimmed, Header and

Footer buttons appear on the Ribbon and a Close Header and Footer button

will also appear at the top-right corner.

Finally you can type your information once you are done, click Close Header

and Footer to come out of header insertion mode.

What is Formatting

Changing the style of text, sizes and paragraphs gives a document a more

individual look. This process is called Formatting.

Formatting a document involves one or all of the following:

Changing the appearance of text – character formatting

Changing the layout of the document – document formatting

Positioning the text on the page – paragraph formatting

Formatting Paragraph

Formatting paragraph may include the following

Text align

Indentation

Line Spacing

Page Column

This option is used to set text to multiple columns like News paper.

Steps to set text to columns

Under page layout menu click on columns button

Select no of columns.

Adding columns to a document

Select the text you want formatted in columns, or place

your cursor where you want columns to begin.

On the Page Layout tab, in the Page Setup group, click

Columns.

Click More Columns.

Click the number of columns that you want.

Hyper Link

Hyper link is used redirect the user from one page (Application) to other page.

Hyperlinks are by default blue in colour.

Visited links are pink in colour.

When you move cursor on to the hyperlink its changes its symbol to pointing hand.

To insert a hyperlink:

Select the text or image you want to make a hyperlink.

Right-click the selected text or image, then click Hyperlink. ...

The Insert Hyperlink dialog box will open. ...

If you selected text, the words will appear in the Text to display: field at the top.

To insert a hyperlink:

Select the text or image you want to make a hyperlink.

Right-click the selected text or image, then click Hyperlink. You can also right-click in

a blank area of the document and click Hyperlink.

The Insert Hyperlink dialog box will open. You can also get to this dialog box from

the Insert tab by clicking Hyperlink.

If you selected text, the words will appear in the Text to display: field at the top. You

can change this text if you want.

Type the address you want to link to in the Address: field.

Click OK. The text or image you selected will now be a hyperlink.

Drop Cap

A drop cap is the first letter of a paragraph that's of a much bigger size than the rest that

follow.

Inserting Drop cap:

To insert drop cap select the paragraph.

Under inset menu select Drop cap.