Information Technology for Managers

Guided By ~ Presented By~Dr. Bhawna Sharma Isha Joshi (MIB – I semester)

Prestige Institute of Management & Research

CONTENTSIntroduction to ComputersGenerations of ComputersFunctions of a ComputerTypes of ComputersArchitecture of ComputerMultiple Choice Questions

INTRODUCTIONA computer is an electronic machine, operating under the control of instructions stored in its own memory, that can accept data, manipulate the data according to specified rules, produce results, and store the results for future use.Computers processes data to create information.Data is a collection of raw unprocessed facts, figures, and symbols.Information is data that is organized, meaningful, and useful.To process data into information, a computer uses hardware and software.Hardware is the electric, electronic, and mechanical equipment that makes up a computer.Software is the series of instructions that tells the hardware how to perform tasks.

HISTORY OF COMPUTERCharles Babbage, credited deservedly as Father of the Computer, the world renowned inventor of Differential Engine and Analytical Engine, was born on the 26th of December, 1791.

In 1822, he designed and built a model called Difference Engine. His invention could perform calculations without human intervention.

After that, in 1833, Babbage designed a machine called Analytic Engine. Technology of the analytic engine provided base to the technology of modern computers. The Analytic Engine had an arithmetic unit to perform calculations and mechanism to store results and instructions.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A COMPUTER

SPEED

ACCURACY

STORAGE

VERSITALITY

DILIGENCE

SpeedYou will be surprised to know that computer can perform millions (1,000,000) of instructions and even more per second. Therefore, we determine the speed of computer in terms of microsecond (10-6 part of a second) or nano-second (10-9 part of a second). From this you can imagine how fast your computer performs work.Accuracy The degree of accuracy of computer is very high and every calculation is performed with the same accuracy. The accuracy level is determined on the basis of design of computer. The errors in computer are due to human and inaccurate data. Diligence A computer is free from tiredness, lack of concentration, fatigue, etc. It can work for hours without creating any error. If millions of calculations are to be performed, a computer will perform every calculation with the same accuracy. Due to this capability it overpowers human being in routine type of work.

Versatility It means the capacity to perform completely different type of work. You may use your computer to prepare payroll slips. Next moment you may use it for inventory management or to prepare electric bills.

Storage The Computer has an in-built memory where it can store a large amount of data. You can also store data in secondary storage devices such as floppies, which can be kept outside your computer and can be carried to other computers.

DISADVANTAGES OF A COMPUTER

NO IQ NO HEURISTICS

NO FEELINGS

GENERATIONS OF A COMPUTER

First Generation (1940-1956)

Vacuum Tubes

Second Generation (1956-1963) Transistors

Third Generation (1964-1971) Integrated

Circuits

Fourth Generation

(1971-Present) Microprocessors

Fifth Generation (Present and

Beyond) Artificial

Intelligence

FIRST GENRATION (1940-1956)ENIAC (Electronic Numeric Integrated And Calculator) was the world first successful electronic computerdeveloped by the two scientists namely J. P. Eckert and J. W. Mauchly.very huge and big computer and its weight was 30 tonesIt could store only limited or small amount of information.Initially in the first generation computer the concept of vacuum tubes was used.had very less work efficiency and so it could not work properlyrequired a large cooling system.

Limitations of First Generation Computer Followings are the major drawbacks of First generation computers. 1. The operating speed was quite slow. 2. Power consumption was very high. 3. It required large space for installation. 4. The programming capability was quite low.

SECOND GENERATION (1956-1963) transistors were used as the electronic component instead of

vaccum tubes smaller in the size As the size of electrons components decreased from vaccum tube of

transistor, the size of computer also decreased and it became much smaller than that of earlier computer.

Some of the computers of the Second Generation were

1. IBM 1620: Its size was smaller as compared to First Generation computers and mostly used for scientific purpose.

2. IBM 1401: Its size was small to medium and used for business applications.

3. CDC 3600: Its size was large and is used for scientific purposes.

THIRD GENERATION (1964-1971)first developed by T.S Kilbyinvented in the year 1964.IC (Integrated circuits) was used as the electronic component for computerssmall size, superior performance and reliability than the previous circuitshuge storage capacity and higher calculating speed

FOURTH GENERATION (1971-Present)This is the generation where we are working today. The computers which we see around us belong to the fourth generation computers.‘Micro processor’ is the main concept behind this generation of computer. A microprocessor is a single chip (L.S.I circuit), which is used in a computer for any arithmetical or logical functions to be performed in any program.Developed by Ted Hoff of U.S.A. He developed first micro-processor, the Intel 4004, as he was working for Intel Corporation, U.S.A with the use of microprocessor in the fourth generation computers, the size of computer became very small and it became more efficient.

Fifth Generation (Present and Beyond) Artificial Intelligence

based on artificial intelligence and are still in development though there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today. goal is to develop devices that respond to natural language input and are capable of learning and self-organization.

FUNCTIONS OF A COMPUTER

INPUT: Receiving information from outside sources is the main function of input. The most common way of performing this function is through the information entered through the keyboard and the click of mouse. Of course there are many other sources available which are web cam, scanner, microphone etc.

STORAGE: The main purpose of storage function is to store information and data in the computer. It is mainly of two types primary memory and secondary memory. Here primary memory has limited capacity ,as it holds only those data and instructions on which computer is currently working. Data gets lost as soon as the computer is switched off . Whereas, secondary memory or external memory is slower than primary memory .These are use to store data or information permanently. Once stored can not be erased even if the power is switched off . Contents of secondary memory are first transferred to main memory and than CPU can access it.

PROCESSING : When a computer receives data from input device the data must go through an intermediate stage before it can be sent to an output device, like a monitor, speaker etc. Therefore this function handles the intermediate stage being responsible for controlling the storage and retrieval of data .

OUTPUT : It receives output from a computer in binary coded form and converts it into human understandable language. Finally the data is received by the user in desired format say printer, speaker, monitor etc.

TYPES OF COMPUTERS

Digital Computer

Analog Computer

Hybrid Computer

MICROCOMPUTER

MAINFRAMEMINICOMPUTER

SUPERCOMPUTER

Microcomputer: Microcomputer is at the lowest end of the computer range in terms of speed and storage capacity. Its CPU is a microprocessor. The first microcomputers were built of 8-bit microprocessor chips. The most common application of personal computers (PC) is in this category. The PC supports a number of input and output devices. An improvement of 8-bit chip is 16-bit and 32-bit chips.Examples of microcomputer are IBM PC, PC-AT .

Mini Computer: This is designed to support more than one user at a time. It possesses large storage capacity and operates at a higher speed. The mini computer is used in multi-user system in which various users can work at the same time.This type of computer is generally used for processing large volume of data in an organisation. They are also used as servers in Local Area Networks (LAN).

Mainframes: These types of computers are generally 32-bit microprocessors.They operate at very high speed, have very large storage capacity and can handle the work load of many users. They are generally used in centralised databases. They are also used as controlling nodes in Wide Area Networks (WAN). Example of mainframes are DEC, ICL and IBM 3000 series.

Supercomputer: They are the fastest and most expensive machines. They have high processing speed compared to other computers. They have also multiprocessing technique. One of the ways in which supercomputers are built is by interconnecting hundreds of microprocessors. Supercomputers are mainly being used for whether forecasting, biomedical research, remote sensing, aircraft design and other areas of science and technology. Examples of supercomputers are CRAY YMP and PARAM from India.

ARCHITECTURE OF A COMPUTER

Input: This is the process of entering data and programs in to the computer system. You should know that computer is an electronic machine like any other machine which takes as inputs raw data and performs some processing giving out processed data. Therefore, the input unit takes data from us to the computer in an organized manner for processing.

Storage: The process of saving data and instructions permanently is known as storage. Data has to be fed into the system before the actual processing starts. It is because the processing speed of Central Processing Unit (CPU) is so fast that the data has to be provided to CPU with the same speed. Therefore the data is first stored in the storage unit for faster access and processing. This storage unit or the primary storage of the computer system is designed to do the above functionality. It provides space for storing data and instructions. The storage unit performs the following major functions:

All data and instructions are stored here before and after processing. Intermediate results of processing are also stored here.

Processing: The task of performing operations like arithmetic and logical operations is called processing. The Central Processing Unit (CPU) takes data and instructions from the storage unit and makes all sorts of calculations based on the instructions given and the type of data provided. It is then sent back to the storage unit.

Output: This is the process of producing results from the data for getting useful information. Similarly the output produced by the computer after processing must also be kept somewhere inside the computer before being given to you in human readable form. Again the output is also stored inside the computer for further processing.

Control: The manner how instructions are executed and the above operations are performed. Controlling of all operations like input, processing and output are performed by control unit. It takes care of step by step processing of all operations in side the computer.

MULTIPLE CHOICE

QUESTION

Q1) A teletypewriter terminal is an example of __________.a) input devicesb) output devicesc) input/output devicesd) storage devices Q2) Devices that accept data from outside computer and transfer into CPU are called ____________.e) input devicesf) digital devicesg) analogue devicesh) output devices

Q3) Why we need to have secondary storage ?a) Store large volume of data that exceed the capacity of main

memoryb) Perform arithmatic and logical operationsc) To give power to the system tood) To help processor in processing

Q4) Which among following is Volatile ?e) ROMf) EPROMg) DROMh) RAM

Q5) What is the size of processor of first Microcomputer?a) 16 bitb) 32 bitc) 8 bitd) 64 bit

Q6) Which type of computer has maximum storage capacity?e) Minicomputerf) Microcomputerg) Supercomputerh) Mainframe Computer

Q7) Speed of a computer is determined in microseconds as ______?a) 10-7

b) 10-6

c) 10-9

d) 10-10

Q8) Which of the following created the base of modern day computer technology?

e) Difference Enginef) Analytic Engineg) None of the aboveh) Both a & b

Q9) Who developed the Third Generation Computers?a) J. P. Eckert b) J. W. Mauchyc) T.S. Kilbyd) Ted Hoff

Q10) What was the electronic component used in Second Generation Computers?

e) Transistorsf) Vaccum Tubesg) Integrated Circuitsh) Microprocessors