week 1 medium

Computer Basics

• A computer is an electronic device that can receive, store, process, and output data based on a set of instructions (programs).
• It is designed to execute applications and provides a variety of solutions by combining integrated hardware and software components.

Information Processing Cycle

• The core operations of a computer can be broken down into four basic actions:
  • Input: The process by which data and instructions are given to the computer through devices such as keyboards, mice, scanners, cameras, and microphones.
  • Processing: The computer's central processing unit (CPU) processes the information, performing operations on the data based on the instructions provided.
  • Storage: The computer saves data in its memory, including primary storage (temporary storage like RAM) and secondary storage (long-term storage like hard drives, SSDs, or external storage devices).
  • Output: The processed information is displayed or presented to the user.

Computer Types

• Servers: Purpose: Serve data to other computers (clients) on a network. Examples: Schools and universities use servers to provide students and staff with access to resources such as online courses, research databases, and email.
• Microcomputers (Personal Computers):
  • Desktop Computers: General-purpose computers for individual users.
  • Laptop Computers: Portable version of desktops.
  • Netbooks: Smaller laptops primarily for internet use.
  • Tablets: Touchscreen-based, like Apple's iPad or Samsung's Galaxy Tab.
• Workstations: Purpose: More powerful than personal computers, used for tasks needing better graphics or computational power. Examples: Video editing, CAD design, 3D design tasks.
• Supercomputers: Purpose: Used for complex, high-end computations. Examples: Weather forecasting, molecular research, simulations.
• Mainframe Computers: Purpose: Handle large amounts of data, support multiple users simultaneously, and run commercial applications.

Measurement Units

• Bit: The most basic unit of data in computing, can have one of two values, typically represented as 0 or 1.
• Byte: Consists of 8 bits, the standard unit of data used to represent a character in computers, such as a letter, number, or symbol.
• Kilobyte: Often the next step up from a byte, 1 KB = 1,024 Bytes.
• Megabyte: Commonly used to represent data storage capacities, 1 MB = 1,024 KB.
• Gigabyte: Higher order of magnitude, commonly used to represent storage capacities, 1 GB = 1,024 MB.

Decimal and Hexadecimal Systems

• Decimal system: Base-10 system used in daily life, but not used in computer operations.
• Binary system: Base-2 system used in computer operations, represented by bits that are either 0s or 1s.
• Hexadecimal system: Base-16 system widely used in computing for its concise representation of binary data and ease of conversion to and from binary.

Encoding Tables

• ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange): A 7-bit character encoding standard that can represent 128 different characters, including English letters, numbers, and control characters.
• Unicode: A broader encoding standard designed to represent characters from virtually all written languages.
• UTF-16: An encoding standard that uses either one or two 16-bit code units per character, suitable for representing a wider range of characters directly.

Test your knowledge on computer basics with this quiz covering topics such as what a computer is, the information processing cycle, and more.