COURSE TITLE: INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE
COURSE CODE: CPT111
CREDIT UNIT: 2
Table of Content
MODULE 1: INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTING..............................................................3
UNIT 1: Basic Concepts………………………………………………………………4-11
UNIT 2: Computer Hardware………………………………………………………..12-19
MODULE 2: COMPUTER SOFTWARE……………………………………………20
UNIT 1 Introduction to Computer Software……………………………………….......21-27
UNIT 2 Operating systems……………………………………………………………..28-36
MODULE 3: MACHINE LEVEL REPRESENTATION OF DATA……………..37
UNIT 1 Units of Data and Fundamental Operations on Bits………………………….38-48
UNIT 2 Number Bases and Types…………………………………………………......49-60
UNIT 3 Representations of Non Numeric Data, Records and Registers………….........61-67
MODULE 4: LOGIC…………………………………………………………………..68
UNIT 1 Digital Logic………………………………………………………………….69-76
UNIT 2 Memory……………………………………………………………………….77-84
UNIT 3 Von Neumann Model of Computation……………………………………….85-91
MODULE 5: PROGRAMMING THE COMPUTER………………………………92
UNIT 1 Overview of Programming Languages………………………………….........93-106
UNIT 2 Algorithms…………………………………………………………………..107-114
UNIT 3 Flowcharts………………………………………………………………….115-124
MODULE 6: THE INTERNET……………………………………………………..125
UNIT 1 Introduction to the Internet…………………………………………………..126-134
UNIT 2 Web Technologies…………………………………………………………..135-152
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, Computer Science Department (FUTMinna)
Module1
Introduction to Computing
Unit 1: Basic Concepts
Unit 2: Computer Hardware
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, Computer Science Department (FUTMinna)
Unit 1: Basic Concepts
1.0 Introduction
In the 21st century, computers have become indispensable tools in virtually all aspects of
human lives. The development of handheld computers such as personal digital assistants
(PDAs), tablet computers and smart phones has helped computers to become ubiquitous. This
unit presents background information about computers by defining basic computer terms,
providing a brief history of modern computing, and describing the parts of a computer
system.
1.1 Definition of Terms
Computer: A computer is an electronic device that processes data, in order to convert it to
information that is useful to people. A computer can perform the following tasks:
i. Accept data through an input device (e.g. keyboard or mouse)
ii. Process the data to convert it into information
iii. Display the information on an output device (e.g. visual display unit or printer)
iv. Store the information for future use in a storage device (e.g. hard disc or compact
disc)
Data: Data refer to raw or unprocessed facts about a person, place or thing. Examples of data
include name, age, height and profession. Data is the plural for datum.
Information: Information is processed data or data that has been converted into useful form
e.g. the result of students in an examination or the net pay of an employee.
Data Processing Information
Storage
Figure 1.0 Schematic diagram of a compute
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, Computer Science Department (FUTMinna)
1.2 Computer Generations
Computer scientists and historians use the term computer generations todescribe the stage-
by-stage development of modern computing. Each generation is characterized by the
technology used to fabricate computers at that time.
The First Generation (1950s)
In 1951, PresperEckert and John Mauchly delivered the Universal Automatic Computer
(UNIVAC), the first successful general-purpose computer to the U.S. Census Bureau. The
following year, the UNIVAC gained fame when it correctly predicted that Dwight
Eisenhowerwill win the U.S. presidential election. The UNIVAC used punched cards and
magnetic tape for input. It was made of vacuum tubes, which required lots of power and
failed regularly. The UNIVAC was programmed using machine language, which is composed
of strings of zeros and ones.
The Second Generation (1960s)
First-generation computers were highly unreliable because the vacuum tubes burned out
frequently. Second generation computers were made of transistors, which are small electronic
devices that can control the flow of electricity in an electronic circuit. Owing to the use of
transistors, second generation computers were faster, smaller, and more reliable than first-
generation computers. Even though second generation computers still used punched cards for
input, they had printers, tape storage, and disk storage.
Second generation computers were programmed using high level programming languages,
rather than machine language. Unlike machine language which was cumbersome to work
with, high-level programming languages are much easier for people to understand and work
with because the use English commands and mathematical symbols. Furthermore, unlike
machine language which was machine-dependent, a high-level language program can be used
on computers produced by different manufacturers. An example of second generation
computers is the IBM’s line of computers called System/360.
The Third Generation (Mid-1960s to Mid-1970s)
The key distinction of third generation computers was there use of Integrated Circuits (ICs).
ICs incorporated many transistors and electronic circuits on a single silicon chip. They were
much cheaper than transistors. Using a technology called small-scale integration (SSI), the
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