General-Purpose vs Office Computers Quiz

Lecture 1: Introduction to Computers

• Lecture 1 covered introductions to computers.
• The content of the lecture materials is copyrighted to the University of Santo Tomas.
• Materials should not be reproduced, shared, sold, or used outside the University without prior written consent.
• If unauthorized distribution is found, contact [email protected].
• A computer is a device capable of performing computations and logical decisions at a speed far exceeding human capabilities.

Lecture 1.1: Computer Organization

• This section detailed the organization of a computer.
• A computer comprises an input unit, primary storage unit, central processing unit (CPU), secondary storage unit, and an output unit.

What is a Computer?

• Computers perform computations and logical decisions at a very high speed (billions of times faster than humans).

Computers Categorization

• Computers are categorized by performance and purpose. Types include:
  • Supercomputer: Offers the fastest speed and performance for high-speed processing in scientific and technological contexts (weather forecasting, air traffic control, aerospace development).
  • General Purpose Computer: Known as mainframes, used for office processing and scientific/technological calculations (train reservations, online banking systems).
  • Office Computer: Specialized for business server use in corporations (inventory control, sales management).
  • Workstation: High-performance computer for specialized work, generally connected to a LAN and can act as a server (software development, CAD/CAM).

Basic Computer Organization

• Storage Unit: Handles data storage. Includes primary and secondary storage.
• Input Unit: Devices for assigning instructions and data to the computer (keyboard, mouse, trackball, trackpad, pointing stick, digitizer/tablet, touch panel/touch screen, image scanner, digital camera, barcode reader, optical character reader (OCR), sound input device, magnetic card reader).
• Central Processing Unit (CPU): The brain of the computer; made up of Control Unit (CU) and Arithmetic and Logical Unit (ALU).
  • Control Unit (CU): Directs operations within the computer's processor. It details how the computer's components respond to instructions.
  • Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU): Works on calculations involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and making decisions based on comparisons.
• Output Unit: Devices which display information easily understandable to humans (CRT display, LCD display, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, laser printer, inkjet printer, dot impact printer, thermal transfer printer).

Memory Unit

• Stores programs and data for computer operations. Includes primary storage and its components such as RAM (Random Access Memory), DRAM(Dynamic Random Access Memory), SRAM(Static Random Access Memory), Mask ROM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM and secondary storage.

• RAM: Volatile memory; data lost when power is off. Read/write is possible. Used as primary/cache memory. Fast.

• DRAM: Dynamic RAM with large capacity but slower speed. Needs constant refreshing.

• SRAM: Static RAM with moderately small capacity, faster speed than DRAM, and doesn't need refreshing.

• ROM: Non-volatile memory; data stays even when power is off. Read-only. Used for storing programs that need to be available even without power.

• EPROM: Erasable Programmable ROM that can store data and it can be erased with ultraviolet light.

• EEPROM: Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM; erasable electronically eliminating the need for ultraviolet light.

• Flash Memory: A type of EEPROM commonly used in digital cameras and other electronic devices.

Machine Cycle

• A computer's fundamental operation cycle.
• Step 1: Fetch instruction from main memory.
• Step 2: Decode instruction into commands.
• Step 3: Execute the commands.
• Step 4: Store results in memory.

Lecture 1.2: Number Systems Conversion and Operation

• Number System: A set of symbols used to represent numbers. Includes binary, octal, decimal, and hexadecimal.
• Base: The base of a number system indicates its permissible digits (e.g., binary has base-2, decimal has base-10).
• Conversions: Methods for converting numbers between different number systems (e.g., between binary and decimal). Include examples of doing conversions (binary, decimals and vice versa)

Complements

• Methods for simplifying subtraction in digital computers. Includes diminished radix complements and radix complements.
  • Diminished Radix Complement: (r – 1)'s complement where r is the radix (base). (r – 1)'s complement = (rn − 1) − N
  • Radix Complement: r's complement where r is the radix (base). r's complement = rn − N

Lecture 1.3: Application Software and the Internet

• Application Software: Refers to software designed for a specific purpose/task.

• Examples: Word processing software, spreadsheet software, database software, graphics software, presentation software.

  • Word Processing Software: Used for creating, editing, and printing documents with advanced features for enhancing readability.
  • Spreadsheet Software: Integrated software enabling spreadsheet and graph creation for data management. Includes functions for spreadsheets and graphs.
  • Database Software: Used to collect, manage and apply data.
  • Graphics Software: Designed to create and edit drawings and images. Includes both photographic images and drawings.
  • Presentation Software: Generates presentations using drawings, graphs, tables, and photos.

• World Wide Web (WWW): A service enabling the viewing and searching of Internet information.

• Uniform Resource Locators (URLs): A way of addressing pages on the internet.

• Parts of a URL: Scheme, subdomain, second-level domain, top-level domain, subdirectory.

  • Scheme: Protocol to use (e.g., https).
  • Subdomain: Specific part of a website (e.g., blog).
  • Second-Level Domain: Website name (e.g., hubspot).
  • Top-Level Domain: Type of entity (e.g., .com).
  • Subdirectory: Section on a webpage (e.g., marketing).

• Search Engine: Tool used to locate web pages based on keywords.