Fundamentals of Computers

Fundamentals of Computers has been specifically designed for anybody and everybody who wants to be familiar with basic concepts of computers. It is an ideal text for self-learning basic computer concepts (such as organization, architecture, input and output devices, primary and secondary memory) as well as advanced topics (such as operating systems, computer networks, and databases). The book also provides step-by-step tutorials to learn different MS Office applications such as Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. The book can be useful for a broad spectrum of students, varying from non-computers background students enrolled in elementary courses on Information Technology and Computer Sciences to students enrolled in professional courses such as BCA and MCA.

Table of Contents:
Chap 1: Introduction to Computers 1.1 Computer 1.2 Characteristics of Computers 1.3 Stored Program Concept 1.3.1 Types of Stored Program Computers 1.4 History of Computers Timeline of Developments 1.5 Classification of Computers 1.5.1 Supercomputers 1.5.2 Mainframe Computers 1.5.3 Minicomputers 1.5.4 Microcomputers 1.6 Applications of Computers Bioinformatics, GIS, Remote Sensing, Meteorology, Publishing, Data analysis, Accounting, Airline and Railway reservation 1.7 Basic Organization of a Computer Lab Activity: Understanding Computer Hardware Activity 1: Parts of a Computer Activity 2: Motherboard Chap 2: Input and Output Devices 2.1 Input Devices 2.1.1 Keyboard Wireless keyboard 2.1.2 Pointing Devices 2.1.3 Handheld Devices 2.1.4 Optical Devices 2.1.5 Audio-visual Input Devices 2.1.6 Card Readers 2.1.7 Digitizers 2.2 Output Devices 2.3 Soft Copy Devices 2.3.1 Monitors LED monitor 2.3.2 Projectors 2.3.3 Speakers and Headphones 2.4 Hard Copy Devices 2.4.1 Printers 2.4.2 Plotters 2.5 Voice Response Systems 2.6 Biometric Devices Lab Activity: Handling Input and Output Devices Activity 1: Adding a Printer to a Computer Activity 2: Customizing Mouse Properties in Windows 7 Chap 3: Computer Memory and Processors 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Memory Organization 3.3 Memory Hierarchy 3.4 Sequential and Random Access 3.5 Processor Registers 3.6 Cache Memory 3.7 Primary Memory 3.7.1 Random Access Memory (RAM) 3.7.2 Read Only Memory (ROM) 3.7.3 Finding Required Data from Main Memory 3.8 Secondary Storage Devices 3.8.1 Offline Storage 3.9 Magnetic Tapes 3.10 Floppy Disks 3.11 Hard Disks 3.12 External Hard Disks 3.13 Optical Disks 3.13.1 CD-ROM 3.13.2 DVD-ROM 3.13.3 CD-R 3.13.4 CD-RW 3.13.5 Blu-ray Disks 3.14 USB Flash Drives 3.15 Memory Cards 3.16 Mass Storage Devices 3.16.1 Disk Array 3.16.2 Automated Tape Library 3.16.3 CD-ROM Jukebox 3.17 Basic Processor Architecture 3.17.1 Execution Unit 3.17.2 Registers 3.17.3 Bus Interface Unit 3.17.4 Instruction Set 3.17.5 System Clock 3.17.6 Processor Speed 3.17.7 Processor to Memory Communication 3.17.8 Processor to I/O devices Communication 3.18 Pipelining and Parallel Processing 3.19 Types of Processors 3.19.1 Complex Instruction Set Computer 3.19.2 Reduced Instruction Set Computer 3.19.3 Multi-core Processors Lab Activity: Handling Memory Storage Devices Activity 1: Downloading files from a USB Flash Drive Activity 2: Defragmenting a Local Drive Chap 4: Number Systems and Computer Codes 4.1 Introduction to Number Systems Representation of Numbers in Radix r Positional and Non-positional Number Systems 4.2 Binary Number System 4.3 Working with Binary Numbers 4.3.1 Converting a Binary Number into Decimal Form 4.3.2 Converting a Decimal Number into Binary Form 4.3.3 Adding Two Binary Numbers 4.3.4 Subtracting Two Binary Numbers 4.3.5 Subtracting Two Binary Numbers Using Two's Complement 4.3.6 Multiplying Two Binary Numbers 4.3.7 Dividing Two Binary Numbers 4.4 Octal Number System 4.4.1 Converting an Octal Number into Decimal Form 4.4.2 Converting a Decimal Number into Octal Form 4.4.3 Converting an Octal Number into Binary Form 4.4.4 Converting a Binary Number into Octal Form 4.4.5 Adding Two Octal Numbers 4.4.6 Subtracting Two Octal Numbers 4.5 Hexadecimal Number System 4.5.1 Converting a Hexadecimal Number into Decimal Form 4.5.2 Converting a Decimal Number into Hexadecimal Form 4.5.3 Converting a Hexadecimal Number into Binary Form 4.5.4 Converting a Binary Number into Hexadecimal Form 4.5.5 Converting a Hexadecimal Number into Octal Form 4.5.6 Converting an Octal Number into Hexadecimal Form 4.5.7 Adding Two Hexadecimal Numbers 4.5.8 Subtracting Two Hexadecimal Numbers 4.6 Working with Fractions 4.7 Signed Number Representation in Binary Form 4.7.1 Sign-and-magnitude 4.7.2 One's Complement 4.7.3 Two's Complement 4.8 BCD Code 4.9 Other Codes 4.9.1 ASCII Code 4.9.2 Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code 4.9.3 Excess-3 Code 4.9.4 Other Weighted Codes 8421 and 2421 Codes 4.9.5 Gray Code 4.9.6 Unicode Chap 5: Boolean Algebra and Logic Circuits 5.1 Boolean Algebra Precedence Rules of Boolean Operators 5.2 Truth Tables 5.3 Basic Laws of Boolean Algebra Principle of Duality 5.3.1 Identity Law 5.3.2 Idempotency Law 5.3.3 Complement Law 5.3.4 Involution Law 5.3.5 Commutative Law 5.3.6 Associative Law 5.3.7 Distributive Law 5.3.8 Absorption Law 5.3.9 Consensus Law 5.3.10 De Morgan's Laws 5.4 Venn Diagrams 5.5 Representations of Boolean Functions 5.5.1 Minterm 5.5.2 Maxterm 5.6 Logic Gates 5.7 Logic Diagrams and Boolean Expressions 5.8 Universal Gates 5.8.1 NAND Universal Gate 5.8.2 NOR Universal Gate 5.9 Simplification of Boolean Expressions Using Karnaugh Map Cap 6: Computer Software 6.1 Introduction to Computer Software 6.2 Classification of Computer Software 6.3 System Software 6.3.1 Computer BIOS and Device Drivers 6.3.2 Operating System 6.3.3 Utility Software 6.3.4 Translators 6.4 Application Software 6.4.1 Productivity Software 6.4.2 Graphics Software 6.4.3 Multimedia Software 6.4.4 Database Management Software 6.5 Firmware 6.6 Middleware 6.7 Procuring Computer Software Lab Activity Chap 7: Problem Solving Using Computers 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Program Development Life Cycle [SDLC cycle] 7.3 Program Design Tools: Algorithms, Flowcharts, Pseudocodes 7.3.1 Algorithms 7.3.2 Flowcharts 7.3.3 Pseudocodes 7.4 Programming Languages 7.5 Generations of Programming Languages 7.5.1 First Generation: Machine Language 7.5.2 Second Generation: Assembly Language 7.5.3 Third Generation: High-level Language 7.5.4 Fourth Generation: Very High-level Languages 7.5.5 Fifth-generation Programming Language 7.6 Categorization of High-level Languages 7.6.1 Unstructured Programming 7.6.2 Structured Programming Language 7.6.3 Logic-oriented Programming Language 7.6.4 Object-oriented Programming 7.7 Some Popular High-level Languages 7.7.1 BASIC 7.7.2 FORTRAN 7.7.3 Pascal 7.7.4 C 7.7.5 C++ 7.7.6 Java 7.7.7 LISP 7.7.8 C# 7.7.9 Python 7.7.10 Mark-up 7.7.11 Scripting 7.7.12 Publishing 7.8 Factors Affecting Selection of Programming Language Lab Activity Chap 8: Operating Systems 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Evolution of Operating Systems 8.3 Process Management 8.3.1 Process Control Block 8.3.2 Process Operations 8.3.3 Processes Scheduling 8.3.4 Process Synchronization 8.3.5 Interprocess Communication 8.3.6 Deadlock 8.4 Memory Management 8.4.1 Multiple Partition Allocation 8.4.2 Paging 8.4.3 Segmentation 8.5 File Management 8.5.1 Data Hierarchy 8.5.2 File Attributes 8.5.3 Basic File Operations 8.5.4 File Organization File Systems (FAT, FAT32, NTFS) 8.6 Device Management 8.7 Security Management 8.8 Command Interpretation 8.9 Popular Operating Systems 8.9.1 Microsoft DOS 8.9.2 Microsoft Windows 8.9.3 Unix 8.9.4 Linux 8.9.5 Mac OS 8.10 Mobile Operating Systems Lab Activity Chap 9: Database Systems 9.1 File-Oriented Approach 9.2 Database-oriented Approach 9.2.1 Components of Database System 9.2.2 Advantages of Database Approach 9.2.3 Disadvantages of Database Approach 9.2.4 Applications of Database Systems 9.3 Database Views 9.4 Three-schema Architecture 9.5 Database Models 9.5.1 Hierarchical Model 9.5.2 Network Model 9.5.3 Relational Model 9.5.4 Object-oriented Data Model 9.6 Components of Database Management Systems 9.7 Retrieving Data Through Queries Chap 10: Computer Networks 10.1 Introduction to Computer Networks 10.1.1 Basics Elements of a Communication Process 10.1.2 Advantages of Computer Networks 10.2 Types of Networks 10.2.1 Local Area Network 10.2.2 Wide Area Network 10.2.3 Metropolitan Area Network 10.2.4 Campus/Corporate Area Network 10.2.5 Personal Area Network 10.2.6 Peer-to-Peer Networks 10.3 Physical Components of a Network 10.4 Wired Media 10.4.1 Twisted-pair Wires 10.4.2 Coaxial Cables 10.4.3 Fibre Optic Cables 10.5 Wireless Media 10.5.1 Terrestrial Microwaves 10.5.2 Satellite Communication 10.5.3 Infrared Communication 10.6 Networking Devices 10.6.1 Hub 10.6.2 Repeater 10.6.3 Switch 10.6.4 Bridge 10.6.5 Router 10.6.6 Gateway 10.6.7 Network Interface Card 10.7 Network Topologies 10.7.1 Bus Topology 10.7.2 Star Topology 10.7.3 Ring Topology 10.7.4 Mesh topology 107.7.5 Hybrid Topology 10.8 Wireless Networks 10.9 Data Transmission Mode 10.9.1 Simplex, Half-duplex, and Full-duplex Connections 10.9.2 Serial and Parallel Transmissions 10.9.3 Synchronous and Asynchronous Data Transmission Modes 10.10 Data Switching 10.10.1 Circuit Switching 10.10.2 Message Switching 10.10.3 Packet Switching 10.11 Data Routing Techniques 10.12 Communication Protocols 10.12.1 Open System Interconnection Model 10.12.2 Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol Model Lab Activity Chap 11: The Internet 11.1 Internet 11.1.1 History 11.1.2 Intranet and Extranet 11.1.3 Differences between Internet, Intranet, and Extranet 11.2 Internet Protocol Address 11.2.1 Types of IP Addresses 11.3. Domain Name System 11.4 Uniform Resource Locator 11.5 Internet browsers 11.6 Internet Services 11.6.1 Electronic Mail [from CCC - chap 6] 11.6.2 Social Networking Advantages & Disadvantages of Social Networking for Business 11.6.3 Chatting 11.6.4 File Transfer Protocol 11.6.5 Internet Conferencing 11.6.6 Electronic Newspaper 11.6.7 World Wide Web 11.6.8 Online Shopping 11.6.9 Search Engine 11.7 Types of Internet Connections 11.7.1 Dial-up Connection 11.7.2 Integrated Services Digital Network 11.7.3 Leased Connection 11.7.4 Digital Subscriber Line Connection 11.7.5 Cable Modem Connection 11.7.6 Very Small Aperture Terminal 11.8 Internet Security 11.8.1 Threats to Internet Security 11.8.2 Preventive Measures 11.8.3 Anti-Virus Software 11.8.4 Firewalls 11.8.5 Concept of Encryption and Decryption 11.8.6 Digital Signature, Digital Certificate 11.9 Internet Glossary Lab Activity Activity 1: Configure Internet Explorer Activity 2: Accessing Web Browser Activity 2: Downloading and Saving Web pages Activity 3: Adding Bookmarks / Favourites Activity 4: Viewing History Activity 5: Configuring Email Account on Gmail Activity 6: Opening Email Account Activity 7: Reading Emails Activity 8: Creating and Sending a New Email Activity 9: Replying to an Email Message Activity 10: Sending Document by Email Chap 12: Introduction to Windows 7 12.1 Desktop 12.2 Task Bar 12.3 Icons 12.4 Files and Folders 12.5 My Computer and Windows Explorer 12.6 My Documents 12.7 Recycle Bin 12.8 Internet Explorer 12.9 Control Panel 12.10 Start Menu 12.11 Windows Accessories: Notepad, Paintbrush Lab Activities Changing System Date and Time Changing Display Settings Changing Mouse Properties Adding / Removing Windows Components Setting Screen Saver and Appearance Chap 13: Working with MS Word 2010 13.1 Objectives 13.2 Word Processing Basics 13.2.1 Opening Word Processing Package 13.2.2 Menu Bar 13.3 Opening, Printing, and Closing Documents 13.3.1 Opening Documents 13.3.2 Save and Save As 13.3.3 Page Setup 13.3.4 Print Preview, Printing and Closing Documents 13.3.5 Document Views 13.4 Text Creation and Manipulation 13.4.1 Document Creation 13.4.2 Text Editing 13.4.3 Text Selection 13.4.4 Cut, Copy, and Paste 134.4.5 Font and Size Selection 13.4.6 Alignment of Text 13.4.7 Changing Font Colours 13.4.8 Highlighting Text with Colours 13.4.9 Applying Text Effects 13.4.10 Inserting WordArt 13.4.11 Find and Replace 13.5 Formatting the Text 13.5.1 Paragraph Indenting 13.5.2 Line and Paragraph Spacing 13.5.3 Bullets and Numbering 13.5.4 Case Changing 13.5.6 Format Painter 13.6 Spelling and Grammar Auto Correct Auto Complete Setting Language 13.7 Inserting Pictures 13.8 Inserting Shapes 13.9 Inserting Text Box 13.10 Table Manipulation 13.10.1 Drawing Table 13.10.2 Changing Cell Width and Height 13.10.3 Alignment of Text in Cell 13.10.4 Deleting/Inserting a Row/Column in a Table 13.10.5 Borders and Shading 13.10.6 Merging Cells 13.10.7 Splitting Cells 13.10.8 Adjusting Cell Size by Dragging 13.10.9 Cell Margins 13.10.10 Changing the Direction of Text in Table 13.11 Mail Merge 13.11.1 Creating Envelopes and Labels 13.11 Headers and Footers 13.12 Hyperlinks 13.13 Recording Macros 13.14 Equation Editor Shortcut Keys Chapter 14: Working with MS Excel 2010 Introduction 14.1 Objectives 14.2 Elements of Electronic Spreadsheet 14.2.1 Opening a Spreadsheet 14.2.2 Addressing Cells 14.2.3 Printing Spreadsheets 14.2.4 Saving Workbooks 14.3 Manipulation of Cells 14.3.1 Entering Text, Numbers, and Dates 14.3.2 Creating Text, Number, Date, Time, Weekdays, Months, or Years Series 14.3.3 Editing Worksheet Data 14.3.4 Inserting New Worksheet 82 14.3.5 Inserting or Deleting Cells, Rows, and Columns 14.3.6 Changing Column Width and Row Height 14.3.7 Formatting Rows, Columns, and Sheets 14.3.8 Protecting and Un-protecting Cells, Rows, Columns, and Sheets with or without Password 14.3.9 Hiding/Unhiding Rows, Columns, and Sheets 14.3.10 Autofill 14.4 Functions and Charts 14.4.1 Formulas 14.4.2 Functions 14.4.3 Charts 14.5 Conditional Formatting 14.5.1 Applying Several Conditional Formatting Rules to One Cell/Table 14.5.2 Editing Conditional Formatting Rules 14.5.3 Deleting Conditional Formatting Rules 14.5.4 Using Icon Sets 14.5.5 Conditional Formatting Using Data Bars 14.5.6 Conditional Formatting Using Colour Scales 14.6 Sorting Data A-Z and Z-A 14.7 Filtering Data 14.8 Advanced Filter 14.9 Pivot Tables 14.10 Pivot Charts 14.11 VBA Macro 14.12 Add-ins in Excel Chapter 15: Working with MS PowerPoint 2010 Introduction 15.1 Objectives 15.2 Basics 15.2.1 Using PowerPoint 15.2.2 Opening a PowerPoint Presentation 15.2.3 Saving a Presentation 15.3 Creation of Presentation 15.3.1 Creating a Presentation Using a Template 15.3.2 Creating a Blank Presentation 15.3.3 Entering and Editing Text 15.3.4 Inserting and Deleting Slides in a Presentation 15.4 Preparation of Slides 15.4.1 Inserting Word Table or an Excel Worksheet 15.4.2 Adding Clip Art Pictures 15.4.3 Inserting Other Objects 15.4.4 Resizing and Scaling an Object 15.5 Providing Aesthetics 15.5.1 Enhancing Text Presentation 15.5.2 Working with Color and Line Style 15.5.3 Adding Movie and Sound 15.5.4 Adding Headers or Footers 15.6 Presentation of Slides 15.6.1 Viewing a Presentation 15.6.2 Choosing a Set-up for Presentation 15.6.3 Printing Slides and Handouts 15.6.7 Hiding Slides 15.7 Slide Show 15.7.1 Running a Slide Show 15.7.2 Setting the Timing and Speed of a Transition 15.7.3 Automating a Slide Show 15.8 Using Preset Animations Glossary of Emerging Trends in Information Technology